Moon Bone

Arthur stared fixedly at the Jasmine, awaiting the outcome of the battle.

Two Transcendents against one—barring any surprises, Arena should have won.

To avoid getting tangled up with the Black Devil Order, as well as to satisfy Arena's own need for contraband—

Their pirate crew would wipe out the Jasmine, then pin the blame on the Black Devil Order.

After plundering a great deal of wealth, as captain, Arthur would naturally receive a sizeable share. He needed to buy some books and gain a deeper understanding of this world.

Arthur had already begun planning how to allocate the wealth once it was in hand.

Yet the outcome of the battle was completely different from what he had imagined.

The bewitched Dorian and Simon joined forces, forcing Arena back step by step until she retreated onto the deck.

The Dark Swordsman, known for her agility and flexibility, had Dorian blocking her movements while she faced the brute force of the Priest of Fury.

Arena had no better way to respond.

She touched the necklace at her chest. It was a precious Transcendent item that could draw upon the power of the moon for a short burst of strength.

But against two opponents, she had absolutely no chance of winning!

"Arthur! Can you hold Dorian off for a while?"

Hold Dorian off?

Arthur looked at the bewitched Dorian, drew a deep breath, and stepped onto the plank leading to the Jasmine with broadsword in hand.

"What's going on? This guy betrayed us!"

"No."

"This idiot was bewitched by the contraband."

Arthur's mouth twitched. Being bewitched by the contraband he himself had escorted—this blunder was downright fatal.

Bewitched?!

Could Whisper of the Moth have an effect?

His lips moved, and the power of the Moth within him turned into the buzzing of beating wings.

A new voice appeared in Dorian's mind, wrestling with the bewitchment of "the moon is everything" for control of his body.

As the two forces battled, Dorian's consciousness temporarily cleared, and he began to resist.

Three forces emerged within Dorian's mind, making him roar as he thrust his sharp sword at Arthur.

Arthur drew his flintlock, hurled his broadsword with all his strength, and immediately pulled the trigger at Dorian.

Dorian deftly knocked the broadsword aside with his longsword, but the motion stalled him, leaving him unable to evade the gunshot.

Bang!

The shot struck Dorian in the abdomen.

Arthur retreated two steps and tossed aside his flintlock. Reloading took too long; a flintlock pistol was good for only one shot.

He clasped his fists before his chest and swayed his body from side to side.

Joint Combat Art!

The pain dealt Dorian's consciousness another heavy blow, and Moon Bone gained the upper hand.

Dorian lunged at Arthur in a fighting stance, swinging his longsword as if it were a wooden club from the New Continent!

Controlled by Moon Bone, Dorian had lost the essence of Stuart swordsmanship and fought with a peculiar combat technique.

Arthur dropped to his knees, evading Dorian's swing in an extremely unusual posture.

When a normal person knelt, their knee joints bent backward, with their calves behind their body.

Arthur's knee joints bent forward instead, placing his body behind his calves.

The space this created allowed him to evade Dorian's attack.

He spun to his feet on the spot, slipped a hand into his leather coat, and tugged a linen thread.

Bang!

A gunshot rang out. The bullet hit Dorian in the waist and abdomen, blood running down his clothes, along his trouser leg, and dripping onto the deck.

Dorian lowered his head and looked at the wound in his abdomen, a flicker of confusion appearing in his eyes.

He turned to look at his longsword, then at the corpse on the ground, its hand clutching a pirate scimitar.

He seemed unable to understand why he had been injured.

His opponent clearly had no weapon, and there were no arrows in his own body—so why was he hurt?

As Moon Bone sank into confusion, the pain stimulated Dorian's nerves, allowing Dorian to briefly seize control.

"Ah!"

Dorian clutched his chest and dropped to one knee, bracing himself with his sword.

Muffled groans escaped his mouth. Even a Transcendent physique remained fragile before firearms.

Arthur watched the kneeling Dorian, his eyes flickering as he turned and pulled the second linen thread.

His opponent was destined to die.

Since that was the case, rather than let him be controlled by contraband, he might as well die by Arthur's hand.

Bang!

He pulled the thread connected to his thigh. Dorian happened to be kneeling, putting them at nearly the same height.

Dorian's head burst like rich froth exploding from a violently shaken barrel of liquor.

At the other battlefield.

Simon, the Priest of Fury, watched Dorian fall. As he fended off blades of darkness, he cursed his useless teammate.

He had not expected the puppet controlled by Moon Bone to slaughter everyone, but it should at least have held back that strange Arthur.

Yet after barely any time at all, the puppet had been taken apart.

Moonlight pierced through the clouds and fell upon the dark sea. A thread of pure moonlight, like floating milk, smoothly sank into Arena's chest.

Empowered by the Night Moon Necklace, Arena fought with increasing courage and suppressed Simon.

At that moment, sunlight appeared in the distance, shining upon the Jasmine and dispelling Dread and unease.

Arthur frowned slightly as his chest grew warm.

The Sun Medal Deacon Wallace had given him suddenly activated on its own, dispelling negative conditions.

"Strange! Is someone targeting me?"

Arthur sensed no danger, but the Sun Medal's reaction showed that someone was targeting him.

A cultist of the Black Devil Order, or... contraband?!

After Dorian's death, Moon Bone had tried to bewitch Arthur, seeking to replace its strongest Transcendent puppet.

The passive protection of the Sun Medal activated, purifying Moon Bone's bewitchment.

Some trembling sailors had the darkness in their hearts driven away by the light and began discussing the battle.

"Strange, wasn't Captain Arthur a family servant? Why is he attacking the Jasmine?"

"That's true! The family doesn't have a good relationship with the Church of Light, so how does he have a Sun Medal?!"

"I heard there are members of the family in the Shadow Temple. Could Arthur be one of them?"

The Jasmine's whispers reached Simon's ears.

The fury in his eyes gradually faded. The captain of the pirate ship was a servant of the Stuart Family.

In the Age of Discovery, it was hardly unusual for nobles to support pirates in plundering wealth.

But a member of the Stuart Family carried a Sun Medal. Unless he had killed a member of the Church of Light and stolen it, it could only mean that he had close ties with the Church of Light.

"It seems... this Captain Arthur is more suitable than Moon Bone..."

His gaze fell upon the corpse nearby, while from the corner of his eye, he saw a hand bone crawl out of the cabin.

What?!

Simon's entire body trembled faintly. Moon Bone could move on its own—its identity before death had definitely been extraordinary.

Thinking of a certain rumor, Simon suddenly roared and crushed the little finger of his left hand.

Arena, empowered by moonlight, suddenly suffered a heavy blow. Torrential force traveled from Simon's fist across a distance of three meters.

Bang!

Arena flew backward, snapped a mast, and crashed into the captain's cabin.

Simon revealed a bloodthirsty smile. "I sincerely wish you luck surviving Moon Bone."

His gaze paused on Arthur for an instant before Simon leaped down from the deck.

Arthur watched Simon leave and inwardly let out a breath of relief.

Sweeping his gaze over the Jasmine's crew, Arthur was about to call for someone to kill them when he heard cries of alarm from both sailors and pirates!

"Oh my God! Coming back from the dead!"

"The undead are rising!"

Arthur turned and saw a horrifying sight.

The dead Dorian staggered to his feet, a low murmur emerging from his mouth:

"The moon is everything!"