Chapter 1424: Chapter 1424

“A blood sacrifice? It’s certainly possible...”

Jenkins mused. He had hoped to glean more information about Femishue from the marquis, something that could help them find a way to fight him. But it seemed he was expecting too much from an ordinary man. Although he now understood the full story, it did little to improve their current predicament.

He hadn’t forgotten their reason for coming to the cabin in the first place: Hathaway wanted to bring her father to safety. Yet, since entering the meeting room, she had fallen silent. Jenkins wanted to create an opportunity for her but couldn’t think of a suitable excuse to summon Earl Hersha.

Just as he was trying to figure out a plan, the marquis spoke again.

“Since you were able to cross the sea to get to this ship, I assume you have a way to return to shore.”

“Yes, we do. Why? Do you wish to leave with us?”

“No, I will go down with this ship. But we have an important prisoner on board, and I don’t want him to die here with the rest of us. So, if you would, please take him and an escorting officer to shore. I will compensate you for your trouble.”

“We need to know the prisoner’s identity, and the escort’s.”

she said to the marquis.

“Of course. The escort is Earl Hersha, one of my most trusted men. The prisoner is Luke Femishue, the pirate king's eldest son. He holds a great deal of vital intelligence regarding the pirates and served as the intermediary for their surrender. He cannot be allowed to die here... I know what you’re thinking, but using the young man to threaten Femishue is useless. The father and son had a falling out long ago. Besides, trying to blackmail a madman would likely have no effect.”

The younger Femishue was a tall, thin young man with glasses. He looked more like a student than a sailor who’d spent years plundering the high seas. When Earl Hersha brought him before the three of them, he was in handcuffs and looked as if he’d just been roused from a deep sleep.

Hearing Marquis Mikhail say he was to be taken ashore, he merely gave the three strangers a hesitant glance, remaining silent the entire time.

“These are bank drafts from the National Bank of Fidektri, all anonymous and drawn from my personal account. Each is for five hundred pounds. You can cash them at any branch in the country once you’re ashore.”

This was their payment. Jenkins accepted it without hesitation, his mind already racing, wondering what their next move should be after they reached land.

The group of five soon returned to the deck. The storm raged on with the same ferocity as before, but the tentacles wrapped around the ship had tightened their grip, adding two more coils. From a distance, it was hard to tell the difference, but standing on the deck and seeing those colossal limbs up close was a truly unsettling experience.

As ordinary men, Earl Hersha and the younger Femishue wouldn’t last long under the dreadful yellow sky, so they had to move quickly.

One by one, the five of them jumped from the ship into the sea. Jenkins froze the murky seawater into a solid sheet of ice and pulled the other four onto it. After confirming his cat was still squirming in his breast pocket, he joined Magic Miss and Hathaway in reinforcing their new “vessel.” It was then that Jenkins noticed the rain falling from the sky was slowly but surely corroding their clothes.

This wasn’t a major concern, as they would be ashore soon enough. But the ship trapped by the tentacles was another story. Its hull was already covered in rust, as if it hadn’t been scraped clean in decades.

“Those men should be able to survive, right?” Get full chapters from noveⅼfire.net

Magic Miss asked uncertainly. But hearing no reply from Earl Hersha, she turned and saw that Hathaway had knocked him unconscious.

“What are you doing?”

“Being around him stresses me out.”

Hathaway stated plainly, then helped Jenkins prepare to set off.

“If you let me go after we reach the shore, I can give each of you three thousand pounds. In cash. Even for an Enchanter, that’s enough to live comfortably for over a decade.”

Seeing Earl Hersha unconscious, the younger Femishue, who had kept his head down and remained silent until now, suddenly spoke up. His voice was faint against the downpour. He had chosen his number carefully—six times the amount Marquis Mikhail had offered.

Naturally, no one paid him any mind.

“If you let me go, I can tell you how to defeat my ‘father’.”

He spat out the word “father” with a tone full of mockery.

“You know how to defeat him?”

Jenkins’s head snapped toward the young man.

“Yes. Let me go when we get to shore, and wake this officer up after I’m gone. Then I’ll tell you.”

the younger Femishue said, fighting back nausea as he gazed at the “throne” of tentacles guarding the coast. It was a great distance away, and to the naked eye, the sight was a blur. Even so, the Cursed Item's psychic assault left him teetering on the edge of consciousness. Only his deep-seated hatred for his father kept him from collapsing.

“Let you go? No need for all that trouble. Look here.”

Jenkins pointed to the side. The younger Femishue instinctively turned his head, his gaze meeting Magic Miss’s right hand. Her fingers formed a complex gesture—a gesture so mesmerizing, so alluring, so utterly captivating that it was more beautiful than the most exquisite woman’s body he had ever laid eyes on...

The focus in his deep-set eyes slowly faded.

“Skylark and I will pilot this thing. Ask what you need to, quickly.”

Magic Miss switched places with Jenkins. Bracing herself against the lurching ice, she stood and began to chant loudly, calling upon the winds to propel them forward.

“What secrets do you know about Femishue?”

Jenkins asked, staring into the younger Femishue’s eyes.

“What do you know about the Heart of the Ocean?”

“He wanted to merge with that gem a long time ago, but it rejected him. To strengthen his connection to it, he spent a fortune of the fleet’s money on materials. Then... he cut out my mother’s heart... and used the skin from that heart to hold the gem...”

The younger Femishue nearly broke free from Magic Miss’s hypnosis. The emotional turmoil in that moment was so immense that Jenkins could feel the sheer hatred and terror radiating from him. He couldn’t possibly fathom what the man had endured; all he could offer was a sliver of sympathy.

“He could never succeed. His heart never belonged to the sea. He only thinks of himself, so the sea will never accept him.”

“So what did he try next?”