Chapter 514: A Peculiar Pirate Ship (Thanks to friend Wangyousa for the Aurora Silver Alliance donation)

Lu Mian watched Philip's back and let out a silent laugh.

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

However, this could be considered a common trait among many Intis men. As long as they weren't under high-intensity work and there were reasonably decent women around, they would act like animals in heat, striving to show themselves off. This wasn't something that could be changed by becoming a Beyonder.

"Witch" Beyonders were most active in Intis, especially in Trier. Beyond the attraction of the ruins left underground, it must also involve a compatibility with the social atmosphere.

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

He had originally intended to enjoy the journey, and had even considered helping maintain order on the ship, acting as a shadow arbiter.

He was now more curious about how Philip had discovered that his, Lugano's, and Ludwig's identification documents were fake.

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

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

"One is adept at observing details and reading true thoughts; one is an expert in deduction, and the Sequence 7 is literally called 'Detective,' capable of discovering that we aren't normal from clues; one reaches Sequence 8 'Sheriff,' possessing extraordinary control over various affairs within their 'jurisdiction,' enough to discover abnormal phenomena and grasp abnormal traces...

"Combining the fact that none of us three had interacted directly with Philip before, the 'Spectator' option can be preliminarily ruled out. Besides, 'Spectator' isn't suited for being a security chief; it's not their comfort zone...

"After discovering through his abilities that we had issues and our origins weren't clear, Philip immediately checked copies of our identification documents and contacted personnel in the issuing regions via telegram to confirm that no such three people actually existed?

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

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

"It's hard to achieve this relying solely on himself. He also has an organization behind him, and it's a more official organization? Hmm, he claims to be a retired Mist Sea Fleet officer...

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

Lu Mian withdrew his gaze, closed the door, and felt even more relaxed.

With such a security chief who could help him complete his idea of warning the suspicious individuals one by one, the rest of the journey should be quite stable.

Throughout the morning, Lu Mian stayed in the first-class cabin room 5, leisurely studying Highland language and occasionally exercising his body. As for Ludwig, after finishing breakfast, he asked Lugano to take him out for a stroll, playing on the deck for over an hour like a real child.

Lu Mian suspected that this guy was actually surveying where his emergency rations were and what state they were in.

Before lunch, seeing that the sunlight was just right, Lu Mian also went down to the deck, resting his hands on the ship's railing and gazing at the deep blue ocean in the distance.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Philip had returned to that slack and frivolous state, sticking with the young girl from last night at the bow, whispering and laughing from time to time, acting like a pair of lovebirds.

You Intis people... Lu Mian shook his head and laughed.

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

Philip and the girl strolled on the deck, leaving their laughter everywhere they went.

Suddenly, Lu Mian saw Philip's gaze cast outside the ship's railing, his expression freezing for a second.

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

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

Larger than the "Flying Bird" but far superior to other marine life... A giant fish, or a sea monster? Lu Mian thought thoughtfully, feeling inexplicably excited.

"Darling, what are you looking at?" Gochia asked Philip, who was distracted.

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

Just then, a thin mist rose over the ocean, blocking the sunlight and dimming the environment.

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

Taking advantage of Gochia admiring the first foggy weather of this journey, Philip raised his arm, his expression slightly solemn as he waved his right arm toward the sailors in the crow's nest, pointing at the patch of sea where the shadow had just disappeared.

He didn't think it was a giant fish passing by... Lu Mian watched the ocean ahead with great interest, seeing many crew members finish their rest one after another and enter their respective posts, including the gunners.

In a state of outward relaxation and inward vigilance, a splashing sound came from not far away, and a pitch-black behemoth emerged from beneath the sea surface.

It was a "ship" with a peculiar shape.

Its entirety was covered in a layer of metal, with only thin pipes extending from the top, like the eyes of a snail.

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

On the deck, dozens or hundreds of pirates brandished muskets and swords, emitting all sorts of threatening sounds.

White sails hoisted themselves, reaching the tops of the masts.

Wow... Lu Mian let out a sigh of admiration in his heart.

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

Philip's expression became increasingly solemn.

Gochia, who was beside him, was startled by the appearance of the pirates, instinctively shrinking toward her lover and clinging to him. "Which pirate crew is this?"

