Sail Shadows in the Sea of ​​Fog

Chapter 124 Ghost Fleet
On the desolate sea, the Valkyrie, aided by the wind and the fins of the dragonfly, used its bridle to pull the Thorn behind it, hidden in the ring of thick fog, relentlessly advancing along a zigzag path towards Dragonfly Island.

On the sun-drenched decks, the Magic Mirror, now acting as an instructor, was teaching combat skills such as swordsmanship, knife skills, and even whip techniques without reservation, using the memories left behind by Mr. Morwin on the decks of the Valkyrie and the Thorn.

On both ships, the sailors practicing their moves included not only Yafuso and Yunlan, as well as the mixed-race sailors, but also the siblings Yunji and Shenba. Even Cheng Lang and Wuying were learning with great seriousness.

On the open bridge at the stern of the Valkyrie, the Silver Queen held the helm with one hand, controlling the Valkyrie's direction. Not far from her feet, Lord Night, who resembled a black panther, was lying on a canvas blanket specially prepared for him, happily sharpening his already very sharp claws while holding a log.

While teaching the two ships, in the Valkyrie's forecastle galley, the Magic Mirror, with an apron tied around its waist, was still distracted preparing dinner for all the physical beings, including Night's Truth.

While the two ships on the Despair Sea were enjoying themselves, the Honest Man was already heading to Dragonfish Island with five ships from the Brotherhood fleet.

After paying a generous wage, the shipwright Wilton, with the help of the lyretail fishmen, began transplanting dragonfly fins onto the Brotherhood's five ships.

Meanwhile, Captain Senfa of the Flamingo Trading Company also led his only two ships, fully loaded with various supplies, into the Sea of ​​Despair.

They prepared to accept the invitation to Dragonfly Island to join their pirate brothers and become members of the Brotherhood.

To ensure their safety during their journey into the Sea of ​​Despair, they even temporarily teamed up with a fleet of ghost ships.

Ghost fleets are a hot new force in the Star Sea recently. These fleets, which generally use ghost ships as their flagships or are even entirely composed of ghost ships, are not only fiercely armed and tough, but also fast enough that they are not easy to sink.

What's particularly appealing is their generosity; they're willing to share their secret methods for turning their flagship into a ghost ship with anyone.

This may explain why the ghost ship, once feared by everyone, has become a topic of conversation, with people even making overt and covert attempts to make contact with it.

Captain Senfa was tempted, but the conditions were too harsh—first, the ship had to be brought ashore, and then at least 50 innocent crew members had to be sacrificed, not to mention the ship's core.

"First mate, how much longer until we reach Dragonfish Island?" Captain Senfa asked.

“It will take at least another 20 days,” Captain Senfa’s first mate replied.

"I wonder what this ghost fleet is up to."

Captain Senfa muttered to himself, "There are many costs to becoming a ghost ship. One of them is that the captain will become cold and ruthless and lose his freedom. Senfa doesn't want to become that kind of ghost."

Of course, while sailing, he couldn't help but wonder what the purpose of this ghost fleet's entry into the Sea of ​​Despair was.

Surely they couldn't have gone there specifically for Dinosaur Island?
Senfa optimistically speculated on the motives and purposes of his companions, while cautiously assigning three crew members to do nothing but keep an eye on the surrounding ghost fleet.

Even so, on the morning of the second day after they entered the Sea of ​​Despair, an accident still occurred.

"What did you say?"

Senfa, who had just climbed up from the ship, asked the first mate who barged into the captain's cabin in a daze.

"The ghost fleet has disappeared."

The first mate repeated, "Just as our crew, who were specifically tasked with watching them, were changing shifts, those ghost ships vanished in the blink of an eye!"

"Underwater! Is it underwater?"

Senfa ripped off his sweat-smelling nightcap and ran outside, asking, "What did Mr. Lu Ting say?"

"He had only been asleep for a short while when his first mate woke him up."

"Stop the ship, we're not leaving!"

Senfa abruptly issued an order: "Notify Mr. Lu Ting to release all Believers as early warning for the Valkyrie and Honest Man."

"Captain, this is putting us in danger!"

"That's right, but this is also an opportunity!"

Captain Senfa is no longer the naive man he was a few months ago. "If our warning can help them, we will definitely be richly rewarded."

Upon hearing this, Captain Mori's first mate said nothing more and immediately organized several literate sailors to begin writing a letter.

When these warning letters were delivered one after another to the Honest Man and the Valkyrie, the two ships reacted in completely different ways.

