Chapter 82 Pirate Andra floats on the vast, endless sea...
Seawater...cold seawater, warm seawater.
Andra floated in the vast, endless sea, swirling with a strange, fishy smell.
Her body was covered in scars.
Some were scratched by chains while struggling, some were beaten by manju or thorns in the fight, and some appeared out of nowhere when the waves rolled over them...
But only one wound continued to bleed, causing a slight, persistent pain.
Her eyes...and her face.
Andra clenched his fist, the gentle touch of his lover converging in his dream into a sharp cone, aimed directly at his eyes and stabbing them fiercely!
The images in her mind kept twisting and turning, like sharp claws tearing through human skin, revealing the dripping flesh and blood underneath.
Eleanor has so many memories: shy girls offering flowers, beautiful lovers snuggling in each other's arms whispering sweet nothings, bright young girls clinging to each other's arms and acting coquettishly—letting her teach them swordsmanship, and then bathing together after hard training.
The wise princess walked ahead of everyone else, but when they saw her, they took two small steps back and walked side by side with her in the sunlight.
"Andra, from now on, the hunting team's affairs will all depend on you."
The lover smiled and winked, his whole body going limp as he nestled into her embrace, even his breath filled with the warmth of trust.
Thump, thump thump.
Beautiful scenes were shattered by flashes of light, and a twisted monster was pieced together from the drizzling ashes.
Crack, crack.
The monster and the mermaid merged in the seawater. They rushed towards her against the tide, raising the sharp cones in their hands and forcefully stabbing them into her eyeballs!
Pfft—
it hurts.
It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, it hurts so much—Eleanor! Eleanor—
Andra struggled desperately between dreams and reality, convulsing as she tried to escape the long and distant river of blood.
"Pfft—" She rolled over, vomiting a mouthful of bright red seawater from her stomach.
......
There are generally two suitable times to go out to sea in Porto Félix each day: early morning and late afternoon when the tide is high.
At dawn, hardworking fishermen with empty nets and trading ships laden with heavy cargo sailed one after another through the calm waves, joyfully heading towards the sea.
As evening approached, a group of sailors who had just replenished their supplies at the port and spent two days and nights passing the time, once again tucked themselves in and shook off the hustle and bustle, began to head back to the ship.
The people of Belle believe that there are many kinds of businesses, and even businesses with no capital are still businesses.
They don't mind if some interesting customers find something from elsewhere and then sell it off cheaply at their port.
There was a sailboat, neither too big nor too small, with a sturdy hull and many sailors.
Most of the crew members rushing to this ship were not very presentable, but that didn't matter—how many sailors were presentable anyway?
Since they don't have to wear gowns and perform on stage every day, it doesn't matter if they occasionally lose a finger or two, or even an eye.
As the last sailor kissed her greasy, plump "lady" goodbye and climbed up the deck along the rope, the ship swayed from the corner of the harbor toward the sea with the waves.
They were in a hurry and didn't hear the commotion behind them.
Splash~ Splash splash splash splash.
The waves chased the evening breeze, and the slight rocking of the boat brought a look of contentment to the people on board.
They called returning to land "relaxation," but returning to the ship also brought a sense of languid yet comforting familiarity.
As the sun sets, the sailboat moves slowly across the sea, bobbing gently from side to side like a cradle.
Two drunken sailors strolled side by side onto the deck and slumped down against a wooden barrel.
"Hey, a fish? Is a fish crashing into the boat?" Someone suddenly perked up their ears and clicked their tongue, as if they heard a heavy object hitting the hull.
Her companion, clinging to the cable, looked down, shook his head, and said, "Ha, really, hiccup, there's something dark!"
The two drunkards had nothing but images of big fish and legendary treasures floating on the sea.
They exchanged a glance and immediately got to work. One of them grabbed a hooked pole and plunged it down, hooking a structure that resembled an iron lock.
Another person found a large net and cast it down towards the shadowy figure.
The sailors who heard the commotion came running over, shouting and cheering as they joined in the fun.
"Hey, what's that?!"
"Who knows? Let's pull him up first—"
Amidst cheers and groans, everyone tugged at the net and pole, slowly scooping the unusually heavy object to the surface...
"Is it a water ghost?"
"Ghost—ghost my foot! I think it's a hiccup, a golden octopus hiccup..."
......
"Pah! She's a person. What kind of eyesight do you have? She's not even fully soaked yet!"
They pulled and pulled, and soon discovered that the thing's true form was a human covered in water. The reason it wasn't clearly visible at first was because the person was covered in seaweed and—
"Gold?! My gold!!"
The first young man to spot the shadowy figure yelled and scrambled forward, using his body to block the gleaming yellow chains, drool dripping down his face.
"Hey kid, what are you thinking? All this gold belongs to the captain!"
The crew members quickly pulled the drunkard off and tossed him aside, without getting angry.
When a ship sails into the open sea, the captain is the king of the ship.
Anyway, according to the rules of the pirates, the gold should be distributed according to the principle of "whoever finds it gets a share," and they should get some of it.
