On the passenger ship's observation deck, a sharp and loud horn sounded, piercing through the barriers of wind and rain, and waking all the passengers.
They didn't have time to get dressed properly; some were still wearing coats, some were in their pajamas, and some were barefoot as they rushed to the window to survey the outside world.
Half of them quickly spotted the enormous, illogical three-masted sailing ship, its three black sails, and the clumps of dim yellow light swaying in the darkness.
With the howling wind, the pouring rain, and the night sky devoid of the red moon and stars, many passengers felt as if the other vehicle had emerged from Hell, carrying an indescribable terror and majesty.
" Black Emperor "!
After a brief moment of stunned silence and panic, one word came to mind.
Anyone who has ever been at sea or lived for a period of time in the port cities of various colonies knows more or less about the existence of this pirate ship!
Oh, the Storm is with us.
May the goddess protect you!
" Steam above!"
Prayers rose spontaneously, filled with fear and helplessness.
These passengers knew very well that the owner of the Black Emperor " was the one with the highest bounty on the Five Seas, a pirate king in a sense, and a formidable figure who had survived the encirclement and suppression by various national fleets. He was not someone that a passenger ship's cannons and crew could easily defeat.
This means they are about to fall into the hands of pirates!
Many women couldn't help but imagine being bullied by pirates and sold to unfamiliar places. Some trembled with fear, some lost their knees and slid down from behind the window to kneel on the ground, some frantically searched for daggers and revolvers, whether to resist or not to face the worst possible outcome, it was unclear. Some, unable to find weapons, simply moved their coat racks to their sides.
The men weren't much better off. Aside from a few who pulled out weapons and tried to organize a resistance, the rest either stood there dumbfounded, sought shelter, or cursed the damned passenger ship and the " King of the Five Seas."
Finally, the captain's voice, amplified by some means, reached everyone's ears:
Quiet! Don't be afraid!
"The owner of the ' Black Emperor ' had his own Edict. Unlike other pirates, he and his crew only robbed valuables and did nothing else!"
These words were repeated several times, and the panicked passengers finally calmed down and were no longer so afraid.
Compared to what they had just imagined, being alive and not being bullied was already a very good outcome.
After a few dozen seconds, some passengers thought about how they had worked hard for so many years and finally accumulated some savings, which were about to be lost. They couldn't bear it anymore, and their grief overwhelmed them, causing them to cry.
Several of them had even borrowed money to start businesses, and if they couldn't bring the money back this time, their families would probably have to live on the streets and rely on workhouses for survival.
With this in mind, they quickly sprang into action, hiding the money in various concealed places, hoping to preserve whatever little they could. Having done all this, they gripped their weapons tightly, prepared to die alongside the pirates in the crucial moment.
Even wild beasts fight back when they are dying, let alone humans.
At this moment, many pirates on the " Black Emperor " were already waiting on the side of the ship as ordered, ready to jump onto their "prey" as soon as they got closer.
Their second mate, " Viscount of Terror " Bird Mustang, was casually observing the passenger ship opposite them through a monocular telescope, silently calculating how long it would take for the two sides to converge.
This notorious pirate, whose bounty had long exceeded ten thousand pounds, wore an intricately patterned Intis- style shirt with cuffs and collar, and a dark red captain's coat, as if he were waiting for a banquet to begin rather than for a raid to take place.
Suddenly, his vision blurred, and he could no longer see the passenger ship!
Bird Mustang quickly moved his monocular telescope to search, but in that direction, there was nothing but waves whipped up by the gale and red-headed Sea Eagle that like to hunt fish in the rainstorm.
Such a large passenger ship, powered by Steam and wind, has simply vanished!
"..." Bird Mustang's eyes flickered, unable to make an accurate judgment.
Where's the boat?
"Such a big ship?"
It was just here!
The pirates on deck also sensed something was wrong and exclaimed in surprise.
A ghost ship? No, there's no such thing as a ghost ship. This is a hybrid Steam and sail system that's only become popular in recent decades... Illusion? Someone used a large-scale Illusion to hide that passenger ship? Illusion of this level must be Demigod- level... Bird Mustang's thoughts raced, he put away his monocular telescope, and headed towards the cabin.
Throughout this process, the measurement of distance seemed to have become confused Bird Mustang covered the considerable distance in just seven or eight steps, arriving at the area directly below the captain's cabin, where he bowed respectfully and said:
"My lord, something's amiss with the hunt."
On the " Black Emperor," Nast, the " King of the Five Seas," always referred to himself as a count, a title bestowed by Emperor Roselle.
Of course, he also publicly declared that sooner or later he would establish a pirate kingdom and become a grand duke, a prince, and even an emperor.
