”We have to get down!” Michael had to raise his voice to make his words reach Olivia’s ears,
”GO!” Michael shouted at her. However, the order wasn’t only for her but for Corey’s men as well.
Boom!
The thunderclap resonated in the ocean, followed by the lightning crack that looked as though it was splitting open the sky itself. Olivia quickly manipulated the arch energy beneath her feet to fly towards the latch on the ship’s center.
Boom!
Another loud booming sounded throughout the ocean, but this time, there was no lightning. Instead, the entire ship trembled violently as Olivia was thrown off onto the wet floor,
”We are under attack!” Michael shouted, dashing at Olivia.
”Quick quick quick!” He helped her up while keeping his head down,
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Corey’s men bombarded the ship relentlessly,
”What’s happening?!” Olivia shouted.
”Someone’s attacking the ship!” As Michael shouted, Olivia looked over his shoulder to see a man of war slowly emerging through the hazy mist created by the storm.
Everyone around them grew darker because of the man of war’s shadow. Compared to the huge man of war, their merchant ship looked minuscule.
Michael turned around, looking at the man of war slowly getting closer to their merchant ship.
”She really wanna surprise me,” Michael thought while looking at the man of war slowly positioning itself adjacent to the merchant ship so they could jump on board.
Meanwhile, the crews who went to rest down decks rushed outside, stunned by the sight of the man of war. The crew shuddered,
”Oh my god!”
”A man o war!”
”Where is the captain?!”
”What are we gonna do?”
”They are onboarding us!”
Michael saw several grappling hooks being thrown at their ship, and a few of them got stuck to the rails. Soon, the crew of man of war reached their ship, sliding through the ropes attached to the grappling hooks.
In a few moments, the empty upper deck became crowded with the crews of both ships.
The merchant ship crew reluctantly unsheathed their swords which were rusty and broken. Since the merchant ship traveled between the cultivation continents, they barely had any attacks. Thus, the crew didn’t bother to purchase new swords or spells.
The storm seemed to have slowed down thanks to the man of war shielding them from the raging storm. The merchant ship crew stared at Michael, expecting him to fight the intruders, including the captain who just arrived at the scene. Instead, the man couldn’t even stand firm on the ground as he swayed like a tree in the wind. He was thin as a twig and Michael wondered how he managed to become a captain.
’
Boom!
Suddenly, a sturdy man jumped down onto the ship, making the ship violently sway left and right. Contrary to the merchant ship captain, the man who just jumped the ship looked taller and bulkier than an average human. His exposed upper body was riddled with Mayan tattoos just like Corey. The man had dark brown eyes complementing his brown curly hair,
”Give me that man without resisting, and I will spare your lives,” the man spoke in a thick accent and pointed at Michael,
Olivia was terrified by his words. Not a day passed since the Idrisal massacre, yet she saw someone else asking for Ghost.
”Who are you?” Michael asked, slowly helping Olvia to her feet,
”Come with us,” Instead of revealing his identity, the tanned skin warrior replied to Michael,
”Otherwise, we will sink everyone to the fucking bottom. I doubt there are any Core formation cultivators among the crew to fly away,” the man snickered,
He was right. As far as Michael could see, except for him and Olivia, not a single one was above the Body Refining stage.
”Do I have to believe that you would spare them if I agreed to come with you?” Michael asked, tilting his head.
”You don’t have a choice Ghost,” as the man said, Michael heard creaking noises resonating in the air. He turned his head to see the countless cannons of the man of war slowly poking out,
”Who are you, people? What do you want with him?” Olivia snarled. She had enough of people threatening her and Ghost for one day. She was about to cast a spell as Michael sensed the arch energy around him fluctuating. But he quickly squeezed her hand,
”We have seen enough deaths,” Michael whispered,
Then he looked back at the man while the merchant ship crew stared at Michael, wordlessly begging him to go with them and save their lives.
