"Captain Greyson?" Li Shaolin called out experimentally, unsure whether the fusion had succeeded.
The abomination suddenly moved. He lifted a leg, and his broad, thick foot slammed heavily onto the ground, kicking up clouds of dust. Seemingly unaccustomed to this body, he swayed from side to side for quite a while before finally managing to keep his balance. At the same time, his huge mouth split open, producing a hoarse, broken voice. "M-Master!"
Master? Did creating an abomination mean he had the right to command him? Sure enough, through their mental connection, a thread of thought came from the abomination, crystal clear. Just like his Skeleton Warriors, he truly obeyed Li Shaolin's commands. But something was strange: what the abomination conveyed was absolute submission. That wasn't supposed to be the kind of person he was.
He tried asking again. "Greyson?"
"Master, are you naming me?" the abomination asked hoarsely, sounding puzzled.
It looked like he had lost his former memories. Li Shaolin sighed.
What Li Shaolin did not know was that, aside from a few higher-level beings, most creatures summoned or created by the Scourge Legion could retain only combat awareness or fragments of instinct. Even Death Knights resurrected after death were no exception; all of them forgot everything from before.
"Fine. From now on, you'll be called Greyson," Li Shaolin said helplessly.
In the blink of an eye, two days passed.
At last, after several days of rain, the skies finally cleared, revealing a bright and cloudless blue.
Walking out of the Lighthouse, Li Shaolin stretched hard. The past few days had nearly suffocated him with boredom. There had been nothing to do inside the Lighthouse, so he had carefully read through Scourge Alchemy, gaining quite a bit from it. Since the skeletons had received no replenishment of Death Force, he had long since recalled them into the Book of the Dead. As for Greyson the abomination, his appearance was simply too hideous and disgusting, so Li Shaolin had assigned him to patrol outside. Now that he had become part of the Scourge, even the heavy rain did not affect him.
Still, what frustrated Li Shaolin was that although Greyson had become an abomination, he could not escape the fate brought by the curse. No matter how hard he tried, he could only walk through the shallow seawater along the coast and could never come ashore.
"Ugh, I'm sick of eating sea crabs after all these days. I can finally change things up. Hmm, I'll go find some cooked food to eat. Right, I wonder where that guy Greyson ran off to." Muttering to himself, Li Shaolin prepared to cross the shallow water to the other side.
But when he tried, he discovered that the tide had come in. Since he could not swim, he had no choice but to give up.
Just as he was feeling discouraged, a voice called from afar. "Hey!"
He turned and saw a medium-sized ship. It seemed to be trying to dock, but affected by the tide, it was slowly drifting toward the Lighthouse.
"Could this be the legendary grounding?" Li Shaolin had seen plenty of grounded ships at Long Beach, though he had never known what caused it. Seeing this vessel in such a state, he naturally made the connection.
In truth, grounding was just as he imagined: a ship accidentally entered shallow waters, then could not sail back out when the water level dropped.
Bang! With a loud crash, the ship came alongside the tiny dock beside the Lighthouse.
Li Shaolin hurried over, waving his hands repeatedly. "The water is shallow around here! You can't dock here!" But after days of rain, the old wooden dock had long fallen into disrepair and was covered in moss. As he rushed forward, his foot slipped. He stumbled and fell straight into the water!
Salty, bitter seawater instantly rushed into his mouth. Panicking, he tried to shout, only to gulp down several mouthfuls of seawater with a series of gurgles.
After flailing about for a while, his hand finally seemed to catch hold of something. He clung to it desperately and felt someone drag him upward. Faintly, it seemed that the people aboard the ship had saved him. He cracked his eyes open, smiled weakly, and then passed out.
In a haze, the scent of roasted meat drifted into his nose, and Li Shaolin slowly woke up.
Just as he was about to open his eyes, he sensed something strange. With the slightest movement, he discovered that his hands and feet were tightly bound with rope!
What's going on?
Daring not to move recklessly, he carefully opened his eyes a sliver and looked over. He was in the ship's cabin, while more than ten people gathered together nearby, tearing into roasted meat.
"Hahahaha! We'll reach Stormwind City's harbor soon. Brothers, go have some fun to your hearts' content. Once we collect the goods, we'll set sail back the day after tomorrow!" a rough voice roared.
As soon as he finished speaking, cheers erupted one after another. Then came the sounds of eating meat and drinking liquor.
From the fragments of conversation he overheard, it seemed these people were pirates!
"Boss, this kid who watches the tower looks pretty frail. Ratchet wants fifty strong young laborers. What use is keeping him?" A man stood and walked over to Li Shaolin.
"Hehe, you don't understand. Doesn't the Countess like this sort of young man? Once we reach Stormwind City, we'll give him to her as an extra gift. Our Bloodsail Pirates can trade in Stormwind City thanks to the Countess's special protection," the rough voice replied with a chuckle.
