Writer's Note

Chapter 30: Retaliation

"What the hell happened here? Where's Garvin's head?" a pirate with a black trench coat and giant black hat frowned.

"The body seems without injury. The only thing wrong about it is the two long cuts on the neck. Whoever cut off Garvin's head was not the killer. Such an uneven cut, Garvin would have had more injuries before his head would get cut off. I don't detect any foreign substance, mana, or spirit energy within his body," another pirate captain frowned, their ships docked on the flanks of the wrecked ship.

"Captains, there are more bodies below deck. Sword wounds, claw marks, and bite marks are on all the bodies. Since more bodies were found near the window, I suspect people entered the ship from the commercial ship's window below deck. Spirit energy and massive damage was discovered on one of the mana cannons. Someone of the Meteor Vessel Stage of the Pangu Continent must have done it. No Elemental Adept can damage a mana cannon," a pirate reported.

"Most of the loots are gone too. Even some of the rum and wine are gone. There's also a corpse found in one of the prisoner cages, a hole the size of a watermelon in his chest," another pirate reported.

"Captain, the silver and black chest is gone," a third pirate reported.

"Fuck. Whoever killed the prisoner managed to find out about the key. Must have been fooled to thinking he'd be released and showed the key as insurance. Whoever killed him was cold-blooded enough to kill him and take the key. Might be the same guy who killed Garvin. As for Johnson's corpse, it's evident this person is also at the Element Adept Stage. However, why are there no wounds on Garvin?" one of the pirate captains pondered aloud.

"Who gives a shit, Garret. Bastard killed Garvin and took the chest. We had to ambush that secret envoy with all three ships of us brothers. Eldest brother was the weakest, but he was the most experienced. He would have checked the commercial ship to gauge the passenger and crew's cultivation, spirit energy or mana. They killed our brother, slaughtered his men, and stole his loot. We need to hoist the sails, man the oars, and kill them all," the other pirate captain roared. "Get ready to release the sea wolves."

"Gary, have you gone mad?! Those things cost a fortune and you want to waste them on a fucking merchant vessel?" Garret shouted. "The price of losing one...."

"means nothing compared to avenging our brother. Big bro is dead. I'm the head captain of our fleet now. Some of the sailors should be dead or injured. Our goal is to slow them down enough for a pincer attack with the mana cannons. Once we sink the ship, we'll know the face of the bastards who killed Garvin," Gary snarled.

"How do we know who killed him?" Garret asked.

Gary smiled maliciously and said, "They'll be the ones who survived and escaped to our ships. We kill the sailors, beat the men, rape the women, steal their stuff, and sell the good looking passengers to the highest bidder at Pirate Cove."

"Now that is a pretty picture. The women we captured from the envoy have started to lost the life in their eyes. I so love resistance and breaking hope and minds," Garret grinned. "You better reimburse me for the sea wolves, little brother."

"I'll let you have first pick of the women and 55% of the treasure," Gary grinned and the two pirate captains carefully and tenderly took their oldest brother's body and sunk the ship. Within a few minutes, they hoisted the sails and manned the oars, their killing intent focused solely on the merchant vessel.

--------Back on the Commercial Ship-------

"That reckless, merciless, narcissistic, psychotic, and dumb idiot," Mei cursed as she burst into her and Lingqi's cabin.

"You should calm down Mei. It already happened. You're a cultivator. You should understand the unspoken rule between those with power and those with less of it," Lingqi soothed as she sat on her bed. "Yes, he killed people. However, a lot more people would be dead without his plan of sending us to attack the pirates below deck by surprise. A lot more sailors would have died."

"Because of necromancy, he treated that pirate captain like a test subject. I heard that scream. We all did. I remember the first time it happened. He played with souls again. This time, it was a lone soul's scream with an even more horrifying effect. He did not absorb traces of a soul. He did something to the pirate's complete soul. I can't say anything to him though. I also killed many more people at once," Mei sighed as she sat on her own bed with her back against the wall.

