Chapter 220

Chapter 220

The ship was entirely black, its hull crafted from heavy black wood, covered with the marks of time, with many places still bearing scars from sword cuts and cannon fire.

The ship was tall, with three decks, each equipped with numerous gun ports, the black muzzles like ferocious maws, exuding a dangerous aura. On the mast hung a tattered black flag emblazoned with a grim skull, its teeth a dark yellow, as if stained with blood, flapping loudly in the wind. Anyone familiar with pirate insignias would instantly recognize it as the mark of the "Black Tooth Pirates"!

The ship slowly emerged from the vortex, like a ghost ship rising from the depths of hell. Around its hull swirled faint black mist, within which dark tentacles seemed to writhe, exuding a dense aura of evil. This aura was intensely cold, even at the height of a scorching noon, sending a bone-chilling shiver through everyone nearby.

On the deck stood many figures, all clad in tattered pirate garb, tall and imposing, with fierce eyes like hungry wolves. They wielded weapons such as cutlasses and spears, still stained with dried blood, their bodies exuding a bloody and murderous aura that chilled the soul.

"A pirate ship!" an old fisherman, recognizing the flag's emblem, screamed in terror, "It's the Black Tooth Pirates' ship! Weren't they wiped out by the Imperial Navy long ago? How are they here?" The old fisherman's voice was tearful, clearly terrified.

In his youth, he had witnessed the brutality of the Black Tooth Pirates firsthand. Wherever they went, they burned, killed, and looted without mercy, leaving many islands ravaged and strewn with corpses.

"A ghost ship! It's a ghost ship!" another Supernatural cried, pale-faced and trembling, "This is no ordinary vessel; it emerged from the vortex, crawled out of hell! Look at the black mist around it—that's the evil aura of the undead!" This Supernatural had some knowledge of undead-related supernatural phenomena and could clearly sense the dense necrotic energy within the black mist. Clearly, the "people" on this ship were no longer alive.

Everyone on the surface was thrown into panic by the sudden appearance of the black pirate ship. Those who had been struggling and shouting for help forgot to cry out, staring blankly at the black vessel rising from the vortex, their eyes filled with fear and despair.

They never imagined that in the tightly controlled pearl island waters of the Sala Empire, a legendary pirate ship—a truly eerie one emerging from a deep-sea vortex—would appear.

Some timid fishermen fainted on the spot, falling into the sea and being swept away by the waves. Even the formidable Supernaturals felt a chill run down their spines.

They could clearly sense that every "person" on the black pirate ship radiated a considerable aura, especially the tall figure standing at the bow, whose aura was so powerful it was suffocating—undoubtedly a high-ranking Supernatural.

Meanwhile, behind a deep-sea reef, Evan, through the perspective of the rat puppet, saw the surface scene.

When he saw the black pirate ship, his pupils contracted sharply, and a storm raged within him. He finally understood that the underwater upheaval was likely connected to the ship's appearance.

"The Black Tooth Pirates..." Evan muttered to himself, a grave look in his eyes.

He had seen records of the "Black Tooth Pirates" in the Watchman's files. This was an extremely brutal pirate organization that had operated in the overseas colonies of the Sala Empire, engaging in arson, looting, and murder, amassing vast wealth. Later, the Sala Empire's royal family dispatched a powerful naval fleet to eradicate them.

It was said that the main force of the Black Tooth Pirates was completely destroyed, their leader "Black Tooth" killed, and the remnants scattered and vanished. Everyone assumed the Black Tooth Pirates were no more, yet here they were, reappearing in such a bizarre manner.

Evan pressed himself tightly against the reef, forcibly suppressing his shock and fear. He knew this was no time for panic; he had to find a way to escape danger as soon as possible.

The black pirate ship radiated a powerful evil aura, clearly no easy opponent. Moreover, with the ship's appearance, this sea area would inevitably become even more dangerous, and the imperial patrols would surely arrive soon.

When that happened, a fierce conflict would erupt here, and he, a mere Sequence 8 Supernatural caught in the middle, would easily become collateral damage.

He tried again to contact the butterfly puppet. This time, the spiritual link finally stabilized.

The images transmitted by the butterfly puppet showed that the black pirate ship had fully emerged from the vortex and was slowly heading toward Moon Island. The pirates on deck were shouting arrogantly, their weapons glinting coldly in the light, clearly planning to attack Moon Island. The island was home to many civilians and pearl divers; an attack would spell disaster.

