We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 136 The Strange Customs of the Siren, the Land Where the Ancient Dragon Fell (Long Chapter, Please Subscribe!)
At sea, the captain's orders are paramount.

With a command from Shane, the Black Swan, guided by the Siren's Scale, began its voyage through the misty seas.

have to say.

After the negative effects of the Blood Sacrifice Curse were removed, the Black Swan underwent a comprehensive enhancement, making it feel completely different to drive.

It's like going from a used sedan to a supercar; the ride is exceptionally smooth and fluid.

Even so, Xia En did not dare to speed through the fog at full speed.

After all, who knows what terrifying beings he might be hiding in this fog, and if he were to stumble upon a hidden reef within the mist, it would be no laughing matter.

And just like that, three days flew by in the midst of the journey.

During this time, An successfully advanced to the second-tier Mystic, with the class of [Guardian Knight]!
[Status "Knight's Protection" changed!]

[Quality: Rare]

[Description: When your knight is nearby, your mental resistance and resilience are moderately increased, and the probability of falling into negative status effects is greatly reduced.]

Your knight can consume their own arcane power and life force to grant you shields, restore your status, and heal your injuries!

—Selflessness, sacrifice, dedication.

To be fair, this status effect is quite powerful, and can be considered a minor support skill.

The only problem is that Xia En is worried that his physical condition is too different from An's, and that the healing process will drain his secret power!

Another thing that left Xia En speechless was...

Since the crystal coffin was placed in the cabin, the ghost Vivian has not woken up even once!
On the panel, her status also changed to [Vivian (Unbound) (Sleeping)].

Shaen suspected that this ghost's concept of time seemed to be different from that of ordinary humans.
……

……

This afternoon.

Shaen stood on the deck at the bow of the ship, gazing at the sea, the [Siren's Scale] in his hand emitting a faint, eerie light.

These days, the reaction of [Siren's Scale] has become noticeably stronger.

This means that the distance between the Black Swan and the Siren Islands is constantly decreasing.

In fact, Shane didn't know much about the Siren Islands.

Aside from knowing that this place is likely Joey's hometown, and also the hometown of all the sirens, all that's left are the legends about sirens from my previous life.

However, there has always been a significant gap between legend and reality.

What exactly we will encounter can only be known once we arrive on the island.

Thinking of this, Xia En glanced at the silver-haired girl not far away.

Joey appears to be practicing magic.

But judging from the chaotic flow of magic around her, the ice crystals spreading on the deck, and the inaccurate spell trajectories...

Her mind has probably already wandered off somewhere else.

To prevent the girl from causing further damage to the Black Swan, Shane walked over to Joey and spoke.

"Joey, let's put our magical training aside for now and chat for a bit, how about it?"

"The ship, Captain!"

Hearing this, Joey snapped back to her senses and hurriedly withdrew her magic: "I...I'm sorry..."

Looking at her current appearance, Xia En inexplicably recalled the situation when she first met Joey.

Back then, she was just as timid and shy, and her disguise was quite clumsy.

Who would have thought that Joey would not only drop his disguise and defenses, but also become a genuine Secret Traveler?

"In the blink of an eye, so much time has passed."

Xia En sighed, waved his hand, and said casually, "We're almost at the Siren Islands. How are you feeling?"

Joey paused for a moment, then admitted, "To be honest, I have mixed feelings."

"A little nervous, a little uneasy, and a little expectant..."

"This is normal."

Xia En comforted him, saying, "In my hometown, there's a saying—'The closer you get to home, the more timid you feel.'"

"The farther away a person is from their hometown, the more restless their emotions become once they return and get closer to home."

Joey was both puzzled and curious: "Isn't the captain's hometown... Duke Island?"

Xia En shook his head, looked at the vast sea with a complicated expression, and said.

“Joey, you are actually lucky, after all, you still have the opportunity to return to your hometown.”

"But... I may never be able to go back."

Joey was a little confused, but from the tone of his voice, she could tell that the captain was not at peace.

As if by some strange twist of fate, a sentence slipped out of the girl's mouth.

"Captain, you still have me!"

"……Um?"

"Uh... ah... I mean, you still have me and the other crew members, everyone is a partner you can trust."

"Oh right, and the Black Swan! Isn't the Black Swan our home?"

Joey's face flushed slightly as she explained rapidly.

In truth, she didn't know why she was rushing to explain, nor did she understand why her heart was beating so fast.

