-252- Troublesome

"Trouble's here."

Sarah pursed her lips, sighing suddenly.

Seeing Linwin's look, she whispered, "Illaoi and Gangplank's story is true. If she helps Gangplank, we can't beat him, even with you and your enforcers here. You saw it yourself, that woman who doesn't seem like a woman is a monster, not to mention she can summon sea creatures to help."

Watching Gangplank swaggering on the small boat, Sarah's face showed a frustrated expression. She kicked a small rock forcefully with her boots and immediately ordered loudly, "Everyone, retreat!"

"What are you going to do?" Linwin looked at Miss Fortune, puzzled.

"Run away, what else?" Sarah blinked, trying to make light of the situation. She forced a smile and said, "I don't want to confront that monster. Everyone in Bilgewater fears her. With just a word from her, Gangplank will gather a bunch of lackeys. Guess what Gangplank will do with his lackeys?"

"Hmm," Linwin understood immediately.

But it's also normal for Illaoi to help Gangplank.

Because Gangplank and Illaoi are lovers. But initially, Linwin thought Sarah and the captain were a couple, only to discover after learning the story that Sarah and Gangplank not only aren't lovers, but they are mortal enemies.

Gangplank once threatened Sarah's mother to make guns for him, but after making them, Gangplank killed Sarah's mother, right in front of her.

So, they are sworn enemies. If Bilgewater has Gangplank, there's no Sarah, and if there's Sarah, there's no Gangplank.

"You guys should get ready to run too. Gangplank won't spare his enemies." Sarah said, ready to leave, but before leaving, she said to Linwin, "But I'm not worried about you guys, after all, you can fly."

"Run?" Linwin was a bit speechless.

Bilgewater isn't big, but there's so much going on.

Hexcite stations are doing well in Demacia, in Freljord, in Noxus and Shurima. Why do things keep going wrong here?

Miss Fortune and her crew were very fast. Within three minutes, everyone was ready to board the ship. As a pirate and bounty hunter, Miss Fortune certainly didn't put all her money in Bilgewater.

The ship is the most important thing for a pirate.

But Sarah and her crew were fast, but Illaoi's speed in dealing with the giant fish was even faster.

Nagakabouros is the most powerful sea creature in the world. After Illaoi released the power of Nagakabouros wantonly on the sea, any intelligent sea creature nearby would quickly flee.

These intelligent sea creatures, they knew very well that if they stayed, they would only be fish chumps of the tentacles and sink into the sea to become a corpse, becoming nutrients for the ocean.

The small boat had already docked at the port. Illaoi had not yet set foot on the giant ship's port when Gangplank jumped up.

"Y-You're Gangplank."

"Get lost, I don't know who you are." Gangplank looked coldly at the dockworker, kicked him away, and he fell far away.

Lying there, this dockworker who had been diligently defending Bilgewater's defenses before, didn't even dare to get up.

Drenched Gangplank boarded the port, and everyone on the port cast their eyes on this man.

"Where's Miss Fortune and Blackbeard?" Gangplank turned around and looked around. Behind him, Illaoi also followed ashore, sticking closely to Gangplank.

She firmly believed that Gangplank could change Bilgewater's situation because she recognized the man she was familiar with had returned.

"Seeing that I'm back, did she run away?" Gangplank grinned and looked at a gang leader on the dock. He remembered this guy, he's called Quio, oh, right, his name is Quio.

Suddenly realizing, Gangplank walked towards him and said as he walked, "Tell me, Quio, where did Miss Fortune go?"

"She.... when you landed, she boarded the Siren."

"That's my ship!" Hearing Siren, Gangplank was furious.

"Quio, follow me and help me take back my ship."

Quio was stunned for a moment, then looked blankly at Illaoi standing behind Gangplank.

He wanted to know what Miss Fortune was thinking.

But the tall and mighty truth bearer slowly closed her eyes, folded her arms, and stood behind Gangplank, towering over him.

"What are you looking at her for? I'm the one talking to you now." Gangplank also noticed Quio's expression.

He took two more steps forward, only a few inches away from Quio, face to face, nose to nose, eyes to eyes. Gangplank said in a flat tone, "You don't need to look at her. I'm asking you now, Quio, you can rest assured that even if you don't agree with me, Illaoi won't lay a hand on you. She's the Bilgewater truth bearer now, she doesn't care about us wandering scoundrels. But...."

