Chapter 2913: Lured

After putting the Black King Armguard back on, Su Xiao didn't feel any changes brought by the Black Crow Ring, nor could he control the crows on Minguang Island. It must be that the adaptation period hadn't passed yet.

The adaptation period was about 1 to 60 days, with the specific time depending on one's own soul strength. Being eroded by the Magic Sea curse could accelerate this process. Even if the soul strength wasn't very high, in at most 5 days or so, he would be able to command over ten thousand Black Curse Crows.

The situation on Minguang Island at the current stage had been explored. Su Xiao didn't intend to continue staying here. He had just learned a key piece of intelligence from the old woman: there was an organization researching what kind of existence the Cursed Ones actually were.

This organization was not some mysterious mastermind; it was established many years ago by a "Witch." That witch had stayed on the *Doom* for a period of time and had an ambiguous relationship with the fifth captain of the *Doom*.

The fifth captain didn't know what method he used to let that witch leave the *Doom*. After returning to land, that witch began to research the Cursed Ones, the Magic Sea curse, and so on.

In a situation where she was alone and helpless, it was difficult to research anything, so that witch founded an organization that wasn't very large, inviting other witches to join and study the Magic Sea's curse together.

Time passed, and the witch who founded that organization had long since died of old age, but her knowledge had been passed down, accumulating generation after generation to this day.

It was said that that organization had completely declined, and the direction they were dedicated to had also changed, from how to lift the curse suffered by the Cursed Ones to how to control the power of the Magic Sea's curse and take it for their own use.

To this day, only one person remained in that organization. Fortunately, the inherited knowledge hadn't been lost too much.

This was a normal situation. The *Doom* had existed for so long that many people wanted to take the *Doom* and the power of the Cursed Ones for themselves.

The Imperial forces and the four major pirate factions were also definitely secretly exploring the *Doom* and the Cursed Ones. It was very difficult to obtain intelligence regarding the power of the curse from these people.

That secret organization, which was on the verge of extinction, was the better choice. Su Xiao paid the price of a small bottle of Ancient God blood to get a name from the old woman: Winnie Wanda.

The Ancient God blood Su Xiao took out was very safe; the source had already been slaughtered by him. It was unlikely to lure other Ancient Gods into this world, or rather, Ancient Gods of the same tier wouldn't come to the Magic Sea either. This world wasn't something that could be easily sucked dry.

Winnie Wanda was a witch, a third-rate witch. Her power was limited to making flammable materials burn and performing divination for people through smoke. Her "accuracy rate was surprisingly high," not because Winnie Wanda had this talent, but because she was proficient in observing people's expressions.

Winnie Wanda herself wasn't the point; the knowledge she inherited but hadn't yet mastered was what mattered.

"Winnie... Wanda."

In the darkness, Su Xiao's eyes opened. The flame of the oil lamp ignited with a *whoosh*, and the dark red candlelight released blood energy as it burned.

A lantern was hung on the bow of the *Doom*, which gradually submerged into the vortex formed by the black fog, leaving Minguang Island.

Niniman Island, inside a two-story inn.

Early morning, sunlight shone in through the gaps in the curtains. Under the illumination of this beam of sunlight, one could see fine dust particles floating.

Noisy sounds came from outside the door. A soft blanket vaguely outlined a curvaceous body, and long golden hair was spread out on the pillow.

Because of the noise outside, the woman lying on her side on the bed slowly sat up, and the soft blanket slid off her body.

"Hmm~"

Winnie Wanda stretched, her still-dazed gaze scanning the furnishings in the room, and she began her triple self-questioning.

"Has Captain Burke not set sail yet? I'll stay on his ship for a while first."

Winnie Wanda yawned and dressed neatly. As a "mysterious" witch, she was very popular with various pirate crews. Even though her looks were outstanding, she didn't have to worry about those pirates who smelled of body odor being rude to her.

Pirates were in awe of mystery. Even if they were starving and thirsty, they wouldn't choose to lay a hand on a witch. According to rumors, having a relationship with a witch would bring misfortune and eventually lead to a miserable death.

As a witch, Winnie Wanda suspected that this rumor was unreliable, but she wouldn't explain this point to others. Compared to being targeted by pirates, the trouble of being single all the time was nothing at all.

She had a secret, a secret that made her drift from place to place. Every time she stayed on a pirate ship for about 2 months, she would change places and go to other ships. Once, she talked in her sleep and was heard by a pirate passing outside the cabin, which almost made her become cargo and be sent to the Twin Towers Empress.

The aroma of food permeating the air made Winnie Wanda's stomach wake up first, urging her to quickly find something to eat.

Not long after, Winnie Wanda was sitting in front of the bar on the first floor of the inn, slowly eating a piece of smoked meat soft pancake.

"Winnie, how is the thing I asked you to do going?"

A tall and thin man sat down beside Winnie Wanda.

"It's already done, Captain. As long as you carry it, you won't be troubled by insomnia anymore."

