Chapter 514: Strange Pirate Ship (Thanks to friend Wangyousa for the Aurora Silver Alliance reward)

Lumian looked at Philip's back and laughed silently.

This guy really had some skills; he was by no means as frivolous, greasy, and lazy as he appeared in the bar last night.

However, this could also be considered a common characteristic of many Intisian men. As long as they weren't in high-intensity work, and as long as there were women around who were decent enough, they would show themselves off like animals in heat. This wasn't something that becoming a Beyonder could change.

"Witch"s were most active in Intis, especially Trier. Besides the attraction left underground, it must also contain a fit in social atmosphere.

Lumian didn't take Philip's warning to heart at all, nor was he provoked by it.

He had originally planned to enjoy the journey well, and even considered helping to maintain order on the ship, becoming a shadow judge.

He was now more concerned about how Philip could discover that his, Lugano's, and Ludwig's identity documents were fake.

After filtering through the records of low-sequence abilities of the twenty-two pathways in Aurora's witchcraft notes and the information he had obtained from various channels over the past few months, Lumian had a preliminary guess: 【51

"Philip should be a Beyonder of one of these three pathways: 'Spectator,' 'Reader,' or 'Arbiter.'

"One is adept at observing details and reading true thoughts; one is an expert in deduction—the subsequent Sequence 7 is literally called 'Detective,' capable of discovering that we aren't normal from mere traces; and one, upon reaching Sequence 8 'Sheriff,' can possess their own 'jurisdiction,' holding extraordinary control over various affairs within that area, sufficient to discover some abnormal phenomena and grasp some abnormal traces...

"Combined with the fact that none of the three of us had any direct interaction with Philip before, the 'Spectator' option can be preliminarily ruled out. Moreover, a 'Spectator' isn't suited to be a security chief; that is not their comfort zone...

"After discovering through his abilities that we had issues and our backgrounds weren't clear enough, did Philip immediately check copies of our identification documents and contact personnel in the issuing regions via telegram, confirming that no such three people actually exist?

"This explains why he didn't come to warn us until the next morning; he was waiting for the corresponding investigation and reply.

"This also means he can find helpers in different regions, obtain feedback, and has extensive interpersonal resources.

"It is difficult to achieve this relying solely on himself; there is also an organization behind him, and it is a more official-leaning one? Hmm, he claims to be a retired fleet officer from the Fog Sea...

"Such a person is indeed very suitable to be the security chief of an armed merchant ship."

Lumian withdrew his gaze, closed the door, and felt much more relaxed.

With such a security chief—a security chief who could help him fulfill his idea of warning the suspicious personnel one by one—the upcoming journey should be quite stable.

Throughout the morning, Lumian stayed in Room 5 of the first-class cabin, leisurely learning the Highland language and occasionally exercising his body. Ludwig, however, after eating breakfast, asked Lugano to take him out for a stroll, playing on the deck like a real child for over an hour.

Lumian suspected that this guy was actually inspecting where his "emergency rations" were and what state they were in.

Before lunch, seeing that the sunlight was just right, Lumian also went down to the deck, rested his hands on the ship's railing, and gazed out at the deep blue sea in the distance.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Philip had returned to that lazy and frivolous state, dallying at the bow of the ship with the young girl from last night, occasionally whispering to each other, occasionally laughing until they were doubled over, acting just like a couple in the throes of passionate love.

You Intisians... Lumian shook his head and chuckled.

After leaving Trier, he had adapted his common expressions to reality.

Philip and that young girl strolled along the deck, leaving their laughter and joy everywhere.

With the outstanding hearing of a "Hunter," it wasn't hard for Lumian to know that the girl was named Gochia; her appearance wasn't outstanding, but she had the advantage of youthful exuberance.

Suddenly, Lumian saw Philip's gaze cast toward the outside of the railing, his expression freezing for a second.

Following the gaze of this "Flying Bird" security chief, Lumian also looked toward that stretch of ocean, only to see a huge shadow seemingly hidden beneath the undulating blue seawater!

As the waves surged, the shadow disappeared along with them.

Smaller than the "Flying Bird," but far superior to other marine creatures... A giant fish, or a sea monster? Lumian thought thoughtfully, feeling inexplicably a bit excited.

"My dear, what are you looking at?" Gochia asked Philip, who had been distracted.

"My sweetheart, I was thinking about which restaurant to take you to later; how about the one in the first-class cabin?" Philip said casually.

Just then, a thin mist rose over the sea, blocking the sunlight and making the environment dim.

None of the passengers and crew on the deck felt surprised by this; such weather changes were a characteristic of the Fog Sea, though not as violent as the Berserk Sea that connects the northern and southern continents.

While Gochia was admiring the first foggy day of this journey, Philip raised his head, his expression slightly solemn, and waved his right arm at the sailor in the crow's nest, pointing to the sea area where the shadow had just disappeared.

He didn't think it was a giant fish passing by... Lumian admired the ocean ahead with great interest, seeing many crew members finish their rest one after another and enter their respective posts, among whom were the gunners.

In a state of being relaxed on the outside but guarded on the inside, a splashing sound came from not far away, and a massive, iron-black object floated up from beneath the sea surface.

It was a "ship" with a peculiar design.

Its entire body was covered with a layer of metal, with only thin pipes extending out from the top, like a snail's eyes.

