C14 the ghostly mist

Time swept over the Crescent like a fluttering current, and it was like a gentle but inexorable magic that manifested itself in all men with magical

power.

It lengthened the sailors' beards, gave their bodies a sour odor, and turned their clothes dirty and disheveled.

But the magic seemed to bypass the only woman on the ship, who was doing nothing in the room the first mate had vacated for her.

It was not her intention, and if she could, then she would certainly like to accompany the king and busy herself, showing off her competence and charm.

But the people on the ship took good care of her, especially the first mate, Hillpeter, who didn't even assign her work in stormy weather.

The polar opposite of her treatment is Walter.

Albert's orders were followed well by Hilpeter, who did not get into any degree of head-on conflict with Walter, but his abuse of duty

authority was a little hard to watch even for Jimmy, who had just come aboard.

For example, Walter was made to climb up on the watchtower in windy weather to perform a watch that was not necessary in such weather; for example, Walter was made to go out on deck in the middle of a rainstorm to check the drains over and over again; for example, Walter was made to suffocate in the food stowage compartments to keep the food safe from the rats.

Such situations occurred almost every day.

Although bullying of new crew members by old crew members could happen on any flying ship, these actions of Hilpeter were clearly an attempt to provoke Walter.

Walter.

Albert had warned Hilpeter not to go too far, but Hilpeter shrugged his shoulders in a how-don't-you-understand-me kind of way.

"Someone has to do all the work, and I'm doing it so he can get acclimated to life on a flying boat sooner."

In reality, Albert was perfectly capable of ordering Hilpeter to stop fooling around as a captain, but he also had a selfish motive.

He wanted to see with his own eyes what kind of battle prowess the king's guards would have after being enraged.

As for Hillpeter, Albert wasn't worried about his safety, he was a Rotter who grew up on the Lost Island.

However, twenty days of harassment over nothing didn't make Walter riot, he still kept that poker face, methodically executing

He still kept his poker face and methodically carried out the orders of the first mate, Hilpeter.

In the captain's room, Albert sighed as he looked at the downtrodden royal family in front of him who had been completely reduced to a crew member.

Upton had completely lost his gentleman's bottom line, his decent shirt was open with two buttons, revealing his pectoral muscles with sticky sweat.

The blonde hair was no longer flowing, they were pursed back and greased in wisps.

"This thing it's not that simple, this range I've marked is actually quite large, we'll have to find an empty island to use as a supply jumping off point in all directions first."

Upton exhaled, his expression a little disheveled.

"That's too slow ...... Albert, that's too slow."

"Slow can't be helped, if we don't find any empty islands that can supply us in three days, then we'll have to go back and change course to the demarcated area."

Just as Upton covered his head in bitter thought, an urgent knock sounded on the door.

"Captain! The haunted house is here!"

Albert sprang up and rushed out of the room, and Upton reacted in short order, running out after him.

However, Jimmy, who had come to the door in a hurry to report the news, stopped at the door, he looked at the small slit that the captain's room door was open, and after standing there for a few seconds, he clenched his teeth and stretched out his hand.

On the bridge, Albert looked at the huge volume of fog in front of him and frowned.

Based on the current speed and altitude, it was already impossible to avoid it.

"Full battle readiness! Connie! Descend quickly!"

Before Hilpeter could pass the order towards the microphone, Ampton on the side pulled him back.

"Wait! This fog is too big! Look down there."

Following the direction of Upton's finger, the crew on the bridge saw the white fog that was almost connected to the blue sea.

Everyone knew what would happen if they entered the Aqua Sea, and that long-standing legend and what they had seen over the years of sailing reminded them that there was something even more frightening than death there.

"Hilpeter! Execute the order!"

The orders were passed down one by one, the Crescent Moon began to descend, the crew began to arm themselves, even Vivian, who had never been assigned any tasks, was sent out to

Vivian, who had never been assigned any task, was also handed out weapons.

Walter, however, who had always obeyed orders, uncharacteristically refused Hilpeter's orders, and ran to the bridge, where he stood beside Upton with a

face sullen.

"Connie! That new thing of yours better work!"

Albert muttered, gripping the armrests and staring at the approaching ghostly mist.

The Crescent's airbags were expelling the plume, but still not efficient enough to avoid the ghostly fog, and the white patch quickly swept over the Crescent and surrounded it.

Albert stared at the altimeter and motioned for Connie to reduce speed as the crew busied themselves on deck and the auxiliary sails were quickly furled.

With his whole body focused, he gripped the helm and tried to keep the descent as steady as possible.

The light suddenly grew dim in the haze, and Albert looked up, startled.

