Boarding

Hawkins's hair drifted through the air, each strand piercing into Qiao Si's body as he prepared to treat her.

"Do it!"

Qiao Lak knew perfectly well that Hawkins would never let him go, so he had been waiting for an opportunity.

Several deathsworn men immediately charged at Hawkins with knives at Qiao Lak's command. But when they were only a meter away from him, black mist surged from behind Hawkins. In the next instant, it transformed into a scythe and flashed past. Blood burst from the upper bodies of the deathsworn men as they were sent flying back to where they had stood, now split into four pieces.

Qiao Lak cried out in terror, "A Cursed Relic!!!"

Though shaken, he did not move slowly. In an instant, he drew a beautiful dagger from his sleeve.

The dagger was silver, its blade set with rubies like licking flames.

Qiao Lak gripped the dagger, pointed it at Hawkins, and gritted out, "Fire Ghost, kill him!"

Flames erupted from the dagger and, in the next moment, transformed into a ferocious flame giant. The instant it opened its eyes, it locked onto Hawkins and swung a fist at him.

But before that punch could touch Hawkins, Hawkins's Curse Spirit emerged from behind him and shattered the flame giant with a single blow.

"How is that possible?!"

Qiao Lak's face instantly drained of all color as he staggered back several steps.

In truth, Hawkins's Curse Spirit possessed one remarkable trait: it was hard!

It seemed to have inherited Black Knife's defenses. Though it was clearly only a loose mass of black mist, its defense was absurdly high.

Mark also possessed a Curse Spirit. His Curse Spirit was a silver werewolf called Silver Wolf.

Silver Wolf could turn its claws into three-meter-long curved blades with immensely powerful cutting force. Back then, most of Joyce's paper men had been torn apart by Silver Wolf.

Yet when Silver Wolf attacked Hawkins's Curse Spirit, it could not even break through its defenses. That showed just how hard Hawkins's Curse Spirit was.

Moreover, Curse Spirits differed from one another as well.

The Cursed Relic Qiao Lak used was not his natal relic.

He could use that dagger only because another curse resided within his body, allowing it to restrain the dagger's curse in mutual check.

Mark had explained before that the Dream Realm was a world of daydreams.

If someone desired an invincible blade, then the Dream Realm would create such a blade according to that person's wish.

However, the blade was not truly formed. Only after the dreamer died, their soul or consciousness entered the Dream Realm, and the blade absorbed it would the blade be considered truly complete.

That was why Cursed Relics were called "relics."

In fact, when someone who had consumed a Qi-Suppressing Stone entered the Dream Realm for the first time, it was a process of creating a "relic," because the Dream Realm could not distinguish whether an entrant was alive or dead.

But there was only one chance to create a "relic" and fulfill a "last wish." Upon entering again, that chance would no longer appear. That was why the burly man had told Hawkins that he would never again have the opportunity to fulfill his wish.

Furthermore, the Dream Realm constantly received all kinds of desires from the real world. Those desires with nowhere to settle would be drawn toward Cursed Relics that had already taken shape.

Under normal circumstances, once a dead person's spirit became a Curse Spirit, it would grow twisted and cruel in the Dream Realm as time passed.

Those who used these Cursed Relics were like beast tamers trying to tame fierce tigers. Even if they temporarily subdued a tiger, they would never know when it might suddenly turn around and devour them.

Even setting aside the matter of backlash, Qiao Lak was using someone else's spirit while Hawkins was using his own. The difference in flexibility alone was enormous. Thus, even if Hawkins's and Qiao Lak's Curse Spirits possessed equal strength, Hawkins would still be the victor.

It was like two peerless swordsmen: one wielded the blade that had never left his side, while the other wielded a blade borrowed at the last minute. One could display one hundred percent of his strength, while the other could only bring out fifty percent. The outcome was naturally as clear as day.

Back to the matter at hand.

After dealing with Fire Ghost, Hawkins's Curse Spirit did not return to his body. Instead, it lunged directly at Qiao Lak.

Qiao Lak swung the dagger in his hand in terror and shouted, "Don't come any closer!!!"

"A noble? Looks like you're nothing special after all!"

Hawkins withdrew his hair, looked at the terrified Qiao Lak, and mocked him with a smile.

In an instant, rage blazed in Qiao Lak's heart. When had he ever suffered such humiliation in all his life? Everyone had always treated him with the utmost respect, and no one had ever dared disobey his words. He had never experienced such disgrace.

His gaze changed as he stared at Hawkins and ground out with venomous hatred, "Son of Pirates, you'd better not let me live. Otherwise, one day or another, I'll slaughter you!"

"So scary. Which means I can't let you live."

Hawkins found it amusing. It had been a very, very long time since he had heard words that idiotic. All he could say was that the nobles of the Seven Seas had lived in luxury for too long; even idiots like this could easily enslave countless people.

In an instant, the Curse Spirit transformed into a scythe and swept directly across Qiao Lak's neck. Qiao Lak's eyes flew wide open. Only one thought remained in his mind: It hurts... So having your neck cut open hurts this much. Father... save me... I don't want to die!!!

He struggled to cover his neck with his hands, his body unconsciously tilting backward as he staggered several steps back. Finally, he slammed into the ship's rail and rolled into the sea.

"Ah... sob... sob..."

