In Hand

The sea breeze swept away the insects' noisy chirping and soothed the agitation in his heart.

Gabalа and Tubala were on the island, sleeping soundly and snoring like thunder.

Arthur worked with both hands and mouth, cutting with his twin blades while chewing with his sharp mandibles.

Splash!

Arthur bit through a root connecting to the leafy tree, and the suspended coconut crashed hard into the trunk.

"Who's there?!"

Gabala sprang to his feet, warily watching his surroundings as white light shimmered from the stone spear in his hand.

He looked around but saw nothing unusual and heard no sounds.

"Gabala, what are you doing?"

Tubala sat up and looked at Gabala, who seemed full of energy. Confusion and irritation flickered in his eyes.

"A wizard's blessing is extremely limited!"

The white light faded from the stone spear. Gabala frowned and said, "Tubala, with my beastlike sense of smell, there's definitely something strange nearby!"

Arthur hung upside down beneath the leaves of the Twin Coconut.

Seeing the white light on Tubala's spear, he felt a flicker of doubt. Could they really wield supernatural powers?

Suddenly, a strange roar sounded in the distance. Arthur turned to look out at the sea.

A whale's tail rose from the water, sending up towering waves. It swept through a graceful arc in the air before crashing heavily back down.

The thunderous boom resounded across the sky.

Tubala let out a long sigh. "The spirit of the sea is mourning. Gabala, your instincts were right."

Gabala gazed at the distant whale, puzzled. Had his keen instincts failed him in the Mist Sea?

"Sleep! Sleep!"

With a plop, Gabala lay down and went to sleep.

Tubala sighed softly, rolled over, and soon drifted off.

After waiting about ten minutes, Arthur resumed cutting the Twin Coconut.

When it was halfway severed, Gabala suddenly spoke. "Gibberish~"

Arthur nervously stopped his twin blades and listened closely. He realized Gabala was whispering sweet nothings in his sleep.

The gist was: "Sokala, I'm going to marry you! Heave-ho! Heave-ho!"

Arthur's rigid mantis body relaxed. He waited for the waves to wash against the shore thirty more times, then began cutting the Twin Coconut's roots again.

After he had cut away half the remaining root, the Twin Coconut dangled from the tree, swaying precariously and threatening to fall at any moment.

In his sleep, Gabala vaguely saw a pair of twin blades nearby.

They didn't approach or make any move to hurt him, only swung their blades from a distance.

His nerves were taut, and he mumbled in his sleep: "Gibberish~ (There's a murderous presence.)"

Arthur glanced up at Gabala, realizing he had to act quickly.

He had been moving so quietly, yet Gabala could still sense him. His beastlike instincts were astonishing.

His mandibles tore frantically at the root. With a creak, the Twin Coconut's weight snapped the last fiber, and it plunged toward the ground.

Without hesitation, the mantis dropped from above, following the Twin Coconut down.

Thud!

A tremendous crash rang out across White Sand Island, rousing Gabala and Tubala from their sleep.

"There's a murderous presence!"

Gabala jumped straight up, his body suspended in midair. From a distance, it looked as though he were sleeping while floating.

Tubala hunched over to protect his vital parts, grabbed the stone spear beside him, and surveyed the surroundings.

"Can't see anyone?"

"Impossible. My instincts tell me there's definitely someone nearby!"

They raised their torches and began searching. Two disturbances in a row couldn't be explained away as coincidence.

Carrying his torch to the beach, Tubala circled the area, then suddenly froze.

He turned to look at the Twin Coconut tree on White Sand Island. The tall palm stood bare.

The sturdy fruit had vanished as if it had grown wings!

A terrifying thought surfaced in Tubala's mind: someone had come to White Sand Island and taken the Twin Coconut.

"Gabala, come look!"

Gabala saw the Twin Coconut tree, sucked in a breath, then looked excited.

"I told you my instincts were right!"

"Right about nothing, you lump of stone!"

Tubala smacked Gabala on the head and said solemnly, "Some unknown ghost is wandering around the island. It's too dangerous here!"

"Then what should we do?"

"We'll hide on a nearby island for now!"

Secret Sect Long Table.

Arthur calmed his excitement. His nerves were still too weak. He had openly taken something that belonged to no one, yet he felt like a thief!

At least the Twin Coconut was in his hands now.

The materials stored on the Secret Sect Long Table included two Golden Palm Leaves and one Twin Coconut.

The coconut water from the Twin Coconut was one of the main ingredients for the Scholar Path's Sequence 7 potion.

"I've gotten everything I can out of White Sand Island. There's no need to go back for now."

"The pirates are about to make their move. I need to send Governor Drew a letter and have him prepare in advance."

After releasing the carrier pigeon, Arthur gave a new order:

"Hoist all sails. Destination—Rhine Island!"

Governor Drew on Rhine Island was pacing anxiously, waiting for news from Arthur.

After the news had spread, the Royal Tax Bureau had put him under tremendous pressure, demanding that he pay the taxes in full, without a single copper missing.

The powerful noble legislators behind him were pressuring him too.

Compared with the rewards for killing pirates, he now urgently needed a glorious victory to prove his worth.

"Governor!"

A servant brought a carrier pigeon before Governor Drew and took a small scroll of paper from the copper tube by its leg.

On the night of the 26th, attack Rhine Island.

Governor Drew received the message and suddenly remembered that today was the 26th. "Damn pirates! They're only telling me today!"

"Summon the entire navy! I'm going to address them!"

"Make sure the coastal cannons have plenty of powder. You, you, you, you, and you—get your men aboard the ships and be ready to repel the pirates at any moment."

"This will be a grand battle. We'll wipe out the pirates attacking Rhine Island, and I'll personally petition for commendations for you all!"

Arthur had gotten everything ready. Two bundles hung beneath his leather greatcoat, and just in case, he had also prepared a clean set of sailor's clothes.

The sun set at dusk.

Seven pirate ships gathered near the Great White Shark, with two additional vessels joining at the invitation of the other captains.

A light rain fell. Gray clouds obscured the sun and moon as they traded places, while schools of fish swam beneath the sea and countless bubbles rose to the surface.

"It's raining, Captain!"

Kaia looked grave. Rain was bad news; if the gunpowder got wet, the cannons would be useless.

"Good."

Arthur stood by the rail and said, "The coastal cannons on Rhine Island are exposed. A light rain will dampen their gunpowder, letting us reach the island more safely."

"Should we discuss it with the other captains?"

"No!"

Arthur drew the cutlass at his waist. His voice rang out across the Great White Shark:

"Brave sailors! Spices and gold, sugar and rum, jewels and tobacco! Gold coins are waiting for us ahead!"

"Raindrops are the sea's blessing. They'll dampen our enemies' gunpowder, and we'll claim their treasure with our cutlasses!"

"For the spoils!"

"For the spoils!"

"Hey-ho! Hey-ho!"