Chapter 14: Accumulating Combat Power
After all the ship components and decorations were installed, the crew count of the Doom Number would reach 400, and they would also benefit from the 'Cursed Heart' enhancement.
As for the gold coins owed to the general store, Su Xiao had no plans to repay them for now. If he had a large surplus of gold coins in the future, he might consider paying them back. After all, this general store was certified by the Void Tree, and triggering a penalty mechanism would not be worth the loss. Su Xiao certainly didn't want to have a halo floating above his head in the next few worlds.
Last time he encountered that Ascension guy, the green halo on his head was truly unforgettable.
Before completely breaking the curse on the Doom Number, Su Xiao didn't intend to repay these gold coins. Breaking the second-stage curse of the Doom Number required over 30,000 gold coins.
Compared to the debt, 30,000 gold coins wasn't that much, but obtaining 30,000 gold coins was extremely difficult. He had only received 1,500 gold coins from his cooperation with Commodore Murray, which gave an estimate of the difficulty.
Su Xiao still had 312 gold coins, all in the captain's cabin of the Doom Number. As for the remaining gold coins, he had no way to obtain them yet.
Before replacing the sails and installing the ram on the Doom Number, Su Xiao piloted the ship away from Mingguang Island.
After a while, the Doom Number returned to the dock of Mingguang Island. Bubu Wang jumped off the ship, and a dozen cursed shipwrights continued their work, starting with replacing the main sail.
"Woof."
When Bubu Wang saw Kaisa, his big watery eyes seemed to sparkle. Kaisa's expression stiffened.
Kaisa and Bubu Wang actually had a pretty good relationship, but Kaisa was almost defenseless against Bubu Wang's 'intelligence-draining negotiation.'
Every time he negotiated with Bubu Wang, Kaisa's intelligence was dragged down to Bubu's level. This was a temporary effect caused by high charm, combined with Bubu Wang's own traits.
After Kaisa was subjected to 'intelligence-draining negotiation,' the negotiation target would switch to Su Xiao, and the result was like a steamroller running over a toy car. No suspense at all.
Bubu Wang's 'ally-targeting artifact' was specifically effective against Kaisa. Otherwise, given Kaisa's greedy and cunning nature, he wouldn't have shown so much sincerity in every cooperation with Su Xiao. That was just Kaisa's nature, nothing to criticize.
The Doom Number had become much stronger, but a key problem remained unsolved: the cursed people couldn't set foot on land. Without solving this, it was impossible to attack and occupy the Sunken Ship Island.
The enemy wasn't stupid. The Doom Number had a fearsome reputation. Knowing they were about to fight the Doom Number, the enemy would definitely abandon their ships and hole up on Sunken Ship Island.
Bombarding them a bit could be considered, but at most, it would destroy a large number of buildings. The enemy would find ways to hide, and they would also counterattack.
Su Xiao had considered using his only [Blazing Sun's Wrath: Apollo] to scorch the area, but the mission requirements stated that while occupying Sunken Ship Island, he also needed to obtain the 'Bern Family Heirloom.'
If he used Apollo to scorch the area, Sunken Ship Island would be sunk, and the 'Bern Family Heirloom' would be burned to ashes.
Su Xiao looked at a small wooden hut not far away. He wasn't sure if the person in this hut could solve the problem of the cursed people not being able to land, but trying wouldn't hurt.
The other nearby wooden huts were sealed by a gray energy, which was the seal of the Demon Sea. Su Xiao speculated that as the curse on the Doom Number was gradually lifted, the gray mist around these huts would also dissipate.
Stopping in front of the small wooden hut, Su Xiao pushed open the door. As soon as the door opened, a wisp of light black smoke drifted out. He was about to step back when the light black smoke dissipated.
[Warning: The Demon Sea curse on the Hunter has intensified.]
[You have temporarily obtained ??? Ability (pending activation).]
Su Xiao took off the Black King Bracer and pulled up his left sleeve, only to find that the black lines had spread to his forearm, about to reach his elbow.
"Captain of the Doom Number, this is fate."
A hoarse voice came from inside the small wooden hut. Su Xiao entered and saw dozens of crows perched around the room. These crows had characteristics similar to the cursed people.
The room was about 30 square meters, cluttered with many items, making it look somewhat cramped.
A figure sat on an old wooden chair. Her graying hair was dry and split, unkempt for who knows how long. A blanket stitched from black feathers was draped over her, the feathers—likely crow feathers—dull and lusterless from age.
This old woman seemed on the verge of withering away, but her dark yellow pupils were unsettling to look at.
"I was once the witch priestess on the Doom Number. That was... the third captain of the Doom Number. I went to sea with that man. It was the happiest time of my life, until I followed him into the great whirlpool."
At the end, the old woman laughed a few times, her voice dry like sandpaper scraping, unpleasant to hear.
She raised her hand and, with a very slow motion, gouged out her own right eyeball. Several crows flew forward and devoured the eyeball from her hand.