Quio met Gangplank's eyes, and then, he was suddenly shocked.

In those eyes, he saw confidence and brutality.

The disaster of the sea, the man who dared to strike Noxus, he had returned.

"Refuse me and you'll bear my wrath." Gangplank asked in a deep voice.

"I understand, I'm willing to follow you. My king."

---

"Hurry, everyone, get on the ship quickly!"

Seeing Gangplank already ashore, Sarah urged on the Siren.

Beside Linwin, Graves and Twisted had already returned with the enforcers.

Watching Sarah busy bringing people aboard the Siren from above, Graves spoke to Linwin, "What do we do next? Do we give up here?"

"He'll destroy that Hexcite station." Graves said confidently.

"No, let's wait and see." Linwin shook his head.

Giving up is not an option.

Zaun's four-year evolution, Twin Cities' development must not stop.

"I understand." Graves' words suddenly became scarce, and he put away his indifferent attitude.

Now, even he knows the situation is very bad.

After all, as a person from Bilgewater, Graves understood what the truth bearer represented in Bilgewater.

The name Illaoi, Graves also knew, represented something.

She was the most powerful truth bearer in history.

---

"Captain, someone is attacking us!"

On the Siren, a crew member exclaimed.

Sarah pushed him aside and looked to where he had seen before, only to see a familiar face staring at her fiercely.

"Bounty hunter Sarah, you're finished!"

Klaxi Aoxi, the second-in-command of the Foxhunters, or rather, the current leader of the Foxhunters.

Sarah once caught his boss and exchanged his head for a decent set of equipment, and now, Klaxi Aoxi has come knocking.

"Illaoi and Gangplank are ashore, with Illaoi's help, you're done for! Gangplank will chop off your limbs, strip you naked, and hang you in Lane to sun-dry! By then, your body will rot, and the crows will eat your flesh!"

Klaxi Aoxi said, raising his hand and firing a bullet.

Sarah quickly lowered her head, dodging the lead bullet sprayed out by the gun. At the same time, she shouted loudly, "Quickly, set sail!"

"Captain, the ship, the ship is anchored!"

Second-in-command Rafen calmly pushed aside the crew member and walked up. He saw another group of people on the other side.

The machine used to shoot sea monsters was brought by them, and they pierced the hull of the Siren with a huge ship anchor, and then a dozen people were pulling iron chains.

The Siren couldn't move.

"Captain, the ship is anchored! They are likely to come up!"

"Damn it!"

Sarah cursed angrily upon hearing this.

She has made many enemies in Bilgewater, and her nickname was given by these people.

Wherever Miss Fortune goes, trouble follows. This confirms Sarah's ability while also indicating that Sarah has offended many gangs in Bilgewater.

After all, she was a bounty hunter before.

"Sarah, you can't run away!"

"Fire at will!" Sarah calmed herself down in anger, and with a command, the crew members on the Siren quickly picked up their weapons.

Sarah leaned against the ship, stood up, and fired a shot.

The huge lead bullet sprayed out successfully hit the head of the person shouting, and the head exploded like a watermelon, with white brain pulp mixed with crimson blood splattering all over the ground.

But it only fuel the pirates around.

"Kill that stinky woman!"

"I've been wanting to kill her for a long time!"

As soon as the words fell, a lead bullet shot into his mouth, his chin was knocked off, and his flesh and blood were scorched black by the scorching lead bullet. After screaming a few times, the man collapsed weakly to the ground.

Sarah looked at the situation.

With Illaoi's help, Gangplank can easily retake Bilgewater.

If not, she can only escape on a small boat, but that's the worst option.

A small boat can never outrun a big boat. Abandon the Siren and let Gangplank chase her on the Siren?

The cannon roared. In Bilgewater, no ship could withstand the bombardment of the Siren's cannons.

"Fire!"

Rafen waved his hand, and a huge cannonball shot out of the cannon.

But when a dark green tentacle slapped it back, Sarah's face instantly lost its color.

Rolling forward, with a loud bang, a deep pit appeared on the deck of the Siren.

"Damn it, Illaoi, be careful, that's my ship!"

"Shut up!"