The pirates on the Honest Man showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, they led all the sailboats that had been transplanted with dragonfly fins in a group, circling Dragonfly Island day and night.

Each of these boats has a large wooden-covered tin horn mounted side by side on both sides of its sides, and each boat also has an orchestra consisting of 7 lyretail fishmen.

Moreover, the leader of the harptail fishman band on each ship was also given a weapon made from a branch of the sacred tree, which was the only bargaining chip the pirate brothers had to persuade Mr. Wilton to come out of retirement again.

Although the pirate brothers only paid a meager price for a flute made from a sacred tree, Wilton accepted the deal of having the Thorn ship transplanted with dragonfly fins when it arrived, because his wife particularly liked the flute.

In contrast, the people on the Valkyrie and Thorn were on edge, having not forgotten the hastily ended banquet and Night's earlier warning.

Outside Dragonfly Island, the Brotherhood fleet, constantly flexing its muscles, had been swiping around for several days, but the ghost fleet mentioned in Captain Senfa's warning message seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Deep in the Sea of ​​Despair, a ghost fleet of only five ships burst forth from beneath the surface amidst splashing water, simultaneously summoning a thick sea fog thick enough to block out the brilliant sunlight.

Within this constantly shifting cloud of mist, five ghost ships lay in ruins, exuding the stench of rotting corpses.

On the flagship in the middle of the fleet, Captain Sharant, who had dealt with the Valkyrie before, looked at the crystal ball in his hand with a smug expression on his face.

Sharant joined the Ghost Fleet about a month ago, thanks to the ship's core granting him the ability to manipulate the waves. He's been thriving in the fleet, and in just over a month, he's already built his own small fleet and received orders to hunt down enemy ships.

According to the rules of the Ghost Ship Fleet, as long as he can complete the next assassination, he will be able to obtain another Ghost Ship of his own. At that time, with the expansion of the fleet's strength, he will become a famous figure in the pirate city.

Having indulged in his fantasies, Sharant glanced down at the crystal ball in his hand, and then his heart skipped a beat. The arrow-shaped fish inside the crystal ball had begun to flash and started spinning in place.

This can only mean that they have finally found the ship they want to hunt!
It can be found around.
Sharant looked around blankly; he couldn't see anything in the thick fog!
"Dispel the fog!"

Sharant casually tossed the crystal ball to the first mate, then loudly issued the order to dispel the fog.

He was confident, absolutely confident, that he could defeat any pirate ship. This had been proven countless times in various seas of the Star Sea. Ghost ships were more powerful than normal ships, faster, and could not be sunk. They even had a larger range of fog summoned by the Mirage Horn!
There won't be any surprises this time either!
Sharant was excitedly calculating how much loot he could get from the bounty ship this time.

As he gave the order, the other four ships also dispelled the fog.

However, to Sharant's surprise, although they dispelled the fog, the fog directly in front of them did not dissipate; instead, it became even thicker than before.

"What's going on?!" Sharant asked loudly, frowning.

"Captain, it seems we've accidentally wandered into a fog," the first mate replied.

"Are you sure it's not sea fog summoned by the bounty target?" Sharant asked, even subconsciously lowering his voice.

I don't think so.

The first mate pointed to the dense fog that was right in front of them and said with great certainty, "Even a ghost ship couldn't summon such a large fog. I bet our target has been hiding in the fog all this time."

"Send Sharkru and Sharkli to go in and find the target and dispel the sea fog," Sharlant cautiously ordered, dispatching his two most trusted captains, both of whom were his younger brothers.

"Yes!" the first mate responded immediately, and then issued a signal with lights.

"Captain, what do we do?" At the center of the fog, the Magic Mirror asked respectfully as he deciphered the light signal.

"Yun Lan, are you and your sailors confident?" Cheng Lang asked.

"Of course!" Yun Lan answered confidently.

"Then let's get started."

Cheng Lang issued the order, "You figure out how to deal with the two ships inside the fog, we'll deal with the ships outside the fog. Silver Queen, let's set off. Also, let our undead sailors come out and give it a try."

"As you wish"

After the Silver Queen lifted her skirt and bowed, she floated directly up through the ceiling to the open-air cockpit, where she piloted the Valkyrie out of the mist.

At the same time, Cheng Lang also summoned jellyfish through the center of the ship, concealing the outline of the Valkyrie.

On the open deck, accompanied by the clattering of footsteps, Qin Jinyan, in his undead form, carrying a long spear, led dozens of four-legged, two-faced undead behind him, and the armored knights, emerging one after the other from two ventilation grilles.

