Chapter 886
"Whoo, whoo, whoo...!"
"Hahaha!"
The frenzied cheers of tens of thousands of Ghost Skulls Gang members could be heard clearly even from a great distance. Most of the pirates were on their ships, with a few on the harbor docks. They were drinking, lost in a frenzied celebration.
"There's alcohol here?"
Shen Lang asked in surprise, and Hela nodded.
"Yes. If we're lucky enough to find a warehouse, there's a good chance it's stocked with plenty of alcohol. But it's usually all gone within a few days of being found. It looks like they've discovered a warehouse full of it."
The warehouses of the Lost Empire were truly incredible. To be able to drink alcohol preserved in perfect condition for thousands of years without spoiling? But what could have happened to drive them into such a frenzy? Hela slowed her pace, leading Shen Lang toward the Empress's Bay. She was building up her presence, choosing the words she would say to them. She had resolved to conquer the Ghost Skulls Gang for her brother, Shen Lang, but in truth, she was only the Third Chieftain. There were two others with higher rank than her. One was her older sister, Haimeng, and the other was her second older brother, Haiwang. Both were her mother's adopted son and daughter, but they were biological siblings to each other. Moreover, they were children her mother had found in some mysterious ruins.
"Drink, drink! Everyone, drink up!"
"Revel in this madness! This is our final hour! Long live the Ghost Skulls Gang! Long live His Highness Loki! Long live Her Highness Angela!"
"Long live the Ghost Skulls Gang!"
"Long live, long live, long live! His Highness Loki, long, long live!"
Tens of thousands of pirate warriors drank, their shouts shaking the heavens. The pirates' bodies were covered in scars but were as hard as steel, every muscle seemingly packed with immense strength. It was no wonder this fleet, composed of the finest sailors and naval warriors, had been able to sweep through the western seas over a decade ago.
For the past decade, half of them had died fighting the most vicious sea monsters, but the combat prowess of the survivors had only grown stronger. They were trapped in these cursed waters, but once they left, they would surely make the world tremble. The Russo family's fleet? The Bloody Baron's pirate fleet? The Ghost Skulls Gang could wipe them out with ease.
***
*Bang.*
Suddenly, a loud noise echoed as a flare shot powerfully into the sky and exploded, instantly drawing the attention of the tens of thousands of Ghost Skulls warriors. Hela emerged slowly from the light, appearing on the harbor dock. She held Shen Lang's hand and spoke in a loud voice.
"Warriors of the Ghost Skulls Gang! The one who will save you has come! The true chieftain of the Ghost Skulls Gang has arrived. This man beside me is my younger brother, the son of His Highness Loki, the founder of the Ghost Skulls Gang, and the future emperor of the Eastern world, His Highness Shen Lang. Warriors of the Ghost Skulls Gang, will you not come and greet your chieftain? Will you not come and greet your lord?"
After shouting this, Hela knelt on one knee before the countless Ghost Skulls pirates and said.
"Hela, the Third Chieftain of the Ghost Skulls Gang, greets her lord."
Hela knelt before the countless pirates, pledging her loyalty to Shen Lang. But the whole act felt like her own one-woman show, making not only them but also Shen Lang feel a bit awkward.
*'Sister, you're too hasty! You haven't even lit the fire or boiled the water, yet you're already trying to cook the rice. How can that possibly work?'*
Hela had such a straightforward personality. She wanted to settle things immediately, the type of person who would force a cow's head down to make it drink if it refused. She believed it was only right for Shen Lang to inherit the Ghost Skulls Gang, not only because he was her brother but also because he was the sole son of Loki, the founder of the Ghost Skulls confederation. That was why she had orchestrated this awkward scene.
Tens of thousands of pirates quietly watched Hela and Shen Lang. Soon, several female pirate captains walked over and embraced Hela enthusiastically.
"Dearest Hela, you've finally returned. I knew you could never leave the Ghost Skulls Gang for good."
"Dearest Hela, you don't know how I've been, but I failed to quit drinking. It's because I missed you so much."
Then, several other pirate captains approached all at once. The men among them bumped fists with Hela, while the women embraced her, all looking extremely close. But no one paid Shen Lang any mind, leaving him standing there awkwardly by himself. Hela was furious at this.
"Why are you treating my brother like this? He is my father's only son! Are you saying he shouldn't inherit the Ghost Skulls Gang?"
One of the pirate captains looked at Shen Lang and said.
"He's an Easterner, isn't he?"
"What if he is? My father, Loki, was also an Easterner, but he was the founder of the Ghost Skulls Gang."
The pirate captain countered Hela's words.
"But what was His Highness Loki like back then? He had wild hair, wore smoky makeup, and even had braids. He showed off his robust body, making all the women drool. But look at this boy in front of us. His skin is as white as sheep's tallow, looking like it would drip water with just a light pinch. He's wearing fancy silk clothes, and even his fingernails are neatly trimmed. How can someone like this be a pirate?"