"Shut up? I can't shut up now, my heart is burning, and my arms are in unbearable pain."

Gangplank's voice sounded, "I want to personally twist the pretty neck of that girl and use her skull as a wine glass."

"The most beautiful woman in Bilgewater, hah, that's mine." Gangplank burst into laughter.

At this moment, all the fighting around stopped.

The fear was not only the imposing Gangplank, but also the woman with the statue, muscles all over her body.

Sarah took a deep breath, realizing things had gone awry.

The bullet she shot back then should have been more accurate, aimed at Gangplank's head instead of his arm.

Now, looking at the gun in her hand, Sarah had made up her mind.

Looks like she'll have to save one bullet for herself...

Outside, Gangplank's voice sounded again.

"Get lost, Klaxi Aoxi, Miss Fortune is my prey!"

"Yes, yes."

"Miss Fortune, I'm back!"

Sarah slightly raised herself, wanting to see the situation.

But as soon as she peeked out, "Puff!"

Wood chips flew, and Sarah felt her scalp tingling. She thought her hair must be even curlier now.

"Quick reaction, but sooner or later, I'll blown your fuckin head off!" Gangplank yelled.

"Miss Fortune, give me back my ship, and I might consider letting you go."

"But what I just heard wasn't like that. Someone seemed to say they wanted to turn my head into a cup." Sarah chuckled and said again, "But can we not make it a cup? I want it to be a vase. I think a vase made from my head would be the most beautiful vase in the world."

"Fine, give me back the ship, I'll indulge you." Gangplank nodded.

"Then you have to come and get it yourself."

Sarah's tone became somewhat cold as she stood up, both hands holding guns, firing simultaneously. These twin guns, specially crafted by Sarah's mother, sprayed out countless bullets in an instant.

Like a barrage, they attacked Gangplank, and with such a large range, the accuracy naturally didn't need to be mentioned.

But Gangplank just grinned.

"Buzz!"

Greenish vines sprouted, countless tentacles growing in place, blocking Gangplank's front. Bullets hit the tentacles, causing them to dent, and then all those bullets fell in front of Gangplank.

Gangplank looked smug. "I thought I'd have to lie low for a while, but I'm too charming. Someone is willing to help me."

Illaoi frowned behind him.

That damned old scoundrel!

Sarah frowned too, feeling that the man in front of her was strangely familiar yet unfamiliar.

But... also familiar.

That smile...

Sarah suddenly paused, then her eyes turned red.

What she vaguely saw in the firelight and screams from her hiding place years ago, was just such a smile.

Gangplank... Gangplank!

"I'll kill you first, then go kill Blackbeard and that Tophat."

"Klaxi Aoxi." After laughing, Gangplank coughed several times in a row, his face pale.

"Your orders," Klaxi Aoxi, from the Foxhunters, immediately walked behind Gangplank.

"Go dismantle those blue things for me."

"Understood." Klaxi Aoxi nodded immediately.

Illaoi stood behind Gangplank, silent, watching everything quietly.

She didn't know if what she was doing was right or wrong.

But, from Miss Fortune's perspective, apart from Illaoi, no one in Bilgewater cared about the life or death of the people of Bilgewater, nor did they care how they survived.

From a personal point of view, Illaoi naturally sided with Gangplank.

For Gangplank, she almost even betrayed the instructions of Nagakabouros.

But she also had high hopes for the girl named Sarah.

Nagakabouros seemed to have high hopes for her too.

But now, she was going to die.

Illaoi had no doubt about Gangplank's methods of torture. As a cruel ruler, Gangplank could find a thousand ways to torture people, especially a beautiful woman like Sarah.

This made it even more dangerous.

Thinking of this, Illaoi took a big step forward.

"What do you want to do?" Gangplank frowned.

Illaoi didn't look back, waving the weapon in her hand, tightly grasping it, waving it.

With powerful movements, the tentacles danced along.

"Do what I have to do," Illaoi said coldly.

"Stupid woman," Gangplank cursed.

He was just saying. Now he didn't rely on torturing people to intimidate these guys anymore. His previous experience told Gangplank that no matter how he threatened, they would bite back. 

Gangplank was just bluffing; of course, he would give Sarah a clean death.

But Illaoi had already made her move.

