"We're all sailing to Bilgewater, so why would it be inconvenient?"
Elise, sprawled on the ship's rail, fully displayed her breathtaking beauty. Her left hand cupped her chin, while her right index finger gently traced the rail.
Her eyes were half-closed, and her tone revealed a hint of languor.
Just her movements, tone, and an unintentional glance caused gasps of admiration to ripple across the Swordfish. The men and women on the other ship looked at Elise with unimaginable fanaticism and adoration.
It was like those obsessive sasaeng fans Duke had seen in his previous life.
"Does this guy not understand my subtext?"
Duke subtly rolled his eyes. Elise was extremely dangerous. If he were alone right now, he could make Elise kneel and sing a song of surrender on the spot, without a single stumble.
If she stumbled, he would blast her Spider Silk with ebony wood.
But now, he had so many burdens with him. Elise's magic could manipulate these ordinary people in the palm of her hand, whether they were sailors who had long plied the seas or scientists skilled in invention and creation.
Only magic can counter magic!
This was also why, among so many people, Duke was the only one who remained clear-headed.
And this big spider in front of him, for some unknown reason, intended to take advantage of them!
Duke's fingers twitched slightly, ready to turn hostile at any moment. This guy was really pushing her luck!
Elise was unaware of Duke's thoughts. Instead, she stared at the ship full of people with great interest. The sacrifices for She Who Hungers were enough with the people around her.
Of course, a little more, and She Who Hungers, that lovely big fellow, wouldn't mind.
However, among the people on this ship, there might be Piltover craftsmen. If she could take one or two back to Noxus, they might become bargaining chips for trade with the Black Rose.
The Black Rose valued Piltover craftsmen highly, especially since Noxus was resource-poor. Anything they wanted had to be obtained through their own hands, through exploration and conquest.
Even the entire Noxus encouraged this trend, making it popular among all citizens.
Under such a culture, excellent warriors were abundant, but qualified craftsmen were hard to find.
Noxian craftsmen were good for forging swords and blades, but manufacturing other devices with precise structures was asking too much of them.
Noxian craftsmen lacked the necessary creativity.
If she could capture one or two from this ship and bring them back, she could also exchange them for more resources from the Black Rose.
Elise's thoughts raced. Her cherry lips parted slightly, just as she was about to say something, a cannon blast that echoed in all directions interrupted her next words.
This cannon shot also made Duke's heart jump. Just dealing with one Elise was troublesome enough; now what new trouble had arisen?
Having this group of burdens was truly inconvenient in every way. If he were alone, he would take Elise back to Piltover and put her in the Lanxun family's private zoo as an exhibit, charging admission for revenue.
At sea, there was no place for her Spider Silk to connect. If she dared to hide inside the cargo ship, Duke would pull out his Electromagnetic Cannon and blow the ship to smithereens in one go.
Duke didn't want to cause trouble, but he wasn't afraid of it either!
When it truly came to blows, he would pull out ebony and ivory and break all eight of the spider's legs!
"Rumble!!!"
Another series of roars sounded. Duke, who had pushed up his Edith Smart Mirror, looked in the direction of the sound and saw a two-masted schooner rushing towards them at an extremely high speed.
One mast of this two-masted schooner had been shattered, and its hull showed large areas of damage, even emitting thick black smoke. But even so, it could still maintain a very high speed.
"Pirate ship?"
Noticing the skull depicted on the ship's flag, Duke's brow furrowed slightly, but then relaxed. He didn't want to have too much interaction with that woman, Elise.
He had no interest in such a venomous woman!
Wasn't Caitlyn good enough?
Wasn't Orianna good enough?
Wasn't Jinx good enough?
As long as he worked hard, they would all be his; not one of them would escape. So why would he look for a big spider!?
Although Elise was indeed beautiful and enchanting, with full, long legs, a slender waist, and a captivatingly alluring face, Duke wasn't brain-damaged; he wouldn't make things difficult for himself like that.
Boom!!
A sudden explosion reached Duke's ears, and a sense of danger arose in his heart. Duke, who had just been feigning civility with Elise, raised his left hand, and ebony appeared in his palm. He pulled the trigger.
Boom!!!
The cannonball, which hadn't even approached the Swordfish, was directly pierced by ebony's bullet, exploding violently in mid-air.
The intense Fire burst forth with a powerful impact. As fragments of the cannonball sprayed in all directions, thick black smoke diffused in front of the Swordfish.
