The wreckage of the Lava Pirates' ship floated quietly on the sea.
The Female Warriors of the Heavenly Punishment Pirates efficiently cleared the battlefield, moving useful supplies, treasures, and log poses onto the heavenly tribulation.
However, the joy of victory on the faces of these Female Warriors from Nine Snake Island was dampened by their subsequent discovery.
When Lilith cautiously searched the bottom deck with several elite warriors, even the Nine Snake warriors, known for their toughness, turned pale at the sight before them. A chill, mixed with anger and disgust, rose from their spines.
"Captain Linlin..."
Lilith walked quickly to Charlotte Linlin's side. Her face was exceptionally pale, and her voice trembled slightly as she spoke.
Having just left Nine Snake Island, this was her first time seeing such a scene:
People in disarray were tied to strange torture racks like livestock.
"We found some women in a locked room below... Their condition... isn't good."
Charlotte Linlin paused. She didn't need to look; she could guess what "isn't good" meant from Lilith's tone and expression.
Having been a pirate for over half a year and roaming this chaotic New World, she had grown accustomed to such things.
The underlying logic of this world was the law of the jungle. Civilians, especially women with any degree of beauty, were often just "spoils of war" to be plundered, toyed with, and discarded at will by pirates.
"Fortunately," the people of this world, unlike those in the country of her previous life, didn't care too much about their past experiences.
Because the desire to survive outweighed much of the pain, it was rare for people to choose to end their lives—but it was certainly not unheard of.
She took a deep breath, suppressing the frustration in her heart: "Take me to see."
The bottom deck was dark and damp, filled with a nauseating mixture of smells—sweat, mold, blood, and an indescribable aura of despair and filth.
In the narrow space, a dozen women who had just been rescued from various bizarre torture devices huddled in a corner like frightened lambs, their clothes in tatters.
Most of them had hollow eyes, their bodies covered in a mix of old and new bruises and scars, with marks of abuse remaining on their exposed skin.
When Charlotte Linlin, a tall woman with a powerful presence, walked in, they instinctively shrank back, their eyes a mix of fear and a faint glimmer of hope.
"We are the Heavenly Punishment Pirates. The Lava Pirates have been defeated. You are free," Charlotte Linlin said calmly and gently.
"Is... is it true? Those demons... really..."
A woman with cracked lips summoned her courage and asked in a raspy, slurred voice, her eyes suddenly bursting with intense light.
"It's true," Charlotte Linlin confirmed decisively. "You are free."
Upon hearing this, the women were first stunned, then low sobs began to spread through the cabin. Free, but what after freedom? Where were their homes and families?
"I'll leave their proper placement to you; I'm going out first."
Charlotte Linlin truly couldn't stand the disgusting environment and smell. After giving her instructions, she turned and left the cabin.
"Yes, Captain Linlin!"
Lilith responded solemnly and began directing the warriors to distribute water and food to the poor women and find clean clothes.
However, while counting the survivors and handling the aftermath, the warriors discovered three people were missing.
After a search, they were found in another compartment of the cabin—the three women had ended their lives using broken flintlocks and ropes found from somewhere.
"Why... we clearly already saved them..."
A young Nine Snake Island warrior stared blankly at the three bodies gently covered with white cloth, her clear eyes filled with immense confusion and a dull, aching sadness.
In Amazon Lily, death usually occurred in glorious battle; such a desperate suicide was beyond her understanding.
From the intermittent accounts of other survivors, the female warrior pieced together the cruel truth:
The husbands, young children, and even the entire families of these three had been brutally slaughtered before their eyes when the Lava Pirates attacked their village.
For them, living to return to a homeland that was now in ruins and littered with the bones of their loved ones was more painful than death.
She had grown up since childhood in a relatively simple and stable environment like Amazon Lily, the Kingdom of Women, where there were only women. She knew nothing of the atrocities men could inflict on women, nor the despair such atrocities brought.
She couldn't understand why these pirates treated these women this way, let alone why those three gave up on life, but an unprovoked rage welled up in her heart.
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