Captain – Chapter 725 – The Approaching Battlefield

Soon, the three warships led by the Victoria sailed away from the inner sea and joined with the pirate ships that had already gathered together, no longer distinguishable by faction.

Due to the appearance of the giant ship, throne, and the person within, the fleet naturally appeared somewhat chaotic.

But whether it was because the two legends and new Great Captain had spoken, or that old man had opened his mouth, the tumult quickly settled, leaving only calm and a faint solemnity.

The arrangements Victor had mentioned as ready were also executed in an extremely short time.

In less than an hour, except for the pirate ships led by the Black Rose that remained to guard the Islands, all other warships followed the Nightmare King westward.

But pirates were not soldiers after all, and this fleet—which could be called mighty with its various flag designs and ship styles—had no formation to speak of as it sailed west.

From this perspective, it truly matched Auran’s assessment of pirates as a “rabble.”

However, this view would likely be regarded as praise by the ruffians, just like being called shameless.

Apart from the messy formation, there was another scene in this fleet that was quite surprising—among all the pirate ships, the most magnificent Victoria was not leading, but trailing far behind at the rear.

Given the status of the person aboard, this was difficult to understand, and could at most be seen as cherishing life.

Its deeper meaning was unknown.

Sunset and sunrise, stars shifting in their courses.

Regardless of how the three parties in the present world engaged in open and covert struggles over negotiations and dividing the spoils before and after the messenger from the old sea arrived, after several months, the three fleets finally set sail one after another toward the great waterfall.

And their departure times differed by at most a few days, so they would likely converge soon.

During this time, changes in the Cursed Sea were also considerable.

The island chain remained as before, and the gateway from the old sea to the present world still maintained stability.

But apart from a few crude camps and bonfires on the reefs near the gateway, with no more than twenty figures, no more human presence could be seen.

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Naturally, there was no sign of the Goddess Hestia either.

In fact, the giant ship that should have been stationed outside the islands was now deep in the far north.

It had even reached the front of the picturesque quiet fog.

However, fortunately, this wasn’t a repeat of the golden-eyed devil hiding things from his first mate in the past, but rather a decision made based on the dragon’s reconnaissance and Roy riding it for close observation and reaching conclusions. After that, the giant ship had continuously advanced north.

And that conclusion was that after losing the Drowned Captain—specifically the Siamese cat as a medium—even the great devil Edward could no longer manipulate the eerie fog.

Unable to bring the fog symbolizing “Forgetting” into the world, he naturally couldn’t make that remaining ghost fleet travel ghostlike across vast distances, ignoring natural laws.

In other words, apart from their form of existence, those ghost ships and the ghosts aboard them weren’t much different from reality—they just might not need wind and waves to sail.

Or perhaps… they could traverse terrain?

In any case, if they wanted to threaten the gateway, even a surprise attack would require crossing vast stretches of sea.

After confirming this point, Roy simply brought the giant ship forward, pressing close to the front edge of the thin fog. In her view, this was a better choice than standing firm.

Since the ghost fleet couldn’t appear and disappear mysteriously and could only take normal routes, as long as they blockaded all areas around the nameless island, they could ensure the gateway’s safety.

Of course, this blockade wasn’t literal.

Even though the current Goddess Hestia carried two awakened devils, establishing a blockade line spanning thousands of miles was impossible.

Even Edward in his seal couldn’t do that.

But… though Roy and Gerard couldn’t influence it, they could sense it.

Through slightly disturbed winds and diverted waves, they could know immediately whether that ghostly blue region had any movement, whether it intended to surprise attack them or the island chain.

That was enough.

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Yes, even if the father and daughter joined forces, they couldn’t stop that fleet’s mad breakthrough or crafty detours, but they could at least aim their cannons at the lone island.

Once that devil’s guards left or weakened, they would have no need to wait for reinforcements—the giant ship would strike, and the girl would enter the island carrying the black blade.

For Edward, who only needed time to become divine, this was naturally not a good choice.

So even though he should already know about the Goddess Hestia’s movements, the nameless island deep in the thin fog still showed no reaction, remaining as calm as it had for thousands of years.

Calm as a tomb.

But it was precisely this silence that made the atmosphere aboard the giant ship increasingly oppressive and heavy.

