Samsara Paradise: Dream Weaver of Connections.

The flames in the fireplace flickered, warming the entire room.

After an unknown amount of time, a noisy sound came from the doorway, pulling Lin Yi out of the gray and white chaos.

He opened his eyes, his pupils slowly focusing in the embers of the fireplace.

The room was dimmer than before I fell asleep, and the fire in the fireplace had weakened. The embers of the burnt wood glowed a dark red in the hearth, like a bed of charcoal that was about to go out.

The butler robot was still parked in the corner, and the electronic light switched from the dark red of standby mode to the green of working mode, with the sensor on top pointing towards the door.

Su Xiao also woke up. He leaned back on the sofa, his half-closed eyes staring at the door of the lounge.

The door to the lounge was wide open.

There were several people standing at the door, or more precisely, several people arguing.

Lin Yi recognized two of them—Dilraba and Hugh.

Dillian had her back to the lounge and was speaking sharply to a man standing at the door. Her voice was shrill and piercing, echoing in the corridor and clearly audible throughout the lounge.

Dillian is in very poor condition.

Lin Yi realized this the moment he saw her face.

Half of her eye had turned completely white, with the pupil shrinking to the size of a pinhead, embedded in the center of that murky white, looking like the eye of some kind of deep-sea fish.

The blood vessels around the eye bulged, turning purplish-black, and spread from the corner of the eye towards the temple, like a fine net.

Her arms were also covered with the same purplish-black patterns, extending from her wrists all the way to her cuffs. These patterns were not ordinary bruises or wounds, but traces left by some kind of curse or energy backlash. Anyone with eyes could tell at a glance that something was wrong.

Her voice was sharper than usual, with a hysterical impatience, each word sounding like it was being squeezed out from between her teeth.

She accused the demon clan of sabotaging her in the Viking Sea, causing her to suffer a great loss.

The demons were not to be outdone, saying it was fair competition and that Dilline was simply less skilled than others, so she had no one to blame but herself.

Hugh stood half a step behind Dilraba, with one hand on her shoulder, trying to pull her into the lounge.

His face was full of trouble. His face, which always had a lazy smile, was now furrowed, his eyebrows were tied together, and the corners of his mouth were turned down. He looked both helpless and tired.

He pulled hard on Dillian's shoulder, whispering something as if trying to persuade her to give up.

But Dillian wouldn't listen at all; her voice grew louder and sharper, echoing through the corridor with her questioning.

It's fortunate that there's no one else here right now, otherwise we would definitely be surrounded by onlookers.

The demon finally couldn't hold back any longer and took a step forward.

The witch straightened up from the wall, walked to the demon's side, reached out and tugged at his sleeve, and gestured towards the lounge.

The demons followed her gaze and saw Lin Yi and Su Xiao sitting on the sofa.

The noise of the three people arguing subsided by more than half in that instant.

Only Dillian was still talking, but her voice gradually lowered as she realized she was the only one still arguing, while the other two no longer wanted to argue with her.

Her chest heaved violently, and her arm, covered in purplish-black markings, trembled slightly at her side.

She wanted to keep arguing, to vent all the anger she had suffered on the Viking Sea, but she found herself without an opponent.

The demon men ignored her, and the witch stopped looking at her.

Her anger was like a punch hitting cotton; it had nowhere to land and could only hang in mid-air, burning her with pain.

Taking this opportunity, Hugh pulled her shoulder forcefully and dragged her a step into the lounge.

Dillian staggered, a hint of resentment flashing in her intact eye, but she no longer had the strength to struggle.

Her body went limp, letting Hugh drag her along, like a puppet whose skeleton had been removed.

Hugh pulled and dragged her into the lounge, his expression shifting from helplessness to a wry smile.

He gave Lin Yi an apologetic look, the meaning of which was clear—sorry to bother you, I really can't control this woman.

Then he turned to look down the corridor behind him, and after confirming that the demons and witches had left, he let out a long sigh, a sigh filled with exhaustion.

He dragged Dillian across the lounge and threw her onto a sofa in the corner.

Dillian's posture when she sat down was very inelegant; she sank into the cushions, her injured arm hanging limply on the sofa armrest, the purplish-black markings looking even more shocking under the light.

Hugh stood next to her for a few seconds, and after confirming that she wouldn't cause any more trouble, he turned around and sat down on the sofa next to Lin Yi.

His body sank into the cushions, as if all his strength had been drained away. His shoulders slumped, his head rested against the back of the sofa, and his eyes were fixed on the ceiling.

