"Mr. Bach, your... generosity is truly... impressive."

Caroline’s voice was calm. She stood up, her long fingers lightly brushing across the takeover proposal on the table, wiping away some nonexistent dust.

Her emerald eyes swept over everyone present, including the man who called himself her father’s friend, Duncan.

"I admit, the Golden Sail Commerce Association has indeed run into some trouble. The rumors circulating outside are not entirely without basis."

This unexpected show of weakness instantly changed the atmosphere in the hall.

The creditors began to stir, while a pitying smile—the kind only a victor is entitled to wear—crept onto Bach’s face. He believed this proud little lioness was finally about to lower her head.

Caroline ignored everyone’s reactions and began to pace slowly. The hem of her gown rippled like water across the polished marble floor with her every move. With each step, the sleek lines of her flesh-colored stockings were revealed, drawing the gazes of every man in the room, including Bach’s undisguised stare.

"Our ships have indeed been infested by some kind of... unprecedented ’alchemical creature.’"

She stopped in front of a massive stained-glass window, her back to the crowd. Her voice carried just the right amount of exhaustion.

"We’ve tried many solutions, but the results... have been less than satisfactory."

A pained look appeared on Duncan’s face, and he took a step forward.

"Caroline, my child, it’s not too late to cut your losses. Mr. Bach’s terms may be harsh, but..."

"Harsh?" Bach let out an exaggerated laugh, cutting Duncan off. "Mr. Duncan, I’m performing a charity here! I’m saving this lady’s last shred of dignity! Otherwise, in less than a month, there won’t be a single intact plank left on the Golden Sail Commerce Association’s ships docked in Tarry Port! By then, the debt contracts in your hands will be nothing more than a pile of worthless paper!"

Bach had barely finished speaking when a small commotion erupted at the back of the hall.

An aide hurried to his master, a banker, and whispered something urgently in his ear. The banker’s expression changed slightly. He glanced suspiciously out the window, then back at the still-composed Caroline.

This subtle change was like a pebble dropped into a pond, sending ripples spreading outward.

Soon, others began receiving news from the outside, one after another. The quiet whispers gradually swelled into a suppressed hum.

Just then, the heavy oak doors of the meeting hall were suddenly thrown open.

This time, it was one of Bach’s own confidants who burst in. He didn’t even have time to bow before lunging toward his master, gasping and shouting, "Sir! This is bad! The people from the Golden Sail Commerce Association... they’ve gone mad! They’re pouring buckets of a foul-smelling, green slime into the harbor!"

Hopeful expressions began to dawn on the creditors’ faces. ’Could things be turning around?’

Bach froze for a moment, then his brow furrowed, a flicker of confusion on his face.

His superior had revealed some information about the "Blight Star"—it was an irreversible disaster.

But he was no fool. He instinctively felt that something was wrong.

He turned to the crowd behind him and barked in a low voice, "Sea Wolf!"

The one-eyed, scarred captain stepped forward. He didn’t dare look directly at Caroline, his gaze shifting away.

"Do you think there’s any potion that can deal with those shipworms?"

Sea Wolf paused, stunned. He then snatched a glass of wine from a nearby table, drained it in one gulp, and slammed the empty glass onto the floor. His eyes were bloodshot as he roared.

"Potion? What damn potion can cure a devil? I watched with my own eyes as that thing chewed on the keel of the *Strong Alcohol* like it was sugarcane! An Alchemist tried burning it with the strongest Dragon Fire Oil, and the thing just wriggled in the flames a couple of times like it was taking a hot bath. Sea Siren’s Tear is poisonous enough, right? A single drop can kill a whale shark. We poured a whole barrel of it, and those things just burrowed into the wood and were completely fine! Those aren’t worms, they’re devils! It’s the end for all of us seafarers!"

Sea Wolf gasped for breath, his voice growing colder. "Pouring a potion into the sea? Ha! The ocean dilutes everything—even a three-year-old knows that. That’s not medicine. That’s giving them a little dessert because she’s afraid they haven’t eaten enough! She’s lost her mind! The woman has gone completely insane! She wants to drag all of us down with her to serve as a funeral offering for her fleet!"

His words were devastating. If an experienced old captain was this hopeless, it was tantamount to a death sentence for the Golden Sail Commerce Association’s desperate struggles.

The creditors’ faces turned pale once more.

Bach’s doubts instantly vanished. He burst into loud, wild laughter.

"HAHAHA! So that’s it! My poor Caroline, is this your last resort? A desperate gamble? Did you think you were begging for the Sea God’s blessing?"

He turned to the ashen-faced creditors and spread his arms wide, as if embracing the victory of the Blackrock Hand.

"Now, did you all hear that?"

"Sign it!" Bach pointed at the takeover proposal on the table, delivering his final ultimatum to the creditors. "Sign this agreement and take your money! Otherwise, you can wait with this madwoman and watch as she personally sends your collateral to its grave with a barrel of ridiculous herbal medicine!"

The entire hall fell silent. All eyes were fixed on Caroline. They were all waiting—waiting for the cornered lioness to surrender.

Slowly, with a silk-gloved hand, Caroline picked up the takeover proposal Bach had thrown on the table.

Had the lioness finally admitted defeat? Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

But she didn’t reach for a pen, nor did she read the contents.

Instead, she slowly and deliberately began to fan herself with the document, as if the hot air rising from the gloating faces in the hall was making her feel stuffy.

Rain trickled down the enormous stained-glass window, forming blurry, distorted streaks of light behind her that made her seem almost unreal.

Her face showed no sign of collapse, no anger, no despair.

She looked up at Bach, whose fleshy face was creased with laughter, and smiled as she spoke. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"Mr. Bach, do you know what the most pathetic way to die in this world is?"

Bach paused, then asked subconsciously, "What is it?"

"It’s a shipwrecked sailor trying to quench his thirst with seawater."

"It’s when those shipworms you thought were indestructible encounter a delicacy they cannot digest, yet which is in infinite supply..."

She tossed the takeover proposal toward the ceiling, the pages scattering and fluttering down everywhere.

She raised a slender index finger and gently touched it to her vibrant red lips, her emerald eyes glinting with a bewitching and cruel light.

Bach and the others stared, mesmerized. Although her actions were discourteous, no one could bear to interrupt this silver-haired sorceress at her most bewitchingly beautiful.

"And finally, it’s you and your allies paying top price to swallow up all the shipping capacity on the market."

"So get ready to burst, you greedy, stupid pig."