The auction went without a hitch; Xia De gained some new insights, and Princess was also enjoying herself. After the auction ended, people immediately dispersed, rejoining the crowd on the deck. The wooden boxes at the front of the deck were removed, and the long chairs were quickly moved away. The entire auction lasted less than forty minutes, and some guests didn't even notice what had happened there.
Now, the atmosphere on the ship was lively, and men and women, or other combinations, who had caught each other's eye, had already begun to head into the cabins.
"Madam."
"Get lost."
Naturally, some people tried to strike up a conversation with the distinguished young lady next to Xia De, only to be unceremoniously rebuked by Xia De in a very strong Tobesk accent.
"I didn't expect you could say something like that."
Princess was in a good mood.
"Really?"
Xia De adjusted his tie:
"I really dislike chaotic places like this, these kinds of parties—"
He snorted, not commenting on the chaotic relationships between nobles and the wealthy:
"Actually, my temper isn't very good; it's just rare to encounter an opportunity worth losing it."
The old landlord, who had seen Xia De's face that morning and was then tricked into "suicide" by him, could testify to this.
At this moment, the cruise ship continued to move towards the deep sea and, as planned, would set sail back to Coldwater Port in half an hour. This type of auction was quite safe, but unfortunately, Tobesk City did not have the conditions for it; to hold a safe auction, one had to go to a place far from the urban area.
Having nothing else to do, Xia De and Princess returned to the somewhat dim railing to chat again.
In the distance, no civilized lights of Coldwater Port could be seen; the lights on the cruise ship seemed to be absorbed by the sea. And in the distance where the sky met the sea, in a place they hadn't yet noticed, a sickly green light accompanied by a storm had already appeared.
"What's wrong?"
Just as she was talking to Xia De, enjoying their last moments together, the Golden-haired girl suddenly saw Xia De clutching his chest and looking out at the dark sea in the distance. She immediately asked, somewhat nervously.
Xia De shook his head, his right hand tightly gripping the pocket on his chest. In the pocket was the 【pirate's blood money】, but just now, the blood money had actually started to vibrate.
This was a phenomenon of resonance for the special relic, 【pirate's blood money】, indicating that another blood money had finally appeared within the vicinity. Xia De's initial purpose in coming to Coldwater Port had finally been achieved.
It was just that they were now far from the shore in the ocean, and the blood money was very likely at the bottom of the sea, so Xia De couldn't immediately jump into the sea to search for it.
If Xia De dared to activate the blood money to make the resonance more obvious, it might slightly reduce the difficulty of finding it. But they were currently on the sea, and if he dared to activate it, a fleet of undead ships might appear in a few tens of seconds, at which point he would be helpless except for using his last drop of divinity.
Xia De wanted to explain about the blood money and then quickly find the captain to ascertain their current location. However, he suddenly frowned again, because the Vibration of that blood money was becoming more and more intense, which meant that the other blood money was getting closer.
"What do you mean, the other one is in a fish's belly? And then that fish is going to crash into the ship to commit suicide?"
"Don't let your imagination run wild. Listen carefully; there's a strange sound."
He raised his hand, signaling Princess not to speak, and Princess also reached out to press her chest. But there was no pocket on the chest of her dress, and seeing the young girl's tightly furrowed brows, it seemed as if her chest was in severe pain.
After a moment of quiet listening, the music from the deck and the sound of the waves entered their ears, but after a few tens of seconds, a rough singing voice actually came from the dark sea. The sound grew louder and louder until even ordinary people on the entire deck noticed this unusual sound.
That rough, eerie voice sang a ballad in an ancient language, and at the same time, dark clouds quickly came from the northwest of the ship in the originally clear night sky.
A bone-chilling cold wind swept across the deck, and the calm sea suddenly surged with waves. The onslaught of the waves caused Xia De and Princess, who were both unsteady on their feet, to grab each other, while screams had already erupted from the deck behind them.
The Ring術士 on the deck simultaneously looked to the northwest of the cruise ship. At the boundary between the dark night and the deep sea, within the sweeping storm, a dilapidated ship emitting black smoke and an eerie green light was approaching at an incredible speed.
The moment they laid eyes on that ship, most people felt as if their heads had been struck by a heavy hammer. A strong whisper element was eroding people's minds; the influence brought by the relic was clearly evident across this vast sea, solely from the visual feedback.
"No, the blood money in my hand clearly isn't activated. This has nothing to do with blood money; another blood money is on that ship. This is another relic!"
The calm sea instantly became turbulent, and the cruise ship beneath their feet stopped. The oppressive, terrifying, low singing grew louder and louder. At some point, the starry sky above them was completely covered by dark clouds, and on the swaying deck, dirty green moss spread at a visible speed.
"Sea Offering Ritual, the Mermaid statue is the mermaid's song, and then the pirate in the second line—"
Princess clutched her chest, her eyes wide as she murmured:
"Mr. Edmund's guess was correct; this really is a ritual. How did we stumble upon it? He even said this afternoon that the ocean currents were abnormal today!"
The Five-Ring Sorcerer barely resisted the mental impact, while Xia De translated the general meaning from the song chanted in the ancient language.
"In the deepest part of the deep sea, we come with the storm, hunting for our Lord, the scarlet spiral, you are the merman's—"
"I know what this is!"
Princess's voice suddenly grew louder, overpowering the singing, allowing Xia De to clearly hear what she said:
"sage-level relic! 【Fishbone Pirate Ship】! Damn it, this thing is actually connected to 【mermaid's song】, which is also Sage-level!"
"What? Are you sure? Another Sage-level? How is this place more dangerous than Tobesk?"
Xia De was stunned, then he grabbed her, ready to jump ship:
"I'll swim you back!"
"We can't escape. The relic isn't just that ship; once the ship is seen, the bound undead have already appeared in the ocean. Someone is performing a large ritual in Coldwater Port! The first step is to spread the curse of the mermaid's song; the second step is the appearance of the pirate ship. They are Cultists!"
"They are Cultists of the 【lord of the scarlet spiral】! They are Mermaids! We must tell the Church about this!"
Xia De added loudly, as the rapidly approaching pirate ship drew nearer. While his head was buzzing, he could see thousands of evil spirits seemingly roaring on the dilapidated deck.
The ship did not slow down; it crashed directly into them, not even giving them any time to react:
"Remember!"
Princess's voice, which had been clutching her chest just a moment ago, was still in his ears, but now it seemed to come from a great distance.
"The whisper element is affecting space. Be careful."
"Xia De, never leave the ship, never agree to become a crew member, the exit is in the deepest part—"
She wanted to embrace Xia De, but the eerie green pirate ship had already crashed into them. In the terrifying shaking, the terrifying black mist from the pirate ship completely engulfed the unprotected steam cruise ship. Everything around them disappeared, and thousands of curses and distorted whispered prayers flooded into Xia De's mind, causing his consciousness to blur.