Hell's five continents-Zijing, Kalosha, Bifu, Blood Peak, and Muya-joined end to end to form an enormous ring. Within that ring lay the inland Star Mist Sea.
Though it was an inland sea, its area exceeded that of any single continent.
Thunder mist shrouded the sea year-round, never dispersing. The farther into its depths one went, the thicker the mist became. In the Core Region, thunderbolts had practically become another form of seawater.
Whoosh! A cone-shaped metal lifeform raced through the sea, cleaving the waves. The blazing trail streaming from its stern tore a long gash across the surface, which swiftly closed behind it.
Inside the metal lifeform's cabin, everyone stared fixedly behind them-a diamond-shaped metal lifeform followed at an unhurried pace, maintaining a distance neither too close nor too far, neither accelerating to cut them off nor slowing enough to lose them.
"Captain, what do we do? That's the Griffith Bandit Group!" The bald man's voice trembled. No merchant who traveled the Star Mist Sea was unfamiliar with Griffith.
This bandit group was notorious for its cruelty. They never left survivors among the merchant convoys they targeted; even the corpses would not float to the surface intact.
Kamanbo did not answer. Through the transparent metal wall, he stared at the diamond-shaped vessel behind them, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the control console.
He had known the risks when he accepted this escort job-protecting a merchant convoy across the Star Mist Sea, from the Bifu Continent to the Blood Peak Continent. Half the route itself lay within Griffith's territory.
But he had not expected them to move so quickly, much less for their leading flagship to give chase in person.
After a long silence, Kamanbo finally spoke. "Change course. Head for Thunder Mist Island."
"Captain, that's-" The vice-captain was interrupted before