"We all killed innocent and guilty people. It all depends on how you view it," Lingqi said. "The only thing you have to ask yourself is if it was necessary. Did Lance kill them out of joy or amusement? No. He killed the sailors on deck because they witnessed something that could have blown his alias. However, what he did was expected of the World Serpent. There were many stories of him in the past. Most of them, made today's incident look as...tame...as a baby tossing its food at the wall."

"I did not know that stories of him existed outside of the Pangu Continent," Mei gasped, curious.

"Of course they did. It iis not every century that a creature attempts to ascend to the Immortal Realm. The amount of people who have are mostly human. Lance was the World Serpent, a magical beast snake considered the most powerful and the most dangerous in all of recorded history. It was also proof that any creature with hereditary memories has the possibility to ascend, making them more valuable to humans and demons alike. To most people, the World Serpent is a scourge of history and the creature reputed to kill the most humans in any one continent. To my people of the Eastern Continent, he was a living god and the embodiment of power, determination, and resolve."

"Tell me more," Mei asked, wonder in her heart.

"There is one story deemed credible as it came from an ancestor who originated in the Pangu Continent. Long ago, there was a giant golden snake with jade eyes and sand colored feathers on the back of its head. It was currently feasting on the body of a dragon, the dragon's corpse crushed as the snake's body was coiled around it. The dragon's head and body were already within its mouth," Lingqi began.

"A group of practitioners of the Earth Mortal Stage saw the dragon and snake and greed crept into their hearts. They numbered forty two strong and were members of the sect of the nearby city. The dragon's blood, alone, was worth tens of thousands of bone demon coins. To see such a creature in being devoured by a snake of gold, how could greed not cloud their judgment and take hold of their hearts. They assumed a grand formation and attacked the snake as it finished feeding on its wings and began on the hind legs and tail. The dragon's lower body was destroyed and a single scale of the snake cracked as fire, water, wind, and light crashed onto its head," Lingqi continued.

"The World Serpent roared in anger, its meal ruined. It destroyed the mountain and buried the practitioners in its wake. How could they stop a creature at the peak Sky Mortal Stage? Its anger still not sated, it turned its attention to the city. It roared and spoke in human tongue. It spoke of how humans were blinded by greed and that their arrogance had a price. The World Serpent said it would be their last and final lesson. Those outside the city watched with dread as the snake slithered to the city and created pillars of earth and boulders of water. The land shook and the sky cried rain without clouds. The World Serpent was the unquestioned sovereign of water and earth. It had no equal and destroyed eight more cities before it vanished without a trace. That, Mei, is true destruction. What Lance did today was necessary. What the World Serpent did, was not," Lingqi said as she finished her tale.

"So, my brother did all that. He told me of his younger days. What you said must be true. He was a gold snake with jade eyes and sand colored feathers. He's different now. Whether that's good or bad, we need to make sure he doesn't become what he once was. Immortals should pursue power, but they must also value and respect life. He does not believe that," Mei sighed and gazed at the roof.

"You can change his heart, but his soul remains. If he truly is the World Serpent, he chose reincarnation instead of ascension. However, that does not mean his soul is human. Only half is and I believe, in the last few days, those halves merged into one complete soul," Lingqi said. "Changes are evident, but there is no telling what changed and what didn't. Right now, we conserve our strength. Lance said he detected two ships with his spirit sense. That means they will come. If my thoughts are correct, these pirates might send sea wolves after us."

"Sea wolves?" Mei frowned. "What are those?"

"Dangerous...things....neither living nor dead. They are the scourge of the Southern Continent. They are very expensive and only those at the Meteor Vessel Stage equivalent can harness their power. If Lance detected two ships, that means they were friendly. We're not dealing with regular pirates. We're dealing with a small fleet," Lingqi said. "We need to get to Lance. He has affinity to water. He's the only one who can stop the sea wolves."

Mei nodded and the two girls ran towards Lance's room. Lance was currently meditating, many ideas swirling within his mind as he recovered his spirit energy and mana. He had many ideas with what to do with the soul flame. As the room swayed with the ship, he felt himself becoming one with ship. He felt his body sway with the waves. There was mana within the waves, within the ocean. He let his senses flow and tried to connect his mana with the mana of the ocean.

