Lord of Rot

PAT!

A young man was training in the castle’s training grounds when something tapped his forehead.

He subconsciously looked up at the sky.

The dark clouds that had been pressing down for days had finally reached their limit.

PAT! PAT! PAT!

The dry ground quickly began to dampen as large raindrops, the size of beans, crashed down.

In the blink of an eye, the ground was soaked by the pitter-pattering downpour. The stuffy air instantly turned crisp and cool.

”It’s raining!”

”Quick, get out of the rain! Be careful not to get sick!”

”Yes!”

The young men ran cheerfully through the rain. The stuffiness and irritation of the past few days washed away the moment the downpour began.

They ran into Porcupine Castle to take shelter. The Lord wouldn’t scold them for something so trivial, but the young men still stood obediently under the eaves, not wanting to dirty the castle. Besides, watching the rainy night from under the eaves was quite fascinating.

They watched the raindrops string together like beads, pocking the ground as they landed.

WHOOSH!

Leech sat at his desk, gently scratching the chin of his black cat, Qingtian. The rainy day had made Qingtian lazy, and it was enjoying the sensation with its eyes narrowed.

A fierce wind blew in through the window, making the curtains billow violently, as if several people were hiding behind them, brandishing their claws.

”My Lord, I’ll close the window for you.” His personal manservant, Pitchfork, hurried in and, braving the storm, went to close the window for Leech.

The raindrops hammered fiercely against Pitchfork’s face and body. He squeezed his eyes shut and fumbled for the window, finally managing to close it with great difficulty.

What a violent storm.

Pitchfork raised his sleeve to wipe his face, then noticed a puddle of water on the floor. He immediately went back out to arrange for someone to come in and wipe the floor.

The maids, Little Eyes and Wine Cup, entered.

It was dark outside, the day blacker than night.

Candles and kerosene lamps were lit in the study. The Lord was stroking his cat with one hand and flipping through *Lena’s Travelogue*, a birthday gift, with the other.

They didn’t dare make a sound, afraid of disturbing the Lord while he was reading.

Suddenly, a flash of lightning streaked across the sky outside, its blinding white light illuminating the entire study through the window.

The flash threw the Lord’s shadow onto the wall, where it loomed, dark and demonic.

”Ah!” ”Ah!”

The two of them jumped in fright.

In all their lives, they could count the number of thunderstorms they’d seen on one hand. They couldn’t help but wonder who had angered the gods above.

’Screaming like that must have displeased him,’ the two maids thought after their initial fear. They looked worriedly at the Lord, only to find him still engrossed in his book.

They breathed a silent sigh of relief.

BOOM!

The thunder slowly caught up to the lightning.

The maids’ apologies were drowned out by the shouts of old Captain Piri.

”Quick, turn the rudder! Turn the rudder!”

Leech’s attention shifted away from the story in *Lena’s Travelogue*.

Giant Dragons treasured love, willing to devote everything to their beloved, even sharing their treasure... until their next love came along.

When he turned his head to look back, the scene before his eyes had changed from his desk in the Porcupine Castle study to the rain-lashed deck of the *Porcupine*.

Sailors were running about in a panic, and a few had slipped and fallen to the deck.

The torrential rain cast a shadow over the *Porcupine*’s maiden voyage.

Lightning flashed overhead again.

Old Captain Piri was still shouting, but the ensuing thunder completely swallowed his voice.

The two-masted schooner was as fragile as a child in the sea. A large wave struck, sending the ship rocking from side to side.

The sea and sky roared as one.

Leech looked up at the sky. For some reason, he thought of Prince Hoffman. ’Could someone with his power control the thunder of this world?’ he wondered. ’Probably not.’

’Maybe a Legendary could?’

Fortunately, the *Porcupine* was already at the edge of the storm. The dark clouds clearly divided the sea into two worlds. Ahead, sunlight spilled down upon a clear sky, but behind them, the thunderstorm raged on.

”My Lord, we’re about to leave Pigtail Bay and enter the deep sea.”

Old Captain Piri walked over.

Because sailing technology had long stagnated, people were ignorant of the waters beyond the continent. All sea areas outside the known ranges were called the deep sea, or simply the great sea.

The Corpse Ghost controlled by Leech was clad head-to-toe in iron armor, with a visor that revealed only its eyes.

He was the highest-ranking officer on this ship, by order of the Baron.

”How far are we from our destination?”

”One day,” Captain Piri replied, looking at the motionless, mysterious Knight. Although he didn’t believe the gossip, he couldn’t help but feel a little worried. It was said that the Knights by the Baron’s side were all incredibly strong. No one knew where they came from, and they were always silent, just like zombies.

Old Piri glanced back and said, ”My Lord, I’ll go back to check on the ship.”

At the same time Old Piri spoke, another voice said, ”My Lord, the weather has turned cold. Here is some hot tea I brewed for you.”

”Mm.”

A single nod, an answer given in two separate places.

The scene on the deck gradually faded, almost disappearing from his vision. Leech looked at his personal manservant, Pitchfork, who had brought him the tea.

