dmims Chapter 88: A Horrifying Adventure!
Chapter 88: A Horrifying Adventure!
Chapter 88: A Horrifying Adventure!
Following the directions given by his pirate crew, Norton found the skeleton drinking tea.
Just as I remembered, he was a thin, tall man with an afro.
However, it's probably difficult to describe a creature like a skeleton as "obese".
Upon hearing that distinctive laugh, Norton immediately confirmed the other person's identity.
"Let me deliver it to you~"
"That Binks' fine wine~"
"Let the sea breeze blow and the waves crash against me~"
"Even the setting sun stirs on the other side of the tide~"
The song awakened memories deep within Norton's mind, causing a smile to involuntarily appear on his lips.
However, the pirate following Norton turned deathly pale. Remembering the legends of this sea, a bad feeling welled up inside him.
"A demon! A demon sent by Davy Jones!" the pirate muttered.
"If you're scared, go back to the ship," Norton waved his hand.
The pirate felt as if he had been granted a pardon and fled back to his ship without looking back.
The skeleton noticed Norton at that moment, and very gentlemanly took off its hat and greeted him.
"Yo ho ho ho! Handsome! Hello there!"
Norton grinned. To actually see a skeleton speak was truly... amazing.
...Unexpectedly interesting!
"This really surprised me! I haven't seen a living person in decades! All I've encountered here are zombies, I'm so scared!" the skeleton said again.
The idea that skeletons are afraid of zombies is quite ridiculous.
Norton, however, did not complain. Instead, he invited the skeleton to the White Pearl as a guest and hosted a banquet for him.
The skeleton remained very polite and gentlemanly until Funing appeared.
"Oh my, what a beautiful lady!"
No...
'
Fu Ning felt a little embarrassed and scared. Being praised by a skeleton was something she had never experienced before, even as the daughter of a duke.
"Yo ho ho ho, no need to be modest, your beauty ranks among the top three of the most beautiful women I've ever seen," the skeleton gentlemanly removed his hat. "My name is Brook, and I love looking at beautiful women, but I'm a skeleton, so I don't have eyes, yo ho ho!"
"Haha..." Fu Ning forced a stiff smile.
"By the way, beautiful lady, may I see your underwear?" Brooke suddenly asked.
"What did you say?" Fu Ning thought she must have misheard.
"I said, may I see your underwear?" Brooke repeated.
"Of course... you can't!" Fu Ning's expression froze, and she kicked Brook away.
"Ha! How utterly rude! You rude skeleton!" Norton laughed and scolded. "How about becoming a musician on my ship?"
While Norton and Brooke were talking, on Norton's orders, the officers also began to lead teams to search for traces of the terror schooner in the nearby waters.
Twelve medium-sized ships with relatively high speeds sailed out of the formation and, with the White Pearl as the center, advanced in a fan shape into the depths of the fog.
Each ship was equipped with at least two officers and more than fifty combatants.
The light signals flickered in the fog, like the faint glow of fireflies.
Visibility is extremely poor.
Three meters away, all that could be seen was a blurry white expanse; five meters away, only outlines remained; and ten meters away, nothing could be seen at all. The ships could only maintain contact through pre-agreed course and intermittent light signals.
Chloe stood at the bow of the White Pearl, holding a notebook, glancing occasionally at the faintly shimmering lights in the fog.
"Ship number one, heading southeast, all is normal."
"Ship No. 3 reports: No abnormalities found."
"Ship No. 7 — Signal lost. Re-establishing contact."
Steel Hands stood beside him with his arms crossed.
"In this godforsaken place, finding a boat? We might as well wait for it to crash into us."
"We still have to crash it," Kro said.
In the distance, the Ark Maxim slowly rose into the air and disappeared into the low-hanging mist. Only the occasional flashes of lightning indicated that Enel was still nearby.
There was no wind, no waves, and not even the sound of water flowing beneath the ship could be heard. Occasionally, the crew members would whisper, but these were quickly swallowed by the fog.
It might have been an hour, or it might have been only twenty minutes.
Suddenly, urgent light signals came from the direction of ship number three.
Kro squinted.
"—Target spotted."
A huge black silhouette appeared in the fog.
At first I thought it was an island.
But the island didn't move; its outline moved slowly and silently through the fog. As it drew closer, its shape gradually became clearer—
Floating on the sea is a Gothic, pitch-black castle, ten times larger than any normal ship.
Decaying masts, like withered giant trees, pierced through the buildings, draped with tattered canvas. Countless spires...
Chimneys and rams grow intertwined, resembling the limbs of some deformed creature.
