Chapter 17: Clues
At this moment, the pirate ship was in chaos. The mainsail had been furled, not because the pirates wanted to wait for death, but because just moments ago, their ship had gradually come to a halt on the sea surface, as if something beneath the hull had grabbed the entire vessel. The wind-filled mainsail had strained the mast until it creaked and groaned; if they didn't furl it, the wind would tear it down.
The pirates gathered on the deck, clutching their cutlasses, their eyes filled with tension as they scanned their surroundings.
Bang!
The door to the captain's cabin was kicked open, and two figures stumbled out. One fell to the ground, while the other, hands on his knees, coughed violently, black seawater spraying from his mouth and nose.
A large surge of black seawater poured out of the captain's cabin. Upon contact with the outside air, the water quickly evaporated.
"Cap... Captain, what's happening?"
The ship's helmsman rushed forward. Though he harbored thoughts of mutiny, at a critical moment like this, letting the captain take the lead was the better choice.
"Ugh, cough, cough... bad luck..."
Captain Burke coughed loudly, tears and snot streaming down his face—not from fear, but from being choked by the seawater that had just poured in.
Boom!
A thunderous crash came from beneath the pirates' feet. They all felt as if their ship had leaped up from the sea surface.
Crack, crack...
After the crisp sound of breaking planks, the pirate ship barely stabilized. A black ramming spur pierced through the lower side of the hull, emerging from the deck above. The pitch-black spur looked as if it were made from the bones of some colossal creature.
Due to the severe tilt of the ship, all the pirates could only cling to the gunwales or rigging to avoid falling into the sea.
Creak~
The wood groaned as the ramming spur, which had nearly pierced the ship through, withdrew. The ship tilted again before stabilizing on the sea surface.
The pirates exchanged glances. They had faced many dangers at sea, but this was the first time they had encountered such a situation, and they didn't know how to respond.
Click, click.
The sound of something hard piercing the hull came from below the ship's side. Winny Wanda hid behind the group of pirates, swallowing hard. It wasn't that she didn't want to flee—there was simply nowhere to go at sea.
Under the pirates' watchful eyes, a deathly pale hand gripped the gunwale. The arm was covered in barnacles and seaweed, seawater dripping from the vegetation.
A cursed man climbed onto the ship. He stood on the gunwale, drew a rusty cutlass from his waist, and with a bang, the gunwale beneath his feet shattered. He moved like a blur, stopping in front of a pirate.
The rusted cutlass pierced through the pirate's skull. A silver slash flashed—Captain Burke had struck. As a pirate captain, his strength was a cut above the elite pirates.
With a thud, the cursed man's head fell onto the deck. The cursed man stood still, unmoving.
"Is that... all you've got?"
Captain Burke looked at the broad curved blade in his hand, a hint of disbelief in his eyes. A sense of pride welled up from within him. He, Burke, had actually cut down a legendary cursed man with a single stroke?!
Staring at the headless corpse standing nearby, Captain Burke's body gradually relaxed. A deceptive feeling of victory crept into his heart.
The cursed man stood motionless, then lifted one foot slightly and stomped it down on the deck with a bang. The entire ship shook. The head that had fallen on the deck flew up. The cursed man caught it, pressed it back onto his severed neck, twisted his neck left and right, and acted as if nothing had happened.
In reality, cursed men were not immortal. They existed in a state between life and death, retaining some traits of living beings. Having their head cut off caused them considerable damage. To kill a cursed man, meeting any one of the following three conditions would suffice.