Chapter 477 - 199: Realm of Death

The next moment, one of the sailors stepped forward. He unfastened the purple-flowered Wester Clan crest from his chest and bowed slightly, saying, "From this day forward, I, Mitaya Stephenson, voluntarily leave the Wester Clan’s *Purple Flower*."

Mitaya...

Antonella’s lips trembled. As she looked at the sailor, her eyes shimmered, a crystalline sheen covering them.

She knew that before leaving, these sailors wanted to do one last thing in their power to help.

By voluntarily leaving their ship and choosing to join the Pirate Gang... it meant this affair had nothing to do with the Wester Clan. Everything was their own choice.

That way, no matter what evil deeds they committed later, the reputation of the Wester Clan would not be affected.

"I’m sorry."

"I hope we meet again."

After speaking, the sailor named Mitaya leaped aboard the *Leonard*. He silently found a place behind the pirates and calmly gazed at the three-masted ship.

Following him, more and more sailors came before Antonella one by one. They removed their emblems, saluted, offered their thanks, and then stepped onto the *Leonard* without hesitation.

"Tsk, tsk. These sailors..."

Ronan watched every sailor with his triangular eyes, not missing a single detail.

From their movements and their familiarity with the rocking of the ship, he could determine how long they had been at sea. The difference between veterans and novices was obvious at a glance.

These sailors really were just as that "cowardly purple flower" had said—all veterans!

Wei’en calmly watched the scene on the other ship. He didn’t understand the difference between them leaving voluntarily versus being forced to leave, so the sailors’ actions didn’t move him much.

"Captain Wei’en, between these two ships, there’s a total of thirty thousand gold pounds’ worth of goods. As per your request, they are all yours. Please arrange for your men to transport them..."

"Ronan."

"There’s no need to go to all that trouble," Clelia said. "With those people, it’s more than enough."

Wei’en nodded. "Fine."

Clelia waved her hand, and the sailors she had turned into puppets began to transfer everything from the three-masted ship to the *Leonard*, piece by piece.

Antonella silently watched the "sailors" at work, her gaze landing on Wei’en from time to time. She had lost count of how many times she’d sighed inwardly.

’To think, our *Purple Flower* has always shown the utmost respect to the pirates of the Cordo Sea. We’ve proactively exchanged our cargo for gold pounds to buy safe passage from the *Black Pearl*, avoided the pillaging of the *Golden Dis*, detoured around sea storms, and even steered clear of other merchant partners whenever we could. To think that in the end, we still couldn’t escape this fate.’

’At the same time, she recalled what she knew about this Captain Wei’en—he was the very Mutated Mage who had committed a monstrous massacre in the Caster City State just days ago.’

’Alas, whether in the city-states or on the Cordo Sea, strength is the only true pass!’

’Just look at Captain Wei’en. With his superior strength, he even dares to challenge a behemoth like the Dawn Church, killing their members as he pleases...’

As the few Water Elemental Spirits dissipated, the surrounding waves gradually calmed. Only the mutated creatures hidden beneath the surface continued to roam, casting countless points of scarlet fluorescence through the water and onto the sailors moving back and forth.

Before long, all the sailors and cargo were on the deck of the *Leonard*.

Wei’en stood at the bow and gave a calm wave. "Ronan, get us underway."

"Yes, Captain!"

"And one more thing. These men are your responsibility now. Settle them in!"

Ronan’s triangular eyes widened. He understood the implication—this was the first and last time they’d be taking on new crew. He bowed. "I understand. Rest assured, Captain. I will train them well."

"Mm."

Wei’en glanced down at the female captain one last time, then turned and walked toward the ship’s cabin.

"Ah, my Captain," Clelia cooed upon seeing him move. She hopped nimbly to his side and clung to his arm. "You’ve grown even stronger."

"And?"

"No ’and.’ I just wanted to express my admiration for you," Clelia said flirtatiously. "Was that Water Elemental Spirit a new Magic you learned? It looked sooo scary~"

Wei’en stopped and turned his head to look at her, his tone serious. "Don’t forget to deal with the puppets. And more importantly, don’t forget to improve your own strength."

Seeing his expression, a flicker of unease crossed Clelia’s face, and she unconsciously tightened her grip on his arm. "As you command!"

Wei’en felt the soft pressure on his arm but said nothing more.

’He knew something was off with his current state. After seeing the Divine Body of the Death God Olanir, an inexplicable craving had surged within his heart.’

’To surpass Him, to possess power far beyond the Death God!’

’But if that day truly came, if he really possessed power like the Death God, then a ’weak’ Extraordinary like Clelia wouldn’t even have the right to stand by his side...’

’That was the reason for his reminder. He sincerely hoped Clelia could improve her own strength. Even if she could never reach the level of a god, she should at least be strong enough to stand before Him.’

Meanwhile, as the *Leonard* slowly got underway, Antonella stood on the deck of her three-masted ship, watching somberly as the sailors who once belonged to the Wester Clan departed.

She sighed. "Let’s get underway as well."

The few dozen remaining sailors exchanged glances. "Captain, are we still going to the Caster City State?"

"We’re turning back!"

Faced with such a thoughtless question, Antonella waved her hand dejectedly. The entire cargo hold was empty. What was the point of going to the Coskuun City State to trade now?