Chapter 1 The Ghost Fleet of Black Sam

The sudden appearance of a ghost fleet in the sea of fog put the Dawnbreaker crew on high alert, but when they saw the slightly graffiti-style "Smiling Blackbeard Skull Flag," everyone was stunned.

Because at the Camp Bounty Hunter Guild, this flag is still the symbol of the pirate group at the top of the bounty list.

This is also the Pirate King Fleet that countless adventurers and navigators regard as the pinnacle and faith—the Black Sam Pirates!

Apart from the flag, looking at the Sea Emperor-class battleship with the ivory-shaped special ram, wasn't that the "Santa Maria" that was well-known in pirate circles?

Suren's eyes also flickered with complex emotions.

Seeing this legendary pirate group with his own eyes, a strong sense of respect for the adventurer predecessors suddenly rose in his heart.

The Black Sam group was a pioneer, a legend of an era, a peak for countless adventurers to pursue and climb.

Moreover, it had special significance for the Dawnbreaker crew.

Whether it was Tani or the [World Sea Chart of Black Sam], it had brought too much help to the Dawnbreaker crew.

But while having respect, Suren also felt a little regret.

Looking at the fall of this former legend, some gloominess inexplicably appeared in his eyes.

At this moment, the Pirate King team that once roamed the sea areas of the Luying and Mafa Empires, and even the official navy could do nothing about, had now turned into a lifeless ghost fleet.

That ivory giant ship was also tattered, with traces of battle left everywhere on the hull, and holes everywhere on the sails. Even the pirate flag became dim and dull because it was not taken care of. The hull was also covered with various shells and marine parasitic organisms, looking like a shipwreck salvaged from the sea.

The ancient and decaying aura was like a corpse crawling out of a tomb.

There were many ships in the mist, and the Santa Maria sailed like this.

Everyone in the Dawnbreaker crew was in awe, and their eyes were as complex as Suren's.

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared on the deck.

Bartolo, who had rushed over after hearing the news, looked at the extremely familiar warship, his eyes suddenly filled with tears, and he muttered to himself: "Old buddies... I finally see you again."

Even the old Sword Saint, who wouldn't even flinch when facing an eighth-tier dragon, was trembling uncontrollably at this moment. He raised his hand and waved in the air, then put it down again. It seemed that he originally wanted to say hello to the distant warship, but when he thought that there were no familiar partners on board, he put it down in disappointment.

Of the partners who once lived and died together, only he survived alone, living in a daze for more than twenty years.

Saito Miyamoto, the Sword Master of the Shin-Do Munen-ryu, the "Sword Demon," had already died here, leaving only a foreign lonely soul, "Dragon Hunter" Bartolo Figaro.

Originally, he had wanted to follow his companions and leave countless times. But thinking that the captain and everyone had left the only chance to survive to him, he felt that he should cherish his life more.

As long as he was not dead, the Pirate King Black Sam group would still have someone.

But now.

More than twenty years later, seeing his old buddies again, Bartolo couldn't help but burst into tears.

Everyone in the Dawnbreaker crew saw the loneliness in the old Sword Saint's expression.

It wasn't just Bartolo; there were two others on the ship with equally complex emotions.

Tani and his mother looked at the distant ghost ship, their eyes full of tears.

Two lines of crystal tears were left on Fridel's stunning face, and she murmured, "We meet again, Mr. Sam."

When she saw this elephant-nosed ship, she couldn't help but recall the scene when she first met.

At that time, she was also taken aback when she first saw this behemoth of a ship in the naga territory.

However, there was a very kind guy on the ship with a bright smile on his face. He didn't have the same malice towards the naga as other humans.

He said his name was Sam Bellamy, a nautical adventurer, and he and his partners came from the human empire to the east of the distant Eternal Night Sea.

Fridel felt at that time that the kindness of the human in front of her was like the sun in the sky, always making people feel warm.

Thinking back, it was as if the separation was just yesterday.

But she never thought that they would meet again here.

Tani also looked a little dazed.

He had never met his father, Sam Bellamy, but his mother had told him countless times, and he had heard countless legendary stories from his partners.

He always looked forward to seeing him.

Now looking at that warship, he couldn't help but feel a pang in his nose.

He, who had been cursed as "Unlucky Tani" since he was a child, looked at this warship and suddenly felt that all the grievances he had suffered had disappeared.

However, just as everyone was watching the ghost pirate ships in the distant mist, the observer on the watchtower issued a warning again.

