"Cease fire! Everyone, cease fire!"
Elena's voice exploded through the public channel in the cabins of those dozens of speedboats.
It crackled with static.
And carried a barely perceptible tremor.
The sound of artillery fire on the sea surface gradually subsided.
Those "Valkyries" who had been fighting with bloodshot eyes froze in place one by one.
They couldn't believe it.
That leader who had led them in charge after charge, who had never retreated half a step even when facing an S-Class Sea Beast.
Was actually ordering them to surrender?
"Leader! Why?! We can still fight!"
"We must avenge Odin! Fight that demon to the death!"
The communication channel was filled with cries and roars.
"Shut up!"
Elena took a deep breath, her chest heaving violently.
She looked at the man sitting in the armchair in front of her, casually wiping oil stains from his hands.
That man didn't even glance at her properly.
As if she, the so-called "Number One Sword of the Northern Realms," was less important than a speck of dust under his fingernail.
This was the gap.
A despair-inducing gap.
"This is an order."
Elena's voice turned cold, regaining its usual authority.
"Disarm."
"Everyone, board that ship."
"Those who disobey... will be expelled from the legion."
Dead silence.
Only the sound of waves slapping against the hulls.
A moment later.
The first gun was thrown into the sea.
Followed by a second, then a third.
Those white speedboats slowly converged, stopping beside the mountain-like "President."
Like a flock of sheep awaiting judgment.
...
Ten minutes later.
On the broad foredeck of the "President."
Three rows of people stood neatly.
All women.
Uniformly golden long hair, slightly disheveled by the sea breeze.
Uniformly tall figures, wrapped in tight combat uniforms and Exoskeleton Armor.
The scene.
Was extremely impactful.
Qi Chun stood by the railing.
"Good heavens..."
"Brother Yu isn't just hiring bodyguards."
"He's practically moved the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show here, hasn't he?"
"All foreign girls?"
"This quality... tsk tsk, that old bastard Odin really knew how to enjoy himself."
Beside him.
Li Ruobing shot him a cold glance.
"Keep looking and I'll dig your eyes out."
After saying that.
She turned to look at Qin Yu.
Her eyes held a hint of resentment and a touch of vigilance.
"Qin Yu."
"So many people."
"The consumption of fresh water and food on the ship will double."
"And."
Li Ruobing lowered her voice, pointing at the women below who, though bowing their heads, still clenched their fists tightly.
"They're not convinced."
"There's killing intent in their eyes."
"Keeping them is just asking for trouble."
Qin Yu smiled.
Bringing the freshly lit cigarette to his lips.
"Killing intent?"
"Killing intent is good."
"If they were just like those vases who only know how to cry and whine, what would I want them for?"
"As decorations?"
Qin Yu stood up.
Patting the dust off his pant legs.
He descended step by step down the stairs.
The sound of his leather boots on the deck was crisp.
"Tap, tap, tap."
Each step.
Seemed to land right on the hearts of those female prisoners.
Qin Yu walked to the first row.
And stopped.
His gaze swept over these faces full of exotic charm.
It had to be said.
That dead man Odin certainly had good taste.
Any one of these fifty or sixty women, if placed before the apocalypse, would have been a top supermodel candidate.
Especially Elena standing at the very front.
Even now, covered in grime.
Even with bruises from restraints still visible on her wrists.
That standout aura of hers remained impossible to hide.
Like a thorny ice rose.
Qin Yu walked up to Elena.
The distance between them was less than ten centimeters.
Elena instinctively wanted to step back.
But she held her ground.
Instead, she stared fixedly at Qin Yu's neck.
That look in her eyes.
As if she wanted to take a bite out of it.
"Not convinced?"
Qin Yu reached out.
Wanting to lift her chin.
"Don't touch me!"
Elena jerked her head aside.
Like a cat with its fur bristling.
The female warriors behind her instantly grew restless.
"Don't touch our captain!"
