"Don't rush, I'm not ready yet..."

Kai Deng played hard to get, 'Put down your STD-infested hands, damn it,' she thought, assuming that with Liszt's chaotic private life, he must be carrying some disease.

"There's plenty of time, the night is long, and we still have a few days before we reach Golden Palm Port."

Liszt could keep his composure, he gave Kai Deng's nose a playful scratch.

"Sigh... let's open a window for some air, it's getting stuffy."

Kai Deng walked over to the window, thinking about how to deal with the body.

One missing shipwright management wasn't a big deal, but after she disguised herself as Liszt, a body suddenly appearing out of nowhere would be hard to explain.

Opening the porthole, a strong breeze came through the silent darkness.

Although it was summer, Liszt felt a chill to the bone, perhaps his many years as a desperado had honed his intuition to something even more frightening than that of a cold-blooded animal.

An ominous sense of dread hit Liszt out of nowhere.

"What's wrong? You look so serious."

Kai Deng was ready and began by lightly sipping from a wine glass she had picked up.

The color of the wine was blood red.

Her hand speed, which was many times more skillful than that of a magician, hid defatted cotton in her palm, absorbing several times the fatal dose of poison like a sponge, ready to administer it however she pleased.

In that instant, Liszt somewhat lost interest.

Perhaps...

He was running out of time for these indulgences.

It was as if he suddenly sat down with schizophrenia, Black Sail was like a ticking time bomb with numerous problems, each one simply delayed, likely to explode all at once one day.

He had never dared to play that card.

Revealing the doings of the Mysterious Wizard from ten years ago was like playing Russian roulette with a bomb. If he did, the Executioner who had been under orders from the Mysterious Wizard might come after him again.

Liszt had always been concerned that he wasn't prepared enough, that the time wasn't right, that he lacked the strength to put an end to the matter. But it was quite possible that he might no longer be able to achieve anything more resounding than the... East Sea King.

This was his best chance.

Now, he was at his peak.

It was highly probable that it would all be downhill from here.

"This may be a heavy topic, and it's not the right time to discuss it. The reason you're escorting Fafna is because of... your homeland, about the Emperor."

Liszt had heard about Goria from Fen; her hometown was also near the Narrow Sea, in a small country called Catanian, which the Emperor had slaughtered over a decade ago. Such a small country had no right to be a functional state; it was just a layover on the Aran Official Road.

Since the railroad had already reached Mulong Duchy, Catanian had long been completed.

Although Kai Deng appreciated Liszt completing her character background, she wouldn't need this identity for long.

"Why bring this up?"

Kai Deng drained the cup in one gulp, poured herself another, and holding a cup in each hand, came and sat on Liszt's lap with some reluctance; as she wrapped an arm around his shoulder, out of sight, her palm squeezed the lethal poison into the wine.

She then smiled sweetly at Liszt.

Embraced by a beautiful woman, perhaps it was just an illusion, but Goria's behind should have been fuller; she must have lost weight, felt a bit bony, but it was not too bad.

Liszt subconsciously accepted the wine glass tainted with deadly poison.

Kai Deng waited silently for Liszt to drink it, so when the poison took effect, he would be at her mercy.

But Liszt didn't make a move, pondering over his choice of words.

As this assassination was a high-level target, Kai Deng had never gambled with her charms to such an extent before. Little Liszt was already getting impatient with her; 'Just drink it, damn it, pirate.'

"Do you ever get that feeling that you're not ready, but actually everything is in place, it's just that you lack the kind of... resolute courage to willingly face death?"

When blood rushes to the head, sacrificing one's life seems simple; but in a completely rational state, death... cannot be contemplated in detail.

Kai Deng admitted defeat. Now wasn't the time for morose reflections.

"No matter what you do, I'll support you. You're Dreya's husband and you're also my..."

Kai Deng uttered words that gave her goosebumps.

Liszt was speechless, it was rare indeed; too many decisions that required courage were slowly depleting him, and he showed a rare sign of weakness.

If this had been the days of the Pirate Gang, he might have already been hung from the mast by that crew.

'What the hell, I'm falling back into old habits.'

He'd contracted the same ailment as Doringger, unable to bring himself to destroy what he had built with his own hands.

By admitting he was a complete scoundrel, he had managed to survive from seven years ago.

But now, he actually took pride in Black Sail, unable to let go.

Whether to allow the entire Black Sail to be buried alongside his personal sentiment was a tough decision.

