Chapter 339 Dark Sand Ore

The element of water increased in concentration as they got further away from the land. Yang Ling could absorb an immense amount of energy, even without using the Spirit Gathering Spell Formation, to vigorously train every muscle and bone using the mysterious Body Honing Wizard Mantra. If someone were to pass by, they would be able to see a faint silvery light glowing around him as he frantically absorbed the Starlight Energy from the sky.

The so-called Dragon Realm was actually the Dragon Tribe's realization of itself in the Laws of Energy. If he could hone his practice of Supreme Heart Magic to perfection, just like the Corpse Wizard King, he would be able to enter the Domain Realm and realize the powerful Mind Magic Field.

He had been able to increase his understanding of energy through his battles with the Dark Dragon King during this period of time. He understood how to find the best angle to attack his enemy's weakness, and how to kill using the least amount of energy, without adhering to the nitty-gritty details of it. He was certain that, with time, he would be able to achieve the same level of realization as the Dark Dragon King, or an even higher-level Energy Realm.

After practising in the quiet and small yard for half of the day, Yang Ling slowly opened his eyes to the sound of the sea. He decided to get up and head to the beach as he took in the fragrance of the sea breeze and saw the sky lighting up.

"Good morning, Sir!"

"There's breakfast in the main hall. You can head over to drink anytime, sir!"

The pirates on patrol ceremoniously greeted Yang Ling, who was already up before the sun.

The pirates worshipped armed strength. They were convinced of the unfathomable strength of Yang Ling, the Skeleton Commander, after witnessing it for themselves. Who else on this island could possibly be a match for him when he could easily defeat Novgorod the berserker?

Yang Ling strode toward the windy beach after greeting the pirates. He had wanted to take a quiet walk by himself, but soon began to notice a familiar figure. The woman leader, Margaret, had been sitting quietly on the beach, near the sea, for many hours. Her eyebrows were furrowed together, as if something was weighing on her mind!

"I was wondering why couldn't I get any sleep last night. So it was because of you, sitting by the beach and thinking of me!" Yang Ling said, smiling, and sat beside the exquisite woman leader.

"You are making fun of me again, sir!" After the female leader got over her shock, she smiled and moved slightly towards hi. Unexpectedly, not only did Yang Ling responded by squeezing against her, but he also placed his arm lightly around her tiny waist.

"Something must be bothering you to keep you up so late, Margaret!" He said upon seeing how troubled the female leader was, Yang Ling deliberated for a moment before continuing sincerely: "It would be better to let your feelings out. Maybe I could help you with your problems!"

Help me with my problems? Although it was just a passing remark by Yang Ling, it sent a wave like a current running through Margaret.

She had been guarding Dark Sand Island and facing all sorts of trouble by herself for all those years. As a leader, she may have seemed glamorous on the surface, but who could understand her pain?

While the berserker Novgorod was loyal and responsible, she couldn't confide in him on certain subjects due to his upright character, which could complicate matters. While her maids were meticulous, they could not provide her with much help.

Sweeping back her long hair, which the sea breeze had blown into a mess, the woman leader said, "Have you heard of the Dark Sand, sir?"

"Oh—I've heard about it from others, but I'm not really sure!" Yang Ling wasn't certain where the troubled woman leader was heading with this, and waited for her to continue.

Looking at the formidable Yang Ling and the endless sea, the woman leader let out a long sigh and slowly began telling her story.

As it turned out, Dark Sand was an extremely rare material on the Tailun Continent which has the opposite effect to Star metal. A weapon became sturdy and resistant to wear if some Star Metal was added during the refining process, and it became even sharper with some Dark Sand.

Legend has it that, during the ancient times, huge Dark Sand Ores could be found on all corners of the island. However, it was practically all mined by both sides in the land-sea war. Almost every single part of the island had been turned upside down.

According to its last elder, the tribe to which Margaret belonged had thrived during ancient times and had had a population of more than ten thousand people during its golden age. However, they were almost wiped out during the land-sea war.

After the war, the population dwindled due to harassment by adventure seekers and pirates. She was the only one left in her generation.

"The Dark Sand Island that my tribe lived on was once famous throughout the Tailun Continent because of its Dark Sand Ores. However, it was also the reason for the tribe's downfall, and the reason I'm its only survivor today!"

Margaret's eyes were red. She sighed and continued, "According to our last elder, our tribe was cursed during ancient times, which resulted in our downfall. Even if the Crimson Poison doesn't exist, I still wouldn't be able to leave Dark Sand Island and regain my freedom unless the curse is broken!"

An evil curse? Yang Ling thought.

Looking at the troubled Margaret, he had a sudden realization. It was miserable enough to be under the One-eyed Dragon's Crimson Poison. On top of that, she also had to deal with an ancient curse. It was no wonder that the beautiful woman leader seemed depressed and troubled.

"What's the situation with the so-called curse, Margaret?" Yang Ling asked after a moment of hesitation. "Are there any ways to break it?"