"My apologies, madam!" Duke, holding ebony, offered Elise an apologetic smile: "Did I startle you?"
"No, as a Noxian, I wouldn't be flustered by such a small sound!"
Elise maintained her position, leaning over the ship's rail, staring at Duke with a smile. Rather than looking at Duke, she seemed to be looking at the ebony in his hand.
This beautifully crafted weapon gave her an indescribable sense of threat.
If she were to face it directly and be hit, she would at least lose mobility on the spot, if not die!
"Please excuse me for a moment, madam!"
Duke bowed slightly. Taking out white ivory, he walked towards the bow. The two-masted schooner was already too close.
When Elise noticed that Duke also had another weapon in his hand of the same caliber as ebony, capable of posing a threat to her, her covetousness for any potential artisans on the Swordfish was completely forgotten.
Are you kidding? One weapon is enough to threaten me, and this kid has another one in his hand!
These must be legendary weapons, and that cannonball that flew horizontally just now—Duke didn't even look; he purely relied on experience and feel, extinguishing it in its infancy with a single shot, which was enough to show his strength.
Facing such a gunman with legendary weapons, whose combat experience and awareness were both top-notch, anyone would have to weigh whether they were qualified.
One must know that this was the open sea, with no Spider Silk for her to leverage. Especially since the sacrifice she had prepared could not have any problems, otherwise She Who Hungers would punish her.
Although she possessed Voracity, she wasn't brainless!
She still understood the necessary concessions and retreats!
Elise straightened up, put her hood back on, and loudly ordered her crew, "Immediately create distance from our Piltover friends, find an opportunity to fire, and avoid friendly fire!"
Duke stopped, looking at Elise with considerable surprise, his wariness of her rising another level.
Someone who isn't swayed by immediate gains and can clearly assess the situation is truly difficult to deal with!
Although he didn't know the purpose of the other party approaching them, he had to be on high alert no matter what happened next.
The accumulated experience of an old antique who had lived for several centuries was not something ordinary people could fathom.
As Elise withdrew her attention, the people on the Swordfish seemed to awaken from a deep dream, one after another, breaking free from Elise's charm magic.
However, if they were to encounter Elise again, they would instantly be captivated, simply because Elise's charm magic, once experienced, planted a seed.
Afterward, control would be a mere glance.
"Everyone, stay alert! We might have a tough nut to crack ahead!"
Lister slapped himself hard twice to clear his head, his face flushed as he paced the deck, a rifle in his hand, ready for the upcoming battle.
As for Jayce, he awkwardly squatted on the ground; although others weren't much better off than him, as a person with self-respect, Jayce felt he needed to mind his appearance… Standing on the bow deck, Duke stared at the twin-masted pirate ship ahead, but as the other party approached firing range, Duke saw yet another vessel.
This ship was clearly larger than the twin-masted sailboat and possessed a unique style.
"No wonder they're rushing towards us; turns out they're being chased!"
"My Lord, what should we do next?"
Captain Lister approached Duke from behind.
Duke glanced at the large ship slowly pulling away from his Swordfish, deciding to temporarily hold his ground.
"First, let them pass.
They are clearly two ships, one chasing and one being chased.
We shouldn't intervene rashly, and we are a research vessel; we shouldn't always be thinking about fighting!"
When Duke said this, Lister glanced at the ebony and ivory in Duke's hand, muttering to himself.
"It seems you're the one with the most killing intent!"
But these words, he only dared to think.
Carrying his rifle, he strode to call the sailors to turn the rudder, making way for the two ships engaged in a life-and-death chase.
No sooner had the Swordfish and Elise's ship made way than the twin-masted sailboat shot past them.
Duke could even see the panic and Terrify on the faces of the people on board.
The twin-masted ship was very fast, almost instantly leaving the Swordfish and Elise's ship far behind, and the ship following it arrived belatedly at this moment.
On the bow deck stood a woman with a tricorn hat and sun-kissed skin.
She held two guns, a determined smile on her beautiful face, her untied brown hair flowing behind her, and her proud, graceful figure made people's imaginations run wild.
As her ship sailed past the Swordfish, the woman even had the presence of mind to wink at Duke.
Duke's mouth slightly opened; as this beautiful and confident lady entered his sight, he couldn't help but blurt out a curse.
"Shit!"
"Miss Fortune?!"
... The rhythm is off, nothing I write feels right, I deleted ten thousand words of manuscript, I need to adjust, sorry... Requesting fresh flowers, monthly tickets, rewards, and evaluation tickets... and.
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