Chapter 48: Risk Management Master
"Kill them!"
Faces etched with excitement, the crew of the Sea Crocodile swarmed onto the deck of the Baiye.
Then, they charged wildly toward the ship’s cabins, their eyes filled with greed.
They already knew the Baiye was a merchant vessel laden with cargo!
For any one of them, just holding back a small portion during the looting would be a considerable gain.
’They’re quite spirited...’
Su Ye slowly stepped onto the deck of the Baiye.
He watched the excited crew noncommittally.
After the sea battle, all Storage Pouches would be inspected and the plunder distributed centrally anyway.
As for the small gains the crewmen hid on their persons...
Su Ye would just turn a blind eye, pretending he hadn’t seen a thing.
He was strict, but not stingy.
’Besides... it’s good to let them scout ahead.’
Su Ye gripped his Frost Thorn Spear, his heart filled with vigilance.
After all, the Shu Family cultivators had abandoned the deck so easily and retreated to the cabins.
The move felt wrong to him.
’According to the Luo Family’s past intelligence, the Shu Family cultivators aren’t this fragile...’
As a newly risen Foundation Establishment immortal clan, the Shu Family had not yet been corrupted by wealth and comfort; they could usually sustain extremely high casualties.
’So, what’s their trump card? What do they have that could turn the tide in close-quarters combat inside the cabins?’
Gazing at the stairwell leading down into the ship, Su Ye held his position.
...
Inside the cabins.
The crew of the Sea Crocodile were in a killing frenzy.
One crewman activated his Magical Artifact and, with a wet squelch, pierced through the skull of the Shu Family cultivator opposite him!
"Heh heh..."
He deftly stripped off the man’s Storage Pouch with a grin, and was about to kick the troublesome corpse out of his way.
"Hrrrrss..."
A dry, low growl echoed through the narrow corridor.
An uncanny, chilling aura began to spread.
"What was that sound?!"
The crewman’s expression changed, alarm bells ringing in his mind.
The two crewmen near him reacted the same way.
Driven by a sense of crisis, they quickly grouped together, back to back, warily watching both ends of the corridor.
One breath, two breaths...
Time ticked by, but both ends of the corridor remained empty.
However...
Then, everything changed!
CRACK.
A faint sound of splintering wood was heard.
The next moment.
CRASH!
A section of the corridor wall exploded inward! Splintered shards of wood flew everywhere, kicking up a cloud of dust!
A humanoid monster, over two meters tall and covered in ink-black scales, lunged out from the breach!
Its cold, gray eyes held no trace of human emotion—only a raw hunger for the flesh of the living!
A Voodoo Corpse!
Taking advantage of its surprise attack through the wall, its abnormally thick arms seized a crewman!
The Voodoo Corpse pulled.
It was as if it held not a human body, but some cheap, stuffed toy.
"AHHH!!!"
RRRIP!
In an instant, the scene in the corridor went from a nautical documentary to the set of a B-list horror film!
The kind with an endless, over-the-top supply of fake blood.
The other two crewmen, watching their companion die horribly and getting splattered in the "ketchup," certainly weren’t going to do nothing.
Two streaks of light from their Magical Artifacts flashed, but...
PING! CLANG!
...they were easily deflected by the black scales on the Voodoo Corpse’s body.
If a little "HP -1" had popped up over its head, the scene would have been complete...
Seeing this, one of the crewmen’s eyes went wide in disbelief. He stared for a moment before screaming in terror.
"A Voo... Voodoo Corpse?!"
At that moment, the Voodoo Corpse’s heavy body was already striding forward, charging at them!
"AHHH!!!"
Two more screams rang out.
...
At the stairwell.
Several panicked crewmen scrambled out.
’Trouble?!’
Su Ye’s eyes flashed. He quickly moved forward to intercept them, questioning them sharply.
"That monster... Magical Artifacts can’t even break its defense! It’s unbelievably strong! Two of our guys were torn apart in the blink of an eye..."
"Captain, the Shu Family has a Corpse Refinement on this ship! It’s at least at the level of Late-stage Qi Refining..."
"A Voodoo Corpse! It has to be a Voodoo Corpse! When I was a kid, I heard legends about the archipelago natives refining these terrifying monsters!"
The crewmen described the events with terrified expressions, gesturing wildly.
Based on their descriptions, a complete picture of the situation gradually formed in Su Ye’s mind.
’A Voodoo Corpse at the Late-stage Qi Refining level, extremely powerful in close combat!’
His caution had been justified!
The Shu Family really did have a trump card, one that could have turned the tables in close-quarters combat inside the cabins!
However, now that he understood the situation, Su Ye actually felt a sense of relief.
A Voodoo Corpse might be terrifying, but it was far less daunting than the unknown.
’Besides...’
’A Voodoo Corpse isn’t hard to deal with at all!’
Su Ye raised his arm and shouted, confidently encouraging the hesitant crewmen who had followed.
This wasn’t just bluster; it was the truth!
First of all, Su Ye simply didn’t believe it.
Was there anything at the Qi Refining level that could withstand a concentrated volley from the ballistae?!
"If the Voodoo Corpse is so powerful, why would the Shu Family cultivators abandon the deck so carelessly?"
Su Ye asked the crewmen in return.
’Since the Voodoo Corpse is afraid of the ballistae, this will be easy...’
’This means the deck is still our territory, and the initiative in this battle remains firmly in my hands!’
’The worst-case scenario is just...’
A cold glint flashed in Su Ye’s eyes.
He controlled the deck of the Baiye!
He could simply pour oil, set the deck on fire, and burn the entire Baiye to ashes!
’You like holing up in the cabins, huh?’
Burn!
Burn it all down!
Listening to Su Ye’s analysis, the crewmen nodded one after another.
Their morale, which had been shattered by the Voodoo Corpse, began to recover.
Just as Su Ye said, they held the initiative. Why should they panic?
’But if we do that, there will be almost no spoils left from this battle...’
Su Ye’s eyes flickered.
This was undoubtedly a result Su Ye did not want to see.
And compared to the risk of dodging ballista bolts, where one mistake meant death, facing the Voodoo Corpse was clearly less dangerous.
Even ordinary crewmen could escape from it with a bit of luck.
So...
"Useless fools! Are you really thinking about burning the ship?!"
"It’s just one Voodoo Corpse! And it scared you this badly?!"
"As long as we can take this ship back to Donglong Island, every single one of you will get a share of nearly a hundred Spirit Stones!"
Su Ye’s voice was booming as his gaze swept over the crewmen, his words stoking the greed in their hearts.
Then.
VMMM!
He revealed his Frost Thorn Spear, along with a high-grade, first-rank talisman that shimmered with spiritual light.
"This is a Talismanic Artifact bestowed by the Old Ancestor! It’s more than enough to slay that Voodoo Corpse!"
"Follow me! Back into the cabins! We’ll kill it!"
"Then, we’ll take our ship and our cargo, return to Donglong Island, and be welcomed with flowers and fine wine!"
Spurred on by Su Ye’s incitement and commands,
the crew hesitated for a moment, but ultimately followed him into the cabins.
’This way, the risks of this operation are completely manageable.’
Su Ye’s eyes were dark as he thought to himself.
With his strength, plus so many loyal crewmen ’friends’...
’Even if something unexpected happens, I can always escape...’
’There’s no such thing as a passionate, heroic charge. It’s all just careful calculation and risk management...’
...
As Su Ye led his men into the cabins,
the Voodoo Corpse, which had been gnawing on a body in the corridor, stood up.
Its lifeless gray eyes swiveled stiffly.
"Hsss..."
...