Chapter 262 An Unexpected Voyage

Under the gray sky, the waves are rolling endlessly.

The dark clouds in the distance were so low that they seemed to swallow up the entire world.

Amid the rising and falling waves, a sailing ship spewing steam floated alone on the water.

On both sides of the ship’s hull were salt stains left by the dried sea water. There were only a few pieces of coal left on the deck. Even the zombie sailors who should have had no complaints seemed to be slow in their movements, silently operating the worn ropes and masts.

Standing at the bow, Lumir stared at the boundless sea with his fists clenched tightly, like an anxious trapped beast, unable to open his eyes due to the dazzling sunlight.

Days of drifting at sea had left his skin tanned and his lips chapped, and the captain’s uniform he wore had become stiff from the alternating erosion of sweat and sea breeze.

At this moment, he is facing a cruel reality——

he’s lost.

About a month ago, he changed his original course on the orders of the Demon King to investigate the truth behind the disastrous defeat at Port Saldo. He thought it was nothing, but he overestimated his ocean-going capabilities.

This sea was completely different from the whirlpool sea he was familiar with.

Although there are turbulent undercurrents there, at least it is surrounded by land, and even the most dangerous waterways have reference points.

But in this vast ocean, all directions became illusory. He thought he could find the right direction with the help of nautical charts and sun positioning, but he underestimated the power of ocean currents and monsoons.

In short, he had been trapped in this uninhabited sea area for a full half month, and there was no sign of leaving.

Lumire’s expression was solemn, his eyes fixed on the deck.

Coal was running low, supplies would soon run out, and no one knew how far away the nearest port was.

Although the ghoul didn’t need to eat, he couldn’t drift on the sea forever. What was worse was that the waves were so turbulent that he couldn’t draw a teleportation array, or even report his current situation to the Demon King.

If he couldn’t find the direction, he might really die in this unfamiliar sea.

Just as Lumire was desperately thinking about his next move, the corpse sailor on the watchtower suddenly roared hoarsely: “A ship has been spotted ahead, and it’s approaching us…”

Hearing the corpse’s voice, he looked up suddenly and looked in the direction of the corpse’s finger.

The silhouette of a ship was breaking through the waves and rushing towards them at full speed against the wind and waves. The sails were inflated, accompanied by a faint black smoke, which was suspected to be coming from the boiler of the steam engine.

He was delighted at first, as if he had seen an oasis in the desert, but within half a second his heart sank as he sensed something was wrong on the deck where people were gathered.

It doesn’t look like a proper merchant ship, but more like a beast chasing its prey…

Could it be pirates?!

Lumier’s heart was pounding, and he was both surprised and happy.

At this time, looking at Lumir who had not responded for a long time, the corpse ghost adjutant said in a hoarse voice.

“The Demon King has ordered that no one is allowed to catch up with us…Should we fire our guns to sink them?”

“Idiot, use your brain, this is not near Thunder City. The Demon King’s order is for us not to be followed by the merchant ships of Thunder City, but he didn’t tell us to be pirates!”

Lumir cursed in annoyance, then stared at the pirate ship with sharp eyes, gripping the railing with his ten fingers until his fingertips turned white.

A crazy idea suddenly popped up –

He might be able to take advantage of that!
The adjutant was silent for a moment, without any rebuttal. He just looked at him quietly, waiting for his next order.

Lumire took a deep breath and glanced at the rolling sky in the distance.

Although he was not familiar with this sea area, referring to his experience of sailing on the whirlpool sea, he knew that a storm was obviously brewing there. He could even faintly hear the low muffled thunder echoing in the clouds and smell the scent of heavy rain!
The heavy rain can provide a good cover, making it impossible for the pirates to see clearly what is happening on the deck!

He made a prompt decision and shouted at the top of his voice: “Full speed ahead! Target – southwest!”

The corpses immediately took action.

