Chapter 887
Jack Tang's embrace was a clear acknowledgment of Shen Lang's identity. Surprised by the unhesitating embrace and his words, Shen Lang replied.
"I don't really resemble my father that much."
Jack Tang calmly responded to Shen Lang's surprised remark.
"Everyone's eyes are different, but your father's were especially unique. Only his sons and daughters could inherit such eyes. You don't look like Hela, and your eye color is different, but I can clearly tell that you are both His Highness Loki's children."
"Uncle Jack, Haimon, Haiyuan, the four of us are the top leaders of the Skull Gang. Shen Lang is my brother and my father's only legitimate heir. Doesn't that mean he's qualified to inherit the Skull Gang legion?"
To Hela's assertive question, Jack Tang calmly replied.
"Hela, I worship His Highness Loki with great fervor. But the one-eyed man was right. The rules of the sea are different from those on land; we don't judge status by bloodline. Besides, His Highness Loki never said the Skull Gang legion was his property. The Skull Gang belongs to everyone in the Skull Gang. Every generation of leaders has been chosen through an election. Both His Highness Loki and Her Highness Angela were put in their positions by our joint recommendation."
"Then we can just recommend my brother, Shen Lang. Trust me. He's the wisest man in the world. Only he can save the Skull Gang legion."
Jack Tang shook his head and replied.
"I'm very sorry, but we can't do that. It doesn't align with the interests of the Skull Gang legion. As much as I adore His Highness Loki, I will adore his son just as much. But I can never accept him as our master for that reason alone."
Just then, Haiyuan, who held the position of the third leader of the Skull Gang alongside Hela, spoke up.
"Actually, we're about to have a new supreme leader. The reason we're reveling in a frenzy of joy tonight is that we're scheduled to elect the first leader of the Skull Gang tomorrow. Every member has agreed to cast one vote."
Hearing this, the color drained from Hela's face.
"Who? Who?! With my mother gone, who is qualified to be the first leader?"
"Me, my dear sister."
The voice arrived before the person was seen. The door opened, and an extremely burly and valiant Western man stepped out of the house. He wore only leather pants, his body covered in tattoos like any other pirate, but his tattoos were very strange. They were all faces of the dead.
Pirates usually tattoo women's faces and bodies on themselves, but he had tattooed the faces of the dead. If one were to guess, those dead people were likely all enemies he had defeated. This burly and valiant Western man opened his arms, intending to embrace Hela. He exuded an intense masculine aura that any woman would find powerfully attractive.
"I don't know you."
Hela said coldly, and the Western man replied.
"I am your brother, from a different father. You didn't think our mother was a pirate from birth, did you? No, no. She is the daughter of Duke Deron, the Naval Marshal of the Seiren Dynasty. Mother married Prince Doug of the Seiren Dynasty, but seven years into the marriage, she suddenly left home and became a pirate. After that, she met Loki, and the two of them joined forces to create the Skull Gang, the most powerful pirate legion in the Western world."
Hela was so stunned by the man's words that she was completely dumbfounded. She had never heard about her mother's past. Of course, when her mother and father met, her mother was nine years older, and it was unlikely a woman of that age would be unmarried. But her mother had never spoken of her life before she took to the sea, as if her life had only begun the moment she became a pirate. Hela looked at Jack Tang in disbelief.
Jack Tang nodded and said.
"Your mother disliked talking about her past, but everything he said is true. Your mother was indeed the daughter of the Seiren Empire's Naval Marshal and the wife of Prince Doug. Their marriage was dissolved when she left home. Your mother and His Highness Loki were formally married, so you are not an illegitimate child. Of course, your father is forever Loki, not Jiang Li."
So anyway, this extremely burly and valiant man standing before her was the son of Prince Doug of the Seiren Empire? When Hela refused his embrace, the man extended his hand to Shen Lang and said.
"A pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency Shen Lang. I am Duke Douglas of the Seiren Dynasty. Of course, in a few years, I will inherit the title of Prince, but for now, I am still a Duke. Douglas is actually my mother's surname, which I now use as my name. So, my full name is Douglas Seiren."
After being in the Western world for so long, Shen Lang had finally met a royal from the Seiren Dynasty for the first time. His entire being was filled with a strange charm, the kind that would make a woman unable to resist clinging to him and begging. Before extending his hand, Shen Lang said.
"You're not going to squeeze my hand painfully just to show off, are you?"
Hearing Shen Lang's words, the pirates once again looked down on him in their hearts.
'Is he that weak? So weak he can't even dare to shake someone's hand?'
"Rest assured."
Douglas Seiren said, then extended his hand for a handshake.
"Agh!"
Shen Lang indeed cried out in pain. It truly hurt that much. Douglas Seiren raised both his hands and said.
"I... I really just shook his hand normally."
His strength was immeasurably immense. He had used about the same amount of force he would when shaking anyone else's hand, yet that force alone was enough to make Shen Lang feel like his bones were being crushed.
"If my guess is correct, you have pledged your loyalty to Emperor Solon."
"That is correct. I am a royal of Seiren, but I was more influenced by my mother's family. I began adventuring at sea when I was five, and my maternal grandfather, Duke Deron, said that I was his true successor."
Hela stared coldly at this brother who had suddenly appeared and spoke, enunciating each word.