At the bow of the ship, a gigantic mouth, wide open to the ears and filled with fangs, was facing the foggy sea.
At the highest mast, a huge pirate flag fluttered slightly in the still air—a hairstyle like scallions, and burning bat wings.
Upon discovering the terrifying three-masted ship, the officers began their operation.
Several ships cut through the dark sea and headed towards the huge island.
The small boat approached the "shore" at the edge of the island.
It's called a coastline, but it's actually a slope made up of broken ship hulls, covered in slippery moss, so you have to be extra careful when you step on it.
Zoro was the first to jump up, stand on the slope, glance back at the faint outline of the fleet in the fog, then turn around and walk towards the island.
Others also gradually came ashore.
No one speaks.
Everyone chooses a different route.
Zoro walked towards the main entrance.
Sasuke disappeared into the shadows.
Akin followed the edge, searching for the downward entrance.
Dalton and El rode two Ruhanna, leading Elki warriors, and circled around to the other side of the island.
Zoro entered through the main entrance.
What was called a door was actually a huge crack in the front of the island. Two rotten wooden doors lay on either side, with rusty iron sheets nailed to them and several bullet holes.
Zoro stood at the doorway and looked up.
The door is over ten meters high. Some patterns are carved on the door frame, but they are eroded by wind and rain and are now just blurry outlines.
Beneath my feet lay rubble and withered bones. Each step produced a slight cracking sound. Some bones were human, some animal, mixed together indistinguishable from one another.
There were several oil lamps on the wall, most of which had gone out, with only one still burning with a faint flame, swaying precariously in the draft.
The passage was long, and after walking for about five minutes, an open area appeared ahead.
It was a courtyard with walls covered in dead vines, and a stone statue stood in the center of the courtyard.
Zoro suddenly stopped because he heard a sound.
It sounded like a heavy object being dragged on the ground. It came from the passageway across the courtyard, getting closer and closer.
"Huh?" Zoro suddenly turned around and looked back, and then saw three huge heads peeking out from the darkness!
Three dog heads! Each one was the size of a calf, with jagged, sharp teeth visible when their gaping maws were open, and drool dripping from the corners of their mouths.
The three dog heads slowly emerged from the darkness, a body larger than an ox, covered in rough black fur and stitched with seams, its six eyes glowing with an eerie green light in the darkness.
Cerberus!
"What is this?!" Zoro was startled and put his hand on the hilt of his sword.
The three-headed dog stopped in its tracks, its six eyes fixed on him, and it opened its mouth at the same time!
"roar!!"
The three roars overlapped, shaking the rubble in the courtyard, but it could sense that the human before it felt no fear.
It doesn't like this feeling.
The middle head was the first to attack. It lunged forward, its gaping maw snapping at Zoro's head.
Zoro sidestepped, his teeth grazing the ear as he missed, and at the same time, his sword was drawn. The Wado Ichimonji drew a cold white arc in the darkness, slashing at the neck of the middle head!
The middle head let out a scream and suddenly pulled back, while the other two heads pounced on it at the same time!
The one on the left bit towards Zoro's waist, and the one on the right bit towards his leg.
Zoro took a step back, and his sword flashed again!
This time, the two strikes were almost simultaneous. The Sandai Kitetsu struck the face of the left-hand head, while Yubashiri struck the shoulder of the right-hand head. Shards flew everywhere.
The two heads screamed and shrank back.
The three heads reunited, and the six eyes stared at Zoro, but the attack ceased.
"Are we still going to fight?" Zoro sheathed his sword and looked at Cerberus.
The middle head let out a low growl, seemingly hesitant. Just then, another set of footsteps came from the passageway opposite the courtyard.
Zoro tilts his head.
Three figures emerged from the darkness, followed by a large army whose eyes were filled with fear and astonishment.
Sanosuke, Gin, Dalton, and the pirate combatants. They went their separate ways on different paths, but eventually all converged on the same place.
Sanosuke glanced at the three-headed dog, then at Zoro.
"Did you hit him?"
"Um."
"Can't be killed?"
"—They stopped moving."
The three-headed dog looked at this one, then at that one. Suddenly, the middle head growled, and all three heads turned around at the same time and ran towards the passage on the other side of the courtyard.
Zoro stared in the direction they had disappeared, without saying a word.
Sanosuke walked up to Zoro and said, "Let's split up. I'll go find that transparent leopard."
A leopard-man who can turn invisible, a pink-haired girl with a teddy bear, and a fat doctor.
These are Norton's exact words: Moria has these three top lieutenants. The rest are zombies.