—Thump, thump, as if it were about to jump out of my chest.

Xia En understood Joey's meaning in comforting her and chuckled, "That's true."

Suddenly, at this moment.

The [Siren's Scale] in Shane's hand emitted a brighter blue light and began to vibrate slightly.

Joey also sensed something, looked in one direction from the mist, listened intently, and then spoke.

"Listen, it's singing!"

Xia En's heart stirred, and he carefully discerned the sounds in the mist, and sure enough, he heard a melodious singing voice.

This singing was unlike any he had ever heard before.

Pleasant to the ear, melodious, and mysterious.

It possesses an intoxicating magic.

But the moment he heard the song, Xia En's expression turned serious, and his eyes became wary.

You heard the siren's song!

[Based on an assessment of your mental resilience and resistance, you have successfully resisted the effects of "charm" and "mind control"!]

You should know that in the legends that Xia En knew, sirens could lure ships to run aground and sink!

Perhaps the native inhabitants of the Siren Islands were not friendly to outsiders?
In fact, it was precisely because of this concern that Xia En waited until the Black Swan was fully upgraded and his own strength was further enhanced before venturing to explore the Siren Islands.

"The impact of the song isn't just on me..."

Thinking of this, Shane immediately looked at the other crew members on the ship.

"Captain, what happened?"

Xian Ge was the first to fly over excitedly, asking curiously, "What's that sound? It's quite nice!"

As a bronze dragon, it's quite normal for it to have considerable mental resistance.

Xia En didn't have time to pay attention to it and turned to look at Fei Ya and An.

The former remained calm, only muttering, "Is this the song of the siren?"

The latter silently came up behind Xia En, seemingly ready to fight.

Think about it too.

Feiya could overcome even the bloodlust ingrained deep in her bloodline and resist the temptation of the siren's song with remarkable ease.

And since Ann is both a knight and an elf, it's perfectly normal that she can be exempt from abnormal mental states!
"..."

Xia En's lips twitched.

So, the person on this ship who's closest to an ordinary person is actually me, the captain?
From one perspective, this is probably the advantage of having a ship full of alien crew members; in the event of such a special incident, there's no need to worry about their safety.

Finally, Shane looked at Joey beside him.

Upon hearing the song, the girl's expression became somewhat complicated.

Soon, Joey took a short breath and then uttered a clear, crystal-like voice.

Even though we were surrounded by a thick white fog, the sky appeared somewhat dim.

But her singing immediately reminded Xia En of the scene of a summer night breeze blowing through the window and wind chimes swaying gently.

It has an indescribable sense of clarity and transparency.

The song brings an unconscious sense of peace to those who hear it.

Although Shane had already seen Joey's talent for "Beautiful Voice" on the panel.

But it was the first time he had ever heard a young girl sing so loudly, and he couldn't help but feel amazed.

As if hearing the song of its own kind, the siren's voice paused slightly in the mist.

When it played again, the eerie feeling in the song faded.

Instead, there is a sense of closeness and gentle goodwill.

If the previous songs were "bewitching" and "seduction," then the siren's songs have now become an "invitation."

Noticing this change, Shane breathed a sigh of relief and slowly piloted the Black Swan toward the direction from which the singing came.

However, Joey did not stop singing.

Two similar yet different voices rose and fell in the mist, as if it were a special way of communicating.

Before long, as if drawn by the singing, several different voices rang out in succession from the mist.

Gradually, it all came together to form a chorus of siren songs.

This is not an ordinary chant, but a ritual imbued with mystical qualities.

You heard the siren's welcoming chorus!

[Your stamina and mystical attributes have received a slight boost for a short period of time!]

Seeing these few lines of prompts, Xia En lowered his guard slightly.

At first, he was quite worried that his encounter with the sirens would turn into a fight that started three seconds after they met.

It seems unlikely that things will escalate to the worst possible outcome.

It didn't take long.

Guided by the song, a strange archipelago slowly came into Xiaen's view.

Meanwhile, mermaid figures began to appear on the sea and reefs near the Black Swan.

They have beautiful faces and figures, and their lower bodies are strong and powerful fish tails.

Black hair cascaded down the mermaid's back, and large swaths of her white skin were exposed to the air, covered only by seashells for minimal concealment.

"Giggle~"

Noticing Shane's gaze, the sirens let out silvery laughter and waved to him without any shyness.

Among them, a siren let out a low gasp.