Jennie's face turned deathly pale with fright. She collapsed limply onto the deck as a foul-smelling stream flowed from beneath her skirt. At last, she broke down and burst into tears.

At that moment, Qiao Si woke from her unconsciousness. Hearing Jennie's crying and not yet understanding what had happened, she instinctively rose to her feet. Her vision still hazy, she stumbled toward Jennie.

"Miss, are you..."

She had just wanted to ask whether Jennie was hurt, but her mind suddenly cleared. Everything that had just happened surfaced in her memories, and her steps halted.

Only Jennie's sobbing remained on the ship.

She had guarded Jennie for a full ten years. She was now twenty-six, while Jennie was already sixteen.

Perhaps ordinary people would find it difficult to understand, but Jennie's presence had truly filled Qiao Si's life. Other than protecting Jennie, she had found no meaning in living.

She took a deep breath, then drew the dagger hidden at the small of her back. Holding it tightly, she turned and aimed it at Hawkins.

"You... still want to protect her?" Hawkins asked in surprise, not the least bit angered by Qiao Si pointing a blade at him.

Qiao Si answered solemnly, "Although I'm grateful that you cured my poison, and although Miss Jennie doesn't believe I can protect her properly, this is my duty."

"Even if you die a hundred times, you won't regret it?" Hawkins asked.

Qiao Si's gaze was resolute. "Even if I die a hundred times, I won't regret it!"

"You're better than me. Interested in joining my ship? You should be running out of money, shouldn't you?" Hawkins glanced around the wooden boat, then narrowed his eyes and smiled.

Qiao Si refused, "Sorry, but my duty is to protect Miss Jennie."

"Other than me, who do you think can shelter her?" Hawkins glanced at Jennie before asking.

He had no connection to Qiao Si, so while treating her, he had naturally taken the opportunity to look through her memories. Thus, he already knew about Jennie's ability.

That was also why he had killed Qiao Lak and devoured Qiao Lak's Cursed Relic, yet had not immediately made a move against Jennie.

"..."

Qiao Si had no answer, because this was reality.

Besides, the true enemies had yet to appear.

The Seven Seas did not only have Vidalia. There were also Yazhong Island, Hard Biscuit Island, Ironcloth Island, Bottle Island, and Blackwood Island. Each of those islands had a lord not much weaker than Jabus!

Those powerful enemies would not trust Jabus's family. They would simply kill Jennie and seize her Cursed Relic.

Though Jennie's mental resilience was rare, they had countless subordinates who could attempt to use this Cursed Relic. Someone would eventually meet the standard, and they would not need to worry about loyalty.

Hawkins, on the other hand, could recruit subordinates, but he could not casually sacrifice their lives as those lords did. Thus, taking refuge with Hawkins was indeed one of their few remaining choices.

After a moment of silence, Qiao Si looked at Hawkins and said hesitantly, "We can come aboard with you, but we have two conditions."

"Let's hear them. If they're not too excessive, I'll consider agreeing," Hawkins said with a nod.

Qiao Si looked at Hawkins seriously and said, "First, you must never harbor any designs on Miss Jennie. The pirates on your ship must not either."

"You can rest assured about that. I wasn't interested in her to begin with!" Hawkins replied easily.

Qiao Si's eyes abruptly widened. She hurried back to Jennie's side and stared at Hawkins in horror. If he was not interested in Jennie, then was he interested in her...

"I'm not interested in you either!" Hawkins inwardly found himself speechless and hurriedly added.

In truth, Jennie was indeed very beautiful. Her skin was fair, her eyes were large and limpid, and her pure temperament made her seem especially innocent.

But Hawkins had long passed the age of being moved by women. By the time he was over a thousand years old, he had already lost interest in women.

As for Qiao Si, she was not unattractive either. It was just that the scar on her face ruined her features, and because she trained year-round, despite being ten years older than Jennie, the scale of a certain area was far inferior to Jennie's.

Qiao Si quickly calmed herself and continued, "Second, Miss Jennie does not need to participate in any battles."

"That's no problem. Besides... do you think she has the ability to fight?" Hawkins asked with a laugh.

Qiao Si still looked somewhat grave. She turned and helped Jennie up. With tears shimmering in her eyes, Jennie said, "Qiao Si, I'm sorry. Just now, I..."

"It's all right. The one who should apologize is me. I failed to protect you." Qiao Si gently embraced Jennie and comforted her.

Watching the two women embrace, Hawkins's thoughts could not help drifting back to the past.

That woman who had knelt on the ground and wept, begging him to spare her—if he had not pulled the trigger back then, what ending would there have been?

Ten minutes later, the Black Knife gradually drew near. When the two ships were about five meters apart, Mark leaped directly over from the other ship. Then he stomped through the deck, his face landing right on the spot where Jennie had just wet herself.

"Pfft... Hahahahaha!"

Hawkins froze for a moment, then sat on the ship's rail and could not stop himself from laughing.

As Mark jumped into the seawater to wash himself, Hawkins smiled at the two women. "All right, my crew members, come aboard!"

"Let's go."

Qiao Si wiped away Jennie's tearstains, took her hand, and spoke softly.

They both knew they had no other choice. And compared to Qiao Lak, who had been buried in the sea, there was nothing much to complain about with this outcome.