They all call me Great Master

Fornac, Nack, and Haite weren't a trio.

There was a fourth person!

And that was William!

Moreover, William was the leader amongst the four.

20 years ago, as they grew from teenagers into young adults, their passion cooled and they realized that going out to sea would not fulfill their dreams.

So the four pirates chose to go ashore.

At night, they quietly lowered all the small boats from the pirate ship, loaded with treasure and equipped with enough food and water for the return journey—before this, the four had already drilled holes in the bottom of the large ship to ensure they wouldn't be pursued. Moreover, William, the head chef, had drugged the food that evening.

With the ship breached and the small boats at sea, the drugged food was served.

All their pirate comrades, unaware of what was happening, met their end in the belly of fish.

Meanwhile, William, Fornac, Nack, and Haite were jubilant, imagining the wonderful life they would lead ashore.

Everything was so perfect.

Until they encountered a storm.

The boats filled with treasure capsized instantly.

The food and fresh water were lost as well.

The four of them ended up overboard.

Fortunately, they encountered a passing merchant ship—that ship saved them, and they falsely claimed to be crewmembers of the "White Wine Cup Number," a ship they had just robbed. As the news hadn't spread, the merchant ship had no suspicions and provided them food and hot soup.

It was here that William, thanks to his cooking skills, made the acquaintance of the Sank family and learned of their wealth.

But unlike their previous targets,

The Sank family was highly cautious, vigilant, and armed.

In the family, consisting of parents and four children, even the youngest could easily take down an adult.

And that child was only eight years old.

William warned the other three not to act rashly and began to engage with the family, using the youngest child as his point of entry.

The process was quite lengthy.

After a voyage of one and a half months, from the lands near North County, they arrived at Xisis Port in South County and landed in South Los.

Meanwhile, William and the youngest child of the Sank family had become good friends, and it seemed he had come to know something significant, making him silent and reserved.

The Sank family began purchasing real estate on Mule Street, and William's group bid farewell to them and embarked on a merchant ship—they were ready to try their luck again.

Not only for money but also to cover their identities.

This time they succeeded.

The storm concealed everything; "Reef Number" sank, taking down with it their disguised information.

They returned to South Los once more, each assuming a new identity.

All except for William.

William actually began to repent.

Then, after half a year, while Fornac, Nack, and Haite were living relatively decent lives, William had turned into a beggar, and moreover, a mad one.

To this, the three expressed confusion and helplessness.

Time passed, another half a year went by, and William suddenly approached them with a plan for a big score,

promising that after this job, they would truly be without any worries regarding food and clothing.

The three agreed.

Because they knew well that a target worth William disguising himself for a year would definitely be a big catch.

Decent days or a worry-free life.

They chose the latter.

However, they later found out that their target was the Sank family.

The trio was surprised.

In their view, the wealth of the Sank family was not worth such an elaborate plan, but soon, they were persuaded—they had seen with their own eyes the youngest Sank child handing a fist-sized gold nugget to William. Despite the distance, they saw the gold, and later they touched it too.

The plan was simple: sneak in during the night, murder and rob.

William set the date and time—just like before, the trio didn't notice anything amiss.

Until the day of the action!

William said he would go in first while they waited outside. On hearing any noise, they were to start fires and then shoot anyone who ran out.

As soon as shouting was heard inside the Sank home, the three quickly poured out the oil, started fires, and when they saw people running out, they fired their crossbows.

Then, they encountered a red-eyed monster.

The creature simply snatched the three, asked a few simple questions, laughed heartily, and asked if they wanted to truly make a fortune.

Having witnessed the monster's terror, the three men, now without their leader William, dared not resist anymore.

Their target was still the "Sank family." Following the monster's orders, they rushed in, splattering dog blood and the rumored air-poisoning, crop-wilting blood of women.

Upon contact with the air, this blood ignited.

Then, the monster charged in and began slaughtering the desperate "Sank family."

"It was you! It was all your plan!"

Desperate, Sank roared as he fought the monster with a silver sword, but soon it bit off his neck, followed by Madam Sank and their four children, none of whom survived.

Moreover, the monster devoured all six of them.

However, the three of them survived.

Incredibly, the monster kept its promise, released the three men, and rewarded them.

Fornac found this unbelievable.

The subsequent events were hardly noteworthy; the three resumed their individual lives, becoming what they are today.

"William?"

Arthur murmured this name to himself.

Undoubtedly, the last-disappeared pirate cook was the biggest winner.

Arthur couldn't believe that someone who had planned for so long would die at the hands of the "Sank family." The man must have left with something.

Those who remained were merely scapegoats.

Even the appearance of the "Blood Descendants" had been part of his calculations.

As for the item taken?

"Power"—the power owned by the "Sank family."

At that time, the "Seven Years' War" had just ended ten years prior, but some "witch-hunting activities" in North County and the West Coast hadn't completely ceased.

And as is well known, the silver sword was the standard issue for a Witch Hunter.

Clearly, the "Sank family" had grown tired of the endless witch-hunting activities in North County and had started their move to South Los in South County.

"A Witch Hunter being outdone by regular folk... they probably wouldn't believe it even in death!"

Thus, even in facing reality, they would insist it was the work of the "Blood Descendants!"

Only in that way could the Witch Hunter feel somewhat better.

Otherwise, he would have to admit that he, like those ordinary people he had sent to the burning stakes, was just as helpless and ordinary.

"Tch, arrogant fool."

Arthur scorned with a cold sneer in his heart.

He had no sympathy for the "Witch Hunter" who had sent countless innocent people to their deaths.

Even if that person had quit, it made no difference.

Making mistakes without accepting punishment...

Was not atonement.

It was indulgence.

"But then, that 'Blood Descendant' actually kept his promise, what does that mean?"

The last bit of noble pride?

Or an inability to tarnish his honor?

Even if the "Blood Marquis" was dead, did he still need to follow the rules?"

Arthur pondered the behavior of that "Blood Descendant," somewhat puzzled,

Not puzzled by his "noble behavior."

But puzzled, if he appeared 20 years ago, what has he been doing these 20 years?

Why hasn't there been even a tiny bit of noise?

This did not fit the image of an Avenger.

Moreover, Arthur found it strange that the original "Blood Descendant" had targeted the "Sank family."

Could it be that the "Sank family" was related to the death of the "Blood Marquis" family?

Too many questions made Arthur involuntarily rub his throbbing temples.

He then hugged Pendragon in his arms, listening to the unique sound of the carriage wheels rolling over the cobblestone street, and quietly said— Experience more content on My Virtual Library Empire

"There are so many bad people in the world, so little kitty, you must behave obediently, or else the bad people outside might catch and eat you up."

Pendragon paid no attention to his words, merely purring in Arthur's arms.

Arthur smiled as he began to scratch the top of Pendragon's head, murmuring to himself,

"So, to avoid being eaten, occasionally deceiving people, doing dirty tricks, robbing the rich to help the poor, creating double wins, triple wins, even quadruple wins can be forgiven, right?"