No blood flowed from her eye socket; her blood had long since dried up. An arm extended from her eye socket. This thick, powerful arm cracked her skull, and the skin on her face split, revealing fibrous flesh.
This hand opened, and in its palm appeared an eye. This eye had no distinction between white and pupil; it was pitch black.
[Prompt: You are being gazed upon by the Third Captain of the Doom Number. This captain was originally a World Child. Faction: Chaos·Evil!]
[Soul Strength Judging...]
[If this judgment fails, your soul will collapse.]
[Judgment successful.]
...
Another judgment involving soul strength. Su Xiao confirmed his previous speculation. The reason he had successfully suppressed this cursed ship after becoming its captain wasn't luck or combat strength. The previous scapegoat might have been even stronger than him, allowing the Doom Number to absorb 'activated energy' to the point of overflowing. Without real strength, that wouldn't have been possible.
Su Xiao wasn't affected by the Doom Number because of his high soul strength, which had now reached 440 points.
Besides this, Su Xiao also discovered a secret: the Third Captain of the Doom Number, who had once saved the world, was a World Child of the Chaos·Evil faction.
This type of World Child was completely different from those hot-headed types.
While favored by the world, such people could do many evil things to achieve their goals, but they always remembered one thing: to make the waters of the Demon Sea recede, even if it meant taking their crew, whom they loved like brothers, and their most beloved woman into the great whirlpool, without hesitation.
Tough, ruthless, even if a bottomless abyss lay ahead, they would plunge into it, pulling light from the chaotic darkness, then sinking into the darkness themselves, eventually being consumed by it.
Even so, that great pirate used his remaining consciousness to suppress the Doom Number, which had turned into a cursed ship, until... everyone forgot him. No, there was still one person who remembered him: the old woman on Mingguang Island.
This kind of person was a true World Child, not someone driven by impulse and used by others. Unfortunately, such people were too rare. Su Xiao had only encountered this one.
"So... besides me, someone else still remembers him."
The arm in the old woman's eye socket retracted. Her shattered skull healed, and a new eyeball gradually grew in the socket.
"The man who came not long ago ran away. He didn't inherit the ship crow."
The malice on the old woman gradually faded. She was a higher existence than the cursed people, having existed on Mingguang Island for who knows how many years.
"Do you have a way to let the cursed people set foot on land?"
Su Xiao spoke while shooing away a crow that had landed on his shoulder.
"No, that's impossible. The cursed people are both enslaved by the Doom Number and bound by the Demon Sea. Can a fish live in the sand? It's the same principle."
"..."
Not getting the answer he wanted, Su Xiao wasn't too disappointed. If there was a problem, he would find a way to solve it. He had experienced many more difficult situations than this.
"Is my sister doing well?"
The old woman's question was somewhat puzzling.
"Your sister?"
"That thing."
Hearing the old woman's words, Su Xiao realized what she was asking about. He said, "Still in the ship's prison. I recently found someone to chat with her."
"Hehehehe. Who was unlucky enough to be sent by you to accompany my sister? Did he wail?"
"He did yesterday. Today, he's much quieter. He might be getting used to it."
"As expected... anyone acknowledged by the Doom Number isn't a good person. Take it. After you've adapted, I'll set curse stones on it. How many you can bear depends on how strong your soul is."
The old woman tossed out a ring. Around the ring were six grooves, used for setting gems. The gems to be set were smaller than rice grains.
[You have obtained Black Crow Ring (Special Equipment, this item cannot be taken out of this world).]
[Black Crow Ring]
Quality: Special
Type: Ring
Durability: 65/65
Equipment Requirements: Captain of the Doom Number, Willpower 100 points or more, Soul Strength 270 points or more.
Equipment Effect 1: Crow Swarm (Passive), can control up to 15,000 'Black Cursed Crows' from Mingguang Island and summon them to the outside world.
Prompt: After equipping this ring, a 1 to 60 natural day adaptation period is required before normal use.
Equipment Effect 2: Curse Stone (Passive), for each curse stone set on this ring, you can control more 'Black Cursed Crows' based on your soul strength.
Prompt: This equipment can hold a maximum of 6 curse stones.
Introduction: The arrival of the Black Cursed Crows means the Doom Number is not far away. Have you thought about where to escape? Crows... fill the sky.
Price: Cannot be sold, discarded, transferred, traded, etc.
...
Seeing the attributes of the [Black Crow Ring], Su Xiao was very curious about one thing: whether the 'Black Cursed Crows' would be judged as soldier-type units. If so, there would be a lot of room for manipulation.
Su Xiao weighed his current combat power. He felt it wasn't enough. If he could improve a bit more, attacking Sunken Ship Island would be safer. There were powerful enemies hired by Mage Sage Seraphilia on Sunken Ship Island.
Su Xiao's idea was that even if he had to act, he should at least ensure an over 80% chance of victory.
In reality, if the armored man on Sunken Ship Island knew about the combat power Su Xiao was currently gathering and what Su Xiao considered 'safe,' his mood would be very complicated and bitter.