# Chapter 22: Caught Off Guard
From this hidden mission, it was clear just how dangerous the ancient castle ahead was, and the preparations made beforehand had proven necessary.
One by one, cursed people emerged from the black mist. A total of 350 cursed people stopped in front of the ancient castle.
"Kill everything that moves inside."
The moment Su Xiao gave the command, the cursed people charged into the castle, the ground beneath them soaked by seawater as they passed.
"Roar!"
From the pitch-black doorway of the castle came a beast-like roar. The cursed people didn't care what was inside. They had been crushed beneath the sea for too long. The more terrifying and vicious the thing, the more they wanted to hack it to pieces—it was their only remaining pleasure.
Loud crashes echoed from the dark doorway. Seconds later, a cursed person with a conch shell stuck on its head flew backward, its head severed from its body, blindly searching for its conch-covered head.
"Clatter, clatter, clatter..."
The conch head on the ground made strange sounds—the clattering of teeth. The headless body strode forward, not bothering to reattach its head. It grabbed its conch head and charged back into the dark doorway.
Seeing this, Su Xiao began to consider where he could get 30,000 gold coins to unlock the second seal of the Doom Number.
At that point, not only would the cursed people's numbers and strength increase, but their consciousness would also awaken. Unlike now, they could only follow simple commands.
Su Xiao wouldn't enter the castle yet. He would only consider going in after the enemies on the first floor were cleared.
Opening his mission list, Su Xiao checked the hidden mission he had just triggered.
[Hidden Mission: Aberrant Object (Single Stage)]
Difficulty Level: Lv.74
Mission Information: Destroy the "Bern Family's" aberrant object.
Mission Time Limit: 6 hours.
Mission Reward: Overflowing Soul Chest.
Mission Penalty: True Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Intelligence permanently reduced by 6 points each.
The mission reward was generous, but the penalty was severe. If the mission failed, the reduction in attributes would be equivalent to the physical improvement Su Xiao gained from an entire world.
[Notification: Your crew member has killed "Parasite Guard." You receive 4 Soul Coins.]
The Parasite Guards were likely Baron Bern's main force, but compared to the cursed people, whether in numbers or individual combat power, the Parasite Guards were no match.
Su Xiao had not only unlocked the first seal of the Doom Number but had also nearly emptied the general store on Minguang Island. He had endured the curse of the Demon Sea to increase the number of Black Curse Crows to 85,000, all so the cursed people would receive the War Lord's buff.
After all this preparation, if dealing with Baron Bern was still difficult, then Su Xiao could forget about confronting the Four Great Pirates and the Empire's forces later. Moreover, there were plenty of contractors in this world—Scale Dragon Alex, Poison Milk Guangmu, and others—none of them easy to deal with.
The truly troublesome opponent wasn't Baron Bern but the powerful enemy hired by Mage Sage Seraphilia.
Mage Sage Seraphilia's first two attempts at revenge had failed, but that didn't mean she was stupid. The assassin she had hired with a heavy bounty was definitely a top-tier Eighth Rank contractor.
---
In the underground second floor of the castle, Baron Bern sat on a wooden chair, his fingers interlaced, thumbs pressed together. His expression was grim as he tried to figure out how the cursed people could have made it onto land.
Baron Bern believed he understood the cursed people better than the Four Great Pirates—at least, that's what he thought. Based on his subordinates' reports, he had a rough idea of the Doom Number's appearance.
This led Baron Bern to conclude that the Doom Number's seal hadn't been lifted much. The cursed people hadn't regained their sanity yet. In this state, while they were hard to kill, they weren't unbeatable.
The Bern Family's Parasite Guards were an imitation of the cursed people. Baron Bern couldn't accurately assess the results, but he felt they could at least hold their own in a direct confrontation.
"How could they make it onto land? Who is the captain of this generation?"
Baron Bern had too many questions. His original plan was to hide in the castle, wait for reinforcements from the Duke, and then, with a pincer attack, sink the Doom Number.
That's right—the Doom Number could be sunk. Although it would take a few decades for the cursed ship to gradually repair itself at the bottom of the sea, that was a problem for later.
"At most a quarter of an hour, and the Duke's fleet will arrive. It should... be fine."
Baron Bern muttered to himself. The moment he finished speaking, a loud crash echoed from the metal door of the underground room.
Bang!
A human-shaped bulge appeared on the metal door. A knife covered in black rust pierced through, the blood on it writhing like tiny worms.
The sailor's knife was slowly pulled out. Silence for a few seconds outside the door.
Bang!
Something slammed into the door again. The inside of the metal door bulged further. After several more impacts, silence returned.
