Dylan approached the blood-soaked killer chair and lifted it up.
In that instant, the pirates' gazes—so intense they seemed almost tangible—all converged on Dylan.
If looks could kill, Dylan would have died dozens of times over.
If Caspar hadn't been killed, they wouldn't have had to hand over the initiative to Gerhard.
Gerhard also took a closer look at this middle-aged man who had previously maintained such a low presence—clearly someone who kept his cards close to his chest.
The scout Puffshrooms had killed Caspar through a sneak attack, and while no one was entirely clear on its actual strength, they all silently classified Dylan as Gold-rank in their minds—and a particularly sinister and vicious Gold-rank at that.
Anyone who saw how Caspar had died would feel the cruelty in it...
Withdrawing his gaze, Gerhard called out loudly: "We should still have some time. We need to concentrate all our forces! You need to call everyone from the Blood Shark over here—the Wind Feather is higher and more suitable for defense!"
"Defense? What enemies are we facing?"
"If everyone comes over, what about the Blood Shark?"
The pirates immediately broke into chaotic chatter again.
"All of you shut up!"
The pirate first mate suddenly roared. This two-meter-tall giant wielding a massive hammer casually pointed at one of the pirates.
"You—swing over and explain the situation to our people on the ship!"
"Me?"
The designated pirate's face showed clear reluctance. In this unclear situation with poor visibility, who knew what dangers awaited when swinging back on ropes...
*Bang!*
The hammer came down without warning, and the pirate's head was instantly smashed into his chest cavity by the first mate.
The first mate then pointed at another pirate. "You go!"
This pirate said nothing and immediately went to carry out the order.
"What else needs doing?" The pirate first mate turned to look at Gerhard.
*Gulp—*
The first mate's brutality not only intimidated the pirates but also made Gerhard and the sailors feel chilled to the bone.
Gerhard now believed that when this guy had said earlier that he'd kill him on the spot if he tried anything funny, he'd meant every word.
Secretly pinching his fingers, Gerhard continued issuing orders: "Everyone grab weapons and anything you can throw, then spread out to guard the ship's edges. The enemies will come up from the sea! We absolutely cannot let them board the ship!"
"What exactly are these enemies—Soulless Ones?" The question came from the pirate second mate, who wore two curved sabers at his waist.
Anyone who mixed in the archipelago knew about the mist, and the most widely known threat was the Soulless Ones.
These beings, lost in the mist and eventually becoming puppet-like creatures, were the most common things encountered at the fog's edges.
Most so-called "mist resistance" involved dealing with these Soulless Ones.
As for the depths of the mist, there were all sorts of stories, making it hard to distinguish truth from fiction.
When the pirates heard about enemies, their first thought naturally went to the Soulless Ones.
However, Gerhard shook his head: "No, they're not like those weak Soulless Ones from the mist's edge. I don't know what to call these enemies, but if I had to use a name to describe them, 'water ghosts' might be more appropriate. Their weakness is similar to the Soulless Ones though—it's the head!"
After a pause, Gerhard added: "Of course, this experience comes from my previous encounter. It's entirely possible we'll face something unexpected, so stay alert and shout out if you spot anything."
Nodding, everyone dispersed to guard the ship's edges under these arrangements, while ten sailors were assigned to go below deck.
Whether intentionally or not, Dylan was assigned to the stern—the area he knew best—along with several pirates.
"Damn it, they didn't even give us a magic crystal lamp. What the hell are we supposed to see?"
The three pirates complained as they huddled together, clearly wanting nothing to do with Dylan.
What a coincidence—Dylan felt the same way.
"Boss, how's it looking?" Dylan asked through the fungal network.
"Nothing detected yet."
Although [Magic Perception] and [Light Perception] weren't working well, the scout still had [Sonic Detection] and [Airflow Sensing].
Unless their opponents were ghosts, they shouldn't be able to escape the scout's surveillance.
Time passed minute by minute. Just as Dylan grew increasingly tense from waiting and the pirates behind him began complaining non-stop—
A flash of fire accompanied by a tremendous roar burst from within the mist—from the Blood Shark's direction!
Then a massive illumination spell light orb rose in the distance, allowing Dylan to faintly make out the swarming figures on the Blood Shark.
It seemed the plan to convince the Blood Shark pirates to come over for joint defense had failed, and they'd encountered enemies first!
*Snap—*
A faint sound was detected by the scout, while Dylan and the three pirates remained transfixed, staring at the distant Blood Shark in a daze, not noticing the noise.
"Dylan, they're here!"
Scout Puffshrooms' bladed tentacle suddenly lashed out along the ship's rail. The sound of a blade piercing flesh came from below, but nothing else followed.
Dylan also ran to Puffshrooms' side and looked down, meeting a pair of dead-fish-like pale eyes.
A humanoid monster with ten bloodless fingers gripped the ship's hull, webbing stretched between its digits, while sharp bone blades protruded from the backs of its hands.
Its damp skin showed an unnatural grayish-white color, with thin, elongated shadows occasionally bulging and moving beneath the surface, like parasitic leeches swimming through blood vessels.
