Hoduras, who was already furious, became even more enraged upon hearing those words.
In the world of pirates, reputation is more important than life itself. Lose your reputation, and you might as well forget about surviving in this world.
"Bastard!"
"How dare you look down on me!"
Seething with rage, Hoduras drew his longsword and stormed toward Lu Yu.
"Brat, I'll show you that anyone who offends me, Hoduras, won't live to see another day!"
With those words, he raised his sword high and swung it down at Lu Yu.
Even so, Lu Yu didn't spare him a glance. Instead, he remained seated on the barstool in front of the counter, unfazed.
This blatant disregard sent Hoduras' anger soaring to its peak.
"Die!"
Clang!
Just as Hoduras' sword came down, a katane intercepted it effortlessly. No matter how much strength he mustered, he couldn't push forward.
The one who blocked it was Akame.
No one even noticed when she had made her move.
Swish...
Clang...
A muffled sound followed, and then the clang of metal hitting the ground.
Hoduras collapsed, blood slowly seeping from the gash on his neck.
The woman whose clothes had been torn by Hoduras trembled as she covered her mouth with both hands, terrified of making even the slightest sound.
"M-murder... he's dead..."
Clearly, this was her first time witnessing such a brutal scene. Her pupils quivered in fear.
Meanwhile, Lu Yu finally spoke up.
"Boss, do you sell supplies here?"
"I need some fruit and meat. Also, if possible, get me some good wine."
His purpose for coming here was simple: to restock supplies. He had no intention of fighting.
As for Hoduras? He had simply dug his own grave.
"Y-yes, sir," the shopkeeper stammered, cold sweat running down his back. "How much do you need? I'll prepare it immediately. Do you require preservation tools? We have ice and fresh-keeping boxes for sale."
He was terrified. After all, the woman who had just killed Hoduras without hesitation was merely a subordinate. If even his crew was this strong, what did that say about the man himself?
The other pirates in the tavern, who had been rowdy just moments ago, fell silent one by one, afraid of provoking this mysterious and dangerous figure.
"Thank you. I'll take them."
Lu Yu tossed a pouch onto the counter. "Here's 20 million Belly. Get everything ready for me."
Then, turning his gaze toward the other pirates, he pulled out a stack of bounty posters.
"A bounty of 11 million, leader of the Hoduras Pirates."
"A bounty of 13 million, leader of the Roelki Pirates."
"A bounty of 12 million, leader of the Biasya Pirates."
He scanned the posters, nodding in approval.
"Not bad. A small tavern like this has several pirates with bounties over 10 million."
Lu Yu had purchased these bounty posters from a News Coo, specifically to gauge the worth of the pirates he encountered.
"I just founded my own crew. Any of you interested in joining and doing some work for me?"
Silence.
The already tense atmosphere grew even heavier. Even the half-dressed woman's heartbeat seemed deafening in the eerie stillness.
Then—
"Are you joking?"
"I'm a pirate captain! Why would I do odd jobs for you?"
"We have bounties in the tens of millions! Do you have a death wish?!"
"Killing Hoduras means nothing! Do you really think you can take us all on?"
Tension flared once more as the pirates, notorious for their short tempers, looked ready to erupt at any moment.
Lu Yu sighed. "Not interested? What a shame. I really didn't want to kill you all. After all, every pirate crew needs some deckhands."
His fingers tightened around the hilt of his sword.
Shing...
A flash of silver.
Thud...
A severed head rolled across the floor.
The tavern fell into dead silence.
The head belonged to the captain of the Biasya Pirates, the one who had been shouting the loudest just moments ago.
"H-he's dead?"
"Captain? Just like that?"
"Impossible! Our captain was strong—!"
"CAPTAIN!"
The Biasya Pirates let out enraged cries and charged at Lu Yu.
Lu Yu remained seated.
"Akame."
"Understood, Brother Lu Yu."
Akame moved.
"Eliminate."
Slice!
Unlike Lu Yu, Akame's execution was swift and precise. As expected of a trained assassin, she wasted no unnecessary movement.
In an instant, the Biasya Pirates—worth tens of millions in bounty—were completely wiped out.
Akame sheathed her blade and returned to Lu Yu's side.
The remaining pirates could only stare in shock.
"Strong..."
Hoduras and Biasya had been on equal footing with them. That was why all these pirate crews had coexisted here peacefully.
Now, those two groups were gone—erased as if they were nothing.
They hadn't even seen how it happened.
This level of power was far beyond their comprehension.
Lu Yu stretched lazily. "So? Do you guys want to make the same choice as them?"
"I just want some workers. Why is this so difficult?"
In truth, all the miscellaneous tasks aboard the ship were handled by Akame. However, Akame was supposed to be a combatant, not a deckhand. She had been forced to spend more time on chores than training, which frustrated Lu Yu.
That's why he wanted to recruit some subordinates.
Roelki was the first to react. He quickly stood up, swallowing his pride.
"P-please! Let me join your crew! I'll do anything!"
Though his voice wavered, he knew that if he hesitated, he wouldn't even have the chance to surrender.
"Oh? You're willing? Good. You're in."
Lu Yu turned to the others.
Before he could even speak, the remaining pirates all dropped to their knees.
"Captain, please accept us!"
"We'll do anything! We'll work like slaves! I can wash clothes and clean decks!"
"Me too!"
These so-called great pirate captains, who had once bragged about their strength, were now trembling, too scared to even wipe the sweat from their faces.
Seeing their "enthusiastic willingness," Lu Yu finally smiled in satisfaction.
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