Chapter 972: Who Is the Boss?

Often, for a hunter, the true tragedy isn't encountering fierce tigers or wolves in the mountains. Rather, it's when they face danger but fail to realize just how terrifying that danger truly is.

They might even arrogantly believe they can contend with it using their own strength. Of course, the outcome awaiting them is often the most horrific fate.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the Black Pearl followed the more than thirty ships of the Marauder Legion back to their stronghold.

This isolated island, also named after the Marauders, was quite large.

Both sides of the central channel, specifically designed for ships, were now crowded with people.

Thousands of onlookers, including many powerful individuals, stopped to watch and admire the Black Pearl.

After all, everyone on the island knew that their opponents this time were the owners of the Black Pearl.

Now that they had walked into the lion's den, they naturally drew the special attention of the island's strongmen.

"My heavens! These guys are truly audacious. A single ship dares to enter our island? They must be tired of living!"

"Heh! Why bother with them? If they want to die, we can't stop them. While I can't fathom where they got the nerve to enter our lair, one thing is certain: they came, and they're definitely not leaving. This time, we've acquired a top-tier warship without shedding a drop of blood. What a bountiful haul!"

These onlookers, who were also warriors, muttered among themselves.

However, their expressions of disdainful mockery clearly showed that they already considered Xu Yang's Glory Squad to be easy prey, ripe for the taking.

Little did they know who was the hunter and who was the prey. It was still too early to tell.

"Gentlemen, this is Marauder Island. Please disembark and follow me into the main hall. My brothers have already prepared a feast to welcome you."

Xu Yang and the others exchanged glances, then surprisingly, disembarked from the Black Pearl with relaxed expressions.

Before leaving, Xu Yang reactivated the Ghost Valley Formation, re-locking the seal left by the Fifth Elder, which possessed purple-level strength, onto the main cabin door.

Afterward, Xu Yang led Old Jack's hundreds of crew members ashore onto the island.

Inside the island was a very spacious cave, adorned with all sorts of luxurious decorations. This was the dwelling place of the five leaders of Marauder Island.

It was evident that the guards in the surrounding caves, waiting to butcher their "fat sheep," had shining eyes. Each of them possessed a spiritual power cultivation level of Azure or higher.

Undeniably, the island's overall combat capability was quite high.

Unfortunately, this time they had encountered Xu Yang's Glory Squad. They were destined to hit an iron wall, with no chance of survival.

"Hahaha! Third Brother, you've truly rendered great service this time. Who would have thought these ignorant brats would actually dare to follow you into our cave!"

"Guards, release the Golden Cage!"

A bearded man burst into laughter.

Little did they know, this man was the Fourth Leader of the entire Marauder Legion.

With a wave of his hand, shortly after Xu Yang's team entered the cave, an incredibly elaborate golden cage descended from above, trapping them securely inside.

After this scene unfolded, hysterical laughter erupted from all directions within the cave.

Without a doubt, these poor fools truly believed that Xu Yang and his group had so easily fallen into their ambush.

"Tell me, Ximen Hai, is this what you meant by 'preparing a feast'?"

Xu Yang calmly looked at Ximen Hai, still maintaining an innocent expression.

Ximen Hai finally revealed his true colors, slowly turning around with an exceptionally sinister expression.

"What else? Did you actually expect us to bring out food and drinks to entertain you?! You fools! Before, you destroyed over a dozen of our Marauder warships and killed that One-Eyed fellow. Today, we'll make you pay for your blood debt!"

It turned out that this Golden Cage was not an isolated sealing mechanism. Below the Golden Cage, around the corresponding pool, hidden passages and mechanisms began to open furiously.

Immediately afterward, countless waves of incredibly strong, foul-smelling, bloody aura surged towards Xu Yang's Glory Squad.

"Hoo-hoo! This blood aura seems to contain a very strong power of decay. Excellent, excellent! This is truly a better treat than a hundred delicacies."

The Clown suddenly grinned and burst into laughter. This abnormal behavior indeed greatly astonished the onlookers. Only Xu Yang's Glory Squad knew why the Clown was making such an expression.

"Apologies! You might not know our Glory Squad very well. Our Clown brother here particularly enjoys this kind of strong flavor."

Lister said with a mocking sneer to the crowd.

At that very moment, the Clown materialized a ghostly phantom from thin air. It hovered in mid-air, emitting an incredibly potent devouring aura, furiously drawing in the surrounding decaying, bloody essence.

"My heavens! What am I seeing? This guy! He's actually devouring all this decaying blood, refined with potent toxins, into his own body. Doesn't he fear death? Or perhaps he's unwilling to endure humiliation and wants to end his life this way, sooner?"

The several leaders were utterly bewildered, staring intently at the Clown.

However, they soon discovered that things were unfolding beyond their imagination.

After the Clown devoured the blood infused with cursed power, not only did he show no signs of discomfort, but the killing aura he emanated actually grew even more intense. This change completely exceeded everyone else's expectations.

"Now, it's time for us to return the favor with a grand gift!"

As soon as the Clown finished speaking, he unleashed his phantom directly. In front of all the powerful individuals of the Marauder Legion, he completely ignored the Golden Cage's confinement and boldly stepped out of it.

Then, after letting out a hysterical cackle, he charged into the most crowded area of the cave.

"Attack!"

The dozens of powerful individuals in the corner, who possessed peak Azure-level spiritual power, seemed to have not yet realized the gravity of the situation.

They seriously intended to fight the phantom unleashed by the Clown.

All they received in return was the hysterical laughter of the Glory Squad.

Sure enough, in the very next moment, the Clown directly detonated his phantom. The terrifying aura that spread out instantly obliterated those dozens of powerful individuals.

Simultaneously, the dense, decaying aura emanating from the phantom rapidly diffused throughout the entire cave.