Chapter 628: Ghost Pirates

At this point, nearly two hours had passed since Rod and his group set out.

It wasn't so much that they had reached the shipping route to Coral Bay as that they had entered the central expanse of the Monster Sea.

From Coral Bay, sailing northward across the Monster Sea leads to the opposite shore, Karin Port.

Beyond lies not the territory of the Aitheron Kingdom, but a nation called Karinshan.

The nation itself is not large, but its towns of Manshaka, Ariven City, and Mannong City are important partners of Coral Bay.

At this moment, the wrecked vessel in the distance, its mast shattered and gone, bore the national emblem of Karinshan.

Which town it belonged to, however, could not be determined.

Rod activated 【Repulsion Technique】, and a white mist exploded midair, propelling him forward with sudden force.

【Burning Wind Leap】 wrapped him in high-temperature air currents, drastically increasing his speed, though the thick smoke trailing behind him was quite polluting.

The ghost pirates below had not yet noticed him; they were shouting, eager to go slaughter the crew of the wrecked ship.

Ghost pirates are typically cursed crew members or captains.

Unable to rest due to betrayal and greed in life, they retain the same obsession even after becoming ghost pirates.

Rod had no intention of holding back.

He extended his right hand, and Slime Black instantly became coated in liquid metal.

A hum rang out.

【Gravitational Wave】 spewed a column of purple gravitational magic, engulfing the ghost ship cutting through the waves.

These spectral beings could pass through solid matter, but magic had a powerful effect on them—the ship was instantly pinned in place.

Only then did the pirates notice.

They turned around, saw Rod hovering midair, wreathed in thick smoke, and instead of fear, they shouted curses.

"Hmph!"

Rod paid no mind, but the dog-tribe member Sharon let out a cold snort.

She rushed forward, 【Tai Shou Shi Fa】, and hurled two flaming magic orbs crackling with lightning.

Spectral beings naturally have weak resistance to fire and lightning.

The two orbs slammed into the deck and hull with a boom, instantly blasting two massive craters.

The ghost pirates screamed and were blown overboard.

Yet from the holes and broken edges of the ghost ship, human arms began to creep out, gradually repairing the vessel's damage.

"Ghost ships are formed from souls that died at sea; a formidable pirate captain can awaken the sleeping vengeful spirits beneath the ocean to repair himself or his ship—this ship's captain is at least high seventh tier."

Sharon explained.

"Throughout history, countless souls have drowned in the sea—wouldn't the power of ghost pirates be endless?"

"Not quite. At most, they're strong in endurance—they still have limits as spectral beings."

Boom!

The ship's cannon spat fire, and a projectile wreathed in green ghostly flame flew toward them.

Sharon raised a magical shield in front of Rod.

But he immediately pulled her behind him.

He drew his golden sword and sliced the cannonball in half in an instant; the two halves exploded on either side of them.

Against the blast wind,

Rod saw Sharon's scowling face and laughed: "What kind of mage blocks for a warrior? A seventh-tier rookie."

The girl bristled: "I'm already high seventh tier—it's only a matter of time before I reach eighth."

"We'll see about that later. Just watch—I'm testing a new technique."

"Hmph."

Rod ignored her.

The infernal flames of 【Burning Wind Leap】 dissipated; his body glowed bright blue, crackling with electric arcs.

【Thunder-Struck Sinews】.

At that moment, a burly man dressed as a captain stomped onto the ghost ship's deck, cursing.

He saw Rod and wasn't afraid.

The wooden planks beneath his feet split open instantly, revealing a brass cannon pointed directly at Rod.

The ghost captain stood atop the cannon's muzzle, drawing his military saber with a menacing glare.

Boom!

As the cannon spat flame, the man's entire spectral form rode the soul-cannon's projectile hurtling forward.

Puh-zee!

Rod's speed surged—he vanished in an instant, dragging behind him a trail of blue electric plasma.

Boom—

Bright blue-white lightning and emerald explosion flames instantly repainted the sky!

Amid the gushing black smoke,

the ghost captain's charred spirit fell from midair with a plop and plunged into the sea.

The ghost ship's crew panicked in terror.

Yet the ship seemed to operate on its own, requiring no crew—rapidly sinking downward, even 【Gravitational Wave】 unable to hold it, vanishing in an instant.

In the midair black smoke, blue soul mist swirled.

A colossal white dragon's war spirit suddenly emerged, roaring to the heavens.

The dragon's roar sent invisible shockwaves that instantly scattered the black smoke and clouds.

【Purify Weather】.

"Running that fast, and yet he didn't even die?"

Rod looked at the heaving sea surface, slightly surprised.

Sharon and the others flew over from behind.

Sharon said: "As cursed beings, Ghost Pirates will not easily die again in the sea as long as their bones and cursed objects still exist."

The sea elf Laura also chimed in: "Yes, and actually, this entire ghost ship and its crew were summoned by the spiritual technique of the captain just now. He was terrified by your strength, Mr. Rod, and sank to the bottom of the sea just to cover the escape."

Tally flew over, revealing a sweet and pure smile:

"But with Master Mr. here, it naturally isn't a problem."

Rod nodded.

The individual strength of that ghost captain was indeed not strong; if not for the inconvenience of shadow magic at sea, Tally alone could have easily defeated him.

Sharon's case was even more needless to say.

He looked at the arcs of electricity jumping on his body.

Hmm.

The current 【Thunder-Struck Sinews】 has decent explosive power.

It mainly amplifies speed.

Due to the Witch Cat's 【Ability Sublimation】 shared skill, he could see the proficiency progress bars of other skills.

Currently, 【Thunder-Struck Sinews】 is around 70%.

It all relied on Rod secretly visiting the Harpy chieftain of the Eagle Claw Canyon for trysts over the past month.

Speaking of which.

That old chieftain looked about forty years old, but his actual age was likely not just that.

Fortunately, the harpy genes were strong; she could be counted as a mature woman in her prime, so maturity and charm were inevitable.

More was used to enjoy other places.

Originally, if Tally assisted on the side, she wouldn't feel bored, but this fellow's abstinence effect hadn't worn off yet.

Every time Rod came for a tryst, she would just cover her ears, hide in a corner facing the wall, and play the ostrich.

Understanding 【Thunder-Struck Sinews】 was fine, actually quite fast.

But now that Rod's lightning resistance has increased, the lightning summoning of that old chieftain is somewhat insufficient.

After all, he is just an old rookie at the early stage of the seventh tier.

And that old chieftain also seemed to sense Rod's perfunctory attitude; every time after leaving, he would look at him with extreme resentment.

"Look, the people from the stranded ship are coming out of the cabin."

Dimia reminded.

Watching the crew members come onto the deck crying for help, Laura took out a recording stone again: "I'll do an interview!"

"Wait!"

Sharon grabbed the sea elf girl.

She narrowed her eyes slightly: "The crew's condition is a bit off."

(End of Chapter)