Chapter 10: Pirate Alliance? Section 9

The pirates’ vacation came to an end. Just one day after Black Hair’s conversation with Jinli, the last group of pirates arrived on this planet. Without any delay, they boarded their warships. Unlike when Black Hair first arrived, this time there were over thirty warships of various sizes, forming a massive fleet. As they took off, their huge silhouettes resembled dark clouds covering the sky.

Looking through the ship’s windows at the beautiful planet fading into the distance, almost all the pirates showed signs of reluctance. This place was their home. Even if they could return only once a year and stay for just a few days, it remained an irreplaceable haven for these wanderers in the universe.

Black Hair finally learned the name of this planet: Dream. It truly was a place like a dream. As he gazed at the planet, now no larger than a small ball, a sense of confusion flashed through his mind.

“Boss, what are you thinking?” Blood Eyes approached.

“Oh, nothing,” Black Hair shook his head, seemingly trying to dispel some untimely thoughts. Then he turned around.

“Is our Lord Jinli giving any instructions?”

“No, he only gave me some information about below. The Death Arena will take place on a planet called Hell. It’s hot all year round, with extremely harsh terrain. 32% of the planet is covered in magma, and the rest is mostly deserts and swamps. The sky above the planet is always filled with dark clouds. It’s a place of despair,” Blood Eyes explained casually, handing Black Hair a glass of red wine.

“Pirates are still pirates. In their eyes, the Death Arena is a grand event, but in reality, only about two hundred people participate—representatives from various pirate gangs, along with a few newcomers who are specially allowed to join. To maintain balance, the proportion of newcomers is kept under 5%. Those who perform well in the arena end up being snatched away by powerful pirate gangs as treasures. I guess we’re included in that too.”

“That doesn’t matter. We’re not participating in this arena for that reason. We just want freedom,” Black Hair said nonchalantly.

“If freedom is all that matters, we could just steal a warship. Boss, is that really what you think?”

“Seize warships? You see it too simply. Pirates are a race that survives on warships; in a sense, warships are their other home. If we were to do such a thing, the immediate consequence would be being hunted by all pirates. In space, their actions are often more effective than those of those self-righteous regular armies. I don’t think it’s a smart idea. Surely, obtaining things openly is the most efficient way.” Black Hair rejected Blood Pupil’s suggestion. Turning around, he headed toward his room, with Blood Pupil closely following behind him.

“Openly?”

“That’s right, openly. Since gladiatorial battles are the pirates’ tradition and a major means for them to divide their territories, we can fully take advantage of this opportunity. As long as we can achieve a good ranking, we can use it as leverage.” A faint smile appeared on Black Hair’s lips, revealing a strange expression.

“We fight for ourselves.”

“You mean…” Blood Pupil’s eyes suddenly lit up. He understood what Black Hair meant.

“That’s right. We must have our own territory!” Black Hair nodded affirmatively.

Neither Black Hair nor Blood Pupil knew how much impact their conversation would have on their future. In fact, Black Hair couldn’t possibly know what they would gain from the gladiatorial battles ahead. Yet years later, whenever he thought back to those battles, he couldn’t help but feel grateful. Without them, he might never have obtained what he wanted.

Fate is indeed a strange thing sometimes.

Readers are even more terrifying than gods.

Countless rocks sped past on either side of the warship, and the pirate fleet resembled a group of ghosts, constantly moving through space. This region of space was extremely complex, almost like the asteroid belt surrounding a tyrannical planet. There were meteorites and asteroids moving at high speeds everywhere, and the spatial fluctuations were highly unstable. It seemed it could shatter into fragments at any moment.

Of course, this was impossible. The Alibaba Star Cluster had existed for countless years, always looking the same, with no signs of collapse. Yet such an environment inevitably had some adverse effects on the warships’ movement, so the entire fleet’s speed could only be described as snail-like.

They had to avoid collisions with huge rocks that could appear anywhere.

A day’s journey wasn’t very far. Soon, Black Hair and the others saw the planet known as Hell from the control room in Jinli.

It was a not-so-large planet, only slightly more than one-twentieth the size of Earth in terms of volume. Yet, as Blood Pupil had learned from the information available, the environment here was beyond description as harsh. After breaking through the dense clouds, the ship’s windows were opened, and Black Hair immediately noticed the sea of scorching red below.

A sea of magma. A sight that could never exist on Earth, it shocked everyone’s mind. From above, the entire visible area was covered by blazing magma. These hot liquids surged violently, with bubbles occasionally forming on their surface before bursting rapidly. The air was distorted by the intense heat, making everything seem unreal.

There were no airports on this hellish planet, and in such a harsh environment, any large-scale buildings would be meaningless. The scorching temperatures and highly corrosive winds would devour any steel-made structures. In Black Hair’s view, this was simply not a planet suitable for life.

But he was wrong. As the ship descended further, he noticed tiny black dots in the sea of magma. They resembled small fish, swimming swiftly through the magma and occasionally leaping out of it. The blazing magma surged around them, yet it couldn’t harm them at all.

“That’s firefish. The only creatures in the sea of magma. Their unique structure allows them to ignore the extreme heat of the magma. The fire element crystals that occasionally appear in the magma are their food. In a sense, they are the true masters of this planet,” Blood Pupil explained beside Black Hair.

“Oh? How do you know all this?” Black Hair was surprised.

“Jinli told me. These little things may look scary, but they’re actually very gentle. They are true vegetarians,” Blood Pupil said with a shrug and a strange smile.

