# Chapter 27: Unexpected Gain
Late at night, windless, the main sail of the Doom Number had been furled as it lay still on the sea surface.
Inside the captain's cabin, Su Xiao was tallying the casualties among the cursed men and black curse crows. The cost of capturing Sunken Ship Island wasn't as high as imagined, but during the siege of the female spellcaster Ava, the cursed men and black curse crows had suffered significant losses.
The Dawn Element was something Mage Sage Seraphilia had spent years artificially synthesizing specifically for combat elemental power. Although its effect against Law Destroyers wasn't impressive, its killing power was equally astonishing.
Originally 400 cursed men, 103 had died in battle, and 5,180 black curse crows had perished.
During the battle, it seemed like many black curse crows had died—at least one-fifth casualties—but that wasn't actually the case. Their large base numbers created this illusion; their actual casualty rate was less than one-tenth.
Originally, black curse crows weren't meant for combat, but under the War Lord's bonus, their survivability wasn't weak.
On the other hand, the cursed men had survivability several levels higher than the black curse crows, yet their casualty rate exceeded one-quarter. The reason was that cursed men were too fearless in battle.
If these were ordinary soldier units, that would be a good thing. But cursed men's strength approached elite units, and being overly fearless only increased unnecessary casualties.
Regarding lifting the Doom Number's second-stage seal, it was urgent. Only by lifting the second-stage seal could the cursed men's consciousness become clearer.
At that point, the cursed men would learn to cooperate with each other and avoid unnecessary damage, greatly enhancing their overall combat effectiveness.
With the current cursed men, they were completely insufficient to directly confront major pirate forces like the Duke or the West Sea King, even with the black curse crows.
Unless it was a critical moment, black curse crows couldn't participate in battle. The War Lord's bonus could only be triggered through the black curse crows' numbers. Once too many black curse crows died, the War Lord's bonus would be reduced, weakening the cursed men who served as the main combat force.
Only when the battle neared its end would Su Xiao consider sending the black curse crows charging into the fray for the final blow.
The Doom Number still had 297 cursed men remaining. To replenish the cursed men's numbers to 400, he would need to return to Dim Light Island, where the black fog contained a large number of cursed men.
Within Dim Light Island's black fog, both cursed men and black curse crows were in absolute sealed state. But once on the Doom Number, they gained a certain degree of freedom.
For now, cursed men couldn't be replenished, but black curse crows could.
The method to replenish black curse crows was to find the old hag on Dim Light Island. She was the fog keeper, controlling all black curse crows on Dim Light Island.
To replenish black curse crows from her required paying Demon Sea Gold Coins. The old hag was actually trapped on Dim Light Island too, and the Demon Sea Energy within Demon Sea Gold Coins could not only lift the Doom Number's seal but also help the old hag escape.
The old hag didn't crave freedom; she wanted release. After leaving Dim Light Island, she would turn to ashes, but that was what she desired. Her original words were that her life's flame had already burned out in the great whirlpool, leaving only a pile of ash. Ash doesn't crave freedom, only to be scattered by the wind.
As for how to replenish the cursed men on the Doom Number, the old hag didn't hide it. Besides her, there was another fog keeper, sealed inside a wooden hut on Dim Light Island, controlling the cursed men within the black fog.
After Su Xiao paid Demon Sea Gold Coins to help the cursed men and black curse crows escape, these cursed men and black curse crows were no longer connected to the two fog keepers but instead served Su Xiao.
This was why the cursed men were willing to obey the Doom Number's captain's orders. Compared to the pitch-black fog, the Doom Number was their dream destination.
Su Xiao had methods to seal disobedient cursed men back into the black fog, so he wasn't worried about whether they would follow orders.
Su Xiao's charm attribute kept the cursed men's base loyalty above 70 points. Combined with the Doom Number's bonus, their loyalty was fixed at 95-98 points.
As for reaching the full 100 points, that wasn't worth considering. Most cursed men were pirates in life, and loyalty above 60 points was already rare.
Since cursed men couldn't be replenished for now, Su Xiao was eager to lift the Doom Number's second-stage seal.
After seizing the [Sea King's Horn (1/3)], Su Xiao had become hostile with the great pirate West Sea King. The other party would come looking for him soon, so he needed to be prepared.
Lifting the Doom Number's second-stage seal required at least 30,000 Demon Sea Gold Coins. After capturing the castle, Su Xiao obtained a golden skull worth 16,000 Demon Sea Gold Coins. Then, looting Sunken Ship Island yielded over 1,300 more Gold Coins.
Counting the Gold Coins Su Xiao already had, he still needed 12,500 more Demon Sea Gold Coins to lift the Doom Number's second-stage seal.
For the missing Demon Sea Gold Coins, Su Xiao decided to get some from Commodore Murray. The other party still hadn't paid the "final installment." If he wasn't willing, Su Xiao would have Bubu Wang go get it, along with some mental damage compensation.
For the remaining portion, Su Xiao planned to obtain it in the fastest way possible—continue looting pirate islands. This wasn't about upholding justice or punishing pirates, but because pirate islands stored large amounts of Demon Sea Gold Coins, unlike imperial forces that deposited Demon Sea Gold Coins into imperial banks, letting the banks issue silver and copper coins with stable purchasing power.