"Lance! Lance!" a voice cried, Lance wrinkling his brows as his mind was disrupted from the trance. He narrowed his eyes at the two teens who barged in.

"What are you doing? I said not to disturb me," Lance growled, the panther baring its fangs at Mei and Lingqi.

"We have a problem. I suspect the pirates might send sea wolves after us," Lingqi said.

"Sea wolves?" Lance said, tilting his head in confusion. "What are those?"

"Water spirits. They are mana given form and life in accordance to an element. They are the work of mages known as summoners. They transform their mana and assimilate it to an element, giving it life. Those spirits are held within special orbs and sold for hundreds or thousands of gold demon coins. Sea wolves are one of the more common ones. They run atop the water's surface as if it were the ground. The only way to destroy them is to disrupt the water that makes up their bodies. Each of them has a Mage's Mark inside that acts like a magical beast core. Destroy the mark, destroy them permanently," Lingqi explained.

"So what's the problem? Why need me specifically?" Lance frowned.

"The marks never stay in one place. They swirl inside the spirit in an unpredictable pattern. Only someone with affinity to water can attempt to manipulate the sea wolves and halt the mark long enough to allow people to destroy it," Lingqi said.

"Wait, you Mage's Mark. Does that mean I have one too?" Lance asked. "Can I replace the mark with my own?"

"It is possible. Only a summoner can create a spirit, but no one uses spirits against another mage as they could be stolen," Lingqi answered and gasped. "You mean to take one for your own, but it consumes a lot of mana to change a Mage's Mark into your own."

"What about a soul containing the mana of its previous life?" Lance grinned.

"Another experiment?" Mei shouted.

"Either I test it on the water spirit and destroy the soul in the process, or I store it inside a golem to make it an indestructible tool for all time. Even with my death, it will not be destroyed and become a living statue. The soul is completely aware, but unable to do anything. Would you have me doom the soul for all eternity?" Lance grinned. "Whose idea is the greater evil? Yours or mine?"

"Sea wolves! I see sea wolves five nauts out!" a sailor cried, Lingqi and Mei's face darkening at the news.

"Well, we can discuss moral dilemmas later. Right now, my plan stands," Lance laughed as he raced to the deck.

"In oars! Close or bar all the windows. Force the sea wolves to attack from the deck! We need all fighters and sailors to defend the ship! If there are any with affinity to water, we need your help or we all die!" the new captain roared, many passengers cursing the rotten luck they have on this voyage.

"Eight sea wolves spotted! 2 nautical miles out! One and a half now," the lookout cried.

"Since I have my panther, I need two. One to experiment and another for assistance in battle. I cannot expose my practitioner arts and haven't learned to mix my martial arts with mana yet," Lance ordered as the panther, Lingqi, and Mei arrived behind him.

"They're here!" a sailor cried as growls sounded all over the ship. The ship tilted as several strong impacts landed on the port and starboard sides of the ship. After a few more impacts, geysers shot into the air and revealed eight wolves made entirely of water as they landed on the deck.

"Destroy their Mage's Mark!" the captain cried, the sailors using the guns they took from the pirates. However, the bullets could not penetrate the dense water of the sea wolves. The Mage's Mark within the sea wolves were glistening runes of light that indeed moved within the water spirit in an unpredictable pattern. The blood of the sailors sprayed into the air as the sea wolves clawed and bit them, their blood even entering the sea wolves.

"Water magic is mostly defensive, but water spirits are nearly invincible because of it. The blood will only make their defenses even stronger," Lingqi said.

"The sea wolves are only targeting the sailors. The Mage's Mark must allow them to be controlled. Not only will their defense heighten, the pirates' goal is to slow our ship down by reducing the number of sailors. We need to stop them now!" Lance said and the other three burst forward, clashing with the sea wolves.

Lance had his lava chains appear, a sickening smile on his face. He reached out and wrapped one of the sea wolves with the lava chain. As the sea wolf assumed it could escape, the water of its body had made contact with the lava. The lava hardened and prevented the wolf from escaping. Lance lashed out with his other lava chain, the Mage's Mark destroyed as the chain whipped unpredictably.

