Mechanical Alchemist-Chapter 568 - 567: The Ferocious Death God’s Fire

The sudden appearance of a ghost fleet amidst the sea fog had everyone in the Dawn Group on high alert, but when they saw the pirate flag bearing a skull with a "graffiti-style smiley beard," everyone was stunned.

Because at the Bounty Hunters Guild camp, this flag still hangs as the symbol for the pirate group topping the bounty list.

It was also the armada of the Pirate King, revered as the pinnacle and faith by countless adventurers and navigators—the Black Sam Pirate Crew!

Apart from the flag, a second glance at that warship with its special ivory ramming prow affirmed it as the "Santa Maria," the legendary ship spoken of in hushed tones among the pirate circles.

Su Lun, too, found the sight extremely astonishing.

Seeing this legendary pirate crew in person, a profound respect for the adventurer predecessors suddenly welled up in his heart.

The Black Sam Crew were pioneers, legends of an era, the peak that innumerable adventurers aspired to climb.

And their meaning was particularly special for the Dawn Group.

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Both Tanni and that "Black Sam's World Sea Map" had brought immense help to the Dawn Group.

But with his reverence, Su Lun also felt a twinge of melancholy, seeing the fall of this once legendary crew, a somber light inexplicably appeared in his eyes.

At this moment, the Pirate King's crew that once dominated the seas of the Luyingmafa Empires and remained untouchable by official navies, had now turned into a lifeless fleet of ghosts. The ivory behemoth was tattered, with its hull bearing the marks of battle everywhere, the sails riddled with holes, and even the pirate flag had become fade and lackluster... With no one to maintain it, the hull was overgrown with various shellfish and marine parasites, looking like a sunken ship dredged from the sea, ancient and decayed like a corpse crawled out of a grave.

There were many more ships amidst the foggy shadows, and the Santa Maria sailed on like this.

All members of the Dawn Group watched with a solemn respect, their gazes slightly complex.

Just then, a figure suddenly appeared on the deck with a Flash.

Bartolo, who rushed over upon hearing the news, looked at the all-too-familiar warship with moist eyes, murmuring to himself, "Old Pal... I've finally seen you again."

The Old Sword God, who wouldn't even tremble when drawing his blade before an eighth tier dragon, now trembled all over, raising his hand in the air to wave but lowered it again. It seemed he originally wanted to greet the distant ship, but realizing that the familiar companions were no longer there, he despondently lowered his hand.

Of all the companions who had shared life and death together, only he had survived alone, living in a daze for more than twenty years.

The Sword Demon, Saito Misaburo, the great grandmaster of the Swordsmanship of the Artless Path, had died here, leaving only the foreign soul, the "Dragon Hunter" Bartolo Figaro.

He had thought multiple times about leaving with his companions, but remembering that the captain and the others had given him the only chance to survive, he felt he should cherish his life more.

As long as he was still alive, there was still someone from the once Pirate King, Black Sam's crew.

But now, seeing his old companions, Bartolo couldn't help but let the tears flow.

The desolation in the expression of the Old Sword God was noticed by everyone in the Dawn Group.

Not just Bartolo, two others on the ship also had complicated expressions.

Tanni and his mother, Lady Frida, looked at the distant ghost ship.

Lady Frida, tears glistening on her stunningly beautiful face, whispered, "We meet again, Mr. Sam."

Seeing the colossal ship, she couldn't help but recall the first time she encountered it.

Back then, she was shocked at the sight of the huge vessel as well.

But on the ship was a man who always wore a radiant smile and seemed kind-hearted, someone who did not carry the usual malice toward Naga like other humans did.

He said his name was Sam Bellamy, a sea adventurer, and he and his companions came from the human empires east of the Eternal Night Sea.

From that moment, Frida felt the man's goodwill was like the warmth of the sun, always bringing comfort.

On reflection, the parting seemed as if it had been just yesterday.

She hadn't expected their next meeting to be here.

Tanni, too, stared blankly ahead.

He had never seen his father, Sam Bellamy, but his mother had recounted countless times, and he had heard legendary tales from his companions.

Always hoping to meet him, now looking at the warship, he felt a sting in his nose.

He who was once cursed as "Unlucky Tanni" suddenly felt as if all the injustice he had suffered faded away upon seeing the ship.

...

However, it was while everyone was observing the ghost pirate ships in the distant mist, the lookout on the watchtower issued another warning.