The tentacles kept growing larger and larger.

Until they rose above the Siren's deck, appearing over Sarah's head.

Looking at the several huge green tentacles, Sarah's face showed a helpless smile.

"Rafen, buddy, I think it's time to say goodbye."

Rafen leaned against the ship, not as panicked as the other crew members, but slowly crawled moved Sarah.

Next to Sarah, he smiled and said, "Too bad I dressed so poorly today, and you too."

"Why dress so nicely?" Sarah sniffed, "Aren't you afraid of being stripped naked when you die?"

"Well, yeah, I've seen plenty of guys like that, but they're all dead, so they get stripped." Raven said cheerfully, "At least when I die, I want to die decently."

"Haha, buddy, these are that bearded lady's tentacles. Isn't it dignified enough to die under her tentacles?"

"Captain, you always find convincing ways to persuade me. Dying under the hands of a god, it doesn't seem too bad." Rafen nodded, taking a pipe out of his pocket, a beautiful jade-colored pipe.

"Where did you get that? I don't remember you having that."

"Hey, didn't we rob a merchant ship last time? This is the loot I stealthily hid." Rafen proudly said with the pipe in his mouth.

Sarah frowned, face to face with Raven: "Hoarding things is a demotion offense, my first mate."

"Now is the time to talk about this?"

"Of course."

Linwin looked forward, fingers twitching slightly, ready to activate the wind magic to envelop the Siren.

"Linwin, help her," Twisted suddenly said from the side, "But if you intend to abandon Bilgewater, to abandon contact with Ionia, then consider my words unsaid."

Twisted felt his request was somewhat rude; Linwin and Sarah were not familiar, and they had just met, not to mention the spokesperson for Bilgewater and the Twin Cities... it was not only Sarah who was indispensable.

Twisted was well aware that as long as the interests were right, even Gangplank could smile and put aside his hatred to work for the Twin Cities.

Graves remained silent for a long time, then suddenly spoke up: "Although that girl is annoying, self-righteous, and domineering, Linwin, she's a good partner. We won't lose much when we're working with her."

"Councilor Linwin, I also think we should help her," Jack said after some thought.

Linwin looked at the three of them with a wry smile.

He didn't say he wouldn't help...

Help? Of course, he had to help.

Linwin wanted to become stronger, and that meant he had to gain the favor of champions, but the number of champions he could gain favor with was getting smaller and smaller.

At least now, on the side of Noxus, there were a bunch of champions hostile to Linwin, and on the Bilgewater side, there were also religious belief issues, not to mention the crazy gathering place.

Did Linwin still expect to be on good terms with the likes of pyke and nautilus? That was impossible!

The problem of this hero's favor was indeed a dead end.

Sarah was a good choice to make friends with, and Sarah could also become the facade of the Twin Cities in Bilgewater.

But... looking at Graves, Jack, and Twisted, Linwin was speechless.

"Do you really believe I can beat her?"

"Nonsense, you're a monster!" Graves blew his mustache first.

Twisted also nodded, "Although the scenes she creates look scary, you're even scarier, aren't you?"

"Graves."

"Yeah?"

"Take your people and hide, then find a chance to take them away."

Linwin said softly.

Graves' eyes lit up.

If it were said that letting the girl Sarah really die, Graves still had some reluctance. There were very few people who could argue with him, and Sarah was one of them.

Although this girl liked to scheme against people.

"May the Mother Serpent bless your soul."

Illaoi murmured softly, pressing down with the statute, the giant tentacles attacking the Siren.

The greenery above her head flourished, but Sarah slowly closed her eyes.

Rafen was beside her, closing his eyes and sucking hard on the pipe, exhaling the last smoke of life.

"—"

A crisp sound rang out.

It wasn't the sound of a person being smashed, or the sound of a ship being crushed.

It was more like... the sound of tofu breaking, soft and muffled.

"Huh, am I dead already?"

Feeling no pain, and still able to hear Sarah's heart pounding, she blinked and saw Rafen beside her, smoking heavily and almost fainting.

All around were stunned crew members, staring blankly at the sky above while holding their heads on the deck.

Looking up, Sarah saw a black-haired man reaching out his hands above the Siren, then sighing.

"Ah..."

"This is going to be troublesome."

—