The sound of a horn echoed as a steamship, slightly larger than the Unicorn, approached.

  Seeing the white triangle insignia on the ship, Charles immediately recognized the identity of the newcomers.

  Before long, a plank was laid between the two vessels, and a nervous Kader hurried across it. “Where’s the sea chart? Did you find it?”

  When Charles nodded, Kader’s face lit up with joy. “By the sun god’s blessing! After all these years, we’ve finally found the Land of Light! Show it to me!”

  Charles remained silent, watching the excited old man with no intention of retrieving the chart.

  “Captain Charles! What are you waiting for? Hurry and get the chart!” Kader grew increasingly anxious.

  “What right do you have to see it? That night, it was because your people didn’t act that Gerald fell so quickly. Everything you said was a lie, wasn’t it? Your goal was to have us do your bidding while you risked nothing. A clever scheme.”

  Kader’s expression shifted rapidly before he sighed in resignation. “I really did send people; you have to believe me.”

  “Do you think I’m a fool? I have a vampire among my crew, and I specifically instructed him to turn into a bat and stay above Sodom until the plan was over. He never saw any followers of the Light emerge!”

  Charles looked at Kader with disdain. He had considered that Gerald might face unexpected challenges, but he never imagined Kader would be the one to hold back. Truly, one should not judge by appearances.

  “Are you going to give it to me or not?” Kader’s previously amiable demeanor vanished, replaced by a menacing glare.

  “Oh? Do you want to make a move?” Charles raised a finger, and the bandaged helmsman immediately sounded the horn. The crew of the Unicorn poured out, weapons in hand.

  The atmosphere became tense, with cannons on both ships turning to face each other, and the followers of the sun god also brandishing their weapons.

  “Even though I’m still heavily injured, I can still kill you,” Charles declared, removing his captain’s coat and revealing a black blade that had somehow appeared in his hand.

  Kader’s expression changed, but he sighed in resignation. “Of course my followers were disguised! If they went out openly, would I still be in Sodom? What do you want in exchange for the chart?”

  “Simple. You must compensate me for my losses. Because of you, I nearly died in Sodom.”

  Kader waved his hand, and the cannons slowly turned away. “What do you want? Relics? Echoes? Or special skills that can enhance power?”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Help me kill Sonny.”

  “Are you crazy? He’s one of our own! How can you ask me to do that?”

  “Don’t act so familiar. You said yourself you’re from the New Church and he’s from the Old Church. You don’t know him at all. Besides, he wanted to hire me to kill you back on Coral Island.”

  “Fine! I agree! Just show me the chart!” Kader’s face flushed with excitement.

  Charles remained silent, a knowing smile on his face. He had been fooled once; he wouldn’t be fooled again.

  “If you don’t show it to me now, how do I know you’re not lying? Maybe you never even found the chart!” Kader shouted in anger.

  Charles was too lazy to argue further and turned to walk toward the cabin. “Bring me Sonny’s head, or you won’t get the chart. Of course, you could also try to seize it by force and see if you can take it faster than I can destroy it.”

  As he entered the cabin, listening to the sound of the waves fading away, a smirk appeared on Charles’s lips. Kader had tacitly accepted this deal.

  Charles had been haunted by Sonny’s ambush. Since they dared to set a trap for him, he wouldn’t hesitate to return the favor when the opportunity arose.

  “Buddy, this is a great opportunity; we could extort a hefty sum from him. This deal is a massive loss.”

  Hearing the voice in his mind, Charles shook his head. “No, Sonny must die. The upcoming period is crucial for finding the surface entrance. If he’s alive, he’ll eventually ruin our plans.”

  “And…” Charles paused, turning to look at the girl who had just entered. “And as long as it’s real, funding won’t be an issue.”

  After saying this, Charles began to undress, startling Margaret, who instinctively wanted to flee. But remembering the sailors’ gazes outside, she hesitated, her hand gripping the door latch.

  “Don’t just stand there; come over and apply the medicine.”

  Hearing this, Margaret trembled as she moved closer. When she saw the wide, gaping wounds on his back, she gasped.

  The wounds, forcibly pulled together by metal, were seeping blood, and the grotesque scars covered almost his entire body, looking horrifying.

  Margaret couldn’t imagine how painful such severe injuries must be. She felt that even one of those scars could take her life.

  “Don’t just stand there; wipe the blood off first, then apply the medicine along the wounds,” Charles said, handing her a bottle of potion.

  Such tasks were usually for a doctor, but his rough hands were anything but gentle; applying the medicine felt like torture.

  As her hands touched his firm back, Margaret’s face flushed, her heart racing like a startled deer.

  “You’re the daughter of the governor of He Fang. How did you end up captured by pirates?”

  The girl’s hand trembled slightly. “I read some novels… They say adventures at sea are fun and exciting, so I sneaked out. It turns out it’s all a lie…”

  “You had a life that others could only dream of, yet you threw it away.”

  “Now I know the sea is too dangerous. I just want to go back and never return. There are no good people at sea! Sir, I’m not talking about you; you’re a good person.”

  A bitter smile appeared on Charles’s face. “You’re right; there are no good people at sea. Don’t come back again. Keep applying the medicine.”

  Time passed quickly at sea. When Charles and the others returned to Coral Island, a month had already passed. By then, his injuries had mostly healed, and he could move without bleeding profusely.

  The port area of Coral Island remained the same—chaotic and dark. Walking through the muddy, foul-smelling streets, Margaret instinctively leaned closer to him.

  Her soft body pressed against him, but Charles remained unmoved. Compared to the 500,000 echoes, he found the latter far more enticing.

  After settling the girl in a room next to his inn, Charles had just returned to his room when he heard a heavy knock on the door.

  Standing outside was the doctor, his ugly face unusually devoid of the usual madness and flamboyance. His lips were tightly pressed together, looking somewhat nervous, and he held a dead phone in his hand.