Undercurrents Stirring

Boom!

A violent thunderclap erupted, and lightning suddenly illuminated the roiling black clouds that blanketed the starry sky like parasites. Howling winds lashed pea-sized raindrops across the whaling ship, already steeped in chaos and death.

A raindrop quickly accelerated to its limit under gravity. Amid the earth-shaking cries of battle, it struck a cloudy eyeball, then wriggled and burst with a faint rustle.

Gone in an instant.

Splashed water scattered across the deck, seeped down through the wood, turned into an invisible mist, and permeated the deathly black corridor of the third-level hold.

The sounds abruptly fell silent.

It was as though he had entered another world. Though the deck and the hold were separated by only a wall, once inside the hold, every sound that had filled his ears outside seemed to sink into the deep sea and vanish in an instant.

In the dark, silent corridor, only a dull series of footsteps could be heard clearly.

Though he had tried his best to tread lightly, the hold was simply too quiet. Even Xia Lun's not particularly heavy footsteps sounded exceptionally piercing.

His nose twitched. In the stale air, he caught a greasy, sour stench, like rotting fish.

The smell came from the cargo hold beneath his feet. He knew well that it was the scent of whale oil.

"Whale oil is highly flammable. If someone threw in a flame, this entire ship would become a sea of fire."

The soundless darkness fed his mold-like imagination, and Xia Lun could not help letting his thoughts run wild.

"But why did the pirates seize this ship outright? What happened to their original ship? Could their last ship have sunk?"

His boots stepped through puddles on the planks as Xia Lun continued onward, thinking as he went.

Soon, he spotted another crack in the ceiling ahead. The clamorous sounds of slaughter immediately poured down through it.

Xia Lun stopped to listen.

"Get up there! That Monster's almost done for!" The first mate's voice rang out again. "Anyone who retreats dies!"

"First mate, a huge wave is coming!"

"We're done for! Lady Mustache, bless me!"

Countless cries suddenly rose from the deck.

Xia Lun took a moment to react, then hurriedly drove his sword into the wall beside him, lowered his center of gravity, and steadied himself—the huge wave was coming!

The next instant, the ship tilted forward slightly. Before Xia Lun could regain his balance, a deafening boom rang out, and the entire hold suddenly pitched violently forward!

Amid the intense sensation of weightlessness, Xia Lun gripped his sword hilt with all his strength, trying not to be swept away by the momentum. At that moment, he finally realized a fact he had overlooked.

The captain had vanished, the first mate was occupied with infighting, and everyone else was either dead or fighting the Monster. No one on this ship was steering it at all!

And worse still, the ship was currently inside the storm zone!

A massive wave had struck the ship's bow. The ship should have been at the crest of the wave, spinning through the air!

The next instant, the ship's angle of tilt increased further. Xia Lun suspected it had tilted beyond ninety degrees. The entire ship seemed about to capsize onto the water!

Through the crack, Xia Lun saw the formidable Monster, Abyssal Hand, once more.

Before nature's overwhelming might, even that Monster was as frail as an insect. Carried by inertia, it shrieked as it was flung into the air, then crashed heavily to the ground and slid helplessly into the distance like a toy kneaded flat and round by a child.

"Don't fall into the sea!" Xia Lun's heart nearly leaped into his throat as he watched Abyssal Hand slide farther away.

The remaining half of the Prayerbook of the Drowned was still stuck in the Monster's body!

If it fell into the sea, all his efforts would have been for nothing!

The next moment, the ship's tilt abruptly vanished. Xia Lun felt as though the ship had slammed on the brakes, and a tremendous force surged into his back.

Crack.

Fortunately, Xia Lun's shortsword was sturdy enough, and he did not lose his balance and fly forward.

He could not help breathing a sigh of relief. He pulled out his sword and looked ahead.

Perhaps disaster had brought a blessing. Xia Lun suddenly spotted a set of stairs leading up to the deck not far ahead!

The exit was right there.

But at that moment—

"That Monster fell into the hold through the hatch stairs!" A shrill voice came through the crack overhead.

Another, deeper voice demanded in a low tone, "Nobody move! Explain what happened to the captain first. I saw your brother attack the captain. Are you planning a mutiny?"

"A mutiny?" The first mate's voice came, followed by a sneer. "Quite the opposite! I saw that captive calling himself Carpenter ambush our brave captain. That beast even shamelessly murdered my brother!"

