"What else do you want?"
The Mystic Lock had already unfolded. Although this power couldn't be sustained for long, it was enough for Xia De to gain the upper hand.
He looked past the delicacies on the table and the falling snow in the air, gazing at the Fishman Captain across the table. He wanted more:
"I want to gamble a few rounds fairly with you, one stake per round, comparing card values. For the first round, I want to bet on the method to remove the mermaid's song curse from the lady beside me."
He reshuffled the cards on the table. The falling snowflakes landed on the cards but left no trace. The curse on Princess and the power of the pirate ship shared the same origin; the other party surely knew something.
"Good! I'll bet on your departure!"
On both sides of this long table, placed on the snowy street, the situation was completely different from before. The Captain reached out to draw a card from in front of him. This time, it was entirely a gamble of luck:
"I am sun 10."
Xia De didn't move. Instead, a little girl with a basket and bare feet appeared to his left. She wanted to draw a card, but she wasn't tall enough; even standing on tiptoes, she couldn't reach the cards.
A slightly pained expression appeared on her face, so she walked to Xia De's right and patted Princess. The latter's eyes widened, and then she somewhat dazed picked up the girl.
Princess was completely unable to comprehend the current situation.
"First wish, Flower 13."
Xia De said. The girl, being held, drew the first card, and it was indeed Flower 13.
"The answer is the Sea Offering Ritual. When the red waves strike, prevent her from entering the ocean. When the ocean returns to normal, regardless of whether the ritual succeeds, the marked curse can be lifted!"
"Second round, I bet your ten powerful coins."
Xia De's action was essentially blackmail, so he needed to gauge the extent of what the other party could accept.
The Captain was breathing heavily, his swollen face practically showing anger. His voice was low and hoarse, but it wasn't him who held the advantage now:
"I'll bet on your departure."
His thick fingers pressed down on the card in front of him:
"Flower 13."
The girl, held by Princess, reached out to draw a card again. Xia De, on the golden seat, quietly said:
"Second wish, Queen."
The girl turned over the card, and it was indeed the Queen.
Almost without thinking, the worn drawstring cloth bag was tossed high by the Captain, landing beside Xia De with a dull thud on the white tablecloth.
"Third wish, I want to know why you chose the cruise ship I was on for your raid!"
This was a question that had always bothered Xia De. He didn't believe his luck was so bad; he wasn't The Chosen.
"The stake for the third round is your departure!"
Both sides drew cards simultaneously.
The Captain's fingers pinched the card, showing it to Xia De:
"Queen!"
"The third wish is, King!"
The girl, held by Princess, turned over the third card, and it was indeed the King.
"No reason. If you must have a reason, then please believe in Destiny!"
This was an unexpected answer for Xia De.
"The stake for the fourth round is that all the people you raided this time leave!"
"I want all of you to leave! King!"
The highest card among the 54 cards was the figure of the Fishman Captain swimming in the deep sea.
"Fourth wish, may the girl beside me be well."
The power of the Mystic Lock was doing its best to restore Princess's spirit, dispelling the influence of those beans. And the girl he was holding excitedly turned over the last card. Since this time there was no blessing from the Mystic Lock's wish, the answer this time was completely random.
star 1.
"I lost. According to the agreement of the gamble, we must leave."
He grabbed the cloth bag containing the ten coins and stood up. Golden scars shimmered on his body. The powerful force of the Mystic Lock was about to wane, and the final blaze ignited this painting of a snowy night scene.
At this moment, the Destiny Ring behind him suddenly spun rapidly amidst the steam emerging from an unknown source. The black iron-colored soul was enriching, and finally condensed into a brand new power. He unfolded this Blood Feast dining table, and he extracted some power from everything at the table.
The power of these undead pirates was equivalent to the power of this ship. Through excessive contact with the relic, Xia De gained a brand new power.
"The greedy will pay the price. The pirate who roamed the deep sea finally met a stronger robber. This time, it's your own story."
"relic - Fishbone Pirate Ship, gave you a brand new power."
"Outsider, you have inscribed the Black Iron blasphemy Ling Rune - greed."
This was probably the only one of Xia De's four Ling Runes that was truly unrelated to a god.
"Next time."
The divine afterglow almost dyed his eyes golden, and his body's movement left golden, spark-like streaks in the air from his blood-red robe.
He looked at the pirate across the table, prompting the other party to say something. The Captain also glared at him fiercely:
"According to this ship's rules, as long as you don't provoke us, the Scarlet Servant, the Spiral Hunter, the Fishbone Pirate Ship that rides through the eye of the storm, will absolutely not rob you again!"
