I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

It was said to be a forbidden area, the place where the "pure fire that once burned" had been extinguished. Although Lu Ban didn't know why the pure fire had been extinguished, according to the captain, it was far more dangerous and terrifying than the border, and it was an area that all ships had to avoid entering.

This area marks the end of the Narcissus Passage. Ahead, ocean currents will surge into the Ash Sea, and ships must steer carefully, avoiding these currents, before entering the latter half of the Akiyama Passage. This latter half is a pirate-infested area, where man-made disasters outweigh natural ones.

Thinking in reverse according to Ayame's line of thought, the leaders of the Kazushima Taisha would probably position the besieging fleet in the latter half of the convoy. This would allow them to obtain intelligence, supplies, and bribe the greedy pirates to launch an attack on the fleet.

Of course, it is more likely that the two sides attacked the fleet at the intersection of the two shipping lanes, forcing the fleet into the Ash Sea. In that area, the power of nature would be enough to make everything fall into place.

"You mean, this storm appeared suddenly, it's the result of a spell?"

The calamus is very alert.

"Impossible, impossible. How could someone capable of such weather manipulation not be noticed by the authorities?"

The captain immediately retorted, but in the end, he also became speechless.

Officials, yes, aren't they being hunted down by the authorities right now?

This is something that the powerful figures who govern the Kazushima Taisha Shrine, as well as the Sakurajima and Kohaku families, are all well aware of.

The pursuit of Amber was not a conspiracy, but an open scheme.

If Amber cannot complete this journey, then she is naturally not qualified to inherit the position of High Priestess.

All that's left is whether the project looks good on the surface.

On this vast, unmonitored sea, the distinction between justice and evil is not so clear.

In reality, even this captain was just gambling like Ayame.

Is it better to continue drifting on this vast sea, only to die one day at the hands of monsters, pirates, or traitors, or to take a gamble, gain territory and fiefdom, and live forever on solid ground?

Amidst the raging storm, a deep purple lightning bolt struck.

Boom—

An extremely thick bolt of lightning fell from the sky into the sea, like a straight pillar. Even after falling into the sea, it did not disappear after spreading out into countless silver branches due to its conductivity.

Boom—

Another bolt of lightning struck, this time even closer. As the light dimmed, Lu Ban could even smell the acrid stench of burning marine life.

"It would be delicious to use it for grilling fish."

Lu Ban sighed, drawing the attention of Changpu and the captain.

"It's a Word of Power. I don't know what level of priest or priestess they activated, but they're definitely not easy to deal with."

Changpu looked at the constantly falling lightning and muttered to herself.

Just then, a whistle blew from the deck.

The three of them went to the window and looked at the mast, whose sails had already been furled.

On the lookout tower midway up the mast, sailors were waving flags and blowing whistles.

Lu Ban had learned a little about flag signals in the past few days, and with his limited knowledge, he could tell that the meanings of the flag signals were quite simple.

"Enemy attack!"

The captain put on his hat, hung up his sword and musket, and went out of the captain's cabin.

Lu Ban and Changpu followed behind. As soon as they stepped out of the cabin, they were met with a dense curtain of rain formed by the torrential downpour, obscuring everything and making it impossible to see anything in the distance.

Just then, a bolt of lightning struck, illuminating the entire world.

Lu Ban saw in the distance, at the horizon, the sails of three ships slowly rising under the cover of thunder.

Ships that appear at this time are 100% enemies.

"Leica, go!"

At Lu Ban's command, Laika on the deck dived into the sea. Where no one could see, its docile corgi form was gone, replaced by a fleshy hound covered in tentacles and eyeballs. In the sea, it swam toward the three ships, forming the first line of defense.

At this moment, accompanied by a second bolt of lightning, the three saw four more warships appear ahead of the ship in the direction it was heading.

They were surrounded.

On the mast of that warship, the flashing light also conveyed a signal, which Lu Ban didn't even need to decipher this time.

This is definitely a signal to start a war.

"Raise the Sakurajima flag! Everyone, prepare for battle! Bring the shells out of the warehouse! Girls, it's time to prove you're men!"

The captain shouted, which immediately made the sailors who were still reinforcing the deck even busier.

