Just as the Level 5 Martial Artist raised his knife to strike, a figure suddenly lunged in front of Sules, using his body to block the blow.
It was Kadi!
Kadi let out a muffled grunt after blocking the knife, his body going limp as he collapsed.
His action gave Sules a chance to react.
She quickly took a step back to create distance and shouted, “If I die, you’ll all be doomed! Think carefully now!”
As she spoke, she hastily dragged Kadi backward.
Everyone knew Sules was telling the truth and instinctively made way for her to move to the rear.
Once behind, Sules immediately controlled the seawater around them, creating a vacuum environment around Kadi’s wound.
The wound was already bleeding through.
Since seawater contains salt, prolonged exposure would cause infection and gangrene.
Sules crouched down anxiously and asked, “Kadi, are you okay?”
Kadi’s face was pale and strained with pain, but he forced a smile at Sules.
“Captain, I’m fine, just a little stomach pain.”
How could it not hurt?
He’d been stabbed with a hole in his abdomen.
Sules tried to soothe him gently, “Hang in there, don’t fall asleep. I’ll handle this soon.”
She stood up, her expression as cold as if frozen by ice.
“You’re so fond of stabbing people’s bellies… I wonder if you have something good hidden inside yours?”
She had been wondering where the other party hid the bone, sure that she wouldn’t find it.
She had no clue at first, but when the Martial Artist stabbed Kadi’s belly, Sules suddenly had a flash of insight.
No matter where you hide something, it’s safer to keep it on your own body.
Sure enough, the Martial Artist and “Jam” both turned pale.
But “Jam” quickly recovered and sneered, “So what if you know? Can you take on a Level 5 Martial Artist? Or can you control everyone around you to die for you?”
Indeed, that was the crux of the problem.
The others might be willing to block attacks for Sules, but they would never face a Level 5 Martial Artist head-on.
They all knew that doing so would only end in death like Kadi’s.
Sules feigned calmness and said, “Anyway, none of us can hurt each other right now, so let’s just wait it out. You’re ginseng now, and you must be hungry, right? Let’s see who lasts longer.”
“Jam” remained unfazed, “You may be able to wait, but can that kid who just took a stab for you?”
Sules glanced down at Kadi, whose eyes were half-closed and face growing paler.
Her heart sank.
Though she had kept seawater off his wound, she couldn’t stop the bleeding.
If this went on, Kadi would be the first to break.
No, she had to come up with a plan.
Staring at the Martial Artist’s belly, an idea suddenly struck her.
While confidently baiting them with words, she silently edged forward, as if she had gotten too excited to protect herself.
“Jam” saw Sules inching closer and his eyes lit up.
This was the chance he’d been waiting for.
Last time the Level 5 Martial Artist made a mistake, but if Sules exposed herself again within his attack range, there would be no slip-ups.
Kill Sules, seize the Sea God’s Secret Treasure from her hands, and the tide of this situation would turn immediately—they might be able to leave this ship!
“Jam” excitedly nudged the Martial Artist, signaling him to act at the right moment.
The Martial Artist, thinking alike, kept his gaze fixed on Sules.
Meanwhile, “Jam” continued provoking Su Lesi, trying to lure her completely out of the crowd’s protection.
Sules played along, pretending not to notice and moved outward.
The other crew members, afraid of a surprise attack, paid no attention to their hired captain’s movements.
Soon, Sules returned to where Kadi had blocked the knife.
The Martial Artist’s eyes gleamed sharply.
Without hesitation, he raised his knife.
He was confident no one could match his speed.
This time, with no one to block for Sules, she was surely dead!
But the next second, just a fist away from Sules, the Martial Artist’s eyes widened in shock.
He gave a muffled grunt and looked down in disbelief.
At his belly, a large hole had been stabbed through, blood gushing out in torrents.
“You… what did you use…?”
Sules’s face was expressionless.
She cruelly slipped her hand directly into the hole she had cut with an invisible water blade.
Soon, she pulled out a white bone, pulling her bloodied hand back.
“This, right?”
However, the Martial Artist could no longer answer.
He collapsed.
Everyone who saw this was stunned into silence.
Even “Jam” was momentarily speechless.
Fortunately, Sules hadn’t been waiting for anyone’s response.
She calmly rubbed her hands in the seawater, then touched the white bone with the Sea God’s Secret Treasure.
The Martial Artist’s body twitched violently, and blue smoke rose from his head.
Sules knew she had guessed right.
It was indeed here.
Seeing his only guard fall, “Jam” finally panicked.
