Martial Arts Worlds

A week later, the ship of Heart Eye Pirates neared a big island that looked quite amazing.

They were approaching the island's harbor area that was the biggest one any of them had seen.

There were hundreds of pirate ships docked there with pirates roaming the harbor area, walking down planked areas, and loading up supplies into their ships.

Alongside the harbor, shops lined the planked road selling all sorts of illegal goods and supplies. The shopkeepers were all rough-faced, scarred, and some even missing teeth, giving the place a dangerous and seedy atmosphere.

Beyond the harbor, the city of pirates was cramped with buildings. All the streets were narrow and winding, making the city quite a labyrinth.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

At the five corners of the city, there were five different castles. They all looked different, each more foreboding and sinister than the last.

If one walked close enough to the castles, some might hear sounds of moaning, some might hear giggling, even screaming, depending on which castle they went to.

At that moment, the Heart Eye Pirates docked at the harbor with the anchor dropping to the sea floor with a soundless thud.

Thump, thump, thump!

The chained prisoners listened to the sound of the footsteps. Then they all saw a long-limbed pirate with a hook for a hand waving a bundle of keys.

"We've arrived!" The pirate said with a sinister gaze. "Your new home—Pirate Kingdom!"

While most of the passengers already looked hopeless, a few still managed to shed tears. They were all pretty hungry as they hadn't had much to eat or drink for the past week.

"Finally…" Julian said with relief. "My butt was killing me because of all this sitting."

'Pirate Kingdom.' Kiernan thought to himself. 'I heard that this is a tier 1 place. Martial Champions must be as common as rice grain here.'

"Get up!" The pirate shouted.

After unlocking the shackles for a moment, the pirates put cuffs on their wrists and led them to the deck.

This was the first time they had seen the sun in the past week.

"I hope your trip was nice." Faelan said with a cigar in his mouth. "My men will take you to the slave house to decide your fate."

His men then started pushing the prisoners down the ramp into the planked ground of the harbor.

"…" Faelan checked his phone and called a number, but he didn't receive an answer. "Count Sander, where the hell are you?"

He'd been trying to call him for the past week, but he hadn't answered.

"Hmph…" Faelan then followed the prisoners with his gaze and looked deeply at the two young men.

'Well, once Count Sander arrives, he'll know what to do, but I will sell them now anyway. That crazy guy might kill them before I can sell them, and that would be a huge waste of money.'

…

Through the narrow streets, the pirates led the cuffed prisoners through dark and dirty streets.

While walking, the streets were filled with pirates. All rough and evil-looking. They eyed the cuffed prisoners, wondering whether any of them would be worth purchasing.

"Hey!" A red-eyed woman pushed through the crowd and ran over to them. "You're Heart Eye Pirates, right?"

"Yes, and you..?" The hooked pirate looked at the woman, stunned by her beauty, but then noticed a mark of an arrow piercing through a heart.

It was a mark of a prostitute belonging to the brothel.

However, she was clearly high-ranked.

"You're selling these as slaves, correct?" Fawn, the red-eyed woman, asked.

"Of course," the hooked pirate said. "Interested in buying?"

"Hmm, let's see…" Fawn looked over to the cuffed prisoners. "We do need some new meat there, but…"

She was looking at the female prisoners, who lowered their heads to make themselves look small and insignificant so the red-eyed woman might miss them.

"Hmm…" Fawn sighed and shook her head. "Small-chested, and average-looking. Is that the best you got?"

"We got some good male slaves, as well." The hooked pirate said.

"Hmm…" Fawn looked over, and when she saw two young men who hadn't reached the Age of Growth yet, her eyes started shining.

"Oh…"

She walked over to them and scanned them thoroughly. With their handsome faces, tall, and fit physiques, they would definitely sell like hot cakes in the slave market.

"These two, I want them!" Fawn shouted as she looked at Kiernan and Julian.

"Sex slaves?" Julian looked at Kiernan with a look of annoyance. "Seriously?"

"That isn't happening," Kiernan said.

"Sorry, but they aren't for sale." The hooked pirate said. "We're trying to sell them as Fighting Slaves!"

"Fighting Slaves, seriously?" Fawn's eyebrow twitched. "That is such a waste. They'll fight for a couple of matches before dying from their injuries. We can make much better profit if we sell them in the brothel!"

"A short-time profit versus a long-time profit," the hooked pirate shrugged his shoulders. "I am just following my captain's orders. He wants them to be Fighting Slaves, so be it."

"It isn't even your choice, though!" Fawn shouted. "The slave house's master will decide their fate."

"The slave house master isn't blind. I am sure he will choose them as Fighting Slaves, but if he doesn't, I am willing to sell them to you. Deal?"

"Fine, deal!" Fawn smiled sweetly and winked at the two young men before disappearing back into the crowd like the wind.

"How strange," Julian said. "The thought of slavery is unthinkable where I was from. What about you, Kiernan?"

"Same…" Kiernan looked around the street. "However, here it is as common as selling some fruits at the market."

"This place should be burned to the ground." Julian said, his voice slightly rising with anger.

"…" Kiernan stayed quiet.

After a long walk, they arrived at the slave house—it was an old, red-painted building that emanated an eerie feeling—it had a sign that said "Slave House" with bold font.

They were led through the door, then led to the basement floor, where they were lined up like cattle for auction.

Heavy footsteps came down the stairs. It was the slave house master, coming to check the new slaves.