"When a chain or whip cracks, they start slow and then accelerate as they strike. How could its path be predicted," Lance smiled as the water spirit fell apart and became a puddle of water on the deck.

"Get off me!" Mei roared as two wolves bit into her legs. Light radiated from her body, turning the head of the sea wolves into steam. As the water spirits attempted to regenerate their heads, their form became smaller. Mei shouted as she lifted her sword, light cascading the deck as she slammed it at her feet. A globe of light emanated from where her sword pierced the deck, the intensity of the light destroying the two water spirits utterly.

Lingqi and the panther were not at the Meteor Vessel Stage and had a harder time dealing with the sea wolves. Lingqi wielded two daggers, but her main element was fire and wind. Her fire was easily doused when slashing the sea wolves and her wind only disrupted the makeup of the bodies of the sea wolves, the sea wolves regenerating to the same size as the amount of water was not reduced.

As Mei was consumed with rage, she quickly assaulted another sea wolf that was slightly crimson in color. It was evident the sea wolf had killed or injured a lot of sailors. Lance only smiled as he used the mana in his body to penetrate the body of one of the sea wolves he caught with a lava chain. As the sea wolf abandoned its left hind leg to escape, it shrunk and there was less area for the Mage's Mark to swirl in.

"Curious," Lance muttered as his mana made contact with the Mage's Mark, forcing the water spirit still. "These summons are like my bone minions. However, they also possess their own mind and stop attacking to preserve their own life. There's a pirate holding an orb on one of the two ships. He can't see through their eyes, but he can spread his spirit or mana sense through the sea wolves. Interesting. Break for me!"

"NOOO!" a human voice cried from the Mage's Mark as it twisted and changed form and color. Previously the color of azure, it was now cyan in color. The Mage's Mark appeared in the form of a human skull, noting the type of mage who now owned the water spirit.

In order to finalize his control, Lance took out the soul flame of the pirate captain and consumed it. Mana surged within his body and he directed it inside the sea wolf. The sea wolf surged with power and became even larger than it had been before it arrived. Lance smiled as he felt an incredibly new feeling. It was no wonder the water spirits were expensive. He felt as if he were the sea wolf. He could feel the deck beneath its feel as if it were his own feet. The mana sense of the sea wolf was even greater than his own, a feeling of an ancient power held within it.

"It's as if I've become the water," Lance laughed and turned to another sea wolf. "I must have more!"

---------On Garret's Ship--------

"NOOOO!" the pirate captain cried as he lost another connection to his eight sea wolves. However, he felt it was because of a mage. A mage capable of controlling water actually overwrote the Mage's Mark of the summoner he paid to possess the sea wolves. His face paled and his heart broke as he lost all eight of his sea wolves.

"FUCK!" he screamed at the Heavens.

"Captain?" his first mate asked nervously.

"Take out the communication bead and tell my little brother I only slayed a third of the remaining sailors. He owes me eight sea wolves and the top five women on that fucking ship! Tell the men to haul oars, even the fights. I want us to attack the flanks on that ship and blast it to the Nether Realm! NOW!" the pirate captain roared.

"Aye, Cap," the first mate said and turned to the rest of the pirate crew. "Get your asses on those oars before I gut you with my sword and throw you overboard you useless lot!"

"That fucking chest better be worth my older brother's life and the cost of eight sea wolves," the captain snarled as he grabbed a pirate by the collar. "Bring me two of the women from the convoy and drag them into my cabin. I need to calm my mind by fucking them. As we draw close, aim the mana cannons at their sails and guide the ship to their port side. As my brother's ship arrives on their starboard side, destroy that ship with every mana cannon we got."

"What about their loot and rum? The women?" the pirate asked before the captain roared with rage and broke his neck before throwing him overboard. "You! Over there! I know damn well you heard the words coming out of me mouth! Get to it!"

"Captain," the pirate stuttered and hurried to the first mate to relay the orders.