"Not right! It's not just one fleet, but many! The instruments detect at least over a thousand moving ships on the sea."

"Look there, not just the Santa Maria, a Sea Emperor level warship, there's another one at five o'clock direction!"

"And over there, nine o'clock direction too!"

"Ten o'clock direction... My God, that ship is several times the size of the Sea Emperor class warships, how can there be such a huge ship in the world?"

"Oh, I see it too. Are my eyes deceiving me? I see a large group of Undead Drakes flying above it, the ship must be enormous..."

"I thought it was a moving mountain..."

"That could be the legendary 'Sea God-class battleship.' No way, that shipbuilding technology has been lost for at least ten thousand years, what's the origin of this battleship?"

"..."

As the ghost fleet drew closer, the members of the Dawn group were astonished to find that it was not just one Sea Emperor battleship—there were many more in the mist.

Three ships, five, seven... the more they looked, the more they saw.

Even several ghost battleships that were the size of islands were visible.

Even Su Lun was shocked.

The shipbuilding skills of today, the displacement of a Sea Emperor class battleship was already the limit, because today's materials and structures simply can't withstand larger volumes.

Steel battleships could be built bigger, like the Sky Battleship being built in the small void realm, which is the size of a small town, but what was in front of them were all sail wooden ships!

Only in some ancient civilizations in legends, there were even larger ships.

They thought it was just a legend, but now, seeing the actual things, everyone was immensely shocked.

The Santa Maria of Black Sam's group was considered "medium-sized" amidst this huge ghost fleet.

And it wasn't just that the ships were big; the aura seeping from those monsters on board was terrifying.

Seventh order, eighth order, ninth order...

Several of them made Su Lun feel a vague palpitation in his heart, definitely beyond the ordinary realm!

It was a good thing that these monsters were called by the will of the cursed space to go to Atlantis; otherwise, if they had come for the Dawn group, Su Lun would have fled at the first opportunity.

When they had seen a few ghost ships earlier, everyone was thinking about boarding the ships to search for treasures like before, but now seeing this endless, dense ghost fleet, everyone fell silent.

The countless ships in the mist headed in the same direction, the oppressive feeling was overwhelming, and everyone on the Eternal Night kept their breaths low, not even daring to breathe heavily.

Even Su Lun frowned deeply.

It was one thing to respect the Black Sam group, but what he cared about more was the [Faar's Holy Grail] on board.

This was the most important item to completely solve his spiritual mutation, and it was also essential for his spiritual power to reach a new level.

Without that holy grail, his future plan for a puppet troops strategy would lose at least half of its combat effectiveness.

On the deck, the high-level fighters of the Dawn group converged together.

Barrett muttered a few words, "Strange, where did these ships come from? How did they all come together?"

The countless ghost ships in front of them were from numerous civilizations, spanning at least tens of thousands of years. Normally, encountering a couple of ghost fleets was quite normal, but oddly enough, they gathered together. It was as if they set off from someplace at the same time.

This was something no one could figure out.

Seeing this, Su Lun thought about it and then said, "I might still need to make a trip."

Before, he thought that if he couldn't find it this time, he'd have more chances to come back later and search more thoroughly.

But now, it seemed that if he didn't act this time, this might be the first and only time he encountered it.

The timeline in this cursed space might be chaotic, but it didn't seem to be the kind that would reset indefinitely; instead, it moved at a normal flow.

Now, all these ghost battleships were summoned by the will of the space to head towards the battleground at Atlantis.

But the center of the battlefield is currently like a nuclear explosion site, where anyone who goes will be turned to ash and scattered.

That means, if the ghostly Black Sam's group was wiped out in the battlefield, they would most likely cease to exist altogether.

It would then be even more impossible for Su Lun to find [Faar's Holy Grail].

And now was the best opportunity.

The monsters, summoned by the will of the cursed space to go to the battlefield, wouldn't trigger any chain reactions as long as they weren't deliberately provoked.

So, even though the ghost fleet on the sea surface was countless, being careful, the risk might not necessarily be greater than in other situations.

Hearing this, although the high-level fighters of the Dawn group were serious in their expression, they also knew this was crucial for Su Lun.

Qian asked, "Do you want me to accompany you?"

Su Lun shook his head, where would he not know that she was asking about his injury again, "I'm just going on board to look for something, and I'll leave immediately after I find it. Moreover, if I go up alone, I'm less likely to attract those undead."

