But how could that bullet possibly hit Wes? The bullet hovered mid-air at an abnormally slow speed, as if blocked by an invisible bulletproof vest in front of him, completely losing its momentum. Then, like a deflated ball, it dropped to the ground.
The surrounding pirates all widened their eyes in shock. One of them couldn't help but shout, "A sorcerer—he's a sorcerer too!"
The word "sorcerer" threw the pirates into a panic. They instinctively stepped back, trying to avoid him.
Blackbeard, seeing this, was furious. He suddenly picked up a sword and slashed down a pirate who was trying to flee. Then he shouted at the rest, "Anyone who runs will end up like him! Get in there and fight!"
Terrified by Blackbeard's ruthlessness, the pirates reluctantly raised their muskets and opened fire on Wes.
But their bullets were like small stones thrown into water—completely ineffective. Not only did they miss Wes, but they also stopped mid-air three meters away from him, just like Blackbeard's first shot, and then fell to the ground one by one.
Blackbeard ordered the pirates to reload and continue firing. As they scrambled to fire another volley, things began to spiral out of control.
Under Wes's control, the bullets hovering in the air suddenly reversed direction at lightning speed and shot back at the pirates.
The pirates in the front row fell like cut wheat, collapsing in heaps as blood soaked the ground. Cries of pain echoed through the air. The remaining pirates were horrified, their faces pale. Without hesitation, they dropped their weapons and fled.
But in the next second, they came running back in terror.
It turned out that Hector Barbossa had arrived with the British Navy. His eyes were bloodshot like burning flames as he locked his gaze on Blackbeard. "Found you at last, Blackbeard." Barbossa raised his hand and shouted, "Attack! Kill Blackbeard!"
The British Navy, weapons drawn, charged forward and engaged the pirates in fierce combat.
Arrogant as ever, Blackbeard didn't even glance at his former rival. He didn't care about Barbossa at all. His eyes remained fixed on Wes.
Blackbeard summoned four powerful revenants, each wielding deadly weapons, and had them surround Wes. He then drew his sword and kept a cautious distance from Wes, never letting his guard down for a moment.
His men weren't so lucky. Already shaken by Wes's magic, they were like a disorganized mess and were quickly overwhelmed by the British forces.
"We can split the Fountain of Youth," Blackbeard offered, attempting to persuade Wes to join forces against the British Navy.
"I liked you better a moment ago," Wes replied mockingly, then made his move.
With a transfiguration spell, a stone pillar instantly turned into a giant python. Its massive body was terrifying. With a powerful swing of its tail, the python sent a revenant flying and slammed it into the ground.
The remaining three revenants halted in their tracks, watching the giant snake with wariness.
But these undead warriors felt no fear or pain. Refined by Blackbeard's dark magic, their bodies were thick-skinned and nearly indestructible. Though blocked by the snake, they didn't retreat and continued their standoff.
"Try this one," Wes said calmly.
He cast Sectumsempra—a shadowless, slicing curse—straight at Blackbeard.
Blackbeard quickly raised the Sword of Triton and narrowly blocked Wes's attack. Wes raised an eyebrow, thinking that sword was indeed extraordinary.
"Drop your weapon!" Wes cast a spell, striking the Sword of Triton, which flew out of Blackbeard's hand and landed a short distance away.
"Avada Kedavra!" A flash of green light shot toward Blackbeard. Although he reacted swiftly, grabbing a nearby pirate to use as a shield, the two were blasted away and hit the ground hard. Blackbeard came away with some scrapes, but the pirate he used as a meat shield was lifeless, his body limp.
"Avada Kedavra!" Once again, Wes launched a killing curse. Years of battle had sharpened Blackbeard's sixth sense—he rolled to the side, narrowly evading it. But Wes had cast two deadly spells in quick succession.
Blackbeard only dodged one—and he was still alive.
It was the first time Wes had seen a normal person survive a Killing Curse. Blackbeard seized the moment of Wes's hesitation, grabbed the Sword of Triton again, and quickly closed the distance.
At that moment, a long-time follower of Blackbeard suddenly dropped dead. The British navy soldier fighting him was bewildered, wondering if he had suddenly gained the power to kill without touching his enemy.
[A kind of sacrificial voodoo magic.]
[But even a substitute death spell has its flaws.]
Blackbeard continued pressing toward Wes.
"Impedimenta." Wes cast a non-lethal charm. As expected, Blackbeard's movements immediately slowed, as if he were moving in slow motion.
"Looks like your voodoo spell can only transfer damage, not the effects of other enchantments," Wes said.
Blackbeard tried swinging his sword at Wes, but his sluggish movements made it look almost comical.
Wes then followed up with a Petrification Curse: "Petrificus Totalus!"
Blackbeard froze mid-swing like a statue, suspended in motion.
Wes used his wand to lift Blackbeard's coat. As he suspected, hanging from Blackbeard's waist were five voodoo dolls—one of which had already lost its head.
"So these are voodoo death dolls?" Wes gently touched one of the dolls with his wand, and it burst into flames.
Just then, a nearby pirate suddenly caught fire. No matter how he struggled, he couldn't extinguish the flames and was soon reduced to a charred corpse.
Hector Barbossa noticed the truth: "Blackbeard used those dolls to transfer his injuries. You idiots are still willing to die for him?"
"Impossible! He's our captain!" one pirate refused to believe it.
"Why not? He's never treated us like people!" Most of the pirates remained rational.
"Run!"
"Run away!" Now all the pirates wanted was to get as far from him as possible.
Unfortunately, there was nowhere to run—because the Spanish navy had arrived.
Without a word, the Spanish began shooting on sight, forcing the pirates to retreat toward the British navy's side.
Just as the British navy prepared to gun down the fleeing pirates, Hector Barbossa stopped them.
"Fools! The Spanish are the real threat now! Aim for the Spaniards and fire!" Barbossa shouted.
The British troops snapped out of it, finally realizing the change in the situation.
In the earlier battle, both the navy and pirates had suffered casualties. Now the Spanish had arrived to reap the spoils.
So the British navy and the pirates, who had just been fighting each other, joined forces to battle the Spanish.
But the Spanish were well-rested and far greater in number. It didn't take long before they began to overpower the British and the pirates.
Some of the Spaniards started tying ropes around the surrounding rock pillars—clearly intending to destroy the Fountain of Youth.
As Wes was extracting Blackbeard's memories, he saw what the Spaniards were about to do and immediately stopped.
"That won't do."
°°°
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