I Don't Agree to the Terms

"Hmph, if I'm going to die even after surrendering with my hands tied, then why should I do so?" said Cai Jian disdainfully. He might have considered surrendering if lifetime imprisonment was on the table.

Meanwhile, he did not hesitate to activate the controls of the Heavenly King... transforming it into a suit of armor that enveloped him. This was a new tactic he had developed during half a year on the run with the Heavenly King, originally designed to transform into a mecha.

However, the armor was riddled with cracks, clearly on its last legs.

The main cause was Cai Jian's excessive use while trying to escape.

After all, it was merely a cockpit, not a main combat component, and simply couldn't withstand such overuse.

When Cai Jian armored up, the two stopped talking and started fighting immediately.

"You're too weak. It's a pity that such a powerful Heavenly King fell into your hands," Yu Ju said as he easily grabbed Cai Jian's attack.

The armor formed by the Heavenly King's cockpit was decent, but it was indeed dragged down by Cai Jian himself. Compared to Yu Ju's reaction speed and battle sense, it was like comparing heaven and earth.

Yu Ju was indeed a ship's doctor, but that was his former profession. After graduating from Gu Shanhai, it was almost like climbing back from hell, having trained with Heart Demon Dao Soldiers in combat.

The brutality was comparable to sustaining life with Spirit Plants every day and occasionally resorting to the Resurrection Technique. Emerging from such combat, Yu Ju found it easy to dominate Cai Jian, whose combat skills were like those of a child.

"Hmph, so what," Cai Jian retorted with stubborn pride. Relying on the defensive capabilities of the armor, even though Yu Ju had gotten the better of him, he maintained a certain defiant confidence.

As long as the opponent didn't breach the defense, he could still scrape them to death... well, maybe not to death since the opponent seemed to have special training against that.

"The shell is quite hard, but that's about it," said Yu Ju with a cold glint in his eye, reaching out and striking Cai Jian's neck. The fierce blow nearly overwhelmed Cai Jian.

The power discrepancy between the two was far too great; even if Yu Ju couldn't break the defense, finding a weak point to channel his force into was enough to threaten Cai Jian.

If the armor had been intact, there wouldn't be such a concern, but, unfortunately, Cai Jian's armor was full of cracks.

Fortunately, Cai Jian's will was strong, and he didn't lose consciousness. Instead, he used the momentum to forcibly break away from Yu Ju's attack range.

Realizing he was outmatched, his next instinct was to escape.

But the next moment, he noticed that the entire space had become strangely dense.

"Gravity?!" Cai Jian realized it wasn't the space that was thickening, but gravity that had been altered, and his armor was affected as well.

"This electromagnetic gravity field was prepared specially for you. If your Heavenly King were still in its prime, you could indeed easily tear through this field, but now, heh," Yu Ju backed off. Did he really seem like he didn't want to gang up on Cai Jian but instead fight him in close combat?

It was all a diversion to shift Cai Jian's focus, allowing the Navy to set up the device to capture Cai Jian.

"You! Despicable!" Cai Jian felt the powerlessness above his armor being influenced by electromagnetism. The armor still functioned, but the delay was significantly high.

And with the effect of gravity, moving was like wading through mud.

Moreover, these effects intensified. If he didn't find a way to break free, his own armor would become a can that trapped him.

Luckily, the Sky Heart was still active, protecting him. Otherwise, if the Sky Heart was also affected, the curses on him would have already erupted.

"You seem quite resentful?" Yu Ju smiled. He too was standing within the gravity field, seemingly unaffected by the ever-increasing gravity.

At that moment, Cai Jian truly recognized the strength of his opponent. The gravity he couldn't withstand seemed to bother Yu Ju not at all.

"Resentment is good. Once you're on the execution ground, your public execution will serve as a source of fear for other pirates," Yu Ju made clear his disdain for the pirates, who were brazenly violating the law and engaging in robbery, murder, and other heinous acts.

Especially now that Cai Jian had become the Pirate King, it was the perfect time to use this pirate to set an example.

If it weren't for the fact that the Island Alliance didn't have a hand to spare, they would have dealt with these pirates at the first opportunity.

Completely eradicating the pirates required a vast amount of resources and effort. Currently, these resources and efforts were all invested in the agriculture of the Red Earth Continent, the commerce of the great maritime routes, and maritime development among other related affairs. The aim was to quickly shake off the influence of the players and achieve enough development to strengthen the Island Alliance.

Otherwise, how could they possibly be unable to handle a Pirate King? Pirates were numerous, but if you kill them mercilessly, their numbers would decrease. Not everyone would become a pirate, even if there were some people who did.

At this moment, Cai Jian remained silent, knowing that everything had already been settled. If he could have escaped, he definitely wouldn't have given up resisting.

This indicated that he'd given up himself and naturally didn't bother to waste his breath on Yu Ju. What he needed to consider now was how to preserve his own life.

As long as he could survive, the rest wasn't a big issue.

Of course, negotiating with Yu Ju was definitely futile. Yu Ju couldn't decide whether he wanted to live or not. He couldn't protect him if he wanted to. The only person who could make the final decision was Wang Qi alone.

"Resigned to your fate? That's good too." Facing Cai Jian's attitude, Yu Ju didn't relax his vigilance but instead, signaled with a gesture for the Navy's personnel to begin retracting the electromagnetic gravity field to ensure that this "tin can" wouldn't be able to move.

Afterward, Cai Jian was sealed inside a container and several layers of new protection were reinforced inside it to prevent any issues en route.

"It's finally over; remember to have someone withdraw the warrant for Cai Jian's arrest," said Yu Ju, feeling the weight finally lift from his heart.

These protections weren't designed to impair Cai Jian, but to protect the Heavenly King.

Currently unable to extract the Heavenly King, he could only transport it back to the Island Alliance base. There, Wang Qi would use the authority of Hades and the Sea King to extract the Heavenly King that had merged with the Sky Heart.

...

"It took half a year; I can only say it's a passable result," Gu Shanhai shook his head as he watched the conclusion of the event.

"This time, I'll let you off, but next time it won't be so easy," he said.

Yu Ju was perhaps a little too rigid but competent none the less, especially in his steady and sure approach.

In fact, aside from the Navy Headquarters personnel, many from the regional branches had surrounded the entire island, fully deploying their advantages.

They even went into the fray themselves to serve as a distraction and a delay.

Apart from being a bit slow, there weren't many problems.

Causing a storm throughout the city was Gu Shanhai's doing from behind the scenes. Of course, Cai Jian's one billion bounty was also inseparable from the chaos.

"As for the future, I won't interfere anymore; it's all up to your own development," Gu Shanhai muttered quietly. Once Wang Qi firmly controlled the Heavenly King, with these three ancient weapons forming a strategic-level world protection system, he would become the number one, especially given Wang Qi was the protagonist.

It's just that the protagonist's fate on Wang Qi was beginning to decline. Originally, Wang Qi appeared to resolve the Divine issues, and now that the Divine had disappeared, there was no need for him, and he was being prepared for retirement.

As for what followed, without the influence of the protagonist's fate, Wang Qi could only rely on his own abilities. Life wouldn't be smooth sailing anymore, and even abilities like turning adversity into a blessing would gradually weaken until they disappeared.

"This must be the first time I've witnessed the decline of a protagonist."

Mainly because Wang Qi wasn't doing well enough. If it had been other disciples, they would have rebelled against Heaven's will to take them. Being a protagonist seemed more like an appeasement than a real right.

But it didn't matter; everyone has their own way of living. Wang Qi might no longer be the protagonist, but his life wouldn't necessarily become worse.