Volume 1 Chapter 551

Chapter 551: Indeed, Among Thirty People, There Are Bound to Be Surprises!

Since the Second Era began, the ocean had become a forbidden place.

The sea, where all the streams and rivers of the continent came together, was a vast and endless ocean.

It didn’t mean that all sea areas were off-limits, but stepping into them could lead to strange deaths.

However, it was a common understanding that the ocean was more dangerous than land.

Turbulent and chaotic magic filled the entire sea; even the darkest depths were not spared.

Terrifying magical creatures without size or power limits roamed there, and even legendary level warriors could get lost in the deep sea.

Fog, hurricanes, monstrous waves, giant beasts…

On the surface of the ocean, an ordinary fisherman might also sail out to sea and return safely.

However, a powerful Superoperator could become utterly silent from now on.

The most frightening thing was that even the Wizard Association had almost no effective research on why the ocean was so dangerous.

Some speculated that this was due to the thousand years of history, the great wars of gods, and the fall of many deities that occurred between the First Era and the Second Era.

There were also theories suggesting that a whole fourth civilization, which was as strong as the three ancient civilizations of Insaesya, Ailuo, and Krova, was buried in the deep sea, and their ruins had created a dangerous ocean.

Another idea was that at the edge of the ocean lay a gap in the Dimensional Barrier created by the collision of the alternate plane and the main plane, where magical powers and creatures, possibly from a water element plane, had taken over the ocean of the main plane.

But no matter what, the deeper one went into the ocean, the more dangerous it became; this was almost a common understanding.

On the surface of the sea, everyone was equal.

No matter how strong one was, as long as one kept sailing, sooner or later…

One would die at sea.

So, in this world, there were almost no fishermen, pirates, or sailors.

Even most of the tasks posted by adventurer guilds had little to do with the ocean.

Creatures in the sea did not attack the land on their own.

It seemed that a delicate balance had been reached between the two.

People’s understanding of the sea was limited to snippets from before the Second Era.

Whether it was the overall picture of the "ocean" or the records of navigation… it was all the same.

Ships capable of sailing the open ocean seemed, to many people…

To be incredible legends.

The most recent of these legends, however, did not come from the First Era.

It was said that during the Second Era, there was a ship that traveled across the Seven Seas and could sail in the open ocean.

It searched for islands and underwater ruins scattered in the deep sea, bringing back the bodies of magical creatures and artifacts from ancient civilizations to a few nearly abandoned ports on the southern side of the continent, secretly trading with the nobles.

Now, many royal and noble collections included rusty, damaged crafts that did not belong to the three ancient civilizations, or remains of huge magical creatures and body parts that did not resemble those from the main plane, which were said to have come from that ocean-going ship.

On foggy days, if one looked out at the sea, one could see a dark and enormous ship sailing at the edge of the horizon.

Even the seaside towns shared stories that long ago, fishermen actually encountered this ship face to face!

During the Second Era, there was a period of relative calm when the number of fishermen was at its highest.

They could even take small boats to fish for deep-sea creatures just ten meters from the shore or try to use "magic crystal" to retrieve pieces of ancient magic devices.

Almost every town had such stories.

On a day that seemed calm, fishermen would encounter sudden storms or strong currents, pulling them deep into the ocean.

It was filled with strange magic, and the sea’s depth was hard to see through, as if countless monsters were lurking there.

They drifted for a while, maybe a few hours or maybe a few days. With food and fresh water nearly gone, they listened to a chilling sound from afar, unclear whether it was made by a monster or the wind of the sea, as they neared the brink of madness…

They often caught a glimpse of monsters rising from the ocean’s depths.

A massive body, like a ridge, would surface from beneath the water, revealing wet scales covered in seaweed, either with sharp spikes or strange patterns.

So big that it was impossible to guess how enormous its part below the sea truly was.

Then, when everyone was almost overcome with fear…

They would see that legendary "ship."

A huge black ship, almost like a giant vessel.

It looked like it was made of wood, yet also seemed like metal.

Even though it sailed on the ocean, the hull was dull and shiny, as if it had always been brand new.

The seawater splashed on it, but it would not soak the ship’s hull.

The tall mast held up five gray-white giant sails, blocking all the power of the sea wind.

At the bow of the ship, a lantern hung from a long pole, swaying and lighting up the darkness and fog, as if it was showing the way forward.

That ship was huge, but compared to the sea monsters beneath the waves, it still seemed small.

However, the appearance of this black ship, accompanied by a strange long horn-like sound, often made the sea monsters…

Go back into hiding at the bottom of the sea, or even flee far away.

After a while of following that black ship, one would unknowingly find themselves back on the shore.

Almost every fisherman who wandered into the deep sea brought back such stories.

If it wasn’t made up by them, then there is still one possibility…

That is, everyone who saw this black ship has died.

Although Tina, being an elf, had never heard such legends, the Lady of Light and Janine Irene also didn’t know much about these stories.

However, Qiong and Isabella had clearly heard such tales.

They looked up at the shadow in the air, listened to the sound of the "waves" and each other’s words, and their faces showed surprise.

The magic of the water element was rising, but compared to the usual gentle and calm water element, this magic carried a fierce and unstoppable terrifying force.

Such water element magic only exists in the sea!

Even the strongest Sage cannot replicate this kind of water element magic.

And at this moment, it appeared on the western plains of the Vera Plain continent!

A figure slowly approached the direction of the torture tower, and suddenly everyone heard the soft sound of flowing water!

Although there was no real water present, the rising magic of water elements created a feeling like a waterway.

The illusory water soaked and washed over everything.

Above the water, a tall and dark ship appeared.

That figure sat at the top of a mast as high as the torture tower.

Isabella and Qiong gasped, recognizing the name that fishermen had given to this ship from legends.