"Not good, it's not just one fleet, but many! The instruments have detected that there are at least more than a thousand mobile ships on the sea!"

"Look, it's not just the Santa Maria that's a Sea Emperor-class battleship; there's another one in the five o'clock direction!"

"And over there, there's also one in the nine o'clock direction."

"Ten o'clock direction... Oh my god, that ship is several times larger than the Sea Emperor-class battleship. How can there be such a big ship in the world?"

"Oh, I see it too. Am I seeing things? I see a large group of undead wyverns flying on the ship. How big is that ship?"

"I thought it was a moving mountain."

"That might be the legendary 'Sea God-class' battleship. No way, that kind of shipbuilding technology has been lost for at least tens of thousands of years. What is the origin of this warship?"

"..."

As the ghost fleet gradually approached, the Dawnbreaker crew was surprised to find that it wasn't just one Sea Emperor-class battleship; there were more in the mist.

Three ships, five ships, seven ships...

The more they looked closely, the more there were.

They even saw several ghost warships the size of islands.

Even Suren was shocked.

With current shipbuilding technology, the displacement of the Sea Emperor-class battleship has reached its limit. No matter the material or structure, it simply cannot withstand a larger volume.

Steel battleships can be built even larger; for example, the [Sky Fortress] being built in the Small Void Realm is the size of a small town.

But these are all sailing ships!

It is said that only some ancient high-level alchemical civilizations had such huge ships, but even the knowledgeable Mr. Black thought it was just a legend.

Now that they saw the real thing, everyone was shocked.

The Santa Maria of the Black Sam group could only be considered "medium" in this huge ghost fleet.

Moreover, it wasn't just that the ships were big; the aura exuded by the monsters on board was even more terrifying.

Seventh-tier, eighth-tier, ninth-tier...

There were even several that made Suren feel a faint palpitation, definitely super-tier existences!

Fortunately, these monsters were summoned by the will of the cursed space to go to Atlantis. Otherwise, if they really rushed towards the Dawnbreaker crew, Suren would definitely take the Dawnbreaker crew and run away at the first moment.

When they saw a few ghost ships just now, everyone was thinking about boarding the ships to find treasure like before.

But looking at the dense ghost fleet that they couldn't see the end of, everyone fell silent.

Countless ships in the mist sailed in the same direction, full of oppression.

Everyone on the Eternal Night lowered their aura as much as possible, not even daring to breathe loudly.

Suren looked solemnly at the ghost fleet passing by on the sea.

His respect for the Black Sam group was one thing, but he was more concerned about the [Holy Grail of Fael] on board.

This was the most important item to completely solve his divine aberration, and it was also a necessity for his divine power to reach the next level.

If he couldn't get the Holy Grail, at least half of the combat power of his future planned golem legion would be lost.

On the deck, all the high-level combatants of the Dawnbreaker crew gathered together.

Barrett muttered a few words: "It's strange, where did these sea ships come from? How did they gather together?"

Looking at the shipbuilding styles of these countless ghost ships, they belonged to countless civilizations, spanning at least tens of thousands of years.

It was normal to encounter one or two ghost fleets.

But they just happened to gather together.

It was as if they had all set off from somewhere at the same time.

No one could figure this out.

Seeing this, Suren thought about it and still said: "I may still have to go."

Before, he thought that if he couldn't find it this time, he would come in again next time he had the opportunity and search more.

But now it seemed that if he didn't act this time, this might be the first and only time he would encounter the Black Sam group.

Although the timeline in this cursed space was chaotic, it was not the kind of space that would rewind infinitely, but a space with a normal flow of time.

Now these ghost ships were all summoned by the will of the space to support the battlefield of Atlantis.

But the center of the battlefield was currently like a nuclear explosion site, and whoever went there would be wiped out.

In other words, if the ghost Black Sam group was wiped out on the battlefield, there was a high probability that it would really cease to exist.

It would be even more impossible for Suren to find the [Holy Grail of Fael].

Moreover, now was the best opportunity.

The monsters were summoned by the will of the cursed space to go to the battlefield. As long as they didn't actively provoke them, they wouldn't cause any chain reactions.

Therefore.

Even though there were countless ghost fleets on the sea in front of him, being careful might not make the risk any higher than coming at other times.

Hearing this, although all the high-level combatants of the Dawnbreaker crew looked very serious, they also knew that this was crucial to Suren.

Sen asked a question: "Do you want me to go with you?"