Inside the hold, Xia Lun narrowed his eyes slightly. He instantly realized that the "Carpenter" the man mentioned was him.

The pirate first mate intended to twist the facts and turn him into the enemy of every survivor, thereby justifying his own coup.

Though he had been falsely accused, Xia Lun was not angry. There was no use getting angry, after all.

He continued eavesdropping on the conversation above.

"I clearly saw that captive blind the Monster," the deep-voiced man could not help retorting. "If your brother hadn't insisted on attacking the captain, that Monster would have already..."

"So you'd rather believe a lowly captive than believe me?" The first mate's tone turned cold. "Watch your words, Priest. The storm may have weakened, but it hasn't stopped yet."

At that point, the first mate suddenly changed his tone. "But I understand your concerns, so we need to find a way to rescue the captain first."

"But the captain should be dead, and there's still a Monster in the hold," the shrill voice chimed in.

The first mate chuckled, his meaning clear. "What if she's still alive? We can't just stand by and watch her die."

"..." The deep-voiced priest fell silent. "What do we do with that captive?"

"Accept anyone willing to join us. Chop up anyone unwilling." The first mate's words were succinct. "Too many of us have died. If we go back to slave trading, the risk is too great. We might not be able to keep them under control anymore."

At this point, the first mate's voice suddenly rose, turning the private exchange into a public address.

"Men, put your backs into it! This time, every one of you gets triple dividends. Priest, go comfort those poor captives and recruit some good lads with free spirits who dare to take risks."

"Gunner, take a few men and guard every entrance. Don't let the Monster climb back up."

"All right," replied the shrill voice—the gunner.

"Old man, count how much fresh water and food we can still use. Perilous Earth Island is at least six days away. We need to ration carefully."

"No problem," replied another voice, slightly hoarse.

"Then what are you going to do?" the priest demanded again.

The first mate laughed twice, then said coldly, "Of course, I'm going into the hold to rescue the captain and avenge my brother. The Monster may still be wandering around down there. Something this dangerous naturally has to be handled by me personally.

"But I need some time to prepare."

Rescue the captain? More like finish her off and silence her... Xia Lun could not help mocking inwardly.

With that thought, he glanced at the deck stairs before him, then abandoned the idea of going straight up to the deck.

Having fallen into the hold, he had already lost the best chance to use the prestige from defeating the Monster to control how things developed.

Now, the first mate had seized control of the situation with just a few words.

In the man's version of events, Xia Lun had become the public enemy of the other survivors. If he rashly went up, he would likely have to fight everyone directly.

As he thought, Xia Lun glanced at the weapons belt on his body.

He had exhausted the number of times he could safely use Heightened Focus, and he only had eight bullets left. Meanwhile, there were still quite a few pirates.

If he really fought everyone else, he was doomed.

Still, although the first mate lacked talent and method when handling practical matters, he was indeed skilled at playing politics and manipulating the situation.

Xia Lun narrowed his eyes slightly and began considering his options.

He had just killed the man's brother. There was likely no room left for reconciliation or negotiation between them.

Or he could seize the chance when the first mate came down into the hold, kill him and his trusted men first, then slowly find a way to divide and break apart the pirates.

In short, if he wanted to live, he had to kill the first mate!

But the window to kill the first mate was extremely brief. By Xia Lun's estimate, he had at most five minutes to prepare an ambush.

With that in mind, Xia Lun quickly walked forward, observing the nearby terrain as he went.

The passage before him split into a T-junction roughly a dozen meters away.

One branch led directly to a broad companionway several men wide, which went up to the stern deck.

If nothing unexpected happened, the first mate would soon come down those stairs with his trusted men.

Xia Lun turned to look the other way.

The other branch was completely blocked by a large pile of debris—planks, tables, chairs, and the like—forming an obstacle like a barricade.

Before the obstacle lay a pirate's corpse. It had likely fallen through a crack in the ceiling, and several daggers were still tied to its weapons belt.

Without question, this was not a good place for an ambush.

After thinking for a moment, Xia Lun turned toward a sealed cabin beside him, gripped the handle, and gently pushed the door open.

Click.

Amid the creak of the old wooden door's hinges, Xia Lun saw the cabin's interior and froze.

Blood.

Fresh blood everywhere.

Amid the blood covering the floor, the bald female captain sat slumped against the wall, glaring coldly at him.

The pirate captain was actually still alive?!