Captain – Chapter 516 – The Old Wooden Boat

The three warships passed by the solitary island, and after navigating around an extremely short but reef-strewn shallow area bristling with barb-like low reefs, they finally officially entered the mysterious depths of the Triangle.

The deeper they went, the denser the black mist in the sky became, and the dimmer the daylight grew.

Gales and storms, lightning and thunder, magnetic fields that rendered all nautical instruments useless—all the scenes related to the Triangle described in adventure novels appeared one after another.

Additionally, a faint water mist enveloped the sea area, casting a hazy veil over the already barely visible scenery ahead, making everything within sight blurry. The warships could only rely on lights to maintain their positions relative to each other.

Now, only the crystal skull emanating ghostly light could serve as their guide.

On the Mermaid’s bridge.

Since the direction indicated by the pendant was not constant but could completely reverse at any moment, just like that twisted path which would irregularly change positions every so often, Caine, who had originally been responsible for navigation, had to take over the helm.

Since they had rounded the island and entered the depths, the strange magnetic field had rendered even pocket watches useless. Time’s boundaries became blurred, and people could only rely on their senses to ensure adequate rest as much as possible.

Based on the brief anchorage and rest periods, the young man could only roughly calculate that their group had been sailing in this accursed place for nearly five days.

During this time, although they had been tormented by the pendant’s inexplicable directional changes, fortunately, as their voyage progressed, the frequency of its flickering decreased more and more. This at least indicated that they were still approaching their target with relative stability.

Raising his hand to wipe away the rainwater flowing into his eyes, Caine looked at the silk-like streams of light flowing from the pendant in his hand and couldn’t help but sigh softly, showing some weariness.

Anyone who reduced their rest time daily just to reach their destination faster, yet after a full five days could still only wander in this gloomy and oppressive sea area without seeing the end of their arduous journey, would develop this persistent fatigue.

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“Thump, thump, thump…”

Hearing a series of urgent, drum-like footsteps, the First Mate didn’t need to turn around to know it was the captain approaching. During these days, it was basically just the two of them keeping each other company, talking and changing shifts to dispel that all-pervasive loneliness.

“How is it? Any improvement?”

The young woman quickly approached, and after the young man yielded his position, she naturally took over the helm. Lifting her hat brim with one hand, she looked at the seemingly eternally unchanged old scenery ahead and asked.

“What improvement could there be? I’d thank heaven and earth if it would just stop changing direction.”

Bringing the pendant before his eyes, looking at those ghostly lights that had changed direction but still flowed toward the bow, Caine shrugged and said with a bitter smile. This sudden change had wasted who knows how much of their time before being discovered.

It was precisely because of this matter that every time he went to rest, the three warships had to at least furl their sails and reduce speed, if not anchor completely, to prevent drifting too far off course.

“There’s nothing we can do about it. After all, we’re sailing toward a place that should be impossible to reach. To make the impossible possible, the setbacks we’re encountering now are still relatively few.”

Giving her First Mate a comforting smile, Roy continued to focus her attention ahead, saying with some nostalgia: “You should know, when I was searching for Devil’s Island, that’s when I really suffered. In those years, I didn’t even know which direction I was heading.”

“The first few times were okay, but the last voyage, the one where I found Devil’s Island—forget about determining direction, we couldn’t even find our way back.”

“We could only keep moving forward, not succeeding meant…”

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Her words stopped there, the captain’s smile faded somewhat. Her intended meaning was clear enough. After a moment of silence, she changed the subject: “But this time shouldn’t be as miserable, since no matter how big the Triangle is, it can’t compare to an entire ocean.”

“I think it won’t be long before we can…”

Noticing that her First Mate hadn’t responded for a long time and that even his breathing had become much lighter, as if afraid of startling something, Roy couldn’t help but stop talking and look over curiously.

Then she blinked, showing a trace of surprise. Her slightly widened dark golden eyes clearly reflected those constantly flickering ghostly lights.

This scene was identical to when she had stepped onto Devil’s Island and approached that throne.

Suddenly, the flickering of the ghostly light stopped.

No, to be precise, from a certain moment on, no more light flowed from the crystal skull’s eye sockets, and even the deepest spark was extinguished.

The guidance… ended here.

Understanding what this meant, the captain didn’t remain stunned by this sudden change for too long. She quickly came to her senses, exchanged a glance with the young man, then turned to shout loudly at the sailors on deck: “Gentlemen, furl the sails and reduce speed immediately!”

Upon receiving the command, the crew immediately sprang into action, and through the pre-arranged light signals, the warships following behind the Mermaid also began to slow down.

After giving the order, Roy immediately locked the helm, patted her First Mate’s arm to signal him to follow, then quickly walked down from the bridge, crossed the deck, and came to the bow.

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Standing beside the mermaid figurehead, the captain looked at the scene ahead and couldn’t help but sigh quietly. She then smiled with an unreadable expression, whether from relief or because she had encountered too many similar situations and found them quite unoriginal.

The water mist ahead of the Mermaid gradually dispersed, revealing a clear area. In that pitifully small “pond,” an old wooden boat was anchored.

As if it had come to receive the ordained one already chosen, as written in the stone tablet’s prayer.

Like a recreation of the countless solitary journeys she had taken before.

Ancestor, are you waiting for me over there again?

“Captain?”

As the young woman quietly asked herself this question, Caine had already come to her side. Seeing her complex and inexplicable expression, he called to her softly while following her gaze. Then he frowned as if seeing some strange sight.

The three warships came to a stop one after another, arranged in a line facing north with the Mermaid as the reference point. Then, accompanied by several sounds of wind being cut, the captains and first mates of the Ghost Scythe and Taranhof quickly arrived on the Mermaid’s deck.

However, before their arrival, the authority figures on the Mermaid had already reacted the moment Roy gave the order and felt the ship’s vibration. They had all come to the deck and soon gathered around the captain.

Even the raven and young dragon, who liked to stay in the captain’s quarters, had rushed over upon hearing the commotion.

“Hiss, I say, you two…”

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The ship’s doctor, who was extremely interested in strange sights, arrived faster than anyone. His gaze moved back and forth between Roy and the young man’s faces and the direction they were looking, and he sucked in a cold breath in confusion, asking: “What exactly are you looking at?”

“Are you blind? Can’t you see that over there…”

The young woman gave the ship’s doctor a sidelong glance and was about to scold him properly when she was interrupted.

“There’s a wooden boat over there.”

Pointing ahead not far away, Caine told the bewildered crowd.

But despite the explanation, everyone including the extremely steady Ben still looked puzzled. They looked in the direction the First Mate had indicated, then looked at each other, as if wanting to see if everyone had the same thoughts.

Sensing something was wrong, Roy and the young man exchanged glances, forming a certain suspicion in their hearts.

It wasn’t until Richi and Enzo’s group of four, through the passage made by the crew, came to the Mermaid’s bow and looked toward the direction where Roy and the young man had previously pointed out the wooden boat, following Anderson’s reminder, that the suspicion was confirmed.

“Forgive me for being direct, child…”

Gripping the ship’s rail, the Night Curtain captain squinted his eyes and looked in the direction the ship’s doctor had indicated for a long time. Then he turned slightly and shook his head at Roy, whose expression had become strange.

“You’re not so overworked that you’re having hallucinations, are you? There’s nothing there at all.”