After a brief silence, a deep, authoritative voice came from the captain's cabin:
"Go around it."
"I will obey your will!" Bird Mustang agreed without asking why.
Of course, he could imagine the reason:
Regardless of whether it was Illusion or not, the fact that such a large passenger ship, powered by both sails and Steam, could disappear silently under the watchful eyes of hundreds of pirates was something that no Low-Sequence could accomplish. There must have been a Demigod or a powerful figure wielding Demigod- level Sealed Artifact on that ship!
It would be irrational to clash with an unknown Demigod over an ordinary passenger ship. Even if Count Nast of Earl of White Maple were the " King of the Five Seas," he wouldn't do such a thing rashly unless there was a direct and sufficient conflict of interest or position between the two sides.
From this perspective, the fact that the opposing Demigod merely concealed his passenger ship and did not retaliate indicates that he did not want to engage in a fierce conflict with the " Black Emperor " and the " King of the Five Seas." Therefore, he was only demonstrating his presence and making a deterrent statement.
Bird Mustang immediately ordered the Sailor to move away from the side and Manipulation the Black Emperor to change course.
Just then, a huge and heavy red-headed Sea Eagle suddenly left its flock and flew toward the " Black Emperor," circling back and forth above the ghost ship.
Amidst the pirates' confusion and bewilderment, the red-headed Sea Eagle looked down at the deck and spoke in a low, human voice:
"I wish to pay my respects to Earl of White Maple."
Bird Mustang paused for a second, then turned his gaze toward the cabin.
Nast, the " King of the Five Seas," rang out again with his majestic voice, not directly answering the red-headed Sea Eagle, but instead instructing his subordinates:
"Let him in."
Just as Bird Mustang was about to carry out the order, the red-headed Sea Eagle swooped down in the dark, stormy weather, its body gradually changing, Distortion and writhing into a human shape.
When it landed on the deck, there were no more red-headed Sea Eagle, only a man wearing a top hat, banquet attire, and a feather mask covering his face.
Bird Mustang's pupils dilated slightly, as if he wanted to see the other person more clearly.
No matter how he observed, he couldn't find anything unusual about the flamboyant man from the front, as if the red-headed Sea Eagle had never appeared.
A few seconds later, Bird Mustang's pupils dilated even more as the man wearing the feather mask passed in front of him, allowing him to see his side profile.
The man, who appeared to be attending a dinner party, was very thin, only as wide as two fingers put together!
For a fleeting moment, Bird Mustang seemed to see a walking paper figure, but the figure was a bit thicker than a paper figure!
Monster... He swallowed hard, watching the terrifying Demigod walk toward the cabin.
The pirates on deck all took a few steps back and leaned against the ship's side, as if they had just walked through a nightmare.
To them, this oddly proportioned man was unlike anything they had ever seen, even more terrifying than many Monster they had encountered before.
The cabin is on the third floor, outside the captain's room.
Klein grasped the handle, turned it, and opened the door.
His choice to create such a bizarre appearance was a semi-passive, semi-active act. Passive because the red-headed Sea Eagle wasn't large enough; even after using parts of it to make clothes and masks, without taking internal organs, it couldn't support a normal human body. Active because he began to explore and experiment with the Acting of a " Bizarro Sorcerer," and had begun to develop some ideas:
The monk is not the point; the point is to use the monk's methods to express the word "evil"!
With a slight creak, the dark door opened, revealing the scene inside the captain's cabin:
Candlesticks hung down from above, 41 on the left and 40 on the right, in varying numbers. At their ends, a black platform rose up, surrounding a dark iron chair.
Nast, the " King of the Five Seas," was now of a more normal build, standing at just over 1.9 meters tall, unlike when Klein had encountered him before, when he appeared more like Giant than a human.
He still wore a proportionally scaled-down spire crown, a long black robe with silver trim, a hard-lined face, slightly wrinkled forehead, a short black beard, and dark red light flowing in his deep black eyes, making people unconsciously want to lower their heads.
"I've never seen you before," Nast said in a low voice, "' The Bizarro Sorcerer '."
Klein removed his hat, bowed, and said:
"We know each other now."
Nast's voice, which made even spirits tremble, echoed in the captain's cabin:
"Speak, why do you wish to see me?"
"Count, I'd like to know your impression of Emperor Roselle. Everyone knows that you and your father have met him, more than once," Klein replied unperturbed.
Nast glanced at the paper-figure-like Demigod opposite him, and the dark red light brightened slightly as he said:
"Please sit down."
Before he finished speaking, Klein already felt a powerful pressure and had no choice but to obey his orders and sit down in the chair next to him.
However, he was only Marionette; as the " Spirit Body Threads " flickered, the book-thin figure quickly returned to stillness.