Chapter 273: Jump Down

In both his previous life and this one, Charlot Mecklenburg experienced combat energy for the first time.

However, it wasn’t the combat energy of human knights but rather the bloodthirsty energy of the orc race.

Blood Glory, part of the category of evil energy, was close to combat energy but not quite the same. When Charlot converted Blood Glory into the Arsilo Family's Stardust Battle Energy, it still wasn’t true combat energy.

And Bloodflame Aura...

Fine! Bloodflame Aura also belonged to evil energy, not combat energy.

Charlot Mecklenburg didn’t care about such distinctions. As long as he could achieve transcendence, the path didn’t matter. That was why, during his university days, he abandoned the study of knightly combat energy and turned to cultivate Blood Glory.

Charlot Huang Haisheng cared even less about what he practiced. He had even aspired to become a Darkmoon Sorcerer. However, the former player of his character had already locked in his build, leaving him no choice but to continue on the transcendent path of Blood Glory.

Now, Charlot stood proudly like a bear, emanating the glow of bloodthirsty combat energy. With a murderously black iron club in hand, he scanned the trembling pirates on this section of the city wall. It was unclear who was so quick-witted, but someone suddenly shouted, “Welcome, Lord Kainan, to take charge of our squad!”

Charlot was pleased with the flattery and shouted, “Anyone dissatisfied?”

Having just killed the leader known as Monkey Boss and with the radiance of bloodthirsty combat energy bursting from his body, it was evident Charlot had ascended to transcendence. The ordinary pirates wouldn’t dare oppose him. They all believed that with the ferocity of this young bear-man, anyone who voiced dissent would end up as dinner for their new boss.

Orcs eating humans was a deep-rooted belief in these pirates’ minds.

Charlot hadn’t expected this outcome either. He had been trying to rise within his original squad but unexpectedly found himself becoming a leader in another group.

Pirates lived in chaos, often fighting among themselves. Deaths were common occurrences, and even among these small-fry pirates, changing leaders was nobody’s concern. Charlot became the leader of dozens of pirates, unnoticed by the mid-level ranks of the Golden Rams Fleet, let alone the high-ranking officials.

Thanks to his earlier experiences, Charlot quickly bonded with the slaves and pirates under his command. He even promoted over ten strong slaves to pirates, secretly teaching them the Orc Assassin Alliance’s secret technique—the Beast God Transformation: Redback Bear Warrior form—significantly enhancing the strength of his squad.

The Beast God Transformation was the signature secret art of the Orc Assassin Alliance. The cat-shaped masks forged through this technique even served as identification for assassins from the alliance.

Charlot had never encountered humans practicing it before.

A bear-man mastering the Orc Assassin Alliance’s secret technique was virtually flawless.

Even though the slaves who learned the Redback Bear Warrior transformation wouldn’t necessarily ascend to transcendence, and even if a few worked tirelessly to achieve it, it would take years, maybe decades. Charlot didn’t intend to train transcendents; he had two simple goals: practicing the Beast God Transformation to increase his strength, just as knightly breathing techniques enhanced a person’s physique before they became knights.

As a bear-man youth of the Redback Bear Tribe, Charlot's identity had its advantages. Other orcs found him approachable, but humans remained wary. After all, orcs had a poor reputation among humans.

However, the slaves who learned the Beast God Transformation: Redback Bear Warrior form, regardless of their origins, developed a natural affinity for Charlot. A subtle sense of kinship emerged.

Charlot had been on Saint Michael Island for over half a month. Not only had he firmly established his footing, but he had also gathered valuable intelligence about the island.

Saint Michael City had a population nearing 100,000, making it a large city even by the standards of the Old Continent. For context, the capital of the Behemoth Principality, Mostar Castle, was about the same size. The top ten cities on Goring Island combined probably didn’t have as many residents as Saint Michael City.

