The Terror of the Pirates

The residential area, as part of Mad Hatter's Island, was less than half the size of several other neighborhoods in terms of land area.

In terms of popularity, the difference was even greater.

This was because the residential area was meant for some pirates as well as people from the underground world who were willing to reside here.

But the people who lived here were more like Saul and other old pirates who had retired from the sea, or pirates who had been injured in battle and become disabled but had a pension fund.

These people had already lost the capital to look into the future; all they could do was continue to live on.

Under such influence, the overall atmosphere of the residential area was more inclined to be lifeless.

Walking through every alleyway, one was surrounded by a stench akin to "dead rats."

Dead bodies on the road were also commonplace.

After all, not every pirate eliminated by the times could be like Saul...

With the capital to trample on money.

To open a store in this kind of doomed area was a result of closure.

And to go to Flower Street's tavern every day to enjoy spending.

When they had nothing else to do, they could even spend a huge amount of money to buy a famous sword that would never be used.

In contrast, all they could do was spend the rest of their money.

Either buy a bottle of wine, sit in a tavern, listen to the energetic bragging of young pirates, and use it to reminisce about the past, then lick up the last drop of wine.

Or go to the flamboyant streets of Flower Street and trade money for the familiar and uplifting glances of the past, even if those glances were false and made of money.

Until the last penny was spent.

And then wait for death, or struggle a little more.

Why is it that the same pirates end up being treated so differently?

Alex knew the answer well.

It was power—the power to make one's own decisions.

To live a better and more reckless life, one needed to have the power to reverse the will of others.

This was especially true in a world like this.

Otherwise, it was very likely that one would end up falling into the same situation as these eyeless pirates in front of them.

Alex raised his eyes and looked at the several pirates with broken arms and legs, holding rusty machetes, who were blocking the alleyway.

His gaze skimmed over their bodies, emptied by alcohol and indulgence, feeling the vigor that was all gone, leaving only a gaze full of malice.

Alex silently drew his dagger.

After walking through a few more alleyways, he should be able to get out of the residential district.

In the moment of being stopped and robbed, Alex was thinking about how many meters of road were left to the block.

Then, before striking out, Alex heard a conversation.

"The one on my stomach is mine."

"Me, I just want the ones below my knees."

"Fine, I'll take the rest."

Rarely had they encountered such a young, and so fair-skinned, teenager in the residential district.

A few of the pirates who were already left were so excited that they spoke with a slight tremor.

It was just a dagger—what deterrent could it be?

If they hadn't taken their flintlock rifles and exchanged them for wine money, otherwise, it would have been even less effort to kill this teenager with a single shot.

The future was compressed to a dead line, as the cold darkness gripped their thoughts.

It didn't matter how.

As long as they could experience the feeling of having enough to eat again.

As long as they could once again savor the smoothness of wine sliding across their tongues and throats.

They had long been impatient, and after determining where they belonged, they raised their long knives to slash at Alex.

It was as if they had already seen the future being rekindled.

Even for a day!

They imagined so.

However, the "prey" in front of them suddenly disappeared.

Before their thoughts could catch up, a coldness came from somewhere in their bodies that they hadn't felt for a long time.

Cut?

Each of them fell to the ground, blood gurgling out from their wounds.

They had overestimated themselves and underestimated the threat of Alex.

Realizing that their hopes were dashed, realizing that death was near, they wailed out.

Alex crossed over the three pirates and stepped forward without the slightest pause.

Considering that he didn't want to be splattered with blood, when he struck just now, he deliberately avoided areas with exaggerated bleeding, such as the carotid artery.

This also meant that before the amount of bleeding reached the standard, these three pirates—who were not worth wasting ink on—would be getting closer to death bit by bit.

Ignoring the desperate wailing that came from behind him, Alex walked into a corner and continued forward.

This inconsequential episode was nothing more than a microcosm within a microcosm of the world of the Pirate King.

Though there was still a light bright enough to break through the darkness in these microcosms, under the influence of the Age of Pirates, people were more than willing to face the inevitable darkness head-on.

Before truly going to embrace the world, Alex knew exactly what he had to do.

Before wanting to gain a foothold, he had to get on his feet.

Getting stronger as soon as possible was what Alex was trying to do right now.

After walking through a few more crooked alleyways, Alex finally stepped out of the residential area and arrived at the broad street under the sunlight.

The "stench" and "dead air" that was always in the air was finally dispelled by the bright sunlight.

On the street, pirates with weapons came and went, and there was a lot of noise, which was quite lively at a glance.

After the auction was over, most of the pirates who were attracted to the auction were in no hurry to leave.

Recuperation and enjoyment were often more important than going out to sea.

Furthermore, after the event was over, they could envision the scene where a warship was roaming the outer sea.

Because Mad Hatter Town was an area where the Navy could not intervene at this stage, but casting a net in the outer sea to fish for stray fish was also not bad.

Experienced pirates would do their best to avoid such potential risks.

Alex walked into the crowd, observing the pirates passing by without any trace.

Basically, they were all powerful men, and there were female pirates as well, but they were few and far between, and all of them were as strong as walking bears.

In comparison, the waitresses in the tavern were angels.

"Go straight to the tavern."

Alex expected to be back at the weapon store by evening, and with limited time, there was no room for loitering.

Last night, Alex could take advantage of the night to leap across the tops of buildings, eliminating the disadvantage of not recognizing his destination.

Now it was different; walking on the street normally, it was really a little difficult for him to find the tavern he went to last night.

But he didn't think about going to the tavern last night either.

In Mad Hatter's Town, taverns were everywhere, in every neighborhood, just in different sizes.

Moving along the streets, Alex made his way through the crowds.

When he saw a tavern, he would simply slow down.

The small ones he didn't go into.

The large-scale ones that didn't have many customers also didn't go into.

Just like this, picking and choosing, all the way forward.

Without realizing it, he had walked a couple of kilometers, but it also allowed Alex to find a tavern that was not small in size and at the same time had a lot of customers.

[Tomahawk Tavern]

Alex looked up at the signboard of two bloodstained axes cross-clustered with bottles of wine, then pushed open the door of the tavern and walked in.

About half an hour after Alex went inside the Tomahawk Tavern, the well-dressed Wolf Rat also arrived at the front door of the tavern.

Wolf Rat looked at the door of the tavern, then took out a small mirror and looked at it.

Looking at the mirror at his "handsome" self, Wolf Rat whispered, intoxicated: "Not in vain I took a bath for more than an hour."

Immediately, he tried to squeeze out a kind smile.

So handsome and so kind—making a friend is not a trivial matter, right?

Wolf Rat nodded his head in satisfaction, then put away the mirror, pushed open the door of the bar, and walked in, paying no attention to the strange gazes of a few pirates looking over not far away.

"What a lewd guy."

A pirate gave a solid comment on Wolf Rat's smile just now.