This water ghost had a deep gash on its shoulder from Puffshrooms' recent attack, yet not a single drop of blood flowed from the wound.
In Lin Jun's eyes, this monster had no status panel...
"Enemies incoming!"
Having mentally prepared himself, Dylan remained relatively calm as he loudly warned the others while simultaneously thrusting his sword downward.
The steel blade smoothly pierced through the water ghost's head. The creature immediately lost all ability to move, its hands releasing the ship's edge as it fell.
However, this was far from over...
*Snap snap—*
*Snap snap snap snap—*
Dense sounds of water ghosts clambering onto the ship came from below, and this time everyone heard them clearly.
One after another, water ghost silhouettes emerged from the mist below.
"So many! Can we possibly kill them all?"
Dylan's scalp tingled at the sight, but his hands didn't dare pause for even a moment. He ran back and forth, stabbing to death any water ghost trying to climb up within his defensive area, while Scout Puffshrooms helped by wielding its blade whips.
The pirates behind him also grew agitated—clearly water ghosts had appeared on their side too.
The whack-a-mole style combat continued for a long while. Dylan gradually became exhausted, his age disadvantage becoming obvious.
After stabbing another water ghost to death, Dylan was about to catch his breath when he heard his boss suddenly shout: "Get down!"
Instantly dropping to his knees, Puffshrooms' blade whip swept overhead, and a headless water ghost collapsed beside Dylan.
A water ghost had gotten on board?
When?
Dylan turned to look—the three pirates' position had been breached!
Two pirate corpses lay on the deck, while the third was nowhere to be seen. Dylan had been so focused on combat that he hadn't noticed.
"Quick, get back to the fore deck!" Lin Jun said.
The aft deck couldn't be held—they needed to regroup with the three Gold-ranks on the fore deck.
What's the situation up front?
With this concern, when Dylan ran back to the fore deck, he witnessed a chaotic melee...
Water ghosts, pirates, and sailors were locked in combat across the deck. While individual water ghosts weren't particularly strong—even Silver-ranks could handle them one-on-one—their sheer numbers and endless waves had already claimed many lives.
The good news was that the three Gold-ranks hadn't suffered casualties yet. Though they looked haggard, they were at least still standing.
The Blood Shark was in a similar situation, with magical attacks from their mage visible from time to time.
In fact, this unseen mage displayed strength far beyond Lin Jun's expectations—at least Diamond-rank level. Lin Jun couldn't understand why the Gold-rank Caspar had been the leader when the mage was clearly the strongest.
After Dylan regrouped with Gerhard and the others, the battle continued for quite some time.
The deck was now covered entirely in corpses—water ghosts, pirates, and others. Dylan leaned on his sword, no longer able to muster the strength to swing it.
As for Gerhard and the pirate first mate, they'd been scattered long ago.
Another water ghost bounded forward on all fours, then leaped with a powerful kick.
A cold flash, and the water ghost's head split in two as it crashed into the pile of corpses, just like its companions.
Scout Puffshrooms stood wearily beside Dylan, its cap drooping.
[Sonic Detection LV6]
It seemed... there were no more water ghosts?
After Dylan recovered a bit of strength, he followed Puffshrooms as they stepped over the corpse-strewn deck for a circuit.
Only Captain Gerhard and the pirate first mate remained alive.
Both were covered in wounds, with the first mate missing an arm entirely.
As for everyone else, they were probably somewhere in that pile of bodies.
*Boom!*
A wave of magical energy emanated from the Blood Shark.
That Diamond-rank mage really had skills—even now he hadn't exhausted his magical power. Though his casting intervals had lengthened, he was definitely still alive.
"Is this... over?" the pirate first mate asked in a hoarse voice.
This fierce two-meter giant now spoke as weakly as a mosquito.
Gerhard couldn't even speak. He'd already been stabbed once and had only survived this long thanks to several potions and a small bit of "survival wisdom." Faced with the question, he could only nod with difficulty.
This time had been the same as his previous encounter—masses of water ghosts that were fine once killed.
The mutual wariness between the men had vanished. After all, with so few survivors they might not even have enough people to sail the ship. Without cooperation, they'd just be waiting to die...
All three were thinking of finding the mage shortly, hoping his side had more survivors.
*Whoosh—*
The sound of waves being split by a ship's bow.
But strangely, it wasn't coming from beneath their feet or from the neighboring Blood Shark, but... from ahead?
Through the thick fog, some massive presence was tearing through the misty veil!
Drawing closer, they finally made out what it was—a giant vessel fully twice as tall as the Wind Feather.
Unlike the utilitarian Wind Feather and Blood Shark, this massive ship bore decorations completely different from archipelago styling.
Beyond the bronze figurehead carved as a sea monster, the enormous hull was covered entirely in exquisite carved patterns, with various pigments forming culturally distinctive designs.
Everyone was awed by the ship's size and beauty—everyone except Lin Jun, who found something odd.
Those rows of square compartments on the hull... why did they look familiar?
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