Amidst the constantly sliding water, the upper part of this iron-black monster ship suddenly split open, blooming like a flower, revealing multiple cannons, raising three masts, and creating a wide deck.

On the deck, hundreds of pirates waved their muskets and swords, making all kinds of intimidating sounds.

The white sails raised themselves and hung from the tops of the masts.

Wow... Lumian let out a sound of admiration in his heart.

He had never seen such a ship before; it was truly magical, actually capable of diving into the water!

Philip's expression became increasingly solemn.

Gochia, who was beside him, was startled by the appearance of the pirates, instinctively shrinking to her lover's side and clinging to him as she said:

"Which pirate crew is this?"

"The only one who possesses this kind of underwater sailing ship is 'Admiral of the Deep' Hal Constantin. Judging by the size of this ship, it shouldn't be his own flagship, but the ship of his most trusted subordinate, 'Bone-Breaker' Luo Lei—the 'Black Octopus'." Philip's tone was no longer frivolous, and his voice was quite heavy.

Gochia felt the world go black before her eyes, nearly fainting on the spot.

Last night, when Philip was chatting with them, he had introduced all the Kings of the Seas and the pirate admirals. Among them, Hal Constantin, who had gone from "Rear Admiral" to "Admiral" in reputation, was one of the more mysterious ones.

It was said that he had sea monster bloodline and had once entered a ruin that had sunk to the bottom of the sea, obtaining the relics of certain alchemists from ancient times—two "Stealth Ships" that could sail underwater when closed and unfold like normal ships when deployed.

The Church of the "God of Steam and Machinery" gained inspiration from this and, after a long period of research, also produced a few underwater sailing ships. However, these could not be mass-produced, as they relied on the abilities of higher-sequence Beyonders, making it difficult for them to become the decisive weapons for the various Intisian fleets. They could only be equipped with one or two each to perform special functions.

Of the two that the "Admiral of the Deep" had, one was as massive as the "Flying Bird" and was called the "Newins," named after one of the most famous treasure legends on the sea; it was Hal Constantin's flagship. The other one was the "Black Octopus" that had just emerged from the sea, which the "Admiral of the Deep" had handed over to his most trusted subordinate, "Bone-Breaker" Luo Lei.

This person was also powerful, cold, and cruel, fond of torturing and killing captured crew members and passengers, so his bounty far exceeded the vast majority of pirates who were not at the "Admiral" level, reaching 250,000 Vergold.

Hearing that what appeared before them was the "Black Octopus" and "Bone-Breaker" Luo Lei, Gochia felt heartfelt despair.

How could an armed merchant ship like the "Flying Bird" cope with these great pirates famous across the Five Seas?

Given the reputation of "Bone-Breaker" Luo Lei, one could imagine everyone's ending!

At this very moment, Philip's attention was entirely on the unfolded "Black Octopus," entirely on the cannons that could be fired at any moment; he had no heart to comfort his new lover.

Lumian, who was not far from them, heard that this was the "Black Octopus," the ship managed by "Bone-Breaker" Luo Lei, the strongest subordinate of "Admiral of the Deep" Hal Constantin. Instead of being nervous, he felt a surge of excitement, as if he had caught the scent of iron and blood.

This was one of the manifestations of a "Hunter's" bellicosity.

Even if a Beyonder had completely digested their potion, they would still be influenced by it to a certain extent.

Lumian's green eyes were like a hawk's, staring at the peculiar iron-black ship, his mind thinking about how to fight later:

Once "Bone-Breaker" Luo Lei appeared and the distance between the two ships closed, and what was seen was what was obtained, he would directly "Teleport" behind this great pirate and use the "Heng-Ha Technique";

If the effect of the "Heng-Ha Technique" was not as expected and the opponent did not fall into a coma, he would put on the "Torture" gloves, induce a certain desire in him, and then "Teleport" again to open up distance and blow the "Hate Movement," detonating that severely excessive desire;

Taking advantage of "Bone-Breaker" Luo Lei suffering heavy damage and briefly falling into a state of incapacitation, Lumian would approach again, erupting with all the attack power of a "Hunter" to blow the enemy into pieces;

During this process, in order not to be disturbed by the surrounding pirates, he could try to create a "Bottle of Fiction" to pull "Bone-Breaker" Luo Lei out for a one-on-one duel...

A complete plan and emergency measures flashed rapidly through Lumian's mind, making his body tremble slightly, as if he were looking forward to a hearty and thorough battle.

Just as the naval battle between the two ships was on the verge of breaking out, the pirates on the "Black Octopus" turned around one after another, looking in astonishment at the stairs leading to the depths of the ship.

Only a few seconds later, this peculiar iron-black ship suddenly turned its rudder and sailed away into the distance.

Those parts that had opened up gradually retracted, resealing the interior.

In the eyes of Lumian and the others, the "Black Octopus" rapidly increased the distance while quickly diving into the seabed.

It eventually turned into a shadow and then disappeared into the mist-filled sea.

"Ran, ran away?" After a long while, Gochia finally came to her senses, turning her head to ask her lover in surprise, joy, and confusion.

"Bone-Breaker" Luo Lei and his "Black Octopus" just left like that?

They hadn't even started the battle, nor had they done any looting!

Philip looked at the place where the "Black Octopus" had disappeared with suspicion and uncertainty, smiling reluctantly:

"Didn't I tell you that I know many great pirates?"

PS: Thanks to friend Wang You Sa for the Silver Alliance for Aurora~

(End of chapter)