Chapter 466: Section 253: Battle of Pine Wind Sea 12
“Ugh, just missed by a bit,” said the man who appeared. He was not tall, had a lean build, and was dressed in night clothes, even covering his face with black cloth.
A chill ran through Ship Ghost as he saw him.
The mysterious enemy he had forced out, somehow using stealth to get so close without being detected!
It was only because his premonition was strong, and for safety, he had cast an indiscriminate attack spell that the enemy had revealed himself.
Moreover, the Golden Level aura of the fighter made Ship Ghost very wary.
Without any hesitation, Ship Ghost crashed into the cave ceiling.
Undead Magic—Soul Flying Skill!
Under the spell’s influence, Ship Ghost, along with all his gear, became spectral and directly left the cave.
Exiting the cave, Ship Ghost did not hesitate and flew straight into the sky.
This choice was correct.
Though a Golden Level Fighter might be capable of flying, Flying Combat Techniques were rare. Not every Golden Level Fighter had the ability to fight in flight.
Yet in the battlefield, the one who could threaten Ship Ghost in the air was the Sea Snake Lady.
However, this female Mage was only of Silver Level, not posing much of a threat.
Ship Ghost ascended quickly, distancing from the ground by over 9 meters.
Yet, the mystery man in black who had been forced out, still did not show himself.
“What’s going on?” Ship Ghost grew more vigilant.
The next moment, severe spatial fluctuations occurred behind Ship Ghost, and the man in black’s figure instantly appeared!
Holding a dagger, he brutally stabbed at Ship Ghost’s lower back.
Ship Ghost was caught off guard, and even his spectral form was punctured by the dagger.
He did not turn around, nor look back, but rather flung his hand backward, tearing apart a scroll of Undead Magic.
A gray and white wave of souls, cone-shaped, swept over instantly.
Yet again, the mysterious man in black disappeared.
Quickly fleeing from the spot, Ship Ghost healed while casting defensive spells.
The man in black appeared once again, appearing behind him. His dagger, of Gold Level, directly tore through the defensive spells of Ship Ghost, inflicting more damage.
Ship Ghost, attacked twice consecutively, was fully at a disadvantage, momentarily unable to counterattack!
“It’s the Shadow Plane!” Zi Di, stationed inside the Deep Sea Monster Fish, observed the clash between the two Golden Level individuals.
Inside the Deep Sea Monster Fish there was a special component known as the Dimension Anchor (Base).
Once, the survivors on Snake Rat Island’s underground caves, in search of the Teleportation Array, had invested heavily to build it.
With its help, Zi Di had a clear view.
Every time the mysterious man in black appeared, it triggered spatial fluctuations. At the moment of his appearance, the spatial fluctuations leaked a faint image and essence of the Shadow Plane.
Zi Di immediately contacted Cang Xu, “Ship Ghost is battling a Golden Level Fighter, and he’s in a dangerous situation.”
“I see clearly now, this Golden Level Fighter can traverse through the Shadow Plane, achieving instant teleportation.”
“Decide what you need to do on your own.”
When Cang Xu received this message, the Water Ghost Army surrounding him and Qing Xin was slowly retreating.
“Why is the Fin Spirit retreating of her own accord?” Qing Xin felt surprised.
Soon, Cang Xu and Qing Xin were once again in a safe situation.
Cang Xu sighed, “The Fin Spirit has no intention to kill. Her attacking us and then voluntarily admitting her role as a traitor is actually a warning.”
“Actually, if she had just waited a little while longer, we would have reached the second tombstone with the Little Prince. By then, facing the Bird Kid Cloud Mushroom Bombs, we would likely have lost our lives.”
“The pirates hold her tribe people hostage; this Ghost Mage clearly knows who the real enemy is.”
Qing Xin frowned deeply, “Even if the Fin Spirit doesn’t deal with us, our situation is still very precarious.”
“The pirates have already landed, and they’re targeting us.”
“We can’t rely on Ship Ghost, so what do we do?”
Taking a deep breath, Cang Xu tried to remain calm.
He tried to pinpoint his current location and discovered that he was not very far from Ship Ghost.
After pondering for a moment in his mind, Cang Xu decided to support Ship Ghost.
What he wanted was for both sides to suffer; this was most beneficial for the survivors.
However, currently, Ship Ghost was completely at a disadvantage, and if it continued, he might be crippled or killed by the man in black.
This was not what the survivors wanted.
Of course, speaking to Qing Xin, Cang Xu had a different explanation: “Ship Ghost is the key figure in this battle. We should help him as much as possible; only with his power can we repel the pirates. Otherwise, we alone cannot escape from here.”
“Follow me!” Cang Xu led Qing Xin, flew for a while, then landed on top of the tallest pine tree.
From there, he could use his naked eye to see Ship Ghost in mid-air.
Ship Ghost was flying irregularly, while the figure of the man in black periodically flashed beside him.
Almost every appearance inflicted damage on Ship Ghost.
The ship ghost’s entire body had become ghostly, with no fatal wounds and an ample reserve to heal promptly, allowing him to hold on.
“Should we really go support?” Qing Xin shook his head, his face pale, “This is too risky.”