They excitedly removed all the gold, but soon noticed the corpse beneath them, bound by heavy chains.
"That's amazing..."
They temporarily ignored the corpse's handsome face, focusing only on admiring its strong body, which had likely been roaming for a long time with golden chains, and which resembled the reappearance of a war god.
Its long, golden-red hair scattered on the deck, the pure gold chains, and the exquisite armor all proclaim one fact—this person is a completely different being from them.
Their reverence and admiration for those of noble blood and the strong made their arguments a little quieter.
But a corpse is a corpse; a corpse can't do anything.
"snort!"
A red-haired sailor wiped his nose and sneered, "Look at you guys~ You can be so scared by a dead man, hahaha."
She was a master of attention-seeking, so she deliberately puffed out her chest and made a face in front of everyone.
"Haha, are you afraid she'll jump up?"
After saying that, Red Hair tensed his arms and threw a punch, slamming it heavily onto the corpse's solid chest.
"Puwa—"
The "corpse" suddenly sat up, clutched its stomach, and vomited a mouthful of blood, scaring the sailors so much that they jumped back in terror.
......
In a daze, Andra vomited a lot of water. As she vomited, she felt the contents of her stomach flowing out of her throat in a gurgling sound. She didn't know if it was undigested food or fragments of internal organs.
She soon lost consciousness again, continuing to sink and float in the dark, deep river.
Why did Eleanor do this? Why did she do this to me?
The same question twisted into a spiral, flying back and forth in her dreams.
This doesn't make sense. What reason would she have to kill her most loyal knight? It's like crippling herself; it doesn't make any sense from either a perspective of self-interest or emotion!
The next day...or the third day, Andra opened her eyes again.
She saw old wooden floors that had been carelessly wiped clean, with grime shoved into the crevices.
Eleanor... Eleanor.....
Andra's mind was filled with Eleanor's name, and she had to look at the floor to try and relax.
Why is there no carpet? Why is it shaking a bit around me?
She realized something was wrong, but the voice in her head kept wailing and questioning Eleanor about why she had done this.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
Blood seeped from the wound around her left eye, trickling down her cheek and staining the wooden board with a large, dark red blot.
If Andra could observe herself from an outsider's perspective, she would find that most of her wounds had scabbed over or even faded, except for the part on her face that was pierced by the hairpin, which was still deteriorating and even festering.
In fact, the old women on the grasslands have told many similar myths and legends.
In her account, wounds caused by divine curses, guilt, or intense love and hate are difficult to heal.
Some say these are marks left by gods such as Anne or Lilia, warning people not to do things that would make them feel guilty.
If Eleanor were to explain, she would give you a very simple reason based on the medical team's research:
The people on the Moonlit Continent are generally healthy, but their immunity and self-healing abilities are greatly influenced by their personal emotions.
This means that they are more easily swayed by emotions than humans, which can worsen their condition or even cause them to die from severe infections.
Andra couldn't think that far ahead; she was repeatedly picturing Eleanor's final appearance in her mind.
She could imagine the boundless sea, a hand, a hairpin... but she couldn't piece together the complete Eleanor from these images; even her ferocious expression seemed like some kind of illusion.
Could Eleanor have been forced into this? I should go back and find her quickly to get to the bottom of this!
She sprang up and struggled for a moment, but was pulled back by the rope and chain, crashing into the box with a thud.
Andra then realized that he had no strength left in his body, his whole body was limp, and every muscle in his body was throbbing with pain.
That's fine.
She leaned against the box, letting the pain in her body drown out the echo of "Eleanor, Eleanor".
The sailors had no idea what was happening in a cramped hold.
They simply tied the pretty prisoner up and stuffed her underneath. There was no other way; she was covered in wounds, and tying her to the mast would probably make her die in two or three days.
Thump, thump.
After resting for a while, Andra felt like she had regained some strength.
She slammed her shoulder against the sharp corner of the box, trying to use the pain to wake herself up and think.
Huff, huff, stop thinking about it, stop thinking about Eleanor... Quickly, quickly think about our current situation.
She finally broke free from the deep sea, panting heavily as she looked around and slowly realized that she was trapped in a sealed cabin.
Splash...splash...splash.
The sound of the waves and the feeling of being tossed about slowly awakened her memory. There was a boat beneath her; it seemed that after she fell into the water... she had been pulled out.
Andra rolled over onto his back, pressed against the box, and looked at the swaying spider webs on the cabin ceiling.
Eleanor...are you alright?
Bang!
She slammed the back of her head against the floor, biting her lip until it bled.
She'll be fine.
Andra seemed to hear his own voice roaring in his heart.
This was no accident, it was an ambush!
She ordered Manzhu and Jingji to lead the attack, while the remaining slaves guarded a short distance away.
That giant wave saved you; it knocked them away—Eleanor will be alright, she honed her swimming skills so well for you, hahahahahaha!
"Hahaha."
Andra laughed along with the voice in his head.
That's hilarious, Eleanor swims so well. I wonder how long she practiced that mermaid-like stroke... Hmm, it was all for me, how honored!
[It must have been a very long time; she kept you in chains for six years.]
