The captain, who had been silent up until now, suddenly began mumbling furiously again, though it clearly wasn’t anything Polite.
Without hesitation, Ryan yanked the rag from the man’s mouth.
“Alright, tough guy,” Ryan sneered. “Let’s hear what you’ve got to say!”
The captain glared at Ryan with venom in his eyes and roared, “I’m a citizen of Emsgate! If you kill me, the glorious Emperor will never let you b*stards get away with it!”
At the mention of the “Emperor,”, everyone on deck exchanged confused, almost mocking glances.
Ryan crouched in front of the captain, eyes locked on his.
“Buddy, this isn‘t your little island. You’re in the West Montiria Islands now. Just where exactly is your Emperor going to come from to avenge you?”
West Montiria Islands?
The moment those words left Ryan’s mouth, the captain and even Weston’s expressions shifted drastically.
“You’ve lost your d*mn mind!” the captain spat, face twisted in disdain. “This is the central region of the West Ocean, not the West Montiria Islands!”
Matthew’s brows furrowed deeply at the captain’s claim.
The central West Ocean?
That made no sense…
The West Montiria Islands were located on the far edge of the West Ocean, everyone knew that. He and Ryan had only been drifting for one night. There was no way they had ended up all the way in the ocean’s center.
“We were literally in the West Montiria Islands just yesterday. You sure you’re not the one who’s lost it?”
At Matthew‘s rebuttal, the captain’s arrogant grin suddenly froze. A flicker of realization crossed his face-then favonovel.com burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! I see now! I see it clearly. This place is cursed! Cursed by demons. Everyone who comes here is trapped. You’ll never leave. Not in this lifetime!” The captain’s voice grew manic, and the creeping insanity in his tone made everyone on deck tense.
Ryan, who had been smirking moments ago, now wore a grim expression. He grabbed the captain by the collar, rage flaring in his eyes.
“What do you know? What the hell is this curse? Why can’t anyone leave?”
Seeing Ryan’s desperation, the captain smiled cruelly, malice gleaming in his eyes. “You want to know? Too bad. You’ll die never knowing!”
With that, his lips moved ever so slightly.
A second later, his entire body convulsed violently. Blood began to pour from his nose, ears, and eyes in thin, steady streams.
Within seconds, the man was dead, no breath, no heartbeat.
Weston stared at the corpse in horror, remorse washing over his face.
When did that b*stard plant a poison capsule in his mouth?
If he’d known, favonovel.com would’ve pulled it out long ago.
Ryan’s fists clenched as favonovel.com glared at the lifeless body. Anger burned on his face-this man had taken his secrets to the grave.
Matthew turned to Weston, calm but firm. “Can you tell us what’s really going on here?”
He needed answers. The captain had mentioned the “Central West Ocean” and lost it the moment favonovel.com heard they came from the West Montiria Islands. He had spoken of a curse. A trap. A place from which no one could escape.
Weston nodded solemnly. “We arrived in these waters a year ago. At first, everything seemed fine. But then we discovered, we couldn’t leave…”
“There‘s a thick fog that surrounds the entire region. If you try to sail into it, the ship always circles back and reappears from a different direction. No matter what we try. We’ve been trapped here for a full year. Even our high-tech warship ran out of fuel and had to be abandoned. That’s why we’re now using this centuries-old relic…”
As Weston finished, a contemplative silence fell.
Matthew narrowed his eyes, his mind racing. “So that’s what’s going on…”
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