Dylan walked over to the blood-soaked killing stool and picked up Puji.
In that instant, every pirate’s gaze locked on him, so sharp it felt almost tangible.
If looks could kill, Dylan would already have died dozens of times.
If Kaspar hadn’t been killed, the pirates would never have been forced to hand over control to Gerhard.
Gerhard himself gave the middle-aged man a long, appraising glance—so this guy had been hiding his true strength all along.
Scout Puji had killed Kaspar with a sneak attack. No one knew its true abilities, but in everyone’s mind, Dylan was now firmly ranked as a gold-tier—an insidious, ruthless one at that.
Anyone who had seen Kaspar’s death would sense the cruelty in it.
Gerhard tore his gaze away and raised his voice:
“We still have some time. We need to gather all our strength! Get the men from the Blood Shark over here too. The Windfeather is taller—easier to defend from!”
“Defend? Against what enemy?”“If we bring everyone here, what about the Blood Shark?”
The pirates immediately broke into noisy arguments again.
“Shut it!”
The pirate first mate, a two-meter brute wielding a massive hammer, suddenly roared. He jabbed a finger at one of the pirates.
“You. Swing across and tell our crew what’s happening!”
“Me?”
The chosen pirate looked horrified. Swinging on a rope through thick fog with unknown dangers waiting? He didn’t want any part of that.
Wham!
Without warning, the hammer came down. The pirate’s skull was smashed straight into his chest.
The first mate pointed at another. “You go!”
This one didn’t argue. He turned and carried out the order at once.
“What else?” the pirate first mate growled at Gerhard.
Gulp—
The man’s sheer brutality chilled not only the pirates but also Gerhard and the sailors.
Gerhard now believed his words earlier—that if he tried any tricks, the first mate would kill him on the spot.
Gerhard secretly worked his fingers in a quick calculation, then barked another command:
“Everyone grab weapons—or anything you can throw. Spread out along the ship’s sides. The enemy will come from the sea! Don’t let them aboard!”
“What kind of enemy? Lost Souls?” asked the second mate, a man with twin curved blades on his belt.
Anyone who had spent time in the islands knew of the Mist. And the most common tales were about Lost Souls—those who wandered too deep, becoming puppets. They were the weakest and most common threat at the Mist’s edges.
Most “fights against the Mist” really meant dealing with them.
As for the Mist’s deeper horrors, the stories varied so wildly no one could tell truth from rumor.
Naturally, upon hearing “enemy,” the pirates first thought of Lost Souls.
But Gerhard shook his head. “No. At least not as weak as those edge-dwellers. I don’t know what these ones are called, but if you must give them a name, call them ‘Water Ghosts.’ Their weakness is the same as Lost Souls—strike the head!”
He paused, then added:
“Of course, this is just based on my one encounter. If something else shows up, don’t be surprised. Stay sharp. If you see anything strange, shout it out!”
The men nodded. Under his orders, they spread out along the rails. Ten sailors were stationed inside the cabins.
Whether by chance or intention, Dylan was placed at the stern—the part of the ship he knew best—along with a few pirates.
“Damn it, they didn’t even give us a magic crystal lamp. How the hell are we supposed to see anything?”
Three pirates grumbled together, clearly unwilling to deal with Dylan.
Perfect—Dylan felt the same.
“Boss, how’s it looking?” Dylan asked through the mycelial network.
“Nothing yet.”
Even though Mana Sense and Light Sense had been scrambled, the scout still had Echolocation and Airflow Sense.
Unless the enemy was truly a ghost, they wouldn’t escape Puji’s detection.
Time dragged on. Dylan grew more tense, while the pirates behind him complained endlessly.
Then—boom!
A burst of fire lit the Mist from the Blood Shark’s direction!
A massive illumination sphere rose, silhouettes moving frantically on the ship.
It looked like persuading them to join the defense had failed. They had run into the enemy first!
Crack—
A faint sound. Detected by Puji.
But Dylan and the three pirates were still staring at the Blood Shark, oblivious.
“Dylan! They’re here!”
Puji’s
bladed tendril lashed out along the ship’s side. A wet slicing noise followed, but nothing else.Dylan rushed to Puji’s side and looked down—straight into a pair of pale, fish-dead eyes.
A humanoid monster clung to the hull. Ten bloodless fingers gripped the planks, thin translucent webbing stretched between them, while sharp bone-blades jutted from the backs of its hands.