The Captain was shouting loudly, venting his dissatisfaction, venting his fear. Rolling flames burned forth, the snowy night vanished in the firelight, and the cabin returned to its original appearance.
Xia De immediately grabbed Princess's hand. The latter was still immersed in the sense of loss from the girl in her arms disappearing. An inexplicable force caused their bodies to float upwards, the surrounding environment changed drastically, space trembled, and they left this place.
The cabin returned to its original appearance. The Fishman-shaped Captain immediately stood up and shouted commands to the dispirited evil spirit sailors:
"Hurry!"
(Mia running)
"Hurry!"
When Xia De, tormented by hunger, opened his eyes, above him was the deepest and most enchanting night sky. The last few snowflakes fell from the air, and the cool sensation cleared Xia De's mind a little.
He was currently lying on the deck, and someone beside him was pulling him.
He struggled to get up and saw that it was Princess. They were now at the edge of the banquet cruise ship's deck, and everything around them had completely returned to normal. The night sea breeze blew from afar, warm and humid.
The pirate ship was gone, but under the deep night sky, wisps of black energy drilled into every awakened person's body. Even Xia De and Princess were no exception, and a voice in his ear immediately gave a warning:
"Even if you leave that ship alive, you will be cursed. The power of the curse is very similar to the curse your companion originally had."
"So everyone here now is afflicted with the mermaid's song curse, right?"
"You are not. This curse, entangled with the soul, is ineffective against you. If it were a curse targeting the body, then you should be worried."
The guests on the deck were all waking up. Among them, the awakened Ring術士, upon sensing the curse, immediately jumped ship and left. Because in the distance, several warships flying the Delarion Kingdom flag were approaching. The golden spiritual light unique to divine arts glittered on the ships; the Orthodox Church of the Coldwater Port diocese was coming.
Considering that this incident occurred in the waters outside the port, their speed was truly fast.
"Hurry!"
Princess said, stomping hard on the deck, forcefully tearing off a plank from the deck, and then pulling Xia De directly into the sea. In the very last moment before leaving the deck, Xia De saw the ordinary people on the deck, screaming and laughing madly. Most of them died directly on that ship in the strange waters, and most of those rescued had also gone mad.
The two fell into the water, and Xia De's spell, Underwater Breathing, immediately activated. But Princess seemed to have no ability for movement in water. Although she could swim, when she fell into the sea, she still nervously hugged Xia De. When she surfaced from the sea, her red hair clung tightly to her face, and she clung to the wooden plank, saying in a disheveled manner:
"Swim east. Someone will meet us there. I sent people to follow behind the cruise ship precisely to guard against this kind of situation."
Although Princess was keen on adventure today, it was impossible for her not to care about her own safety.
Their current location was very far from the Coldwater Port. If Xia De were to swim back with Princess, it would probably be several days later by the time they returned to Coldwater Port. Hearing that she had made preparations, Xia De also breathed a sigh of relief.
"Xia De, never tell stories on a ship again!"
She carelessly called out Xia De's 假名 , implicitly acknowledging her identity. Her red hair was wet and clinging to her face, and her emerald green eyes looked at Xia De:
"Look, just like the ending of your story, we indeed fell into the sea and are clinging to a plank to survive."
Because the story of the little match girl corresponded to four wishes, Xia De, within the Mystic Lock, in addition to having the advantage of being the Mystic Lock's owner, also possessed the power of four wishes. This was a characteristic of his Mystic Lock. Princess seemed to have recovered well from the last wish, and she could even joke at this moment.
"Oh, Princess, please hold this in your mouth and close it. We need to go."
Xia De took out the leaf from his waterlogged pocket watch and had the red-haired girl hold it in her mouth. Prolonged swimming in the sea would lead to terrible hypothermia. Xia De, due to Underwater Breathing, had strong environmental affinity for moving in water, but Princess did not.
"You still call me Princess?"
The red-haired girl was pulled forward by Xia De. Because she was holding a leaf in her mouth, her words were a bit muffled. And on the dark sea surface, they were inconspicuous, just like the other Ring術士 who jumped ship.
"I want to wait until today's journey ends to hear you tell me your identity yourself."
The Outsider whispered, then plunged into the sea. Still due to the spell, his swimming ability would significantly increase when his entire body entered the water.
Thus, Princess clung to the wooden plank, while Xia De looked after her by her side. The two quickly moved away from the direction of the cruise ship. With the departure of that pirate ship, the water surface became much calmer. They dared not stop, moving quickly eastward.
After a full twenty minutes, they finally saw a small boat stopped on the distant sea. Princess, whose condition had not fully recovered, gestured, and Xia De knew it was their people, so he pulled her and swam towards the small boat.