Mystery: The Last Shepherd

Chapter 528 Cleansing the Witch Cult, Searching for the Black Throne

"What are your plans next?"

Lu Ze suppressed the special properties released by the weak and unconscious Tracy and turned to Klein, "If you're not in a hurry, why don't you come to my ship for the victory celebration?"

“...Never mind.” Klein hesitated for a moment, then looked at the silent Azik in the distance, somewhat worried about his teacher. “I’ll stay with Mr. Azik for a while, and then I’ll go with him directly.”

"also."

Lu Ze glanced at Azik secretly, using his heightened senses to observe the latter's condition. He found that although Azik had become cold and heavy, his essential gentleness had not disappeared. "Then we'll see each other later. I'm leaving now; I need to meet up with my men."

The phrase "see you later" here naturally refers to the gray fog, where he would share a portion of the spoils with Klein.

Klein then followed Azik through the spirit world and left, while Luze dragged the two halves of the "Black Death" away into the distance.

Soon, he spotted his own fleet on the sea. They were spread out in a fan shape, surrounded by a larger number of pirate ships, led by ironclad warships. Judging from the flags on those ships, they were Tracy's men. Several of them were badly damaged and nearing the end of their lives.

The pirates, meanwhile, were huddled together on a single ship, their faces pointed at by the dark muzzles of guns and cannons.

"captain!"

Luzer's men cheered when they saw him dragging the wreckage of the Black Death. Meanwhile, the crew of "Admiral Disease" saw the captured Tracy, and their last hope vanished.

"Have they all been caught?"

Luzer landed on the deck of the "Hind" and asked First Officer Anderson.

“Look at what you’re saying, Captain. With me, a Sequence 5, leading the team, how could they possibly escape?” Anderson chuckled as he leaned in. “There were even two clever ones who were good swimmers who tried to jump ship and dive to escape, but I managed to pull them up.”

"So, what happened?"

Lu Ze raised his chin and pointed forward.

There, Sofia Einhorn stood atop a pile of treasure. She excitedly brandished an ivory dagger, proudly showing it off to the other pirates.

"Well, the princess insisted on joining the raid herself." Anderson was unusually embarrassed. "She said that since she was on a pirate ship, she should at least experience it. To be honest, I think she had a lot of fun today."

"."

Lu Ze shook his head. "Never mind, whatever."

"Captain, the inventory of the items seized from these ships has been completed. Here is the list."

Boatswain "Sea Serpent" Walter ran over and handed over a piece of parchment.

The sailors around him held their breath, watching him expectantly, waiting for him to speak.

Lu Ze looked down at the list.

Several thousand pounds in cash, numerous jewels, artillery ammunition, food supplies, various miscellaneous items, and several relatively intact pirate ships. The pirate general's wealth was not much; it was still somewhat less than that of the island governor. He quickly put down the parchment, looked around at everyone, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

"Yes, arrange for someone to ransack the Black Death over there as well, and add the spoils to the list," he said. "Following the old rules, confiscate the supplies and confiscate the cash and property for a celebratory feast tonight."

“Oh oh oh!”

The sailors had been waiting for these words, and they immediately raised their arms and cheered.

"As for those pirates, Anderson, have them tied up and kept under guard. Once we reach the shore, pack them up with 'General of Disease' and sell them all together," Lu Ze said.

I've killed enough pirates today, I'm too lazy to kill any more.

"Yes!"

Anderson and Walter responded.

That night, the fleet anchored near the hidden island where Admiral Disease and his crew had previously been hiding, and the crew held a grand celebratory dinner on the Hit. Loud cheers echoed through the dining hall, startling the birds resting on the island.

Lu Ze did not attend the banquet, but stayed in the captain's cabin to think about what to do next.

"Swipe!"

He quickly scribbled a list on the table in front of him. This was crucial intelligence that M had extracted from Tracy's memories:
"Mad Captain" Connors Victor. He has connections with many human traffickers in Backlund and is a key figure in the Witch Cult's slave transportation network. Chunas had mentioned him before, but Tracy's information was more detailed, even knowing where he was headed recently;
The "Enchantress" Lilith Elena is responsible for bewitching the island's natives, manipulating their will, and sending them to the ship;

"Crooked Mouth" Joey, an island native, uses his advantages to help the witch cult.
One name after another was written down by him, landing on the paper. Following each name was the other person's sphere of influence. It could only be said that Tracy, being a second-tier official, had connections with a large number of low-level personnel responsible for human trafficking, which was a huge help to Lu Ze.

After dealing with "General of Disease" and her pirates tomorrow, I'll go and wipe out these guys. Lu Ze thought to himself, those witches might receive a message from the White Saintess and escape, so they should be dealt with first. Next are the captains who pilot the transport ships; they have the means of rapid movement. Finally, those traitors who are harming their own people.

After thinking it through, he put away the parchment and spread out a larger sheet of white paper on the table.

"brush!"

A black key appeared in Lu Ze's palm. He pressed the back of his hand onto the paper and drew a black dot along the top of the key, recording the key's rotation once again. He had been doing this work intermittently since the ship docked in the afternoon, and now he had finally determined a fan-shaped angle.

Luze marked his current position on the nautical chart, and then precisely drew a fan-shaped shadow according to the direction, casting a large shadow that largely intersected with another fan-shaped shadow he had drawn earlier.

"I'm getting better."

He muttered to himself with burning eyes, "Although the area where the two fan-shaped regions intersect on the map is still very large, and the distance to the real world is a long one, at least my thinking is correct."

As long as we continue to record data at various locations at sea, this area will eventually shrink to an acceptable level.
Lu Ze thought to himself and put away the sea chart.

"Meow~"

In the darkness beneath the table, a pair of eyes glowing blue floated in mid-air, looking quite eerie; only the sounds they made were pleasant to hear.

Speaking of which, the Queen wrote him a letter earlier, telling him that she hoped they could meet one last time before she set off to find the Black Throne. Don't forget then.
As he thought this, he scooped the black cat out of the darkness and held it in his arms.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

On an island in the Sunya Sea.

"Lord Jax, was the ritual successful?"

"General of Blood," Señor asked respectfully, gazing at the altar covered with human heads, entrails, severed limbs, and blood.

"successful"

From within the curtains surrounding the altar, a cold voice said, "We await God's response."

(End of this chapter)