Chapter 785: Boarding the Ship

In Barmo Port, on a street near the docks.

Jianna hid in the shadows, watching Anthony blend into the crowd and mingle with the pirates.

She did not deliberately track the well-known pirates who entered the port aboard the "Newens," confirming their movements—partly because she feared such behavior might alert the "Deep Sea Admiral" to a grand conspiracy awaiting him in Barmo Port, and partly because she didn't need to track them to obtain immediate information on the current whereabouts of the Newens's first mate, second mate, and boatswain:

The pirates of Barmo Port all awaited the "Deep Sea Admiral" or his trusted subordinates to teach that unknown adventurer a lesson, and would naturally keep constant watch on the movements of those individuals, relaying the information to their companions and friends!

In other words, under such intense scrutiny, most pirates in Barmo Port had become spontaneous reporters—no matter where the "Deep Sea Admiral's" trusted subordinates went, they would be noticed and widely publicized.

If they used abilities to move stealthily or entered invisibility, they might evade the busybodies scattered across every corner of Barmo Port, but the problem was that they were currently gathering supplies and completing provisions—there was no way to hide such a large quantity of goods.

Thus, one message after another reached Anthony's ears:

"'The Great Shark' has arrived at Fis Trading House."

"'Ship Destroyer' is heading toward the Carnival Bar!"

"Oh, by the Storm above, those bastards have gathered at Blackstone Square!"

"They're just one street away from the Carnival Bar!"

"They've stopped for now, discussing something!"

"They seem to be heading first to Old Dant's to buy barrels of cheap pale ale!"

"…"

Anthony sensed the pirates' agitation and saw them leaving the current street, surging toward the Carnival Bar.

He stood up as well, to avoid drawing undue attention.

During this, he gave a subtle glance toward the shadow where Jianna was hidden.

Jianna understood at once and used the shadows along both sides of the street to move swiftly through the increasingly crowded road toward the Carnival Bar.

…………

Lumian lifted his newly poured amber-colored Lieranzi, nodding to himself in self-satisfaction.

He then turned to the bartender behind the bar and smiled:

"You might consider moving your valuable wines and items away for now, and Zuihaobuyaoliuzaizheli 。"

The bartender froze, then replied hurriedly after several seconds:

"Alright!"

No one had passed him any news, fearing Lumian might overhear and disrupt subsequent events, but from the growing crowd of pirates gathering outside the bar, he had a strong sense that something was brewing and about to happen.

This filled him with anticipation and deep unease—after all, the impending conflict would occur in the Carnival Bar, and he was right at the scene!

Seeing the bartender instruct the waiters to move valuables out the back door, Lumian pulled out a blank sketchbook and a dip pen, scribbling idly as he asked:

"How much do you estimate this bar is worth? Including the two-story building itself?"

"Uh…" The bartender froze again.

What did that mean?

Did it imply the coming conflict might destroy the bar and collapse the entire building?

Recalling those crimson-to-white fireballs brimming with power, the bartender grew tremblingly nervous, forcing a smile:

"You want to compensate? You… you decide how much, or let the losers pay…"

"This building is a simple local construction, surely cheap. Your bar caters to low-tier pirates—whether furnishings, tables, or chairs, all are the cheapest possible…" Lumian continued his assessment without looking up, still sketching on the blank pages.

"Yes, exactly." The bartender nodded rapidly in agreement.

Lumian lifted his head and shook his head with a smile:

"You agree with everything I say—it's very difficult for me."

"..." The bartender fell silent, unsure how to respond.

Lumian lowered his head again:

"How about 2000 Fierkin?"

"Fine." The bartender switched words, showing no hint of negotiation.

Lumian's dip pen never paused as he said calmly:

"Payment will be made after the actual damage is confirmed. If the arriving big pirates are willing to cover the compensation, that's fine too."

"Yes, sir!" The bartender replied eagerly.

He glanced left and right, wishing he could sprout wings and fly out of the Carnival Bar right now.

Based on their conversation, he feared that if he stayed, he'd become a mangled corpse.

Minutes later, the waiters carried away the few valuable items; the cheap goods remained inside the bar.

The bartender then left through the back door, and the pirates—whether genuine or fake, including Mason—all exited the Carnival Bar to wait and watch outside.

None dared linger in this prearranged battlefield.

It was hard-earned experience.

After sketching for a while, Lumian stopped his pen and slowly sipped the remaining amber-colored Lieranzi.

A few more minutes passed, then Franca slipped into the shadows behind the bar and whispered:

"The 'Deep Sea Admiral' hasn't come, but his first mate 'The Great Shark' and others are nearly here—they'll arrive in about two minutes."

Lumian gripped his dip pen again and resumed sketching on the top page of the sketchbook.

