"Although it's more than I expected, if the largest Blackstone Harbor is like this, the other ports can't be much better, can they?" Feeling something was off, Muria tapped the armrest of the black iron knight throne he was sitting on, producing a crisp metallic sound. "Is there not a single pirate group with a legend? The highest is only soul-will level? What about the legends?"
"Reporting, my lord, all liches who break through to the legend level receive an invitation from Barbossa to join his direct pirate group. So, among us peripheral pirate groups, the highest level is soul-will, with no legends."
"What do you mean by peripheral pirate groups? Explain it to me in detail."
"Those who sail steel warships are part of Lord Barbossa's direct pirate group, while we, who sail traditional ghost ships, are peripheral pirate groups. We need to regularly pay Lord Barbossa certain resources and can use his name to pillage and plunder. However, we must turn over fifty to seventy percent of all loot to him," the black knight pirate captain explained in detail about the system in the Sea of Ghosts.
Muria listened carefully to the pirate captain's explanation, repeatedly asking questions to understand the general situation. He felt somewhat speechless. Barbossa truly lived up to his pirate origins.
None of the pirates in the ten major ports of the Sea of Ghosts had a direct relationship with him. All the ghost ships used by the peripheral pirate groups were either collected or used and discarded by Barbossa. These pirates used his ships to pillage, regularly paying him fees for nominal protection.
To put it simply, all the pirate groups were like sheep he was raising. He would regularly shear their wool. The strongest ones, who underwent qualitative changes, would be offered an olive branch and recruited under his command.
"With such disorganized management, isn't Barbossa afraid that someone will cause trouble in his Sea of Ghosts? I can't believe I'm the first one with nefarious intentions here," Muria thought deeply and then quickly understood.
To Barbossa, his real foundation was the Sea of Ghosts, the steel fleet under his command, and his own peak legendary strength. The ten major ports and the peripheral pirate groups were just extensions. No matter how much he lost, it didn't matter to him.
If someone caused trouble, so what? Could they destroy the Sea of Ghosts? Could they obliterate the ghost steel fleet that was immune to most physical attacks? Could they withstand the wrath of a great lich?
In his home turf, with the support of the steel fleet, a peak legendary great lich could suppress anything. Even a True God's avatar descending would be blasted apart.
"Where is Barbossa's steel fleet? Which port is it stationed at?"
"Lord Barbossa's steel fleet is all underwater."
Muria fell silent. There was nothing he could do about that. Although the Sea of the Dead had 'dead' in its name, it wasn't truly a dead sea. There were many big creatures hidden in it.
After figuring everything out, Muria returned to the tavern, which used a steel ghost ship as its venue. He then assigned tasks to the idle legendary liches, instructing them to directly approach the pirate groups on the list and forcibly subdue them with their legendary lich powers.
As for the nominal recruitment, Muria no longer cared. However, to cover up, the recruitment continued, but it was much stricter than before, to the point where almost no undead could pass. After all, there were hardly any undead that could catch Muria's eye.
Seven days later, having just become the invisible boss of Blackstone Harbor, Muria couldn't wait to extend his hand to other ports, using the same routine: first investigating, then letting the legendary liches forcibly subdue and recruit.
Of course, such large-scale actions were carried out in the dark. Muria didn't want to alert Barbossa, the old lich, just yet. However, this large-scale operation was detected by some other foreign forces hidden in the Sea of Ghosts.
"Barbossa's main force is underwater, but it's impossible to investigate down there!" Muria felt troubled. For Barbossa, the ten ports were just a resource supply channel. As long as the resources kept coming, he didn't care if someone infiltrated. If things got out of hand, he'd step in and suppress them forcefully, a simple yet effective method when one had absolute power.
"What are you worried about, Titan and Dragon Child?" Suddenly, a voice as grating as nails on a chalkboard sounded in Muria's ear. A domain filled with a dead aura enveloped the cabin he was in, making the air instantly oppressive. The previously somewhat translucent cabin quickly became solid, turning into decayed, old planks, and a rotting smell filled Muria's nose, making him very uncomfortable.
