Caspar's sudden cry made the pirates, who had already begun their charge, come to an abrupt halt. Everyone stared at him in bewilderment.
Had their captain... stepped on a nail?
After a brief howl, Caspar quickly fell silent.
"Captain?" Garen, who was closest to him, asked tentatively.
His entire future depended on Caspar, and among everyone present, he cared more about the captain than even the two first mates.
Caspar's arm trembled slightly, then he raised it and waved casually, signaling that nothing was wrong.
Seeing this, Garen breathed a sigh of relief. However, when the two Gold-rank first mates saw that stiff waving motion, they both took a step back in unison, raising their weapons toward Caspar.
"What the hell is that thing?" The first mate's roar carried a hint of horror.
"What's happening?" Garen was completely confused. Why had the Blood Shark crew suddenly turned on each other?
Even if they were going to fight among themselves, shouldn't they deal with the people on the Wind Feather first?
Seeing that he hadn't fooled the two pirate first mates, Lin Jun felt somewhat disappointed as he controlled Scout Puffshrooms to withdraw the fungal tendrils from Caspar's body. With a casual swipe, he slashed open the throat of the bewildered Garen standing before him—he had originally hoped to ambush another Gold-rank.
Just as Gerhard hadn't expected Garen's sneak attack, Garen hadn't expected to be attacked in front of Caspar—or rather, attacked by the stool beneath Caspar.
Garen pressed one hand to his throat while frantically groping at his waist with the other, trying to retrieve a healing potion from his belt pouch. A slashed throat could be treated if attended to quickly... The scout slashed his wrist with another strike.
No longer paying attention to the fat black man dying at his feet, Lin Jun focused his attention on the two Gold-rank pirates who looked terrified but remained in battle formation.
Honestly, Lin Jun hadn't wanted to get involved in this mess. Getting involved meant exposure, and although he could make up some story afterward about it being Dylan's controlled familiar or something, there would inevitably be flaws that couldn't withstand scrutiny.
If the pirates had just stolen some cargo and money while leaving the people and ship alone, Lin Jun would have turned a blind eye and let it pass.
He hadn't expected this bunch to be so greedy—wanting to capture everyone as slaves!?
This seemed to break the local rules too, though he didn't know how things worked in these islands.
Lin Jun naturally couldn't let Dylan take a detour to experience the slave life, so he had no choice but to meddle in this affair.
His original plan was to launch a sneak attack when the pirates started fighting with the Wind Feather crew and the captain's attention was fully occupied. He hadn't expected this cannon fodder teammate to fall before the fight even began...
Useless!
Now the scout faced two Gold-ranks alone, and there might still be a wind mage on the Blood Shark. He needed to win quickly before the enemy could react.
But you had to remember there were still over thirty pirates, all ranging from Bronze to Silver rank. Even though they weren't individually powerful, such numbers were still troublesome.
On his side, only Dylan could be counted on for sure, and with two skill items, he could match about half a Gold-rank.
As for the sailors and passengers?
They looked at Scout Puffshrooms with eyes no better than the pirates'—all filled with terror.
Who could blame them when Scout Puffshrooms currently appeared as a murderous stool...
Caspar, who had everything under control just moments ago, now lay on the deck with blood nearly drained from the wounds in his lower body. Who wouldn't be frightened by such a sight?
There was no choice but to bite the bullet and press forward, hoping fear would intimidate those ordinary pirates.
*Puff—*
Puffshrooms took a step forward, and except for the two pirate first mates, everyone else took a step back, including the distant sailors.
Dylan raised his longsword, preparing to coordinate with Scout Puffshrooms at the first opportunity.
Just as Lin Jun was about to launch his attack, he suddenly stopped.
Why had [Magic Perception] suddenly stopped working properly?
Since he lacked the fungal network's vision, Lin Jun had equipped Scout Puffshrooms with multiple perception skills: light, airflow, sound waves, and magic power.
In combat, all were activated simultaneously, and Lin Jun could handle the processing.
But now, the magic perception view had suddenly become blurred—more precisely, it was obscured by magical energy that had suddenly appeared around the Wind Feather... like... mist!
Wait!
Real fog was forming!
Through [Light Perception], the visibility around them had somehow decreased significantly. Even the three moons in the sky were nearly swallowed up, though the change wasn't as obvious as the surrounding magical fluctuations, causing Lin Jun to overlook it initially.
And this fog was growing thicker.
This was definitely no ordinary fog—normal fog couldn't possibly contain such dense magical energy.
During the minute that Scout Puffshrooms had paused, the moonlight rapidly faded to just a final glimmer, and the others present finally noticed the sudden thick fog.
"Is it the Mist?"
Someone asked—unclear who—but the question quickly sparked panic among the crowd, affecting both sailors and pirates alike.
"The Mist? Then we're all dead!" A pirate staggered and knocked over a nearby barrel, the fear flickering in his pupils three times more intense than when he'd witnessed Caspar's death.
"Impossible! We're so far from the boundary!"
"Isn't that murderous stool a Mist monster?"
"Damn it, who cares—let's get the ship moving and get out of here!"
"What about the people on this ship?"
"Caspar's dead—who gives a damn about these people!"
The pirates were clearly in chaos, and the two first mates exchanged glances, also harboring thoughts of retreat.
The moon was completely shrouded by thick fog, plunging the ship into darkness.
Suddenly, a light appeared in the pitch black—Gerhard, having caught his breath, had lit the illumination crystal in his hand.
"This is a moving Mist. I'm afraid it's too late to run now."
"Nonsense! What would you know?" a pirate retorted disbelievingly.
Gerhard suddenly roared:
"Twenty years ago, the Golden Griffon, west of Giant Horn Island—I encountered it!
Eighty-two people on board, only three survived!
We're all in danger now. If we act separately, we'll end up just like back then.
Right now, I don't care if you're a pirate, one of my crew, or a passenger—listen to me!
Otherwise, none of us will survive.
If you don't believe me, you can come kill me right now. We're all going to die anyway—might as well make it quick with a blade!"
Gerhard's last sentence was directed at the pirates.
The pirates were momentarily stunned, but faced with Gerhard, who had just been their enemy, none dared rashly follow his commands.
Until an old pirate spoke: "The Golden Griffon... I think I've heard of it. It did sink in the Mist, but I heard it was because they crossed the boundary..."
"That's a rumor!" Gerhard said again. "From the Golden Griffon's captain to first mate, they were all legendary figures among the islands back then. How could they possibly mistake the boundary's location? It was moving Mist—unpredictable Mist like today's—that caused the Golden Griffon to be lost!"
For a moment, even Dylan and Lin Jun almost believed Gerhard's words.
The pirate first mate gritted his teeth: "Fine! We'll listen to you for now. What do you say we should do? I'm warning you—no tricks. If we can get through this safely, we'll part ways peacefully afterward. But if you try any schemes, I'll kill you on the spot!"
"Suit yourself!" Gerhard said, supporting himself against the wall as he stood up.
"What about that thing?" The second mate pointed at Scout Puffshrooms.
This stumped Gerhard—he truly didn't know what this murderous stool was, completely different from the enemies he remembered in the Mist.
During the brief silence, Dylan scratched his head and stepped forward.
"Um... it's my familiar..."
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