Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 464 Set sail
"Ahhhh!"

The pirates were screaming in terror.

Beneath them, a dark shadow slowly rose, engulfing their bodies. Their faces began to contort, becoming contorted with pain and madness. Gradually, the pirates ceased to resemble humans, merging with the darkness and falling into shadow.

“The shadows are a reflection of your inner selves. If your hearts are full of sin and you are unrepentant, they will be reflected in them,” Lu Ze said softly amidst countless shrill screams. “With just a slight push from me, they will drag you into the abyss.”

“I will keep my promise and let you join my fleet—but in other ways.”

He also planned to take all the other pirate ships with him. The pirates would act as his puppets, controlling these vessels.

"Thump thump!"

Walter the Sea Serpent's eyes widened, and almost instinctively he took a few steps back, moving away from the dark shadows. He saw that most of the pirates had been swallowed up and assimilated by their own shadows, no longer resembling human form. Only a few, like himself, had not been swallowed by the shadows.

"Heh, you're lucky, kid."

Anderson, with his hands on the gunwale, looked down at Walter and laughed, "I heard that you followed the commandments of the 'King of the Five Seas' during your raids, refraining from killing or abusing women?"

As the first mate, he was beginning to get used to his captain's crazy style.

"Because I see this as a business."

Sweat beaded on Walter's forehead as he instinctively replied, "Reducing the killing will make the victims more cooperative and less likely to be hunted down by the official navy."

His voice trembled slightly as he watched as most of his crew members perished. He could only maintain a facade of civility; he couldn't truly control the private lives of his crew.

"Good, very wise. I'm starting to have high hopes for you."

Anderson nodded approvingly and then called out to Luzer, "Captain, let him on board?"

"can."

Lu Ze's voice came steadily. Most of the pirates in the port had been swallowed by darkness and slowly gathered under him, merging with his heavy shadow.

The port was instantly half empty, with only a dozen or so pirates standing there, their faces deathly pale.

On the other side, the locals recruited by Anderson were terrified and scattered in all directions, with only a few remaining.

"Kavituwa, the god of the sea."

Philia's legs were trembling, and her back was soaked with cold sweat.

To be honest, he wanted to run too. The scene just now was too terrifying. One second the red-robed blood cultivator was speaking normally, and the next second he easily killed a large number of pirates. However, he was too scared, and his legs wouldn't obey him, freezing him in place.

He looked around and saw that the surging crowd had receded. Only a few people remained. Their eyes were filled with hatred; each of them harbored a deep grudge against Rune—they no longer cared about life or death.

Philia suddenly realized that, besides the locals, there was also a disheveled old man named Rune.

"Sigh, it's a pity I went through so much trouble to recruit so many people."

Anderson sighed and jumped off the boat. "Alright, everyone else, come over here."

Lia missed her best chance to escape. Her mind was buzzing, and she subconsciously followed the crowd to the Northern Continent man who was throwing money around. The remaining pirates and the locals who hadn't fled gathered together, making up only a small group.

"Captain, there are only about twenty."

Anderson counted and said, "Should I go and recruit another batch?"

"No need, I'll use my puppets to make up for the missing ones."

Lu Ze replied, turning to look at the "sea serpent" who had come to surrender.

What position do you want?

He asked the "sea serpent" in what he thought was a kind voice.

"Please let me be the boatswain; I'm confident I can do a good job."

Walter's tone was incredibly soft. Initially, he had considered at least becoming a second mate. But after seeing how ruthless Luzer was, he felt it was better to tone it down.

"can."

Lu Ze didn't bother to guess what he was thinking and walked up to these people.

Anderson is examining these people.

"Has anyone ever been a sailor?"

He asked. All the pirates, and a local, raised their hands.

"Is there anyone who can cook or do carpentry?"

he asked again.

A fat man raised his hand shakily and said in a low voice, "I can cook."

"Then you'll be the ship's cook from now on. If you don't cook well, the captain might eat you."

Anderson joked with him.

After successfully frightening the fat man, he continued to ask:
"Is there anyone who can sail a boat?"

After a moment of silence, a hand was raised. It was an old arm with a blue anchor tattoo on it.

"I used to be a helmsman."

"That's what the middle-aged man, who looks like a Rune, said, reeking of alcohol."

Lu Zedo glanced at him.

The other person was the drunkard he had seen at the inn that morning; he was at least a Sequence 8 Beyonder.

"Hmm? This tattoo of yours means you served in the Rune army before?"

Anderson raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

The man looked dejected, but showed no panic at being exposed. He calmly replied, "I used to be in the navy."

Anderson glanced back at Luzer.

"It's alright, let him come up first."

Lu Ze said softly.

Judging from his appearance, he seemed to be hiding something, and since he was only a Sequence 8 anyway, he could be checked again after boarding the ship.

"Okay, let's leave it at that for now."

Anderson asked, "Captain, we're all ready, shouldn't we be going?"

"Get on board, raise the sails, and set sail."

Lu Ze said briefly.

"Yes!"

Anderson, the strongest hunter of the Misty Sea—no, the former strongest hunter, now a professional pirate—shouted excitedly. He then led his crew aboard the "Hindus." The ship had changed hands at that moment, becoming the flagship of the Luzer Pirate Crew.

"Wow!"

Under Anderson's command, a few experienced sailors worked hard to maneuver the three-masted sails, preparing for departure.

"call--"

They had just furled the anchor, hoisted the sails, and were about to adjust their direction when they felt a strong gust of wind blow just in time, instantly unfurling the sails and propelling them out of the harbor.

Philia was completely overwhelmed with work. He had no idea what he was supposed to do, and was simply being bossed around doing all sorts of odd jobs. It wasn't until this gust of wind blew that he truly realized he was leaving.

Turning around, he saw the port rapidly shrinking behind him. Toscati, the island that had given him birth, was as small as a reef compared to the sea.

I've really left Toscart!

After a brief period of fear and unease, Philia gradually felt excited and thrilled.

My legend is about to begin!

Bathed in the sea breeze and feeling the lively atmosphere on the ship, he thought to himself sincerely.

Behind their ship, several other pirate ships followed. Numerous pirates also maneuvered their sailboats, their movements stiff and lifeless.

(End of this chapter)