“Don’t be nervous, Captain,” Toureus said to Blackbeard as soon as he landed. “We’re not here for you.”

“Ha!” The moment he said that, Feng Bujue gave a dry laugh at the top of his lungs.

Because in that instant, he had read the subtext of that sentence—"We're here for Feng Bujue."

Actually… it wasn't just him. Everyone present knew it. Who told you to treat their companion like a dish?

“Let me see…” Blackbeard’s attitude was still calm. His gaze swept over the faces of the newcomers one by one, and he slowly recited, “Toureus… Idient… and a half-human, half-ghost thing…” He paused and sneered, “Hmph… I’m curious, what makes you think… that the few of you are enough to make me… nervous?”

The meaning of his words was also very clear—the strength of the three of you is below mine, so don't be too arrogant when talking to me.

“Captain, we have no intention of offending you.” At this moment, Kronon, whose status was relatively low, spoke, “In fact… there is no reason for us to be enemies.”

“But your companion, Weston… doesn’t seem to think so,” Honghu immediately interjected, afraid that things wouldn’t escalate.

“Ah… that guy…” Kronon responded calmly, “Indeed, this ‘North Island’ was designated by the ‘Master’ as Weston’s territory…” He paused for half a second, then changed the subject, “However, the magic circles on the island were all set up privately by Weston, and it was his own decision to attack you.” As he said that, he turned his head slightly and accurately located Weston's corpse in the pool of corpses and blood, "Now that he's dead, he's suffered the consequences of his own actions."

“But those Illusion Demon Church followers under him are your people, right?” Snow was also good at setting the tone. “The magic released by those guys caused considerable casualties on our side.”

“Those people…” Kronon scanned the dragon corpses around him again and said in a deep voice, “Aren’t they all dead?”

“So, according to you… is that the end of it?” A second later, Feng Bujue threw out a more constructive question.

“We don’t intend to avenge anyone; likewise… we don’t have to be responsible for anything they did,” Kronon replied. “We’re here…” He looked at Blackbeard again, “To discuss a deal with you, Captain.”

Before Blackbeard could respond, Feng Bujue seized the opportunity and retorted, “What’s there to talk about? If we kill all of you, we can do whatever we want.”

“You can state your terms first.” However, Blackbeard didn't buy it. He decisively ignored Jue Ge's words and responded to Kronon.

“Heh… it’s very simple.” Kronon smiled sinisterly, “Our target… is only Feng Bujue.” As he said that, his pale, terrifying pupils moved and fixed on Jue Ge. “We know that you, Captain, are here to retrieve the treasure. Here, I can promise… as long as you part ways with Feng Bujue here, we will never disturb any of your pirate crew’s actions.”

After saying these words, Kronon seemed to think that it wasn’t convincing enough. After two seconds, he added, “Captain, I think you are also very clear… that Otherworld Travelers are basically untrustworthy; only they know what their ‘true purpose’ is. Keeping such a group of guys around is like carrying a knife at your back at any time…”

“You don’t need to say anymore.” Blackbeard didn't listen any further. He directly interrupted the other party and said, "Your proposal… is very good."

“Hey, hey…” Before he could finish speaking, Snow had already started complaining, “He’s turning his back on us so quickly.”

“Before, I promised to cooperate with you in order to have you help me deal with the obstacles I might encounter in treasure hunting.” Blackbeard turned his head and said, "But now it seems that the target of that obstacle is not me, but you guys…" He paused, "That half-human, half-ghost thing… is very reasonable. The positions of you Otherworld Travelers are likely to change at any time. Keeping you around… will only increase hidden dangers."

“You can’t say that, right…” Honghu hadn’t given up yet. He didn’t want to give up on Blackbeard’s thigh so easily. “We three are untrustworthy, but are they three… and their so-called ‘master’ trustworthy?”

Blackbeard laughed, “Heh… of course not.” He replied in a matter-of-fact tone, “But they and you are fundamentally different…”

“I see…” Feng Bujue heard this and had already finished calculating Blackbeard’s debt in his mind, “Their ‘strength’ is out in the open… Even if they don’t keep their promise, you have the confidence to control the situation. But… the ‘strength’ and even the logic of our Otherworld Travelers are difficult for you to estimate… The word ‘unknown’ often means infinitely great risks.”

“Good, worthy of being Feng Bujue,” Blackbeard replied, “Since you understand…” At this point, he showed the smile that a pirate, a rogue, and a vicious villain should have, “Heh heh… I don’t think you’ll blame me.” After saying that, he turned his face to Kronon and the others, “The three of you… these kids will be left to you to deal with.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Blackbeard put away the sword in his hand and shouted without looking back, "Vogg, Nesru, the Mark brothers, take Mad Eye and follow me."

When those officers saw this scene, they simply exchanged glances and immediately did as they were told. Obviously, they didn't feel any surprise or shame at this kind of "transaction"; for pirates, this degree of "selling out teammates" was simply commonplace—the story of "today you are a rich captain, tomorrow you will be sitting in a wooden barrel and thrown onto a desert island by your men to wait for death" is also very common in pirate circles. Therefore, people in this business can’t be too principled or too serious… Only by adhering to the principle of "a merry life while it lasts" can they adapt to this volatile pirate life.

“Ah~ he really left…” Looking at the backs of those leaving, Snow drawled, sighing in a helpless tone.

“Has it become a three-on-three situation…” Honghu adjusted his glasses and replied in a deep voice.

“How about we split up and run?” When smart people talk, there’s no need to be verbose. Snow succinctly put forward a tactic.

“It’s meaningless. Their only target is me. They won’t split their forces just because we separate,” Feng Bujue replied.

“Eh?” Honghu thought of something at this moment, “Doesn’t that mean… we can just run away now and leave you to them?”