Natural Disaster

The Silver Dawn, with its conspicuous bright-colored sails, was cutting through the waves across the vast, misty ocean. The silver eagle figurehead at the bow shimmered brilliantly under the morning sun, creating a marvelous illusion as if it might spread its wings and take flight at any moment.

"It seems... like this... it's done!"

Inside a cabin on the ship, a man with bright, golden hair jumped up from his desk in excitement. Facing the morning light pouring in through the window, he examined his own creation: a metal gauntlet with a silver-gray luster. On the smooth, streamlined surface of the gauntlet, a peculiar transparent object resembling a crystal teardrop was embedded. Under the sunlight, it reflected a dreamy blue radiance.

At the same time, in another cabin, Ling Ying was also examining her equipment—a long sword that looked plain and unadorned, yet possessed a biting, cold edge.

"Doran's Blade, huh..."

Ling Ying picked up the long sword and casually flicked it, creating a sword flower. Thanks to the memories of a certain unlucky mercenary she had devoured, Ling Ying was no stranger to swordsmanship. This counted as an extra bit of help, after all, Ling Ying's Void Body did not handle light very well. If her current body were strong enough, many troubles could be solved with ease. As for why a weapon forged by Master Doran of Ionia would appear in Ling Ying's hands, she herself did not quite understand. However, it likely wasn't the original. After all, she had opened it from that so-called "newbie starter pack" left behind by the Cloaked Figure. The only thing certain was that this sword was a rare, high-quality piece, almost indistinguishable from the original.

"I really don't get it. So mysterious—what exactly is she trying to do?"

Ling Ying muttered to herself, rubbing her temples. Pondering the Cloaked Figure's motives had almost become her daily routine. Of course, she had never made any progress. Today was no different. After staring at the shimmering purple crystal on the table for a while, she sighed softly, picked up the crystal, and tucked it back into her bag. Then, she stood up from the chair, smoothed out the wrinkles on her dress, and tied her waist-length purple hair into a simple braid at the back of her head. She then threw on a hooded cloak. Ling Ying wanted to go to the deck to breathe some fresh air. However, just as she gripped the door handle, the hull beneath her feet jolted violently, causing her to stumble and slam her head against the doorframe.

"Damn it, consider it lucky. I'm on a passenger ship now; if it were before, you'd see me use a Whaling Harpoon to skewer it and turn it into a fish feast."

Wearing a Tricorn Hat adorned with silver feathers and sporting a thick beard, the captain kept cursing while observing the sea with a high-end telescope from Piltover. In his lens, a massive blue whale loomed in and out of the waves. But unlike the whales humans occasionally saw leisurely swimming on the surface, this whale was moving incredibly fast, as if something terrifying were chasing it from behind. Perhaps that was exactly why it had rammed into the bottom of the ship, causing a significant tremor for the Silver Dawn.

"Hey, Captain, forget about your whaling skills. Aside from catching small fish and shrimp, when have you ever handled a big guy like this?"

"You talk nonsense! You brat, I think your brain is failing you at such a young age. A few years ago, I led you all to catch dolphins on the other side of the strait..."

"Hey! Do you call dolphins big guys? I think you..."

"Wait, shut up."

The captain's voice suddenly turned serious, and the first mate wisely shut his mouth immediately. The captain twisted the telescope's magnification to the max and looked into the distance. The expression on his face turned visibly grim.

"Take a look at this."

The captain handed the telescope to the first mate. The first mate carefully took it and looked out at the sea. Despite the sunny weather, the sea a few nautical miles away was dim and gloomy. A massive expanse of ink-black clouds occupied the horizon, expanding its territory without a moment's pause. It was as if the day had passed and night had fallen. Even the surging waves on the sea were as pitch-black as if splashed with ink.

The first mate gasped at the ominous celestial phenomenon. He looked at the captain, and after a long silence, he spoke slowly.

"Black Tide?"

"Looks like it."

"How is that possible? Doesn't that thing only appear in Bilgewater?"

"Who the hell knows what's going on, but experience tells me this situation is definitely not normal. When the Black Tide comes, the air is filled with the stench of rotting corpses. Some even say you can see the spirits of those who died at sea..."

"Don't say that, I think I smell it. As for the spirits, are you talking about that?"

The first mate pointed to the sea not far away. There were clusters of eerie black mist coalescing on the water, with ghostly figures flickering within—part illusion, part reality. The captain's words stuck in his throat. He exchanged a look with his first mate, and the next moment, they both exclaimed in unison.

"Damn it, the Black Tide is here! Hard to port! Turn at full speed!!"

"Load the cannons! If you don't want to die, get moving! Don't let those things get close!"

The captain and the first mate were like two sheepdogs charging into a flock, driving the lazy and confused sailors to their posts. A few passengers, seeing the situation was dire, quickly turned and ducked back into the cabins. However, a cloaked figure appeared on the deck at this moment, moving against the flow of the crowd.

