As Roy pulled out the metal device, it completely shattered.
Having lost the device that sustained his life, Roland quickly entered a dying state, but his face showed an expression of relief.
"Is there anything else you want to say?"
"Finally, this feeling of pain is over! Cough, cough, cough... Mr., I'm a marked person. If I die, they'll definitely come for you, definitely!" With that, Roland died completely.
[Ding! Obtained Roland Gordon's Destiny Chest! Open it?]
The Destiny Chest was in hand, confirming that Roland was indeed dead.
But at this moment, the lights in the corridor went out again, one by one, and the misty haze rose from the ground once more.
How could this be?
Could the Hell Cenobites come to Earth through means other than sacrifice?
What Roland had just said made Roy a conjecture: could that metal device also be a spatiotemporal anchor, having the same effect as the Lament Configuration?
While he was thinking, Cui Lin, who was in the distance, had already taken advantage of Roy's distraction to escape.
You have to hand it to that female thief, she reacted quickly and ran the moment things looked bad.
"Hmph! Then let me see just how strong these Hell Cenobites are."
Roy took out his Executioner's Blade from his inventory, calmly waiting for the Hell Cenobites to arrive.
Soon, the Hell Cenobites appeared one by one: the Chatterer Cenobite from before, the Twin Cenobites, the Butterball Cenobite (the big胖子/fat one), and the female Pinhead Cenobite.
(Female Pinhead)
Five Hell Cenobites completely surrounded Roy.
Among them, the female Pinhead, whose skin was torn all over and who had a strange metal device on her throat, seemed to be the spokesperson for the Hell Cenobites.
Because the other Cenobites hadn't spoken, only this one spoke to Roy in a metallic, cold, and unpleasant voice.
"Since you killed my marked person, then you shall replace him."
Roy rested the Executioner's Blade on his shoulder, tossing the Lament Configuration in his hand repeatedly, a cold smile on his face.
"If you've got the guts, come get it!"
Boom! A loud explosion echoed from the distance.
It's no easy feat for a dozen or so mercenaries to hijack a luxury cruise ship with 2,000 staff and 6,000 passengers. Even with careful planning, it would take a long time.
So, the mercenary captain hadn't actually intended to hijack the entire ship. Grabbing a few rich people for some extra cash was enough.
Conveniently, these mercenaries were in the VIP area where wealthy people gathered, so they planned to first disable the VIP area's security system, then go door-to-door to the rich folks, knocking and "sending warmth" (a sarcastic euphemism for robbery/threats).
However, under Roland's subtle manipulation earlier, the mercenaries had a smooth and easy entry, leading them to believe the security personnel on this luxury cruise ship were just for show and useless.
As a result, after Roland was gone, the mercenaries started taking losses.
Charles Weyland was a Texan, closely linked to the Texas Consortium and the military-industrial complex. Therefore, the security personnel on the Santiago were actually from Black Mountain Military Company, America's top private military firm.
The reason Roy didn't recognize them was that Black Mountain Military Company, after being hired by Charles, wasn't wearing their company uniforms.
The guards from Black Mountain Military Company were elite American veterans, their skill level even Roy admitted was high. This kind of strength naturally led to Roland's mercenaries getting battered.
Especially after the Black Mountain security guards reacted, they also began using military-grade weapons against the mercenaries, resulting in heavy losses for the mercenaries.
And so, the mercenary captain, enraged by the deaths of several of his team members, began using explosive weapons.
This was the source of the explosion.
As soon as explosive weapons were used, Charles became anxious.
If they were just using guns, even if these mercenaries fought their way from the open sea to the end of the world cruise, it wouldn't be a big problem. After all, they didn't have unlimited ammunition, and bullets' destructive power was ultimately limited.
But explosive weapons were different. If they caused significant damage to the hull and the entire ship sank, Charles would be finished.
No one could bear that responsibility!
So, at Charles's instruction, the Black Mountain security started negotiating with the mercenaries.
Charles's demand was to guarantee the safety of the passengers on board, especially in the VIP area. If this bottom line wasn't crossed, spending some money was acceptable.
