Boarding the Ship

The cotton ignited, turning into a magnificent blaze in an instant. Together with the spores drifting everywhere, it became ash. The fire quickly died out, and only then did the cultists gathered in the hall finally breathe a sigh of relief.

That strange, horrifying scene just now, along with those spores that clearly looked ready to spread and infect everything outside, made every sane person feel immense danger.

Yet while the ordinary believers relaxed slightly, the gloomy pressure emanating from the platform did not diminish in the slightest—the Saint lightly clicked his skeletal "crown" together, while eyestalks continued to scan the hall and its surroundings uneasily. He knew that the gloom shrouding this ship remained. What he had destroyed was merely a shadow of that gloom that had seeped in many days ago, while the shadow's true body had already completed its invasion... He had acted too slowly.

"Do not relax too soon. The uninvited guest has already boarded the ship," his voice rang directly within everyone's mind. "From this moment on, the entire ship is under heretic invasion alert... Lundim, take men and search the entire ship. Find the intruder—if anyone refuses inspection or behaves suspiciously, kill them without mercy.

"Gemoro, take men to the engine room. Take control of the steam core and the main valves. The intruder may attempt to seize the heart of the entire ship... Bring nitroglycerin.

"Polsa, take your followers to the armory. Arm all ordinary believers... Have those mortal sailors take up weapons as well.

"Basmodon, take men to secure the deck guns. The enemy may attack from the sea as well."

The Saint's sudden series of orders instantly snapped the Annihilation Cultists, who had relaxed for barely a few seconds, back to attention. Everyone realized the gravity of the situation. The priests