Charles pulled out the invitation he had purchased from the skeleton woman and stepped inside.

  The wooden ship was spacious but sparsely decorated. In front of the chairs where guests sat was a simple stage covered with a blood-red carpet. The pirates, lacking any sense of decorum, drank and feasted on comfort fruits, while some greedily inhaled various powders. The air in the auction house was thick with a mix of odors.

  Amidst the murmurs of the pirate leaders, Charles felt somewhat out of place, standing alone. He had not allowed Audrick to enter; the pirates here had significant backgrounds, and he feared that someone might recognize him as a vampire and cause trouble.

  As the crowd gradually gathered, the bright oil lamps dimmed to their lowest setting. Suddenly, a bright spotlight illuminated the stage.

  A flamboyantly dressed dwarf leaped onto the stage. “Welcome, esteemed captains, to the 157th auction in Sodom! We have plenty of good items today! Are your pockets ready for the echoes of wealth??”

  The crowd remained largely unresponsive, with few pirates even bothering to look at him.

  Unfazed, the dwarf clapped his hands cheerfully. “Now, let’s welcome our noble, respected, and unrivaled King!”

  As soon as the dwarf finished speaking, the spotlight shifted to the side door.

  A grotesquely overweight man, weighing at least a ton, was pushed out on a wooden cart. His excessively greasy face was covered in boils, and his belly nearly touched the floor. This was the King of Sodom, and he was surprisingly repulsive.

  The King ignored the audience, his attention completely fixated on the mountains of meat piled beside the cart. Watching him stuff food into his mouth with rotten teeth made Charles feel nauseated; honestly, this King was far from what he had imagined.

  However, the other pirates didn’t share his sentiment. Just moments ago, they had been unruly, but now they stood up to pay their respects to the King.

  The King remained silent, waving his greasy hand dismissively, prompting the dwarf to continue.

  The spotlight returned to the dwarf, who bowed deeply towards the King before announcing, “The auction now begins! Our first item is a woman!”

  The curtain behind the dwarf was drawn back, revealing a hesitant girl in an extravagant dress.

  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, this is no ordinary plaything; she is the daughter of the recently missing governor of Hefang Island! Whoever buys her can demand a ransom daily, threatening the governor! This isn’t just a woman; it’s a money tree!! Starting bid: 500,000! Increment: 100,000! Now, let’s start!! This captain bids 1 million! 2 million! Good! 6 million!!”

  While the bidding ensued, Charles’s focus remained on the King, who held the key to the surface’s clues. He pondered how to obtain the map from him.

  As the governor’s daughter was bought by a pirate, she walked down from the stage with a sorrowful expression. Unbeknownst to anyone, she was moving closer to the King.

  Just three meters away from him, her tear-streaked face suddenly contorted into a snarl. She swiftly drew a handgun from beneath her frilly skirt and began firing at the King.

  “Bang! Bang! Bang!!” The bullets ricocheted off the King’s blubber, splattering blood mixed with yellowish fat everywhere.

  One of the King’s boils burst, and a creature the size of a palm leaped from it, lunging at the woman. In the next moment, the sound of tearing flesh echoed, and the headless corpse fell to the ground.

  The King remained seated, stunned, shoving bloody chunks of meat into his mouth as if he hadn’t just been shot.

  After several seconds, the dwarf hurriedly tried to regain control of the situation. “Haha, another brave fool daring to dream! Praise our King! Our King is unrivaled! Now, let’s continue with the second item for auction!!”

  Charles watched as the creature retreated back into the King’s boil, understanding that someone who could rule Sodom couldn’t possibly be a fool.

  He was certain that the King hadn’t even begun to display his true power; his real capabilities must be terrifying.

  As the auction neared its end, Charles still hadn’t figured out how to extract information from the King. He felt increasingly anxious as he observed the gluttonous figure in the distance.

  “Cough, cough.” A clear cough interrupted Charles’s gaze. “Don’t stare so intently at the King; he might think you’re provoking him.”

  Turning, Charles was startled to see a white triangle on the man’s forehead.

  Seeing the follower of the Sun God, Charles’s eyes filled with hostility. “I’m not dead; surprised to see me, Sonny?”

  To his surprise, the follower looked genuinely surprised. “Sonny? Sorry, I’m not familiar with him; he’s an originalist, while I’m a new believer.”

  Charles was skeptical, unsure of this man’s intentions.

  “Don’t doubt my honesty. You know, we followers of the Sun God never lie.”

  With that, Charles relaxed his suspicions. Indeed, as far as he knew, Sun God followers who had undergone the ritual lost their fear along with their ability to hide the truth.

  He scrutinized the follower’s appearance. The man looked to be nearly sixty, with graying hair and wearing round glasses, dressed in a yellow robe. He seemed somewhat amiable at first glance.

  “I am Kade, a saint of the Sun God. Captain Charles, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

  Charles’s mind raced as he recalled that Sonny had come to Sodom to eliminate other sect followers. Was Kade one of the targets?

  “You know me?”

  Kade smiled slightly. “Of course, I do. When you mentioned seeking the Land of Light at the Explorers’ Society, we received word. Captain Charles, can we talk?”

  Charles felt a shift in perspective; the enemy of my enemy is my friend. This man might be of use. “Sure, come aboard my ship.”