Dylan came to the blood-soaked murder chair and picked it up.

In an instant, the pirates' nearly tangible gaze all focused on Dylan.

If looks could kill, Dylan would have been killed dozens of times already.

If Caspar hadn't been killed, they wouldn't have handed the initiative to Gerhard.

Gerhard gave this seemingly inconspicuous middle-aged man — Dylan — an extra glance, sensing something deeper.

Scout Puki had ambushed and killed Caspar; no one knew its exact skill level, but they all silently ranked Dylan as Gold Level, and a very insidious one at that.

Anyone who saw how Caspar died would feel the brutality in it...

Retracting his gaze, Gerhard spoke loudly, "We should still have some time, we need to gather all our forces! You have to call the people from Blood Shark over, Wind Feather is taller and better suited for defense!"

"Defense? What enemy?"

"What if everyone comes over, what happens to Blood Shark?"

The pirates immediately started chattering amongst themselves.

"Shut up!"

The pirate first mate suddenly shouted, this two-meter-tall guy wielding a large hammer pointed at a pirate.

"You, swing over there and explain things to the people on our ship!"

"Me?"

The pointed pirate looked unwilling; under unclear circumstances and poor visibility, swinging back on a rope could be dangerous...

Bam!

The hammer came down without warning, and the pirate's head was instantly smashed into his chest by the first mate.

The first mate then pointed at another pirate, "You go!"

This pirate didn't say a word, turned around, and went to execute the command.

"What should we do next?" The pirate first mate turned to Gerhard.

Gulp—

The first mate's brutality not only shocked the pirates but also jolted Gerhard and all the sailors.

Gerhard now believed what this guy said before, about killing him if he dared to have any crooked thoughts.

Secretly pinching his fingers, Gerhard continued to issue orders, "Everyone take up weapons and anything that can be thrown, spread out at the ship's edge, the enemies will come from the sea! You must not let them board!"

"What kind of enemy is it, Lost Soul, maybe?" The question was asked by the pirate second mate with two curved sabers strapped to his waist.

In the archipelago, nobody is unaware of the mist, and Lost Soul is the most well-known story.

Those who get lost in the mist, eventually becoming puppets, are the most commonly seen things at the Mist Edge.

Most combating the mist involves dealing with these Lost Souls.

As for deeper within the mist, rumors vary, making it hard to discern truth from fiction.

Hearing there were enemies, the pirates naturally first thought of Lost Souls.

However, Gerhard shook his head, "No, definitely not as weak as those Lost Souls at the Mist Edge. I don't know what these enemies are called. If I must name them, Water Ghost might fit, but their weakness, like Lost Souls, is the head!"

After pausing, Gerhard added, "Of course, this is all based on my past encounter; something unexpected might still occur. Maintain vigilance, and shout out if you discover anything."

Nodding, the group scattered at the ship's edge under orders, with ten sailors assigned to the inside of the ship.

Whether intentional or accidental, Dylan ended up assigned to the stern, the area he was most familiar with, alongside several pirates.

"Damn, no Magic Crystal lamp for us, how can we see anything?"

The three pirates complained, gathering together, clearly not wanting to interact with Dylan.

Coincidentally, Dylan felt the same.

"Boss, what's the situation?" Dylan asked in the Fungal Network.

"No discoveries for now."

Although both Magic Perception and Light Perception were useless, the scout still had Sound Wave Detection and Air Flow Perception.

Unless the enemy was a ghost, they couldn't escape the scout's detection.

As time ticked by and Dylan felt increasingly stifled, the pirates behind him began to complain non-stop.

A firelight accompanied by a loud sound suddenly appeared from the mist, from the Blood Shark's direction!

Then, a huge Lighting Technique light sphere rose in the distance, allowing Dylan to vaguely see the silhouettes moving on Blood Shark.

It seemed the plan to persuade Blood Shark pirates to come defend had failed, and they'd encountered the enemy first!

Pa——

A slight sound was detected by the scout, while Dylan and the three pirates were still staring dumbly at Blood Shark in the distance, unaware of the sound.

"Dylan, it's here!"

Scout Puki's bladed tentacle swiftly swung along the ship's edge, the sound of blades cutting into flesh heard from below, but no other sounds followed.

He then ran to Scout Puki's side, looking down, only to encounter a pair of blank dead-fish eyes.

The humanoid creature clung to the ship with ten bloodless fingers, webbed membranes between them, and sharp bone blades growing on the back of its hands.

Its damp skin had an unnatural grayish-white hue, with thin shadows occasionally swelling and moving beneath, resembling some parasitic leeches traversing its bloodstream.

The Water Ghost's shoulder bore a deep cut made by Scout Puki's recent attack, yet not a drop of blood flowed from the wound.

