On the calm, mirror-like surface of the sea, a black strange ship suddenly burst out from beneath the water with a loud splash. Seawater cascaded from the sails and streamed off the deck back into the ocean. This was the ghost ship.
From within the cabin came the piercing echoes of the [Restless] BGM. Ye Chui was still using the large-scale magical sound constructs to torment the dark shadow, while everyone else stood on the deck.
Night had fallen. Gazing at the starry sky overhead, everyone felt a sense of wonder. Only moments ago they had been drifting on the seabed; now they had surfaced. It was a peculiar sensation that made the ghost ship seem even more miraculous.
They had left Pirate Bay that morning and had not eaten all day. Fortunately, Ye Chui and Green both had vast amounts of food stored in their [Storage Spaces]. They sat cross-legged on the deck and began enjoying a feast.
Captain Dalin watched the delicious spread and the barrels of Star Empire wine that Green kept bringing out. A nostalgic expression crossed his face. Unable to resist, he seized a cup and gulped down a mouthful. Immediately there came the sound of running water as red wine poured steadily from a hole in his stomach…
Half-alive and half-dead, his body felt nothing. Before entering this state he had been wounded, leaving a hole in his belly through which everything he drank now leaked.
Ye Chui and the others stared, dumbfounded, as Dalin drank and leaked simultaneously…
“Refreshing! Even though I can no longer taste fine wine, the act of drinking still feels marvellous!” Captain Dalin declared cheerfully, one hand clamped over the hole in his stomach.
Debbie sensed a trace of loneliness in his words and said sympathetically, “Captain Dalin, shall we try to patch that wound in your stomach?”
“No use. My current state cannot be changed,” Captain Dalin replied, shaking his head. He raised another cup and resumed drinking-and-leaking…
“Grandfather, now that you’ve regained your senses, you can surely deal with those Undead Monks, right? A little over a month ago the three great pirate groups were cursed and turned into Undead Monks. They roam the seas, making life impossible for honest pirates,” Stari said. He had already accepted that Dalin was his real grandfather, yet facing this half-dead, half-alive strange man still felt deeply unfamiliar.
“I cannot deal with them,” Captain Dalin answered. A helpless look appeared on his face as he turned to Stari. “But you, my grandson, you can put an end to them. You can even free them and lift the curse!”
At these words everyone grew curious. Irabetha, thinking of something, cried out anxiously, “You’re not planning to sacrifice Stari, are you? I absolutely won’t let you do that!”
“Sacrifice?” Captain Dalin gave Irabetha a puzzled glance. “Why would I ever do such a thing to my own descendant… I know what you mean, though. Sacrificing my bloodline would indeed work to break the curse, but there is another way.”
“What way?” Ye Chui asked, mouth full of Green’s special roast meat.
Instead of answering directly, Captain Dalin first explained the nature of the Undead Monk curse.
The curse was deeply connected to the White Ship phantom beast among the Twelve Phantom Beasts.
Phantom beasts are summoned spirits, fantasy creatures born from human imagination and belief. The White Ship was exactly that: a ship-shaped heroic spirit created by the people of the Tidal Empire through sincere prayers for the protection of their island nation. Each of the Twelve Phantom Beasts has its own clan. The bloodline of the clan is intimately tied to its phantom beast. The beast protects the clan, and the clan serves the beast. The bond between them is forged by an “oath” that is nearly unbreakable.
The current three great pirate groups (Redbeard, Watcher, and Black Sail) were all originally members of the White Ship clan and once shared that close bond with the White Ship phantom beast. Later, when Captain Dalin fused with the phantom beast and became the ghost ship, the wills of the White Ship clansmen were affected. Part of the reason they abandoned their honourable identities as imperial soldiers to become pirates was this influence.
For decades the ghost ship has been locked in ceaseless conflict with the Sea Angel. Although the Sea Angel could never destroy the ghost ship, it subtly corrupted it. The apostle’s power eroded Captain Dalin’s will, and that corruption continued to affect the three pirate groups.
The curse unleashed by the Church missionaries simply amplified this corruption infinitely, turning the three groups into Undead Monks.
There are two ways to lift the curse.
“The first is the one Miss Irabetha mentioned: sacrifice my bloodline, sever the oath, and remove the ghost ship’s influence over those who were once White Ship clansmen,” Captain Dalin continued. He looked at Stari with utmost seriousness. “The second way is to give the ghost ship a new master and completely free it from the Sea Angel’s corruption!”
Find a new master for the ghost ship? Ye Chui frowned.
Stari seemed to understand. “But Grandfather, haven’t you already thrown off the Sea Angel’s influence? Ye Chui removed those shadows from your body.”
