Captain – Chapter 655 – The Hunt

A pale golden curtain shrouded the entire giant ship, driving away the electric serpents that bit and surged toward them.

The Goddess Hestia had extinguished most of its candles, moving silently forward through the overturning thunder sea, much like an ascetic, or like the girl who had buried her head and walked through the snowy plains.

And that girl now stood at the ship’s bow.

Gazing toward the front where most of her vision was obscured by curtains of rain, sea mist, and screens of lightning, though Roy couldn’t see, she could clearly sense that increasingly approaching presence.

This wasn’t because she had spread her perception to encompass all of Storm Corner – quite the opposite, the divine power in this sea severely suppressed her consciousness.

The limit of what she could perceive was only about thirty meters around her.

This was the terrifying nature of this barrier that separated the new and old worlds, created by the Lady and past great ones. It was also why the giant serpent had chosen to hide here.

If this had been a year ago, even though Roy had considerable sensitivity to specter auras, finding it in this thunder sea wouldn’t have been so easy.

But time had passed, and the situation had changed.

If the giant serpent had been like a slightly brighter star in a dim starry sky in her eyes before, now it had become a blazing blue-green sun.

Even across lightning flashes and divine power, it still shone blindingly bright.

And it became more glaring as the distance closed.

Since entering the thunder sea, the giant ship had been hunting that specter for several days under the girl’s unwavering guidance, already forcing it into the deepest regions.

And the deeper into Storm Corner, in other words, the closer to the Cursed Sea.

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The closer to that devil’s territory and minions.

So it was running out of places to flee.

If the giant serpent still harbored hope after witnessing Roy’s transformation over nearly a year, thinking it wasn’t meant to kill it, then this period of flight must have made it see everything clearly. And for this very reason…

It had stopped.

Though still some distance from the Cursed Sea, the specter was unwilling to continue fleeing pointlessly, being chased like a stray dog. So it changed direction.

Coming toward the Goddess Hestia and the girl determined to crush its bones and scatter its ashes.

Sensing the increasingly blazing blue-green sun in her perception, Roy, who usually stood quietly, finally broke her silence, speaking softly to her first mate beside her: “Get ready. It’s almost time.”

Hearing this, Caine looked at the focused girl and asked, “About how much longer?”

“It’s turned toward us. At this rate, no more than three hours at most.”

“Understood, Captain. But…”

Hearing this, the first mate lowered his head slightly, checking the bindings on his left hand to ensure Aegis wouldn’t fall off during rapid movement, while asking in confusion: “Why do you want me to carry it? And you still haven’t told me the plan.”

“Nervous?”

The girl’s counter-question reached his ears. Without looking, the young man knew she must have a mischievous smile at the corner of her mouth. He said helplessly, “Anyone would be nervous facing that thing.”

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“Moreover, how can I coordinate with you without knowing the plan?”

After jokingly saying “rely on our rapport,” seeing that Caine seemed genuinely annoyed by her casual attitude, the captain finally restrained her smile and explained seriously.

“You don’t know – now when I look at that broken snake, it’s like looking at a sun. Its every move, even its internal injuries, can hardly escape my notice.”

“Similarly, it sees me the same way.”

Temporarily withdrawing her gaze, Roy looked into her first mate’s eyes, her dark golden pupils blazing like fire at every moment: “If I carried the shield, it would definitely notice.”

“This would make the situation uncontrollable and might even cost us our only chance.”

Seeing Caine looking thoughtful, the girl smiled and said, “Remember how I said I won against it before? Wasn’t it by relying on the information gap the ship spirit provided?”

The “ship spirit” in her words naturally referred to the ghost girl.

Because she was born from obsession and retained few memories, unable to recall her name from a thousand years ago, Roy simply gave her this rather fitting title.

After all, a ghost that could command a giant ship was exactly what legends called a ship spirit.

“Although that spawn isn’t stupid, it’s ultimately just a wandering ghost, unlike our ancestor who could obtain crucial intelligence about the overall situation through countless channels and contingencies.”

“In other words, it’s easy to deceive, especially in this thunder sea where you can’t see your hand in front of your face. Most importantly, it doesn’t know Aegis is in our hands.”

“Much less that this will become the ‘sharp sword’ that pins it to death.”

Hearing this, Caine had basically understood her idea.

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“So you and the warship will attract its attention, while Nidhogg and I hide at a distance, waiting for the right moment to get Aegis to you?”

Early when entering the thunder sea, the first mate had already learned from her about the suppressive power of that overwhelming divine might on existences at her and the giant serpent’s level.

Then presumably distancing himself from the giant serpent, flying higher, even flying among the lightning, if not absolutely, would at least greatly reduce the possibility of being discovered.

Thus becoming a hidden piece in this game, or rather…

A killing move.

“That’s right, the plan is just that simple.”

To this, Roy nodded slightly to show he was correct, then added with some nostalgia: “As for if the situation changes or the plan has flaws…”

“Then we’ll improvise.”

This powerful and straightforward approach had never been abandoned by her, even now.

It had always been this way.

Because of this response he hadn’t heard in a long time, Caine couldn’t help but recall those nearly reckless decisions she had made in Auran and Yadris in the past.

Though equally nostalgic, he still couldn’t suppress his silent complaint.

Thinking that the girl used this as her “principle of conduct,” yet when he had hidden something from her just once in the Death Silence Triangle, she kept bringing it up until he made promises to be forgiven.

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Although as Roy walked further on that path, their deep soul connection continued to deepen, they ultimately couldn’t share thoughts completely.

She naturally couldn’t hear his complaints, only returning her gaze to the vast thunder sea.

Sighing quietly to himself, Caine was about to turn back to check on the dragon’s condition when he suddenly remembered something. His movement paused, and he turned back to ask the girl.

“By the way, Captain, what about Mango? Will it come with Nidhogg and me too?”

That plan was simple and powerful. No matter how you looked at it, the chances of success were high. The only flaw was that even with great power and the curved blade’s help, he and the newly adult dragon would have difficulty lasting long in the divine might.

If they had to take flight before the confrontation, that time would be shortened even further.

It truly was a race against time.

But if they brought the Siamese cat along, the situation would probably improve considerably. And according to what Roy had once told him, in that serpent’s eyes the cat was just a tangled ball of thread.

A ball… made of fate’s threads? It would be hard for the opponent to notice.

If so, bringing it along should work well.

But to Caine’s inquiry and suggestion, the girl refused without even thinking, giving a reason so weighty that no one could find a point to argue.

“No, its task will be even more important. We need it to constantly watch that side.”

“Watch… the Cursed Sea.”