A gigantic rchant ship, approximately 40 ters long with a broad hull, was anchored at the edge of the Realm of Pitch Darkness. No cannon ports for defense were visible anywhere on the vessel.
Three tall masts bore black sails, topped with the banner of the Prayer for the Dead.
Besides this ship, two heavily ard pirate strike ships, each about 20 ters long, lay nearby.
However, the condition of these pirate ships could only be described as downright miserable.
These few pirate vessels were surrounded, completely encircled by four warships from the Holy Mother Church.
The Vibrating Stone Cannons on the Holy Mother Church’s warships had long ceased their bombardnt, as the enemy ships were already crippled.
The masts and lower decks of the two pirate strike ships, designed for attack, had long since been destroyed.
These pirate ships were already under their control.
A Knight in Soft Armor, wielding a Long Saber, stepped onto the deck of one of the pirate ships.
Gazing at the surrounding devastation, he couldn’t help but furrow his brows.
Countless threads pierced the nearby pirates, suspending them in various positions. These threads had impaled, bound, and even strangled them.
The scene aboard resembled a bloody massacre within a spider’s lair.
Many pirates were still alive, wailing incessantly. Blood, carried by their breath, trickled down the threads from their wounds.
So no longer had the strength even to scream.
Although he equally despised pirates, the state these were in made him furrow his brows.
Seeing Vanessa on deck wiping blood from her hands, he sighed and shook his head, swallowing the rebuke he was about to voice.
He ultimately understood the wisdom: one shouldn’t preach goodness to others without having experienced their suffering.
Moreover, he knew sothing of Vanessa’s situation. If letting these dregs of the sea suffer brought so solace to his friends and colleagues, then perhaps it served a purpose aligned with their duties.
"As a Physician, you should remain on our ship; charging to the front lines is not your task."
Vanessa turned to face him, her face still sared with blood. Her voice devoid of inflection, she said, "It is precisely because I am a Physician that I need to heal myself. If I don’t vent, I won’t last until this Pirate Gang is eradicated."
At this mont, a young man dressed in the Priest Robe of the Church, resembling a Secretary, approached.
Having witnessed the carnage on the ship unfold firsthand, he showed little emotional reaction.
He ca to the Knight Captain’s side and said, "Captain, the three ships are completely under control. These pirates had likely co out for supplies."
"Did you find out what they were doing in the Realm of Pitch Darkness?" the Captain imdiately turned and asked.
"Yes, their group was lingering on the edge of the Realm of Pitch Darkness, pursuing a very important target."
Upon hearing this, a light flickered in Vanessa’s eyes. The enemy’s actions indicated Alka and his companions hadn’t been captured; they were still on the run. This ant Chadite, who was with Alka, was likely not in imdiate danger.She could only cling to that optimistic thought.
But at this point, the Captain turned directly to Vanessa and said, "I know what you’re planning, but you should understand how vast the Realm of Pitch Darkness is. Rashly venturing in to find them would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. I hope you know what you’re doing."
Hearing this, Vanessa turned and walked away.
"I am well aware."
The Captain turned back, contemplating the pirate ships. The pirates sending ships out for supplies indicates they’re running low on resources.
Charging into the Realm of Pitch Darkness to capture them was unrealistic; otherwise, these pirates wouldn’t have survived this long.
Fortunately, the surrounding factions were willing to show the Holy Mother Church deference by sealing off all potential supply points around the Realm of Pitch Darkness and providing the Church with intelligence.
They just needed to wait for the Prayer for the Dead to buckle under the pressure.
As for the true target—the Holy Artifact of the Holy Mother—a specialized team had already been dispatched into the Realm of Pitch Darkness.
Hopefully, the young man holding the Holy Artifact would manage to hold out a little longer.
At the edge of the Realm of Pitch Darkness, a flotilla of three warships, each around 30 ters long, patrolled the area.
From the ships’ color sches and markings, it was clear they were vessels of the Holy Mother Church.
The three warships sailed in a triangular formation, maintaining mutual vigilance as they navigated the periter of the Realm of Pitch Darkness.
Aboard one of the ships, Jason leaned against the railing, gazing into the dark sea.
Of the three who had escaped from the Sea Fist, Jason had joined the team searching for Alka and his companions within the Realm of Pitch Darkness.
Vanessa, on the other hand, was stationed on the outskirts as part of the blockade force.
Gami, naturally, had been left behind at the Church.
"What are you thinking about?" a young Knight Squire asked, approaching Jason from behind.
Hearing the voice, Jason replied without turning his head, "I’m wondering how Alka and the others are doing."
"You an the one with the Holy Mother’s Holy Artifact?"
"Yes."
"Don’t worry. Once he uses the Holy Sword, we’ll be able to roughly sense their location."
Upon hearing this, Jason nodded. In a place like this, Alka and the others would surely have to use the Holy Sword in battle, wouldn’t they?
Once the Holy Sword was used, the Bishop on their ship would be able to sense its location. This would enable them to find Alka, protect him, and reclaim the Holy Artifact.
Currently, Alka, Chadite, and Pororo were resting on an island.