The steam engine roared, the rudder adjusted the direction, and the ship rushed towards the storm, trailing billowing black smoke.

The pirate ship behind did not stop, but instead seemed to smell the blood of its prey and accelerated its pursuit.

Lumir’s mouth corners slightly raised, he gripped the rudder tightly, and sweat of excitement seeped out of his palms.

When they were about to encounter the storm, he waved his hands violently and shouted, “Reef the sails! Switch the engine to first gear! Lower the boiler fire!”

Along with the creaking sound of gears rubbing against each other, the roar of the steam engine gradually subsided, the sails were quickly folded, and the thick black smoke dissipated into a wisp.

The entire steamship suddenly became like scrap metal that had lost power, swaying on the edge of the storm, as if it would be swallowed up by the strong wind in the next second… as if there was a malfunction!
Looking at the pirate ship getting closer and closer, Lumir’s palms were full of sweat, and he moved his hands to wipe them on his pants.

He knew very well that this was a gamble.

But he believes he will win!

Since the other party is a pirate, he will be greedy and eager to take everything, rather than salvaging scraps from the floating wreckage.

As for why, it was because he had dealt with these bastards a lot when he was working for Jack in the stolen goods and smuggling business.

He understands those people’s psychology too well.

Even he himself is one of a kind.

……

The prey was waiting quietly, while in the distance the hunter’s throat was already letting out an excited growl.

On the Black Shark, the sea breeze whistled between the masts, like a bagpipe singing a song of victory in battle.

The salty and fishy waves hit the hull, breaking into a cloud of water mist that soaked the tattered linen sails on the deck, but could not wash away the smell of mildew, sweat and old wood!
The environment here is suffocating.

On the deck, a dozen pirates gathered in groups of three or five, some leaning against the mast smoking cheap tobacco, some squatting aside gambling, and some sharpening their rusty machetes out of boredom.

Their clothes were tattered, their skin was tanned by the scorching sun, their lips were cracked, and their eyes were filled with fatigue and anxiety.

Like Lumire, their experience was not a beautiful one. They had been drifting on the sea for the past few days, like a group of wild dogs driven out of their nest.

There was no wine, no women, and not even a decent target to rob.

The resentment among the crowd was like the smell of rotting fish in a ship’s cabin, gloomy and stuffy, ready to erupt at any time.

Teach was standing at the bow, holding a bronze telescope tightly in his hand, squinting his eye and staring at the distance through the lens.

It was a steamship, and judging by its model, it should have come from the northeast coast of the Whirlpool Sea.

The canvas on the mast had been furled, and the black smoke from the steam engine no longer rose. The entire ship seemed like a lifeless wreck, being tossed mercilessly by the waves.

The sailors on the deck moved slowly, as if they had accepted their fate, letting the sea breeze blow their tattered clothes.

Teach suddenly put away the telescope, a cruel smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and then turned into a loud laughter.

“Ha ha ha ha!!”

Hearing the leader’s laughter, all the pirates on the deck looked at him, with a hint of disgust and bad luck in their blank expressions.

“God of Demons, thank you for your gift! Damn, what kind of luck is this?!” Teach spat fiercely, the ecstasy on his face was like a wild dog that had been hungry for a week and suddenly smelled the aroma of barbecue.

He used to be a minor noble in the Ottoman Empire, owning land, merchant ships, and a group of servants around him, but all of this was gone because of the failure of the colonial business.

In order to turn the tables, he sold his last property like a gambler who had lost all his money, and drifted to the sea with a group of villains pursuing money and women. He turned from an elegant imperial man into a ragged pirate.

The glory and dignity of the nobility in the past had long gone with the wind. Now the only meaning of his life was to plunder.

To survive, to drink hard liquor, to make those heavily made-up pheasants scream on his bed, and then imagine that he was still in the original castle.

He had long since forgotten the faith of Saint-Six.

He cursed the blind guy who never listened to his wishes and even led his fate into a deeper and deeper abyss time and time again.

