In the Gorge Sea region.
The Ocean Goddess pirate crew was merely a loose alliance of ordinary pirates. Though numerous and decently equipped, among the five great pirate crews of the Gorge Sea theirs had always been the lowest in prestige. Even after pledging themselves to the Church and swelling their numbers, they stood no chance against the combined assault of the now curse-free Red Beard, Black Sail, and Watchers crews, especially with the panic caused by the Sea Angel’s destruction. The massive pirate fleet suffered a crushing defeat in no time. Most pirates simply surrendered.
One-Arm himself was personally cut down by Red Beard, ending the battle.
According to Red Beard and the others, surrendered pirates should just be thrown overboard to feed the fish. After all, they were pirates too, but the three crews descended from the White Ship clan considered themselves a cut above. They had never thought highly of the despicable Ocean Goddess crew.
Ye Chui stopped them.
It was not out of kindness. These surrendered pirates were a considerable force. Properly used, they could be very useful.
What? You worry they might turn on us later? That’s just pirate nature! Simple. Introduce them to the Akatosh Cult and the problem’s solved…
Thus, the surrendered pirates were absorbed into the three great crews. Of course, “absorbed” did not mean instant membership. They would need a long probation period.
After a brief reorganisation, the vast armada set sail for the Tidal Empire. Two days later, the hazy outline of the empire’s border came into view, and countless islands began dotting the sea around them.
Yet as they reached coastal waters, every ship came to a halt.
Ye Chui stepped onto the deck of Red Beard’s vessel and saw something strange ahead. Though the sea around them was calm with gentle ripples, the water in front was perfectly still, like glass or frozen seawater. Extremely odd.
“It seems news of the Sea Angel’s death, our liberation from the curse, and the annihilation of the Ocean Goddess crew has already reached the Tidal Empire,” Red Beard said gravely, gazing at the strange sea ahead. “They have activated the [National Lockdown Grand Array]!”
Red Beard had a thick red beard, but he was not old, only in his mid-thirties. “Red Beard” was a hereditary title. The first Red Beard had been a clan member who followed Captain Dalin. When Dalin became the ghost ship, that man took the name Red Beard and turned pirate. The current one was the third generation.
Black Sail and Watchers followed the same tradition, fourth and sixth generations respectively.
To inherit the title of Red Beard, one needed a magnificent beard, and it had to be red… Ye Chui discovered how the colour was achieved one morning when he saw Red Beard washing his beard in fish blood. Out of kindness, and because the perpetual fishy smell on three generations of Red Beards was a bit much, Ye Chui exchanged for a bottle of orange hair dye and gifted it to him. Red Beard treasured it like gold. After just a few days together, he already treated Ye Chui like a brother.
“The National Lockdown Grand Array?” Hearing the name, Ye Chui was stunned. He exchanged glances with his companions. Such a grandiose name had to mean something powerful!
“You’ve surely heard of the Water Spirit among the Twelve Mythical Beasts,” Red Beard continued. “The National Lockdown Grand Array works by awakening the Water Spirit, completely sealing the waters around the Tidal Empire. Under its control, ships cannot sail the coastal seas at all.”
“Cannot sail? Why?” Debbie asked.
“Let me demonstrate.” Red Beard had a crewman bring a wooden bucket. Normally it would float, but when Red Beard tossed it into the sealed waters ahead, the bucket sank straight to the bottom. “Small boats entering that area sink instantly,” he explained. “Larger ships are forcibly repelled.”
“That powerful?” Ye Chui and the others were shocked. As the only island empire among the seven great empires, many things here were completely beyond their expectations. Debbie frowned. “I’m afraid even the Black Pearl plus my ghost ship spirit wouldn’t be able to sail through.”
“This is the fearsome grand array the Tidal Empire activates only when facing foreign invasion,” Red Beard said. “Several hundred years ago, when the Church repeatedly attacked the Tidal Empire, the people created the National Lockdown Grand Array and successfully repelled them. The Water Spirit is actually the central will of the array.” He looked troubled. “It seems entering the Tidal Empire smoothly won’t be easy. But don’t worry, I do have one method.”