“It’s not like that, my grandson.” Captain Dalin shook his head and glanced toward the cabin. “Those shadows and I have long since become one. President Ye Chui has only suppressed them temporarily; he cannot eliminate them completely. It’s different… The ghost ship must have a new master!”
Captain Dalin walked up to Stari and placed a hand on his shoulder.
“My grandson, you carry my bloodline. You are a descendant of the White Ship clan. The only one who can inherit the ghost ship is you!” His voice rose with excitement. “If you become the new master of the ghost ship, you will lift the Undead Monk curse and become patriarch of the White Ship clan. The oaths the three pirate groups once swore to the White Ship clan will compel them to obey your commands. You will inherit my mantle and become the Pirate King!”
“The Pirate King!? Me?” Stari was stunned.
On these seas, every soul has dreamed at least once of becoming the Pirate King. Stari was no exception; he had made finding the Pirate King’s treasure his life’s mission. And now he had the chance to become the real Pirate King!?
“But… how do I do it?” Stari’s breathing quickened; his voice trembled.
“This pendant is the token of the White Ship clan. Through it you can communicate with the White Ship and form a contract,” Stari’s grandfather explained.
Debbie suddenly understood and said curiously, “So that’s it. This pendant is like a heroic spirit relic. A summoner uses the relic to call the spirit and form a contract.”
Captain Dalin nodded. “Exactly. The phantom beasts of the Tidal Empire are essentially a variant of summoners, though with lower talent requirements than true summoners.” Seeing the worry in Stari’s eyes about whether he was capable, he added comfortingly, “As long as you firmly believe you can succeed, you will succeed. You carry my bloodline, so you possess the power to inherit the White Ship phantom beast!”
“I won’t let you down!” Stari clutched the pendant tightly, his face filled with determination.
Captain Dalin smiled. “I believe in you… The Sea Angel can sense my condition. It will soon come for us, possibly joining forces with the Tidal Empire navy and the Undead Monks. We don’t have much time. Next I will teach you in detail how to control a phantom beast!” He turned to Debbie, Bart, and Evans with a warm smile. “Miss Debbie, you are a summoner; my insights may help raise your abilities further. Bart and Evans, you belong to a branch of the Mad Dragon clan. Why not listen as well?”
“Really? That would be brilliant!” Debbie’s eyes lit up at once. She nodded eagerly.
Bart and Evans also agreed excitedly.
…
On the vast ocean, the ghost ship drifted alone.
Three days passed quickly.
In those three days the Sea Angel tracked them down five times. With Captain Dalin temporarily freed from the dark shadows, the Sea Angel sensed the change and attacked repeatedly. Each time the ghost ship barely escaped.
The Sea Angel seemed to realise what Dalin was attempting. To prevent the ghost ship from gaining a new captain, it rallied every force of the Church for a full-scale hunt.
Originally there had been five great pirate groups in the Gorge Sea. Besides the three cursed into Undead Monks, there remained the Missionary Pirate Group and the Sea Goddess Pirate Group.
The Missionary pirates were all Church missionaries. While the three great groups were weakened by the curse, they had entered the Tidal Empire, allied with certain phantom beast clans, staged a rebellion, and seized control of the government.
The Sea Goddess pirates had always been vicious cutthroats. After the rebellion they simply rebranded themselves as the Tidal Empire’s navy.
Now the Sea Goddess fleet and the Undead Monk legion had joined forces with the Sea Angel to hunt the ghost ship.
In a calm sea area near the Tidal Empire, when Ye Chui noticed ships closing in from all directions, they were already surrounded like turtles in a jar. The Sea Angel lurked beneath the surface, preventing any escape by diving.
“It seems our time has come…” Captain Dalin gazed at the approaching vessels and laughed freely.
To the west, accompanied by the roar of displaced water, the Sea Angel’s terrifying form rose on one side. It opened its frightful maw lined with razor-sharp teeth and let out a horrifying shriek.
“Grandfather!” Stari looked at Captain Dalin in worry. After three days together the initial estrangement had vanished completely; he now fully accepted their blood tie.
“Stari, my grandson, I believe you can do it. These seas need your protection.” Smiling, Captain Dalin solemnly placed the pendant into Stari’s hand. Within the clan this act symbolised inheritance: the previous White Ship patriarch formally passing the White Ship phantom beast to the next patriarch.
“But you…” Stari’s face was filled with concern. He now knew that if he became the new patriarch, Captain Dalin, whose soul had fused with the phantom beast, would finally die.
“My mission is complete. My wife, your grandmother, waits for me in the underworld.” Captain Dalin smiled gently. He embraced Stari, then Irabetha (whom he had come to regard these past days as his granddaughter-in-law), and finally bade a solemn farewell to Ye Chui and the others.