Even after determining the general situation of the lone island, Roy, who usually stayed in the captain’s cabin, had recently come to the bow to stand and gaze into the distance much more frequently.

Tonight was the same, and it was already the twelfth time in months that the dragon had flown far for reconnaissance.

The sound of wingbeats approached from far to near, gradually becoming clear.

Soon, a giant shadow emerged from the quiet fog, carrying wind currents as it flew down and landed on the bow of the giant ship. Rainwater from unknown sources slid down the pitch-black scales, dripping onto the deck with “pitter-patter” sounds, shattering into countless smaller droplets.

It was the dragon that had gone to investigate the situation.

Seeing this, Roy and Gerard, standing side by side near the goddess statue, turned and approached it. They didn’t mind the rainwater splashed on them by the dragon’s movements. After it finished adjusting itself, Roy began her inquiry.

After that, the girl’s clear questioning voice and the dragon’s low roars rang out in alternation.

Soon, the question-and-answer session ended.

Roy patted the dragon’s horn, indicating it had done well, then cast an inquiring gaze at her father beside her, as if asking what to do next.

This kind of similar, simplified communication had occurred many times over the months.

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During this period, apart from monitoring the sea area bounded by fog, all they had done was continuously analyze intelligence and then adjust the giant ship’s course.

Step by step, determining the general location of the nameless island.

As for the intelligence Nidhogg brought back, it was also simple—nothing more than the trend of the surrounding quiet fog retreating, how much the farthest distance between the fog’s two ends had shrunk.

Most importantly, how far they still were from that thunderstorm region.

During the meeting to plan this final battle, Gerard had once said that once they entered the waters near the nameless island, within the range covered by that devil’s great power, they would inevitably encounter a thunderstorm, even as if entering the eye of a hurricane.

That would be where the final battlefield lay.

And reasoning in reverse, where that storm descended would naturally be the waters near the lone island.

And whether it should be called good luck or that time was running short, this time when the dragon went to investigate, it clearly encountered a heavy rain, while the surrounding sea area was obviously a clear night. This also meant that after months of cautious, slow northward advance…

They had finally reached the front of that storm sea, with only dozens of nautical miles remaining to that lone island.

But likewise, the thin fog symbolizing the ancient seal had also retreated to such depths.

When it dispersed, that would be the day Edward became divine.

At that time, no one would be his match.

Time really was running short.

Therefore, Roy’s gaze toward her father contained not only inquiry but also rare anxiety, and a bit of persistence, as if wanting him to agree to her choice.

If the present world’s fleet truly couldn’t arrive in time, she could only take a desperate gamble.

Two devils standing together, with dragon and siren beside them, ship spirit and over a thousand skeleton soldiers and pirates as support, plus the still unrevealed foreshadowing of the night…

They might not be without chance of victory.

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Gerard understood his daughter’s meaning. Although he still didn’t support that crazy idea, he also knew that if it came to the final moment, he would have to go up regardless of his reluctance.

So he didn’t directly deny her as he had many times before, but after a moment of silence said: “We can’t advance further, and there’s still time.”

Two simple sentences, but the meaning was clear.

They couldn’t advance further because the lone island was near—continuing north might fall into the devil’s trap.

Although the two sides were separated by dozens of nautical miles, and even between the giant ship and that thunderstorm there was still nearly twenty nautical miles of distance, they couldn’t risk even half a chance.

No one knew whether that thunderstorm-covered region was the limit that devil could reach while in his seal, or yet another conspiracy and deception.

If they took one wrong step, they truly might be doomed forever.

Perhaps having already guessed her father’s answer, Roy wasn’t particularly surprised, only slightly downcast, because he still hadn’t directly agreed to her request.

Though when that moment truly came, it wouldn’t matter if he disagreed.

As long as he couldn’t bear to watch her die.

Sighing in slight annoyance, the girl glared at her father, wanting to do more persuasive work, to use things like freedom or the world’s future to convince him to change his mind.

But before the first word could leave her mouth, she closed it again. Her already slightly glaring eyes widened further, her dark golden pupils flickering.

Feeling a connection that had been far away and difficult to touch being tugged, Roy exchanged glances with the thoughtful Gerard, then both looked in that direction.

Toward the direction of that island chain—the girl’s sudden feeling arose from there.

The reason was even simpler, requiring no deduction: there was movement at the gateway…

The present world’s fleet had arrived.