In the dark, fathomless passage, pinpricks of light approached from afar. A group of over twenty people slowly advanced with lanterns in hand. As the scenery before them changed, the man at the head of the group, dressed like the King of Clubs from a deck of cards, suddenly swept out his hand and declared in a commanding voice:
"No ambushes are permitted here."
A field crackling with faint electricity spread outward, and a succession of piercing shrieks immediately rang out from the darkness.
Lightless black flames followed, forming a ring of fire that spread outward. They silently ignited the Monsters lurking in the dark. Amid miserable struggles and wails, the group continued forward.
Every chamber of the Ghost Empire was enormous. This was not the result of mindlessly scaling up its original design. In fact, when the ship was first built, every compartment had been designed for humans of normal size. However, over thousands of years, under the influence of the Lord of Order's characteristics, the ship had been permeated by a certain order. Rooms with similar functions and internal structures gradually began to merge, eventually becoming massive labyrinthine worlds resembling miniature ecosystems.
The crew quarters had become nests of the dead filled with undead and resentful spirits; the cargo holds were packed with every kind of golem; the watertight compartments once used to keep out water had now filled with seawater; even the original kitchens had turned into mountains of blades and seas of fire...
With a map that was only around forty percent complete and the structure of a normal sailing ship as their guide, MI9's team began exploring the labyrinth.
"Gather the spoils and check whether there are any lighting fixtures nearby." Grov swiftly gave his orders, and the MI9 members dispersed in groups of three.