Mystery: The Witch of Desire

"What a load of bull! Senor plunders ships, slaughters crews, tortures prisoners, and traffics people—he's a complete bastard! In the name of the storm, villains like you will be buried in my lord's lightning sooner or later!"

Upon hearing this, Gartner threw his head back and burst into laughter:

"You really know a lot about our great achievements!"

Then, he revealed a cruel expression:

"However, playing the hero can come at the cost of one's life."

He gripped the short sword in his hand, glancing somewhat casually at the revolver in Danny's hand.

Danny took a deep breath and pulled the trigger.

boom! boom! boom!

Three bullets were fired at Garten, but the weapon master simply tossed them in front of him, and the short sword spun rapidly into a shield, deflecting all the bullets.

Danny looked at the other person with some surprise, his expression turning serious.

"With your half-baked weapon, you can't possibly pose a threat to me!"

Gartner gave a cold laugh, sheathed his short sword, swung his arm back, and prepared to throw the short sword with all his might.

A flicker of despair crossed Danny's eyes, but instead of turning and running away, he charged straight toward Gartner.

As long as the distance is close enough, the bullet will not be stopped!

Danny raised his pistol again and fired the remaining three bullets.

Bang bang bang!

At the same time, Gartner swung his short sword, the powerful kinetic energy causing the three bullets to lose their trajectories.

What an idiot!

Liviel cursed inwardly in frustration, then flicked out a colorless spider silk from her hand, precisely locking onto the spinning short sword.

In an instant, the spider silk binding the short sword taut, instantly neutralizing the sword's immense kinetic energy. The short sword eerily stopped in mid-air, then crashed to the ground with a 'bang'.

Before Gartner could react to what was happening, he saw three increasingly larger bullets flying toward his face.

boom!

Three bullets pierced his skull, and in an instant, red and white matter spurted out several meters away. Gartner's mountain-like body stood frozen in place, motionless.

Danny stood there, stunned, somewhat unable to believe that he had just hit the big pirate with a bounty of 3700 pounds.

Idiot, hurry up and reload and fire a few more shots! The enemy is a tough, resilient soldier.

Liviel watched anxiously from the sidelines. Taking advantage of the chaos as the hotel guests rushed out, she flicked a small black flame from her fingertip, which secretly flew into Garten's skull, burning his still-shaking brain to ashes.

Now, Garten's life came to an end, and his mountain-sized body crashed down with a tremendous thud.

"It...it worked?"

Danny stared blankly at Gartner's body on the ground. Just moments ago, his mind had been racing, replaying the heroic tales his mother had told him.

"Mr. Danny, are you alright?"

Livr rushed over and helped Danny, who was walking unsteadily, with a concerned expression.

Danny finally recovered from the shock, let out a long sigh of relief, and then looked at Livre with some emotion, saying:

“Miss Marilyn Monroe, in such a dangerous situation, you still stayed by my side…”

Livre said with a serious expression:

"It's what I should do. Don't talk about this now, you should go quickly..."

“No!” Danny shook his head and said righteously, “Evacuate the people first. I’m not injured and don’t need to go to the hospital!”

"What are you talking about?" Livre slapped him and pointed at Garten on the ground. "Go cut this guy's head off and collect the bounty! It's 3700 pounds!"

Danny paused for a moment, then suddenly realized what was happening. He picked up the dagger and, somewhat timidly, began to strike Gartner's head.

While Danny was cutting off Garten's head, Livre deftly took the extraordinary properties extracted from Garten, then stood aside nonchalantly, continuing to watch Danny slowly cut off heads.

That's slow. Maybe this is the first time this naval officer has killed someone...

Liviel watched anxiously from the side. She really wanted to claim the bounty herself, but anyone without official status claiming a large bounty would definitely be thoroughly investigated, especially a young and beautiful woman like Liviel who didn't look like an adventurer at all. Even if she already had an official file with the Central Archives, she certainly wouldn't be able to withstand such a detailed investigation.

Even if she uses her acting skills to impersonate someone else, she will probably face many difficulties due to the lack of legal status. Having a front man would make things much easier.

After severing Gartern's head, Livre accompanied Danny to deliver the head and the bounty poster to the naval base in Damir Harbor.

Livr waited outside the military camp for more than two hours before Danny came out. He had changed into a new uniform, wore a flower wreath around his neck, and even had simple men's makeup on his face.