Ye Chui looked at him curiously.
Red Beard continued, “Though the array envelops the entire empire, there are still weak points. For example, the eastern border is perpetually shaded from the sun and covered in ice and snow, forming the famous Poor Scholar Mountain of the Tidal Empire. The lockdown is weakest there. We can land and climb the great snowy peak. It would take at most a month to reach the interior. I hear that during the war with the Church, a thousand missionaries entered this way, and over five hundred survived.”
Ye Chui and company: “…”
“…Hey, a fifty-per-cent success rate is already pretty impressive, okay,” Red Beard muttered, awkwardly stroking his beard. “It’s the only way. Or you could wait. Once the array is active, coastal fishermen can’t fish, so the empire can’t maintain it forever… Otherwise your only option is to fly over.”
“Then we’ll fly!” Ye Chui had already made up his mind.
“Fly?” Red Beard blinked. “The sealed waters are over a hundred li wide. Neither wind nor space magic can cross that distance in one go… Even your dragon couldn’t fly that far without stopping.”
“Don’t worry, we have a flying magic vehicle.” Ye Chui smiled and walked to the rail.
The Black Pearl was moored alongside. They had come aboard Red Beard’s ship just to talk.
Ye Chui waved at the Black Pearl. The massive ship rapidly shrank, condensing in mid-air into a palm-sized miniature model that floated into his hand. Its built-in pocket mode.
Every pirate nearby gawked in astonishment. What shocked them even more was what happened next. Just as Ye Chui was about to store the model away, Baby Elf ran over excitedly, waving her little arms. “Toy boat! Daddy, I want to play!”
“Here you go!”
Ye Chui casually tossed the Black Pearl model to her.
Some supreme magic constructs could shrink for easy carrying. The Black Pearl was clearly one of them, proof of its priceless value. Yet such a precious ship was being used as a child’s toy…
While the pirates were still reeling from the Black Pearl, the next sight completely shattered their worldview: Ye Chui leapt into the sea, froze a patch of water into solid ice, then pulled a uniquely styled flying magic vehicle from his storage space and set it down on the ice!
His original flying vehicle had been destroyed bombing Eliza. Later, after unlocking the Marvel series, he exchanged a hefty sum of points for the Avengers’ Quinjet. Its performance was incredible. In the films it had flown the Hulk straight into space…
Debbie and the others happily jumped down from the ship and boarded the Quinjet. Stari and Ilabella stayed behind on Red Beard’s vessel. They would not be much help in the coming adventure and would be safer here.
When the Quinjet roared into the sky and vanished in a streak across the horizon, every pirate stood speechless for a long time.
“So this is the style of an Almighty Magister…”
Red Beard finally sighed. “He really can do any damn thing!”
…
Though the Quinjet was extremely advanced, its magic consumption was far lower than Ye Chui’s previous vehicle, mainly because of its compact size. It perfectly accommodated the current members of the Random Magic Guild. Of course, using its top speed or combat functions would dramatically increase consumption, but simply crossing the sealed waters only required Ye Chui, Guni, and Salome to supply magic power.
The vehicle even had bedrooms and lounges. Truly perfect.
Flying at a moderate speed, they crossed more than a hundred li of ocean in just over an hour. The Quinjet appeared above the island nation’s territory.
Ye Chui consulted a Tidal Empire map obtained from Red Beard, matched their current position, and had Epod pilot toward a marked location.
The place was called the Ancestral Shrine.
The Tidal Empire had two most sacred sites. One was the Zenith Palace where the Emperor and Empress resided, essentially the imperial palace. The other was the Ancestral Shrine.
The Ancestral Shrine served as the empire’s equivalent of a cathedral. Generations of the Witch clan among the Twelve Mythical Beasts trained there. Imperial daughters were usually sent there as well. With the empire now in rebellion and the Emperor and Empress imprisoned, the best way to break the deadlock was to visit the Ancestral Shrine first and seek the heirs of the Witch clan!
“Witches, huh…” Ye Chui gazed at the scenery below through the monitor and could not help muttering, “I wonder if we’ll meet any shrine maidens?”