He remained silent in that position for about ten seconds, then exhaled a long, heavy breath, as if he were expelling all the fatigue he had accumulated on the Viking Sea.

Su Xiao glanced at Hugh. It wasn't time for the two to fight yet. Hugh wasn't his enemy, at least not now.

There was no need for them to fight before the results of the fourth round of individual gladiator battles were announced.

Su Xiao wouldn't provoke trouble at a time like this, and neither would Hugh.

This spellcaster was much smarter than Dylan; he knew when to advance, when to retreat, and when to play dumb.

Hughes felt Su Xiao's gaze, turned his head to look at him, and slightly curled the corners of his mouth as a greeting.

Lin Yi sat up straight from the blanket and folded the cashmere blanket, placing it on the back of the chair.

Hugh wasn't in good shape either. Although not as bad as Dilraba, he looked noticeably tired, his eye sockets were deeper than when they met on Turtle Island, he had a fine stubble on his chin, and there were a few wrinkles and stains on his clothes that he hadn't had time to clean up.

It seems he hasn't had an easy time in the Viking Sea these past few days.

How have you been these past few days?

Upon hearing this, Hugh's bitter smile deepened.

He raised his hand and rubbed his temples, then lowered his hand as if recalling some unpleasant experience.

"Don't even mention it." His voice was hoarse, carrying an indescribable weariness. "It's a long story."

He paused for a few seconds, seemingly organizing his thoughts, before beginning to speak.

After he and Dilraba left Turtle Island, their initial plan was simple—find Redbeard, get the coordinates of Terror Island from him, and then arrive at Terror Island before the end of the third round to meet the advancement requirements of the Battle of the Strongest.

The plan sounds reasonable, but its implementation is a different story.

Unlike Lin Yi, who communicated with the sea creatures and obtained the coordinates of Terror Island as soon as he landed, Dillin was far too arrogant.

In her mind, the sea creatures were nothing more than native beings of the Viking Sea, with low intelligence and backward civilization, and were not worth her lowering herself to deal with.

Her idea was simple: if the sea creatures could provide the information, humans could provide it too.

Instead of talking to those scaly creatures in a language made up of bubbles and friction, it's better to go straight to the pirates, let strength speak for itself, and pave the way with your fists.

This idea isn't entirely wrong, but the problem is that Dylin underestimated the Seafolk's importance in the Viking Sea.

The sea creatures know the shipping routes, reefs, ocean currents, and marine mammal distribution in this sea area better than any human.

The location of Terror Island is a secret known only to a very few beings, including the sea creatures.

Dilling doesn't have the necessary conditions, nor is she willing to create them.

So after leaving Turtle Island, the two drifted at sea for several days, making inquiries, and finally got a message from a pirate—Redbeard might have the coordinates of Terror Island.

That message took a lot of effort; the pirate was a seasoned veteran who had spent most of his life at sea.

After he finished speaking, he added that Redbeard had been in a bad mood lately, his fleet had been targeted and many people had died, and he was acting like a madman. If you were to go looking for him, you'd better be careful.

Hugh didn't pay much attention to those words at the time. It was common for pirates to fight over territory, kill and burn. Redbeard had been at sea for so many years and had seen all kinds of storms. What could possibly drive him crazy like this?

He later learned that the pirate was not exaggerating at all.

Redbeard has indeed gone mad, but not because he's being targeted, but because of Lin Yi and Su Xiao.

Because Redbeard received news that Agati was also dead.

She died on Turtle Island, in her light red little building.

It is said that her lips were sewn shut, and she leaned against the wall like a tattered rag soaked by a storm.

Redbeard's expression was very strange when he heard the news.

Of the three legendary pirate crews, two have been eliminated.

Bone Sheep is dead, Agati is dead, and now only Redbeard remains as the sole ruler of the Viking Seas.

This was originally a good thing, a situation he had always dreamed of.

For decades, he had wanted to annex the territories of Bone Sheep and Agati, to become the only legendary pirate captain on this sea, and to have his flag fly over every sea.

Now this goal has suddenly been achieved, at a speed he never imagined, and in a way he never imagined.

That night, Redbeard made a decision—he was going to take over territory.

Before the kingdoms could react, before everyone was still in a state of panic, he wanted to devour all the territory left behind by the Bone Sheep and Agati as quickly as possible.

This was a crazy decision, but also a rational one. Crazy because he was going to send troops in more than a dozen directions at the same time within a few days, to disperse his fleet to every sea area, and to face the remnants of Bone Sheep and Agati, the small and medium-sized pirate groups that were eyeing him covetously, and the kingdoms that had always wanted to extend their reach to the sea.