The mercenary captain made an outrageous demand, asking for a billion U.S. dollars right away, which infuriated Charles.
"What! A billion dollars! Why doesn't he just rob us!"
Wait! It seems the mercenaries are robbing them right now.
Charles gritted his teeth. He might not even make a hundred million dollars on this entire world cruise, yet the mercenaries had instantly demanded ten times that amount.
"Mr. Weyland, I think those mercenaries are just making an outrageous demand. You don't need to get too angry." The security chief next to him tried to persuade Charles, but his words only made Charles angrier.
"Of course I know that, you idiot! Didn't you say before that the Santiago's electronic defense system was military-grade and the most advanced in the world? Why was it so easily breached?"
The reason the Santiago was so easily invaded was partly due to Roland's supernatural power, and partly due to the electronic defense system being breached.
That's why Charles was so angry.
The security chief, who was being verbally abused, looked somewhat dishevelled but couldn't argue back.
The Santiago's electronic defense system was indeed top-tier, the same system used by U.S. aircraft carriers.
However, even the best electronic defense system is useless against an inside job!
But compared to admitting that Black Mountain Military Company had a mole, it was better to blame the electronic defense system.
Charles cursed for a good while before he felt a little better.
"Can you find out the identity of these mercenaries?"
The security chief wiped the spittle from his face and replied to Charles.
"I've had people probe them. These guys don't seem to be Americans, likely European mercenaries operating in Africa, and none of them belong to any company."
"Fuck!" Charles couldn't help but curse again.
This kind of mercenary with no background was the most troublesome. They were lawless and had no scruples. Charles had a vague premonition that he might suffer heavy losses this time.
"Phew, good thing I bought a huge insurance policy, otherwise this might have been a crippling loss!" Charles muttered to himself softly. The security chief hadn't heard clearly and asked.
"Mr. Weyland, what did you say?"
"Nothing! You keep sending people to negotiate with the mercenaries, push the price as low as possible. I still need to go appease those VIPs!"
The fighting was happening in the VIP area. The wealthy guests couldn't possibly not hear such loud noises. The timid ones hid in their rooms and didn't come out, while the bold ones had already found Charles and were yelling at him.
For these rich people, safety was the most important thing, and what was happening clearly exceeded their tolerance limit.
"Mr. Weyland, you must give us an explanation!"
Charles could only do his best to appease these VIPs. After all, if these VIPs united against him, even with his substantial wealth, he wouldn't be able to handle it.
Meanwhile, negotiations between the mercenaries and Black Mountain Military Company had also reached a stalemate.
The mercenary captain insisted on getting 100 million U.S. dollars, threatening to blow up the entire ship if they didn't get it, but this price was clearly unacceptable to Charles.
And so, the mercenaries' bizarre actions began again.
"Boss, the reason they're so fearless is probably because they think we wouldn't dare harm the rich folks, right? How about we grab a few rich people and execute them in front of them? They'll definitely get scared!"
This was indeed a method, but doing so would mean these mercenaries had no way back. They would definitely become enemies of American millionaires, and even with masks covering their faces, they might be found out.
The mercenary captain thought for a long time but still didn't dare to kill.
"We can first grab a few people from the rooms to threaten the security personnel. No need to kill!"
Following that, the mercenary captain ordered his subordinates to randomly open a nearby room.
Before the mercenary opening the door could react, two long legs simultaneously kicked out, sending the mercenary at the doorway flying back to hit the wall and pass out.
The mercenary captain had completely not anticipated this situation. When he recovered his senses, he was immediately furious.
"Fuck! They dare to resist! Then we'll make an example of the people in this room!"
He motioned for his subordinates to surround the doorway, then the mercenary captain threw a flashbang inside, planning to stun the people in the room before grabbing them.
Who knew, the moment the flashbang was thrown in, the person inside threw it back out.
"What the fuck?"
Seeing this scene, the mercenaries immediately wanted to dodge, but by then it was too late to avoid it.
The flashbang exploded with a huge sound, instantly making the mercenaries near the door dizzy and losing control of their bodies.