It would be easy to deal with the One-eyed Dragon's Crimon Poison. Once they obtained the Life Essence, they could exchange it for a bottle of water from the Spring of Life and completely cure Margaret from the poison. However, the so-called curse was much trickier. According to Goode, some curses could never be broken.

There were a few ways for Yang Ling to gain control of the Red Ant Pirates. He could cure the female leader of her Crimson Poison to gain her gratitude and trust, so that she would help him deal with the other pirates. He could also make use of his formidable strength to intimidate and bribe them in order to get them on his side.

There was another way: he could take advantage of his status as a Skeleton Commander and concoct a plan where he would let the pirates fight for their own benefits in order to attain his goal!

Although the latter seems to be more difficult in comparison, he also stood to gain more from it. It was highly possible that he could integrate himself into the pirates' inner circle without raising suspicions, and wipe out the One-eyed Dragon and his henchmen to get rid of the problem from its root.

"According to the legend of my tribe, there is a way to break the curse, but I am unlikely to succeed!" Margaret felt dejected as she thought of the legend.

Over the hundreds and thousands of years, countless men had tried breaking into the forbidden area to lift the curse. However, no one had managed to succeed. According to the tribe's genealogy, there was a top sage-level warrior among them who tried breaking into the forbidden area with his powerful friends around two thousand years ago. They thought that they could break the curse successfully; however, not one of the ten higher-than-sage-level experts managed to get out alive.

"If we could get the Sea Tribe's help, maybe…"

If over ten sage-level experts were not able to break the curse, it would definitely be impossible for her to do alone. Margaret almost wanted to give up, but her heart stirred as she looked at the mysterious Yang Ling of unknown identity by her side.

The Sea Tribe has a huge population with many experts. It might be possible to break that evil curse if Yang Ling provided his help. However, how could she ask Yang Ling to risk his life and break the terrifying curse for her, when they were neither relatives nor friends?

Was it possible that she could only…

Margaret blushed as she felt the warmth from Yang Ling's huge hands and remembered the elder's last words.

Elder Lima had revealed the tribe's biggest secret during his last moments.

There was natural mine beneath the sea of Dark Sand Island. During the land-sea war, the elder had prepared for the worst by hiding a group of tribe members in the mine to take refuge. They hadn't thought that this would lead them to a Super Demon and a group of Long-Haired Evil Demons.

After the war, the Super Demon was sealed up by the tribe's warriors. However, according to the curse, anyone who tried to travel more than three thousand kilometers from would die by suffocation. In addition, the tribe members who hid in the mine were all frozen into ice statues by the Super Demon.

According to the tribe's genealogy, they could not only break the tribe's curse by killing the demon that was sealed up down there, but also possibly revive the frozen tribe members. However, no one from the tribe who had entered the mine had survived in hundreds and thousands of years. They had all perished at the hands of the Long-Haired Evil Demons.

After revealing the tribe's secret, the elder had warned her repeatedly to pass on the mission of guarding Dark Sand Island to the next generation, in order to keep the tribe's last ray of hope alive. He had also told her directly that a woman's greatest asset was her body.

Initially, Margaret hadn't quite understood what Elder Lima's last words meant. She didn't know what he meant by saying that a woman's greatest asset was her body. However, she began to slowly understand the elder's words as she got older and as the number of pirates coming to Dark Sand Island increased.

"If there's a will, there's a way! I'm not good with curses. However, my companion on this trip, Galic, has quite a lot of experience in that area. If you don't mind, Miss Margaret, we can help you think of a solution," Yang Ling said in consolation to the dejected woman leader.

After deliberating for a moment, he continued, "If that doesn't work, I can also help bring a few experts here. Of course, you should know that those immortal old fellows are a stubborn bunch, who won't render up their help easily if there isn't something attractive in it for them!"

It was important to gain control over the pirates. However, he definitely wouldn't pass up on any treasures, either. Yang Ling decided to dig into her ins and outs after hearing about Margaret's ancient and mysterious tribe.

As a Corpse Wizard King, Rodriguez had indeed done a lot of research on curses. He could check out the situation with Margaret's tribe first. If that didn't work, Yang Ling could also get help from Elder Fearn. As the direct disciple of the God of Fire and a top domain expert who had lived for a thousand years, Yang Ling believed that he had some solutions and relative experience for these peculiar matters.

Little demoness Annie had been living on their boat, eating and drinking off them. It would be such a waste if they didn't make use of her remaining value. If the little demoness Annie were stay by the Great Elder's side for a while and pester him, the old and lecherous Great Elder would run over to help them of his own accord.

Immortal and old fellows? Margaret's eyes lit up upon hearing Yang Ling's words. She was becoming even more certain of his unusual status, and also saw a ray of hope that she could break the curse successfully.

If the curse was broken, it was possible to bring back the tribe's great warriors from the land-sea war and to revive the tribe!