Baron Bern remained seated, seemingly calm, but he pressed tightly against the back of his chair, his right hand gripping the armrest turning white from excessive force.
With a thunderous crash, the metal door was knocked down. The twisted door landed in front of Baron Bern. The three guards behind him stepped forward.
These three guards looked as if they had been painted with black lacquer. Some festering parts were wrapped in filthy bandages, emitting a stench.
Three Parasite Guards versus two cursed people. Both sides were inhuman beings. The moment they saw each other, they charged.
One Parasite Guard, its head wrapped in bandages, rushed forward. The flesh on its right arm surged, forming a sharp spike aimed straight at the cursed person's head.
The flesh spike pierced past the cursed person's face. The cursed person tilted its body, swinging its single-edged axe upward.
With a crack, the axe split the Parasite Guard from the chin upward, cleaving the front of its head open and sending teeth flying.
After taking this blow, the Parasite Guard stumbled back. It pulled out a heavy longsword, gripped it with both hands, and swung horizontally, as if trying to cut through the air itself.
The cursed person swung its axe to meet the sword.
Clang!
Sparks flew. The shockwave spread. The Parasite Guard holding the heavy longsword took two steps back. But it wasn't over. After repelling its enemy, the cursed person flipped the axe in its hands, switched to a two-handed grip, and brought it down in a vertical strike.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
After several ear-splitting clashes of metal, the Parasite Guard fell to its knees. One hand gripping the hilt, the other supporting the blade, it barely managed to withstand the cursed person's strikes. The difference in strength was overwhelming.
The cursed person rushed toward the side wall, took a few steps up it, then spun in midair, axe raised high, and brought it down in a single, powerful strike. The blow was both heavy and fluid, carrying the grace of a seasoned warrior.
With a crack, the longsword shattered. The cursed person cleaved the Parasite Guard in two. Blood splattered everywhere, splashing onto the cursed person.
The barnacles and shellfish covering the cursed person's body flew off, blocking the spray of blood. Taking advantage of the moment, the cursed person sidestepped to avoid the splattering gore.
Baron Bern watched the entire scene. His eyes widened, his lips parted as if he wanted to say something, but the words stuck in his throat. His family had spent years experimenting, killing countless slaves, to create the Parasite Guards.
The Bern Family had planned to use the Parasite Guards to become one of the major powers on the Demon Sea. But this scene shattered Baron Bern's understanding. Against the cursed people, the Parasite Guards were utterly useless.
Were all the crew members of the Doom Number trapped on Minguang Island, enslaved by the ship? The answer was no. Those who weren't strong enough in life didn't even qualify to be enslaved by the Doom Number.
Blood splattered. The other two Parasite Guards were also dealt with. Only Baron Bern and the two cursed people remained in the underground room.
Baron Bern suddenly raised his flintlock pistol, aimed at one cursed person's head, and pulled the trigger.
Clang! The lead bullet struck the axe. The axe was held in front of the cursed person, slightly angled to reduce the impact surface. The bullet left a dent on the axe's surface before being deflected, embedding itself into the nearby wall and blasting a hole nearly a meter in diameter.
Baron Bern's flintlock was extraordinary. Conservatively estimated, its quality was between Holy Spirit and Immortal rank.
"Baron Bern, is that all you've got? We've been preparing to take Sunken Ship Island for a long time. Stop pretending. Show us your real skills."
Baha's voice rang out. Amu strode into the underground room, Baha perched on its shoulder.
"Time for the boss fight. Your opponents are the two of us. A small fry like you isn't even qualified to face our strongest. Hurry up, stop faking it. Do some insect transformation or something."
Baha was eager. Before entering this world, its strength had increased significantly. Now it was finally its turn to fight.
"..."
Baron Bern slowly rose from his wooden chair. Seeing this, Baha grew alert. Here it comes.
"You will never defeat me."
Under Baron Bern's skin, something began to writhe, as if thousands of tiny insects were moving. He tightened his grip on the flintlock, looking at Baha and Amu with a hint of disdain.
"Big bro, calm down—"
Bang!
The gunshot echoed through the room. Baha raised its right wing, its expression as if it had just eaten two pounds of crap, mixed with a hint of bewilderment.
Shattered skull fragments and blood splattered everywhere. Baron Bern, his head blown apart, collapsed to the ground. The still-smoking flintlock fell beside him.
Baha had miscalculated. It had considered every possibility except that this thing was a repeater. After firing the first shot, it could fire a second without reloading.
What Baha had miscalculated even more was Baron Bern's "invincible" fighting style. As the saying goes: as long as he's dead, the enemy can never defeat him. Truly unbeatable.
Baron Bern had put a bullet through his own head, blowing his brains out. This move had genuinely caught Baha off guard.