"It's a man..."

Amidst the harmless laughter of her sisters, the siren who had cried out in surprise shyly dived into the sea and hid.

Xia En's gaze swept over them, then looked at the nearby reefs, but he didn't see any dried-up corpses or bones.

So far, the siren's attitude seems to be quite friendly.

A moment later, the Black Swan docked at the shore of the small island. Unlike the buildings on a normal island, which are built in the central area, the sirens' dwellings were located not far from the shore.

They built houses out of wood on the reefs and the sea, somewhat similar to the floating houses of the previous life.

Several wooden houses are connected together, forming a coastal village.

As soon as the Black Swan dropped anchor, two sea monsters that looked very similar swam over and spoke in a clear, spring-like voice.

"Welcome to the Siren Islands, Captain, who has traveled from afar!"

"The chieftain already knows of your arrival and invites you to the island for a chat."

Xia En was not surprised by this and nodded, saying, "Okay, please wait a moment."

Although the sirens seemed harmless, Shane always believed that one should always be wary of others.

A few crew members need to stay on board the Black Swan.

After thinking for a moment, Xia En decided to take Joey and Fei Ya with him, and the three of them went together.

The bronze dragon's identity is very special, and it would be bad if it attracted the covetous eyes of the siren.

However, moving around on such a floating structure is quite inconvenient; one might accidentally step on the driftwood and cause it to collapse.

……

……

It didn't take long.

Led by the twin mermaids Lulu and Lily.

The three arrived at the largest and most eye-catching floating house on the sea.

To Xia En's surprise, the scenes in these floating houses and corridors were not as primitive and ancient as he had imagined.

The wood was cut to be extremely smooth.

At some joints of the wooden blocks, you can see the connection method using rivets.

The interior of the house was bright and clean, with exquisite decorations, and several finely crafted flintlock pistols hung on the walls.

If it weren't for the mermaid-like appearance of the inhabitants, it would be almost impossible to distinguish it from ordinary island architecture.

It seems a bit too modern!
"How is this going?"

With a sense of doubt, Xia En looked up at the Siren Chieftain not far away.

The clan chief was a still-attractive young woman.

Her lower body was still the tail of a fish, lying horizontally on the soft mat on the floor.

However, she wore a beautifully crafted purple dress that accentuated her mature and shapely figure.

“I am Natasha, the chieftain of this siren clan.”

Shane also spoke up: "I am Shane, the captain of the Black Swan. These are my crew members."

After introducing herself, Natasha chuckled and said, "You must be wondering now why we are not quite the same as the legendary sirens."

"The reason is simple... times have changed!"

“We used to be very isolated and rarely communicated with the outside world.”

"And while we were completely unaware, human technology had already undergone earth-shattering changes."

"Whether it's cannons, steam engines, or the technology for building houses and making clothes, everything has evolved to a level that is difficult for us to comprehend."

Natasha's tone was complicated, but soon she added with considerable pride.

"Why can't the siren have these technologies that improve quality of life?"

"So my ancestor made a bold decision."

"She began to actively contact the ships that came and went, and lured them to the Siren Islands to recruit the best people on board."

"Ok?"

Xia En paused for a moment, then asked with a strange expression, "Absorption... you mean?"

"As the name suggests, it means to absorb them into the siren's clan."

Natasha looked at her dress, then at the flintlock pistol hanging on the wall, and said with a touch of sadness.

“This dress was made for me by my husband, and those pistols are also from his collection.”

Xia En asked cautiously, "May I ask about your husband...?"

"That's right, he is a human captain."

Natasha admitted, "He passed away three years ago."

"..."

Xia En's mood was strange.

Because he suddenly thought of the legends of the Seven Seas.

The siren would lure sailors to the Siren Islands with her songs and then keep them there forever.

At first glance, it sounds like a siren took the lives of the crew.

But from another perspective, if the crew members die of old age on the islands, aren't they also left behind forever?

After satisfying his curiosity, Shane looked at Joey beside him and gave him an encouraging look.

After hesitating for a moment, Joey mustered her courage, a determined glint in her eyes, and spoke.

“Ms. Natasha, actually… I also have the blood of a siren flowing in my veins.”

"Ok, I know."

Natasha nodded without surprise: "Moreover, your bloodline is quite special."

"So, what brings you to the Siren Islands?"

Now that things were out in the open, Joey felt much more relaxed and said directly, "I've come to find my hometown, but I'm not sure if the Siren Islands are the hometown I remember."