Winnie Wanda handed over a small cloth bag. To her, this was a very simple matter.

"Very good."

The thin man known as Captain Burke stood up. Before leaving, his gaze lingered on Winnie Wanda for a moment.

This made Winnie very uncomfortable. The other party's gaze was like a cold knife, lightly grazing her skin. This wasn't desire, but prying.

Winnie Wanda really wanted to find a quiet little village to live in, but she couldn't. Once she stayed on land for a long time, she would have nightmares, dreaming of a large ship in the black fog. This large ship had an oil lamp hanging on its bow, and there were black shadows under the water.

Every time she had such a dream, Winnie Wanda would wake up drenched in sweat. The bedding under her would be soaked by seawater from who knows where, and sometimes shells or seaweed-like things would appear beside her pillow.

"Sigh~"

Winnie Wanda sighed. She had quite a bit of knowledge in her head that could be called fantasy, such as a ship called the *Doom*, the power of the curse, etc.

Although Winnie Wanda possessed some extraordinary power, she still felt that that knowledge had some exaggerated components. It was precisely because she understood the extraordinary that she was convinced of this point: a curse that could trap people in one place for hundreds, or even thousands of years? How could such a thing exist? Even the most powerful witch's displayed ability didn't reach one ten-thousandth of that. It was precisely because it was too powerful that it made Winnie Wanda feel it was somewhat dreamlike.

"My head hurts so much."

Winnie Wanda rubbed her forehead lightly. An hour later, she followed a group of pirates toward the pier, boarded the pirate ship, and set sail.

Looking at the gradually receding "Niniman Island," Winnie Wanda felt some reluctance in her eyes, but she knew she had to leave. Her dream last night had already started to become abnormal; she had dreamed of many crows.

As the morning coolness faded, the humidity on the sea produced a sultry feeling under the scorching sun. Winnie Wanda stood by the ship's rail, her arms resting on it, gazing at the endless horizon in the distance. The gloom caused by last night's nightmare gradually dissipated.

"Winnie, the captain wants to see you."

"Coming right away."

Winnie Wanda's expression was as usual. The surrounding pirates didn't notice that a wisp of white sand leaked from between her fingers, leaving a very faint white sand line on the deck.

Entering the captain's cabin, Winnie Wanda sat down. Opposite her was Captain Burke, who had his feet on the wooden table.

"You've already stayed on my ship for a month, Winnie."

Captain Burke spoke, his expression cold.

"Has it already been a month? Time flies so fast."

"I am a pirate. Starting from my grandfather, my family has been plundering on the sea. For generations, we have been like hyenas on the sea. As long as there is a little 'smell of blood,' we can sniff it out."

"Captain, what do you want to say?"

"What is your relationship with that legendary ghost ship, the *Doom*?"

"Wh... what? The *Doom*? Captain, do you really believe that such a thing exists? It's simply..."

"Shut up. Two months ago, 24 Imperial warships sank in the Soul-Wandering Sea area. Their opponent was the *Doom*. Except for small characters like you, famous pirates all know about this."

Captain Burke laughed. It had to be said that he was very good at speaking. While belittling Winnie, he also raised his own status.

"Lying to me will have a price."

Captain Burke opened the drawer beside his hand, took out a small shell covered in stains, and continued:

"This was found on you this morning, stuck to the clothes on your back. The ominous aura inside this is from that ship, there's no mistake. I once obtained a piece of its wreckage, and this shell gives the same feeling as that ship plank."

Captain Burke placed the shell in his hand on the table. The next moment, a crow landed. The door to the captain's cabin was clearly closed, and the window was also intact, but this crow just flew in, still dripping with seawater.

The crow landed on the wooden table, picked up the shell about the size of a fingernail, and ate it with *crunch, crunch* sounds.

Winnie Wanda and Captain Burke were both somewhat dumbfounded. A moment later, several more crows landed in various places in the captain's cabin.

*Drip, drip~*

Seawater dripped down from the ceiling, and large patches of marine parasites appeared on the walls of the captain's cabin. The dozen or so crows in the room all turned their gaze, looking at Winnie Wanda, staring at her fixedly.

Being stared at by these crows, Winnie felt a chill throughout her body. This was a coldness that penetrated into the bone marrow. This feeling was like throwing her naked into the sea, constantly sinking into the pitch-black deep sea—cold, suffocating, lonely, desperate.

"Captain Burke."

Winnie looked at Captain Burke, hoping that this bloodthirsty pirate could show his usual ferocity.

As soon as Winnie saw Captain Burke's expression, her heart shrank. At this moment, Captain Burke's fists were clenched tight, the masseter muscles on his face were bulging, and *da-da-da* sounds came from his mouth, as if his teeth were colliding. This usually fierce pirate captain was trembling at this moment.

*BOOM! *

A muffled thunder sounded in the sky. Don't know when, the sky was already covered with dark clouds. The originally sunny weather was pitch black, and the sea breeze was like crying and howling.

The *Doom* was coming. ===== CHAPTER 2914 =====