"You must have noticed it too, right?" After traveling a bit further through the forest, Mad-Eye suddenly spoke up to the group behind him. "Even with these 'shackles' on, I’ve already spotted 'those guys'... There’s no way you haven’t realized it yet."
"Yeah, we noticed a while ago," replied Feng Bujue, who was following Mad-Eye, his tone relaxed. "We’re still within the range of their 'surveillance array,' so it’s only natural we’re being watched to this extent."
"Then why are you all still advancing so nonchalantly?" Mad-Eye asked. "Aren’t you afraid they’ll hit us with another explosive array?"
"Hah..." Blackbeard, walking further back, let out a cold laugh. "And what do you suggest we do instead?"
Mad-Eye glanced back at him. "Obviously, we should go into the woods and kill every last one of those stalkers."
"Killing them... wouldn’t be hard," said Honghu, who hadn’t spoken in a while. "If I wanted to, I could wipe out every tracker in these woods within ten seconds." He paused, then continued, "But doing that would be pointless... because they’re no longer a threat to us."
"What do you mean, 'no threat'?" Mad-Eye questioned.
"Isn’t it obvious?" Honghu replied. "If they wanted to attack us again, they would’ve done so already. But why are they sneaking around like this? There’s only one explanation..."
"...That magic attack earlier was probably the strongest move they could muster," Snow chimed in, explaining to Mad-Eye. "In fact, they might not even be able to pull it off a second time in such a short span. So, faced with enemies who 'took their ultimate attack and walked it off,' all they can do now is tail us from the shadows."
"So what?" Mad-Eye countered. "Even if these guys have temporarily given up on attacking us, they’re still enemies. If you’re too lazy to kill them, at least grab a few for interrogation!"
"Hmph..." Blackbeard snorted again. "Fine, let’s see how Captain Mad-Eye’s idea plays out."
No sooner had he spoken than Blackbeard slowly raised an arm, extending it sideways, his palm open before suddenly clenching into a fist.
In that instant, a muffled groan came from the woods, followed by a figure being yanked out as if pulled by a giant magnet—straight into Blackbeard’s grasp.
The captive wore a dull, hooded robe, his face beneath the hood pale as a zombie and grotesque as a beast.
"Mm—" The man groaned in Blackbeard’s grip but didn’t utter a single word.
The group took a closer look and immediately noticed something: his mouth had been sewn shut.
His lips were pierced through with a thick metal wire, roughly stitched together in a way even an amateur could tell was crude.
"Judging by the wound... this wasn’t done recently," Feng Bujue remarked casually.
"Neslow," Blackbeard called to his subordinate, then tossed the captive toward him without another word.
Neslow caught the man effortlessly, pinning him to the ground. Then, pulling a small knife from somewhere on his person, he sliced through the stitches with a speed even Feng Bujue found impressive—precisely severing the wires without nicking the lips.
"Answer our questions if you want to live," Neslow said coldly, his murderous intent palpable. He was in a foul mood—his appearance, paired with his "Watermelon Prince" haircut, was embarrassingly ridiculous. While others might not care, it bothered him deeply.
"Ah... rArA... Bu ah... Ha..." But when the captive opened his mouth, another grim truth was revealed: his tongue was long gone.
"That’s brutal..." Even Mr. Vogue couldn’t help but comment on the sight.
"Wait... this doesn’t make sense," Snow said, catching onto something. "I get cutting out a subordinate’s tongue to prevent leaks, but why sew the mouth shut afterward?"
"Hmm..." Honghu mused. "It does seem redundant. And it would make eating and drinking..."
"Ah... gah... ha..." As they spoke, the captive suddenly convulsed in pain, his throat emitting strange, distant-sounding noises.
Recognizing the danger, the highly experienced Mr. Vogue quickly pulled Neslow back, putting distance between him and the captive.
Sure enough, the moment Neslow retreated, the transformation began.
In the blink of an eye, as eerie, escalating noises echoed from nowhere, the captive’s chest swelled grotesquely before exploding outward.
