Wes immediately let go of Blackbeard and turned to stop the advancing Spaniards.
He cast the Transformation Spell again, summoning that massive anaconda. The moment the giant serpent appeared, it launched a frenzied assault on the Spaniards. Each twist of its body sent tremors through the ground like a small earthquake.
Its enormous body thrashed and slammed through the Spanish ranks, toppling soldiers who failed to dodge in time. Then, with a thunderous roar, the serpent opened its blood-red maw.
Caught off guard by the serpent's attack, the Spanish troops fell into chaos. None of them had ever seen such a colossal creature, and for a moment, they were completely at a loss.
"Spread out! Don't let it catch multiple targets at once!" Amid the panic, an experienced Spanish captain shouted loudly, his voice cutting through the noise. He quickly assessed the situation and realized that if the troops remained clustered, they'd be easy prey for the serpent.
"Fire!" the captain barked out the next command, drawing the musket from his waist and firing at the serpent. The shot rang out, and the bullet whistled toward the massive creature.
Hearing the order, the other soldiers snapped out of their shock and raised their weapons, launching a fierce counterattack.
Gunshots rang out one after another, but to their dismay, their bullets had little effect. Most ricocheted off the serpent's thick hide, with only a few managing to pierce its scales—none doing any significant damage.
Enraged by the barrage, the serpent let out a deafening roar and suddenly lunged forward, swallowing over a dozen soldiers into its coiling body.
Seizing the opportunity, the British troops and pirates launched a counterattack. They took advantage of the confusion, moving into better positions and using muskets and blades to strike the Spaniards distracted by the serpent. The Spaniards were quickly pushed back.
In such chaos, who among the Spanish could still care about the Fountain of Youth?
Wes shifted his focus back to Blackbeard.
The spell he had been using to extract memories had been interrupted, so he had to start over.
Pressing his wand against Blackbeard's temple, Wes penetrated his mind and began searching for memories related to sorcery.
Blackbeard's mind was filled with scattered fragments. Wes patiently sifted through them until he found what he was looking for—memories of witchcraft and sorcery.
For Blackbeard, it was an agonizing ordeal.
It felt as if a sharp awl were being driven into his brain and twisted repeatedly.
Blackbeard opened his mouth, trying to scream in pain, but no sound came out—only saliva slowly dripped from the corner of his lips. The once-feared sea pirate had lost every shred of dignity.
"Father!!" Angelica's heart was torn apart seeing her father suffer so. She tried to rush to save him from Wes, but Jack Sparrow yanked her back.
"Jack, let me go! I have to save my father!" No matter how hard she struggled, she couldn't break free.
Her face was streaked with tears as she sobbed and pleaded for Jack Sparrow to release her. But Jack held her tightly, hardening his heart—because he knew interrupting Wes now to save Blackbeard would be suicide.
Wes pulled a glowing thread from Blackbeard's temple—the extracted memory of sorcery.
He sealed it in a small vial for future research.
After having the memory ripped from him, Blackbeard collapsed to the ground, reduced to nothing more than an empty shell.
Wes didn't care whether he lived or died. As far as he was concerned, now that the Fountain of Youth had been found, everyone else was just in the way.
He began chanting an incantation, and suddenly everyone present—except Angelica and Jack Sparrow—felt as if thousands of ants were crawling all over their bodies.
That unbearable sensation only grew stronger—until it became intolerable. They began to scratch themselves relentlessly, even tearing their skin and drawing blood couldn't stop the maddening itch.
Some even rubbed against jagged rocks, scraping deep, bloody wounds across their bodies, but it still did nothing.
Wes's spell lasted a full five minutes before stopping. The moment it ended, so did the itching. Everyone was gasping for breath, their faces twisted in pain, looking absolutely miserable.
"Get lost already…" Wes's cold voice rang out, sending chills down their spines.
No one dared to hesitate. They scrambled to pick up their weapons and fled, terrified that if they were too slow, Wes would show no mercy and kill them on the spot.
"Take all the corpses with you," Wes ordered.
No one dared defy him. They obediently carried the bodies and fled in a panic.
What surprised Wes was how many people actually chose to stay behind.
Jack Sparrow, Hector Barbossa, Angelica, and Gibbs had all stayed. And of course, there was the near-death Blackbeard lying on the ground.
Jack Sparrow shrugged and said with a helpless expression, "Mr. Wizard, you haven't paid me yet."
Gibbs hid behind Jack, trying hard to avoid Wes's gaze, terrified of drawing attention.
Tears streamed down Angelica's face. She looked at the dying Blackbeard on the ground and pleaded with Wes again.
"Please spare my father. I'll do anything you ask."
"He's of no use to me anymore."
Wes handed the Sword of Triton to Jack Sparrow. "Your Black Pearl is in Blackbeard's collection room."
Jack took the sword and gently stroked it. With this sword, he could control the Queen Anne's Revenge—meaning he now commanded two legendary pirate ships.
Wes turned to Hector Barbossa.
Barbossa raised his hands in mock surrender and gave Wes a sycophantic smile.
"Jack and I are old friends. I'd like to leave with him."
"Anything else?"
Everyone present understood that Wes was clearly telling them to leave. They wisely prepared to go.
Jack Sparrow wanted to ask Wes to release his old flame, Syrena, but Gibbs quickly stopped him.
"Don't anger the wizard. He needs the mermaids' tears, not their lives."
As the group left through the pool, Hector Barbossa suddenly struck—plunging his sword into Blackbeard's heart. When he pulled it out, blood gushed from the wound, shocking everyone.
Whatever happened between them afterward, Wes had no desire to know.
To avoid further disturbances, Wes set traps around the entrance pool. If anyone tried to return, they would receive a "warm welcome."
Once secure, Wes unpacked a table, chair, and a magical device resembling a microscope from his suitcase and arranged the cave like a laboratory.
He took out the mermaid tears he had collected and studied them closely. The damp, dark environment and the imprisoned mermaids made the place feel like the lair of an evil sorcerer performing forbidden rituals.
The secret of the Fountain of Youth was a ritual sacrifice. Through this, a person's lifespan could be transferred to another.
The mermaid's tears, the holy grail, and the fountain water—all three were required to complete the sacrifice.
The ritual transformed a person's soul and body into pure life energy and transferred it to another. But what was the actual principle behind it?
Could it purify the vengeful spirits trapped within the Philosopher's Stone? Wes needed to study this further.
Right now, one urgent problem remained: the island's location was exposed. The fleeing British and Spanish forces would soon return with reinforcements.
Wes made a decision: to hide the Fountain of Youth.
He conjured thick mists around the island with magic. The poor visibility, combined with the surrounding reefs, would turn the island into a graveyard for ships.
Even if the British or Spanish found it, landing would be nearly impossible.
Even if they reached the cave, Wes had planted Devil's Snare, man-eating flowers, and other magical plants around the area. Anyone who approached would become plant food.
Then Wes used Confundus Charms, concealment enchantments, and Muggle-repelling spells to completely hide the cave.
With everything done, he returned to the Fountain of Youth to continue his experiments.
°°°
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