The Horn of Attack

Standing on the deck and gazing into the distance, Arthur calculated the time in his mind.

At their current speed, they would be able to see the sails of the Jasmine by noon.

He opened the [Rite] section, which stored the statuses he had obtained over the past three days.

Fascination*1, Despair*1, Ease*1

Rite, Research, Dream Entry, and Exploration.

Of the four modules, Dream Entry and Exploration could not store statuses, but Rite could store three.

After several days of experimentation, Arthur had figured out its function.

He retrieved "Despair" and "Swordsmanship" and placed them into [Research] to study the Invisible Arts.

[Despair]+[Swordsmanship]=?

[Countdown: 12 hours, 12 minutes.]

With the blazing sun hanging high overhead, Arthur returned to the captain's cabin, took out his broadsword, hung his former musket from the hilt, and concealed it behind the blade.

Before long, the Jasmine came into view ahead.

Arthur gave the order. "Everyone, put your weapons away. Don't let them notice us for now."

"Master Gunner, stay ready at all times. The moment I give the order to bombard them, open fire on the Jasmine immediately."

The two ships met upon the boundless sea.

Quartermaster Wick sensed that something was wrong. This string of orders was clearly aimed at plunder and battle.

He strode furiously to Arthur's side and demanded sharply, "What exactly are you trying to do?!"

"What I do is not for you to point fingers at. Attacking the Jasmine is the Family's order."

Arthur braced himself on his broadsword with one hand and gripped the musket with the other, his finger resting on the trigger.

He coldly questioned Wick, "What's the problem? I'll take responsibility."

"If you think my decision is wrong, then tell these pirates loudly to abandon this operation."

Quartermaster Wick bared his teeth in a vicious grin and threatened Arthur. "You'll pay a painful price for what you've done!"

"Whether I pay a price will have to wait until this is over."

"But you!"

"Wick!"

"This is the second time you've challenged my authority as captain. If there's a third time, I'll personally throw you into the sea to feed the sharks."

Arthur's forceful rebuke was not lowered in volume, and it echoed across the deck.

The pirates' gazes shifted between Arthur and Wick. From their conversation, they roughly guessed the reason for their dispute.

Wick opposed this pirate operation!

More than a dozen well-trained pirates wiped down their cutlasses and cast warning looks at Wick.

They would not be as easy to reason with as the captain. Whoever tried to stop them from seizing wealth and enjoying themselves ashore would be killed!

Wick walked away with a dark expression, watching as the Great White Shark drew closer and closer to the Jasmine. A sense of foreboding rose in his heart.

The Jasmine.

Dorian emerged from the room beside the captain's cabin with his sword in hand and looked at the Great White Shark in the distance.

"Miss Arena, if I remember correctly, the captain of the Great White Shark is one of the Family's people."

"Correct."

Arena rested one hand on her sword hilt, her eyes fixed on the distant sea, her entire posture poised to strike.

Dorian saw it clearly. That was the opening stance of the Stuart Family's Swordsmanship.

He instinctively took two steps back to maintain a safe distance, then asked, "Miss Arena."

"The Great White Shark is here to escort us. Why are you taking a combat stance? Did something happen?"

Dorian looked toward the Great White Shark but detected nothing unusual. It seemed like an entirely normal escort.

Suddenly!

When only three hundred meters remained between the Great White Shark and the Jasmine, the Great White Shark's cannons roared.

Accompanied by smoke, the cannonball struck the Jasmine's cabin, blasting a huge hole into it with a boom.

"Attack!"

Dorian cried out, remaining on guard even as he failed to understand why the Great White Shark was attacking.

Had the captain been coerced by the pirates into attacking?

He immediately gave the order. "Load the powder! Return fire at once! Return fire immediately!"

After a volley of cannon fire, the Great White Shark rapidly closed in on the Jasmine.

Only twenty meters remained.

Eight pirates swung grappling hooks and hurled them toward the Jasmine, laughing fanatically.

The hooks secured the distance.

The pirates operating the cannons carried over planks and laid them between the two ships to form a wooden bridge.

"Charge!"

"Treasure! Here I come!"

Arthur watched the pirates attack, carrying his broadsword as he walked at the rear and stepped onto the planks to board the Jasmine.

The pirates of the Great White Shark and the Sailors of the Jasmine hacked at each other along the deck's edge, and the situation immediately descended into chaos.

The metallic scrape of crossing cutlasses, sharp blades piercing chests, frenzied roars and wails...

The chaotic scene stirred the "power of the Moth" within Arthur.

Spattered blood flowed across the deck and quickly congealed; blades and swords collided, sparks bursting in an instant.

The fallen pirates and Sailors had no time to rise before those nearby trampled over them, leaving them no chance to get back up.

Arthur saw his target.

The black-clad Swordsman ten paces away from Arena wore a standard Stuart uniform, with the Golden Griffin emblem on his chest.

Arthur sensed the man's strength. His mind, slightly dizzy, was soon followed by a burning body and ragged breathing.

Standing upon the Jasmine's deck, Arthur gripped his broadsword with both hands and watched the slaughter.

The Jasmine's Sailors were not as valiant as he had imagined. Under the pirates' assault, they steadily retreated.

That struck Arthur as strange.

To return from the Old Continent to the New Continent through the Grand Route, the long journey required the Orthodox Church's Radiant Disc to disperse the mist.

Danger was inevitable. The Sailors should not have been this weak.

"Miss Arena, what are you waiting for?!"

Fine beads of cold sweat appeared on Dorian's forehead. Arena had locked onto him, and he did not dare act rashly.

Whatever the reason, the pirates from the Great White Shark had already killed their way aboard. How could they simply sit and wait for death?

Arena suddenly said, "It's here."

It's here? What was here?!

Dorian had assessed both sides' strength. He was a Sequence 9 [Swordsman] of the Darkness Path, while Arena was a Sequence 8 [Dark Swordsman].

She also possessed—possessed the power of darkness, along with many extraordinary secret arts he had never seen before.

When he looked up and saw the sky gradually darkening, his heart sank to the bottom of the sea.

Could it be that Miss Arena intended to kill him, a loyal servant of the Family, for the Moon Bone?

Should he pledge allegiance in advance and display his loyalty, then report to his superior afterward?

As he struggled with the decision, a piercing laugh rang across the sea, drowning out the sounds of slaughter on deck.

"Welcome the great Black Devil!"

A black-robed figure appeared on the deck. An evil aura permeated the air, plunging those who approached him into an even deeper bloodlust.

"Die! All of you, die!"

"Anyone who stops me from obtaining wealth must die!"

A black cloak, a skull pattern, and that evil aura.

A cultist of the Black Devil Order!

Dorian sucked in a cold breath. Why had the Moon Bone attracted the Black Devil?!