Pirate Bay had fallen into utter madness under the frenzied assault of the Death Monks.
This place had once been a pirate paradise, naturally fortified and nearly impregnable; even the Tidal Empire’s navy had rarely dared attack it. Yet now, creatures far more terrifying than any navy had arrived.
Earlier, Captain Sea Dragon had seen countless ships outside the bay, but only one Death Monk vessel entered. For an army that possessed immortal bodies, a single ship was more than enough to annihilate the entire settlement.
That colossal ship dwarfed ordinary small and medium pirate craft. Unable to dock, it anchored in the centre of the bay. Over a hundred Death Monks leapt from the deck. Unafraid of the sea, they crawled along the seabed and stormed ashore, beginning a slaughter of drunken and sleeping pirates.
Still, pirates were the vilest scum alive; they did not fall easily. By the time Ye Chui’s group reached the most prosperous street, several powerful pirates had already formed defensive circles, desperately holding back the endless, unkillable Death Monk horde.
The battle was brutal. Screams rose without cease. Pirates fell in droves, while their own attacks barely scratched the Death Monks. Chaos reigned. For some reason a small tavern suddenly burst into roaring flames. A burning drunk shrieked as he stumbled out and flung himself into the sea beside it, only to leap up again, roaring, pursued by a pack of Death Monks that swiftly tore him apart.
Ye Chui’s eyes stayed fixed on his grimoire. Debbie had already summoned the Gold-Cryst Swordswoman Gilga. Green, Guni, Salome, Freya, and Celc stood around him, weapons ready, guarding him from interruption. The three Dragon Turtle treasures protected the terrified Stari, who kept staring at the nearby Rose Inn, shouting “Elizabeth!” at the top of his lungs. No answer came.
Ye Chui’s companions carved a path through the Death Monks and reached the defensive circle formed by the other pirates.
“Ye Chui, are you done yet?” Debbie asked, dodging another pounce.
“Almost, just a moment…” Ye Chui answered without looking up.
His iPad grimoire currently displayed the WeChat’s QR-code face-scanning interface. Bright flashes occasionally lit the screen as Ye Chui swept the camera across the faces of surrounding Death Monks. Thanks to the iPad’s overwhelming performance, a single pass was enough to register each face. One by one, the Death Monks were added to his WeChat friends list.
In short, Ye Chui was busy adding every Death Monk as a contact.
Most of the Death Monks were gathered here.
Ye Chui and company had reached the pirates’ side. Many of those pirates had witnessed Ye Chui casually slaughter several of their own earlier and knew his strength. They crowded close, treating proximity to Ye Chui as the safest place to be.
Then a panicked, terrified voice screamed, “It’s him! He’s the one who lured the Death Monks here!”
Ye Chui looked up.
The speaker was none other than Captain Sea Dragon!
Sea Dragon had tried to sneak away earlier, only to encounter the Death Monk fleet. After jumping overboard, he had swum back ashore in terror and was now shivering among the other pirates, pointing a trembling finger at Ye Chui’s group.
His words made the surrounding pirates turn cold gazes on Ye Chui.
“They aren’t even real pirates! This is their first time at sea! Their ship flew a black sail and suffered a shipwreck today, those are the cursed ships! They’re actually noble children, so the Death Monks must have followed them here! They arrived today, and tonight the Death Monks attacked. That proves it!”
Sea Dragon shouted hysterically, “Hand them over and the Death Monks will leave!”
“Captain Pippi Xia, what did you just say?” Ye Chui asked, faint anger in his voice.
“I’m Captain Sea Dragon, Sea Dragon! Not Pippi Xia!” Sea Dragon roared, waving his arms wildly. “Grab them! Give them to the Death Monks and the monsters will go away!”
His words clearly incited the crowd.
Pirates had no honour. They would sell their own kin for profit. Several already aimed weapons at Ye Chui’s group.
Though uneven in skill, a few were strong swordsmen or mages.
Even those who had sought shelter near Ye Chui now backed away.
“Why are they like this?” Debbie muttered, baffled.
“That’s just how pirates are,” Stari said helplessly under his breath. He stayed beside Ye Chui’s group, eyes still searching for Elizabeth.
“Pirates will be pirates,” Ye Chui sighed softly. He looked at the hostile pirates and smiled coldly. “You’re sure you want to raise weapons against me?”
“Sea Dragon is right! Handing you over will make the Death Monks leave! Those cursed horrors never attacked Pirate Bay before, why did they come the very day you arrived?” a one-armed pirate shouted furiously.