Everyone knew that the harsher the environment, the more brutal and dangerous the creatures tended to be. If these small fish could live in magma, who would believe they were vegetarians? At least Black Hair and Blood Pupil wouldn’t risk testing this themselves.

“Boom!!”

A violent tremor came from below. The Scourge Fish warship finally landed on this scorched land.

Stepping out of the cabin, Black Hair immediately smelled a strong sulfur odor. The dense clouds in the sky made the light extremely dim, but it was still enough for him to see his surroundings.

This is a vast expanse of land, composed of materials similar to volcanic rock. The surface is hard, and the temperature isn’t very high. Yet holes can be seen everywhere, from which long flames erupt from time to time, turning the place into a hellish scene. The strong sulfur smell in the air comes from these holes, along with plumes of yellow smoke.

The pirates’ warships gradually landed on this hard surface. Every time the sturdy hulls made contact with the ground, it caused intense vibrations, like earthquakes.

But Blackhair paid no attention to these. His focus was drawn to a huge city in the distance.

Calling it a city wasn’t quite accurate, as there were no towering buildings at all. The only thing that could be considered tall were the dark city walls. All the buildings there resembled bowls turned upside down on the ground, with smooth and hard surfaces.

“Welcome to our arena, children. Thank you for coming from afar. Here, you will find your glory. Under the watchful eyes of our ancestors, show them your incredible strength and fearless spirit. May the ancestors bless you.”

A loud voice came from not far away. A group of people dressed in black robes stood quietly in front of all the warships. At the front was an extremely burly old man. Though time had left numerous marks on his face, his loud voice and powerful movements clearly showed his strength.

In front of him, all the pirates bowed their heads without exception.

“It’s an honor to receive your invitation, Honorable Speaker. Under your guidance, we have come before our ancestors. We are willing to sacrifice our lives for their glory. Your wishes are our commands. Please guide us,” the pirates shouted loudly as they knelt on the ground. For a moment, aside from those in black robes and Blackhair, no one else stood.

“Hey, do we have to do this too?” Bloodpupil touched his nose and whispered to Blackhair. “Otherwise, I don’t know if these pirates will tear us apart.”

“No need,” Blackhair replied coldly, a sharp glint in his eyes. “The ancestors belong to them, not to me.”

“Heh, true enough.” Bloodpupil noticed the resolve in Blackhair’s tone for the first time, smiled awkwardly, and stopped talking.

He found that although Blackhair was usually very gentle, once it came to matters related to his companions and dignity—these special things—he became as unyielding as the toughest elements, with no possibility of compromise at all.
Was kneeling really that difficult? It was just a way to show respect… Bloodpupil thought to himself.
Yet their actions were undeniably conspicuous; among all those kneeling, they stood out like a crane among chickens. The fierce old man’s gaze immediately drifted over them.
“Are these… the newcomers this year? Which organization do they belong to?”
“They’re from the Pickers, Your Excellency,” Jinli replied promptly, scurrying over to the fierce old man and bowing low like a dog.
“They’re the candidates from the Pickers to participate in this year’s gladiatorial battles. Their names are Blackhair and Bloodpupil.”
Blackhair? Bloodpupil?
Whispers immediately spread among the pirates. These two names seemed to possess infinite power, stirring emotions in them. Curious gazes turned toward Blackhair and Bloodpupil from all directions.
There was no other reason—these two names were the biggest focus of the year. Whether it was the warrants from the Warriors’ Association, the stories from Planet Xieke, or the recent upheavals on Planet Silver, all clues pointed to these two names. Especially with the news that the Pickers had just lost a warship, which was directly linked to them. Thus, the pirates showed great interest. Among their gazes were some of disdain, some of questioning, some of confusion, and some of admiration.
Unfortunately, no matter what kind of coldness these gazes carried, they meant nothing to Blackhair. He didn’t care at all about what these pirates thought. He simply stood there quietly, his eyes locked with those of the fierce old man, saying nothing and doing nothing.
After a long while, the fierce old man suddenly laughed heartily. He spread his arms in a welcoming gesture.
“Welcome, my child. Welcome to the headquarters of the Pirate Alliance. I assure you, this is the purest place in the universe. No matter what you’ve gone through in the past, all I can offer is warmth.”
Blackhair bowed slightly, offering a perfect gentlemanly gesture in response. A gentle smile finally appeared on his stern face.
“Thank you, respected elder. I’m honored.”

“Alright, kids, stop kneeling. Get up. Let’s go in. The other twenty-one kids from other star regions have already arrived and are waiting for you. Hurry up. I’ve arranged the best women and the strongest liquor for you.”
“Ahh!!!” The pirates cheered and surged forward, following the old man toward the distant city.
Watching the figures disappearing in the distance, Black Hair didn’t move. Behind him, Blood Pup came over at just the right time.
“Boss, what did you talk about with that old man just now?”
“Weren’t you listening?”
“No, that was just the surface. There must have been some other conversation between you two.” Blood Pup shook his head, showing a strange expression. “I can sense it, but I can’t be sure.”
“Hehe, Blood Pup. It’s nothing special. It’s just an exchange of power. Just like how you felt when you first met me. Simple and direct.” Black Hair laughed heartily and patted Blood Pup’s shoulder. “Stop guessing. As long as your spiritual cultivation reaches a certain level, you’ll be able to understand it. Now, let’s go in.”
With that, Black Hair didn’t stop and headed ahead…