Destination: Fog Sea

"Crackling..."

In the middle of the Sea, a wrecked sailing ship was burning. The cratered deck was littered with the corpses of pirates. Their leader, "Crazy Captain" Connors Victor, had been cleaved in two, his blood and entrails spilling everywhere.

The culprit behind all this, Luther's Sailor, are searching the ship. Under the command of Sailor "Sea Serpent" Walter, they rescue the natives from the lower decks and bring them to the deck.

As the sea breeze blew, and they saw that their compatriots were among those who had rescued them, the natives gradually came to their senses. Their expressions and reactions varied; some cheered with joy, while others wept bitterly. A native boy was crying loudly, embracing a dead middle-aged woman, and occasionally speaking in the local native language.

That's his mother.

Philia, also an island native, understood her words and a look of sympathy appeared on her face. "Her mother was killed by pirates on the ship..."

Other sailors of indigenous origin also showed signs of reluctance.

"Alright! Quiet down, all of you!" Walter, the "Sea Serpent," raised his voice and shouted in fluent native language, immediately drowning out the natives' voices and making them look over in fear.

"We are the Fleet of Alexander Gascoigne, the [King of Blood],"

Walter said, "We've come to fight against Loen and save you! You're saved!"

"You can come aboard with us, and we'll take you home. We're also recruiting crew members with excellent benefits. If you'd like to join us, you can stay..."

On the opposite "Doe," Luther watched the "Sea Serpent's" sermon through the Captain's Cabin window. He saw that most of the natives were timid and hesitant, but a few had angry glints in their eyes, indicating that they wanted to join them.

He observed for a while longer before turning his attention back to the nautical chart on the table. The chart was covered with dense lines that intersected with each other, starting from the Sonia Sea, crossing the Southern Continent and the Berserk Sea, and finally ending in the Fog Sea.

During this period, Luther did two things:

First, using the intelligence from "Vice Admiral of Ailment," he tracked down the relevant personnel and successfully killed a group of the Demoness Sect members and peripheral organizers;

Secondly, whenever he arrived at a new place, he would summon the key to the "Black Throne" to collect location information. Since members of the Demoness Sect were scattered throughout the Sonia Sea, he successfully drew a large number of radial lines on the nautical chart.

That's about it...

Luther thought to himself, then picked up a pen.

"Swish, swish."

He carefully moved the pen tip, drawing shadows on the overlapping areas. Gradually, an area stood out due to the repeated overlapping and shading.

This area is located in the middle of the Fog Sea, in the waters between the islands of Aroca Island and Easter Island.

"The Fog Sea..."

Luther frowned.

Roselle's diary does mention that he once led his Fleet to explore the depths of the Fog Sea and even encountered Abyss... It seems understandable that he left his Flagship to roam that area.

"Thump thump thump."

As he was pondering this, footsteps approached, and First Mate Anderson entered the Captain's Cabin.

"Captain, you were looking for me?"

He poked his head in and asked with a grin.

"Okay," Luther nodded, "You can come in first."

When Anderson walked in, he simply pushed a slip of paper over and handed it to him. The latter took it, puzzled, and opened it to find a few lines of text:

[Sequence 4, Iron-Blooded Knight.]

Main Ingredient: Core of the Magma Giant, Calamity Stone.

Additional materials: 80 ml of boiling lava, 20 g of plant powder contaminated by the Calamity Stone, 20 g of soil soaked in soldiers' blood from a large battlefield, and one acorn.

Advancement Ritual: Assemble a team of at least thirty people, cultivate deep camaraderie among them, help them grow stronger and more coordinated, able to understand each other through eye contact and gestures, becoming almost one. Then, they will perform the Ritual. The higher the team's strength and coordination, the better the Ritual's effect.

"This.."

Anderson glanced at the note, initially dismissing it casually, but was quickly stunned by the words on it. "This is... the Hunter Pathway Sequence 4 Potion recipe and Advancement Ritual!"

He strained with all his might to look away and return his gaze to Luther. "Captain, what are you doing?"

Although Luther had promised to give it to him before, his own contribution was clearly insufficient, so why was it given to him today without any warning?

To be honest, he really wanted it, but Luther gave it to him so readily that it made him feel a little uneasy.

Consider this an advance payment to you.

Luther smiled, then his expression turned serious. "Anderson, I'm going out on my own. During this time, you'll be in command of the Fleet. Continue with these tasks: intercepting slave ships, freeing natives, and recruiting people."

"... Captain, are you serious?"

Anderson looked at him with suspicion, asking him several times before finally confirming that Luther wasn't joking.

"But Captain, we have so many enemies. If you leave, I, a mere Sequence 5, can't handle them all," he said with a wry smile. "Our Fleet's overall strength depends on you. If you leave, I alone won't even be able to contend with the other Pirate Admiral."

Luther didn't explain what he was going to do, and he wisely didn't ask, but simply explained his difficulties.

"That's easy."

Luther said, reaching out to grab his left arm.

"Sizzle!"

With a teeth-grinding tearing sound, he ripped the arm off and threw it to the ground. The arm began to writhe upon hitting the ground and quickly transformed into a Flesh Puppet identical to himself.

"Buzz!"

Luther's eyes turned gold, he muttered a few words, and touched the Puppet's forehead with his finger.

The latter's previously dull eyes quickly brightened, and he coldly surveyed his surroundings.

"He can probably exert the strength of around Sequence 5, and his usual words and actions are no different from mine."

Luther said, then took out another talisman made of Flesh, which emanated a distinct Demigod aura. He stuffed the talisman into the Puppet's clothes, and his aura increased further, making him look quite convincing.

"Also, I'll leave you a few more Mystical Item. With those, you should be able to handle things."

He then tossed "Rivell's Desperate Scream" and Harras's Black Iron Glove to the other man, saying, "If things get really urgent, Destruction that Flesh Charm. I'll sense it immediately and rush back as quickly as possible."

I'll be back as soon as possible.