"Quick, after him!"
"Move it, search inside!"
"Search this area quickly!"
"Don't let the culprit who assassinated Marquis Bohr get away!"
Noisy voices could be heard from afar, accompanied by the footsteps of a large group of people, as if they were chasing a fugitive.
"Cough, cough, cough~"
"I finally got away, but I have to escape this island as well, or they'll find me eventually. And I can't leave these injuries untreated..."
Death Gun adjusted the half-broken black mask on his face, a streak of blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. He was carrying his sniper rifle and running wildly through a dark alley. Beside him was a half-man-sized black wolfdog that had two bleeding bullet wounds on its body.
Death Gun's clothes were tattered and soaked in blood from the several bullet holes in his body. There was also a deep slash on his back, as if he had been cut by a sharp blade. Although he had contracted his muscles to stop the bleeding, the previous blood loss had made his steps weak.
After all, he was a long-range sniper, not a close-combat expert with a strong body. The fact that he could still run while so heavily wounded showed that he usually trained his body and sharpened his physical strength. Otherwise, an ordinary person would have died long ago.
He twisted and turned through the dark alleys. Luckily, he had studied the terrain here before tonight, or he wouldn't have known the way. He also didn't dare to ascend with his mount, since the surrounding high ground was occupied by those World Government agents, which included accurate marksmen and close-combat experts protecting them.
Death Gun had tried to escape by flying up with his mount, but he was shot down. The two bullet holes on the wolfdog's body came from that attempt. If he hadn't used the houses for cover, he would have been killed on the spot.
"What terrible luck."
Death Gun muttered to himself. Everything about tonight was strange. He was only supposed to assassinate a marquis from an ordinary kingdom, but he was discovered as soon as he snuck into the palace's banquet hall. Then, he was ambushed by so many high-level World Government CP agents.
He had investigated the target's identity beforehand, and the target's relationship with the World Government was not close enough to warrant the deployment of so many CP agents.
This meant that someone was targeting him, and that person must have an extremely close relationship with the World Government. Otherwise, they couldn't have mobilized so many agents. It was even possible that the person was a high-ranking official in the World Government itself.
He had assassinated World Government officials and nobles and merchants connected to them before, so it was normal for him to be retaliated against. However, very few people should have known his identity and whereabouts. For someone to go to such great lengths, they must have been a person of extremely high status.
Thinking about this, a troubled expression appeared on Death Gun's face, which was hidden by his mask. He frowned and touched the Den Den Mushi in his arms. He muttered, "If they get involved, there shouldn't be any problems, but..."
He was very wary of the World Government. If these CP agents had been deployed, they wouldn't let him go so easily. The CP organization's notorious reputation was loathed and feared by both the underworld and pirates. Wasn't it the CP agents who got the great pirate Byrnndi World more than twenty years ago?
And that was a famous top-tier powerhouse of the world. Below Byrnndi World, there were countless pirates, gangsters, killers, nobles, and merchants who had been hunted down and killed by these hyena-like agents.
"Whatever. If I can escape, great. If they keep chasing me, I'll just become his subordinate. What's the big deal?" Making up his mind, Death Gun tightened his grip on his sniper rifle and continued to run.
....
A week later, New World, a certain sea area.
A three-masted, wolf-headed battleship sailed on the sea. The waves crashed against its sides, but couldn't shake it. The massive size of over a hundred meters long and twenty meters high still felt intimidating to the average person.
On the deck, two deck chairs were set up under a large sun umbrella. A small round table next to them was filled with juice and pastries.
"So~ we've encountered quite a few ships since we entered this sea area," a lazy voice said. Oliver was lying on a deck chair, his eyes half-closed, looking very relaxed.
Aeridar, next to him, was chewing on a straw and mumbled, "It seems that guy invited a lot of people. I think I saw a World Government ship, too. My eyes weren't playing tricks on me, were they?"
"By the way, you brought that woman along. Aren't you afraid she'll cause trouble?" Oliver said, pointing his lips forward with a hint of schadenfreude.
On the bow of the ship, a green-haired woman with the temperament and beauty of an elf was leaning against the railing. She was wearing a light green sundress and a dark green coat.
She seemed to feel Oliver's gaze, immediately turned her head, and glared at him.
"See~" Oliver said, shrugging indifferently.
"And you have the nerve to say that."
A vein popped on Aeridar's forehead as he looked at Oliver with a twitching mouth.
"What did I do?" Oliver asked, giving Aeridar an innocent look.
"..."
Aeridar was speechless.
Damn it, your face is so thick. How am I only just discovering this side of you now?
Originally, when she was brought before Aeridar, Betilla was too proud and didn't want to surrender. But then Mina, who was also a woman, persuaded her. Betilla was moved and, although unwilling, she eventually agreed to join the Chris Pirates since she didn't want to die like this.
After Betilla agreed, her Seastone chains were removed. Then, Oliver suddenly said, "Being good at swordsmanship is useless. Women have no backbone."
Immediately, the already frustrated and unwilling Betilla exploded with anger, rushing to beat up Oliver. Even Mina couldn't stop her. By the time Aeridar reacted and intervened, the room had already been destroyed.
Fortunately, neither of them had drawn their swords. Otherwise, a clash between two powerful swordsmen, even for just a few moves, would have been enough to severely damage the entire building.
In the end, it took Mina a long time to calm Betilla down. After finding out that Aeridar and Oliver were going to attend the auction hosted by the Golden Emperor Gildo Tesoro, Betilla also demanded to go, saying she wanted to find an opportunity to teach Oliver a lesson.
Aeridar had no choice. Since she agreed to join the Chris Pirates, they were all brothers and sisters. He had to agree to the request of his new family member. And it worked out perfectly, since Aeridar could keep an eye on her himself.
Because Dimitri and Gorbo had secretly gone to the Aznat battlefield, the only person with powerful combat strength in the city was the busy Arlan. If Betilla had caused any trouble, Arlan might not have been able to stop her in time.
It was a good thing that Aeridar took her with him to personally keep her under surveillance.
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