The seawater behind the reef still carried a bone-chilling cold, and the roar of the vortex churning the currents beat against Evan's eardrums like a death knell.

Leaning against the cold, rough reef, with the dull ache in his chest not yet faded, a sudden, absurd, and chilling thought crossed his mind: "Am I cursed?"

Once this thought arose, it clung to his mind like vines. Evan unconsciously clenched his fists, his fingertips turning white from the strain, the cold sweat on his palms mixing with the seawater, icy to the touch.

He recalled his recent experience in the Eleventh Island—a simple escort mission that had unexpectedly embroiled him in an indigenous plot to summon an evil god, witnessing the horror of divine contamination, barely escaping with his life.

He had thought that was just a one-time stroke of bad luck, but now, just as he arrived at Pearl Island to dive for pearls, he encountered a ghost pirate ship emerging from a deep-sea vortex.

Looking around, the other divers were also in peril, but no one else had encountered such deadly supernatural crises twice in a row.

An ordinary person might never face such eerie events in a lifetime, yet he had encountered two in just a few days. This level of misfortune went beyond mere "coincidence."

"Could there really be some invisible curse following me?" Evan shuddered, not from the cold of the sea, but from deep-seated fear.

But the next moment, the immense suction of the vortex and the arrogant howls of the pirate ship above snapped him out of his spiral of self-doubt.

Evan shook his head hard, casting aside those chaotic thoughts—whether cursed or not, dwelling on it now was pointless. Getting out alive was the only thing that mattered now.

His eyes hardened with resolve. Without further hesitation, he sent a mental command to the rat puppet in his arms. The moment the command was received, the rat puppet's curled body suddenly "clicked" open, its limbs retracting rapidly, the wooden shell on its back flipping open to reveal the miniature supernatural gears embedded within.

Next, its tail shot out three fan-shaped wooden blades, their edges wound with hair-thin steel wires, quickly unfolding into a small propeller.

"Whir—" With a slight yet powerful hum, the propeller began spinning at high speed, churning up a strong current and generating a strong thrust.

Evan held tightly to the rat puppet's body, feeling the slight vibration in his palm. The water currents that had been pulling at him were now easily overcome by the propeller's thrust. The rat puppet, like a mechanical arrowfish, broke through the water resistance, rapidly ascending toward the surface.

The ascent was much faster than if Evan had swum on his own. The seawater around him rushed past, the deep ink-blue water gradually lightening, and the light growing brighter.

The roar of the vortex was gradually drowned out by the sound of the propeller. Occasionally, startled deep-sea fish darted past, leaving blurred streaks.

Evan stared fixedly at the increasingly bright surface above, his heart pounding wildly in his chest—a mix of eagerness to escape danger and anxiety about the unknown ahead. He could clearly feel that he was getting closer to the surface.

"Splash—"

With a splash of seawater, Evan's head broke the surface, and he gasped for breath. The salty sea breeze, mixed with grit, struck his face with a biting chill, jolting him out of the oppressive depths, only to be seized by the horrific scene before him.

As he emerged, the glare forced him to squint. The once-bright sunlight was mostly blocked by the black mist around the pirate ship, casting a dim gray veil over the sky and sea, with only occasional beams penetrating the clouds to illuminate the churning white waves, and the scattered wreckage, fishing nets, and patches of blood floating among them.

Blinking against the sting in his eyes, he looked up. The first thing he saw was still the pitch-black pirate ship. It had now fully exited the massive vortex, advancing slowly like a grim black fortress on the turbulent sea. The black mist around its hull grew denser, with shadowy, tentacle-like forms writhing and twisting in the sea breeze, exuding a suffocating aura of evil.

The tattered black flag on the mast flapped noisily, the skull emblem looking especially eerie in the dim light, as if silently proclaiming death's arrival.

The ghostly pirates on the deck had long since descended into a frenzy.

They were bare-chested, their muscular arms covered with ferocious tattoos, the cold gleam of their cutlasses and spears glinting in the remaining light. Many pirates stood at the gunwale, firing wildly at the sea, bullets whistling into the water and raising tiny splashes. Many divers and fishermen still struggling in the sea were hit, their bodies stiffening instantly, blood staining the surrounding water before they slowly sank to the bottom, without even a chance to cry for help.

Even more chilling were the cannons on both sides of the ship. Several black cannons had already been loaded, their muzzles aimed at the nearby Moon Island. "Boom—" A thunderous roar echoed as cannonballs, trailing black smoke, streaked like meteors toward the shore of Moon Island.