After watching the Dawn disappear into the depths of the sea, Silas and Anderson sailed the boat they had purchased from the [Hanged Man] to the port of Toscarter Island.
"Thank God, we finally escaped that damned place!"
Looking at the ships coming and going in the port and feeling the long-missed signs of civilization, Anderson let out a heartfelt sigh of relief.
After those nightmare-like weeks, he could finally see a glimmer of hope.
I really want to find a place to have a drink, but before that...
He secretly glanced at Silas at the bow.
That guy Gascoigne is now a Sequence 4 demigod. From now on, I'll need to adjust my attitude when talking to him.
"So what do we do next?"
Anderson proactively asked, prioritizing Silas's opinion. "Want to check out the bars on the island? My treat!"
"..."
Silas didn't respond immediately. His gaze swept across the ships in the port.
The "Secrets Suppliant's" unique high spiritual perception allowed him to see abnormalities on several ships.
Those vessels were wreathed in heavy bloody scents, and the sailors aboard were similarly wrapped in the resentment of numerous deceased.
Clearly, these were pirates.
This was the border of Loen, a lawless land beyond the reach of national power, a paradise for pirates.
With just a bit of disguise, they could swagger onto the island and spend their money at the red-light district, casinos, or bars.
At this moment, a group of vicious-looking fellows was disembarking, each clutching their freshly distributed gold pounds, obviously ready to spend lavishly.
The man surrounded in the middle showed a spiritual response. His rank wasn't high, just around Sequence 8 or 9, but relative to ordinary people, he was already quite powerful.
Silas watched them for a while, then turned to face Anderson.
"Do you know where we can exchange bounties?"
He asked.
The "Slaughterer" Kircheis and his two subordinates were still in the cargo hold below.
Their corpses had been "preserved" with blood magic for some time now. It was better to dispose of them quickly.
"I do."
Anderson smiled. "Toscarter Island has an official Loen administrative office and a Storm Church chapel.
Both can exchange bounties, but dealing with officials is very troublesome.
In the Sonia Sea, people generally go through the local [Free Adventurers Union] instead."
Official exchanges were quite cumbersome, requiring corpse verification, procedural waiting, and identity confirmation.
Basically, no one would choose that route.
"Free Adventurers Union?"
"Yeah, it's a rather loose alliance with a mission of mutual assistance and resource exchange.
The organizer is a retired adventurer who made his fortune and hopes to use this to unite adventurers against pirates."
Anderson shrugged with a light laugh, seeming not to endorse this.
"The main islands in the Sonia Sea all have their bases, providing conveniences for adventurers. I suspect there's some force backing this organization."
This was naturally expected.
Such a large organization, even if it didn't have backing initially, would inevitably attract attention and be taken over as a tool as it expanded.
But Silas didn't care about these details. For him, knowing there was a place to exchange money was enough.
He manipulated the flesh puppets on the ship to carry the three corpses from the hold up to the deck.
Kircheis and the others were wrapped in a layer of blood-red crystal.
Through the semi-transparent crystal, one could see the terrifying state of the corpses inside.
Like some horrific version of "amber" stones.
"Hiss..."
Seeing this, Anderson's eyelids twitched violently.
"You're not planning to drag them over like this to exchange for money, are you?"
He couldn't help but ask.
Carrying three bizarre corpses through the streets would be absolutely insane!
"Of course not."
Silas said. Before Anderson could relax, he added, "I mean, I'm going to find an inn to stay at. You take them to exchange."
Anderson's face immediately turned extremely ugly.
But no matter what, he didn't dare voice any objections, nor did he dare trouble Silas to do it himself.
He could only find rope himself, tie up the three "ambers," and drag them off the ship.
"Scrraaape..."
The peculiar cargo immediately attracted surrounding attention, but as more and more people saw clearly what Anderson was dragging, their expressions turned horrified.
The port quickly fell silent, with only the sound of heavy corpses scraping across the ground and people's whispered conversations audible.
"Could that possibly be the 'King of Immortality's' Fifth Boatswain, 'Butcher' Damian?"
"The other one looks like 'Mad Dog' Bennett..."
"Both are Agalito's subordinates, so then that demon-looking fellow, who is he?"
People making a living at the port all had good eyes and quickly recognized the corpses' faces, confirming they were all wanted pirates.
Their gazes toward Silas and the others became even more reverent.
"I suddenly realize that doing this occasionally isn't so bad."
Feeling the crowd's stares, Anderson smiled.
Silas ignored him.
The two parted ways at an intersection.
Silas went to find an inn while Anderson headed in another direction. Followed and watched by the crowd behind him, he dragged the three corpses forward until he entered a two-story building on the street side.
A crooked sign was nailed to the small building, reading "Free Adventurers Union."
The first floor had a bar-like layout with a few scattered adventurers.
Behind the bar counter half-reclined a middle-aged bald man with a huge bulbous nose, his bottle of Loen whiskey more than half empty.
"Welcome to the Free Adventurers Union..."
Noticing someone entering, the bulbous-nosed man exhaled alcohol fumes in greeting.
"Oh, it's Anderson."
He scanned the visitor with swollen eyelids and recognized who it was. "You actually made it back alive. Where are 'Sea Dog' and 'Limpy'?"
"They're all dead. I'm the only one who came back alive."
Anderson flashed a bright grin. "Jante, come take a look. Guess what good stuff I brought you?"
He pulled the three corpses closer to the bar.
"Good stuff? Did you strike it rich in that sea area... Storm above! Anderson, what the hell are you doing?!"
The contact person named Jante stuck his head over the bar counter and glanced down groggily, then his eyes widened as he let out a shrill scream of alarm.
"Haha, surprised?"
Anderson had anticipated this reaction and said with a laugh, "Come here quickly. Use those alcohol-poisoned eyes of yours and take a good look at who these guys are."
So the drunk Jante quickly vaulted over the bar and ran to examine the corpses.
The other adventurers in the hall also noticed the unusual atmosphere and gathered around.
"'Butcher' Damian, 'Mad Dog' Bennett... these are all the 'King of Immortality's' subordinates! Then this corpse is..."
They recognized two of them but had difficulty identifying the demon-transformed Kircheis.
"'Slaughterer' Kircheis."
Anderson smiled as he revealed the answer.
"...!"
He was delighted to see the atmosphere around them instantly fall silent, with everyone looking like they'd seen a ghost.