Chapter 274: Eleven Ranks vs. Four Ranks

The Black Seahorse was caught off guard, allowing Charlot Mecklenburg to gain the upper hand. Suspended mid-air, he cursed vehemently, “You brat! I’ll make your death miserable, a torment you’ll regret!”

Despite his threats, he wasn’t overly concerned about danger. The walls of Saint Michael Island were high, but the waters below were deep. As a fourth-rank Transcendent, he was confident he could escape the predicament with ease.

The Black Seahorse plunged into the water along with Charlot. The impact of their fall caused both of them to sink deep. Unable to open his mouth to curse anymore, the pirate leader fumed inwardly, When I get back to the wall, I’ll throw you into the dungeon and subject you to every conceivable torture. I’ll show you what true cruelty means, bear-boy.

“Do you think just because you’ve become a Transcendent, you’ll earn respect on Saint Michael Island?”

“I’ll show you that a first-rank Transcendent is nothing.”

As the Black Seahorse prepared to utilize his abilities and surface, he suddenly felt a heavy blow to his abdomen.

The force of the strike wasn’t overwhelming, but it was precise, like a bullet piercing his protective combat energy. It disrupted his energy, scattering it throughout his body.

After plunging into the sea, Charlot reverted to his human form. With one calculated strike, he didn’t even spare the Black Seahorse a glance. He immediately activated Beast God Morphing and transformed back into his Redback Bear form, rising above the water’s surface as a bear-boy.

When Charlot reversed the effects of Blood Glory into Stardust Battle Energy, his combat energy surged to the eleventh rank, just a step away from becoming a high-rank Transcendent.

Since his transmigration, Charlot had often fought opponents far superior to him. Occasionally encountering a lower-rank Transcendent, if he couldn’t defeat one in a single strike, wouldn’t he be wasting his time?

As Charlot surfaced, the Black Seahorse’s life essence suddenly compressed, condensing into a single point. His appearance turned skeletal and horrifying. In the next moment, this condensed life energy exploded, disintegrating the Black Seahorse into fragments without leaving a drop of blood.

This was the peculiar ability of Stardust Battle Energy: Dark Corrosion.

Usually, when Charlot fought enemies of higher ranks—legendary warriors or unparalleled heroes—this secret technique didn’t stand out much, as his adversaries could withstand its effects. However, Dark Corrosion, a secret art of the Arsilo Clan, one of the three great vampire families, was devastatingly effective against a mere fourth-rank pirate. Its sinister dominance was fully revealed.

Charlot shouted above the waves, and soon his crew lowered a rope to pull him up.

Meanwhile, the Black Seahorse’s subordinates waited atop the wall for their leader to surface. Time passed, but he didn’t appear.

The pirates exchanged uneasy glances, unsure of what to do.

The Black Seahorse could bully Charlot because he was a fourth-rank Transcendent. But his underlings lacked another Transcendent among them. How could they dare to insult or accuse Charlot, a Transcendent himself?

In pirate circles, only personal strength mattered. Status was irrelevant. Even though they were officially part of the crew, none of them dared to confront Charlot.

As time dragged on and the Black Seahorse remained missing, a foreboding realization set in. Their leader was likely dead.

Charlot accepted a towel handed to him by his crew, casually wiping the seawater from his face. With a hearty grin, he asked, “So, how about joining me from now on?”

The pirates exchanged nervous glances before silently falling in line behind Charlot. In pirate society, strength ruled. Without a strong leader, their positions were untenable. Without Charlot, they risked being demoted to grunt work—or worse. While Charlot wasn’t necessarily the best choice as a leader, they had no better options.

Charlot led this group of pirates along with his original crew on a patrol through the area, boldly returning to the inner city afterward.

The Golden Rams Fleet was vast, with more members than a small city’s population. Administrative chaos reigned, as there were few capable managers. The grunt pirates formed cliques, with little oversight. Even the official pirates had only marginally better organization.

Charlot took over the Black Seahorse’s former quarters and patrol duties. At first, he was cautious, but he quickly realized no one seemed to care. Not a single person asked him, Where’s the Black Seahorse?

Having lived in peaceful times before his transmigration, Charlot had no concept of the underworld, mafia, gangs, or pirate society. He couldn’t grasp how simply killing a leader could result in seizing their power.

But he adapted quickly to his new role and began his usual habit of “amassing forces.”

The wall patrol assigned to the Black Seahorse covered ten sections, each manned by a group of pirates and anywhere from a few hundred to over a thousand slaves.

Rather than meddle with the unruly pirate cliques, Charlot selected 200 to 300 slaves to bolster his direct forces, swelling his numbers to over 500.

These slaves, beaten down by despair, were overwhelmingly grateful when Charlot freed them. Their loyalty far surpassed that of the pirates.

From these slaves, Charlot handpicked the strongest dozens and taught them Beast God Morphing: Redback Bear Warrior Transformation.

Beastfolk made up only a small fraction of the slave population. Most slaves on Saint Michael Island were humans. While it was impossible for them to reach Transcendent levels in a short time, learning the Redback Bear Warrior transformation increased their strength and fostered a sense of kinship with the bear-boy Charlot, as though they’d met one of their own.

Charlot didn’t worry about the risk of his secret technique being leaked.

First, he only taught slaves in secret. These slaves, unfamiliar with anyone else on Saint Michael Island, were closer to him due to the oppression they’d endured.

Second, Charlot was prepared to take risks. He believed that as long as he displayed enough strength, everyone would choose loyalty.

Charlot’s swift rise among the pirates soon caught the attention of higher-ups.

One of the Golden Rams Fleet’s ten commanders, nicknamed Deep Sea Squid, who controlled three ships, unexpectedly summoned Charlot to accompany him in welcoming the fleet’s flagship.

Charlot had no idea why he’d been chosen but dutifully brought his men to the port.

Deep Sea Squid was already considered a senior figure on Saint Michael Island.

The Golden Rams Fleet, besides its leader, had five deputy leaders. Below them were the ten commanders, each with thousands of subordinates and at least three ships under their command.

One of these commanders had already been killed by Charlot in a prior encounter.

Thus, as Menielman Soumet had remarked, Charlot was now “quite famous” on Saint Michael Island.

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