He still believes to this day that he joined the wave of developing overseas colonies not for money, but to spread that damn belief.

If it weren’t for Saint Sith, he would never have lost everything and fallen to this point!

The most unlucky thing happened a few days ago.

He had just finished praying when bad luck struck, as a group of imperial fleets appeared on the sea level. He was so scared that he was forced to leave the hastily built pirate port without even having time to replenish supplies, and then fled into this unfamiliar sea in a panic, wandering aimlessly.

The sailors’ morale was low and they complained a lot.

He knew that if he couldn’t find any prey, his own head would be hung on the mast.

Fortunately, His Majesty the Demon God did not abandon him!
He had just converted to the Devil God and even prayed once, when a wonderful opportunity appeared before him like a blessing.

The powerless steamship was like a whale stranded on the beach, waiting for hunters to cut open its belly and take away the rare treasures and gold inside!
Teach turned around suddenly, stepped on the railing excitedly, and shouted loudly at a higher voice.

“Look here, you idiots! Look at what your dad has discovered!”

The pirates on the deck were attracted by his voice and turned their heads.

There was still some numbness and fatigue in their eyes, but when Teach pointed his finger at the steamship, everyone’s breathing quickened.

“Tell me – when was the last time you bastards drank rum?!”

Tiqi glanced at them viciously, with a mocking smile on his face, “Or have you already gotten used to licking the stinky water boiling out of the boiler?”

Some people licked their cracked lips, and some swallowed subconsciously.

Those decadent eyes gradually showed a hint of desire, as if the fat meat and fine wine were right in front of them.

“Tell me, what the hell are you!”

Teach’s voice cut into everyone’s ears like a knife, making a sharp and sarcastic sound.

“Are you pirates, or that damned monk who talks a lot of shit?! Tell me, do you want to play with that damned coconut shell, or with that sweet and soft girl?”

The exhaustion on the pirates’ faces was replaced by a hint of excitement, and low curses and whispers spread among the crowd.

Some people clenched the handles of their knives, some licked their teeth, and some primitive desire burned in their eyes.

Teach noticed their mood changes and the smile on his face became more unbridled. He suddenly drew out his sword, and the blade reflected the sunlight, flashing with a cold light.

“Your dream is on that ship! Ah…haha, I can smell it! It’s the smell of gold, and boxes and barrels of rum, and wool shipped to the colonies! There may be passengers from the north shore of the Whirlpool Sea on the ship! There may be a few beautiful noble girls in it!” He said with a grin, his voice full of greed, “As long as we take over that ship, everyone can drink and eat to their heart’s content!”

This sentence completely ignited the pirates’ fighting spirit and brought their morale, which had fallen to the bottom, back to its peak.

“Boss! Charge forward and knock them down!” A burly man with a stubble on his face shouted loudly, waving an axe.

“Kill them all! Loot everything!” someone was already shouting fanatically.

Teach looked at his men who were gradually becoming excited with satisfaction.

There is no trace of decadence in their eyes anymore, only naked desire remains!

very good!

He took a deep breath, raised his sword, and roared like a horn.

“Full speed ahead! Don’t fire, I want the whole ship! When I take him down, I’m going to have a party on it!”

He licked his lips, his eyes full of bloodthirsty excitement, “Kill all the men, take all the property, and leave all the girls behind – no surrender will be accepted!”

“Ouch!!!!”

The pirates gave a deafening cheer, and the deck was in an uproar.

Some people were waving their scimitars wildly, some were laughing excitedly, a group of people climbed up the mast like monkeys to lower the sails, and some were running to the steam engine, trying to squeeze more power out of the old parts to make this shabby pirate ship run faster.

Having been suppressed in panic and despair for who knows how long, they are like hungry hyenas.

They were so hungry for the upcoming hunt that they couldn’t wait to pounce and start burning, killing, and looting.

