No wonder he was a great pirate. Even after losing both legs, Morse did not despair, he immediately fought back. But just as he raised his hand, Loren kicked him in the face and knocked him over.
Like kicking a dog.
Morse had a very strong physique, Loren's kick didn't do much physical harm, but it crushed his dignity beneath Loren's foot.
"I want you dead!"
Morse exploded with rage, slamming both hands against the ground to launch himself up, throwing a punch at Loren.
"Don't kill him."
"Yes."
Anna turned the scythe around and smashed the blunt side into Morse's face with all her strength. Loren heard the crack of bone.
Morse was flung into the wall and then fell to the ground.
Loren walked up unhurriedly and swung his blade, cutting off both of Morse's arms.
Everything happened so fast that the other pirates didn't react in time, they hadn't even pulled their triggers.
Now Loren and his group were so powerful that fighting back against opponents of this level was meaningless.
"Let me ask you something, do you know why the Sea God is so desperate for sacrifices?"
Loren pressed Morse under his foot. The great pirate still tried to act tough and didn't answer, only sneering.
"Why go through all that trouble?"
Loren grabbed Morse by the hair and walked toward the other pirates, who instinctively made way for him.
"Cowards."
Morse spat at them, but he quickly lost the chance to speak. Loren pressed his teeth against the step and then stomped on his head.
The sound of shattered teeth echoed, and that sound woke the pirates up, making them realize that the powerful Morse being killed in an instant was not a dream.
Loren didn't continue to question Morse. Instead, with his foot on Morse's head, he turned to the others:
"Which one of you ate the human meat on the table?"
They had expected Loren to ask about the Sea God, but instead he said this.
"Did you eat it?"
Seeing no one answer, Loren directly asked a pirate standing by the table.
Their behavior had indeed crossed Loren's bottom line. Loren's moral threshold was high; he could not accept cannibalism.
"I... I didn't..."
"Your opinion doesn't matter."
A streak of blood light swept across, cutting the man in two. His innards spilled onto the floor.
"Forget it, I can't tell, so I'll assume you did."
"Ah!"
A pirate screamed and ran for the door. He had seen many killings and cannibals before; he wouldn't be frightened by someone being cut in half. He was collapsing because his worldview had shattered.
The mighty pirate "Shadow of the Abyss" Morse had been beaten like a dog.
Of course Loren couldn't let him walk away. Soon, he gave Morse the same treatment as his fellow pirates.
"Why are you running? Am I that terrifying?"
Loren stomped his foot. A broken tooth jabbed into Morse's gum.
"Enough. Now for business. Who knows why the Sea God is so eager for sacrifices?"
Loren kicked Morse aside and strode toward the others.
Anna stood guard at the door of her own volition, visibly thrilled—today had been fun for her.
"Who is the first mate?"
When nobody answered, Loren asked again.
Under normal circumstances they wouldn't have dared to point out the first mate, but with their captain already pummeled, they had no such scruples. They shoved a man hiding in the crowd forward, and Loren used a burst of Blood Moon Condensed Light to blow his head off.
"Darn, forgot to ask."
Loren joked deliberately. Actually, he hadn't expected them to know; it would be quicker to ask the Sea God itself.
"Fine. Now you lot go and gather the other pirates, bring them to the place where you do your sacrifices. I have your faces memorized. Whoever runs will die. Move out."
If they wanted to perform a sacrifice, Loren might as well oversee it. While Loren performed the ritual, he could speak to the Sea God.
Besides, this group of pirates was useless alive; might as well sacrifice them.
"Yes!"
Anna stepped aside to let them out. The pirates breathed a sigh of relief and rushed out the door.
When they reached the harbor, they discovered their ships had been smashed to pieces by Orianna. Orianna, now cloaked in a black robe, stood atop the wreckage looking down at everyone.
She extended a finger and traced a line with Blood Moon Condensed Light:
"Cross this line and you die."
That mechanical voice held no emotion, sending a chill through the pirates.
...
On the other side, Loren had already arrived at the altar. The altar was massive, large enough to hold an entire village.
Loren cut his finger and used his blood to modify the runes on the altar.
He already understood the altar's effect. Simple sacrifices, and how much you received depended entirely on the Sea God's mood. This kind of ritual was completely unfair.
At its core, a ritual is a transaction, but true rituals, like magic, had been sealed by the Orthodox Gods. The rituals that survived became corrupted into this.
In the past, people and gods signed contracts and exchanged fairly. Now people kneeled and gave everything while the god handed out scraps based on whim, replacing tangible benefits with the vague reward of faith.
You give me all these things merely to show your faith in me, and I don't even need to return anything.
It was somewhat like the change in a romantic relationship.
What Loren was doing now was adding mechanisms into the ritual to restrain the god, turning flattery into an actual bargain.
That had always been Loren's approach to rituals.
"Master Mentor..."
Just as Loren was finishing, Paqina walked over. She and the others had just gone to check on the villagers who had been locked up.
"How are they?"
Loren did not stop what he was doing and asked casually.
"They're all cramped into a tiny space, like a herd of livestock."
"Even after I opened the door, they wouldn't come out. They were terrified out of their minds."
Having seen their miserable state, Paqina regretted acting too lightly earlier.
At this moment she truly understood Loren's words: letting evil men live only harms the innocent.
"Alright, rest for now. I'll slaughter the pirates in a bit."
"Yes..."
Paqina and the others stepped out of the ritual area and formed a ring, as Loren had requested, so they could keep an eye on the pirates.
By the time the ritual setup was complete, the pirates whom Loren had earlier released had already brought the rest. After all, even though their leader had been instantly killed by Loren, they were still the strongest pirate crew around.
"Okay, you're here. Let's begin the ritual. Now stand in the altar."
The pirates took up less space than the villagers, so they could squeeze onto the altar prepared for the villagers.
Some of the pirates noticed something amiss when they realized Morse wasn't presiding over the ritual.
"Isn't the ceremony supposed to be at night? Why is it happening at noon? And where's the sacrifice?"
"Aren't you the sacrifice?"
Loren said calmly, then activated the ritual.
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