However, most of this population consisted of transient individuals—pirates and black-market traders arriving with pirate and merchant ships, and slaves brought for sale. The actual number of people loyal to the Golden Rams Fleet was only about 30,000, with over half of those being official pirates. The remaining were low-level workers who lacked the qualifications to sail or even board ships, and many of them could end up as cargo themselves.

For instance, if some big shot desired bear paws for dinner, Monkey Boss wouldn’t hesitate to target Charlot, sending people to “kill the bear and harvest the paws.” When Monkey Boss’s attempt to curry favor failed, his death didn’t raise any alarm; nobody would avenge him.

These low-level pirates, nominally part of the Golden Rams Fleet, were divided into over a dozen factions. Each faction was led by a transcendent boss.

Charlot’s killing of Monkey Boss and his display of combat energy had already drawn the attention of many pirate leaders. Over the past few days, various figures had subtly hinted that he should join their factions. These low-level leaders, despite their fortuitous rise to transcendence, lacked foresight and didn’t even bother offering “proper political promises” such as captaincy or sub-leadership. Charlot ignored all of them.

One pirate came running up excitedly, shouting, “Boss! Someone’s willing to sell the thing you wanted, but the price is a bit steep.”

As a bear-man, Charlot found it inconvenient to use vampiric combat techniques. Besides, Blood Clan techniques required various supernatural abilities to be effective, and their moves were mediocre without them. Charlot had been looking for a bear-man weapon. Since there were no weapon shops on Saint Michael Island, he had tried to acquire an iron chain when he couldn’t find his preferred meteor hammer.

Ships were abundant on Saint Michael Island, and so were anchor chains. However, most ships didn’t carry spare chains. Despite Charlot’s efforts, he hadn’t succeeded in buying one.

Hearing the news, Charlot remained indifferent. He considered the weapon a temporary tool and didn’t care much if he couldn’t get it. “How much are they asking?” he asked calmly.

“Five gold pounds!” the pirate replied.

“Tell them to go to hell!” Charlot cursed. “Even a transcendent weapon doesn’t cost that much. Five gold pounds for a broken chain? Why don’t they just rob someone?”

The pirate scratched his head awkwardly and said, “Well, the chain was robbed. They raided a merchant ship, killed the crew, burned the vessel, and looted the treasures. On the way back, they found the anchor too heavy, only to discover it was dragging the chain of a first-tier merchant ship.”

“But they’re adamant. They won’t lower the price.”

“They even said if they don’t get five gold pounds, they’d rather throw it into the sea than sell it to us.”

Charlot snorted and dismissed the idea of buying such an overpriced chain. These pirates had no credibility. Even if he agreed to the price, they might increase it on the spot. Besides, Charlot, now a small-time leader, had no money to his name.

Monkey Boss hadn’t dropped any gold coins upon death. His wealth was all in Machubi, far out of Charlot’s reach.

“Let them throw it into the sea,” Charlot said. “It’s just a piece of chain. There’s no shortage of that in the ocean.”

From a distance, Charlot saw a patrol team approaching and quickly shoved the small pirate aside. The patrolling pirates were official members of the Golden Rams Fleet, not to be trifled with by low-ranking workers like them.

The patrol reached him. A middle-aged pirate looked at Charlot and asked, “Are you the one they call Kainan?”

Charlot smiled earnestly. “That’s me. Do you have orders, sir?”

The middle-aged pirate sneered, pointing to the sea below the wall. “Jump down.”

The pirates behind him burst into laughter, all wearing mocking expressions. They clearly wanted to see Charlot humiliated. This pirate, nicknamed Black Seahorse, was infamous for tormenting low-ranking workers. Forcing people to jump into the sea was his favorite trick. Anyone who resisted would be accused of disobedience and brutally punished. Over a hundred workers had died at his hands, making him notorious in Saint Michael City.

Charlot showed no sign of resistance. Instead, he acted as if preparing to run, and as he passed Black Seahorse, he suddenly lunged forward, grabbing the pirate tightly and jumping off the wall with him…

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