However, just when the “hunters” thought they had victory, the “prey” suddenly smiled grimly.

Treasure?

food?

woman?

There is none here—

There are quite a few corpses.

……

The wind was howling and raindrops hit the deck like bullets, making a clattering sound.

The surging waves were like knuckles with tense blood vessels, slamming heavily on the G major piano keys, making a sudden flat tone!

The waves slammed against the hulls, causing the two warships to sway. A storm was raging in the sky, and lightning exploded in the dark clouds, casting a pale light on the battlefield where the battle was about to begin.

Lumir stood at the side of the ship, watching the pirate ship getting closer and closer. There was no panic on his face. Instead, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised with a hint of cruel sneer.

The plan was successful.

They deliberately turned off the steam engine and folded the sails, creating a look of powerlessness and shakyness, which really attracted these greedy pirates…

The rain flowing down the railings took away the sweat and tension in Lumier’s palms. The prey was approaching step by step, not realizing that it was sailing from the safe waters to a cemetery. The real hunt had just begun.

Lumir glanced at the ghost sailors around him. They stood quietly in the wind and rain, their faces as pale as death, their eyes dull and lifeless, like a group of ghosts that would be swallowed up by the waves at any time.

He exhaled lightly and whispered an order: “Get ready and wait until they get on board before taking action!”

The ragged ghouls nodded silently and tightened their weapons, like sailors heading for death in despair… at least that’s what the pirates saw.

At the same time, the “Black Shark” on the opposite side had approached to a distance where it could almost jump over.

Teach stood at the bow, the wind and rain washed away his excitement, his eyes locked on the “prey” in front of him like a bloodthirsty jackal.

“Hooks ready, boarding!” he roared, raising the command knife in his hand.

The pirates could no longer hold back and excitedly threw out iron hooks, which tightly hooked onto the side of Lumire’s ship. Several strong sailors immediately began to pull, and a few shouts of all their might brought the two ships closer together.

The pirates on the deck grinned wildly, drew their scimitars, uttered obscenities, rubbed their hands together, and licked the group of defenseless sailors with greedy eyes.

Teach was in no hurry.

The cautious jackal licked his cracked lips and grinned, “Give them a welcome gift first – fire!”

boom! boom! boom!
The flintlocks spurted out flames, and two salvos swept across Lumire’s deck like a rainstorm!

The tattered sailor uniforms were pierced by bullets, and one “fragile” figure after another stumbled to the ground. The black blood quickly spread in the heavy rain and was swept into the sea by the waves that swept across the deck.

“Hahaha! A bunch of trash!” Teach laughed, his voice as loud as thunder in the storm.

Lumire stood at the edge of the cabin, witnessing all this, but still had no expression.

Those fallen zombies were still lying quietly on the ground, without a single sound.

The smell of blood that permeated the wind and rain became more and more real, but if you smelled it more carefully, you would find that it was more like rotten fish that had been unsuccessfully pickled.

Seeing that most of the other sailors were dead or wounded, Teach excitedly waved his hand and shouted, “Kill them all! Take everything!”

He took the lead, stepped onto the hook, stepped on the side of the ship, kicked his feet, and jumped directly onto Lumire’s deck.

As a former noble, although his glory has fallen, his skills have not weakened much, and he still has the strength of a bronze level!

The pirates behind him also swarmed over, jumping over one after another, eager to divide the spoils.

Teach stepped heavily on the deck with his feet, gripping his command knife tightly and preparing to kill!
However, at this moment, a rusty blade suddenly slashed towards his throat, and the cold breath made him feel as if he was back in the Warcraft Forest of the empire.

Teach suddenly alerted and swung his sword fiercely to meet the attack. With a sound of metal clashing, he managed to block the sudden and fatal blow!
“Death, undead?!”

Tiqi’s eyes suddenly narrowed and his whole body froze.

He looked up along the cold blade and saw a deathly face – pale, empty, and lifeless.

