Soul Harvest Night

Besides pirates and bounty hunters, a special group also lives in Bilgewater—the Baru Tribe, who worship a deity named Naga Kaboros.

At the other end of Bilgewater, the Baru Temple.

A woman with sturdy limbs, dark skin, and hair braided into plaits sat in the prayer room, a stone ball with a diameter of half a meter placed beside her.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes, stood up, and picked up the stone ball, disbelief in her eyes.

"High Priestess," a similarly strong man approached from behind, "What instructions does Naga Kaboros have?"

The woman turned around and said sternly, "Go tell everyone, Soul Harvest Night is coming."

"Mr. Ato, it's so late, is there something important?" Sarah asked from the Captain's Cabin, rubbing her eyes, a hint of vigilance surfacing in her heart.

It was already past midnight, yet Ato was knocking on the Captain's Cabin door, saying he had something to tell Sarah.

"Soul Harvest Night is coming, be prepared," Ato said nonchalantly.

Sarah jolted, all sleepiness vanishing instantly, "Soul Harvest Night? Is this news from the Baru Temple?"

"No, it's my sensing." Ato lied with a straight face; it was actually Aatrox's sensing.

"This is bad," Sarah said, a little flustered. She then pressed a button on the table, and a crisp whistle sound echoed throughout the ship. This was the assembly order on the Siren.

Not long after, sailors who were sleeping in their rooms rushed to the deck in their clothes to assemble.

Sarah addressed the confused sailors, "Soul Harvest Night is approaching, the Siren is entering an emergency state!"

"Everyone check your weapons and equipment, inspect the main cannon at the bow and the secondary cannons on the sides. If ammunition is insufficient, go ashore immediately to resupply. Increase the number of night watch personnel, and ensure we safely get through this Soul Harvest Night!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the sailors snapped out of their drowsy state and began to act.

For the people living in Bilgewater, "Soul Harvest Night" was like a nightmare. If one wasn't careful, they would be consumed by the nightmare and never wake up again.

As the crew went to fulfill their duties, Sarah turned to Ato for help, "Soul Harvest Night isn't the threat posed by the Iron Hook Gang, Mr. Ato. If you can help us fight those undead, we will do our best to meet any reward you require..."

Ato smiled and shook his head, "The transaction is complete. Within a month, I am responsible for your safety. Neither the Iron Gulch Gang nor Soul Harvest Night will pose any threat to you."

Sarah opened her mouth, not knowing what to say. In the end, she could only utter, "Thank you."

"Soul Harvest Night?" In the manor, Gangplank looked at the strong Baru man before him, "I understand."

The Baru man nodded, turned, and left the room.

"Captain, this is the first Soul Harvest Night you've faced since becoming the Ruler of Bilgewater. You should make thorough preparations. This will be beneficial for your future rule," suggested First Mate Andrew.

"It's time to prepare properly." Gangplank agreed wholeheartedly. He wouldn't pass up any opportunity that could increase his fame.

The greater his fame, the higher Gangplank's bounty would be, and a continuously growing bounty was exactly what he wanted to see.

"The Second Mate and his crew haven't contacted us yet. Our informant sent word that a dangerous individual carrying a giant sword boarded Miss Fortune's ship. Perhaps he was the one who dealt with the Second Mate. We've lost a lot of support for this Soul Harvest Night, making it more dangerous than ever before."

Gangplank frowned slightly, but didn't dwell on it. Surviving the Soul Harvest Night was the most pressing matter. "Pass my order: 'Leviathan' and 'The Dreadnought' will sail together to the southeast, to Grayport, and stand by in full readiness."

Andrew accepted the order and went to make arrangements, leaving Gangplank alone in the room once more.

"Noxian warships are indeed effective. Their firepower is immense, making them perfect for dealing with the undead."

"Thinking back to how that Swain fellow scurried back to Noxus after I seized his warship still brings me such pleasure."

Gangplank muttered to himself. The bounty on the wanted poster on the wall had grown so high it was merely symbolic.

Soul Harvest Night didn't originally exist.

Southeast of Bilgewater lay a large island perpetually shrouded in black mist. Its current name was the Shadow Isles.

Numerous mindless spirits inhabited the island. Periodically, the black mist on the island would erupt on a large scale, and the undead would attack Runeterra along with the mist. Bilgewater, being the closest, bore the brunt of it.

"Another thousand years ago. Many of the current situations are related to events that happened a thousand years ago."

On the 'Siren', Ato was wide awake. Due to the modifications from the Demonic Sword, sleep was no longer a necessity for him.

"Fukko Island becoming what it is today has a lot to do with a World Rune. It was once prosperous, but now it has become the source of the Soul Harvest Night and the fuse for that Rune War."

"There's a World Rune there?" Aatrox's eyes lit up with eagerness. He couldn't wait to set sail for the Shadow Isles immediately. No black mist or undead could stop him.

"There isn't one anymore."

Ato looked out the window. Calculating the time, the sun should be appearing on the horizon soon. But affected by the black mist, it obscured the faint light of dawn, leaving the view outside pitch black.

"The black mist is coming." Ato stood up, slinging the Demonic Sword of the Dark across his back, and walked onto the deck.

The crew of the 'Siren' were gathered there, their expressions grim. The sky-obscuring black mist from the southeast was spreading towards them, and they could even vaguely see skulls formed from the mist.

In the face of the Soul Harvest Night, everyone in Bilgewater was equal. Only by unleashing all their means could they survive.

"Prepare for contact!" Raven shouted.

Finally, the black mist reached Bilgewater.

The surrounding visibility dropped drastically, accompanied by the wails of souls. The entire 'Siren' was completely enveloped by the black mist.

"Stay calm! Maintain formation! Don't spread out too much!" Sarah's vigilance was at its highest, constantly watching for undead emerging from the black mist.

They weren't on land, but on the Vast Sea near southern Bilgewater. However, in any area covered by the black mist, undead could appear anywhere.

Just then, a scrawny claw suddenly appeared in Sarah's vision, aiming straight for her neck!

Sarah instinctively raised her hands, blocking with her twin guns in front of her. If she were caught by the undead, her mother's only keepsake would likely suffer severe damage!

But the undead did not sense Ato.

Onboard the 'Siren' at this moment, there was an existence beyond the undead's comprehension.

The Skinny Undead, enveloped in deep green flames, thought it had hidden itself well, that no one on the entire ship could perceive its sneak attack.

The undead, left with only instinct, seized the moment and, relying on instinctual judgment, launched an attack on the ship's leader.

However, it hadn't expected that there was one more person on this ship.

The undead's bony hands were already very close to Sarah and were about to touch her twin guns, but they couldn't advance even an inch further.

A greatsword exuding a terrifying aura blocked Sarah's path.

"Is my presence too low?"