Enchanting

"Maha Sattva Bhaya..." Swain muttered a calming mantra.

But his eyes were honest. He stared straight at her, without blinking.

It was as though a blaze of desire had erupted within him.

"Not like this! Not like this!" he kept muttering.

He wanted to suppress his wicked thoughts.

But even heroes fell before beauty.

Unless one was truly an idiot, how could anyone withstand such temptation?

"I can't take it anymore!" Swain truly snapped.

Faced with this peerlessly beautiful woman and her flawless figure,

she was like an uncut jade, making him want to take her in his hands and admire her.

Who could resist?

Meanwhile, Hancock was bathing, thinking of how the Celestial Dragons had dominated her childhood. Her delicate fist clenched tightly.

Suddenly!

Four iron chains emerged from the hot spring and locked her limbs in place.

They had come so abruptly that she had not sensed them at all.

Just as she was about to use her power to shatter the chains, a wave of weakness surged through her body.

It was as though she had been bound by Seastone. No matter how she struggled, she could not break free.

"What is this..." she cried out.

The next moment,

a man jumped down from the rooftop.

When he saw who it was, his eyes filled with shock as well.

"It's him!"

Seeing Hancock bound by iron chains,

he lost the last shred of his reason! In the end, he had failed to grasp the true meaning of the Buddhist calming mantra.

"No!" Hancock cried out.

But to Swain, who was in a berserk state, those words were nothing less than a catalyst!

"Mm..." she could not help but cry out.

Hancock no longer had her usual cold pride. Thinking of the "knowledge" Granny Nyon had taught her before,

her face immediately flushed red with embarrassment.

Some time passed.

Normally, after she finished bathing, servants would already be waiting to dry her body.

Her bathing schedule was usually fixed, but Granny Nyon's words had upset her today, insisting that she take part in hunting down the man she had some fondness for.

So she had wanted to take a bath and relax.

Yet she had never imagined that this man would appear in such a manner.

And that he would even... She bit her lips with her pearly teeth.

Swain had satisfied himself by now, and he had regained his senses.

"I'm such a beast. Why couldn't I control myself?"

Swain cursed himself inwardly.

Sure enough, once a man became stronger, he would do things that were hard for him to control.

He could only lie on the ground and pretend he had not woken up yet.

What else could he do at a time like this?

Even if Hancock kills me now, I'll accept it!

At this moment,

Hancock stood up and walked into the hot spring, washing the blood from her body.

"How long are you going to keep pretending?" she said with her back to Swain.

"Uh..." Swain scratched his head, at a loss.

"Does it look good?" she suddenly asked.

"It does!" he answered honestly.

Hancock truly was beautiful.

"I'm asking about the tattoo on my back!"

"Does it look good?" she asked hoarsely.

Her voice already carried a hint of tears.

Faced with her question, Swain did not answer.

He had not expected Hancock's first reaction to be questioning him about the tattoo on her back rather than killing him.

It was clear that being seen with that tattoo hurt her even more!

It was a stain that would follow her for life!

Something she could never wash away! The part of herself she found ugliest, the source of her deepest inferiority!

"It looks beautiful!"

"No matter what you become, you'll always be the most beautiful!" Swain comforted her.

"They're just Celestial Dragons. Sooner or later, I'll wipe every last one of them out!"

Hancock turned and glanced at him.

Swain knew a little about Hancock's past, but he had not expected it to leave such a great shadow over her.

Compared to the harm he had caused her today, she cared more about that tattoo.

Hancock put on her clothes.

"Get out!"

"Don't tell anyone what happened today, or I'll kill you even if you flee to the ends of the earth," she said coldly.

She returned to how she had been at the start, as if nothing had happened today.

Swain wanted to say more, but the moment he raised his foot, the spot where he was about to step turned to stone.

The warning could not have been clearer.

Swain understood that there was no point explaining anything else right now.

He silently vowed that he would make Hancock fall in love with him.

After all,

she was already his woman.

He still had to take responsibility for that.

Even if he delayed his training, it would not matter. With his talent, he could still grow stronger through battle after entering the New World!

Watching Swain's departing back,

Hancock's eyes were filled with complicated emotions. She found it strange.

Why did she not hate this man in her heart?

Even though he had bullied her like this.

She suddenly recalled what Granny Nyon had said about Amazon Lily's reproduction—why were there still so many people on the island even without men?

Several of Amazon Lily's previous empresses had been pirates. Gloriosa had even returned to Amazon Lily after the Rocks Pirates were destroyed.

This phenomenon should not simply be regarded as a coincidence, but as a tradition.

The island's powerful female warriors became pirates not only to experience the outside world, but also because they had another mission: to reproduce.

Because Amazon Lily was so remote that ordinary ships could not reach it, only pirate ships could take them away. Thus, Amazon Lily's female warriors chose powerful men and associated with them, returning to the island after becoming pregnant.

Meanwhile,

Bepo had been captured!

Upon receiving the news, Luo hurried over to rescue him.

After hearing what an informed person had revealed, his face darkened.

It turned out that

Bepo had been captured because he had been stealing food prepared by Amazon Lily for the empress!

The soldiers failed to catch him once or twice.

So they simply placed the food in one spot, planning to lure Bepo out.

Yet such an obvious trap had actually caught him.

Sonia, the empress's younger sister, had green hair and often guarded her side.

At this moment, she had transformed into a giant serpent and was confronting Luo.

"Hiss." She flicked out her forked tongue.

"Surrender now, or I'll kill him!"

She gestured over Bepo's head with her fangs.

Bepo was so frightened that he wailed loudly.

Yet he still spoke loyally: "Captain! Don't worry about me, run!"

"Don't be foolish. How could I possibly abandon you?" Luo said calmly.

His hands were ready to rescue Bepo at any moment.

Sonia had always been observant, and she noticed Luo's small movement.

"Don't try anything, or he'll die right now!" she threatened.

Though Luo appeared calm, he was anxious inside.

At this distance? I'm afraid I won't have a chance to save Bepo.

"Fine, I surrender!" Luo could only say helplessly.

"Take them away in chains and hand them over to my sister," Sandersonia ordered.

Then someone bound Luo and the rest of the crew.

Now I can only pray that Boss Swain comes to rescue us...

And Swain, who had only just left, did not expect that he would soon see Hancock again.