Looking at the chaotic deck, Ling Ying was momentarily dazed, but that didn't affect her vigilance against the increasingly thick, dangerous aura surrounding her. She pivoted, turned sideways, drew her sword, and thrust. A shrill, noisy screech erupted. A bizarre creature was struggling violently on the blade of the Doran's Blade. Ling Ying felt its struggle was futile, as the thing didn't even have limbs. If she had to describe it, it was barely like an oversized slug, if one ignored the layer of black sludge wriggling like a living thing on its surface and the strange spiral-shaped mouthparts in the center of its body. After all, these were not parts a normal marine creature should have.

Ling Ying frowned as she looked at it, and a burst of purple flames ignited from the blade. The creature immediately let out a piercing, tearing shriek. In the blink of an eye, it was reduced to nothingness under the scorching heat of the hellish purple flames, not even leaving a speck of ash behind. Ah, right, this was also a skill the mercenary had "taught" her. However, Ling Ying's Void Flames were on a much higher level than the original owner's psionic fire.

"Boom!"

While Ling Ying had dealt with one uninvited guest, the others on the deck were clearly not idle. After the initial chaos, these experienced sailors, under the captain's command, quickly finished loading the cannons. The next second, the deafening roar of artillery became the only melody in Ling Ying's ears. Dozens of cannons on the broadside fired in unison, and the deck was instantly filled with the acrid smell of gunpowder. Dense volleys of shot and shell were launched, exploding amidst the waves. Numerous strange, dark, mutated creatures or their mangled flesh were thrown out of the water, only to fall back into the sea a moment later, returning to silence.

This seemed to boost the sailors' morale. Accompanied by cheers, more shells rained down on the monsters' heads. However, limited firepower was destined to be unable to cover everything. Soon, a dark wave several meters high slammed above the waterline of the Silver Dawn. When the tide receded, it left behind a row of indescribable, sludge-like, wriggling creatures on the hull.

"The Black Tide is closing in!!"

"Monsters! Those monsters are climbing up... Aaaaaah!"

A young sailor at the ship's edge was about to warn his companion when a large, dark, jelly-like creature floated up from below. A large slit opened on its round "cap," and in an instant, it swallowed the unsuspecting young man whole. At the same time, similar screams came from another part of the deck; some octopus-like creatures had climbed onto the deck, their eight tentacles striking in all directions, sweeping two unlucky sailors into the sea in one go. The deck was instantly in chaos. These sailors had spent years sailing on the relatively safe side of the strait, barely even seeing pirates, let alone witnessing such a scene.

"Sizzle!"

Ling Ying dodged a glob of nauseating dark green slime, then lunged forward, her Doran's Blade slashing in front of a seahorse-like creature with seaweed draped over its head. The seahorse, which had been standing tall a second ago, stiffened and dissolved into a puddle of mud. Ling Ying looked at the "remains" of the seahorse with a complex expression; that thing had been two people tall just a moment ago. Even after transmigrating into such a magical world, Ling Ying had never expected to see something like this.

"Watch out!"

The warning from behind snapped Ling Ying out of her brief distraction. She turned her blade toward a sea-urchin-like spiked monster charging at her, but this time, before Ling Ying could act, a brilliant energy projectile flew from behind and struck the urchin monster, blasting it into scattered, splashing mud. Ling Ying turned back in surprise to see a young man who had appeared behind her at some point. Ling Ying's gaze swept over his golden hair and his somewhat playful, handsome face, finally settling on the ornate gauntlet on his left hand. Points of light flickered within it; clearly, the energy projectile had come from there.

"..."

"Ah, are you okay? No, no, no need to thank me. Saving a lady in distress is what every upright gentleman should—whoa!"

Ezreal, who was trying to establish his persona, let out a comical shout because Ling Ying, without a word, suddenly raised her sword and swung it toward him. A crescent-shaped wave of fire whistled past him, burning the several mutated monsters climbing onto the deck behind him to ash, before exploding on the sea surface with power that didn't lose to the ship's Large Caliber Cannon.

"?!"

"Don't mention it, Mr. Gentleman."

Ling Ying smiled faintly, then quickly raised her sword and charged toward the Black Tide monsters that were still rampaging. Thus, the sailors on the ship watched in astonishment as a purple phantom flashed past them, sweeping across the deck with a biting, cold light. The monsters brought by the Black Tide were all torn to pieces under the crisscrossing sword light. In the blink of an eye, the chaotic deck was left with nothing but scattered sludge.

"Cap... Captain!"

"No need to tell me, I saw it, damn it."

The captain impatiently interrupted the first mate, thought for a moment, and pulled out the pistol at his waist.

"Bang!"

The gunshot was exceptionally clear on the deck, which had gone quiet due to everyone's shock. Drawing everyone's attention, the captain stood in the center of the bridge, one hand on the helm, and shouted in a hoarse but powerful voice.

"If you want to live!! Get your heads in the game! Come on! Let's get our beautiful girl moving!!"