Chapter 303, I seem to be targeted.
"Living people?"
Hearing Glenda's words, Wu Heng frowned.
The Skeleton Soldiers directly attacked, yet they left survivors, and they're in some hidden chamber.
Wu Heng took out a straw mat from his spatial ring, had the skeleton wrap the pirate captain's body, and then stored it in the spatial ring.
Then he said to 'Glenda': "Take me there to have a look!"
"Alright, this way!"
With the skeletons, they walked down into the cabin, heading all the way to the bottom.
The dim cabin had the scent of being unventilated for a long time.
Arriving at the innermost corner, Glenda pointed to a somewhat hidden spot.
Wu Heng glanced back, and two skeletons walked over, pulling the door open sideways.
It revealed an iron cage made of black iron rods.
The sudden appearance of skeletons caused a woman inside the cage to scream, and several women huddled together, trembling in the corner.
Wu Heng glanced over, there were five people in total.
Three women and two men.
They looked unkempt, with clear signs of injuries on their bodies.
"We're not with these pirates, please don't kill us, we pose no threat to you," one man spoke.
"Who are you then?" Wu Heng asked.
"I'm with the 'Adila Merchant Group', we pose no threat to you."
"Why didn't these pirates kill you?"
"I promised them a large ransom," the man quickly added, "I can give you a ransom too, 500 gold coins. Once the message is sent back, you'll get the corresponding ransom."
It seemed they were people captured by the pirates.
Pirates rarely leave survivors to demand ransom, but it's not impossible.
It depends on whether the price is worth the risk.
For 200 gold coins, the Iron Barrel Pirate Group took the risk to assassinate me, so 500 gold coins would definitely tempt them.
Wu Heng didn't ask more questions but turned his attention to the shorter, disheveled figure standing behind.
Standing in the shadows, the gaze carried a particular sharpness.
Wu Heng looked at him and asked, "Why are you wearing armor?"
"During the day, they made me clean the deck and gave it to me."
"Are you with the merchant group too?"
"No, but I was also captured by them."
Wu Heng glanced at him and then looked at the woman in the corner.
He didn't feel like asking further and simply said, "You all stay here. If they try to leave, kill them."
Clatter~!
The following skeletons moved into action.
Spears extended through the iron bars, pointing inward.
Wu Heng then left with Skull-crusher and Blood-Axe, heading outside.
From behind, the man from the merchant group shouted, "Sir, if the price doesn't satisfy you, we can negotiate more."
Wu Heng ignored him and continued walking outside.
Wu Heng wasn't planning to really investigate their identities, nor did he intend to kill them all.
When he returned to Gold-Silver Island, these matters would be handed over to the guild to deal with.
"Where's the money stored on the ship?"
"This way," Glenda said, flying upward through the ceiling.
Wu Heng walked up the stairs and found the treasure room.
Pushing open the door, inside was a large amount of loot.
Apart from various goods, there was a small chest of gold coins and several barrels filled with silver coins.
Catching pirates on Gold-Silver Island was far more profitable than capturing wanted criminals in inland cities.
Previously, even when Wu Heng killed a level 16 necromancer, the most valuable items were the robe and spatial ring.
But capturing a pirate group, the ship itself was worth a fortune, and there was plenty of money to be had.
Wu Heng glanced at the goods and directly stored all the gold, silver coins, and valuables into his spatial ring.
......
Returning to the deck.
The three dragon corpses that had fallen into the sea were also salvaged.
One was burned to charcoal, and two had their chests pierced by Barrett's bullets.
Even the leather saddles on their backs had large holes shot through them.
The dragons were already predetermined targets.
In this world, skeletal dragons might only help Wu Heng as flying mounts, but in the zombie world, they could exhibit strong combat capabilities.
At the very least, they could enhance the effect of aerial bombardment.
The more of them there were, the more obvious the effect.
"Take off the leather saddles," Wu Heng ordered.
Two skeletons stepped forward and removed the saddles from the dragon's bodies.
Wu Heng began casting [Raise Skeleton].
The flesh on the dragon corpses began to fall away, and the three skeletal dragons stood up one after another.
[Skeletal Dragon (Level 12)]
[Skeletal Dragon (Level 13)]
[Skeletal Dragon (Level 13)]
The levels weren't much different from the previous dragons.
The difference was only by about one level.
Then, Wu Heng walked to the cleaned-up pirate corpses and began identifying which ones were on the wanted list.
The corpses were wrapped in straw mats and stored in the spatial ring.
He then began casting [Battlefield of the Dead].
One by one, the pirate corpses stood up.
Wu Heng then glanced at the distant pirate ship, rode a dragon over, and continued converting the rest of the corpses on the ship.
Once everything was converted, the fleet started heading back to Cockatoo Island.
Returning to Cockatoo Island.
The sky was completely bright by now.
The fleet docked at the port.