After he finished speaking, he looked at Lu Ban and Changpu.

"Please go and keep the priestess company. We hope she can help us."

"This is also helping herself."

Chapter 336 Word Power

dong dong dong-

Lu Ban knocked gently on the door and soon received a response from the maid.

"Please come in."

He pushed open the door and entered Amber's room.

Compared to the other rooms on the ship, this room was obviously more luxurious, with silk curtains and quilts, various metal utensils, and even a painting of flowers and birds. The room did not have the damp and musty smell that was typical of ships; instead, it had a faint scent of incense that calmed the mind.

Amber's maid was a girl of similar age, but her emotions were more outwardly expressed, and she had a somewhat arrogant air about her.

As for Amber herself, dressed in a shrine maiden's outfit, she was kneeling on the bed with her eyes closed, meditating.

"My lady, we are being attacked from both sides, and there is also a torrential rain that may be caused by a spell. The captain sent me to ask for your help."

Lu Ban then stated his demands.

Since this thunderstorm was created by the shrine maiden, then Kohaku, who is also a shrine maiden, should theoretically be able to stop it.

If he can't even handle this, then Amber's reputation as a genius isn't entirely well-deserved.

"I understand."

Amber opened her eyes, which had been closed the whole time.

Deep within his amber eyes, Lu Ban saw flames flickering.

She got out of bed, put on her wooden clogs, went to the window, and opened it.

bang——

A violent wind, carrying raindrops, rushed into the room, soaking Amber's hair and clothes.

But the flames in her eyes seemed to burn even more intensely.

Lu Ban heard Amber muttering incantations. The sound was just like the ramblings of an evil god that Lu Ban had heard countless times, which was irritating, gave him a headache, and drove him to madness.

The maidservant next to her covered her ears, stood a little further away, and frowned.

The next moment, before Lu Ban could even begin to doubt the power of the amber, a beam of light fell from the dark clouds.

The dense dark clouds were pushed aside by the light, and Lu Ban looked up to see the clear sky and stars above the light.

The light enveloped the two ships, and wherever it touched, the previously boiling and churning seawater calmed down.

The light spread rapidly, reaching the surrounding sea. The sky seemed to have been pierced and torn apart by fingers. Peace and tranquility replaced the violence and agitation, like a noisy baby being soothed by its mother's lullaby.

Amber's voice grew louder.

The layers upon layers of babbling made the maid leave the room immediately. Lu Ban listened to them, but he couldn't understand them. However, he could still sense a certain meaning in the language.

It was as if they were communicating.

According to what Hongye had told Lu Ban before, the extraordinary power of Hedao is composed of spells and words of power.

A technique is a spell, which is a space constructed in a certain way and the control and domination of that space.

The power of words is a binding oath, a vow and agreement made with another through language.

At this moment, the amber is probably communicating with this ocean.

Lu Ban could feel the tremors coming from the depths of the ocean, and the sky seemed to calm down because of the language of amber.

He looked out the window, and in the swaying wind and rain, several lights flashed on the warship opposite.

"Fire!"

The next moment, several explosions rang out around the fleet.

……

"How is this possible?"

In the captain's cabin of the flagship, the captain from Hejima wore an expression of disbelief.

"This is a storm created by the combined efforts of at least twenty quasi-shrine maidens, and she managed to fight it off all by herself?"

The captain found this completely unbelievable.

He even began to waver.

Is my current attack on this candidate for high priestess really the right thing to do?

Should we really fire back under such immense power?

But someone nearby shoved the captain aside.

"calibrate the cannon and prepare for test firing."

Thunder Commander, holding the secret order from the one in power, now possesses authority exceeding that of the captain and can command the entire fleet.

The first mate dared not disobey orders. In his eyes, the two men were bandaged and acted strangely, but they were powerful and had great authority. No one could disobey them.

The guns at the bow of the ship quickly opened fire, but the target was near the two ships, not quite close enough.

"Full speed ahead, all artillery ready, prepare for the second round of firing."

Thunder then gave the order.

"The other party has only mastered a little bit of sorcery, nothing to fear."

To reassure the public, Thunder added a sentence.