"Can you guarantee that if I tell you what you want to know, you won't kill me?"
Looking at the ugly Fish-Man in front of him, Charliss Saint felt that the Fish-Man was pure evil. Others might hesitate because of his Celestial Dragon status, but this one clearly wouldn't.
"Don't worry, we Fish-Men keep our word, unlike you Celestial Dragons who are nothing but scum."
Charliss Saint couldn't be sure if Wood was telling the truth, but he had no other options.
Either he chose to trust Wood, or he would continue to have his fingers cut off one by one.
The excruciating pain he had just endured was unforgettable, and although Charliss Saint was already plotting how to take revenge on the Fish-Man, he decided to choose the former.
After Wood obtained the information about where Charlmos Saint resided, he tied Charliss Saint to the bed and stuffed his mouth again.
Charliss Saint watched as Wood did all this, and didn't struggle, thinking that Wood had indeed kept his promise.
If Wood had wanted to kill him, he could have done so with one stroke, without going through so much trouble.
Feeling relieved that his life was no longer in danger, Charliss Saint began to plan in his mind how he would seek revenge against Wood.
Simply making Wood a slave would be too lenient. The pain Charliss Saint had just endured would be repaid tenfold or a hundredfold.
However, Charliss Saint was not the protagonist of this story; he wasn't going to rise up and seek revenge like in the tales of "Thirty years of East River, thirty years of West River." After tying Charliss Saint securely, Wood found the key and unlocked the chains binding the girl on the bed.
One of the twin girls had already been tortured to death by the time Wood arrived.
The surviving sister, upon seeing her chains removed, had a momentary look of disbelief.
When she saw her dead sister, her eyes filled with intense anger as she looked at Charliss Saint.
Wood, noticing her reaction, handed her a dagger, another one of the luxurious items from Charliss Saint's collection.
"I'm sorry I arrived too late to save your sister. If you want revenge, do it yourself.
I had to hold back from killing this scum several times."
Hearing Wood's words, the bound Charliss Saint stared at Wood in disbelief, his eyes filled with a mix of emotions.
"I did keep my promise. I didn't kill you myself, but that doesn't mean someone else won't."
The girl's hatred for the Celestial Dragons was deeply evident in the next scene, as she exacted her revenge in a brutally vivid manner.
Charliss Saint loved to play games, so the girl played one with him too—a bloody game.
"The chains are off, and with Mary Geoise in chaos, now is your best chance to escape.
There are plenty of treasures in this Celestial Dragon's room. Take what you can and live well, for yourself and your sister."
Wood had stayed behind out of concern that the girl might not be able to kill Charliss Saint in the end, thinking he might need to finish the job himself.
However, it was clear that the traumatic experience had transformed the girl. The way she dealt with Charliss Saint even made Wood shiver.
"Benefactor, could you tell me your name?"
"My name is Wood. I hope we meet again one day."
On the way to Charlmos Saint's residence, Wood began to regret his previous actions.
He was currently disguised as a Fish-Man, but for some reason, he had impulsively given the girl his real name.
Wood didn't think the girl would betray him, but it still left a trace of worry in his usually cautious mind.
Little did Wood know that the girl he saved would one day become a significant figure on the seas, and that she would repay the kindness shown by Wood's name.
Following the directions provided by Charliss Saint, Wood quickly made his way to another luxurious mansion under the cover of night.
Unlike Charliss Saint, who was still indulging in his depraved games, Charlmos Saint's mansion was brightly lit, and two men in black suits were standing guard inside.
"Has the slave rebellion been suppressed? I haven't even had a chance to break in the new batch of slaves I just bought. If anything happens to them, you'll be sorry!"
The slaves, including Hancock and her sisters, were first subjected to a simple "taming" process and branded with the "Hoof of the Celestial Dragon" before being sent to the Celestial Dragons.
With the Fish-Men causing such a ruckus, Charlmos Saint naturally worried about the condition of his new slaves.
Unlike the slaves he had grown bored with, these were all new playthings, and among them was a mermaid he had spent a fortune to acquire. He wasn't willing to let anything happen to them.
"BANG——!"
In his frustration, Charlmos Saint pulled out a gun and shot a maid who was serving tea beside him.
As the maid collapsed into a pool of blood, the other servants around her trembled in fear, not daring to make any sudden movements.
The two guards protecting Charlmos Saint were clearly members of Cipher Pol, the World Government's intelligence agency, judging by their attire.
However, they were not likely members of the elite CP0, known as the "World's Strongest Intelligence Agency," since CP0 officers typically wore white suits, not black.
Although the Celestial Dragons were noble, they were not the only elite residents of Mary Geoise. CP0, being the best of the best, were as powerful as Marine admirals, but their numbers were limited, so it wasn't possible for each Celestial Dragon to have one.
It was clear that Charlmos Saint's status wasn't among the highest in Mary Geoise, so his guards were not the elite CP0.
With two CP agents guarding him, Wood's chances of bypassing them to directly take down Charlmos Saint were slim.
Waiting for the right moment was not an option either, as time was running out. The chaos in Mary Geoise was only because the Celestial Dragons never imagined anyone would dare attack them.
Once the Marines arrived, the rebellion would be swiftly crushed.
Given the limited time, Wood decided not to wait any longer. Gripping his long blade, he stepped out from the shadows, quickly closing in on one of the CP agents.