Charles pointed to the Rat beside him with his finger and turned to walk up the stairs.
Bandage paid no attention to the bleeding wound on his face, performed a Fhtagn Church ritual gesture towards Hook, and followed him.
Just as the two of them were boarding the ship, Hook suddenly reached out his right hand and plunged the bloodied dagger into the chest of a follower on his left.
"Ah! Ah! Ah!" The screams echoed throughout the entire port.
Seeing the iconic black robes of the Fhtagn Church, the other people at port all lowered their heads and went about their own business, not daring to interfere
Charles turned his head and looked disgusted at the scene. This was also why he didn't want to have anything to do with the Fhtagn Church in the first place. He turned to Deep, who had come over to watch the commotion, and shouted, "Stop staring and hoist the anchor, we're setting sail!"
With a sudden hard pull, a pulsating heart appeared in Hook’s hand. He went over to the Rat with the heart and began wiping the blood on the side of the ship while muttering something under his breath.
"Get away, don't touch my ship with that disgusting thing," Charles instantly pulled out his revolver and pointed it at Hook's head.
"Captain Charles, with this, your ship will be protected by the Mighty One," said Hook.
"I don't need it!" Charles' finger rested on the trigger.
Seeing that Charles wasn't joking, Hook, with the heart still in his hand, smiled slightly and took a step back.
"Captain Charles, we Fhtagn followers always treat others with kindness. Why do you always seem to have a bias against us?" asked Hook.
Looking at the bloody heart in Hook's hand, Charles didn't bother to explain it.
Under Hook's gaze, the Rat's smokestack began to emit black smoke as it slowly sailed towards the dark ocean.
"Deep, take the helm," Charles shouted to the boatswain before heading to the captain's cabin with Bandage.
Inside the cabin, a yellowed sea chart was spread out on the table. The chart was not very detailed, with large areas in blank and only a few scattered islands marked.
This was the only type of chart that could be bought at the port. The more detailed maps were controlled by the Explorers Association.
"Where is the thing you want me to find and how far is it from Coral Island?" asked Charles as he examined the sea chart.
Right away Bandage pointed to an unmarked spot in the blank area on the chart.
"Uncharted territory, huh..." Charles was not surprised by this answer, as he knew that explored islands could not offer such a high reward.
"What does your sacred artifact look like?" Charles continued to inquire.
Bandage was stuck for a while before slowly saying, "The statue… of our… holy lord made of gold..."
Although somewhat intermittent, the voice that came out was unexpectedly young, sounding like a teenager going through puberty.
"Is that thing a relic?" Charles asked
“……”
"What dangers are there on the island?"
“……”
Faced with further questioning from Charles, Bandage remained silent and did not answer.
"You go and steer the ship. 12-24 is your shift, and if you need to use the restroom or anything during that time, you can let Deep take over for a while. I've taught him how to steer," said Charles.
Bandage stood up silently and walked towards the outside.
Charles tapped his fingers on the table, organizing his thoughts. It sounded simple: find the object and bring it back. But if it were really that simple, the Fhtagn Church wouldn't have needed to bring in outsiders.
That place was definitely very dangerous. The fact that the first mate sent by Fhtagn Church didn't give any hint could have two possible interpretations. One interpretation was that he really didn't know, and the guys they had sent there previously had all sunk to the bottom of the sea, making it impossible to pass on the information.
The other interpretation was that the danger was shockingly high, and he deliberately concealed it for fear of scaring away their hired help. Either way, it was not good news, and they could only take it one step at a time now.
The sea voyage was very oppressive, and the Rat was pitifully small with limited space to move around. Fortunately, except for the two new sailors, everyone else had gotten used to it.
At first, Charles was a bit uneasy about the new first mate and kept a watchful eye on him. However, after a few days of getting to know him, he realized that the guy named Bandage, aside from speaking slowly and wearing a strange outfit, did not show any abnormal behavior.
Bandage was very steady when steering the ship and seemed to be very skilled at it. Charles's guard was lowered somewhat, but not completely.
As the sea marks slowly disappeared, the Rat sailed into an unknown area where no one had set foot before.
Without the sea marks in the distance, everyone on board growed tense as there was a saying in Earthsea, that when a ship sailed into unexplored areas, the seabed had already prepared a burial ground for the crew.
However, several days had passed but the intense battle that Charles had anticipated did not come. The sea was as calm as a lake, and the surroundings were as dark as ink when looking down from the bow of the ship.
This calmness did not make anyone feel at ease. It was like the calm before the storm, making everyone onboard feel suffocated.
Charles was on high alert. He kept watch over the deck day and night, afraid that something from underwater would come aboard the ship.
The searchlight on the ship pierced the darkness like a pillar of light, bringing a little sense of safety to the crew.
“July 1st, 8th year after transmigration, a clear day–
Today, everything was still normal, but this oppressive feeling, like a tangible presence, was driving my crew crazy. Deep knelt on the deck whenever he had a spare moment, praying to all sorts of deities.
I had to stop him. The gods of Earthsea are not benevolent, and praying to them can easily bring trouble.
Fortunately, the chef found a nest of baby mice in the store room, which distracted their attention. Watching them carefully and cautiously feed the little mice, I felt a little emotional.
They now had companionship, but what about me? Why was I the only one who transmigrated, and being alone is truly lonely. If only I have a companion too."
Once the ink had dried, Charles closed his diary and put it away in the cabinet.
He took out a small, square glass bottle filled with brown liquid from the bottom of the cabinet and took a big gulp The feeling of the dizzying sensation quickly relaxed his tense mind.
In the past, Charles had never understood why people enjoyed drinking alcohol. The bitter taste was like horse urine, but now he understood.
His exhausted mind craved more alcohol to numb itself, but Charles resisted the urge to drink more. A couple gulps to relax was fine, but excessive drinking would dispel his determination to go back home.
Just then, cheers erupted from outside, catching Charles off guard. He quickly put away the bottle and rushed to the deck.
The ship's boatswain, Deep, rushed up to Charles, dancing and gesticulating excitedly. He tried to something, but he was overwhelmed with excitement and could barely speak.k.
Charles looked beyond the edge of the ship, into the darkness ahead, and saw a massive structure illuminated by the searchlight. It was an island, and they had finally arrived at their destination.
As the steamship slowly approached the shore, the cheers slowly faded away. Along the coast of this island, they saw eight rundowned steamships of various sizes docked. Judging by the signs of decay on the ships, the oldest might have docked two or three years ago.
All the ships remained motionless, like coffins floating on the surface of the sea.
"How...how come there are so many ships? Where are their crews?" Deep's anxious voice trembled as he asked, but no one answered his question.
At that moment, as they looked at the island again, a shadow seemed to fall over the crew’s heart.
Charles didn't rush to go ashore. Instead, he took Deep and James and jumped onto the nearest steamship.
There were no bloodstains or signs of fight. Fuel and food were abundant, and everything seemed normal except for the absence of the crew.
Suddenly, Charles thought of something and burst into the captain's quarters. He rummaged through the drawers and soon found a hidden diary.
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