Cang Xu said, “We won’t move forward anymore. We’ll just support the ship ghost from here. If the Sea Snake Lady or the Fin Spirit appears, we can intercept them.”
“Additionally…” Cang Xu paused and used the communication device to contact the ship ghost, “Lord Ship Ghost! The enemy uses the Shadow Plane to appear and disappear unpredictably. Do you have a Dimension Anchor magic scroll?”
“So that’s it!” The ship ghost’s eyes lit up upon being reminded.
However, he didn’t have a Dimension Anchor magic scroll and couldn’t seal off the surrounding space.
“That’s not a problem; I have other means!” declared the ship ghost as he flew towards the sea.
A mysterious man clad in black relentlessly pursued him, though he did not know why the ship ghost was behaving this way; he still tried his best to intercept.
When the ship ghost reached the sea surface, his injuries had at least doubled.
He pointed at the water below and murmured, “Come forth, my flagship!”
The next moment, the sea surged, waves churned wildly, forming a vortex.
In just a dozen seconds, the vortex expanded to a radius of hundreds of meters.
From the vortex, a dilapidated ship emerged.
The ship emitted a strong aura of negative energy, its copper-green hull rotten, and its sails tattered.
Numerous undead lifeforms wandered on the ship.
It was clearly a Silver Level Ghost Ship!
The ship ghost landed on the ghost ship, closely followed by the mysterious man in black.
The next moment, the ship ghost merged into the ghost ship and completely disappeared.
The mysterious man in black was stunned, perceiving that the ship ghost had become the ghost ship beneath his feet!
Undead Magic—Netherworld Passage.
The next moment, a large amount of eerie fog appeared around the ghost ship.
The complexion of the man in black changed again, as he sensed the aura of the Netherworld from the fog.
The fog quickly became so thick that one couldn’t see one’s own hand.
Beneath the feet of the man in black, the ghost ship seemed to gradually blend into the fog, turning from solid to ethereal, and vanished on the spot.
“Cang Xu, thank you for your reminder,” the voice of the ship ghost suddenly came.
But this time, he wasn’t using the communication device.
Cang Xu and Qing Xin quickly turned their heads toward the source of the voice and saw thick fog appearing out of nowhere with the ghost ship silently sailing on the river.
The voice of the ship ghost issued from the ghost ship, “Do not resist, I am pulling you aboard. The enemy is well-prepared; you can’t stay here.”
After saying this, Cang Xu and Qing Xin felt a strong force pulling them.
Cang Xu hesitated momentarily, then did not resist and let the ship ghost pull him onto the deck of the ghost ship.
Qing Xin made the same choice immediately.
After they were aboard, the ship ghost went on to pick up the Little Prince and Ku Feng.
The ship ghost had obviously notified them in advance; their preparations were more thorough than those of Cang Qing and the other.
The Little Prince was already seated on the back of the “Great General” once more.
He had also encapsulated most of the skeleton crowd.
After picking them up, the ship ghost didn’t linger and directly steered the ghost ship away from Songfeng Island.
A battle at Songfeng Sea, encompassing the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, the pirate coalition, and the undead mages, thus drew to a close with the proactive retreat of the ship ghost.
“Lady Wei Ying, where is the target?” The Sea Snake Lady contacted the mysterious man in black using the communication device.
The man in black, Wei Ying, spoke indifferently: “No choice, they used the Netherworld Passage spell and escaped with the help of the Netherworld. If I try breaking into the Netherworld using the Shadow Plane, I’ll fall into the ship ghost’s trap.”
“The ghost ship can drift on the Nether River, but I am a living person; entering it, the Nether River would be my death.”
The face of the Sea Snake Lady turned extremely embarrassed, “But with this, we’ve lost the target, making this mission a failure!”
Wei Ying slowly shook his head: “Letting them escape is indeed a failure. But it’s not a total loss; my combat skills can still last for a week. I don’t believe the ship ghost can sustain the Netherworld Passage spell indefinitely. As soon as he docks in the Main World, he will leave traces that we can track.”
Meanwhile, on the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ side.
“What? You lost contact with Cang Xu?” The Dragon-man youth was astonished.
Zi Di’s resigned voice came through: “He was rescued by the ship ghost; the entire ghost ship entered the Netherworld, effectively vanishing.”
The Dragon-man youth was full of concern.
Zi Di added, “Cang Xu left some things on the Iron Lump, squadron leader, you’ve received them, haven’t you?”
The Dragon-man youth nodded: “He stored a part of the gains from the Undead Gathering in the cabin. Additionally, there was his secret letter.”
“I have already read the letter.”
“In the letter, Cang Xu outlined several possible scenarios. The current situation is one of them.”
“According to the letter, if a mutually detrimental outcome isn’t achieved, and Cang Xu is rescued by the ship ghost, he will take this opportunity to stay close to the ship ghost for a while, striving to gain his trust and gather more information.”
“Afterward, he will look for a chance to act alone, separate from the ship ghost, and return to our side.”
Cang Xu had indeed arranged many things in advance, valued by the Dragon-man youth.
After all, many plans couldn’t be discussed in front of Qing Xin or communicated to others through the communication device.