Extraordinary Voyage

The orders issued by the captains of each warship were consistent and uniform.

"Faster! Faster! Faster!"

The cannoneers aboard each ship also exerted their utmost strength, desperately transporting and loading ammunition. At this moment, no one wanted to endure another "suffocating" hell worse than death.

They were racing against time, but the response of the Ghost Ship was even quicker.

Learning from experience, they were on guard to prevent being sniped again.

Wack Wells grabbed the Ship's Figurehead, jumped off the forecastle, and smashed the over-two-meter-tall heavy figurehead into the midst of the decayed deck, setting it upright again.

The eerie curses echoed once more on the Ghost Ship. Unlike the previous deep and cold incantations, this time they felt as hot and scorching as being inside lava!

Very soon.

The last head representing "wrath" suddenly opened its eyes, and endless ghostly green flames spewed from its eye sockets. The flames ignited the sails, the deck, everything on the Ghost Ship, and also ignited the lurking lingering souls.

In the blink of an eye, the entire Ghost Ship became a huge fireball. A ram made of green flames coalesced at the prow, and the intense heat began evaporating the surrounding seawater, turning it into billowing white mist that spread outward.

Then, the Ghost Ship charged toward the Navy fleet like a gigantic runaway locomotive, enveloped in rolling white mist, at a speed unattainable by regular sailing ships.

Whoosh—

Crackle!

"Fire!"

Faced with such an ancient naval strategy of ramming, which dated back hundreds of years, the Navy—even though shocked—could not just sit by idly and began a full fleet salvo once again!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! ....

The mist was torn apart, and the sea trembled once more!

However, the Ghost Ship rammed ahead as if it didn't see the whistling cannonballs coming its way.

Most of the cannonballs were blocked by the scorching flames, and even if a few did get through and blasted holes in the ship's body, the flames rolled over them, and the decayed wooden planks quickly restored themselves.

Clearly, at this moment, the blazing flames were not using the Ghost Ship as fuel but rather serving as a seamless offense-defense shield, constantly protecting it!

Cannonballs landing on the Ghost Ship had no such respite, quickly turned red-hot, melted, and fell into the sea.

"Impossible?!"

Through the sniper scope, Aiven widened his mouth in shock. These weren't lead balls with a melting point of only three hundred twenty-seven degrees but rather iron solid shots with a melting point exceeding fifteen hundred degrees!

It was unimaginable what terrifying consequences would occur if such flames approached a wooden sailing battleship.

Already aware that the Ghost Ship's mysterious ability stemmed from the Ship's Figurehead, Aiven wanted to use the sniper firearm again to interrupt its witchcraft effects.

But now, with the Figurehead moved by Wack, with the forecastle, bulwarks, and layers of flame curtains as obstacles, Aiven couldn't find an opportunity.

And the Ghost Ship clearly wasn't going to give them another chance.

Once transformed by the flames, the Ghost Ship fully gained maneuverability advantage, reaching an astounding speed of thirty-two knots, practically flying over the sea compared to the theoretical maximum speed of about ten knots of a sailing battleship!

In this rapid advance, before the fleet could change formation in response to ineffective attacks, it had already charged into the battleship formation with a thunderous roar.

Boom!

Amid the earth-shaking noise, a Level 3 ship that couldn't dodge in time was rammed in the underbelly by the Ghost Ship's flaming ram, and the raging fire instantly spread onto the battleship.

"Help!"

"Quick, extinguish the fire!!"

But before the crew aboard could take further measures,

Boom!!!

An enormous explosion sounded in the sailors' ears, accompanied by waves over dozens of meters high. The Level 3 ship was lifted from the sea, broken into two, and crashed back into the ocean.

Subsequently, the blazing fire consumed the wreck of this Level 3 ship.

"Did the magazine detonate?!!"

The dazzling orange-red firelight illuminated the faces of every single Navy member present, leaving them with mouths agape in disbelief. A dignified Level 3 battleship was destroyed just like that?

"Bad news! It's coming again!"

Without any concern for the other ships' reactions, the Ghost Ship, seemingly shielded with "Invincible Protection," swaggered through the shattered remnants of the Level 3 ship and turned, charging back into the battleship fleet.

The mighty battleships that the civilized world prided themselves on, now seemed like children's toys in its hands, utterly powerless. A deep sense of helplessness enveloped everyone from the fleet commander to the basic sailors...

Next to Aiven, Paul's face was ashen. As he watched the situation decline towards the abyss, he no longer had the confidence or spirit he had when they first shelled the ghosts, and weakly he said, "Goddess! Is this Ghost Ship actually a quasi-legendary warship?!"

...

"Hahaha, you damned Navy who dares to obstruct the descent of the deity, have you tasted my power?"

Amidst the shrill laughter of the Box of Dead Souls, the burning Ghost Ship continued recklessly rampaging across the sea.

At this moment.

The tumult in the city, instead of being quelled by the City Guard, had escalated. Additionally, with the surge in victims, endless negative emotions accumulated bit by bit throughout this city, and gradually, even the air began to fill with an unsettling odor.

It felt like standing at the edge of a cliff swept by a storm, a sensation of potentially falling into the abyss seized the hearts of every living being within the range of New Inn Port.

The sense of panic gradually intensified, not only was it noticeable by humans, but many animals with keener senses had already begun to flee towards the city outskirts.

"Woof woof woof..."

"Meow——"

"Chirp chirp chirp...."

"Squeak squeak..."

Countless cats, dogs, birds, and even rodents and insects began running onto the streets, as if a natural disaster was imminent! A calamity about to befall!

A change many people hoped wouldn't occur had quietly taken place.

"Look at the moon! What's that?!"

On the fleet flagship, Frost White Sword, Krell's sudden exclamation caught everyone's attention.

The moon had completely turned blood-red, and right in its center, a small black spot had inexplicably appeared at some point.

Furthermore, with time, this black dot slowly expanded. Just while everyone was looking up at the sky, it grew from being just noticeable to the size of a coin.

Those who knew the inside story in advance—in the group with Aiven—exchanged glances, unsurprisingly seeing the fear in each other's eyes. It was...!!!

Established in mysterious, unaccountable locations, within the Witchcraft Garden named "Mechanical Workshop." Two individuals also witnessed this scene through the now-transparent dome.

An elderly man, though his hair and beard were entirely white, still appeared as valiant as a lion. He sighed slightly: "Ah! To have achieved this step, the Box of Dead Souls' return after eight years indeed comes with something to rely on."

"With Your Excellency the Principal overseeing, they are merely clowns putting on a show, aren't they? The outcome has long been determined, hasn't it?"

Beside him, Princess Liweina, with her beauty tempered by valor, slightly flattered the old Principal. Knowing the elder's plan thoroughly, she understood that the present situation had far from spiraled out of control.

Moreover, this former Navy Marshal was in no way as feeble as he appeared. As a Tier 3 Upper-Rank Wizard of the Alchemy School, maintaining the appearance of an elder, a wizard's lifespan was beyond her capacity to predict.

"Alright, Your Highness. If we delay any longer, our valiant Navy lads won't hold out. Will you join me?"

"Certainly!"

At this moment, the legendary warship, Steam Fortress, emitted a roar under their feet, white mist scattered, and it slowly set in motion.

This ship was truly a steel giant beast!

Constructed entirely of alchemically enchanted steel, it exceeded a length of a hundred and twenty meters, displaced five thousand tons, and used a magically modified steam engine for power—a veritable floating steel fortress on water.

It was the sea-dominating ruler of this era, and Phaletis Kingdom's ultimate national treasure!!!