Upon hearing this, no one said anything more. Indeed, there was no better choice than for Su Lun to go alone.

There was no excess noise on the ship, and it was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

However, at that moment, a faint voice rang out, "Mr. Su Lun, may I... come with you? I mean, if it doesn't interfere with your plan..."

Everyone looked closely and saw it was Tanni speaking, her face full of anticipation and nervousness.

Su Lun thought for a moment and smiled, "Of course."

He was well aware that Tanni was hoping to meet the father she had never seen before, even though he had become an undead.

Su Lun paused for a moment, then turned to look at Frida standing next to Tanni and said, "Lady Frida can come along if she wishes. But for the time being, you can only stay in the Minor Void. Only after ensuring that there is no danger will I let you out."

Tanni's expression brightened immediately upon receiving Su Lun's permission, and she nodded earnestly, "Mm!"

Hearing this, Frida's eyes were filled with gratitude. She didn't say much, just quietly said, "Thank you."

...

Su Lun marked a passing ghost ship with spatial coordinates but wasn't in a hurry, planning to wait until the ghost fleet had moved farther away from Eternal Night before he made his move.

The ghost fleet stretched out quite a distance on the sea surface, spanning dozens of miles.

However, after the larger ships at the front had passed, the ones following became progressively smaller.

Fortunately, these ships were all swift, and after waiting over an hour, the sea appeared empty of any such vessels.

Su Lun announced, "Alright, I'm ready to go."

"Mm."

The members of the Dawn group nodded in unison, watching him wrap himself in a funeral shroud, his body gradually turning transparent and his presence vanishing without a trace.

Suddenly, a spatial rift gleamed in the void and, within the distorted space, they saw a transparent figure step through.

The scene around him shifted, and Su Lun appeared aboard a small ghost ship.

There were around a dozen wobbly humanoid monsters on the deck. This was a pirate ship, and the monsters were pirates in life.

After assessing the monsters, information flashed before him: [Elite Ghost Pirate (Fourth-Order Bronze)] [Ghost First Mate (Fifth-Order Silver)] [Captain Morgan of the Crab Pirate Crew (Sixth-Order Gold)]...

In the outside world, these would be considered rare and bizarre monsters, but in this cursed space, even the minor monsters on a small ship were of this caliber.

Su Lun had no intention of disturbing these monsters. He remained undetected thanks to the shroud which kept his aura contained, but he still physically existed.

As he landed on the deck, some monsters seemed to detect something and turned their heads.

However, once Su Lun settled down and remained still, the sensation of being watched disappeared.

He breathed a sigh of relief.

With a flicker of spatial disturbance, a black crow flapped its wings and flew out.

Being a pure creature from hell, Raven's presence didn't attract any attention from the other monsters; it flew directly through the mist and towards the sea.

Sharing its vision, Su Lun quickly located the "Saint Maria" belonging to Black Sam's group amidst the fleet.

The crow slipped into a hole in the ship's hull and found a room devoid of undead.

Su Lun confirmed the coordinates and once again used Flash, appearing out of thin air in the ship's cabin.

No sooner had he arrived than his soul perception detected a dense cluster of soul fires.

The Saint Maria had a much higher concentration of undead than the small pirate ship he'd just been on.

And they were stronger!

Just as Su Lun landed, a foul stench and a strong gust of wind assailed him from above.

Knowing his appearance had alerted a monster, he swiftly leaped a few meters away to avoid it.

At the same moment, a thick, red-black octopus tentacle thrust through the wooden planks of the wall and slapped precisely where Su Lun had just stood.

Slimy, yellow-green mucus splattered on the flooring, hissing as it corroded the surface.

Su Lun's eye twitched slightly as he identified the creature: [Chef Chief of Black Sam's Group·Undead Solomon's Attack (Seventh-Order Dark Gold)].

A named monster was always the trickiest adversary within its tier.

Crucially, Su Lun had previously conversed with Old Sword God Bartolo and learned that Black Sam's group's chef chief was known as 'Wine Barrel' Solomon, a notorious pirate who had once had a bounty of over a billion, only to now be transformed into an octopus tentacle monster.

After a short wait, the tentacle retracted back into the dark crevice in the wall.

Once aboard the ship, Su Lun could distinctly sense every soul vibration.

So even though the tentacle was concealed behind the wall, he was acutely aware that the monster was cunningly lurking, not having been fooled into a rash move.