"Get your filthy hands off her!"
Qin Yu's hand hung in mid-air.
He wasn't angry.
Instead, his smile widened.
"Filthy hands?"
He glanced at his palm.
It was indeed stained with a bit of machine oil from fixing something earlier.
"Fair enough."
"Since we're in a new environment."
"The rules should change too."
Qin Yu withdrew his hand.
His eyes suddenly turned cold.
The temperature around them seemed to drop several degrees in an instant.
"First rule."
"Take off this armor."
Elena was stunned.
"What?"
"I said."
Qin Yu pointed at the silver-white Exoskeleton Armor they were wearing.
"This thing."
"S-Class Valkyrie Assault Armor."
"High power, strong defense, comes with a Jetpack."
"Seeing it on you."
"Makes me dizzy."
"Take it off."
The entire place erupted in uproar.
In this apocalyptic world.
Exoskeletons meant life.
Without that layer of steel, they were just ordinary flesh and blood, vulnerable to any stray bullet.
"Impossible!"
Elena snapped her head up, her eyes filled with fury.
"We've already surrendered!"
"This is our personal equipment!"
"You can't…"
"Personal?"
Qin Yu cut her off.
His tone was as calm as if he were commenting on the weather.
"From the moment you stepped onto this ship."
"Your people."
"Your lives."
"Including every single strand of hair on your bodies."
"Belong to me."
Qin Yu snapped his fingers.
"Fatty."
"Yeah! Coming!"
Qi Chun upstairs had been waiting impatiently. He slid down, clutching his toolbox.
"What do you need, Brother Yu?"
"These dozens of S-Class Armor sets."
"Haven't you been eyeing them for a long time?"
"Take them and play around."
"I'd also like to see if you can upgrade that shabby fortress of yours."
"You got it!"
Qi Chun was so delighted he could barely contain his grin.
Rubbing his hands together, he approached the female warriors.
"Ladies, care to cooperate?"
"Don't force Fatty here to get rough."
"If I have to do it myself, I might not hold back."
"You dare!"
A hot-tempered female warrior raised her leg, intending to kick Qi Chun.
Thwip!
A soft sound.
Before the female warrior's leg could even extend.
A silver tentacle pierced straight through her calf.
"Ah!"
A scream rang out.
The tentacle didn't pull out.
Instead, it coiled upward from the wound like a snake.
Until it pinned the female warrior firmly to the deck.
Blood.
Flowed along the grooves of the deck.
A shocking sight.
Qin Yu didn't even glance at the screaming woman.
He just stared at Elena.
"I'll count to three."
"If you don't take it off."
"You die."
"One."
Elena's nails dug deep into her flesh.
"Two."
The sister pinned to the ground was still wailing.
The surrounding liquid metal had already begun to surge like a tide.
That icy killing intent.
Wasn't faked.
This man.
Would truly kill them all.
"Take it off!!"
Elena practically roared it out.
Her hands trembling.
She pressed the unload button on her chest.
"Hiss—"
The sound of the air pressure valve releasing.
That S-Class Armor that had accompanied her through countless life-and-death situations.
Slipped to the ground.
Revealing the thin combat uniform underneath.
Losing the support of the armor.
She felt a wave of weakness in her body.
As if half her soul had been drained away.
With their leader taking the lead.
The female warriors behind her.
One by one, gritting their teeth.
Tears streaming.
Took off their armor.
"Clang!"
"Clang!"
The sound of metal hitting the ground rose and fell.
Even Qi Chun, as lustful as he was, didn't dare to look around recklessly now.
He quickly called over a few Engineering Robots to drag away all that armor.
This was all treasure!
With these materials.
His Floating Fortress could level up at least one more tier!
Qin Yu looked at these "lionesses" who had been stripped of their fangs before him.
And nodded in satisfaction.
"That's more like it."
"Be obedient."
"That's how you live long."
He walked up to Elena.