From the burst of blood and shattered bone emerged a dragon-like head, the size of a rhino’s, followed by a long neck, claws, body, wings, and tail...
In seconds, a four-meter-tall, nine-meter-long (head to tail) draconic beast had fully emerged from the humanoid corpse.
Clearly, it hadn’t been inside the body—it had used it as a portal, crawling out from another dimension.
By the time the creature fully materialized, the captive’s body had been reduced to a tattered, bloodied sack.
"Oh~ I get it now," Feng Bujue mused, his tone almost academic. "The tongue was removed to carve a triggerable mini-array in his mouth, and the stitches were magical conduits. Cutting them activated..."
"Are you done?!" Mad-Eye roared, cutting him off. "Who cares about that? Don’t you see this—"
Whoosh—
Perhaps because Mad-Eye had shouted, the draconic beast turned its attention toward him, swinging its massive tail in a sweeping strike.
The gust of wind forced Mad-Eye to turn, his eyes widening as the tail loomed larger in his vision, leaving him frozen in shock.
Thud!
Just as Mad-Eye thought he was done for, Mark Hoof stepped in, blocking the strike with his own body.
Skreech—
The impact sent Mark skidding backward, his hooves carving deep grooves into the ground. His expression tightened.
"Ugh..." Gritting his teeth, Mark spat out, "Can’t... hold it."
With that, he coughed up blood and collapsed sideways.
"Brother!" Mark Neckthick bellowed in rage, drawing his cutlass and charging at the beast.
"Careful!" Mr. Vogue shouted, rushing to assist. "It’s a 'Delusion Dragon'!"
Without hesitation, Neslow joined the fray. In moments, the three officers were locked in fierce combat with the beast, the surrounding forest and terrain crumbling rapidly under the force of their clash.
"A Delusion Dragon... haven’t seen one in years," Blackbeard muttered, having already encased himself in his black spherical barrier and retreated to a safe distance. "Back when 'Idiot' was still around, his territory was full of them. Didn’t think they’d survived."
"Did you just say... 'Idiot'?" Feng Bujue asked, appearing beside Blackbeard with Mad-Eye in tow. "As in, the God of Delusion—Idiot?"
Blackbeard replied flatly, "Who else?"
Honghu, who had visited the Island of the Chewed Demon with Feng Bujue before, also recognized the name. "Captain... you seem to... know Idiot?"
"Everyone knew them," Blackbeard said. "Back in my youth, the Chaotic Sea had 'Nine Gods,' each ruling their own domain, coexisting without conflict. Idiot was just one of them—common knowledge."
"Oh?" Feng Bujue exchanged a glance with Honghu before pressing, "Then... where are they now?"
"How should I know?" Blackbeard retorted. "By the time the Four Pillar Gods rose, I’d already left the Chaotic Sea. All I know is they didn’t leave..."
"Ha!" Mad-Eye laughed. "They weren’t as shrewd as you."
"Hmm?" Feng Bujue raised an eyebrow at Mad-Eye. "Sounds like you know what happened to those Nine Gods?"
"Tch... it’s no secret," Mad-Eye said, glancing at Blackbeard. "Not long after he left, the Nine Gods of the Chaotic Sea clashed with the Four Pillar Gods. After a brutal war, the Nine were crushed—four fell on the spot. The survivors—the God of Delusion, the God of Lies, the God of Wandering, the God of Wisdom, and the God of Truth—cast a spell together and fled to another plane. No one’s seen them since." He paused. "Of course, rumors persist that they left behind altars and texts in this world, biding their time for a comeback."
"I see..." Feng Bujue nodded inwardly. "So that elf we roasted and ate last time on the Island of the Chewed Demon (the God of Wandering, Walker) was actually crazy powerful? He was secretly building up strength there, only to get accidentally wrecked by us... Huh... How does Trash叔’s gender-bending form’s damage even work? Is it a causality weapon or something..."
As Feng Bujue pondered, the battle between the three officers and the Delusion Dragon reached its climax.