Chapter 40: Duel
On the pier of Bloodhoof Island, the area was now completely empty. The West Sea King had not set a trap but instead assumed a posture of having waited for a long time.
In the water, the planks of the Doom Number extended outward. Su Xiao walked onto the pier along these planks. Behind the pier was the entrance to Bloodhoof Island, with several skeletons nailed to the giant rocks on either side of the entrance.
Seawater dripped from the tips of Su Xiao's hair as he stepped forward. One by one, cursed men rushed past him from both sides.
After landing on the island, Su Xiao noticed that the buildings within the port had all been destroyed. The West Sea King had been pushed into a corner, leaving no retreat.
The West Sea King's assets were essentially gone, but his elite pirates were still there. This was somewhat strange. According to common sense, more than half of the West Sea King's pirates should have defected. That was the way of pirates.
Judging by the current situation, those elite pirates were clearly prepared to fight to the death with their side. What gave them this motivation?
After passing through a large area of ruins, Su Xiao arrived at a flower field. It was covered in Mandi flowers. When these flowers bloomed, they looked somewhat like foxtail grass, with pale white flower spikes.
Mandi flowers had a strong pain-relieving effect, high-intensity addictiveness, and no obvious hallucinogenic effects. After consuming them, one would completely lose the sense of pain for 1 to 2 hours.
In front of the flower field, the West Sea King sat on a wide wooden chair. On his left and right sides, as well as behind him, stood several hundred pirates, numbering over 950, all elite pirates.
A hundred meters apart, pairs of eyes stared at Su Xiao. No one shouted; they just looked at him coldly.
"I've had enough... Where the hell did you come from, you monster."
The West Sea King spoke. He was stunned. Under normal circumstances, pirate fights weren't this ruthless. They usually got straight to the point, killed the opponent, and then seized all their assets.
But this time, Su Xiao had first targeted the West Sea King's assets. After gaining the income channel of Demon Sea Gold Coins, Su Xiao didn't care about these assets at all. They meant nothing to him. Crushing the enemy's momentum was important.
The West Sea King lowered his eyelids. A hunting dog crouched beside his leg. The dog was stocky, with wrinkled skin, slightly larger than Bubu Wang, and drool dripped from the corners of its mouth.
"Bubu, you'll take care of it later."
Baha said with a sly smile.
"Woof?"
Bubu Wang looked at the fierce dog opposite. In a 1v1 direct confrontation, it felt that the idiot opposite could finish it off in at most 20 seconds, and thoroughly at that.
"Woof!"
Although Bubu Wang was panicking inside, it couldn't lose face. Its eyes clearly said: 'Idiot, come and die.'
The fierce dog opposite looked at Bubu Wang, then lost interest after a moment. Bubu had been scorned.
"Kill them."
The West Sea King pointed forward with one hand. All the elite pirates around him stepped forward.
"Kill them all."
As soon as Su Xiao finished speaking, a flock of crows soared up from where the Doom Number was located and began circling in the sky.
Caw, caw, caw.
350,000 Black Curse Crows formed a massive vortex in the sky. The power of the curse descended, beginning to suppress the enemy's life recovery.
[Tip: You have been affected by the 'Sacrificial Fortune' effect. Your Luck attribute has been reduced to -12 points (this is a constant debuff). This effect will be removed upon leaving the designated range.]
[Tip: The enemy's leader-level unit has activated the 'Sea Battle Inspiration' effect. All enemy units will receive a buff: True Strength, True Agility, and True Stamina +12 points, Luck attribute +8 points, and Health Points increased by 4600.]
[Tip: When the enemy's morale exceeds 85 points, all enemy units have a chance to awaken 'Sea's Hatred' upon attacking, causing the attacked unit's body energy to stagnate, resulting in a 0.5 to 1.2-second immobilization effect.]
A hundred meters away, the West Sea King was not to be outdone. An ancient ring on his index finger was emitting a faint glow.
"Crush these scum!"
A gaunt, stern-faced pirate drew his cutlass from his waist and charged forward.
Amuns stepped forward quickly to meet him. The gray flames on his rapier seemed to burn, appearing somewhat illusory.
Clang!
The cutlass and rapier clashed. Mandi flowers splattered around them, and a shockwave spread.
There wasn't much provocation or cursing. The melee broke out in a short time. Booms and shockwaves spread, and pits appeared on the ground.
In the first dozen seconds of the melee, the cursed men and elite pirates were still fighting on the flower field. But soon, both sides realized this was a terrible decision. This wasn't on a ship; there was no need to hold back.
Bang!
A bald pirate was sent flying backward. The cursed man who had blasted him away chased after him, holding a thick iron chain with an anchor at the end.
Not far away, blood splattered. Hanging Executioner Wo grinned fiercely, bits of flesh hanging from his fingertips, torn off by his grip strength.
"Keep going."