The rational thing to do is that this is the only chance.

By the time those kingdoms reacted, it would be too late for him to make a move.

Redbeard is a man who never hesitates to make decisions.

That night, his orders were transmitted from the Red Dragon to every one of his ships.

All the captains were stunned when they received the order, but no one dared to ask a question, because the order was stamped with Redbeard's seal, which represented absolute authority.

His fleet sprang out overnight, with warships that had been resting in the harbor for who knows how long weighed anchor one after another, their sails billowing in the night wind, their hulls cutting through the waves as they sailed in all directions.

The pirates who were still drinking on the dock watched this scene, their glasses slipping from their hands and shattering.

They had never seen such a sight before, and never imagined that all these ships could cover the entire sea when they were all deployed.

At the same time that Redbeard made his move, the kingdoms also made theirs.

When news of the departure of two of the three legendary pirate crews reached the royal palaces of various kingdoms, the kings who usually dozed off on their thrones were jolted up as if they had been stabbed in the backside.

They have waited too long for this day.

For decades, pirates have roamed the seas, plundering merchant ships, disrupting their shipping routes, bribing their officials, and even secretly controlling several small kingdoms.

It's not that they don't want to manage it, it's that they can't.

The three legendary pirate crews were too powerful for any single kingdom to match, and even when they united, they each had their own agendas and none of them were willing to take the lead.

Now is the chance.

The bone sheep died, Agati died, and only a red-bearded man remained.

Even if Redbeard could swallow up those two people's territory, it would take time.

During this period, his strength was scattered, weak, and vulnerable to attack.

Those kings wouldn't let this opportunity pass them by.

Warships sailed out of various ports like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

The fleets of the Kingdom of Fuinding, the Kingdom of Sea Breeze, the Kingdom of Broken Reef, and several other small kingdoms whose names even pirates couldn't remember appeared on the sea at almost the same time.

Those ships are usually hidden in the naval port, covered with tarpaulins and covered in dust, and there are not even enough sailors to go around.

But now, all the ships have set sail, all the sailors have been dragged out of the taverns, and all the cannons have been polished to a gleaming shine.

The kings brought out their trump cards: the super warships they had built at great expense decades ago, the extraordinary weapons extracted from secret relics, and the ancient artifacts hidden in the underground palace.

After Lin Yi left, the entire Viking Sea was thrown into complete chaos.

As Hughes finished speaking, he raised his hand and rubbed his face, his expression filled with helplessness.

He and Dilraba originally just wanted to get the coordinates of Terror Island from Redbeard, but when they found Redbeard, they discovered that the old man had completely gone mad.

Redbeard's fleet was scattered across various seas. He himself, along with his flagship Red Dragon and a dozen main warships, shuttled back and forth between the sunken ship seas and the dark seas, seizing territory while plundering the kingdom fleets that took advantage of the chaos.

He was in very bad shape; his eyes were bloodshot, his beard was unkempt, and his clothes were stained with wine and gunpowder. He looked like an enraged old lion.

His men were in no better shape. They hadn't slept for days and nights, everyone was pushing themselves to the limit, and their eyes were glowing red. But no one dared to stop, because stopping meant death.

When Hugh and Dylan found him, he was standing at the bow of the Red Dragon, directing three warships to besiege a supply fleet of the Kingdom of Fuinding.

The battle was fierce, with cannons roaring, smoke billowing, and broken planks and struggling sailors floating on the sea. When Redbeard saw Hugh and Dilraba's ship approaching, his first thought was that they were enemies.

He immediately ordered the cannons to fire, and the shells landed beside their ship, splashing water columns several meters high.

Dillian became an instant sensation.

She already had a bad temper, and after drifting on the Viking Sea for several days, she was filled with pent-up anger with nowhere to vent it. Now, a native pirate actually dared to fire cannons at her.

Without saying a word, she was about to attack, and even Hugh Graeme couldn't stop her.

Then things got out of control.

Seeing Dylan make a move, Redbeard became even more certain that they were there to seize territory.

He mobilized all available warships in the vicinity, and seven or eight ships surrounded him from all directions, firing cannons in unison, with shells raining down on him.

Some of those shells were crafted from secret relics and imbued with some kind of extraordinary power. When they exploded, they released blinding light and scorching shockwaves, causing defensive spells to falter under the impact.

While maintaining his defenses, Hugh tried to communicate with Redbeard, telling him that they were just asking for directions, not trying to take over his territory.