"Stop with the mysterious act. If you want to talk, come out and talk properly." Feeling like an ordinary person on a small, broken boat, Muria heard the voice without any fear. In the main world, he didn't believe any intelligent deity would dare to harm him.
"Little one, you seem to lack sufficient reverence for a god." Silently, a tall, thin figure in a black robe emerged from the shadow at Muria's feet. Muria could see the dry bones under the black robe, and a gray-black death aura permeated.
"Aren't you afraid of Barbossa discovering you by spreading your domain here, Lord Naraku?" Muria squinted at the dried-up figure, knowing that he had finally been found.
"In the eyes of ordinary mortals, Barbossa is indeed a genius, but to me, he is just a lucky ant who has reached his current level through a long period."
"Oh, really?" Muria was noncommittal. Sneaking into someone's territory clearly indicated a plan to scheme against them, yet he still showed disdain. Gods, truly hypocritical.
"What do you want with me, Lord Naraku? I don't recall having any conflict with you." Muria asked nonchalantly, seemingly forgetting what he had done.
"It seems your memory isn't great. Do you need me to remind you? Forty-seven days ago, you killed my servant. I want to know what he did to offend you. If he did, then I accept his death. But as far as I know, he had no contact with you."
"That was just an accident." Muria chuckled dryly. He currently had no ability to lie to a god without being discovered. These gods might not be strong in direct combat, but their long years had given them extremely powerful auxiliary abilities.
"Oh, it was an accident. Then, how do you plan to make up for this accident? A legendary lich is very precious to me. You don't think I'll let this go, do you?"
"Lord Naraku, you must have an idea since you came to me. Just say it." Muria was very straightforward.
"Smart kid. Don't worry, I won't ask you to compensate me. I'm here to propose a cooperation that will benefit you greatly."
"Oh." Muria remained unmoved. Naraku was classified as an evil god among many death gods. Though he was a neutral god, he often got involved in schemes and plots.
"I've noticed you're very interested in liches and like to collect ghost ships."
"Yes." These were things Muria didn't bother to hide. Since Naraku had come to him, he must already know the general situation.
"Are you interested in the steel ghost ships that Barbossa controls?"
"Of course."
"Then I can give you a chance to seize Barbossa's ghost ships or even his demi-plane. Do you want it?"
"Tell me, what benefits do you get from this?" Muria asked bluntly. All things in the world are for gain; he found this saying very reasonable. Every entity, even an unconscious world, would react to things beneficial or harmful to itself. If the death god Naraku was helping him, it must be beneficial to Naraku too. Muria needed to understand the reason.
"What benefits do I get?" The death god's avatar, looking like a dried corpse in a black robe, laughed, making a sound as unpleasant as scraping a knife on glass, which irritated Muria.
"As long as Barbossa suffers losses, it's beneficial to me. Titan and Dragon Child, you must understand that at Barbossa's level, whether he chooses to become an epic or a god, once successful, he will pose a threat to me. There are too many entities wielding death power."
"I see. So, what do you want me to do? Even if you divert Barbossa, I can't do anything. Just the suppression from his demi-plane alone is enough to stymie me."
Muria stated his demands. Since the death god wanted his help to weaken Barbossa, he must have a way.
"Did you know Barbossa mastered a secret technique to fuse demi-planes? That's why his Sea of Ghosts is so vast. But because of this, his control over the demi-plane is the weakest among all legendary liches."
"What are you implying?" Muria's heart started racing.
"I created a special technique targeting his situation. As long as there's a legendary being with powers opposing death, they can forcibly split his demi-plane."
"Oh, can I ask if you know the secret technique he used to fuse demi-planes?" Muria asked.
"Of course, I know. That technique was a gift from me."
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