”You got me,” Michael threw his arms in the sky,
”Teacher!” Olivia growled as she grabbed his hands,
Michael turned out with a gentle smile on his face,
”I survived worse. Just quit whining and reach home safe,”
Michael squeezed her arm as a gesture of reassuring her before stepping toward the pirates,
When Michael reached his side, the man’s gaze swept across the ship,
”If you wish to see him alive, don’t tell anyone about this” he directed his gaze at Olivia,
”Trust me when I say this, people. If you breathe a word about this, we will kill you and your kin,”
According to Michael’s plan, the pirates had no idea Ghost is the Dark Lord. As far as they were concerned, the Dark Lord ordered Corey to capture him, and Corey conveyed the order to them.
Even Corey thought Ghost was one of the Dark Lord’s targets.
”Listen to them. Do not speak a word of it,” Olivia didn’t nod but stared at him with a blank mind. She only snapped back to reality when the man grabbed Ghost by his collar and leaped back to the man of war. By that time, their figures had disappeared from their sight.
After Ghost left the deck, the crew members sighed in relief. Except for Olivia, everyone seemed rather happy.
Back on the man of war’s upper deck, Michael was surrounded by several pirates with scimitars. They all stared at him menacingly as the captain showed him towards the opened latch on the ship’s center,
”Chill out bro. I am walking,” Michael sped up his pace. Soon, the ship began to move, but he couldn’t watch over the merchant ship or Olivia as he was pushed down the ladder leading to the dark lower decks of the ship.
The strong stench of rum and moth made him twitch his nose. The pirate captain walked behind him, leading him further into the dimly lit corridors until they reached a tiny room with no windows. Instead, the room had a tiny bed, a hand size hole on the wall to enable wind flow, and a weakly burning candle. The room was barely four feet wide and if Michael bounced, he would hit his head on the ceiling. But, on the other hand, the bed sheets looked ancient, yellowish, and drenched in fluids that Michael didn’t even want to guess what.
”Enjoy your stay, Lord” the man chuckled evilly before shoving Michael into the room and closing the door behind him.
Michael waited until the footsteps completely went quiet before establishing a connection with Corey,
”Is it done?” Michael thickened his voice and asked Corey,
”Yes my lord. My men have captured Ghost without any casualties, as you ordered. What’s your next order, my lord?”
”Where are you right now?” instead of giving Corey her next orders, Michael asked about her whereabouts,
”Still following the target my lord,” Corey said,
As per Michael’s orders, Corey delayed the ship Sabrina and the vampires on for a week by destroying the mask with chain shots. Corey and her men plundered the ship, intending to delay their journey. Afterward, Michael asked Corey to leave them alone. It took the vampires another week to repair their ship before resuming their journey. Corey had been following the vampires for four days by now.
”They are sailing away from the southern continent my lord,”
”Where is Ghost now?” Michael asked, pretending not to know anything about Ghost’s location,
”In the crystal ocean my lord,”
”How long do you think it takes for your men to reach your target?”
”Hmm,” Corey’s voice trailed off as Michael heard the sound of papers ruffling,
A few seconds later, she responded,
”A day if the wind’s with them and day and a half if it isn’t,”
Michael rubbed his chin for a moment,
”Here’s what you’re gonna do. Order your men to sail to your location, and then, follow the target together. When the target anchor somewhere, throw Ghost over to the target,”
”My lord, what if they reached their destination before my men could reach me?”
”Then note the location and inform me right away. Remember no matter what, do not lose them,” Michael coldly said to Corey.
”Understood my lord,”
”And tell your men to stay away from Ghost,”
”As you wish, my lord”
Michael was glad to hear Corey abiding by his orders without asking a question. After dealing with Sabrina and the key, Michael decided to deal with the two Pirate Lords. Currently, Pirate Lord Vance rejected Michael’s offer to join his army, which was a pretty stupid move if one asked Michael.
The most powerful Pirate Lord Blackmane was yet to be found by Corey and after which, Michael would give him the same offer he gave Vance.
Michael would be forced to destroy them if they rejected his generous offer. He had so many things to do and playing tug of war with weaklings such as Vance was not something he would spend more time on.
”It seems like I have some time to kill,” after closing the connection with Corey, Michael turned his focus to the dirty bed beside him.
He accessed his system storage to take out a thick blanket and put it on the bed. Only then did he lunge onto the bed.
After a long few days of planning and killing, Michael decided to get some sleep. However, he doubted he would get any sleep or rest after reaching where the vampires were traveling to.