A fallen “sailor” suddenly stood up, stopped staggering backwards, and stared at him expressionlessly.

Immediately afterwards, another dead sailor staggered to his feet from the ground.

His pupils contracted violently, and alarm bells of fear suddenly exploded in his mind.

“Something’s wrong! Retreat! Retreat–” Teach roared at the top of his lungs, and a look of fear finally appeared on his face. He fell backwards while waving the command knife in his hand.

Unfortunately, it’s too late.

When the pirates jumped onto the deck one after another, they were horrified to find that the “corpses” that had fallen to the ground stood up one after another.

The bullet holes on the sailors who were hit by them were clearly visible, but they still did not show the slightest expression of pain. They slowly raised their heads, staring at the group of intruders with empty eyes, and even revealed a stiff and weird smile at the corners of their mouths.

“This… What the hell is this?!” A pirate’s voice changed and his legs began to go weak.

“It’s…it’s the undead! This is the necromancer’s ship!” another pirate screamed in horror.

“Damn it! Why did those guys who played with corpses come to the sea to do business?!”

“No, I don’t know! Aaaaaa——!”

It was not until this moment that the pirates on the deck realized that their real prey was themselves.

Lumire calmly stepped out from the shadows and gave orders in a cold voice.

“Leave five alive and kill the rest!”

The next second, the zombies on the deck pounced on the terrified pirates, waving the rusty blades in their hands wantonly, black blood mixed with rain splashed everywhere, causing huge casualties to the pirates who were caught off guard.

The pirates were completely panicked. They originally thought it was a robbery without any suspense, but in the blink of an eye, they became lambs to be slaughtered.

They waved their scimitars and fought back desperately, but no matter how hard they stabbed and chopped, the corpse ghosts still approached them tenaciously. Even if half of their arms were chopped off, they still pounced on them like mad dogs, biting their necks and tearing their flesh apart…

In this dark, bumpy and chaotic environment, it’s not just the zombies that are dangerous. They also have to be careful of their teammates who are going crazy with fear and slashing around randomly.

“Quick! Get back on the boat! Run!”

Teach’s roar was filled with unprecedented fear. He madly hacked down a zombie and tried desperately to retreat.

But when he looked back, he was horrified to find that all the pirates had boarded Lumire’s ship, and the only ones standing by the side were those expressionless zombies, blocking their retreat.

They have no way to escape.

Teach’s breathing became rapid, a sense of despair rising in his heart. His throat was dry and painful, and his hands were tightly holding the scimitar, but he had no idea how to break out.

at this time–

“boom–!!”

A violent gust of wind suddenly came, bringing with it huge waves!
The howling waves slammed against the hulls, and the two ships that were tearing at each other shook violently. The pirates and zombies were blown to and fro and rolled into a ball on the deck.

The sky was torn apart, lightning exploded, and the thick dark clouds were like a wild beast, gazing at its prey with interest.

Lumir raised his head, and a hint of imperceptible fear gradually appeared on his gloomy face.

That is the instinct of all living things when facing nature.

The storm seemed even more violent than he had imagined, once again exceeding his expectations.

“Damn it…” He cursed softly, grabbing the cabin door tightly with his right hand, trying to stabilize his body.

And this is just the beginning.

The mighty waves have just shown their fangs, and the previous huge wave was just a prelude!

The waves are surging like crazy!

The two ships next to each other are like crumpled pieces of paper in a hurricane, and they may be torn into pieces at any time!

Lumir was blown to the deck by the strong wind, and his clothes were already soaked by the heavy rain.

Drops of water dripped down his hair, blurring his vision.

He grabbed the rope with one hand, trying to steady his body, and looked through the storm, trying to figure out the current situation. He happened to see the pirate leader on the opposite side, who was also looking around in fear and helplessness, holding the command knife in his right hand and holding the railing with his left hand.

Teach also noticed him and started cursing in anger.