The mercenary captain was slightly farther away, so the impact of the flashbang was less severe. He vaguely saw two women burst out of the room like ghosts, their eyes emitting a pale blue glow.
"Ghosts, it's ghosts!"
That's right, these two women were Heather and Penny. After completing the bloodline fusion ritual, Roy had briefly trained them, at least enough for them to protect themselves in dangerous situations.
However, the dangerous situations Roy had envisioned were generally demon or dark creature attacks, not dealing with ordinary people.
The two girls were somewhat scared at first when they heard the commotion outside, after all, they hadn't experienced anything like this before.
There was no signal on the open sea, otherwise Heather and Penny would have definitely called Roy for help.
But the moment the mercenaries opened the door, and the two girls' long legs kicked out, they seemed to have suddenly had a revelation.
It seems these armed thugs weren't that scary after all!
So when the mercenaries outside threw the flashbang in, Heather and Penny reacted very quickly, using the explosive power of their Ghost Wolf form to catch the flashbang and throw it back.
Then, the two girls, with great coordination, rushed out of the room and attacked the stunned mercenaries. Their body attributes were mostly around thirty, making their combat power incredibly terrifying compared to ordinary people. They could basically knock out these mercenaries with one punch.
In reality, what Heather and Penny lacked was only practical combat experience. With their strength, eliminating these mercenaries would be effortless.
In just a few seconds, half of the mercenaries were subdued. The remaining ones and the mercenary captain were utterly terrified. Ignoring their comrades, they immediately pulled the triggers towards Heather and Penny.
Being stunned, where the bullets went was entirely up to chance, so friendly fire was guaranteed.
Heather and Penny reacted extremely quickly, using their explosive power to retreat back into the room the moment the mercenaries' guns fired, so the mercenaries couldn't escape this wave of friendly fire.
However, the ghostly speed of the two women still plunged the remaining mercenaries into terror.
"Devils! They're devils! Run!"
When one mercenary ran, a second one would follow suit. The remaining mercenaries, every single one of them, lost the will to fight. The mercenary captain also had no choice but to run with them.
It was only because the Black Mountain Military Company's security personnel were further away, wanting to show goodwill for negotiations, that the mercenaries weren't completely wiped out right then.
"What's all that noise?" Nate groggily opened the door, wanting to see what was happening outside.
The drug Cui Lin had given this kid should have been enough to keep him asleep until morning, but Nate had a habit of taking drugs, which gave him a higher tolerance for anesthetics, so he woke up a few hours early.
But even though he was awake, his consciousness wasn't fully clear, so when he heard the strange noise outside, his first reaction wasn't to lock the door but to go out and check.
The result was the mercenaries rushing straight into Nate's room, knocking him to the ground.
"Boss, those two devils don't seem to have followed us?"
Heather and Penny certainly didn't chase after them; they still had Dalia and Amy to protect.
If the mercenaries hadn't been so unlucky as to choose to open Roy's room to grab someone, the two wouldn't have even acted.
You can only blame the mercenaries for having too much luck, opening a box and pulling an SSR (Super Super Rare).
"Who are you guys?" Nate was still a bit confused. Cui Lin's anesthetic seemed to have a strong lingering effect.
The mercenary captain slapped Nate across the face and kicked him to the ground. He was in a terrible mood right now.
"Shut up! Did I tell you to talk?"
A slap and a kick to the chest finally woke Nate up. He lay on the ground, clutching his chest and face, not daring to move.
The mercenary captain looked at his subordinates. Counting himself, there were only five of them left.
Yes, this guy had already assumed that the teammates knocked out by Heather and Penny were beyond saving. After all, how could devils leave survivors?
"How many explosives do you guys still have on you?"
The other four took out the explosives they had and counted them. There were over ten kilograms of C4.
"Should be enough! Let's risk it, quickly complete the deal with them and get out of here!" The mercenary captain still couldn't overcome his greed and wanted to make a profit before leaving.
Just then, one of the mercenaries suddenly spoke up.
"Boss, don't we have a hostage now?"
The five mercenaries simultaneously looked at Nate on the ground with malicious intent.
"You, what do you guys want?"