Su Xiao was curious about one thing: which faction had minted the Demon Sea Gold Coins? The Demon Sea Energy within the Gold Coins was too pure, pure to an unbelievable degree.
Putting these thoughts aside, all he needed to do now was wait. According to Baha's reconnaissance, Commodore Murray's fleet had clashed with the Duke's pirate group in the evening, both sides fighting over Sunken Ship Island.
In this battle, Commodore Murray had over 80% chance of victory. The man had been preparing for a long time. When Su Xiao captured Sunken Ship Island, Murray's fleet was already in the surrounding waters.
Su Xiao didn't have to wait long. At 11 PM, Baha returned with news: Commodore Murray had won, and the Duke had been repelled.
Su Xiao walked out of the captain's cabin, stood at the bow, and the Doom Number submerged into the sea, heading straight for Sunken Ship Island.
When the Doom Number arrived near Sunken Ship Island's waters, several Royal Navy ships approached from ahead, clearly having been waiting for some time.
The Doom Number docked at Sunken Ship Island's pier, making the Royal Navy soldiers on the pier nervous. They weren't afraid of pirates, but facing cursed men made them uneasy.
A small portion of navy soldiers, upon seeing the Doom Number, had particularly sharp gazes. They had fought the Doom Number before. The cursed men's arrogant laughter and the cawing of countless crows seemed to echo in their ears, reminding them of that great sea battle in the Ghost Soul Sea Area.
Commodore Murray and several of his trusted subordinates walked out from the pier town. These men stepped onto the Doom Number via the planks laid by navy soldiers and entered the captain's cabin.
Inside the captain's cabin, Commodore Murray took a seat. He was still as composed as ever, as if the previous sea battle meant nothing to him.
"This place is cleaner than I imagined. At least I don't see barnacle parasites on the walls."
Commodore Murray half-joked, clearly in a good mood after just capturing Sunken Ship Island.
"According to our prior agreement, after you capture Sunken Ship Island, 5,000 Gold Coins as a reward. I've already paid you 1,500. Here are the remaining 3,500."
As Commodore Murray finished speaking, several navy soldiers carried two iron boxes into the captain's cabin. Surprisingly, Commodore Murray had kept his promise.
"I have a 50,000 Gold Coin business. Interested in discussing it?"
Commodore Murray smiled, about to continue, but Su Xiao raised his hand to stop him.
"Not interested."
Su Xiao knew what Commodore Murray wanted to say. 50,000 Gold Coins to deal with the Duke's pirate group. It seemed like a big deal, but it was actually hiring cannon fodder.
Commodore Murray had fully drawn the Duke's hatred. The Duke had not only lost the chance to obtain the [Sea King's Horn] but also lost Sunken Ship Island. Outsiders didn't know about the former, but losing Sunken Ship Island would soon spread through pirate circles.
Great pirates cared deeply about face. Regarding Sunken Ship Island, even if the Duke ultimately couldn't capture it, he couldn't just let it go. That would be showing weakness. At that point, the hidden "hyenas" would smell "blood" on the Duke, thinking he feared Commodore Murray. The "hyenas" would swarm in—that was the pirate world.
"50,000 Gold Coins, I want the Duke's life. Not destroying his pirate group, just his life alone."
Commodore Murray's phrasing was euphemistic, but in reality, killing the Duke meant declaring war on the entire Duke pirate group. A great pirate of the Duke's level never went out alone. Too many people wanted his life.
"Not interested."
Su Xiao wouldn't actively start a war with the Duke now. Another great pirate, the West Sea King, was still waiting for him to deal with. Worse, he might have to fight the Twin Towers Empress.
Of the four great pirates, three were now hostile to Su Xiao. The pressure of fighting three great pirates simultaneously was too great. With the Doom Number's current combat power, even facing the West Sea King's pirate group alone had low odds of victory.
"Since that's the case, let's end it here. If you change your mind, come find me anytime."
Commodore Murray looked disappointed, led his men off the Doom Number, and soon disappeared among the navy soldiers on the pier.
"This fox in a wig just gave up like that? Boss, he's not planning to screw us over, is he?"
Baha was worried. Commodore Murray seemed gentle, but he was actually a ruthless character.
"He won't."
Su Xiao wasn't surprised by Commodore Murray's attitude. The commodore was about to face retaliation from the Duke. Avoiding hostility with the Doom Number at this time was a wise decision. The 3,500 Gold Coins he offered was exactly that message.
"Bubu."
Out of caution, Su Xiao had Bubu Wang follow Commodore Murray.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang merged into the environment and followed Commodore Murray. Over ten minutes later, Bubu Wang sent back a message. Commodore Murray was meeting with someone. From their conversation, Bubu Wang discovered that Commodore Murray was very polite to this person—not flattering, but with a sense of familiarity in his words. The other person was very respectful to Commodore Murray, acting flattered and honored.
After listening a while longer, Bubu Wang understood the situation. Commodore Murray's honored guest was a "money god" he had invited. It was because of this money god that Commodore Murray was generous enough to offer 50,000 Demon Sea Gold Coins for the Duke's life.
Back in the Doom Number's captain's cabin, Su Xiao weighed his options. Commodore Murray's invited money god had a significant background. Even so, this was an opportunity.
Su Xiao decided to "invite" that money god to the Doom Number for a "talk."