"They said I was a hero of Damir, and they even made me take a picture holding Gartern's head, saying they'd put me on the front page of the newspaper and give me a good publicity boost. Oh, and Major General Walker, the garrison commander of Damir, said, 'I'll write you a promotion report right away!'"

Danny said somewhat shyly, but the proud smile in his eyes was undeniable.

Upon hearing this, Livre's heart skipped a beat: Major General Walker was probably afraid of being retaliated against by Senor, so he deliberately pushed Danny to the forefront as a shield, so that Senor's anger would be directed at Danny.

Meanwhile, Mr. Danny, the hero of Damir Harbor, was still enjoying himself, completely unaware that something was amiss...

Livre sighed helplessly:

"You'd better stay on the Swallow for now and not wander off anywhere else to avoid Señor's retaliation."

Upon hearing this, Danny's expression immediately turned serious:

"They dare! If they dare to come, I'll make sure they never leave!"

Livr sighed softly, patted his shoulder, and activated her instigation ability:

Do you know why Garth's short sword suddenly fell to the ground?

Danny snapped out of his earlier reverie and asked with some curiosity:

"why?"

He was indeed very concerned about this issue. He could tell that Gatern was a powerful Extraordinary being. The short sword had obviously been imbued with Extraordinary abilities, yet it almost mysteriously stopped in mid-air and fell to the ground. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't have been able to kill Gatern at all.

Livre solemnly took a step forward, raised her hands, and said in a deep voice:

"Because I am a devout follower of the Lord of Storms, while you were fighting, I prayed to the gods to bless you, a brave and kind young man. And so the gods bestowed their great power upon you, granting you extraordinary good fortune."

Chapter 161 Pirate Attack

Upon hearing this, Danny's mouth dropped open in surprise. After a long pause, he stammered:

"But you're clearly a woman..."

Despite being questioned, Livre remained calm and serious, saying:

"Yes, for the Storm Church, which emphasizes male rights, devout female believers are especially rare, which is why God is particularly kind to my prayers."

Danny was completely stunned. After a long while, he excitedly raised his hands and cheered:

"Storm above! Thanks be to my Lord for His favor!"

Then, he added with some complaint:

“Miss Monroe, why didn’t you tell me sooner? I actually thought that the victory over the enemy was my own achievement… I’ll go and tell Commander Walker right now that our great Lord is the hero of Damir Port!”

After saying that, he turned to run back to the military camp, but Livre quickly grabbed him, saying with a mix of laughter and tears:

"Are you stupid? Have you ever seen my Lord called a hero of a certain region? He is the hero who saved the whole world from the Pale Plague. The hero of Damir Port is not an honor to Him, but a desecration."

Danny was taken aback by what he heard, and a look of lingering fear crossed his face.

"What you say makes sense..."

Livre smiled slightly and continued to patiently guide him:

“Gods need agents to act in the world, and praising the name of the agent is the same as praising His name. Therefore, as a believer of my Lord, becoming a hero is itself praising the name of my Lord.”

Danny nodded excitedly, his eyes practically overflowing with pride and devotion.

Livre patted him on the shoulder and continued:

"So, accept your honor and reward with peace of mind. However, since it was my Lord who blessed you and helped you defeat your enemies, you should donate half of the reward to the church to express your gratitude, dedication, and piety to the Lord..."

"Half?" Danny's eyes widened in surprise, then he shook his head firmly. "No, absolutely not!"

Livre felt a little disdainful: Does this guy's devotion to Storm disappear when it comes to money?

Just as she was about to unleash her instigation abilities again, Danny said, word by word:

"I must donate all of this bounty to the church!"

Livre was taken aback again: This...you should keep some for yourself...

Danny's eyes shone brightly, and his tone was full of piety:

“This money rightfully belongs to my Lord. I have no right to use it. Once the bounty is approved, I will donate it to the nearest church.”

“No, no, no…” Livre waved her hands repeatedly, “This money should not be donated by you, but by me.”

Danny was taken aback, somewhat puzzled:

"why?"

Livre patiently persuaded:

"First, this time I prayed directly to the Lord, asking Him to exert His power, so it is only right that I represent both of us to make the donation to fulfill our vow. Otherwise, I would be in a situation where I have received grace but have not fulfilled my vow."