The Flying Swallow was beached nearby, and the trio rested quietly by a fire they had built a short distance away.
Pororo was cutting fish, skewering the pieces with handmade wooden sticks to roast over the fire.
Alka was currently outlining his future plans to the other two.
"To continue hiding in the Realm of Pitch Darkness and evade my father’s pursuit, we must first increase our strength to the Two Spirals level," Alka stated.
"Chadite, how much ti do you estimate that will take?"
Hearing Alka’s words, Chadite, who had been slightly lost in thought, snapped out of her daze. After so deliberation, she said, "Judging by my current pace, it won’t exceed half a year."
After all, Chadite had reached One Spiral a year ago and had long since solidified her strength at that stage. Now, with the aid of the ditation Spell, her power would naturally advance by leaps and bounds. She was a genius, capable of comprehending Spells upon her first encounter with Treasures, so her rate of improvent wasn’t a major concern.
Hearing Chadite’s words, Pororo, who was roasting fish, turned his head to look at her. "Your strength is quite good, especially for soone so young."
After all, the young lady before him didn’t look to be even twenty years old.
Chadite nodded politely, thanking Pororo for the complint.
Alka then ntally tallied the Potions in Chadite’s ring and his own Pocket Ring. He also recalled the intensity of the Dark Elent assault they had faced in the central region and estimated their potential Potion consumption.
They definitely had enough to last until their strength reached the Two Spirals level.
"The Dark Elents on the periphery are not as strong as those in the central region," Alka explained. "Out here, my father might still be able to sense our general direction using his abilities. If we move to the central area, it will be much harder for them to find us."
This was Lucilia’s theory. It wasn’t guaranteed to be completely accurate, but it was highly credible.
As he spoke, Alka looked at Pororo. Chadite certainly had no objections; it now depended on the rman they had only recently t.
Pororo listened to Alka and, seeing Alka’s gaze turn to him, casually shrugged.
"It makes no difference to . Anywhere is fine."
"Sang Kaka’s dying wish was for to ensure you both leave the Realm of Pitch Darkness safely. However, it’s clear your father doesn’t want you to leave here so easily."
"And I lack the strength to forcibly break the two of you through their encirclent. So, just focus on your plans. I’ll do my best to protect you. If an opportunity arises to eliminate that shark rman in the anti, all the better."
Pororo directly stated his thoughts and intentions, letting them know they didn’t need to overly concern themselves with his opinion and could act as they saw fit.
After all, his fundantal reason for coming to the Realm of Pitch Darkness was simply to challenge himself. The gift from his cousin ca with obligations he had to honor.
Whether they were in the periphery, the central area, or the core region made no difference to him.
Hearing Pororo’s words, Alka nodded.
He spread his hands, and a large map appeared, showing the Realm of Pitch Darkness in detail. Alka blinked, and points of light materialized on its surface.
Then, a stack of more detailed maps for various islands and specific regions appeared in his hands.
First, he filtered out so islands in the outer region. These islands had almost no valuable Treasures left; any that remained were mostly white points.
Currently, these white points held no significance for Alka and his companions; they were a waste of ti.
Even if these white points concealed astounding Treasures or great wealth, they had no way to transport them and could barely ensure their own safety.
Only by exploring the blue points could they hope to find items that would enhance their strength.
Not to ntion, Alka was running low on materials in his Pocket Ring. He needed to acquire more Spell Materials to create his cards.
This was his primary combat thod; the more cards he had, the greater his advantage.
He began sifting through the maps one by one, tapping on them to analyze the blue points and see if they were useful.
Beside him, Chadite closed her eyes and began to ditate.
Ultimately, Alka chose the detailed maps of three islands as their initial exploration targets.
These three islands beca his focus, primarily because they had plenty of blue points.
The island with the most blue points had a total of eight, with six of them densely clustered together. This was the island with the most blue points Alka had encountered so far.
The other two islands were selected because their blue points revealed specific information.
Before entering the Realm of Pitch Darkness, and during the period before encountering his father, Alka had spent his ti aboard the ship poring over various docunts.
The information provided by the Church had been voluminous and complex, with much of it being supplentary or specialized knowledge.
This ant Alka had absorbed a lot of information that seed trivial or of uncertain origin. Yet, who could say if so inconspicuous detail might relate to one of the blue Treasures?
If Alka recognized a connection, he could naturally expand upon and supplent this information, gaining additional insight into certain blue Treasure locations.
However, Alka didn’t choose the island with eight points as his first target.
Instead, he selected an island with only two blue points and several white points.
He chose it because one of these two blue points revealed information he particularly desired.
[Engraver’s Residence]
[Difficulty: Holy Light Warrior (One Spiral)]
[Fa: 0]
[Treasure Information: The famous Engraver, Harke, died when the darkness erupted, leaving everything in his residence behind.]
Alka had only casually noticed the na Harke in so docunt before.
He hadn’t expected to find a Treasure related to him.
Since Harke was an Engraver who had died suddenly, his residence would surely contain many well-preserved Spell Materials.
This was precisely what Alka currently lacked.
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