Pirate Kingship

Perhaps no one is qualified to judge which of these two philosophies is superior; after all, everyone has the right to choose their own way of life.

But it must be acknowledged that the ancestors of every great noble house were firm adherents to the latter philosophy.

It’s just the way things are.

The interests of species, families, and individuals often do not perfectly align; disparities and lamentable outcomes are all too normal.

Of course, descendants who receive support from their families must also bear corresponding responsibilities—be it a political marriage or marching onto the battlefield.

In knightly novels, some characters live in luxury for their first decade or so, only to then shirk their responsibilities and elope. They might claim love as their excuse, but in reality, they are just a bunch of selfish wretches searching for justification.

If you want glory in the eyes of others, you must be prepared to suffer behind the scenes.

Prince Sorrenberg was no exception.

No matter how great the hardship, never let the children suffer; no matter how poor, never skimp on education. For the bright future of the Lancasters, he had to endure more himself.

In the simple worldview of mortals, this represented another form of "immortality" achieved in the name of Lancaster, allowing the bloodline and the family’s will to be passed down.

The same was true for other deceased Lancasters.

Byron, as the "last Lancaster," not only had the blessings of his ancestors but also had them all desperately working for him. They were terrified he might suddenly kick the bucket one day.

Most vocal among them was his cousin Edward, who had moved to the Edge of the World to live with the undead drudges:

"Family! Completing work is merely passing. Exceeding the quota is excelling. Only perfect completion will satisfy our customers! I usually push you for your own good: a little prodding, a little progress; a big prodding, big progress; no prodding, no progress! If I find anyone shirking their duty, they are no longer part of our family. And if they get ’streamlined,’ they can’t blame my heavy hand."

Ever since he became a Lich and could leave the ’Blue Dragon King’ behind, he spent most of his time on the undead farm at the Edge of the World.

The dimwitted corpses and Undead Creatures under his command, lacking much intelligence, did not react significantly to his words. Edward, however, remained indefatigable, cracking his whip with resounding snaps.

As a "Sleepless One," he could stay awake twenty-four hours a day, forever alert. Urging others to work was his greatest delight in this existence.

Better to work oneself to death than be outdone by the competition! Now that we’re all dead, wouldn’t it be a loss not to keep grinding? Who dares to out-grind me?!

This group was like a school of catfish introduced to their tank, bringing an overwhelming dose of shock from the realm of the living to the undead at the Edge of the World.

And this was all because Byron had only just found a partner.

Once they eventually had children for the Lancaster Family, there was no telling to what extremes this group, under the leadership of Prince Sorrenberg, would push themselves.

It was feared they might claim the crown of the "Scroll Kings" before even achieving the state of "King of the Undying."

Wearing this Kingly Title in the future would project an aura of "wherever he passes, no grass grows," frightening others to their very core.

Under the regime of the Sacred Golden Empire, they were far from the only ones desperately caught in this rat race.

「」

Hugin and Munin, clutching rubber tree branches, traversed the world. With just a few flaps of their wings, they arrived at Whale Song Town on the edge of the Chasm Trench.

The town’s aqua prison had long been a stronghold of the Bloodthirsty Cult and The Skinners’ Church; no one rested there, even late at night.

Suppressed, miserable groans from dissections performed without anesthesia had never ceased, not from the very beginning.

Redbeard Edward, once so domineering and murderous, was now pitifully helpless.

Facing a group of over ten Third-order Great Wizards, he had almost completely despaired. It felt as though centuries had passed, although he had only been dissected for a few days.

His Undying Body had become a curse to him.

He had just been revived once more. The Homicidal Doctor Robert was preparing to cut off Redbeard’s tongue first, following instructions from their Grand Priest, who was too kind-hearted to bear the screams of test subjects. Just then, the pirate’s eyes, previously empty and lifeless, suddenly flashed with malevolence. He panted heavily and said:

"I’ve understood completely. You people want to establish some grand anatomical model, don’t you?

But how can you proceed with only men and no women?

With your test subjects lacking one half, are you planning to only treat men in the future and not women?"

These words made the assembled Grand Wizards exchange glances, yet they had to admit his point was quite valid.

"Redbeard is right. The differences between males and females are quite significant. What are we to do if the grand model lacks sufficient material?"

The corners of Redbeard’s mouth curled up; this was precisely his aim.

He had long seen that these crazed Black Witches had no morality whatsoever when it came to their research.

As long as they targeted other adventurer teams or the local women on land, they might create chaos, giving him a chance to escape.

Kill them, rob them! I want to see rivers of blood! CACKLE CACKLE CACKLE...

But before he could rejoice for long, the Leech Lady to one side suddenly spoke:

"Actually, I do have an idea.

The Grand Priest, Your Excellency, is kind-hearted and forbids us from wantonly killing the innocent. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t use some... less than humane methods on this ’volunteer,’ does it?"

An ominous premonition instantly welled up in Redbeard’s heart.

He then saw that stunningly beautiful and utterly feminine Leech Lady remove a metal ring from her slender finger. It was bicolored, gold and silver, with a sun emblem on one side and a moon emblem on the other.