The angry voices disappeared, and a chilling coldness almost pierced Andra's heart.
How could anyone in this world rack their brains to kill another innocent person from the very first encounter?
Her dry lips trembled as she looked at the floor with an almost pleading expression.
Was it Eva who forced her? Yes, right?
Her body began to sway again, as if she wanted to rush back to the shore immediately to confront Eleanor.
It seems that this will clear up all the "misunderstandings" and allow them to happily embrace their lovers again.
But reason has already awakened.
Without any prompting, she could discern part of the truth on her own.
The day they left the capital, the young princess was still a child.
But she was able to easily meet with scholars and people from all walks of life, exchanging their loyalty for tempting, even somewhat incomprehensible, offers, and persuading them to follow her to Enlin.
Eleanor... how could that magical, wise princess possibly be Eva's possession?
Kill Andra.
Killing her so-called "lover" like killing a hunting dog that deserved to be retired must have been Eleanor's true intention.
This intention was carefully considered, and even every detail of "being in love" was made so realistically.
This killing was destined six years ago—from the very first day they met.
Why?
Why, Eleanor... my lover... the only, the only one I love most.
Andra collapsed onto the floor in despair, tears streaming down her broken skin, dripping drops of blood.
Crackling, snapping sounds.
The sound of the wooden door opening made her turn to the side, her waist instinctively thrusting forward and her legs bending inward, assuming a posture that would make it easier to spring up.
Even though her mind and soul were filled with unbearable despair and pain, her body remained vigilant.
A red-haired pirate—whose nickname was Red Hair—walked in, touching his nose.
She was holding a wooden basin with a piece of black bread inside that was hard enough to kill someone.
"Oh, you're awake?" The red-haired woman chuckled slyly. She had already forgotten how terrified she was by Andra's sudden resurrection. All she remembered was her heroic act of beating up the corpse, and she felt quite pleased with herself.
She tossed the plate on the ground and pointed to the floor like she was calling a puppy: "Hey, this is for you~ Come on, eat up, eat up."
In fact, after the captain learned that the crew had pulled up such a precious person, he had given instructions: if she woke up and could communicate normally, she should be moved to a cleaner place.
This order naturally also included providing better food.
But Red Hair didn't think that way. She couldn't possibly imagine getting this nobleman to write a letter and extort a certain amount of gold from her family.
Hey, even if they did this, they would just take the gold and kill the hostage. There's no such thing as a rich young lady making a triumphant return.
She gazed greedily at Andra's handsome face... mainly at the other half of his face, and at his physique as beautiful as the sun god, thinking that since he was tied up anyway, the nobles weren't so scary, were they?
Red Hair looked left and right. This cabin only had a small window and a door, with no other space.
She rushed over and closed the door, rubbing her hands together with a grin as she walked back.
The prisoner's hands and feet were tightly bound, and he was biting at the bread she had just thrown on the ground like a worm. He must have been a weak-willed, delicate nobleman.
*Slap*
Red Hair couldn't wait to squat down and touch the other person's still relatively intact right cheek with his rough fingers, swallowing as he admired those golden-red eyes that seemed to be burning.
...?
Andra numbly turned her head and saw an object called "human".
Oh, this is a boat, there must be a lot of people here.
Eleanor said that they should express their gratitude to whoever offered them genuine help.
Wait a minute? Did Eleanor say that?
Eleanor...!
A flame suddenly erupted—No, no more thinking about Eleanor!!!
Humans, this thing is called a human.
She's in so much pain right now, she doesn't want to be in pain anymore. If she just stops thinking about Eleanor, the pain will stop.
But you still think about her.
I don't want to run away.
"......"
"Hehehe, be good, let me vent..." Red Hair chuckled wickedly, muttering some sticky and disgusting love words.
Andra only heard one word.
vent.
Okay, let's vent then.
Crack, crack.
The thick hemp rope made a soft snapping sound.
Normally, Red Hair would immediately notice the broken rope, then yell something like "Ghost! Sister, have mercy!!" and jump away, lying on the ground.
But the young woman before him was too beautiful. Her extraordinary aura made it impossible for the red-haired man to look away. He was so focused on untying the woman's belt that he couldn't tear his eyes away.
Andra then reached for the short knife on the sailor's belt.
How many people are on this ship?
Red Hair heard a hoarse but exceptionally moving voice, and his whole body went limp.
But when she realized what the other person was saying, she inexplicably got goosebumps all over her body.
Why are you asking this?
Even though she was on top of him, she suddenly started sweating profusely, as if the fangs of a wild beast were pressing down on her vulnerable neck.
"Oh, I need to calm down. I should be able to calm down after I've used you all."
Andra condescended to explain, nonchalantly pulling the bloodstained dagger from the corpse's heart—along with the shattered heart.
-----------------------
Author's note: Fun fact: Don't randomly fish out people who look very strong from the sea.
The pirates probably didn't know that their only way to survive was to quickly return to port after retrieving the person and dump the "corpse" on a weeping black-haired girl.
Dead Pirate: Who would know this without a guide? [Cracked][Pill]
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