Chapter 20: Hunting the Pirate King

Gunie wanted to obtain the trace of Feathered Serpent Edward.

On one hand, because the other party had demon ships, possibly more than one.

On the other hand, naturally, because these pirates burned, killed, and plundered at sea, committing all kinds of evil.

A large portion of them were colluding with evil gods.

In other words, they all deserved to die.

In the past few days, Gunie had secretly attempted several arcane shots.

The initial-level secret pattern spell channel for arcane shots, combined with high-level arcane bullets made from the Death Beast's 'annihilation energy,' had astonishing destructive power.

With one shot, it easily blasted a hole about thirty meters deep and as thick as an arm in the ground.

The high-speed penetration characteristic of the arcane channel, coupled with the destructive nature of annihilation energy.

When the two were perfectly intertwined, Gunie directly mastered a long-range killing method even more powerful than secret pattern spells.

Not to mention fifth- and sixth-rank high-level transcendents.

Even a transcendent master, if hit in the head by one shot, would be easily pierced through.

Of course, whether such a shot could kill a transcendent master depended on the strength of that master's soul in withstanding the damage from annihilation.

The annihilation energy of the Death Beast also had the property of penetrating and annihilating souls.

When the head was pierced, high-level transcendents would have a considerable portion of their souls annihilated by this annihilation energy on the spot.

For transcendents whose core was the soul.

Destruction of the head plus annihilation of the soul.

Basically resulted in immediate death.

And this was one of the reasons Gunie dared to hunt down Feathered Serpent Edward.

…

In the following days.

Gunie continued to recruit crew members and cultivate by comprehending the World Essence and Darkness Essence.

At the same time, Gunie finally realized how astonishing the appetite of Martel, who possessed the 'Gluttony Talent,' was.

So Gunie added an extra condition when recruiting crew members—recruiting a cook.

Gunie's Whale Adventure Group was a legitimate adventure group.

Not pirates, they didn't need to burn, kill, and plunder everywhere, didn't need to fight merchant ships everywhere, and didn't need to fear inspections by steam cruisers.

Naturally, they could slowly live a comfortable life at sea, drifting from one ocean treasure island to another, without needing to live like savages exposed to the elements.

Under such circumstances, it was necessary to bring a few cooks.

Unconsciously, three to five days had passed.

In these few days, plus the previous days, Gunie had already recruited thirty-two transcendent sailors.

Including Gunie himself and Yasen Howell.

The entire Whale Adventure Group had thirty-four people in total.

The weakest were second-rank transcendent sailors.

There were three with strong strength, all fourth-rank, serving as the first, second, and third deputies.

Including Gunie, there were seven third-rank individuals.

The rest were second-rank, either initial, intermediate, or high-rank transcendent sailors.

With this group at sea, at least there was no need to worry too much about sneak attacks from small pirates or sea tribes.

…

One day, in the afternoon.

The sky gradually grew dim, and night was about to fall.

Gunie was eating with Martel in a restaurant.

In the past few days, as Martel gradually let loose his appetite.

Gunie noticed that Martel's appetite seemed to be getting bigger and bigger.

Moreover, Martel's speed of devouring food was also getting faster; his mouth seemed directly connected to his stomach, and in one meal, he could eat twenty to thirty pounds of food, with an upward trend.

According to Martel, at his most, he once ate food heavier than himself in one sitting.

But before he could finish that meal, he was kicked out by the buffet restaurant owner.

Gunie noticed that even after eating so much food, Martel's stomach, which stored the food, showed no sign of expansion. His stomach seemed like a storage space.

Gunie was secretly amazed by this 'Gluttony Talent.'

'If this talent were in my previous life, I'm afraid many food streamers would have to quit the scene immediately.'

And as Martel let loose his stomach.

Gunie could clearly feel that Martel's physique was beginning to strengthen.

And Martel himself could feel his strength increasing.

This talent really showed immediate results.

After Gunie finished the bowl of seafood noodle soup in front of him.

Gunie patted his stomach; he was already very full today.

When Gunie looked up, a hint of a smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

In front of Martel, eight large bowls were stacked together.

At that moment, Martel gulped down the soup from the ninth bowl in front of him.

When he stacked the ninth bowl, the tenth bowl had already been brought over.

Many customers eating here were amazed at the sight.

And the restaurant owner in the distance was beaming with joy.

This one guy could support a storefront.

Slightly aware, Gunie looked out the glass window and saw Yasen Howell, wearing a slightly worn sailor's leather jacket and a sailor's hat, standing under a streetlamp outside the window looking in.

Gunie looked at Martel.

'You keep eating, I have to go out for something.'

'Okay, Captain.' Martel quickly swallowed the food in his mouth and nodded in response.

…

A few minutes later.

In an especially quiet small alley.

Yasen Howell handed a small card to Gunie.

'This is the place Feathered Serpent Edward is highly likely to go tonight.'

'This location is the villa of a wealthy merchant. The merchant travels by sea all year round, and somehow his witch wife got involved with Feathered Serpent Edward.'

'At the same time, Feathered Serpent Edward is accompanied by two fifth-rank transcendent experts, very powerful.'

'And Feathered Serpent Edward himself is also a transcendent of the fifth rank, with a star rank not low, at five stars.'

'As a pirate, what he values most is survival and escape ability.'

'He has at least several secret pattern-level scrolls and magic gold-level shields and other equipment on him.'

'It's almost impossible to kill him in a short time.'

'Don't worry about that.' Gunie smiled.

Then Gunie put away the card and looked at Yasen Howell.

'By obtaining the trace of Feathered Serpent Edward, will your identity be exposed?'

'I disguised myself as another guy to get this identity. I also used a good treasure to avoid detection; even if they try to investigate, they won't find out.'

'Besides, these pirates are not like the transcendents of the major powers.'

'They don't have strong organizational mobilization capabilities, nor do they have powerful detection or divination methods.'

'Once Feathered Serpent Edward dies, most of his subordinates will likely scatter and look for another boss.'

'And as the one gathering resources for Old Duke, if Feathered Serpent dies, it will definitely have some impact on Duke.'

'Perhaps Old Duke might be the first to collapse in the battle with Kama.'

'By then, Old Duke won't even be able to protect himself, let alone avenge his son.'

'Hmm, that's true.' Gunie nodded slightly.

'Go eat, then go to the usual place and wait for my news.'

'Mm!'

Then, Gunie turned and quickly disappeared into the darkness.

Watching Gunie's back, Yasen narrowed his eyes.

'The gap between third rank and fifth rank is no small matter.'

'What kind of confidence and terrifying means does this guy have to dare do such a thing?'