This time.
Elena didn't dodge.
Only in those sapphire-blue eyes.
The hatred grew thicker.
Even carrying a hint of calculation.
Qin Yu understood that look.
It was enduring humiliation to prepare for revenge.
It was biding time, waiting for an opportunity.
She was thinking, as long as she survived, there would always be a chance to kill this man.
Always a chance to take back everything that belonged to them.
"Want to kill me?"
Qin Yu suddenly leaned close to her ear.
Whispering.
In a voice only the two of them could hear.
Elena's body stiffened.
Her pupils contracted sharply.
The fear of having her thoughts exposed.
Was more terrifying than death.
"Don't be nervous."
The corner of Qin Yu's mouth lifted slightly.
His warm breath brushed against her earlobe.
"Wanting to kill me is right."
"After all, I killed your old master."
"And stole your equipment."
"If you had no reaction at all, I'd actually look down on you."
Qin Yu stepped back half a pace.
Looking at Elena's pale yet stunningly beautiful face.
"I'll give you the chance."
"You're welcome to try to assassinate me anytime."
"Poison, sneak attacks, seduction."
"Any method is fine."
"As long as you can pull it off."
At this point.
Qin Yu paused.
His gaze turned playful.
"However."
"Before that."
"You'd better pray I stay alive and well."
"Because."
"This ship."
"Only recognizes one master."
"If I die."
"All this liquid metal on the ship."
"Will instantly go out of control."
"And swallow all of you."
"Leaving not even bone fragments behind."
Elena's face completely changed.
If there was still a sliver of thought to fight desperately before.
Now.
That sliver of thought was also extinguished.
This wasn't just killing and crushing the spirit.
This was tying their lives.
To his life.
Together.
Wanting him dead.
Yet not daring to let him die.
This feeling of frustration.
Made Elena almost vomit blood.
"You're a demon."
Elena gritted her teeth, squeezing out these words from between them.
"Thanks for the compliment."
Qin Yu didn't mind it at all.
He turned and walked toward the bow of the ship.
"Alright."
"Catching up is over."
"Since you've joined the crew."
"Let's get down to business."
He pointed at the coastline ahead, growing ever closer.
The heavy fog had already dissipated.
Revealing the outline of a massive port.
There.
Was Odin's lair.
The Ice-Free Port.
But at this moment.
That port was engulfed in soaring flames.
The sounds of battle cries could be heard even from several nautical miles away.
"It seems."
"Someone got here before us."
Qin Yu narrowed his eyes.
Watching the figures scurrying around like ants inside the port.
They were survivors from the nearby seas.
With Odin dead.
These hyenas had caught the scent and come.
All looting.
All burning.
"My things."
"Are these pieces of trash even fit to touch?"
Qin Yu turned around.
Looking at the group of female warriors who had just lost their armor and were now lost in confusion and rage.
"I have a task for you."
"Go clean up that trash."
"No prisoners."
"Only corpses."
"This is your initiation."
"And the standard for whether you eat tonight."
Elena glanced at the distant port.
Then looked at Qin Yu.
She understood.
This was a test.
And also using them as a blade to kill.
Qin Yu didn't want to dirty his own hands.
Nor waste ammunition.
He was also forcing them to completely sever their retreat.
Killing those survivors.
Meant they could never go back.
They could only follow this demon down the dark path.
"What?"
"Didn't you hear?"
Qin Yu raised an eyebrow.
The Liquid Metal behind him began to surge once more.
"We heard!"
Elena shouted.
She had no choice.
She drew a spare High-Frequency Vibration Dagger from the outer side of her thigh.
This was the only weapon Qin Yu had allowed them to keep.
"Sisters!"
"Ashore!"
"Clean up... the trash!"
--Enjoying the story? Want more chapters? Check out my Patreon and support me for 40+ advance chapters.
Just search for "LegendaryTL" on Patreon!"
Thanks!