“Kill them!”
“Give them to the Death Monks!”
Others joined the chorus.
“Very well. You want to kill or capture me? Fine, but first let me deal with these Death Monks.” Ye Chui’s cold laugh rang out. His voice was not loud, yet every pirate fell silent, leaving only the Death Monks’ roars. Many heard him clearly but could not understand what he meant by “deal with these Death Monks.”
Ye Chui’s gaze returned to his grimoire. WeChat now showed over a hundred new friends.
All Death Monks.
Then, with a tap, he group-sent a voice message.
A track enhanced by iPad BGM: “Restless Heart”!
The next instant, every Death Monk that had been savagely attacking pirates froze. Expressions of agony twisted their rotting faces. They clutched their heads and howled.
“What is this sound? Stop it, make it stop…”
“AAAAAARGH, I can’t take it!”
“Such terrifying screams…”
“Restless Heart” was merely an internet divine song. Its peculiar style normally only made listeners anxious and unsettled. Nothing more. But now, broadcast through Ye Chui’s iPad with full BGM enhancement directly into their minds, it became something else entirely.
The BGM effect: mental collapse!
Thanks to WeChat’s group-send function, the song rang inside every Death Monk’s skull, impossible to block. Far worse than hearing it through ears, the piercing “yi-yi-ya~” soprano swallowed their thoughts, drowned their reason, and tangled with their very souls without end.
“AAAAAAAHHHH—”
Minutes later, one Death Monk let out a despairing roar. Its body collapsed into loose sand.
“I can’t bear it anymore—”
“I don’t want to live—”
“Mummy, I miss you—”
The Death Monks surrounding them toppled like dominoes, bodies disintegrating.
Immortal Death Monks, unable to endure the overwhelming psychological torment, lost the will to exist and annihilated themselves in despair.
In mere minutes, over a hundred unkillable Death Monks were driven to suicide by Ye Chui’s demonic sound bombardment!
The watching pirates: “…”
Silently, they lowered the weapons that had been pointed at Ye Chui’s group and put on their friendliest, most reverent smiles.
Ye Chui swept an icy gaze across them.
The look sent chills through every pirate’s bones.
Captain Sea Dragon instinctively tried to shrink behind others, but the pirates suddenly closed ranks, leaving him no escape. One even shoved him forward into Ye Chui’s line of sight.
“Captain Casually-Named, please…” Sea Dragon whimpered, knees buckling to the ground.
Ye Chui had not originally intended to kill him, but Sea Dragon’s attempt to incite the crowd against him had crossed the line. Ye Chui turned away, no longer looking at the captain, and faced the bay instead.
Sea Dragon thought he had been spared and began to smile in relief, when suddenly, buzz. Several pirates’ swords flew uncontrollably, swish swish swish, piercing Sea Dragon’s body in an instant!
Magnetic magic!
The pirates’ awe of Ye Chui’s terrifying power deepened yet again.
Although Ye Chui’s QR-code sweep had added most Death Monks as friends, a few had escaped, howling in terror as they fled toward the great ship anchored in the bay.
That ship had already realised something was wrong and was rapidly trying to leave the ring-shaped harbour.
“Think you can run? Not that easy.” Ye Chui’s voice was ice. He strode to the water’s edge, crouched, and plunged both hands into the sea.
Advanced Ice Spell: [Apocalypse Frost]!
Originally just a spell to create extreme cold, but after studying Persha’s ice magic, Ye Chui could now control its power perfectly. As the spell activated, the sea before him instantly froze. Terrifying cold raced toward the great ship, forming a path of ice across the water.
Death Monks still floundering in the sea were instantly encased in ice sculptures.
The great ship slowed, then stopped entirely. The water beneath it had become iron-hard ice. Frost crept upward. The remaining Death Monks on deck panicked, trying to leap overboard, but before they could reach the rail they froze solid.
The pirates of the bay stared, dumbfounded.
Ye Chui and his companions stepped onto the frozen path and walked toward the Death Monk flagship.
“ROOOOAR—”
Little chubby Dragon Treasure leapt into the sky, transforming into a soaring dragon. She opened her jaws and breathed rolling flames that lit half the night sky.
Stari took the chance to sprint toward the Rose Inn, shouting Elizabeth’s name, searching for the girl he grew up with. He found nothing until, crash, a table leaning against the wall was shoved aside. A dishevelled Calia crawled out. Seeing Stari, she cried anxiously, “Elizabeth was taken… by a Death Monk with a red beard!”
