“Don’t be nervous, Captain,” Tureus said the moment he landed, looking at Blackbeard. “We’re not here for you.”

“Ha!” The moment he said that, Feng Bujue let out a dry laugh, raising his voice.

Because in that instant, he had read the subtext of that sentence—"We're here for Feng Bujue.”

Actually...it wasn't just him; everyone present knew this. Who told you to eat their companion like food?

“Let me see...” Blackbeard's attitude was still calm. His gaze swept over the faces of the newcomers one by one, and he slowly recited, “Tureus...Idient...and a half-human, half-ghost thing...” He paused, sneering. “Hmph...I'm curious, what makes you think...that the few of you are enough to make me...nervous?”

The meaning of his words was also very clear—the strength of you three is below mine, don't be too arrogant when talking to me.

“Captain, we have no intention of offending you.” At this moment, Cronon, whose status was relatively lower, spoke, “In fact...there's no reason for us to be enemies.”

“But your companion, Wesden...doesn't seem to think so,” Honghu immediately chimed in, afraid that things wouldn't escalate.

“Ah...that guy...” Cronon responded calmly. “Indeed, this 'North Island' was designated as Wesden's territory by the 'Master'...” He paused for half a second, then changed his tone. “However, the magic arrays on the island were all set up by Wesden privately, and it was his own decision to attack you.” As he spoke, he turned his head slightly and accurately located Wesden's corpse in the pool of corpses and blood. “Now that he's dead, it can be considered poetic justice.”

“But those Illusion Demon Church followers under him are your people, right?” Snow was also good at stirring things up. “The magic these guys cast has caused considerable casualties on our side.”

“Those people...” Cronon scanned the surrounding dragon corpses again and said in a deep voice, “Aren't they all dead too?”

“So, are you saying...we should just let it go?” A second later, Feng Bujue threw out a relatively constructive question.

“We don't intend to avenge anyone; similarly...we don't need to be responsible for anything they did,” Cronon replied. “We're here...” He looked at Blackbeard again. “To discuss a deal with you, Captain.”

Before Blackbeard could respond, Feng Bujue seized the opportunity to say, “What's there to talk about? We'll just kill you all and do whatever we want.”

“Tell me your conditions first.” However, Blackbeard didn't fall for this. He decisively ignored Jue-Ge's words and responded to Cronon.

“Heh...very simple.” Cronon smiled sinisterly. “Our target...is only Feng Bujue.” As he said this, his pale, ghastly eyes moved and fixed on Jue-Ge. “We know that you, Captain, are here to retrieve the treasure. Here, I can promise...as long as you part ways with Feng Bujue here, we will never disturb any of your pirate crew's actions.”

After saying these words, Cronon seemed to feel that it wasn't persuasive enough. After two seconds, he added, “Captain, I think you also know very well...that interdimensional travelers are basically untrustworthy; only they know what their 'true purpose' is. Keeping such a group of guys around is like carrying a knife behind your back.”

“You don't need to say anymore.” Blackbeard didn't listen any further. He directly interrupted the other party and said, “Your proposal...is excellent.”

“Hey, hey...” Before he could finish speaking, Snow had already started complaining. “He's turning his back on us so quickly.”

“Before, I agreed to cooperate with you in order to have you help me deal with any obstacles I might encounter while searching for treasure,” Blackbeard said, turning his head. “But now it seems that the target of that obstacle isn't me, but you guys...” He paused. “That half-human, half-ghost thing...makes a lot of sense. The position of you interdimensional travelers can change at any time. Keeping you around...will only increase the hidden dangers.”

“You can't say that, can you...” Honghu hadn't given up yet; he didn't want to give up Blackbeard's support so easily. “We three are untrustworthy, so are these three...and the so-called 'Master' behind them trustworthy?”

Blackbeard laughed. “Heh...of course, they're not trustworthy either.” He replied in a matter-of-fact tone. “But they and you have a fundamental difference...”

“I understand...” Hearing this, Feng Bujue had already finished calculating Blackbeard's debt in his mind. “Their 'strength' is displayed in the open...even if they don't keep their promise, you're confident that you can control the situation. But...the 'strength' and even the logic of our interdimensional travelers are difficult for you to estimate...the word 'unknown' often means infinite risk.”

“Good, as expected of Feng Bujue,” Blackbeard continued. “Since you understand...” At this point, he revealed the smile that a pirate, a rogue, a vicious villain should have. “Hehe...I don't think you'll blame me.” After saying that, he turned his face to Cronon and the others. “Gentlemen...I'll leave these kids to your disposal.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Blackbeard put away the sword in his hand and shouted without looking back, “Vog, Nesru, the Mack brothers, take Mad-Eye and follow me.”

When those officers saw this scene, they simply exchanged glances and immediately did as they were told. Obviously, they didn't feel any surprise or shame at this kind of "deal"; for pirates, this degree of "selling out teammates" was simply commonplace—the thing about "today he's a wealthy captain, tomorrow he's sitting in a wooden barrel being thrown by his subordinates on a deserted island to wait for death" is also very common in pirate circles. Therefore, people in this line of work can't be too principled or too serious...only by adhering to the principle of "live for today, drink for today" can they adapt to this kind of dramatic ups and downs of pirate life.

“Ah~ they really left...” Looking at the backs of those leaving, Snow stretched out his voice and sighed in a helpless tone.

“Has it become a three-on-three situation...” Honghu adjusted his glasses and said in a deep voice.

“How about we split up and run?” When smart people talk, there's no need to be too verbose. Snow concisely proposed a tactic.

“It's meaningless. Their target is only me, and they won't split their forces just because we separate,” Feng Bujue replied.

“Eh?” Honghu thought of something at this moment. “Doesn't that mean...we can just run away now and leave you to them?”