Suren shook his head, knowing that she was asking about his injuries, "I'm just going on board to find something. I'll teleport away immediately after I get it.

If I go up alone, it won't be easy to attract those undead."

Everyone didn't say anything more when they heard this.

Indeed, there was no better choice than Suren going alone.

There was no extra sound on the ship; it was so quiet that a pin could be heard dropping.

However, at this moment, a weak voice rang out: "Um... Mr. Suren, can I go with you? I mean, if it doesn't affect your plan..."

Everyone took a closer look and saw that it was Tani who spoke, his face full of anticipation and trepidation.

Suren thought for a moment and smiled: "Of course."

He knew that Tani wanted to see his father, whom he had never met.

Even if he had become an undead.

Suren paused, turned to look at Fridel beside Tani, and said, "If Mrs. Fridel wants to go, you can go together. But you can only stay in the Small Void Realm for now. I will only release you after confirming that there is no danger."

Tani's expression immediately brightened up when he heard Suren's permission, and he nodded seriously: "Yes!"

Fridel was filled with gratitude when she heard this. She didn't say much, only said lightly: "Thank you."

Suren marked the spatial coordinates on a passing ghost ship and didn't rush. He planned to wait until the ghost fleet was farther away from the Eternal Night before taking action.

The ghost fleet on the sea had a very long line, stretching for dozens of nautical miles.

However, after the large ships at the front passed, the ships behind became smaller and smaller.

Fortunately, these ships had very fast speeds. After waiting for more than an hour, there were hardly any shadows of ships on the surrounding sea.

Suren said, "Okay, I'm ready to go."

"Yes."

Everyone in the Dawnbreaker crew nodded and watched him wrap himself in the shroud, his body gradually becoming transparent, and his aura disappearing completely.

Then a spatial rift suddenly lit up in the void. Under the distorted space, everyone saw a transparent figure stepping into it.

The surrounding scenery changed, and Suren appeared on a small ghost ship.

There were more than a dozen swaying humanoid distorted monsters on the deck.

This was a pirate ship, and the monsters were the pirates who were once on the ship.

Identifying the monsters revealed a string of information: [Sharp Ghost Pirate (Fourth-Tier Bronze)], [Ghost First Mate (Fifth-Tier Silver)], [Morgan Pirate Group's Crab Captain (Sixth-Tier Gold)]...

Outside, they were considered rare and strange-level monsters, but in this cursed space, even the small monsters on any small ship were like this.

Suren didn't intend to touch these monsters, but even with the shroud, his aura was not leaked, but he still existed on a physical level.

The moment he landed on the deck, some monsters seemed to notice something and turned their heads.

However, after Suren stood still, he didn't make any more movements, and the feeling of being watched disappeared again.

He also breathed a sigh of relief.

With a flash of spatial fluctuation, a black crow fluttered its wings and flew out.

Grandpa Crow was a pure hell creature, and its existence did not attract the attention of other monsters at all. It fluttered all the way and flew towards the mist on the sea.

Suren shared the vision all the way, and soon he found the Santa Maria of the Black Sam group in the fleet.

The black crow drilled in from a hole in the hull and found a room without undead.

Suren confirmed the coordinates and cast teleportation again, appearing out of thin air in the cabin.

As soon as he came over, he felt dense soul fires in his soul perception.

The density of undead on this Santa Maria far exceeded that of the small pirate ship just now.

And they were stronger!

The moment Suren landed, a foul wind suddenly struck from the air.

Knowing that his appearance had alerted some monster, he quickly jumped again and landed a few meters away.

Almost at the same time, a thick, red-black octopus tentacle suddenly protruded from the leaking wall panel, and then slapped Suren's previous landing position with a "slap," as if looking for something.

The sticky yellow-green mucus on the tentacles splashed on the floor, making a "sizzling" corrosive sound.

Suren's eyes twitched slightly, and the name shown by the identification was [Black Sam Group's Head Chef · Undead Solomon (Seventh-Tier Dark Gold)].

Monsters with names were the most troublesome existences of the same tier.

Most importantly, Suren had chatted with the old Sword Saint Bartolo before and knew that the Black Sam group's head chef was called "Wine Jar" Solomon, who was also a great pirate with a bounty of over one billion back then. He didn't expect that he had turned into an octopus tentacle monster.

The octopus tentacles were his alchemical implants before his death, and they had manifested as a distorted body form after his death.

After waiting for a while, the tentacle retracted into the dark wall crevice.

After Suren boarded the ship, he could clearly sense every soul fluctuation.