"‘Black Tide Ship’?"

On the mast, a woman, who had removed a false "tail" and "sharp horns," seemed to hear the not-so-loud voices of the two girls.

"I really like this simple name… but…"

"The correct name is ‘The Invincible Emperor of the Seven Seas, Conqueror of the Islands, Voyage of the Divine Ship’!"

The ship stopped in the open space in front of the torture tower.

Compared to the legendary ship, which was spotless, this black ship looked a bit damaged…

In fact, it was only half a ship.

It was broken in the middle, snapped in two.

The canvas was torn, the mast was shaking, and the hull was full of holes.

Everyone finally got a clear look at the girl standing on the mast.

The tail and sharp horns she held were just a strip of cloth and two stones.

Her outfit had some of Lolth’s style.

Black long pants and a round-neck black jacket.

The difference is that she wears a headscarf and many decorations.

"Mainland plane! I’m back!"

"God of Light, right? Do you dare to compete with me?"

She pointed at the Holy Light in the air and made a strong challenge.

In response to her challenge…

The "Judgment Holy Light" actually reacted!

The Holy Light quickly changed, and after a wave, it really formed a blurry human shape.

It had six pairs of wings on its back, like an angel.

But it had no face.

"It" slowly turned towards the black ship.

It made a holy sound.

"Blasphemy—"

"Heresy—"

"Impurity—"

Three voices seemed to rise at the same time, as if scolding the girl standing on the black ship.

The "Judgment Holy Light" unexpectedly displayed its will in response to the woman’s provocation!

This left the girls below, watching everything, utterly shocked.

Even the Lady of Light felt this way.

"My Lord… What is this guy’s background?"

The Lady of Light whispered.

The girl from the black ship looked at the Holy Light and revealed a slight smile.

"Hmph… The power of the Holy Light is just this."

As she said this, she trembled and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

The "Judgment Holy Light," transformed into an angelic form, immediately withdrew and stopped entangling with the Eternal Scepter, moving towards the direction of the black ship.

The woman on the ship immediately lost her composure.

"Wait—Don’t! How do you still have your own will?"

"Don’t come over here!"

She jumped down from the mast and ran toward the broken ship!

This scene made Isabella and Tina look at each other in surprise.

Although they, like the Lady of Light, did not know where this creature came from,

Looking at this style…

It made them feel a little familiar.

Like some strange spare ingredient in the kitchen, it seemed to have the same kind of vibe, right?

And at the same time, above the border of South Sotua and Seychelles…

Under a giant rock in a wasteland, Kanor gave a pale-faced Lalea a vial of Magic Potion.

"What does it feel like to almost be killed by your own father?"

Kanor looked at Lalea, raised her eyebrow, and curiously asked.

"It’s not too bad," Lalea said, breaking into a smile, "Anyway, that guy has had enough of my disgust…"

Hearing Lalea’s reply, Kanor scrunched her lips.

"Sister Lalea, you are really crazy, but… your father probably doesn’t have much time left," Kanor said, putting away the empty bottle of Magic Potion, "You should make him disgusted sooner."

"Is the ‘backlash’ on him that serious?" Lalea tilted her head, "Even you can see it… oh, never mind, it’s not surprising that you can see it, little girl."

"No, it has nothing to do with his abuse of demonic powers," Kanor shook her head, "It’s simply because we really can’t stop South Sotua from unifying, and we can’t stop him from declaring war on Seychelles…"

At this point, Kanor paused and looked seriously toward Seychelles.

"He will definitely be stabbed to death by the Sword Master of Seychelles…"

Kanor said this, and Lalea was stunned.

"Hey, but isn’t Sword Saint Seychelles almost dying? Also, father is from the Holy Domain, and he has demi-gods under him, right…?"

"Even together, they weren’t enough to fight Sword Saint Seychelles," Kanor said confidently. "If you don’t believe it… we can stay…"

As Kanor said this, she suddenly felt a wave of unease.

She looked to the east and then to the northwest, her brow furrowed tightly.

"Wait a minute… something went wrong."

The young girl sensed that there had been huge changes on both her Sister Dorothy’s side and her teacher’s side, as well as from the side of Hillenbrand Town where the turtle was…

The source of the changes…

Was it all from the power of Holy Light?

The terminals of "Versatile Kitchenware" on both sides had lost contact!

This made Kanor feel uneasy.

Even though she knew her adoptive mother, Mrs. Fuen, was on one side and Master Lolth would definitely not encounter any unsolvable crisis on the other.

But Kanor was just an eight-year-old girl, so it was natural for her to worry.

She hesitated for a moment, wondering which side she should go to…

In the end, Kanor made a choice.

"Sister Lalea, I’m going to the Holy Lieto Empire."

As she said this, Lalea paused for a moment and smiled.

"Oh—I haven’t been there yet; it must be very interesting!"

She stood up from the ground.

"Lolth is here too, right?"

Kanor looked at Lalea, feeling a slight sense of danger, but eventually nodded.

Meanwhile, in the Holy Lieto Empire…

In the secret room of New Dawn City, Lolth looked at the remaining masked members of The Church of Light, feeling mixed emotions.

Besides herself and Dorothy, there were thirty other people present.

These thirty people arrived one after another, and twenty-eight of them were fine.

The problem was with the last group that arrived…

At first, Lolth didn’t even bother to investigate who these people were, since she didn’t know anyone from The Church of Light anyway.

But the last group of people that appeared really made Lolth lose her composure.

She glanced over briefly and noticed that under the somewhat delicate disguise of Holy Light power, there was a completely unusual magical disturbance.

It was clear that they were not members of The Church of Light…

They were people she recognized…

"Damn it, why does something messy always happen whenever I disguise myself?"

The only thing to be thankful for was that they did not recognize her!