112: Japanese pirate intelligence

Mace was hit in her Acupoints by Qin Feng with lightning speed and captured alive on her own deck; the entire process happened in the blink of an eye. It was not until she stood frozen on the spot that the surrounding pirates suddenly reacted.

"Boss!"

"You... you cheated! You used hidden weapons! And poison!" a leader roared at Qin Feng, his eyes nearly splitting with rage.

"Release our boss!"

"Brothers, fight him to the death!"

A group of pirates drew their weapons with a clatter, surrounding Qin Feng and the immobile Mace. The atmosphere instantly grew tense again, brimming with Killing Intent.

"Hmph!"

A cold snort rang in everyone's ears like a thunderclap, accompanied by the sudden descent of a majestic Martial King pressure! Zhao Mang's burly figure had appeared above the Green Fish Bandits' main ship like a giant bird at some unknown point, his mountain-like Aura making all the pirates' breath hitch and their movements freeze.

"You lost," Qin Feng said flatly, looking at Mace, whose face was flushed with humiliation and anger. "Have them back off and drop their weapons. Otherwise, I don't mind adding a few more floating corpses to this sea."

Mace felt the cold touch of the qingming sword against her neck and Zhao Mang's undisguised Killing Intent, knowing the situation was lost. She gritted her teeth and squeezed out an order from her throat: "All of you... back down! Listen to him!"

"Leader!"

"Back down!" Mace shouted sharply.

The pirates looked at each other and finally, under Mace's long-standing authority and Zhao Mang's terrifying pressure, they resentfully put away their weapons and stepped back a few paces, though their eyes still glared fiercely at Qin Feng.

"Leader Zhao, please bring her onto our ship," Qin Feng said to Zhao Mang in the air.

Zhao Mang landed and, like picking up a chick, lifted the incapacitated Mace, whose Acupoints were sealed and who could not resist, and easily leapt back onto the deck of the ten thousand seas. Qin Feng followed close behind.

Once back on their relatively safe territory, Qin Feng signaled Zhao Mang to set Mace down, but he did not unseal her Acupoints.

Mace sat slumped on the deck, her fiery red hair a bit messy. She glared at Qin Feng, her beautiful eyes practically spitting fire. "Kill me or cut me up as you please! I admit defeat this time! But using such underhanded tactics—ptui!"

The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. Not only had she gained nothing this time, but she had been captured alive in front of her many subordinates, losing all face. "How am I supposed to survive in these waters in the future?!"

Qin Feng ignored her shouting, walked over to her, crouched down, and looked at her calmly. "I'm not interested in your life. I only want to ask you: how much do you know about that group of Wokou active recently?"

Mace was stunned for a moment, then snorted coldly and turned her head away. "Hmph! Why should I tell you?"

Qin Feng didn't get angry. With a flip of his hand, another Crystal Card worth ten thousand Gold Coins appeared between his fingertips, and he waved it before her eyes. "What if I give you this?"

Mace's eyes widened instantly, and her gaze involuntarily followed the movement of the Crystal Card. Ten thousand Gold Coins! That was no small sum; it was enough for the Green Fish Bandits to live comfortably for quite a while! Her previous demand for fifty thousand Gold Coins had been an extortionate opening bid; her actual expectation was that getting ten or twenty thousand would be satisfying.

"Ten... ten thousand?" Her tone clearly wavered, but she still held on. "Who knows if you're lying to me?"

"The reputation of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion isn't so low that we'd deceive a pirate leader for ten thousand Gold Coins." Qin Feng placed the Crystal Card on the deck in front of her. "Tell me all the intelligence you have regarding that group of Wokou, and this money is yours. Furthermore, I can guarantee that after confirming our ship has safely left these waters, I will set you free."

Mace looked at the Crystal Card within reach, then at the calm Qin Feng and the menacing Zhao Mang beside him, her heart struggling intensely. In the end, her desire for Gold Coins and her longing for freedom outweighed everything else.

"Fine! I'll talk!" She took a deep breath. "There's more than one group of Wokou, but the most active and brutal one lately is the group entrenched on Black Reef Island, about a hundred and fifty nautical miles to the northeast!"

"They appeared suddenly about a month ago and seized Black Reef Island with lightning speed, massacring all the uncivilized natives who originally lived there and turning that island into their base."

"Recently, they've successfully pulled off two big jobs in a row, hijacking two merchant ships carrying valuable cargo. Their methods are extremely cruel, leaving almost no one alive on the ships." At this point, a hint of wariness and hatred flashed in Mace's eyes. "Two groups of our Green Fish Bandits brothers also encountered them while out, and as a result... not a single one returned."

Qin Feng's gaze narrowed slightly. "Oh? It seems you have quite a grudge against them."

Mace gritted her teeth. "Those damn shorties! They don't follow the rules at all!" She looked at Qin Feng. "What? Are you planning to avoid them, or... are you looking for trouble with them?" Her tone carried a hint of testing and disbelief.

"You don't need to worry about that," Qin Feng said indifferently. "Keep talking. How strong are they? Who is their leader?"

Mace curled her lip. "I advise you not to provoke them. They have many men, probably fifty or sixty, each unafraid of death and well-equipped. The Katanas in their hands are at least Profound Rank Low Grade, and some might even be Profound Rank Medium Grade! Their leader is a Wokou named 'Sasaki.' His strength... is at least at the Martial King level! Whether he's Early Stage or Middle Stage, I'm not sure, but he's definitely not someone to Mace with!"

...Meanwhile, on Black Reef Island, a hundred and fifty nautical miles to the northeast.

The island was filled with jagged rocks and sparse vegetation. Inside a nest converted from a natural cave in the center, it was brightly lit, filled with the smell of alcohol and blood.

A short, stout middle-aged man wearing simple Samurai Armor, with a Toothbrush Mustache and fierce eyes, was holding a kidnapped woman who looked terrified and disheveled while gulping down Sake. He was the Wokou leader, Sasaki, and his Early Stage Martial King Aura was completely undisguised, carrying a scent of violence and slaughter.

"Baka!" Sasaki slammed his wine bowl onto the rough stone table and cursed at a Wokou in charge of intelligence below: "It's been four days! Why haven't you found any trace of the ten thousand seas?! Didn't the information from the Four Seas Merchant Guild say they were supposed to set out seven days ago?"

Last time, he had learned the route of a merchant guild's cargo ship in advance through an inside contact, successfully plundered it, and then sold it to an underground merchant specializing in such acquisitions, earning over a hundred thousand Gold Coins, which gave him a taste of success.

This time, an even bigger 'fat sheep' from the Four Seas Merchant Guild was heading out to sea again. The cargo they were transporting was said to be of even higher value. He had been salivating over it for a long time and absolutely could not miss it!

"Hai! Lord Sasaki!" That Wokou hurriedly knelt on the ground. "We've sent out multiple scout ships to search several possible routes, but... so far, we haven't found any ship matching the characteristics of the ten thousand seas. Maybe... maybe they changed their route or were delayed?"

"Useless!" Sasaki kicked the Wokou over. "Keep searching! Send more men! Expand the search area! Any suspicious target, even a fishing boat—if it feels off, keep a close eye on it and report back immediately!"

His eyes flickered with greedy and cruel light. "This time, I must swallow this piece of fat meat! I'll let the Four Seas Merchant Guild and those fools who dare to run trade at sea know the consequences of offending me, Sasaki!"

"Hai!" The Wokou in the nest responded in unison, brimming with Killing Intent.

The hunt and counter-hunt at sea had already begun. Qin Feng had obtained key intelligence, while the Wokou Sasaki's bloodthirsty net was spreading wider and wider.