"The only ones who possess such underwater ships are 'Admiral of Deep Sea' Haal Constantin. Judging by the size of this ship, it shouldn't be his flagship, but the ship of his most trusted subordinate, 'Bone-Breaker' Rolle, the 'Black Octopus'." Philip's tone was no longer frivolous, his voice quite heavy.

Gochia felt a darkness before her eyes upon hearing this, almost fainting.

Last night, when Philip was chatting with them, he had introduced all the Kings of the Sea and Pirate Admirals. Among them, Haal Constantin, who had gone from "Rear Admiral" to "Admiral" in reputation, was a relatively mysterious one.

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

The Church of the "God of Steam and Machinery" had gained inspiration from this and, after a long period of research, had also produced a few underwater ships, but they couldn't be mass-produced, relying on the abilities of relatively high-sequence Beyonders, making it difficult for them to become the decisive weapons for Intis's major fleets. They could only be equipped with one or two each to perform special functions.

The two that the "Admiral of Deep Sea" had, one as huge as the "Flying Bird" called "Newins," taken from one of the most famous treasure legends of the sea, was Haal Constantin's flagship. The other was the "Black Octopus" that had just emerged from the sea, which had been handed over by the "Admiral of Deep Sea" to his most trusted subordinate, "Bone-Breaker" Rolle.

This person was also powerful, cold, and cruel, fond of torturing captured crew members and passengers, so his bounty far exceeded the vast majority of pirates who weren't at the "Admiral" level, reaching 25,000 gold pounds.

Upon hearing that what appeared before them was the "Black Octopus" and "Bone-Breaker" Rolle, Gochia felt truly desperate.

How could an armed merchant ship like the "Flying Bird" cope with such famous pirates of the Five Seas?

Given the reputation of "Bone-Breaker" Rolle, the ending for everyone was self-evident!

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

Lu Mian, who was not far from them, felt not tension but excitement upon hearing that this was the "Black Octopus" and the ship managed by "Bone-Breaker" Rolle, the strongest subordinate of the "Admiral of Deep Sea" Haal Constantin, as if he had caught the scent of iron and blood.

This was one of the manifestations of a "Hunter's" love for battle.

Even after fully digesting a potion, Beyonders would still be influenced by them to a certain extent.

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

Once "Bone-Breaker" Rolle appeared and the distance between the two ships closed, and everything was clear, he would directly "Teleport" behind this great pirate and use the "Hum-Ha Technique";

If the effect of the "Hum-Ha Technique" wasn't as expected and the opponent didn't fall unconscious, he would put on the "Torture" gloves, induce a certain desire in him, and then "Teleport" again, pull away the distance, and blow the "Hate Movement" to detonate that severely excessive desire;

Taking advantage of "Bone-Breaker" Rolle suffering heavy damage and falling into a short state of incapacity, Lu Mian would approach again and unleash the full attack power of a "Hunter" to blow the enemy into fragments;

During this process, to avoid interference from the surrounding pirates, he could attempt to create a "Bottle of Fiction" to pull "Bone-Breaker" Rolle out for a one-on-one duel...

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

Just as the sea battle between the two ships was about to break out, the pirates on the "Black Octopus" turned around one after another, looking in astonishment toward the stairs leading to the depths of the ship.

Only a few seconds later, this peculiar iron-black monster ship turned its rudder violently and sailed toward the distance.

Its unfolded parts gradually retracted, resealing the interior.

In the eyes of Lu Mian and the others, the "Black Octopus" accelerated while pulling away the distance and dived into the seabed at high speed.

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

"Ran, ran away?" After a long while, Gochia finally came to her senses, turning her head to ask her lover, surprised, happy, and bewildered.

"Bone-Breaker" Rolle and his "Black Octopus" just left like this?

They didn't even attempt a bombardment, nor did they carry out any looting!

Lu Mian's mouth twitched, not knowing how to evaluate the "Black Octopus"'s act of turning around and diving again without the slightest hesitation.

This exceeded his expectations, leaving him unable to react in time.

Such a cool and magical underwater ship, such a high-bounty great pirate, actually chose to flee in a panic without even trying to fire a cannon?

What kind of pirate are you with such little guts?

And with a 25,000 gold pound bounty and the fierce reputation of "Bone-Breaker," don't mix in the sea anymore!

Lu Mian habitually cursed a few times in his heart, then seriously thought about why "Bone-Breaker" Rolle had turned around and fled without even showing his face: