Chapter 6: Fury No One Can Bear, Section 8

Sulei…
Bloodpupil stared blankly at the slender figure approaching, her face pale.
Sulei? How could she be here? Weren’t she always with Blackhair? Had they been separated when the airship crashed? Then where was Blackhair?
The figure grew closer, and Bloodpupil’s eyes widened even further.
The little girl looked pitiful. Her hair was covered in sand and dirt, as if she had just come out of a sewer. Her body was covered in wounds. Her once neat and clean outfit had turned into rags, with hundreds of cuts of various sizes. Whenever a breeze blew, it lifted the fabric, revealing her dark-yellow skin and wounds still oozing blood. The joint of her left arm was strangely twisted—clearly broken. If it weren’t for two burly men supporting her, it was doubtful she could even stand.
Upon seeing Bloodpupil, Sulei’s eyes lit up immediately. Her dirty face twisted into a faint, bitter smile as a greeting.
“Well, Bloodpupil? This woman isn’t bad, is she? Since she could be on the same airship as you, your relationship must be quite special. I, Baroka, am not stingy—take her as payment for the information you’ve given me!!” Fat Baroka laughed loudly.
“Don’t worry. She’s still a standard maiden. My kids haven’t touched her yet.”
Bloodpupil nodded, secretly smiling bitterly in agreement with Baroka’s request.
There was no choice. He knew Blackhair’s temper well. If Blackhair found out that he hadn’t stepped in to save Sulei when she was in danger, it was hard to imagine what would happen to him. After all, he had only ever met one man who would go to such extremes for his companions—Blackhair. That’s why Bloodpupil truly respected Blackhair from the bottom of his heart.
Given the circumstances, wouldn’t even Blackhair compromise?
“The leader is also on the airship.”
“What!!” Baroka shouted abruptly, his expression changing instantly. He reached out and grabbed the short-haired girl beside him.
“Did you find any other survivors during your search?”

“There isn’t any, leader. I swear on my life, there really isn’t. That small boat is so tiny—my brothers turned it upside down long ago. Aside from those weapons and mech parts, the only ones there are those two guys.” The dog-like man, with his collar grabbed, was terrified; the foul stench emanating from the fat man’s mouth assaulted his senses wave after wave, turning his face pale yellow.
“No more?” Baroka murmured to himself, releasing his grip and throwing the dog-like man to the ground. “That’s troublesome. Take them down and lock them together. No one is allowed to approach without my order. They might still be useful.”
The sand pirates in the hall immediately agreed and took Blood-Pupil and Sulei away. Behind them, a hint of hesitation appeared on the fat man Baroka’s face. After thinking for a moment, he kicked the shorter man again.
“Dog-like man, contact Berin’s city guards. Tell them I’ve captured the black-haired companion. Have them send someone for a deal right away. Raise the amount to two million. And make sure to make a lot of noise when reporting—it needs to be known throughout the desert.”
“Yes, leader.”
Sand pirates—this was a term that terrified all merchants. And the name of the fat man Baroka was the most terrifying among them.
His mountainous obesity, brutal personality, bloodthirsty gaze, and ferocious combat tactics made this man with a face full of flesh resemble a demon. In private rumors among merchants, this terrifying sand pirate was said to be able to stop even infants from crying.
Yet they never imagined that this infamous cruel leader actually had a very tender heart. His rough exterior was just a disguise. Although Baroka appeared indifferent in front of his subordinates, in his heart, he already regarded the black-haired man as a rival—one who was extremely dangerous. After all, he was someone capable of overthrowing a weapons magnate. Until he got definite news about the black-haired man and captured him, Baroka certainly didn’t think he could quietly enjoy the fruits of this raid.
But thankfully, his companion was now in his hands. If those rumors were true, perhaps he could easily eliminate this threat.
Thinking silently, a hint of satisfaction finally appeared on Baroka’s flesh-covered face.

In fact, he was right. Because the black-haired person was in a dune about five kilometers away from him at that moment. When the airship crashed, he was extremely weak and could only manage to send Sulei into the lifeboat next to the room before being thrown violently by another massive shock, knocking him unconscious in a corner of the room. It was only because a piece of wall panel fell right above him, creating a narrow gap in the wall, that he survived the crash. By the time Blood-Pup surrendered, he had just woken up and, without even time to think, fled to the sandy area outside and hid there.

Although weak, Black Hair had mastered disguise techniques such as hiding his presence and controlling his breathing since he was seven years old. The desert was unbearably hot, and the sand pirates couldn’t use heat detection—so it was impossible for them to discover him, hiding so close by.

After traveling day and night, following the path taken by the mechs, Black Hair finally arrived at the lair of these vicious sand pirates. But he suddenly lost the courage to infiltrate.

Because what lay before him was… a giant spaceship.

Yes, not the so-called airships of this world, but a real spaceship—something from the world Black Hair originally came from. Its massive hull, thick armor plates, and its unique appearance, resembling a giant shark, all clearly indicated its true nature. The entire ship was embedded in the endless desert at a 45-degree angle, its immense force altering the landscape within five kilometers around it, creating undulating ridges.

But these were not what truly shocked Black Hair. The real reason was a prominent symbol on that giant spaceship—a red dragon enveloped in flames.