"Secondly, you are, after all, a member of the military. Your donation of such a large sum of money to the church may cause dissatisfaction among high-ranking military officials, which could create a rift between the church and the military. This is something the Lord does not want to see."

Upon hearing this, Danny was stunned. After a long while, he nodded admiringly.

“What you say makes a lot of sense… Miss Monroe, you are truly my guide on the path of serving the Lord…”

Livre wore a polite smile:

“All of this is thanks to your piety. Once the bounty is approved, you can transfer it to my anonymous account in Backlund. After I return to Backlund, I will go to the church in Backlund to make the donation, so that the Lord may feel your supreme piety and reverence for Him.”

Upon hearing this, Danny nodded excitedly.

"This is perfect, this is perfect..."

"By the way, Miss Marilyn, how about we go out for a celebratory meal tonight? I'd like to share the joy of our victory with you..."

"Do not."

Livr shook her head earnestly, placed her hands on his shoulders, and looked directly into his eyes with a seductive glint in her beautiful eyes:

"What you need to do now is get back to the Swallow as soon as possible, without wasting a moment, understand?"

"Okay, okay..."

Danny felt a little lost, but under Livre's instigation, he nodded repeatedly without realizing it.

After leaving her anonymous account information, Livril said goodbye to Danny and continued to act alone.

As night fell, Livre returned to the vicinity of the Flying Fish Bar and ordered a dish of Damir Harbour's specialty cured meat at a small restaurant. She enjoyed it slowly with crispy bread covered in tartar sauce and a tropical strong coffee.

The cured meat was sliced ​​very thinly, with a smooth texture and a rather unique flavor. The aroma of the spices wafted out in subtle ways, tickling the stomach and throat.

As Liviel ate, she observed the activity at the Birds and Fish Bar through the window.

Sure enough, several men with concealed weapons and fierce expressions were seen lurking in the shadows, likely Senor's men. It seemed that this Blood Admiral was near Damir Port and already knew about the murder of his third mate.

Livre, who had originally planned to stay in Damir Port for a few days before leaving, immediately decided to set sail tomorrow and take the earliest ship!

She went to the ferry ticket center in Damir Port, where there were flights to Bansi Port and direct flights to Bayam, but all flights departing tomorrow were sold out, and the earliest one was the afternoon after tomorrow, and it wasn't even a direct flight to Bayam.

Liviel was somewhat troubled. After thinking it over, she decided to go to the port that night to see if she could find a small passenger ship or a merchant ship that went to Bayam and negotiate with the ship owner to get a ride. If she couldn't find one, she would just sneak onto the ship invisibly.

In any case, leave Damir Port as soon as possible to avoid being caught up in Señor's possible retaliation.

After finishing her meal, Livr finished her thought and headed to the dock area.

She made slight changes to her appearance to make herself look less beautiful.

The dock area was quieter at night than during the day. The deep sea lapped against the embankment with a dull, rhythmic sound. Mountains of wooden crates and sacks stretched from the cargo holds to the roadside, and a few cargo ships were moored nearby, still loading and unloading day and night. Further out at anchor, the silhouettes of nearly a hundred ships of all sizes stretched across the dark water: steam-powered passenger ships, large cargo ships carrying grain and ore, and low-slung fishing boats, their masts and funnels of varying heights forming a undulating forest.

Using her persuasive skills and financial influence, Livre successfully reached an agreement with Captain Sanchez of the small cargo ship "Good Fortune," agreeing to pay £3 for a journey to Bayam. This small steam-sail hybrid cargo ship would sail for six days, arriving directly at Bayam.

After reaching an agreement, Livre went straight back to the hotel and moved her luggage from the hotel to the 'Lucky Ship'.

Before leaving, she left the last mirror marker on the mirror in the hotel room. Continuing eastward, she would be more than a thousand kilometers from Backlund, at which point the mirror marker's ability to travel would cease, and she would need to add a stopover.

Upon arriving at the Good Fortune, Sanchez arranged a closed cargo hold for her. Apart from a simple bed, there was no furniture inside. To use the washroom, one had to walk twenty meters, through two corridors, to reach the crew's communal washroom.

"If you'd like to live with me, you'd be very welcome."

Sanchez sized up Livia, whose beauty was now partially concealed, and a greedy smile appeared on his face.