The Banner

Since Louis was born, he had been treated as a monster, an angel, and even a succubus. But being treated as a god by a witch was a first.

Therefore, he felt quite speechless about it.

Beside him, Uta and Yelena raised their eyebrows upon hearing this, seemingly very surprised by the old witch's behavior and words.

But when their eyes landed on Louis, they felt relieved. It was understandable that the old witch would misunderstand Louis's identity.

Louis's response did not change the old witch's devout attitude. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and then became even more respectful.

"Yes, you are not a god."

As she spoke, she knelt down again.

Seeing this, Louis shook his head and turned to leave.

These kinds of fanatical religious zealots were just like this; they were impossible to communicate with.

Seeing this, Yelena and Uta followed him.

As for the villagers, they lowered their heads, not daring to look directly at Louis, and quietly cleared a path.

After the three of them left, the old witch knelt in the direction Louis had departed, devout and sincere.

Several days later, in an unknown sea area.

A warship flying a seagull flag cruised across the sea, dragging a red wake behind it.

Schools of ferocious carnivorous fish were attracted, gathering into a massive swarm behind the warship, diving headlong into the crimson wake to enjoy a feast.

Looking over, on the deck of the warship, one transparent humanoid figure after another threw human bodies into the sea one by one, churning up bloody waves.

A long time later, when the last body was tossed into the sea, waves rose without wind, and monstrous surges stirred in the ocean.

The sky-obscuring waves swept down, swallowing the warship whole and dragging it into the deep sea.

Soon, the monstrous waves subsided at an extremely fast speed, and within a very short time, there was no trace of any waves left on the sea surface.

A long while later, a massive black shadow emerged from beneath the wind-rippled surface. The mast flying the seagull flag pierced the surface first, followed by the enormous sails reappearing in the air.

"Boom..." The warship rose from the seabed, a loud noise suddenly exploding, startling the seagulls in the sky. Spray rose, dazzling and eye-catching under the shining sun.

A moment later, everything returned to calm.

On the vast, infinite sea, only the massive warship, clean and as good as new after being washed by the deep sea, remained adrift on the surface.

A golden figure arrived from the distance, stretching out pure white, flawless wings before descending slowly onto the deck.

"Thud..."

Louis stood on the warship's deck, slowly folding the wings behind his back, and walked straight toward the cabin.

As he walked, Louis swept his eyes over the deck, which was completely devoid of bloodstains, and mentally acknowledged the genius idea of sinking the warship into the sea to wash it clean.

Sure enough, those who spend a lot of time soaking in the sea know a thing or two about this.

In front of the massive mast, scorching flames ignited out of thin air behind Louis. By the time Louis was directly beneath the mast, the flames roared and expanded.

The intense heat swirled, causing the temperature of the warship to rise rapidly, and the seawater remaining on the deck evaporated at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The sails and flags bearing the World Government's seagull emblem were instantly ignited. In an instant, the fierce fire engulfed the entire warship.

Soon, the sails marked with the World Government emblem were burned to nothing, and wisps of black ash drifted away with the wind.

Louis opened the cabin door and slowly stepped inside.

What met his eyes were countless items piled up in a chaotic mess throughout the corridors and spaces. This was the result of being washed and tumbled by the sea.

It is worth mentioning that there were no bloodstains left inside the cabin. Most of the naval soldiers had been dragged to the deck to await their final fate.

Louis walked through the interior corridors of the warship, and wisps of golden light particles emerged from his body, circling him like a brilliant galaxy.

Wherever he passed, pale golden light particles drifted down, merging into the scattered items, transforming them into living entities that automatically organized themselves.

After a long while, Louis walked out of the cabin and came to the top of the warship to wait for the tardy Island Cloud.

A moment later, the pure white Island Cloud descended from the sky, accompanied by crisp, melodious singing. Two figures, carrying large and small bags and standing at the edge of the Island Cloud, appeared before Louis.

Abante Heim hovered at the height of the warship's bridge, level with Louis.

"Is this the ship we'll be using to sail from now on?!" Uta leaped down with her backpack on, standing beside Louis and observing everything with curiosity.

It was her first time boarding a naval warship, and she felt quite unfamiliar with all of it.

"Yeah, this warship should be fine for sailing the Four Blues, at least." Louis nodded, then took the fragile items from Yelena's hands and gently placed them on the deck of the bridge.

Yelena's red eyes swept over the empty masts and the warship's iconic blue-green paint, and she asked, "Do we need to change the warship's paint job?..."

"I bought quite a bit of waterproof paint on the last island." Yelena felt that since they were sailing in the Four Blues, the World Government's home turf, it was necessary to hide the fact that they had hijacked a warship.

To this, Louis said casually, "There's no need to waste time changing the ship's paint. Anyone with a sharp eye can tell it's a warship by its structure; you can't hide that."

Yelena nodded thoughtfully, then met Louis's gaze and added, "Besides, other than the flags, do we still need to hang sails?"

After a moment of contemplation, Louis gave his answer.

"Better hang it up after all!"

Although as Louis's mode of transport, the ship didn't need things like sails to navigate the sea, a ship would look rather strange without them.

"Alright!" Yelena set down her backpack, took out the high-quality canvas she had purchased, and walked slowly toward the mast.

Uta's eyes lit up at the sight. She stopped her exploration and ran toward Yelena. "Yelena, I'll help you!"

"Come!"

Yelena replied concisely.

Following that, the two worked in tandem to hoist a pitch-black flag at the top of the crow's nest above the mast.

On the black flag was a skull emblem set against a pair of white wings. Until the time was right, Louis would sail the seas flying this flag.

Because Louis had specifically kept all the ropes when he burned the old Navy sails, Yelena and Uta were able to hang the new sails up very quickly.

This was thanks to their experiences with the Red-Haired Pirates, which had taught them many things even before they had set out to sea.

After a long while, Yelena and Uta stood beneath the mast, looking up at the massive sail that bore the same emblem as the flag, their faces beaming with radiant smiles.

Louis walked over slowly and stood beside them, a smile also appearing on his face.

Just then, Uta turned her head and tugged on Louis's sleeve.

When Louis looked down at Uta, she posed a question to him.

"Hey, Louis!"

"What is it?" Louis asked in return.

"What are you planning to name the pirate crew?"