"That's it..."

Natasha's words softened: "So, child, what memories do you have of your former homeland?"

Joey thought hard, biting her lip as she said, "I remember... I lived in a very bright, very spacious white room when I was a child."

"There seems to be transparent glass on the wall, and you can see several tall black towers through the glass."

"White room...glass...tower..."

Natasha frowned and shook her head, saying, "In my memory, there shouldn't be such a place on the Siren Islands."

Do you remember your parents' names?

"If they were sirens who lived in the Siren Islands, I would most likely still remember their names."

Joey was lost in a longer recollection, and only after a long while did he speak with difficulty.

"My mother's name was Diana, I think..."

"Diana!?"

Natasha's tone suddenly rose, and a look of disbelief flashed in her eyes.

A hopeful look appeared on Joey's face as he asked, "Madam, have you heard of this name?"

"of course."

Natasha stared at Joey with an unusually complex expression.

"Diana was my best playmate and the most talented girl in the Siren clan in a thousand years."

Even I can only look up at her back.

"However, she mysteriously disappeared when she was sixteen years old. I searched the entire Siren Islands, but I couldn't find her."

Joey looked bewildered: "Sixteen years old, missing?"

"So, I was born after my mother left the Siren Islands?"

"That's how it should be."

Natasha sighed: "It's a pity, but the Siren Islands are probably not your true homeland."

Xia En silently pondered the information in their words, digesting it.

He thought that bringing Joey to the Siren Islands would bring the matter to a natural end, but he never expected that there were so many hidden secrets behind it.

Instead, even more doubts arose.

Why did Diana disappear so mysteriously?

Did she leave voluntarily, or was she kidnapped?
The white, glass-walled room sounded like some kind of laboratory.

And who is Joey's father?

As Shane pondered these questions, she looked at Joey with concern, worried that she might become discouraged as a result.

To his surprise, Joey recovered quickly and thanked Natasha respectfully: "Ms. Natasha, thank you."

"It was just a small favor."

Natasha looked at Joey and murmured, "Looking at it this way, you and Diana do look somewhat alike..."

At this moment, Joey asked again, "I heard that there are places on the Siren Islands that can awaken the potential of the Siren bloodline. Can I go and try it?"

Her thinking was simple: since she was already here.

Although he couldn't find his true homeland, he could at least improve his own strength and become an asset to the captain.

"Of course, child, but..."

Natasha said apologetically, "The ancestral land that possesses the power of transformation has been occupied by a group of monsters corrupted by the bloodline of ancient dragons in recent years."

"Going to the ancestral land will be fraught with danger."

Xia En asked in surprise, "Ancient dragon bloodline?"

"Yes, in fact, in the center of the Siren Islands, there once slept a real ancient dragon."

"However, it failed to awaken from its long slumber and ultimately perished here, causing many living beings to be contaminated."

Natasha said with considerable shame, "Our Siren race has extremely limited combat power on land, so we are no match for those monsters, which is why our ancestral land has been occupied for many years."

"We would be extremely grateful if Captain Shane would be willing to help us eliminate the monster."

Upon hearing this, Xia En's eyes lit up.

Dragons are treasures from head to toe!
Materials such as dragon bones and dragon teeth are extraordinary natural materials.

He was just worrying about what materials to use for the next upgrade of the ship's hull, and this was the perfect opportunity.

Not to mention, it can also help Joey complete the transformation of his bloodline.

Bring along the Bronze Dragon; you might even get some unexpected rewards!

With that in mind, Shane said, "Since Chief Natasha has said so, we will accept this commission."

"Many thanks."

Natasha smiled and said, "However, since you have come from afar, why don't you rest in the village for a day and then go to hunt the dragon-blooded monster tomorrow?"

"We can then host a banquet in their honor."

At Natasha's enthusiastic invitation, Shane couldn't refuse.

However, whether it was his imagination or not, the sirens all showed a hint of disappointment when they saw the "two women and one man" combination at the banquet.

After finishing her meal, Fei Ya walked up to Xia En and spoke earnestly.

"Captain, I think... these sirens are looking at you strangely. Be careful tonight."

"Huh? What's wrong?"

Feiya just smiled and didn't say anything.

Before long, Shane entered the guest room arranged by the sirens.

I had only been lying down for a short while when the door was quietly pushed open and two figures walked in.

(End of this chapter)