When the Wild Beast is Trapped in the Nightmare Cycle (BL)
Chapter 201: Curse of The Flying Dutchman!

Chapter 201: Curse of The Flying Dutchman!

"How could things turn out like this?" Ariel whispered in disbelief as she gazed at the scene of utter chaos spreading across the city.

Everything had gone smoothly at first, until a ship with a group of abominable creatures she had never seen before arrived. They spoke a language she could not understand, but judging from the guards and her Daddy’s somber look, it must not be anything good. She bit her lips, distressed. Why? Why must something like this happen on her big day? Just a little more... just a little more and she would be able to get married to Nian! Or was this the Goddess’ intervention?

With her mind in chaos and emotions jumbled up, she failed to realize that the speaking voice sounded a little familiar, as if she had heard it not long ago.

She was about to go over to the King and ask what they should do next when all of a sudden, a burst of terrified screams broke out in the far distance.

Heart leaping to her throat, Ariel turned to the source of the commotion and saw a merman frantically swimming away while clutching his bleeding arm. And chasing behind him were none other than... the cursed ones! That’s right, they were the cursed merfolk whose tails had been taken away at the cost of their greed! Though their number was small, they caught everyone off guard and managed to injure a handful of merfolk in a blink of an eye, devouring their flesh and blood! Panicked screams and cries echoed all over the once peaceful and beautiful paradise, staining it with the crimson color of fear and despair.

This time, the King was utterly livid. He rose from the throne and demanded furiously, "Where have they come from?! How could they appear here?!"

"Y–Your Majesty!" A guard approached in a haste, a long gash marring his torso which looked like a mark made by sharp nails. "It’s... it’s the batch of humans we received the second time. Some among them are cursed and they—urgh!" The rest of his words ended in a cry of pain. His body convulsed and spasmed, his eyes rolling backwards to show the whites. The stationed guards hastily swam over to help him, but they were stopped by the head guard who hollered, "Stop! Look at him closely!"

Everyone was horrified to witness the rapid and eerie transformation of the injured merman. In a blink of an eye, his nails elongated, sharp fangs grew inside his mouth and most importantly, his tail! His tail was vanishing, gradually replaced with a pair of legs!

Before the transformation could be completed, the head guard took a decisive action. With a swift and precise movement, he brandished his spear and cut off the merman’s neck cleanly, causing blood to spread all over the water currents in a shocking display of brutality!

For one suspended moment, a heavy silence reigned in the area with only the distant cries echoing from afar. Until a guard murmured, breaking the stalemate, "The curse..." he raised his head to stare at the ship above, terror reflected within his eyes. "It’s the curse of the Flying Dutchman! We have to hand over the Princess and Mr. Nian to him!"

"Oh no, Ariel!" The King’s face drained of color as he suddenly recalled his daughter, who was still alone in the mating area amidst the chaos. "My daughter... go and protect her! Do not let her get hurt!!"

Meanwhile, inside a certain building.

Shen Nianzu’s brows furrowed as he watched the injured merfolk transform into the cursed, as if an infectious virus was spreading among them. He had not discovered this fact before because they were previously focused on feeding the NPCs to the queen. Every inch of their body was akin to the carrier of the curse, just one injury was all it took for ordinary merfolk to be infected. What a terrifying ability!

Now that their attention had shifted to multiplying their numbers, did it mean that the queen’s metamorphosis was completed? No, something was not right. The number of the cursed creatures was too small. If they truly wanted to build their forces, then it would make more sense for them to bring an entire army here to feast upon the merfolk.

"Nevermind," he murmured, gazing at the distant sky where the ship hovered ominously. "It seems like the right time. Let’s go back to Jin Jiuchi first."

Shen Nianzu turned to make his escape, intending to seize the chaos to join his teammates, but before he could reach the door, he suddenly heard the sound of chaotic footsteps rapidly coming his way. He paused on his tracks, creases forming between his brow. Footsteps? How could there be footsteps in this place? It couldn’t be his teammates, so whoever was outside must be enemies!

Gaze sharpening in alert, Shen Nianzu summoned his transparent blade and pointed it forward. Within moments, the door burst open and the people that showed up caused his eyes to widen in shock.

These two... weren’t they the players whom he had seen on the cruise ship’s upper deck last time? How could they be here?! Worse still, they had also been infected by the curse!

The two players – with their slit pupils, fin-shaped ears, elongated nails and menacing fangs – growled threateningly at Shen Nianzu. Their heads showed signs of swelling just like Scarred Man, and seeing that, Shen Nianzu couldn’t help but curse, even though outwardly he remained calm and composed. The two players took on a fighting stance, and behind them, appeared another player— Lily.

In an instant, Shen Nianzu connected the dots and came to a realization, "So it’s you," he remarked with narrowed eyes. "You brought them here to create chaos on purpose. What do you want?"

Donning a blood red cheongsam with a provocative slit along her thigh, Lily looked more like she was attending a high-class party rather than challenging a Cycle. Disappointment flickered briefly in her eyes upon seeing how Shen Nianzu could still maintain his cool, but soon, she lifted her spirits and giggled in amusement, "Haven’t you figured it out, Nian?"

Shen Nianzu’s heart sank and the first thought that popped up in his mind was— she must be here to snatch the return ticket from him! But how did she know for sure that he had...

"Where is he?" Lily asked, breaking the line of his thoughts.

Shen Nianzu frowned, "Who?"

"Oh, don’t play dumb with me," she smirked. "I’m talking about that gorgeous man with heterochromatic eyes in your team. Tsk, I thought he would be here with you, but it seems I’m mistaken. What a huge letdown."

Realization struck Shen Nianzu akin to a bolt of lightning. It was not the return ticket Lily was after; it had been Jin Jiuchi all along! His face darkened, and his heart, which had been as tranquil as a frozen lake, finally showed ripples of anger. "In your dreams!" He spat out.

"Oh?" Lily raised her brows, intrigued. "What is this unusual protectiveness I am sensing? Don’t tell me... are we love rivals? Of course, of course we are!" She suddenly burst out into laughter. "Goodness, I should have expected this! But you know one thing I hate the most?" In a flash, her smile vanished and her expression turned gloomy,

"It’s people coveting what I want."

With a wave of her hand, she ordered the two cursed players to charge ahead and pounced on Shen Nianzu!

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A/N: My greatest gratitude for ArcaneMag, Cats_895, Nasu_case and everyone who have given 338 GTs for WBNC this month >< hope that you will continue to support and enjoy the story this month too

Btw, we have received another fanart, by moriam_art. If you want to see how hot JJ looks like as Anubis, kindly go back to ch 119 ’To Kill A God’, open the comment section and show your love there!!