Pirate Kingship

Sister Teresa's prophecy of disaster came swiftly and fiercely.

In just a short week, the major ports and shipping routes of the Bantaan Archipelago were a scene of widespread woe.

At first, the major powers were at a loss. But as the number of shipwrecks spiked and encounter reports piled up, this mysterious calamity, named the "Blood Plague," finally burst into everyone's view through a series of brutal maritime hunts and special editions of the "Lighthouse Weekly."

The international port on Great Tayman Island was packed with ships, countless white sails forming a sea of clouds that stretched to the horizon.

If it weren't for the port having been expanded several times, it might not have been able to accommodate so many sailboats docking together.

The taverns, big and small, were crowded with captains and sailors seeking refuge from the eastern and western routes, bringing significant earnings to all trades.

Some Earl's daughter was dreaming so joyfully she might have woken up laughing.

Besides the legitimate merchant ships seeking shelter, there were countless individuals from the gray and black areas: pirates, bounty hunters, adventurers, and more.

But no matter their profession, anyone who made a living from the sea had only one topic of discussion now—the Blood Plague!

In a tavern in the harbor district called Sage Tavern.

An old sailor with a red, bulbous nose poured himself a generous gulp of beer, belched a breath of alcohol, and complained to his mates,

"Things have been rough around the Bantaan Archipelago recently.

A little while ago, there was all that fuss about Silvergold Island.

I heard that even Castilia's Governor of Havana, Velazquez, and the Vice King of the Barbary Pirates, [Blue Hair] Barbarossa Halding, went missing on that island.

Then there's the new Emperor of the Aztec Empire who led native troops to conquer Havana's royal port.

If reinforcements from other cities hadn't responded to the distress signals, the natives might have vengefully burned the entire city to the ground.

Unfortunately, they were still a step too late, and even that pair, the Governor's wife and her famously beautiful sister, were forcibly taken by the natives.

By now, they are probably birthing children for the Aztec Emperor.

The People of Castilia have truly lost all face."

But the others at the table, far from sympathizing with the tragic fate of the Castilians, cursed with hatred,

"They had it coming! If it weren't for them, we wouldn't all be in such dire straits.

To avoid the May Wind, the Castilian ship crazed with killing, we can only cower in the port, terrified to venture anywhere.

The herbs I'm carrying are all perishable. With the hot and humid rainy season arriving, if they rot in the hold, I might as well jump into the sea!"

He sighed deeply, his words resonating with the helplessness and bitterness understood by everyone else in the tavern.

"Now, with Havana's Governor and the fearsome [Blue Hair] Halding missing on Silvergold Island, who knows if they'll ever return.

The military forces in Bantaan are second-rate; who can deal with this Blood Plague now?"

"I heard that the people from the Religious Tribunal are still in Bantaan, but who knows if they'll intervene?"

"The combined bounty for the May Wind has now exceeded one hundred thousand pounds, surpassing the reward for most Fourth-order Heroic Wanted Criminals.

If the first tier of the Celestial Orbital Belt doesn't return, it seems unlikely that it can be brought down."

"Do you think if it can't find any targets at sea, it might directly attack our ports?"

At this moment, the marauding ship May Wind had become a nightmare for all sailors.

News from every direction gathered at the Lighthouse Union and, through the Lighthouse Weekly, reached every corner of the sea.

According to the paper, to date, not a single ship that encountered that monstrous warship had survived.

It was like a bloodthirsty Sea Monster, always surging from the depths, launching sudden attacks on ships.

And it seemed to still be commanded by a skilled captain, with very shrewd hunting tactics, far more intelligent than any Sea Monster.

Even the Level Five Cruisers of various national governments, dispatched to patrol the routes, had no power to resist. Sinking into the sea was their only fate.

Moreover,

even a few sailors who managed to survive the encounter were not lucky but rather unfortunate souls caught between life and death.

Without exception, they would become parasitized by a strange barnacle, afflicted with a "coral disease" that turned many pale with fear.

This barnacle-like parasite harbored the characteristics of an entire nearshore ecosystem.

Once humans were parasitized by the microscopic barnacle larvae, they would randomly develop traits of fish, crustaceans, barnacles, seaweeds, corals, and other such creatures.

As time passed, their sanity would fade, and they consistently displayed remarkable aggression toward all land creatures.

Their sole obsession was to drag land creatures, especially humans, into the sea.

Immense strength was a basic trait, and underwater they could move as agilely as fish, even breathing through their skin.

If a person was seized by them, even elite sailors only faced the fate of being drowned alive.

Of course, there was an even greater chance they would become new hosts for parasitism. They would turn into tragic breeding grounds for a variety of marine organisms like barnacles and corals.

The only good news was that those with coral disease could not move too far from the sea, limited to activities within about two kilometers of the coast.