Zoro nodded, turned and walked towards the left passage, while Gin chose the right one, carrying his crutch, their footsteps gradually fading into the distance.
Dalton looked at Sauron.
"I'm going that way."
He pointed to the largest passageway directly opposite the courtyard. There were steps leading upwards to the highest point of the island. Zoro nodded.
The cadres left one after another, and a large number of people poured into the depths of the terrifying three-masted sailing ship.
With about twenty men, Sanosuke squeezed through a hidden crevice on the side of the island. The crevice was so narrow that only one person could pass through sideways, and the sides were covered with slippery moss that felt wet and cold to the touch.
"Stay close." Sanosuke's voice came from the darkness. "Don't fall behind. If you do, I won't come back for you."
More than twenty people gritted their teeth and squeezed inside.
After walking through the crack for five minutes, it suddenly opened up.
A corridor appeared ahead, cleaner than the passageways outside, with several oil lamps lit on the walls.
Sanosuke raised his hand, signaling the group to stop, and listened intently for a while.
"There's something there," he whispered. "Go forward, and don't make a sound."
As soon as he finished speaking, the twenty-odd men tensed up, gripped their weapons, and followed him forward.
Rooms began to appear on both sides of the corridor. Some rooms had their doors open and were filled with clutter. Others were closed, with faint light shining through the cracks in the doors.
As he passed the third door, Sanosuke stopped, pressed his face against the crack in the door, and peered inside.
The enormous room resembled some kind of laboratory, with long tables piled high with bottles and jars containing various organs—a heart, liver, eyeballs, and even a few fingers. Anatomical diagrams hung on the walls, each one densely labeled. Piles of clothes and luggage were stacked in the corners.
A man with a lion-like mane, a stitched chin, and dressed in a black suit with the buttons fastened meticulously, stood in the center of the room.
"—New stock has arrived again." The figure stood with his back to the door, his voice low. "Quite a few items."
What did Lord Moria say?
A shrill laugh came from inside the glass jar: "Hehehehe—let them in, Absalom. The more the better."
"Understood."
Absalom hung up the Den Den Mushi and turned around.
Sanosuke pressed himself against the crack in the door, motionless. The pirates dared not utter a sound.
"Tonight—I need to pick out a few pretty ones." Absalom walked to the door, raised his hand, touched his face, and then looked at himself in a small mirror above the door frame.
Immediately afterwards, his figure began to fade and then completely disappeared into the air.
Sanosuke didn't move. The footsteps passed by him without stopping.
A wisp of distorted air passed through the corridor and headed in another direction.
Sanosuke slid open the door and made a gesture to the combatants behind him.
"You stay here," he whispered. "Wait for my signal."
More than twenty people nodded.
Sanosuke reached into his waistband, pulled out three kunai, held them in his hand, and followed.
Not long after he left, rustling sounds came from the darkness deep in the corridor.
The combatants gripped their weapons tightly.
A dozen or so zombies emerged from the darkness!
Some were dressed as pirates, some as sailors, and two others were dressed as chefs, holding rusty kitchen knives.
"They're here!" someone shouted.
"Don't panic! Form groups of three!"
The twenty-odd people quickly dispersed.
The first zombie lunged forward, only to be smashed back in the chest by a club, leaving a dent in its chest, but it was still moving, still moving forward.
"Hit him in the head! Hitting him in the head works!"
Someone chopped an axe into a skull, and the zombie finally stopped moving.
But more zombies poured out of the darkness.
"Hold the corridor! Don't let them surround us!"
The sounds of battle echoed through the corridor.
Akin walked down the stairs, followed by fifteen men, all elites selected from the former Krieg Pirates, each wielding an iron rod and a short axe.
The stairs were steep, and every step was covered in moss, making them wet and slippery. Two people almost slipped and were pulled back by their companions.
"Be careful," Ah Jin said in a low voice.
After walking for about five minutes, I reached the bottom of the stairs.
A basement appears ahead.
The cold air seeped in from all directions, like countless ice needles pricking the skin.
Ajin stopped and the first thing he saw was an operating table.
The rusty iron operating table had dried black stains on its surface. A chain hung from the edge of the table, the end of which was a rusted shackle.
The second item is the row of glass jars behind the operating table.
The jars contained various organs. In the largest jar, there was a complete infant corpse.
The fighters behind Akin gasped. Some cursed, while others gripped their weapons tighter.
"Oh? Someone actually found their way here."
T
The sound came from deep within the room.
A short, stout man emerged from the shadows. He wore a white lab coat and glasses, and had a friendly smile on his face. The lab coat was stained with various dirt.