Therefore, even if the tentacle was behind the wall, he could clearly sense that the monster was hiding cunningly and did not leave, so he did not dare to act rashly.

It wasn't that this monster had high intelligence, but it was the combat instinct from before his death.

"There are a lot of top-tier undead on the ship..."

He muttered in his heart.

According to what the old Sword Saint Bartolo said, the Black Sam group originally had two eighth-tier professionals, the captain Sam Bellamy and the first mate "Bloody Witch Doctor" Elsa Lee.

But from the current situation, the distorted Black Sam group had become stronger.

And it wasn't just a little bit stronger, it felt like the overall strength had increased by a whole tier.

Suren estimated that after becoming an undead, Sam Bellamy's combat power was definitely above the ninth tier.

Thinking of this, he didn't dare to act rashly.

Using spatial perception to distinguish the structure of the ship, Suren's brain had automatically planned a route, and he pondered in his heart: "Senior Bartolo said that the treasure room should be on the third deck. There is a forbidden room... In that case, it's a bit troublesome."

He was also glad that he met the old Sword Saint Bartolo and knew the location of the treasure vault, so he didn't have to search room by room.

Otherwise, all the monsters on this ship would be alarmed.

However, the bad thing was that he had determined the location of the treasure room, but found that there were very powerful soul fluctuations nearby.

After all, since he had come, he had to go to the treasure room first.

The only good news was that the strongest soul fluctuation on the ship was on the deck, which should be the Pirate King Sam Bellamy.

Suren carefully identified the structure of the entire ship and the distribution of monsters, and a three-dimensional guide automatically formed in his mind.

He didn't hesitate much, and with one teleportation, he appeared in the next room with few monsters.

Then, after several teleports, he was not far from the treasure room on the third deck.

However, the moment he landed this time, a ghost monster immediately floated in front of him, and the name displayed in his eyes was: [Undead Anchor Handler Jack (Eighth-Tier Silver)]

"Still have to fight..."

Suren knew it was tricky when he looked at the attributes of the identified monster.

Almost at the same time, a large-scale mental illusion technique "Painful Howl" was released.

This kind of area attack could not be avoided at all, and the monster's tier was too high. The Rune Black Umbrella could not interrupt it before it released the mental howl.

In the second before he felt dizzy, a layer of pale green eerie flame rose from Suren's body.

The moment the eighth-tier ghost monster touched it, it was like cotton touching a fire source, and the entire spirit body was ignited.

In an instant, the face of the floating ghost in the air showed an extremely painful expression, and the wailing screams intruded into Suren's sea of ​​consciousness even more violently.

This made his consciousness trance instantly.

However, after a moment, this sense of dizziness receded like a tide.

Suren's eyes focused. The spirit body of the once fierce [Undead Jack] had been burned for more than half, and the soul fluctuation instantly weakened by 90%.

Seeing this, he secretly rejoiced in his heart. If he had not mastered this secret technique, he would have been "stunned" to death as soon as he came in.

The eighth-tier ghost monster's tier pressure and mental howl would greatly affect even a ninth-tier powerhouse at such a close distance.

What's more, the tricky thing here was not this one monster, but many!

Once he was controlled, he wouldn't even have a chance to teleport, and he would surely die.

The green flame burning on Suren's body was naturally [Death Flame], which was a great killer against spirit bodies.

His soul strength was not much worse than that of the previous undead archmage. He just stripped away all the cultivation experience of that guy, and immediately reached the point where he could severely damage the eighth-tier spirit body.

And [Wu Shi] was also an excellent secret technique for controlling fire.

Suren had not been idle during these days of recuperation. He had practiced burning with the Death Flame very skillfully.

This was his greatest confidence in daring to come!

The [Death Flame] secret technique gave him a fatal means to deal with existences of the eighth tier and above.

Suren's reaction was already extremely fast. The moment he landed and was attacked, he severely injured the eighth-tier ghost species in front of him.

The Black Umbrella was then retracted, completely taking away the weakened monster.

However, because using the [Death Flame] required him to untie the shroud, at this moment, his aura had leaked, attracting the monsters on the entire ship.

"This is troublesome..."

Suren ridiculed himself in his heart.

The plan to sneak in quietly was no longer possible, so he could only make a quick decision.

Since he had been exposed, he did not hesitate at all, and with one teleportation, he appeared directly in the location of the treasure vault.

At this moment, several terrifying soul fluctuations on the ship rushed over quickly!

To be continued

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