?


    Not only could he enjoy himself with a beautiful woman, he could also deal unimaginable damage to Zach; the sworn enemy of the Hunter family at the moment. As an added bonus, he might even be able to return to his father''s good graces.


    Suddenly paying off ckbeard didn''t seem so unreasonable to Hogan. At the very least, he had given Hogan a lifeline against Zach who would no doubte for him soon.


    Moreover, he realized the extent of the malevolent alliance between the sea dragon and ckbeard, which forced him to acquiesce to their demands. He wasn''t equipped enough to resist such a duo anyway.


    Overwhelmed by the potential consequences of resisting, Hogan reluctantly decided toply with their wicked scheme. In this dire moment, the sea dragon and ckbeard''s devious partnership proved too formidable to challenge directly. He found sce in the fact that he had at least managed to get his hands on Diana in return for the amount he was about to pay.


    Moreover, he could even extort Zach in the future to furnish him more than the amount he was going to lose today to ckbeard.


    Seeing that the expression on ckbeard''s face was overwhelmingly dark, Hogan didn''t tarry any longer. He unveiled the vast and substantial amount of shimmering gold, meticulously readied for the explicit purpose of settling his debt with ckbeard.


    He additionally showcased an assortment of precious magical artifacts, each possessing an ethereal allure that captivated the beholder. Among these mystical treasures were several ancient and potent magical scrolls, rumored to have unparalleled effects for those who could decipher their cryptic inscriptions.


    The impressive array of offerings was meant to serve as aprehensivepensation, diligently arranged to fulfill the exacting surcharge that ckbeard had demanded with an air of unwavering authority.


    While Hogan was heartbroken to part with the artifacts he had collected over arge period of time, he knew that this was the only way to keep ckbeard from turning against him.


    While Hogan could tolerate ckbeard''s revenge, he couldn''t handle the sea dragon on his own. Therefore, he mustered everything from his spatial ring and paid what he could.


    ckbeard checked the offering diligently as he didn''tpletely trust Hogan. Since they were acquaintances, he already knew how devious Hogan could be. Blindly trusting a man like Hogan was akin to handing over the keys to one''s kingdom to a cunning and unscrupulous adversary.


    After subjecting each segment of the payment to meticulous scrutiny, ckbeard''s countenance transformed into a visage of profound satisfaction. The treasure trove before him acted like a soothing balm, easing the sting of loss caused by the fierce battle against Zach and his formidable forces, akin to a healing salve on a battle-worn warrior''s wounds.


    The sight of the wealth and magical artifacts resembled a guiding lighthouse, illuminating the darkness of uncertainty that had engulfed ckbeard''s path, offering him a renewed sense of direction like a sailor navigating the treacherous seas under the guidance of a celestial beacon.


    Just as a weary traveler finds sce in an oasis amidst the scorching desert, the treasures presented themselves as a sanctuary, providing respite and rejuvenation after the arduous conflict, revitalizing ckbeard''s spirits like the cool, life-giving waters that quench a parched traveler''s thirst.


    In the face of such riches, ckbeard''s eyes gleamed with excitement, as if he held the keys to an otherworldly realm. The hope he had lost along with his crew was rekindled at this moment. This muchpensation was enough to leave some for him after paying off the sea dragon.


    With each artifact and treasure, the pain and regret of losing his crew and hopes for the future, died down a bit. The voices of his dead crew members began to grow fade in his mind and the wounds he had received in the battle against Christina and ra hurt him less and less.


    The loss of his loyal crew still weighed heavily on his heart, but now, it was woven into the tapestry of his newfound wealth and power, their legacy forever honored by the exploits he would have in the future with a new crew aboard a new ship for his uing expeditions.


    In this moment of profound satisfaction, ckbeard appeared as happy as a child despite how close he had been to dying in Greend.


    Satisfied with the amplepensation, ckbeard bestowed a nod of appreciation upon Hogan, acknowledging the value of their transaction. With a sense of contentment etched across his burly face, he turned away, his steps guided by the trail left behind by the sea dragon apanying him.


    Unknown to him, something was dangling from a torn portion of clothes on his backside. The tear probably used to be a pocket before it was torn under the relentless attacks from Zach''s forces.


    The item dangling from the torn portion was akin to the earpiece of the standard issue equipment of Zach''s soldiers. It appeared that amunication device had been stuffed there without him knowing anything about it.


    Any of the soldier in Zach''s forces would have easily recognized the headphones hanging from his back but the pirate was unaware of the cmity he would eventually invite for himself due to such a careless attitude.


    Nelson was unable to contain his lust but he didn''t lose himself until ckbeard had left the port on the back of the sea dragon and had moved out of his sight. Only then did he have the courage to act on his instincts.


    "This girl that ckbeard brought back is not bad either. Although I asked for a different one, I will have to make do with this one for the time being. I can get that seductive one on my ownter."


    Nelson was muttering to himself as he advanced towards Diana with his hands outstretched like some lecherous zombie looking for female meat to stuff itself.


    Thankfully for Diana, Hogan still had some sense left in him to stop his son from acting on his ns.


    "What do you think you are doing?" asked Hogan in an annoyed tone that indicated his extreme irritation at his son.


    Nelson got flustered as if under the impression that his father had heard his inner thoughts somehow. Stumbling on his words, Nelson replied with a unconfident tone of voice, "I nned to check out this woman. I wanted to know if she was still breathing or not. Who knows that pirate might be looking to pin the me of killing her on us by misleading that dark mage who is most probably looking for him already in search of his wife."


    Nelson inhaled a heavy breath as if putting aside all his burdens with that breath. He had somehow managed to conceal the truth from his father who looked like a bloodthirsty hound at the moment.


    Since there was some logic to Nelson''s words, Hogan couldn''t help bute forward to check on the girl. He only breathed easy after confirming that the girl was in fact still alive. But from her fluttering eyshes, it was obvious that her unconsciousness wasn''t about tost very long.


    "Tie her up first. We will decide what to do with herter on."


    Hogan took out a long rope from his spatial ring and gave it to his son Nelson who diligentlypleted the task as if it was the easiest job in the world. It seemed like he had quite some experience tying up girls.


    After Nelson was done with the task, Hogan took a look at the final job to make sure that Diana had been tied up carefully and without mistake before turning towards his son with a fierce and warning look on his face.


    Although Nelson had denied it, Hogan knew what had been going on in his mind earlier. He was definitely nning some way to y with the unconscious woman.


    "Listen to me carefully, I will only say this once. Don''t you dare...don''t you fucking dare touch this woman in any manner without my permission. If you dare to cause me any trouble despite the warning, I will cut off your thing and feed it to the sewer rats. It is better in their bellies than out here causing me more and more trouble."


    To Hogan, there was nothing worse than this that his son could do at this time to ruin their rtions with the Smith family.