This wasn't intelligence in the monster, but the battle instinct from its previous life.

"There sure are a lot of high-level undead on this ship..." muttered Su Lun.

According to Old Sword God Bartolo, the Black Sam group originally had only two Eighth-Order professionals, the leader Sam Bellamy and the executive 'Bloody Witch Doctor' Elsa Lee.

Yet as it stands, even after becoming Black Sam's crew had become stronger.

And not just by a little bit, it felt like they had strengthened by an entire major rank at least.

Estimating, Su Lun feared that becoming the undead Sam Bellamy was a solid ninth rank or above in combat power.

Thinking so, he dared not act rashly.

Using spatial perception to distinguish the ship's structure, Su Lun already had a planned route in his mind and pondered, "Old Pal Bartolo said the treasure chamber should be on the third deck. There's a restricted room... If that's the case, it's a bit troublesome."

He also felt fortunate to have met the Old Sword God Bartolo, so he wouldn't have to search the treasure chamber room by room on his own.

Otherwise, he feared that all the creatures on the ship would be alerted.

However, the bad news was that, although he'd found the room where the treasure chamber was located, there was a very strong soul fluctuation nearby.

Luckily, the strongest soul fluctuation was on the deck, which must be Pirate King Sam Bellamy.

After all, since he had come all this way, he was definitely going to the treasure chamber first.

With the entire ship's structure and the distribution of creatures clear in his mind, Su Lun's brain had already formed a three-dimensional navigational map.

Without much hesitation, he flashed and appeared in a sparsely-monstered room dozens of meters below.

After a few flashes, he was already not far from the treasure chamber on the third deck.

However, just as he landed, a ghost creature immediately floated in front of him, with the name displayed as: [Undead Anchor Man Jack（Eighth Rank Silver）]

"A fight is still inevitable, huh..."

Seeing the attributes of the monster he had identified, Su Lun knew it was tricky.

Almost simultaneously, a wide-range Illusion Technique, "Agonizing Wail," was released.

Such an area attack was impossible to avoid, and given the creature's high rank, even the rune umbrella would take some time to deal with it.

Just a second before he felt dizzy, a pale green flame suddenly surged on Su Lun's body.

The moment the eighth-rank ghost species creature came into contact, it ignited like cotton meeting flame, and its entire Spiritual Body was set ablaze.

In an instant, the drifting ghost's face showed extreme pain, and its wails and screams broke more wildly into Su Lun's sea of consciousness.

Su Lun's consciousness went hazy in an instant.

But a moment later, that feeling of vertigo receded like the tide.

Su Lun focused his gaze to see that the once-fierce [Undead Jack] had its Spiritual Body burnt away by a large portion, its soul fluctuation weakening by ninety percent in an instant.

He felt secretly relieved at the sight, thankful that he had mastered this secret technique, or he might have been directly controlled by "dizziness" to death as soon as he came in.

The oppressive presence and psychic wails of an eighth-rank ghost species creature would greatly affect even ordinary ninth-rank individuals.

Moreover, it wasn't just one such creature here but many!

If he were controlled, he wouldn't even have a chance to flash away, and it would be a fight to the death.

The green flame burning on Su Lun's body was naturally the [Death God's Fire], a major weapon against souls.

His soul strength was not much less than that of the previous undead archmage. Having extracted that fellow's cultivation insights, he had instantly reached the level capable of severely damaging eighth-rank Spiritual Bodies.

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

During the days he was recuperating, Su Lun had practiced the Death God's Fire to the point of proficiency.

This was the biggest confidence that Su Lun had to venture here!

The [Death God's Fire] secret technique gave him a fatal means against beings above the seventh rank.

...

Su Lun reacted extremely quickly, and in the moment he was attacked upon landing, he severely wounded the eighth-rank ghost species in front of him.

Once again retracting the black umbrella, he completely captured the weakened creature.

However, because using the [Death God's Fire] required unwrapping the anti-corpse cloth, it was during this moment that his aura had leaked, attracting the attention of the creatures all over the ship.

"Looks like a fight's inevitable!"

Su Lun inwardly let out a sharp shout.

If he couldn't enter unnoticed, then he'd have to finish the fight quickly!

Now that he'd been exposed, he didn't hesitate at all and teleported directly to the location of the treasure room.

It was at that moment that several terrifying soul fluctuations on the ship rushed over swiftly!