Propelled by the dragonfly fins, the Valkyrie, concealed by its hull, gracefully left the thick fog. At the same time, the pirate ship that had plunged into the fog emitted a bright light signal—we've spotted a ship!

"They were hiding in the fog as expected!"

Sharant immediately gave the order, "Tell the other two ships to scatter! To prevent that ship from escaping!"

"Yes!" the first mate responded again, signaling with lights.

"Captain, which one should we attack?"

The Magic Mirror asked respectfully, as they had almost brought Sharant's flagship into the range of their cannons.

"No rush, what's the situation inside the sea fog?" Cheng Lang asked.

"It's wonderful"

As the magic mirror spoke, some rather offensive images began to appear on the wall.

In the first scene, all the sailors on one of the ships, including the captain, are covered in thorns and have turned into sea urchins, unable to move at all.

Moreover, the mixed-race female sailors of the ray race had already boarded the ship and were now wielding rapiers, trying to deal with the enemies on board.

In the second scene, the sailors on the enemy ship are clearly influenced by the songs and music of the Lyretail Fishman. At this moment, they are either stabbing each other with knives or trying to stab each other with flesh sticks.

"Don't let us see such disgusting scenes in person again."

Cheng Lang said irritably, "Since the Thorn hasn't run into any trouble, it's our turn next. Although it's often said that to shoot a man, shoot his horse first; to capture a thief, capture his king first, this time we'll start with the small fry. Magic Mirror, Silver Queen, let's go chase that ship on the right."

"As you command, Captain!"

The Magic Mirror and the Silver Queen agreed in unison, and the Valkyrie began to accelerate, soon catching up with the ship.

"Senior Qin Jinyan, we're counting on you." Cheng Lang switched to his native language and said with utmost respect.

"kill!"

Qin Jinyan gave a cold response. He and the four-legged undead behind him ran from the deck to the top of the mast as if walking on flat ground, and then silently began to board the ship.

Although there was some distance between them, thanks to his excellent eyesight, Cheng Lang could clearly see that Qin Jinyan and his undead subordinates were extremely efficient. Those sailors who were still considered human were often stunned as they were passed right through them. After the undead scimitars stabbed through them, the sailors' legs immediately went weak and they became motionless.

In this almost unsolvable, one-sided battle, the ship sailed on and on until there were no living creatures left on board.

When Little Fog Shadow tossed a bridle over like a hammer, even the dilapidated ghost ship stopped moving.

"Let's go deal with the other ship."

Cheng Lang, who was extremely satisfied with this victory, issued a new order, and the Valkyrie, under the control of the Silver Queen, began to circle around in pursuit of another ship.

This ship is faster, so the chase will naturally take longer.

Even more unexpectedly, although the sailors on the ship were still moving around as before, their bodies had begun to rot and become infested with maggots, clearly indicating that they had been dead for a long time.

When Qin Jinyan led the two-faced undead sailors to board the ship again, these sailors were completely unfazed by their passage and even began to fight them.

Although Qin Jinyan and his men clearly had the upper hand, Cheng Lang had no intention of wasting time. "Open fire, take down their bows first."

"boom--!"

Amidst the continuous barrage of cannon fire, the bow of the ghost ship was largely destroyed by various cannonballs, revealing not only the base of the foremast but also the cargo in the lower decks.

Strangely enough, even so, the ship showed no signs of sinking!
"Everything on that ship has become a ghost, those ugly, hairless two-legged rats. Stop the pointless firing."

As Ye Di spoke, he stuck out his long, barbed red tongue and licked the corner of his mouth, then lowered his head and rubbed against Wu Ying. "Little princess, please climb onto my back, and I'll take you over there to join in the fun."

"Thank you, Big Cat!"

Wuying hugged Yedi's big head and kissed it, then climbed onto his back and grabbed his two lively ears.

The big cat, Ye Di, who usually wouldn't let anyone touch him, didn't care. He simply leaped up to the top of the mast and then leaped onto the ghost ship opposite.

"Ouch——!"

With a threatening roar, an enemy who was fighting a two-faced undead was also swatted into a cloud of foul-smelling blood mist by the big cat's claw.

"Captain, the last ship outside the fog has escaped," the Silver Queen warned at this moment.

"Is it fast?" Cheng Lang asked.

"Can catch up"

The Silver Queen paused, then added, "Princess Yunlan is facing the same problem. Those thorny enemies are impossible to kill, and their ships are impossible to sink."

"Don't worry, they can't escape."

Cheng Lang replied absentmindedly, his attention completely focused on the big cat—he wanted such a cool mount too!

(End of this chapter)