[“Who... what are you? What in the world... are you?”]
“Are you the captain?” Isaac asked.
[“Yes... my name is Naith Roanne. What is it you...”]
“No need. That’s all I need to know.”
With the captain’s skull still impaled on the Luadin Key, Isaac stepped back out onto the deck.
By then, Eidan’s ship had drawn close, pulling the ghost ship toward it with the harpoon chains. The sailors aboard Eidan’s ship stared in shock at Isaac.
Capturing a ghost ship single-handedly was unheard of.
“Is that the relic that calms the sea?”
Eidan asked, eyeing the flaming skull of the ghost captain hanging from the Luadin Key.
“No,” Isaac shook his head. “This is just the key to get to the key. There’s still one more step.”
***
“I never imagined you’d take over a ghost ship by yourself. You seem much stronger than when you faced the Drowned King.”
“Don’t compare an Archangel with the Drowned King or these skeletal pirates.”
The sailors, while initially afraid of the ghost ship, began cautiously boarding it, inspecting its condition. Though it had been submerged for ages, the ship showed signs of maintenance, with barnacles removed and the rigging replaced.
The ghost ship could sail underwater and weather storms, likely due to some miracle from the Immortal Order. Despite that, it seemed the undead sailors still maintained it.
Eidan offered an analysis.
“It’s probably because they were sailors from the Salt Council. Even though they knew it was pointless, they couldn’t bear to see their ship rot away.”
“So, it was like a hobby, tending to the ship?” Isaac joked.
“...You could say that. When you have an eternity of time as the undead, I suppose a hobby becomes necessary,” Eidan replied, inspecting the equipment and cargo aboard the ghost ship. Despite its age, many of the items were still functional thanks to the ongoing upkeep. The harpoon cannons and various supplies were still usable. Eidan seemed to feel a strange connection to this ship, which had belonged to an older generation of his fellow sailors.
“The storm seems to have quieted down a bit, doesn’t it? The waves are still rough, and the mist is thick, but... is it because of this ghost ship?”
The absence of any ghost ships for so long made him wonder if his intentions had been found out. After all, without ghost ships, they couldn’t cross the Nightmare Strait. Perhaps the Immortal Order didn’t see a need to take the risk and attack him directly.
If that were the case, Isaac’s entire plan would fall apart. His options would be either to follow Yenkos’ original suggestion and join the main Dawn Army to the east or take a long detour west and face the Outer Realm head-on.
The former didn’t appeal to him, and the latter was a suicidal idea, even by Isaac’s standards.
He needed to head south, no matter what.
‘Worst case, I’ll break through the strait alone and figure things out once I reach Miarma. At least I could summon my subordinates once I’m there...’
At that moment, Eidan narrowed his eyes, peering into the fog.
“What’s wrong?”
“Isaac, you said the fog pulls ships toward rocks or other dangers. Couldn’t it also be drawing us toward ghost ships?”
“That’s possible, but we’ve been here two days without any sign of...”
Isaac’s voice trailed off as he spotted a faint silhouette in the direction Eidan was watching.
It wasn’t one of the Dawn Army of Issacrea’s ships. Its appearance was far grander and larger than any ship belonging to the Salt Council.
Both Isaac and Eidan were astonished by the size of the vessel. It was at least twice as large as their own ship.
Isaac was reminded of the warships of Duke Brant’s fleet back in Rougeberg. Eidan quickly scanned their surroundings and urgently called out to Isaac.
“Sir Isaac.”
Without needing to be told, Isaac already knew that new silhouettes were appearing all around them. Ships were rising from the sea as if materializing out of the mist. Their numbers were staggering, even from what they could see.
As some of the fog cleared, a massive emblem on one of the sails became visible.
Isaac instantly recognized the symbol.
“...The Dawn Army.”
It was the lost 7th Dawn Army, believed to have been wiped out in the Nightmare Strait’s storms.
Now, they emerged from the fog.