Time seemed to have fallen completely still.

Fate always had a way of ruining even the most meticulous of plans, and no predetermined course of action was completely foolproof.

In this situation, no one could've anticipated that a warlord would search The Liberty in person, but if one were to think carefully about this, it made a lot of sense.

Due to Rick's past service in the navy, if someone else were to search his ship, they most likely wouldn't be able to secure any information. It was clear that a major incident had just taken place at Xolotl's Screen, and there was no way that Dalton would allow any suspicious ships to pass through here.

Thus, he had arrived in person.

"Damn it!" Qin Ye cursed internally right as Dalton exploded into countless crows, and in the next instant, Yin energy rippled slightly, and his hands began to gently vibrate as he pressed them against the wall of his cabin. Immediately thereafter, the surface of the wall began to ripple like water, following which he strode into the wall as if it were a portal to another world.

Almost at the exact same moment, the door to the cabin was blown wide open, and several dozen crows flew in. They inspected their surroundings with a fierce look in their blood-red eyes, and only after a full five minutes had passed did they vanish on the spot.

Countless crows had formed an inky-black whirlwind that...