Its clammy skin was an unnatural Gerhard-white. Beneath it, elongated shadows writhed through the veins—leeches? Some parasite crawling inside its blood vessels.
A deep cut marred its shoulder, courtesy of Puji’s earlier strike. But not a drop of blood seeped out.
Lin Jun noted grimly: this creature had no status panel at all.
“The enemy’s here!”
Prepared, Dylan stayed calm enough to shout a warning—and drove his sword down.
The steel blade pierced the Water Ghost’s head. Instantly it went limp, releasing its grip and falling away.
But it wasn’t over.
Slap—slap—
Slap-slap-slap—
Dozens of clawing noises echoed from below. This time, everyone heard it.
One after another, Water Ghosts clawed their way up through the Mist.
“So many! How can we kill them all?”
Dylan’s scalp prickled, but his sword never stopped. He darted back and forth, stabbing every Water Ghost in reach. Puji’s bladed whip lashed out beside him, severing heads.
The pirates nearby were in chaos—their side too was being swarmed.
The battle dragged on like a relentless game of whack-a-mole. Dylan grew weaker, his age catching up to him.
After skewering yet another Water Ghost, he paused for a breath—
“Down!” Lin Jun suddenly shouted.
Dylan dropped instantly. Puji’s bladed whip swept overhead, decapitating a Water Ghost that had slipped through.
When had it gotten up here!?
Dylan turned—and saw the three pirates behind him overrun. Two corpses sprawled on the deck. The last man was gone. Dylan had been so focused on fighting, he hadn’t even noticed.
“Back to the foredeck!” Lin Jun ordered.
The stern was lost. They had to regroup with the three gold-ranks at the front.
What was happening there?
With that thought, Dylan rushed forward—straight into chaos.
Water Ghosts, pirates, and sailors clashed in a desperate melee. Individually, the creatures were weak—even a silver rank could handle one. But there were too many, and they kept coming. Corpses already littered the deck.
The only good news was that the three gold-ranks still stood, battered but alive.
On the Blood Shark, magic flared repeatedly.
In fact, that unseen mage was stronger than Lin Jun had expected—at least diamond-tier. Which only made it stranger: if the mage was so strong, why had Kaspar, a mere gold, been the captain?
Dylan regrouped with Gerhard and the others. The fighting dragged on, bodies piling underfoot. Dylan leaned heavily on his sword, unable to swing anymore.
As for Gerhard and the pirate lieutenants, they had long since been scattered by the press of battle.
Another Water Ghost pounced—
Slash!
Its head split in two, falling atop the heap of its kin.
Scout Puji stood drooping beside Dylan, its mushroom cap wilted with exhaustion.
[Echolocation LV6]
Nothing. No more Water Ghosts.
Once Dylan regained a little strength, he followed Puji through the field of corpses.
Only two others still lived: Captain Gerhard and the pirate first mate.
Both were covered in wounds. The first mate had even lost an arm.
Everyone else lay among the dead.
Boom!
A pulse of magic surged from the Blood Shark.
That diamond-tier mage truly was formidable—still alive, though his casting had slowed.
“Is… is it over?” rasped the pirate first mate.
The towering brute, once a terrifying giant, now sounded weak as a mosquito.
Gerhard couldn’t even speak. He had already been stabbed once, and only potions and sheer will had kept him alive. He could only nod faintly.
It was the same as his last encounter—wave after wave of Water Ghosts. Kill them all, and it was done.
None of the survivors had the strength left for suspicion. With so few left, even sailing the ship might be impossible. If they didn’t cooperate now, they’d just die.
All three thought the same: they had to find the mage. Hopefully he had more survivors with him.
Whoosh—
The sound of waves breaking against a prow.
But it wasn’t coming from beneath them, nor from the Blood Shark.
It was ahead.
From the Mist, something massive tore its way through.
A ship—towering twice the size of the Windfeather.
Unlike the plain, utilitarian ships of the islands, this one bore ornate decorations.
A bronze prow carved into the likeness of a sea monster. The hull covered in elaborate patterns, painted in vivid colors, brimming with foreign culture.
The survivors stood dumbstruck by its beauty and majesty.
Only Lin Jun felt uneasy.
Those rows of square openings carved into the hull… why did they look so familiar?