Wu Heng opened the portal, letting the skeleton army and skeletal dragons that were summoned last night return through the portal, leaving behind the pirate skeletons to guard the ships.
He himself put on [The Conductor's Hat] and returned to Gold-Silver Island.
......
Arriving at Gold-Silver Island.
Wu Heng went directly to the guild, delivering the wanted corpses to the morgue.
Then he went to the steward's study, gently knocking on the door.
After getting a response, he directly pushed the door open and walked in.
Steward Imiro, still sitting behind the desk, said, "Last night, were you ambushed?"
"Not really an ambush, the Iron Barrel Pirate Group sent me false information to lure me into a trap," Wu Heng explained.
"Hmm, I heard about it from Olin. We've already seized the ships docked at the port last night and captured more than twenty people," Imiro said.
Wu Heng wasn't concerned about the follow-up events after the crew landed.
Plus, with the guild's capabilities, as long as they were on the island, they could be caught.
Wu Heng continued, "Last night, based on the intel, I found the 'Iron Barrel Pirate Group's fleet and killed their captain and several key members."
Imiro, who had his head lowered, frowned and looked up with a hint of surprise in his eyes.
Ambushed last night and killed the enemy's captain by morning?
The biggest problem with pirates was that it was hard to pinpoint their exact location, even when acting on prior intel.
If they leave early, it's difficult to catch them.
And yet, he killed them all?
"Where are the bodies?" Imiro asked.
"Sent to the morgue, they're being examined."
"Well done." Although Imiro had doubts, he still praised him.
Wu Heng then continued, "Steward, I've also discovered some information that I think I should tell you."
"Go ahead, what is it?"
"I might be wanted by the entire pirate fleet."
Imiro's just-relaxed brows furrowed again.
A deputy steward of the guild, being wanted by the entire pirate fleet, that was indeed a rare occurrence.
"What happened? Explain in detail."
Wu Heng nodded and relayed the information about the mysterious letter and the interrogation of the corpses, learning that he was wanted by the pirate fleet, in full detail.
After all, he was the guild's deputy steward.
After all this time, having risked his life for the guild, he couldn't carry this burden alone.
The guild had to put in some effort too.
"Where's the letter? Let me see it," Imiro asked.
Wu Heng took out a few blank envelopes and handed them over.
After briefly examining them, Imiro placed them back on the table.
He said, "I've never seen a letter like this before. It must be some kind of magical item."
That wasn't too different from what Wu Heng had thought.
Magical items always exhibited all sorts of strange and unusual effects.
"Hmm, I think so too," Wu Heng said.
Imiro pondered for a moment and said, "You shouldn't leave the island for now. I'll coordinate with Gold-Silver Island to strengthen port control, and I'll start investigating the letter."
"Alright." Wu Heng nodded, then continued, "I also captured several pirate ships. They're currently docked on a small island outside, and there are a few hostages who were kidnapped by the pirates."
"You can just bring the ships to the guild's port. Let them know it's your spoils of war, and docking will proceed normally," Imiro said.
Wu Heng looked up and said, "During the battle, I used Raise Skeleton, so the crew is all skeletons. Will that cause any issues?"
Imiro raised an eyebrow, "It might draw some attention. Let the Third Squad go with you. When you dock, have them handle the situation while your skeletons stay in the cabin."
"Understood!"
......
Afternoon.
Wu Heng had the fleet approach the port.
The Third Squad, already waiting, boarded the ship and took control.
"Are these the hostages?" Olin had the men bring a few people out from the cabin.
Wu Heng nodded, "It's just them. They claim they were kidnapped by the pirates, but their true identities are uncertain. Take them back for investigation."
"Understood." Olin nodded and instructed the team, "Take them back, and be careful they don't escape."
The squad members watched as the hostages were led away.
The man who had initially offered a ransom kept turning back, thanking Wu Heng repeatedly, shouting that he wouldn't forget their agreement.
Wu Heng didn't bother responding.
After handing things over to Olin, Wu Heng headed toward his residence.
......
Returning to his residence.
Minnie came out to greet him, giving him a big hug.
She clung to him like an octopus.
Wu Heng lightly patted her thigh, signaling for her to come down.
"Master, do you want to eat?" Minnie asked.
"I already ate outside. Prepare some water, I'll take a bath."
"Okay!"
Wu Heng soaked in a hot bath, then returned to his room to sleep.
He slept until a little after four in the afternoon, then got up and went downstairs.
As soon as he came down to the first floor, he saw Minnie and the wood elf Shanaila chatting in the living room.
When Shanaila saw Wu Heng coming down, she gave a gentle smile, "Were we disturbing you with our conversation?"
Wu Heng sat across from them, "No, I came down because I slept well."
"Good." Shanaila leaned back in her chair, her eyes fixed on him as she said, "The guild assigned extra tasks?"
"They did send us to eliminate pirates, but it's nothing difficult. Don't worry!"
"That's good."