But Redbeard wouldn't listen. In his mind, how could these people have come to ask for directions when they appeared on his territory right after he ordered a full-scale expansion?

Dillian became even more enraged by the bombardment, and her counterattacks grew increasingly fierce. Golden weapons formed from Li elemental energy danced in the smoke, severing the main mast of a warship and causing it to tilt considerably.

Redbeard's eyes turned red, and he ordered all the ships to concentrate their firepower and kill the group at all costs.

The battle lasted for a full day.

In the end, Hugh and Dilraba had to use several of their trump cards to steal a boat and break out of the encirclement.

Dilraba also had several wounds on her body. The purplish-black patterns were left from that battle, caused by a cursed weapon used by a certain fleet.

The thing won't kill immediately after it hits, but it will continuously erode the energy circuits in the body, making the caster's condition worse and worse.

After breaking through Redbeard's encirclement, they encountered several more waves of the kingdom's fleet intercepting them.

Those fleets attacked their ships as soon as they saw them, without even asking where they came from.

The entire Viking Sea had become a massive battlefield, filled with cannon fire, smoke, and floating debris and corpses.

The forces in the Viking Sea have gone mad; anyone who isn't one of their own is now considered an enemy.

Fishermen and merchant ships who usually make a living at sea have long since retreated into the harbor and dare not even leave their homes.

The pirate crews either joined Redbeard's side, were wiped out by the kingdom's fleet, or fled to the most remote corners to hide.

Moreover, Turtle Island sank.

Anyway, by the time the news spread, Turtle Island no longer existed, leaving only broken planks floating on the sea and the remains of the giant turtle.

After breaking out of Redbeard's territory, Dylan considered negotiating with the kingdom fleets to obtain the coordinates of Terror Island from them.

Her idea was simple: since the pirates were already in complete chaos, she would go to the kingdom. Since they were all native forces, she would talk to whoever had the intelligence.

But she overlooked one problem: those kingdoms were now far more insane than she had imagined.

They've become bloodthirsty in their fight for territory, and any stranger who appears before their fleet is treated as an enemy.

When Dillian's ship approached the first kingdom fleet, the other side activated a one-time use item without even giving a warning.

The thing was far more powerful than she had expected. A blinding beam of light shot out from the flagship in the center of the fleet, instantly traversing several nautical miles and slamming into their ship.

The beam of light missed by about ten meters and did not hit them directly, but the shockwave from the explosion still tilted their entire ship at a forty-five-degree angle.

Dillian was standing on the deck when she was thrown out by the force and slammed against the ship's side, her back bones cracking with a crisp sound.

Her ears were ringing, her vision was blurry, and her mouth was full of the taste of blood.

She struggled to her feet and saw a whirlpool nearly a hundred meters in diameter that had appeared on the surface of the sea where the beam of light had struck. Seawater was rushing madly into the whirlpool, even dragging in several of the kingdom's own warships.

Dillian's face turned ashen at that moment. She finally realized that this was not an opponent she could easily defeat.

The two eventually obtained the coordinates of Thriller Bark from a small pirate crew that was about to be wiped out by Redbeard.

The captain of that pirate crew was an old sea dog who had been at sea for forty or fifty years and had seen all kinds of storms.

His fleet was reduced to a single wrecked ship, and his men were killed, leaving only a dozen or so. They hid in an inconspicuous corner of the Broken Reef Islands, too afraid to even venture out.

When Hugh found him, he was squatting in the cabin drinking alone. When he saw Hugh come in, his first reaction was to grab the scimitar next to him.

Hugh talked to him for a long time, offering money and promises, before finally managing to pry the location of Terror Island out of him.

The old captain said that he had been at sea for so many years and never thought that he would one day tell others the location of Terror Island.

That island is taboo, it's a curse.

But he has nothing to fear now. The ship is gone, the people are gone, the territory is gone, and he's about to lose his life, so what taboos are there to care about?

After saying this, he took a big gulp of wine, smashed the empty bottle on the deck, and shards flew everywhere.

He said, "This sea is finished."

Although things were chaotic before, at least there were rules. Pirates knew when to rob and when to collect, and kingdoms knew when to fight and when to yield.

Now that the rules are gone, everyone has gone mad, everyone is grabbing, killing, and fighting desperately.

He didn't know when this chaos would end, or whether he would live to see that day.

Hugh was fortunate to have left early; had he waited any longer, reaching Terror Island might have been extremely difficult, given that the entire ocean was engulfed in war. (End of Chapter)