He took the tea and had a sip. ”How long until Miss Evangelina’s birthday ball?”

”It’s the day after tomorrow.”

”Are the gifts I asked you to prepare ready?”

”Rapunzel-scented soap, a red silk gown, a pair of ladies’ high heels, and the jeweled ring you brought back.”

”Pack them all in gift boxes with red roses inside,” Leech said. ”And tie them with silk ribbons into a bow, the way I taught you.”

”Yes, my Lord!”

Gift-giving requires a sense of ceremony. Leech was a firm believer in this.

And right now, he was doing something full of ceremony. Revenge must be ceremonial!

His gaze fell upon a letter with curled edges on his desk.

It was a very detailed ship’s log, including the recent cargo loading and unloading times for eight ships from the Monkey Island Tuna family.

A seasoned captain could use a ship’s log and its previous sailing records to precisely calculate where a ship would be at any given time.

This ship’s log was obtained through a deal Leech made with a merchant.

He had used the date and spice trade from the desert as a bargaining chip, along with a large supply of Porcupine Wine.

Deni was a shrewd businessman. He didn’t want Leech’s money; instead, he was desperate to give Leech money. Only by stuffing Leech’s pockets could he earn even more himself.

After a day’s journey, the ship finally reached its destination.

Old Captain Piri once again walked up to the Knight, who stood as motionless as an iron nail driven into the deck.

He squinted into the distance. ”My Lord, they’re here. Should we hoist the pirate flag?”

”Hoist it!”

Piri turned and shouted, ”Change the flag!”

The Porcupine Banner was quickly lowered, and a grim flag of white bones was raised in its place.

”Have the Casters prepare!”

「On the other side.」

The three-masted ship from the Tuna family was sailing at high speed.

They had just returned from the Northern Territory, having made a huge profit on this trade run. On the return journey, they were carrying a slow shipment of local goods from the north.

”Those Barbarians from the Northern Territory probably don’t even know what a Transcendent is, hahaha!” The sailors laughed, their gazes subconsciously drifting to the tower-like figure inside the cabin.

”That’s right! Under Lord Lauder’s fists, they’d all be turned to meat paste!” another sailor exclaimed, excitedly pumping his fist as if he were the one doing it, even making ”PEW~ PEW~” sound effects.

”Looks like there’s a ship outside!”

”They’re changing their flag right in front of us? Hahaha!”

The sailors roared with laughter.

’How many people can a two-masted schooner even carry? Our ship is a three-master! We could ram that little boat and smash it to pieces!’

”It looks like a ship from Porcupine Territory! I saw the Porcupine Banner!”

Inside the cabin, the air suddenly fell silent. You could hear a pin drop.

A few days ago, five of their Transcendent had gone to raid an island in Porcupine Territory. In the end, only one ship had escaped, and all five of the Transcendent had vanished without a trace.

Now, hearing the name ”Porcupine Territory” again, everyone instinctively froze.

The Transcendent, Lord Lauder, who had been sitting to the side drinking, stood up with his helmet in his arms. He cast a large shadow. The people of Monkey Island were already shorter than mainlanders, and standing before the tower of a man, they looked like children, forced to crane their necks to look up at him.

”We attack!”

Lauder roared, his mouth gaping like a lion’s.

After the resounding roar, the quiet cabin and deck erupted with energy.

”Attack! Attack!”

The sailors were fired up.

”Let’s show those Porcupines what we’re made of!”

’We heard that Baron Porcupine is a martial arts champion and has quite a few Transcendent under him. It’s normal that we couldn’t beat him before.’

’But this is at sea, and we have more men! Unless your whole ship is full of Transcendent, you’re dead!’

”They’re turning the rudder! Looks like they’re trying to run!” shouted the lookout.

The Transcendent Lauder rushed out, and the other sailors swarmed after him.

Sure enough, the *Porcupine*, now flying its pirate flag, had turned quickly to present its side. But the distance between the two ships had already closed so much that they could even see the faces of the sailors on the other deck.

’Too late to run!’

”Ram them!” Lauder yelled.

BOOM!

A thunderclap from a clear sky.

A deafening explosion.

The bow of the three-masted ship instantly collapsed. The people standing on deck screamed as they fell into the sea.

’What happened?’

Lauder’s ears were ringing, and he was surrounded by agonized screams.

”The ship is sinking! We’re dead!”

”It’s over!”

”Help me!”

Lauder stood there, stunned. He looked over at the *Porcupine*. A hatch had opened on its side, and a dark iron tube was sticking out.

He knew what a musket was, but that thing was dozens of times thicker and larger!

Lauder looked at the enemy deck and saw a man with his hand raised high, shouting.

”Fire!!”

BOOM!

Lauder’s body was struck. The terrifying force slammed him into the ship’s cabin and then smashed him straight through the bottom of the hull.

GLUG GLUG GLUG GLUG. Water rushed into his mouth and nose, forcing the air out of his body in a stream of bubbles.

Until the moment he closed his eyes, he couldn’t understand how such a massive musket could possibly exist.