There was no need to ponder these issues before reaching Golden Palm Port.

"Here's to drink-sharing 2.0."

Liszt lifted the wine glass and circled around Kai Deng's wrist to hover the cup above Kai Deng's lips, allowing his family member to drink first.

Kai Deng was stupefied by Liszt's sudden move. Where did this guy get so many tricks?

So, this was the game.

Kai Deng didn't let his murderous intent show.

What a pity.

Liszt, within half a minute, you'll be dead.

As the East Sea King, you managed almost two months. You're quite the accomplished figure. Go to hell, Liszt.

Unexpectedly for Liszt, Goria became extremely wild.

Kai Deng gulped down the wine Liszt handed over to him.

And then.

He slapped away the glass, shattering it into pieces on the ground, wrapped his arms around Liszt's neck, sat on his lap, and kissed Liszt forcefully.

But Liszt only had one impression.

Skilled in kissing, the fine wine slid down his throat.

Kai Deng propped himself against the desk and flipped back agilely, locking his eyes on Liszt with the look of a predator watching its prey. The nightingale concealed a full set of weapons, and the poison would take effect within ten seconds.

Only then did Liszt realize something was off. His lips parted to speak, but with his body's movements, the nerve toxin struck first, attacking the active areas and already spreading to his throat. From the outside, one could only see vicious purple-red blood vessels bursting in his neck and throat.

It felt as though his throat was being scorched by a branding iron, unable to utter a word.

He stared in disbelief at "Goria."

The last things his mind grasped were the Thief Guild, Disguise Technique, and Netherworld Envoy, but the nerve toxin infiltrated his brain, throwing his thoughts into chaos, unable to think, leaving only the cold-blooded instinct of a desperado.

His arms felt as if they were filled with cement, immobile, but under the terror of his animal instinct, he still managed to shakily grip a dagger and swung it towards Kai Deng.

But the force was like that of a dying man's.

In the eyes of the Netherworld Envoy.

Liszt was already dead, the incredibly quick Flying Needles, one piercing through his throat and another through his heart with deadly precision, embedding in his body at critical points as blood plasma oozed out.

But to her surprise, Liszt still wouldn't die.

With the last of his consciousness, Liszt unleashed spell power that healed his grievous and fatal wounds. Using the last of his will, he forced himself to the window, broke the Sword Box, and took out the death-touching, ivory-handled Junlin Sword gifted by Sharon.

It was too late.

The frontal combat capabilities of Kai Deng, one of the world's best.

Not to mention an assassination prepared with extreme meticulousness.

With his nervous system invaded by the toxin, Liszt couldn't think, and was extremely weak.

Like magic, the playing cards, their artistry surpassing Ben's, were thrown with a devilish curve. Four cards had already severed Liszt's hand and ankle tendons, spurting blood wildly.

One stroke.

The night flashed like lightning.

The dagger was plunged into Liszt's throat, blood gushing out like a fountain.

Kai Deng pulled off the Human Skin Mask to reveal his true face, with short white hair, golden eyes, a few freckles around his nose, and an incredibly cold and ruthless demeanor.

Then with a light wipe of his hand on his face, he had already transformed into Liszt.

Using Liszt's own voice he said,

"Goodbye, East Sea King."

Crack!

The dagger cruelly tore through Liszt's neck, slicing off half of it, blood gushing out like a spring, about to collapse to the ground.

Kai Deng was about to pursue further.

But inconveniently, a knock came from outside.

With no time to hesitate, he steadied Liszt's body, grabbed the arm with his powerful grip, and tossed it out of the window – the sword Liszt was holding, the Junlin Sword that could cut through anything, had left a huge gash in the porthole.

Liszt had already fallen into the sea, and the slight sound of the waves was negligible to the battleship, disappearing into the endless darkness.

Kai Deng watched as Liszt vanished, his heart still racing. He couldn't help but admire the terrifying tenacity of his assassination target – dead, yet still holding that sword so tightly.

But it didn't matter.

The mission had been a success.

He had Liszt's face and spoke with Liszt's voice.

Kai Deng looked at the bloodstains on the ground. They were nothing more than spilled blood-red wine.

The nightingale outfit transformed into Liszt's clothes. He took a cigarette from the desk's cigarette case, lit it up, and began to smoke.

"Stop knocking." Kai Deng unlocked the door chain, removed the bolt, and opened the door, "Let's see what's going on."

Inside the captain's quarters.

"Liszt" said so.

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