“Damn it—are you fucking crazy? Driving here…”

Lumire gritted his teeth and growled back.

“Damn it… You have the nerve to say that to me. Didn’t you also chase him here?”

“Tikki!”

“What are you farting about? I can’t hear you!”

“I said! My name is Teach!” Teach yelled, gritting his teeth, “What’s your fucking name?”

“Lumière…why do you care about this?!”

“I need to know who the hell killed me—”

Lumir didn’t hear clearly what he farted, and just when he was about to ask, a huge wave as tall as a castle suddenly crashed over and threw the two bumpy boats into the air.

Lumir felt like he was flying up, and an invisible big hand grabbed his throat tightly, and then threw him into the sea.

“boom!!”

The whole world seemed to collapse in an instant!

His eyes went dark, and his body was completely swallowed up by the surging sea water. He didn’t even have time to struggle before he completely lost consciousness and disappeared in the violent turbulence…

……

I don’t know how much time has passed.

The sea breeze was still blowing, but it was much softer.

The body gradually regained consciousness, Lumir’s eyelashes trembled slightly, and then weakly opened a crack.

His chest felt as if it was crushed by a heavy hammer, and every breath seemed to burn his lungs. The remaining sea water in his lungs made him cough several times before he finally spit out the suffocating fishy smell.

In order to understand the current situation, he forced himself to sit up, and slowly scanned the surroundings.

What came into view was an unfamiliar beach.

The shore is covered with tiny shells and seaweed, and the calm waves beat against the rocks on the shore, making a low echo.

In the distance, he could see two badly damaged ships stranded on the coast, their huge sails torn to rags and their masts tilted to this and that, telling of the tragedy of that night.

He moved his stiff neck and moved his eyes along the coastline to the shore.

I saw some surviving ghost sailors slowly crawling out of the sand, as if they had just crawled out of a grave.

The pirates who managed to survive cowered back, begging for mercy in panic, but could only utter hoarse moans.

As expected of these ghouls summoned by the Demon King himself, they still have the strength to move.

And those zombies seemed to still be carrying out the orders he gave when he was awake – strictly counting the number of living people to ensure that only five were left alive.

You don’t have to worry about that for the time being.

Lumire’s mind went blank, his eyes swept across the messy beach, and he slowly raised his head to look at the end of the beach.

There was a dense forest full of vitality, and the lush vegetation looked as if no one had ever been there.

This is… an uninhabited island?
or–

An unclaimed piece of land?

Lumire subconsciously looked for the end of the coastline, but could only see a boundless outline.

The strange sea breeze brushed across his cheeks, the sunlight in the sky seemed particularly dazzling, Lumier’s lips trembled slightly, and his hoarse voice sounded like a moan –

“The Devil is above…”

“Where…is this?”

If he could find the magic crystal in the cabin, he would have a chance to contact the Demon King, and returning would not be difficult.

But he didn’t know how to explain to that adult that he had completely messed up the job he had given him and ended up like this.

“Demon King? What a coincidence… I just converted to the devil, and the devil sent a demon king to my side to make me unlucky…”

A hoarse voice appeared behind Lumière.

He subconsciously reached for the flintlock at his waist, but found nothing, and a cold command knife was already placed on his neck.

“do not move!”

Teach stared at the back of his head with a murderous look on his face, spat a mouthful of saliva mixed with sea water and blood on the ground, his murderous eyes were full of threats.

“If you want to live, tell your rotten men… to put down their weapons!”

Lumir’s heart was in his throat, but he didn’t feel too much fear.

He took a deep breath.

“Teachie…really?”

Feeling the blade getting an inch closer, he continued in a calm voice.

“Since you are a believer of the Demon God, you should know what the Demon King means.”

Tiqi didn’t say anything, just stared at him with cold eyes.

Lumier’s Adam’s apple moved and he spoke calmly.

“We can make a deal.”

“Or…die here together.”

(End of this chapter)