Chapter 2899: Sands of Misfortune

Inside the ship's hold, Su Xiao stepped forward; he needed to first clarify the situation on this pirate ship.

Reaching the forward section of the hold, Su Xiao climbed up the wooden ladder and soon arrived on the deck. The sounds of the previous battle had been faint, and with the cover of the crashing waves, the pirates on deck had not been alerted.

Three main masts, each nearly 1 meter thick, were distributed between the deck and the stern, with sails hanging from them. The sail ropes were pulled taut; some were secured to the deck, while others were tied below the gunwales.

A fishy, salty sea breeze blew in. Su Xiao felt the ship beneath his feet swaying left and right with the waves. The amplitude was small, and having decent sailing experience, he had long since adapted to this sensation.

"You..."

A middle-aged man dressed in noble attire and wearing a tricorn hat stood on the bow deck, looking at Su Xiao in stunned silence. The noble clothing on his body was somewhat worn, and combined with his yellowed teeth, he gave off a sense of incongruity. He was the captain of this slave-trading ship.

*Whoosh! * Banishing pierced toward the tricorn-hatted captain. The captain drew the wide-bladed sailor's cutlass at his waist, instinctively blocking it in front of his neck.

*Clang! *

Sparks flew. After retreating several steps, the tricorn-hatted captain immediately stabilized his stance. He took swift, short steps and launched a surprise attack on Su Xiao.

Banishing spun in mid-air, stabbing at the captain from the side. The captain immediately stopped his steps and slashed horizontally with his cutlass.

*Zing~*

The blade sliced through the air. This slash was extremely precise, seemingly belonging to a specific school of swordsmanship, with a level equivalent to Sword Art Master Lv. 3 to Lv. 5.

Undoubtedly, this was merely a small leader, but one must not forget that this was the Demon Sea, a Demon Sea that could be ranked among the top even in the Eighth Tier.

The tricorn-hatted captain's gaze was cold and sharp. The cutlass in his hand slashed toward Banishing, the blade landing exactly on the tip of Banishing's edge.

*Crack! * Banishing shattered—not from being cut, but by actively splitting apart. Pieces of crystalline shards flew past both sides of the cutlass, heading straight for the tricorn-hatted captain.

The captain's eyes widened gradually. Cracks appeared on the wooden planks beneath his feet. He leaned back with all his might, preparing to leap backward into the sea to dodge Banishing's attack.

*Puchi, puchi... *

Crystalline shards embedded themselves into the captain's body. Blood splattered everywhere. His body began to tremble, and the next moment, his arms hung limp.

Shouts came from behind Su Xiao. The other pirates on deck had discovered the anomaly at the bow. Although Su Xiao and the captain had fought for less than 1.5 seconds, for pirates who made a living on the sea, this amount of time was enough for them to react.

Su Xiao leaped onto the bow deck and sat on the wooden railing in front of the helm, looking down at the group of pirates on the deck below.

"Isn't this the cargo?"

"The captain is injured; there's something wrong with this cargo."

"Careful, this might be a hyena from the Imperial forces."

The pirates drew their cutlasses or scimitars. One pirate was unarmed; his body was covered in white tattoos, and he wore gold rings through his nasal septum, earlobes, and both cheeks.

"You... don't come over, I, it seems..."

Before the tricorn-hatted captain could finish his sentence, he held his wide-bladed cutlass with one hand and charged toward the group of pirates with large strides.

"Captain, what are you..."

*Puchi! *

The wide-bladed cutlass slashed diagonally. The expression on the captain's face was twisted, and the pirate who had been slashed had his entire chest opened up. Had the wound been any deeper, he would have been cut in two.

"Hosi!!"

The captain roared, then slashed horizontally. *Clang! * Three cutlasses blocked together, barely managing to withstand his strike. As those men retreated, the wooden planks beneath their feet creaked, a shockwave spread, and nearby ropes snapped with a *crack*.

Three pirates stepped back in a hurry, but the captain in the tricorn hat stepped forward, thrusting his long saber upward from the chin of one pirate, piercing through to the crown of the head, the tip of the blade stained with blood.

"Cut off my hand!"

The tricorn-hatted captain shouted, tears and saliva streaming down his face; his body was no longer under his control, and something was inside him, manipulating his movements.

A scimitar swung toward him, and the captain's face showed joy, but in the next instant, his left arm lifted to meet the incoming blade.

The scimitar cut into the captain's left forearm, and as it sliced in, his arm began to lift, forcing the scimitar to swing upward.

With a *swish*, the scimitar grazed over the captain's head, slicing off a piece of his hat, while the sailor's knife in his hand danced in a flash, slashing across the neck of the pirate in front; a head filled with astonishment flew into the air, and the blood spraying from the severed neck stained the sails.

With a *boom*, a pirate was flung away, the skin and flesh of his neck torn off, and he slammed into the ship's side, his body twitching a few times before going still; this was the pirate who had tried to bypass the captain to attack Su Xiao.

The battle ended after 15 minutes, with many corpses lying scattered across the deck.

The tricorn-hatted captain hunched over, gasping for air; his entire body was covered in blood and saber wounds, and one of his eyes had been slashed blind.

"You... devil."

The captain looked at Su Xiao, fresh blood dripping down his chin.

Hearing the captain's words, Baja retorted: "Cut the crap. You pirates who deal in slavery have no right to act high and mighty; if you're going to be a whore, spread your legs wider."

"You."

The captain was choked with rage, glaring hatefully at Baja.

