Chapter 30: Naval Battle
The personal strength of the Western Sea King was still unclear, but he possessed two extremely troublesome abilities: reducing luck attributes and temporarily enhancing his pirate subordinates.
This ability, called "Fortune Sacrifice," had a constant effect—anyone within this area with a luck attribute below 50 points would have their luck reduced to -12 points.
Even outside of combat, having a luck attribute of -12 points would bring severe misfortune, causing mild rejection from the Demon Sea. In combat, this was absolutely lethal.
Not only was there this debuff, but the enemy's buff was also formidable. It increased true strength, agility, and stamina attributes, temporarily boosted health by a large margin, and enhanced luck attributes. The most deadly aspect was the final effect: body energy stagnation.
Once the morale of the Western Sea King's pirates exceeded 85 points, each of their attacks had a chance to immobilize the enemy. Immobilization meant the entire body stiffened, as if frozen, with a danger level similar to being stunned.
Su Xiao wasn't sure how the Western Sea King had tracked him down, but he speculated that the other party had almost certainly followed the [Sea King Horn]. This item couldn't be stored in a storage space.
Su Xiao had considered having a cursed person take this item for a swim in the sea, but he didn't forget—this was the broken horn of the strongest sea beast. If a cursed person took it into the sea, that beast would definitely come knocking.
"Kukulin Bai Ye."
A shout came from the distant four-masted ship. It was a pirate beside the Western Sea King, with a sharp face and rat-like features, grinning with yellowed teeth.
"Hand over the Sea King Horn, and we—"
Boom!
The "Destruction Cannon" at the bow of the Doom Number let out a thunderous roar. A cannonball shot out, wrapped in black energy.
Due to its immense kinetic force, the cannonball flew in a straight line, passing by the distant four-masted ship and slamming into a three-masted vessel further behind.
The cannonball exploded, black energy spreading outward. The struck three-masted ship looked as if it had been hit by a hammer—the front half of the hull was completely shattered, burning wooden planks flying everywhere. A shockwave rippled across the surrounding sea surface.
Amid the flames came the wails of pirates. These were just ordinary pirates; the Western Sea King couldn't possibly bring all his elite pirates to chase the Doom Number unless he didn't care about his territory anymore.
With one shot, one of the enemy's three-masted ships was wrecked. Judging by its miserable state, sinking into the sea was only a matter of time, since only half of it remained.
[Tip: You have sunk a pirate ship under the command of the Great Pirate Western Sea King. You gain 105 points of Legendary Fame.]
Fighting a Great Pirate was dangerous, but the rewards were high. Just sinking a three-masted ship earned 105 points of Legendary Fame.
"Is this your attitude?"
The Western Sea King drew the wide-bladed sailor's knife at his waist. All the pirates behind him drew their blades or raised various weapons.
"Kill them all!"
"The Doom Number is nothing to fear—just a broken ship sunk at the bottom of the sea. Cut off the cursed people's heads and crush them, and they'll be gone for good."
The pirates were eager for battle. As subordinates of the Western Sea King, they weren't afraid of the Doom Number's fearsome reputation.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Plumes of smoke erupted from over a dozen pirate ships as they began returning fire with their bow cannons. The main sails of these ships caught the wind fully, and all the pirate vessels sped toward the Doom Number, closing the distance to improve cannon accuracy while also preparing for boarding actions.
A cannonball exploded on the deck, the wind pressure lifting Su Xiao's coat as sparks flew. The cannonball seemed mixed with some kind of supernatural substance, as the sparks could continuously burn the ship's hull.
Fighting the Western Sea King head-on at this moment was the worst possible decision. By evening, the first batch of pirate gold coins would arrive from Frand, and then the Doom Number could unlock the second stage of its seal.
Su Xiao maneuvered the Doom Number to dive underwater. As soon as it submerged, a massive shadow charged toward it—the same supernatural giant whale from before. The whale was already riddled with wounds, its brain matter spilling out, yet it still hadn't died.
With a thunderous crash, the Doom Number was struck, sliding sideways through the seawater as large bubbles surged everywhere.
Inside the water, Su Xiao pressed one hand on the sword hilt at his waist, watching the giant whale circling nearby. He waited for it to get closer.
Whoosh~
The seawater parted as the giant whale charged again, this time aiming for the main mast.
'Blade Path Sword: Flow.'
Clang!
The sharp sound of a slash echoed through the sea. Sword techniques were practically a natural counter to creatures of this size.
A wind-like cut swept through, staining a large area of seawater red. The giant whale, with a massive chunk of its skull sliced off, writhed in agony, stirring up undercurrents in the sea.
Dark shadows surged out from inside the giant whale. Unable to withstand the erosion of the cursed people any longer, it sank toward the seabed.
Su Xiao was about to dive the Doom Number deeper to shake off the Western Sea King's fleet when a whirlpool appeared above, its suction dragging the Doom Number toward it.
The Western Sea King had clearly come prepared. He knew the Doom Number could submerge and had devised a countermeasure.
Amu charged out, heading straight for the whirlpool. As soon as the whirlpool engulfed Amu, it began to freeze.
Crack, crack, crack~
A spiral-shaped giant ice pillar formed. Amu broke free from the ice and swam back toward the Doom Number with remarkably practiced strokes.
The suction had just stopped when chains shot down from above, aiming directly at the Doom Number.
Dozens of blade auras cut through the seawater, clanging against the chains. Some chains were severed, while the rest lost their aim.
Crackle~
Lightning spread through the water. A crystal layer formed on Su Xiao's body, spreading from his feet across the deck to envelop the entire captain's cabin, where Bubu Wang was.
Amu shuddered violently in the sea. A startling sight unfolded as dark shadows drifted out from the Doom Number's hull—cursed people turning into shadows in the water.
At least a hundred cursed people dissipated in the seawater. This attack was far too targeted, even including something that could counter cursed people in the sea.
Su Xiao steered the Doom Number to dive a hundred meters deep, heading eastward.
On the surface, aboard the four-masted ship, the Western Sea King's expression was grim. To obtain a secret treasure from a witch that could counter the Doom Number, he had paid a heavy price. What pained him more was that this item could only be used once.
Boom!
An explosion came from the Western Sea King's right. Shattered planks flew past him with a whistling sound.
One of the Western Sea King's three-masted ships, the "Evil Tooth," had been hit by cannon fire. The middle of its hull was mostly shattered, as if a flame-mouthed beast had taken a huge bite out of it.
The Western Sea King looked closely and saw the Doom Number appearing half a nautical mile away, smoke still rising from its bow cannon. Could he tolerate this? Absolutely not!
Before the Western Sea King could order a counterattack, the Doom Number submerged again. The pirates were dumbfounded—this naval battle was impossible to fight.
Boom!
Another three-masted ship was hit. This vessel nearly "jumped" out of the water, a massive hole several meters wide appearing on its deck, with flames burning around the edges of the breach.
"Retreat."
The Western Sea King ordered a withdrawal. One cannon shot per three-masted ship—even though the Western Sea King was a Great Pirate with deep pockets, he couldn't afford this.
Losing one three-masted ship, the Western Sea King remained calm. Two destroyed, a bit painful. Three, barely acceptable. But four? That was like a knife twisting in his heart.
Inside the seawater, Su Xiao stood on the deck at the Doom Number's bow, looking upward. He had been about to retreat earlier, but after sinking three enemy ships in a row, he was reluctant to leave. These enemy vessels were all Legendary Fame.