"Since Mother didn't acknowledge her previous marriage, I won't acknowledge having a brother like you. I, Hela, have only one brother, and that is Shen Lang. Uncle Jack, are you all recommending this outsider to be the leader of the Skull Gang?"
"He's not an outsider; he's your mother's biological son. Besides, he saved us."
To Haiyuan's words, Hela asked demandingly.
"That's something I'd like to know as well. How did he save you?"
"Do you remember how these ruins of the Lost Kingdom were engulfed in a dreadful energy?"
Of course, she remembered. That strange energy would envelop them the moment they set foot on the island. Though invisible, it suppressed one's mind, causing pain, despair, and depression. As Shen Lang had analyzed earlier, it was a type of special frequency, and the constant sound of ghostly wails certainly made people extremely depressed. If one were to listen to that sound consistently for over a decade, it would cause immense damage to their psyche, leading them to break down and despair.
"After Mother performed the sea burial ritual and passed away, you also left, and our Skull Gang fell into complete despair and darkness. The invisible ghostly wails tormented everyone, and we had even run out of food."
Shen Lang could imagine how the Skull Gang must have felt at that time, as if it were the end of the world. As Hela had also said, people in the Skull Gang had been committing suicide every day. But looking at them now, they were all reveling in a frenzy of joy, as if their minds had been liberated.
Haiyuan continued.
"At that time, we were just about to commit mass suicide. Yes, mass suicide. That would have meant the complete annihilation of the Skull Gang. But then, Douglas appeared and saved us."
Hela retorted in a sharp tone.
"How exactly did he save you? Go on, tell me!"
"Haven't you noticed yet? That ghostly wailing that makes people gloomy and fall into despair is gone. That sound can no longer torment our minds."
Hela was startled. The situation had been changing so rapidly that she hadn't noticed until now, but just as Haiyuan said, that agonizing mental energy was gone. The invisible ghostly wailing had disappeared. But Shen Lang had already felt it and had even figured out the cause. Someone had created a device similar to a magnetic field blocker with a large nightmare stone, blocking the frequency that tormented them within a certain range.
It seemed this Douglas was no ordinary man. He also possessed an item from an ancient civilization. What, then, was his relationship with Adolf? Shen Lang was lost in thought. Both men had pledged loyalty to Emperor Solon. Adolf tried to conquer the Amazon Kingdom for Solon, and Douglas was trying to conquer the Skull Gang legion for Solon. His Majesty Solon was truly playing the long game.
Haiyuan continued speaking to the stunned and bewildered Hela.
"Furthermore, His Highness Douglas found us a new warehouse. Thanks to him, we obtained countless amounts of food and fine liquor."
Hela sneered.
"For reasons like that, you nominated him as the first leader? Has the so-called value of the Skull Gang become so trivial?"
"He held a tournament as a test of strength. In the span of three days and nights, he defeated a thousand of us."
At Haiyuan's words, Hela was even more shocked and gasped. Both Haimon and Haiyuan were stronger than Hela, and even they were defeated by Douglas. Just how strong was this man, then? He defeated a thousand people in a tournament over three days and nights? His strength must be enough to drive one to despair.
Haiyuan's words continued.
"And that's not all. You must have seen that strange scene when you first entered the Lost Kingdom, right? The giant mirage that appeared all over the sky? Thanks to that, countless sea monsters are now standing still and docile over there, no longer attacking. The entire sea has become safe. Now we can go out to sea to fish and explore without being attacked by the sea monster legion. All of this is thanks to His Highness Douglas."
This time, even Shen Lang looked at Douglas in disbelief.
'That giant mirage was also created by this man? That's not something an ordinary person could even conceive of.'
Douglas hadn't just come prepared; he had handled everything perfectly. As soon as he arrived, he created one miracle after another in the ruins of the Lost Kingdom, becoming a savior-like figure. Shen Lang had previously intercepted Adolf's goal, and now the other side had sent Douglas to intercept Shen Lang's goal.
Hela wanted to deny that Douglas was her mother's son, but as fate would have it, daughters resemble their fathers, and sons resemble their mothers. Douglas resembled Angela even more than she did, making it impossible to refute that he was her mother's son.
"Hela, don't you now agree that he is qualified to be the first leader of the Skull Gang? Besides, he is about to perform an even greater deed. He will lead us away from the Lost Kingdom and this cursed sea, back to the Seiren Dynasty. With all this, is there any reason we shouldn't elect him as our first leader?"
There was no reason. Even Shen Lang, after hearing Haiyuan's words, felt like voting for Douglas Seiren. From the Skull Gang's perspective, he truly seemed like a man sent from the heavens. It was enough to make one think that the heavens had deliberately bestowed a savior upon the Skull Gang legion.
Hela sneered and said.
"You believed him just because he said he'd get you out of this predicament? You believed him because he said he'd take you home?"
"Of course, we believe him. Otherwise, should we believe that brother of yours?"
'This damn bastard. What do you have against me? Your sister and I haven't even tried to do anything here yet.'
Jack Tang said.
"Hela, that's how it is. Tomorrow, we will elect the first leader, and after the election, Douglas will change the strange energy field here, allowing us to successfully escape this predicament and return home. Since tomorrow is the election and also the day we return home, we had to revel in a frenzy of joy tonight."
No wonder. In fact, Shen Lang had found it very strange from the beginning. Why hold a huge party at a time like this? After hearing the situation, it turned out to be a party to celebrate the birth of a new leader and to celebrate their escape from this sea of suffering.