"I am Eren of the Duke's Plunder Group. The Duke will find you. Revenge is the rule of the Demon Sea. The Duke will come."

The captain grinned, showing his bloodied teeth; the "Duke" he spoke of must be a powerful pirate captain.

With a *thud*, the captain collapsed to the ground, still short of being critically wounded; to use 【Dark Redemption】, the enemy must be critically wounded, and as for the enemy's malice, the captain's malice toward Su Xiao was already off the charts.

【Entering world: Demon Sea.】

World difficulty: Lv. 53–Lv. 77 (Native world)

World source: 0%.

World introduction: The object of desire is always so unreachable; once obtained, it is lost again.

【Navigation Calendar Year 279: There is little land left. The Demon Sea seems to be drowning all land until that ship appeared. The sailors aboard were all navigators who craved land. They had no lofty ideals or grand ambitions; they simply wanted land.】

【A five-masted ship named 'Wave Breaker' set sail, riding the wind and waves, heading straight for the great whirlpool at the 'end' of the Demon Sea.】

【Navigation Calendar Year 280: The Wave Breaker returned to port carrying a ship full of skeletons. The captain stood tall at the bow, even though he was already a skeleton, he remained standing. In his hand, he gripped a sea chart—the chart to reach the great whirlpool.】

【Loss and fear spread across the few remaining large pieces of land. The Wave Breaker had failed.】

【Navigation Calendar Year 376: Decades passed, and the Wave Breaker had a new captain. This captain was young but lucky. He renamed the Wave Breaker to the Lucky, 'inheriting' the first captain's will, and set sail. The farewell ceremony was not enthusiastic; people were already prepared to live on the sea, so why risk an adventure to the great whirlpool? Besides, who could prove that the legend of the great whirlpool was true?】

【The Lucky, carrying the hopes of some, disappointed people once again. That young captain was a fraud; he only wanted wealth and women. Land being submerged? That was perhaps a matter for hundreds of years later, and had nothing to do with him.】

【Navigation Calendar Year 377: The fraud died a miserable death. Those who witnessed the tragedy could not sleep for nights. The fraud was castrated and skinned by a great pirate, covered in black ants, and wailed for hours before dying of blood loss.】

【Navigation Calendar Year 392: The great pirate who killed the fraud seized the Lucky. He took his own sailors and headed toward the great whirlpool. No one knew the name of this great pirate, nor did anyone know why he did it.】

【Rumor has it that the great pirate sailed the Lucky into the great whirlpool. No one knows if it is true, but one year later, the sea receded, revealing three large pieces of land. Although the area of these three continents was less than one-tenth of the Demon Sea, they were equally vast.】

【The legend was gradually forgotten. When people no longer recited the deeds of that great pirate, letting him be forgotten and forever sunk to the cold seabed, he could no longer suppress what was under the sea. The Lucky... no, the Doom surged onto the surface of the sea.】

【The 'undead' hiding within the Doom scrambled from the hull. They were the original sailors, the navigators who craved land. And now, with large areas of land appearing, they could not set foot on land for even a step due to the shackles of the Demon Sea. How ironic and helpless.】

【Disaster descended. The Doom, with an unstoppable spirit, slaughtered every living thing on the sea. Even the giant beasts of the sea could only hide on the seabed, trembling, eventually being enslaved by the Doom and becoming a nightmare on the sea.】

【Perhaps it was the mercy of the Demon Sea; the Demon Sea swallowed the Doom, letting it sink to the seabed, but... the Doom already had a new master.】

【Two major factions in this world: Imperial faction, Pirate faction.】

Four Great Pirate Groups: Four pirate groups worthy of being legends. They occupy territories, dominate the seas, monopolize trade, and burn and plunder. The pirate ships under their command are enough to form a fleet.】

The following is the information on the captains of the four pirate groups:

West Sea King: A domineering great pirate, ruthless and decisive, who hates the Imperial faction.】

Hint: Due to the Hunter's charm attribute, your relationship with the West Sea King is Neutral/Friendly.】

Black Witch Sa: Mysterious and unpredictable; even his vice-captain fears him.】

Hint: Due to the Hunter's charm attribute, your relationship with Black Witch Sa is Neutral/Friendly.】

Twin Towers Empress: She plays both sides, having many entanglements with the Imperial faction and the other three legendary pirate groups, maneuvering between many forces.】

Hint: Due to the Hunter's charm attribute, your relationship with the Twin Towers Empress is Hostile.】

Duke: The Duke was once a noble, but he chose to become a pirate. The fleet under his command consists entirely of plunder ships, and the pirate group has a strict hierarchy.】

Hint: You are already hostile to the Duke.】

Faction the Hunter belongs to: None.】

Warning: Do not mention anything about Reincarnation Paradise to the creatures of this world. If the warning is ineffective, you will be executed after notarization!】

Hint: Due to the characteristics of this world, food and freshwater resources have been sealed within the storage space.】

Hint: You have obtained 【Sands of Doom】. After using this item at the designated location, the Doom sunk to the seabed will break free from its shackles.】

Hint: In this world, some Qiyuezhe have already chosen to form their own pirate groups, or their initial identity is a member of a certain pirate group.】

Hint: The Hunter needs to obtain your own ship as soon as possible, or join a pirate group; otherwise, the main quest will not be activated. After 3 natural days, you will be forcibly removed from this world.】

【World, start.】

PS: (Promoting a friend's book, title: Ancestor Out of the Coffin, Feiwen is supporting it, haha~)】