He chuckled softly:

"Remember to prepare 2000 Fierkin for compensation, and when you return, repay me the 1000 Fierkin reward for the summoning-messenger assignment."

"Huh?" Franca was startled.

Lumian chuckled:

"This is to help you digest 'Pleasure'—all expenses must be borne by you, including the consumption of extraordinary items."

"No problem." Franca hadn't resisted earlier—she'd simply not expected Lumian to bring it up suddenly.

At that moment, she noticed Lumian was nearly finished sketching on the blank book and asked curiously:

"Why not simply bring out the 'Armor of Pride,' dress it in a robe, disguise it as a person, and have it sit on this chair facing away from the pirates?"

Since Lumian was present, the "Armor of Pride" couldn't be used anyway—better to leave it here and make it useful.

"Do you really want this building destroyed?" Lumian laughed. "Besides, the 'Armor of Pride' can't use 'Lies'—it can't disguise itself as me. The 'Deep Sea Admiral's' men would notice something's wrong before even stepping through the door."

As he spoke, Lumian completed the final stroke on the blank sketchbook.

It was a sketch drawn in deep blue ink—depicting Lumian himself.

The paper gradually faded, and the drawn Lumian suddenly moved, thickening rapidly, swelling like an inflating balloon.

In the blink of an eye, a blank-faced Lumian appeared before the bar, hidden behind Lumian's own body.

It possessed the instinct to fight for several minutes and some of Lumian's abilities, and would obey the drawer's commands.

As Lumian arranged the drawn version to sit facing away from the bar's entrance, he transformed into a shadow-being and vanished from before the bar.

Not long after, the "Newens"' first mate, Jorg, nicknamed "The Great Shark," arrived at the Carnival Bar with several companions of similar strength, surrounded by a crowd of watching pirates.

Seeing the calm, unknown adventurer seated before the bar, the tall, muscular, bald "Great Shark" waved his hand and stepped through the door first.

Once the "Newens"' several extraordinary individuals had entered the Carnival Bar, Lumian—who had already shifted position and now stood pressed against the window—pressed his right hand against the glass.

A black mark concealed beneath his clothing glowed brightly.

"Vessel of Fiction!"

He enclosed the Carnival Bar within the "Vessel of Fiction," with the condition that only non-extraordinary individuals could enter or exit.

Immediately afterward, Lumian turned his body and, amid the pirates' confusion as their vision vanished, squeezed through the crowd, slipped into a nearby alley, and with Franca, directly "teleported" to the docks.

The two met Jianna and Anthony at their agreed location, used shadows and psychological invisibility, and boarded the alchemical vessel named "Newens."

Compared to when they first arrived, far fewer pirates remained aboard—only enough to maintain minimal vigilance.

Lumian wasn't concerned that their actions would trigger a dangerous premonition in the "Deep Sea Admiral," because all gathered intelligence indicated that Hal Constantine was not an extraordinary of the "Demon" path—he lacked sensitivity to malice. His earlier behavior resembled more closely the Sequence 5 "Ocean Singer" of the "Storm" path, and according to feedback from the "Tarot Society," the "Deep Sea Admiral" had no connection to the Storm Church.

That's why Lumian had insisted Jianna confirm whether the "Black Octopus" had followed the "Newens" to Barmo Port—the "Black Octopus"'s captain, "Bonebreaker" Rolle, was a "Demon."

Considering that news of the Carnival Bar's situation might reach the "Newens" and cause the "Deep Sea Admiral" to become highly alert, Lumian and his group wasted no time and swiftly infiltrated the ship's hull.

Less than a minute later, they found a lone pirate in a room along the corridor.

Franca checked whether the surrounding mechanical devices had alert functions, then whispered softly to Lumian, now in shadow-being form, after several seconds:

"We can act."

Lumian immediately slipped into the room, glided behind the lone pirate, emerged, and let out a low "Hmph."

Two streaks of white light flashed and vanished—the pirate collapsed unconscious.

Anthony entered the room and quickly began hypnosis.

Jianna and Franca guarded in the shadows outside the door, soon hearing friendly voices from within:

"Where's the Admiral?"

"In the captain's cabin."

"The Admiral became one of the most famous pirates—surely he has backing from a major power?"

"I don't know, but the Admiral is definitely mysterious."

"..."

After brief questioning, Anthony made the pirate forget ever having met this friend aboard the ship.

They then stealthily ascended to the upper deck and halted outside the captain's cabin door.

Gazing at the silvery metal door, Lumian suddenly felt his eyelid twitch.

He had just connected this to the possible path and sequence of the "Deep Sea Admiral."

On this alchemical vessel, the "Ocean Singer" might wield power nearly equal to that in the deep sea or the sky!

As Lumian's thoughts raced, two pirates pushed a food cart up via a mechanical lift to the captain's cabin door.

(End of chapter)