In Lin Jun's eyes, this monster had no panel...

"The enemy is here!"

Dylan, mentally prepared, remained calm as he loudly reminded the others while thrusting his sword downward.

The fine steel longsword smoothly pierced through the water ghost's head, and the water ghost immediately lost its ability to move, its hands releasing from the ship's side as it fell away.

However, the matter was far from over…

Pa-pa—

Pa-pa-pa-pa—

The dense sound of water ghosts clambering onto the ship echoed from below, this time clearly heard by everyone.

One after another, the figures of water ghosts emerged from the mist below.

"So many! Can we kill them all?"

Dylan felt his scalp tingle, yet dared not pause for a moment, running back and forth to stab any water ghost trying to climb up within his guard area, with Scout Puki also swinging its blade whip to help.

The pirates behind also began to stir, obviously dealing with their own water ghost invasion.

The whack-a-mole style combat continued for a long time, gradually wearing Dylan down, his age disadvantage becoming apparent.

Having just impaled another water ghost, Dylan was about to catch his breath when the leader suddenly shouted, "Get down!"

He instantly dropped to the ground, as Scout Puki's blade whip swept past, and a headless water ghost fell beside Dylan.

Had the water ghosts come aboard?

When did that happen?

Turning his head, Dylan saw that the area behind, where three pirates stood, had been breached!

The bodies of two pirates lay on the deck, and another was nowhere to be found; he had been too engrossed in battle to notice.

"Quick, retreat to the forward deck!" Lin Jun instructed.

The aft deck couldn't hold, they had to join up with the three Gold Levels on the front deck.

What was happening up front?

With such doubts, Dylan rushed back to the forward deck and was greeted by a chaotic melee…

Water ghosts, pirates, and sailors were entangled in battle across the deck; individually, the water ghosts weren't strong, a Silver Level could handle them one-on-one, but the overwhelming numbers coming in waves had already killed many.

The good news was that the three Gold Levels had not yet suffered casualties; albeit looking disheveled, they were all still there.

The situation was the same on the Blood Shark, with occasional magic attacks from a yet-unseen mage.

In fact, the power displayed by this mage far exceeded Lin Jun's expectations, possessing at least Diamond Level strength. Lin Jun couldn't understand why, if the mage was the strongest, Gold Level Caspar was the leader?

After Dylan regrouped with Gerhard and the others, the battle continued for a long time.

The deck was littered with bodies—those of water ghosts, pirates, or others—Dylan leaned on his sword, too exhausted to muster the strength to swing.

As for Gerhard and the pirate first mate, who knows when they were scattered.

Another water ghost, on all fours, lunged forward.

A flash of cold light, and the water ghost's head was split in two, falling among the pile of corpses just like its kin.

Standing lethargically beside Dylan was Scout Puki.

[Sound Wave Detection Level 6]

It seemed… there were no more water ghosts?

Once Dylan regained a bit of strength, he followed Scout Puki, stepping over the field of bodies for a survey.

The only living people left were Captain Gerhard and the pirate first mate.

Both were covered in wounds, with the pirate first mate even having lost an arm.

As for the others, they were likely all in the heap of bodies.

Boom!

A burst of magical energy emanated from the Blood Shark.

The Diamond Level mage truly was skilled, having not yet exhausted their magic power, although there were longer intervals between spells, they were still alive.

"Does this count as making it through?" The pirate first mate asked hoarsely.

This two-meter-tall brutal giant's voice was now as weak as a mosquito's.

Gerhard couldn't even speak, having been stabbed once; he was surviving only thanks to a few potions and a bit of "survival wisdom," nodding with difficulty in response to the question.

This was the same as his last encounter, a large number of water ghosts; once they were all killed, it was over.

The mutual distrust between them had vanished, as the remaining number of people wasn't even enough to sail the ship; without cooperation, they would face death…

All three were thinking of seeking out the mage later, hoping that side had more survivors.

Whoosh—

The sound was that of waves being cleaved by the ship's bow.

Yet strangely, it wasn't from beneath them or from the Blood Shark beside them, but rather… from ahead?

In the dense fog, something enormous was tearing through the mist curtain!

As it drew nearer, they could see it clearly—a massive ship, at least twice the height of the Wind Feather.

Unlike the practical styling of the Wind Feather or the Blood Shark, this colossal vessel featured decorations unfamiliar to the archipelago style.

Beyond the kraken-statue bronze bow, the ship's enormous body was carved with exquisite patterns, with various colors forming culturally distinctive designs.

Everyone was struck by the enormity and beauty of the giant ship, except for Lin Jun, who found something peculiar.

What were these rows of square blocks on the ship's body, and why did they seem somewhat familiar?

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