Then he drew the longsword at his waist, looked at the Sea Angel thrashing on the surface, and gave a cold, fearless smile. “Old friend, we’ve been tangled together for decades. Today we settle it once and for all!”
With those words he leapt into the sea. He stepped onto the water’s surface and charged straight at the Sea Angel.
“Hiss—hiss—” The Sea Angel let out piercing shrieks, whether from excitement or admiration for this decades-long foe, no one could tell.
Ye Chui and the others instinctively turned away.
Without the ghost ship, Captain Dalin was merely an ordinary undead spirit, no match for the Sea Angel. Yet his figure reminded Ye Chui of the scene in Pirates of the Caribbean when Captain Jack Sparrow faced the kraken alone, drew his sword, and charged into its maw.
Heroic. Worthy of the deepest respect!
“Stari, we’ll buy you time. Hurry and take control of the ghost ship!” Ye Chui quickly steadied his emotions and shouted.
Once Captain Dalin died completely, the ghost ship would soon vanish. Stari had to complete the inheritance ritual immediately.
Everyone readied themselves for battle. Debbie summoned Gilga. They faced the Sea Angel revealing its ferocious visage on the surface while the Undead Monks and Sea Goddess ships rapidly closed in, their fighting spirit burning high.
Stari gripped the pendant tightly and began praying as he had been taught these past days, trying to contact the White Ship and form a contract.
Waves rose across the sea. Dark clouds suddenly gathered in what had been a clear sky, perhaps because of the approaching Undead Monks. Thunder rumbled within them. Battle was imminent.
Sweat beaded on Stari’s forehead, yet no matter how earnestly he prayed, he could not sense even a trace of the White Ship phantom beast’s presence within the pendant.
“I am Captain Dalin’s grandson. The blood of the White Ship clan flows in me. I can do this. I won’t let Grandfather down. White Ship phantom beast, White Ship phantom beast, please hear my call!” he kept murmuring.
“The Sea Angel is preparing to attack us!” Ye Chui said gravely.
“Mr Ye Chui, I feel that Miss Debbie’s summoning abilities have improved these past few days, and my own power has been further unsealed… Perhaps there is a powerful sword skill I can attempt,” Gilga suddenly said to Ye Chui, staring solemnly at the Sea Angel.
“Really?” Ye Chui’s face lit up. “Great! Use your sword skill quickly. I need a little time to condense a World-Pacifier bomb.”
Debbie had indeed made great progress over the past few days. Constant battle had already raised her strength, and Captain Dalin’s insights had deepened her understanding of summoning.
Yet the girl was still anxious. She glanced at Stari, who was still desperately hypnotising himself with “I can do it” while trying to connect with the White Ship, then hurried to his side, deciding to give him proper guidance.
“Miss Debbie, why isn’t it working…” Stari asked, quickly wiping sweat from his brow when he saw her.
“Forming a contract with a heroic spirit isn’t as hard as you think. It’s actually very simple,” Debbie said, slipping automatically into teacher mode. She took the pendant from Stari’s hands, held it in both of hers, and began demonstrating while explaining:
“Summoning power isn’t some ultra-rare talent. Everyone actually possesses the potential to be a summoner; it’s just a question of whether you can awaken it. When the pendant is in your hand, you can feel every detail of its texture, but that’s not enough. You have to sense something deeper: the emotions it holds, the heritage it carries. When you catch that elusive aura, reach out and communicate with it. Use your will to dominate it, make it obey you. When your will is strong enough, it will respond. At that moment you must firmly grasp that aura and solidify it into a chain-like bond. That is the contract…”
As Debbie explained, she unconsciously closed her eyes. To make the demonstration more authentic, she genuinely attempted to form a contract with the White Ship herself.
She quickly sensed the faint aura within the pendant and began communicating, using her will to subdue it.
See? It’s just that simple.
You only need to tell it you’re strong and that you can bring out its power even greater.
Debbie had done this many times before. Years ago she had discovered Gilga’s relic and, in the same groundbreaking way, formed a contract with the mighty golden swordswoman. In the ruins of the Wealth Goddess, facing the gravely wounded Jiji, she had used this method to contract Jiji. And there was the ancestor of the Anduin family, the Joker, as well as the omnipotent housekeeper Aphra.
“…See? Forming a contract with a heroic spirit really is this straightforward.”
Debbie opened her eyes and continued speaking to Stari.
However…
Stari, Irabetha, and Leisha, the Dragon Turtle Three Treasures, and everyone else watching were all staring at Debbie with mouths agape.
“What’s wrong?” Debbie looked down at herself, then discovered that a faint white light was radiating from her body. A barely visible white chain extended from her and connected to the ghost ship beneath her feet…
The spirit contract had already been formed!
“Eh? Eh? How did this happen!?!?”