Hanging Executioner Wo cracked his neck. In front of him was a female pirate with several bloody gashes on her abdomen.
Bang. A gunshot came from diagonally behind Hanging Executioner Wo. He didn't pay it much attention.
Ding, ding.
Two consecutive crisp sounds. A round bullet made of black metal ricocheted twice. First, it hit a pirate's blade, then flew in an extremely clever manner from under another pirate's crotch, hitting the side of a large axe that had been slammed into the ground, completing the second ricochet.
The bullet was heading straight for the back of Hanging Executioner Wo's head. He tilted his head to dodge. How could such an attack possibly hit him?
The bullet flew past Hanging Executioner Wo's ear. Almost simultaneously, the female pirate opposite him charged forward. She also noticed the bullet and sidestepped to avoid it.
As luck would have it, a pirate holding a giant hammer about a dozen meters behind the female pirate swung a horizontal blow. He didn't hit the cursed man but struck the bullet instead. The bullet created an airburst and turned into a blur.
Squelch.
The bullet embedded itself in Hanging Executioner Wo's shoulder. He couldn't understand why this bullet kept flying around him.
Similar scenes occasionally occurred in the surrounding battle groups. Their side had a Luck attribute of -12 points, plus the enemy's Luck attribute of +8 points, making the gap in fortune even more pronounced.
One thing that couldn't be ignored was that the cursed men were overall stronger than the West Sea King's elite pirates. Besides, their side hadn't even revealed its trump card yet.
Hanging Executioner Wo, now hit by a bullet, was very annoyed. He stopped paying attention to the female pirate in front of him and strode toward the rear of his own camp.
Soon, Hanging Executioner stopped in front of a large iron cage. Mad Dog Quike was sound asleep inside. This guy's loyalty was too low; he didn't care about the battle situation at all.
"Mad Dog, time to eat."
Hanging Executioner Wo knocked on the iron cage. Quike sat up, ready to eat breakfast. But at that moment, Hanging Executioner suddenly grabbed Quike's hair and began pounding his face with fists the size of sandbags.
Thud, thud, thud...
After several consecutive punches, Quike sat in the cage, dazed. But in the next instant, he was furious. Gray-black fur grew all over his body, and he began to berserk, or rather, go mad dog mode.
Quike's clothes tore into shreds. He transformed into a mad dog over five meters long. Thick yellow drool dripped from the gaps between his sharp teeth.
Hanging Executioner slowly stepped back and signaled to the two cursed men above the cage to open the gate.
With a creak, the rusted iron cage door was lifted. Mad Dog Quike shot out, heading straight for Hanging Executioner.
"This is the captain's order!"
Hanging Executioner shouted, but to no avail. Mad Dog Quike swatted him away with one claw.
"Roar!!"
Mad Dog Quike let out a roar, sending layers of airwaves spreading. He pounced forward, tilting his massive canine head to one side and biting down on a pirate. After biting the enemy, Mad Dog Quike shook his head from side to side.
After a few shakes, Mad Dog Quike bit the pirate in his mouth into pieces. Accompanied by a piercing scream, blood splattered everywhere. Finally, Mad Dog Quike swallowed the flesh in his mouth. In just 5 seconds, an elite pirate was dead.
Mad Dog Quike began searching for his next prey. Soon, he locked onto Hanging Executioner Wo again. An interesting scene unfolded. Despite their side being at an advantage, Hanging Executioner Wo kept getting beaten.
One by one, elite pirates fell. The West Sea King, who had been sitting steadily, could no longer stay calm. He stood up and looked at Su Xiao a hundred meters away.
The West Sea King hesitated, wondering whether to use a certain secret treasure. After using it, he and his enemy would enter a certain place. Even he himself couldn't leave that place for a short time. It was a place of dueling.
"Let's have a duel between captains, Captain of the Doom Number."
With a jingle, the West Sea King tossed a silver coin. The coin flipped in the air, flying toward Su Xiao.
Su Xiao noticed that the surrounding world had turned black and white. The only thing with color was the West Sea King opposite him.
Banishment detached from Su Xiao's sleeve, forming a hiltless rapier, then passed through a pirate's head. The pirate had no reaction and wasn't injured at all.
This was an alternate space. The West Sea King wanted to duel Su Xiao in this alternate space...
"Big Beard, look here."
Baha tilted his head toward the West Sea King. Seeing that Baha also had color, the West Sea King's heart sank.
"A duel equals a one-on-one fight. A one-on-one fight equals... you fighting all of us."
As Baha spoke, he waved his wing, creating a spatial vortex. Amuns, Ghost Shadow, Hanging Executioner Wo, Tear Cole Ridge, Sea Rage, and other cursed men all walked in. They all had color.
Baha closed the entrance to the alternate space and looked at the West Sea King in front of him. He said:
"West Sea King, this head delivery of yours... awesome."