His words made quite a bit of sense. But Shen Lang would never change his true self, no matter where he went.
*'I'm a handsome man, a pretty boy. Is that wrong? Is it my fault I'm this good-looking? I can't just ruin my appearance to soothe your egos, can I? Is it wrong for me to use face masks, trim my nails, and shape my eyebrows?'*
"Besides, he doesn't have any martial arts, does he? Could he even win a fight against a single goose?"
At the pirate captain's words, someone actually released a goose, and it charged fiercely at Shen Lang.
Are you kidding? How could Shen Lang possibly beat a goose? The combat power of an ordinary shut-in is at most half a goose. And a pretty boy like Shen Lang didn't want to betray the group he belonged to.
"I surrender, I surrender!"
"Hahahahaha!"
When Shen Lang raised both hands in surrender at the sight of the large white goose, the countless pirates roared with unrestrained laughter. At that moment, the white goose strutted triumphantly, flapping its wings as it circled the crowd before casting a disdainful, arrogant glance at Shen Lang. Seeing this, Shen Lang couldn't resist. He went forward, wrapped his arms around the white goose's neck, and stroked its head. The pirate captain watched this and sneered.
"Look at that. He's trying to curry favor even with a mere goose. Does someone like that have what it takes to be the chieftain of our Ghost Skulls Gang?"
Presently, the one-eyed Ghost Skulls captain approached Shen Lang, patted his shoulder, and said.
"Kid, we have no ill will toward you. We believe Hela isn't lying, so if she says you're His Highness Loki's son, then you must be. If you've come as a guest of the Ghost Skulls Gang, you're welcome. But you're not even qualified to be a soldier of the Ghost Skulls, let alone the chieftain. Our rules on the sea are different from those on land. We don't care much for bloodlines; we only respect the strong. So, even if you are His Highness Loki's son, we won't accept you. Hela, come have a drink."
When the one-eyed pirate grabbed Hela's arm, she shouted in fury.
"Get lost! My brother is a monarch. He has no need to practice martial arts. Wisdom is his greatest weapon!"
"Then you can pledge your loyalty to him alone. Hela, forgive us for not being able to join you."
At the one-eyed pirate captain's apology, many Ghost Skulls warriors came over to Hela, patting her shoulder in consolation. They still paid Shen Lang no mind, and some even inwardly despised him.
*'This guy thinks he can inherit the Ghost Skulls Gang by pulling the bloodline card, a trick that only works on land? What a joke! We're not dogs, so why should a person's status be determined by their lineage?'*
Besides, most of those who had drifted into the Ghost Skulls Gang were victims of this very emphasis on bloodlines. Many among them were illegitimate sons, and there were even many bastards. They had ended up in the Ghost Skulls Gang because they had no place in their families. And now, some pretty boy who doesn't even have the strength to wring a chicken's neck shows up and says, 'I'm Loki's son, so you must pledge your loyalty to me'? It was truly laughable and absurd.
Hela shouted.
"Haimeng, Haiwang, where are they? Uncle Jack, where are you?"
Haimeng, Haiwang, and Hela were all Third Chieftains. Angela's left and right hands had been Salonbus and Jack Tang. These two were Second Chieftains, and after Angela died at sea, the position of First Chieftain became vacant.
Unable to find anyone who agreed with her, Hela called out for the other three leaders of the Ghost Skulls Gang. The door of a house built over the harbor opened, and three people walked out. Jack Tang was currently the second-in-command of the Ghost Skulls Gang. He was in his fifties, and his surname, Tang, likely indicated that he was an Easterner. One of his hands had been cut off, replaced by an iron hook.
Shen Lang had never seen anyone with such a large nose. An enormous aquiline nose took up most of his face. Based on looks alone, such a person would seem extremely sinister, but one couldn't judge a person by their face, as Hela had repeatedly said that Uncle Jack was her mother's most loyal subordinate. As for Haimeng and Haiwang, he only knew that they were siblings Angela had found in the ruins. Hela had barely told Shen Lang anything about the Ghost Skulls Gang in the first place, so he knew almost nothing. But now, seeing them at a glance, he could tell that their origins were not simple and that they were close to the bloodline of ancient humanity.
Both of them were extremely tall, well over two meters. Their physiques were far superior to that of normal humans, and Haimeng, in particular, possessed an explosive figure comparable to Mulan's. From that alone, one could imagine she possessed incredible strength and agility. Moreover, she carried a large bow on her back, clearly marking her as a master archer. The siblings' skin color was also a bit strange. It was neither brown nor white.
Hela was a woman of wild beauty, but Haimeng appeared even wilder. Her purple eyes were filled with a lust for battle and a constant desire to size up her opponents. Even at a glance, she seemed like an incredibly fiery person. In contrast, Haiwang was a man of few words, silent, with eyes full of coldness. These were likely the three strongest people in the Ghost Skulls Gang.
Jack Tang walked up to Shen Lang, studied him closely for a long moment, and then gave him an affectionate hug.
"Welcome, my child."