He retreated while begging, “Wait, wait, you can’t kill me. If you kill me, I’ll commit suicide first. Then your captain won’t survive either, and you won’t be able to go back.”
Sules smiled, “If the captain dies, then the ships become ownerless. We can just sail away with the ship—surely you know that?”
She waved her hand, “Go! Subdue him!”
“Jam” was just a powerless captain.
The sailors no longer feared him and immediately swarmed forward, eager to claim credit.
Within ten seconds, “Jam” was pinned to the ground.
He grit his teeth and suddenly shouted, “You! That female captain! Come here! Send the others away! I have something to tell you!”
Sules glanced at the surrounding crew and shook her head warily, “I have nothing to say to you.”
“Jam” was sweating profusely, “I’m not lying! You don’t want to miss a huge opportunity, do you?”
A huge opportunity?
Upon hearing this, the crew around Sules brightened, their breathing quickened.
Even if the opportunity was only for the captain, they could share the spoils by helping “Jam” claim credit!
Now, none of them wanted to leave.
They all stared at Sules, clearly refusing to be ordered around.
Sules frowned, suspicious of “Jam”’s intentions.
What’s the catch?
He wasn’t stupid.
If he really wanted to cooperate with her over an opportunity, why say it so openly in front of everyone?
There was only one possibility—he wanted to spark internal conflict.
Sules had no greed for the “huge opportunity” that “Jam” spoke of.
All she wanted was to keep the Sea God’s Secret Treasure safe and get out of this broken place as soon as possible.
But the others might not be so indifferent.
Faced with interests, their fragile alliance could quickly collapse into hostility.
Then “Jam” could just fish in troubled waters and reap the benefits.
Sure enough, when Sules tentatively suggested, “Why don’t we just cut open his belly and take the bone ourselves?” the crew’s first reaction wasn’t agreement, but rapidly finding excuses to back out.
“That’s risky. If we hurt Captain Jam, it would be a loss.”
“We haven’t asked about the treasure yet. I’m sure Captain Jam wouldn’t want us to kill him outright.”
Some even began to suspect Sules’s motives.
“If the captain dies, only the four of you captains will sail the ships. Captain Su, what are your intentions?”
“Why are you so eager for Captain Jam to die? Want to monopolize the Level 6 ship?”
Listening to their back-and-forth chatter, Sules nearly wanted to vomit. “Jam,” pinned to the ground, looked relaxed as if he had foreseen this very scene.
Sules glared at them furiously, “Kadi is still injured! If we don’t leave here quickly, are you really just going to let him die?”
At that moment, a man stood up.
Sules recognized him—the ship’s doctor.
He said, “I can stop his bleeding. I’ve examined the wound. Once the bleeding is controlled, with some rest, he’ll be fine. No need to worry.”
Hearing this, Sules’s tense expression relaxed.
She nodded gratefully, shrugged, and stepped back, “Then go ask around. See if you can find out anything about the treasure.”
Seeing her retreat, the others immediately stopped bothering her and swarmed “Jam” with questions.
“Jam” ignored them all and insisted, “I want to tell that girl. Otherwise, I won’t speak.”
Hearing him dragging her down with him, Sules sneered, “Then take that secret with you to your grave.” With that, she turned and walked away.
“Hey? Where are you going?”
The others called after her.
Sules answered indifferently, “I’m not interested in that secret or wasting time here. Since you still want to interrogate a while, I’m just going to take a look around the ship. It’s my first time on a Level 8 ship, after all.”
After some hesitation, the others agreed to let Sules leave.
After all, the fewer people who heard the secret, the fewer to share the benefits.
And as long as the undead inside Jam didn’t die, no one could leave this ship. So why not?
Leaving the room, Sules quickly ran to the bridge.
Another Level 5 Martial Artist, Smith, was lying there unconscious.
Sules glanced at him briefly before decisively using her water blade to stab through his heart.
From what she could tell, those possessed by the undead could survive if the undead were expelled from their bodies.
But if the body died, they were dead for sure.
Sules was acting on this idea.
She was the one betraying Captain Jam, escaping with the Sea God’s Secret Treasure.
Jam was definitely her enemy now.
Weakening her enemy as much as possible was her best strategy.
The Level 5 Martial Artist in the cabin had already been stabbed through the belly and twisted inside by her—likely no longer alive.
And the one she had just killed a moment ago was also beyond hope.
The biggest obstacle to her escape was gone.
The next step was how to escape alive with the treasure in hand.