"Boss, brilliant! Still, it's a waste on this brat. Hehe, I think it'd be better to sell him to Ratchet as a laborer!" the man who had asked earlier said flatteringly.
"Of course! Otherwise, why am I the boss and you aren't? But everyone, be careful. In Stormwind City, not only must we avoid exposing our identities, we absolutely cannot let anyone find out about the Countess's relationship with us!"
"Don't worry, Boss. It's not our first time. The brothers will have some fun and leave. Hehe, we've been drifting at sea for a whole month."
"Enough. Stay alert. The harbor's right ahead. Clean up and get out." After the leader spoke, he stopped eating and strode outside. Naturally, the food in Stormwind City was far more appealing than this simple roasted meat. Then, amid a series of rustling sounds, the others filed out as well. Before long, Li Shaolin was the only one left in the cabin.
Only then did he open his eyes. Looking at the messy table, he pondered. The Countess? That name sounds familiar. I've seen plenty of Bloodsail Pirates in the game, but how could they possibly be connected to Stormwind City? And these people are trafficking humans, yet they can just stroll into Stormwind City openly?
Hmph. First, I'll get these ropes off and summon the skeletons!
This was different from when Karnak had captured him. He could use magic now. As he chanted, whoosh, whoosh, Bone Fang cut through the ropes around his hands. With another cast, the ropes around his feet were severed as well. Rubbing his numb wrists, he forced himself to stand.
With a thought, the black Book of the Dead appeared in his hand. With a gentle flip, the Black Skeleton, Bronze Skeleton, Claw Skeleton, Lightning Skeleton, and Fire Skeleton stood neatly at his side.
Right, hadn't they said they were about to reach Stormwind City? Killing them now would not do. It would be disastrous if someone spotted the skeletons.
After considering it for a while, he decided to hide in the lower hold first. Anyone who came down would be killed. If things truly went wrong, he would reveal himself as a mage and charge into Stormwind City. After all, he was a landowner with some standing in Goldshire. Could these pirates really dare defy the law?
Having made up his mind, he went around the cabin and descended to the bottom level.
Below, small rooms enclosed by iron bars stood packed tightly together, clearly used to imprison smuggled people. On the other side were piles upon piles of large crates. With a quick glance, he saw all kinds of goods inside, apparently loot they had seized along the way.
He found some food and wolfed it down. After being unconscious for so long, he was nearly starving.
Just as he was eating happily, the ship suddenly lurched!
Immediately afterward came shouts from outside, followed by cries of terror and screams!
What happened?
Something seemed to have happened outside. It sounded like the ship was under attack. But Li Shaolin was delighted; it saved him the trouble of acting himself.
No! What if the ship gets damaged? Wouldn't I, Old Li, sink along with it?
Remembering that, Li Shaolin immediately summoned a bone shield and took a dagger from Storage Space, gripping it tightly before slowly heading up.
Just as he was about to open the door, bang! The cabin door was smashed open, and a burly man wearing a blood-red headscarf flew inside, landing at Li Shaolin's feet!
He let out two muffled cries, blood pouring from him. Without even looking at Li Shaolin, he raised a hand and pointed at the doorway before breathing his last!
At the open wooden door stood a gigantic figure! A huge axe, a Blackwater Saber, and a large hook all dripped with blood as the figure stood proudly in the doorway!
Greyson the abomination!
Those weapons were precisely what Li Shaolin had found among the spoils and equipped him with. With three hands and immense strength, the abomination could use them perfectly.
"Master!" The hoarse voice rang out. The abomination stood silently in the doorway. Behind him lay more than ten corpses hacked into pieces across the ship.
It seemed that he had discovered the ship taking Li Shaolin away while on patrol and had followed it. But why had he only appeared now?
After questioning him carefully, Li Shaolin finally understood. After Greyson saw Li Shaolin aboard the ship, he had hurried after it in great strides, but he had fallen a few steps behind and failed to board. He could only use his hook to catch the stern, and after struggling for a long time, he finally climbed onto the deck. But abominations were born for slaughter and lacked the ability to judge. Good people or bad, he attacked them all.
Li Shaolin felt a lingering chill after hearing that. Luckily, these had been Bloodsail Pirates. If some other merchant ship had saved him, wouldn't Greyson have doomed an entire shipful of innocent people? Still, he had meant well and simply could not tell right from wrong. Forget it.
Just as he was about to inspect the Bloodsail Pirates and see whether anyone was injured, his gaze swept over the vast sea. His expression changed drastically. Oh no! Everyone's dead. Who's steering the ship?
Sure enough, although Stormwind City's harbor lay ahead, the ship was slowly veering off course. It looked as though it was about to sail into the Endless Sea!
Before you continue