He jerked the tiller as hard as he could to avoid the figure, but the flying ship's response could not keep up with his reactions.

"Ghost ship! Engage the gangway!"

Several thuds came from the ship, and then the Crescent Moon shook violently as its bow began to tilt downward.

Everyone's faces stared in silence as they listened to the shouts of crew reports coming from the comms.

"Attack on the aft deck, two steel spears!"

Before Albert had time to react, there were a few more thumps, he stabilized himself and looked at the front deck, three steel spears were stuck in the front deck, the crew members who were tied with safety ropes were jumping at the steel spears, waving their weapons in their hands to try to cut the ropes connecting the steel spears.

Albert controlled the Crescent Moon so that the deck side of the ship was facing the huge black shadow in the ghost fog, so that even if it was hit by the steel spears again, the crew on the deck could cut the ropes in time to avoid being boarded by the ghost soldiers.

However, the degree of flexibility of the ghost ship with huge black shadow far exceeded everyone's imagination.

It moved sideways for a moment, and just as the Crescent Moon was struggling to follow it, it suddenly disappeared and appeared on the other side of the Crescent Moon.

side.

With a few more thuds, several steel spears with ice slag stuck in the forward section of the Crescent's starboard side.

The crew, tied to safety ropes, rushed to the starboard side as they leapt down, ready to cut the ropes.

But because of the Crescent's earlier maneuver, they were by now thrown over the port side, and the time it took to cross the deck deprived them of a head start in the battle.

Although Albert couldn't see it, the sounds of clashing swords and hissing and roaring had already entered his ears, and with his brow furrowed, he jerked the rudder in an attempt to shake off the boarding ghost soldiers while keeping up with the ghost ship's movements.

Despite the decisive series of countermeasures by Albert and the crew, one after another ghost soldiers tumbled onto the deck.

They were ragged, exposed bones, and had a layer of white frost on them;

The cutlasses they wielded were rusty, but glittered with cold light;

They lunged at the crew with their mouths wide open, and a ho-ho-ho hiss escaped their lips, like the desperate gasp of a dying man.

Albert's face grimaced as he turned the helm again, sending the Crescent tilting toward the other side.

"Hilpeter! On!"

Hilpeter drew his scimitar and rushed out of the bridge, and several crew members followed suit, battling the ghost soldiers who were already dead.

The scimitar almost swung out of the shadow in Hillpeter's hand, and the simple and direct slashes combined with his brutal and fierce punching style made him invincible on the deck.

The simple and direct slashes with his brutal and fierce fighting style made him invincible on the deck.

More steel spears came, bringing more ghost soldiers.

Luckily, these ghost soldiers were not knights clad in armor, and their cold and withered bodies made them easier to kill.

But those frosted scimitars in their hands were sharp, not unlike the weapons in the hands of the crew.

Gradually, people were wounded, hung, bled, and even cried out in pain.

The battle on the deck gradually scorched, and the battle between the ghost ship and the Crescent Moon also continued.

Against several attempts to pick up the ghost ship, the Crescent, under Albert's control, stubbornly twisted its massive body.

Time and time again, tragic situations that seemed inevitable to Ampton to bite were defused by Albert - by Albert.

As it decreased in altitude, and after a mournful wail, the ghostly vessel again vanished into the fog, leaving only an indifferent black shadow, as if

a beast gazing at its prey at the edge of its territory.

However, Albert did not have any joy of escaping from death, he knew that the real test had just begun.

"Everyone! Cover your ears! Close your eyes! Shrink your bodies! Don't look! Don't listen! Don't think!

Repeat my words! No one stops without my order!"

The crewmen hanging out of the ship shrank into a ball, those on deck put their arms through the railings to cover their ears, and even Ampton on the bridge covered his ears and crouched in a corner, desperately trying to hold himself together.

All the crew repeated Albert's orders aloud, and the voices mingled together like a mournful bravura.

"Still not well! Connie!"

Albert hissed.

He eyed the rapidly fading mist and knew that the Crescent was falling inexorably into the blue sea.

A sudden great thrust came and Albert's hand nearly let go of the helm; he steadied himself, freed his other hand, and pulled repeatedly on the

aside the drawbar.

"Did you open the filler valve?"

"Opened it!"

"Well you cover your ears too!"

The fog suddenly disappeared and what appeared in front of Albert was the blue sea close at hand.

Such close proximity caused Albert to curse as he desperately pulled the lever repeatedly, betting all his hopes on Connie drumming up that

a new gadget.

The Crescent, which had broken out of the fog, had spread its auxiliary sails, and instead of falling in a straight line, it traced an arc of little curvature. Albert made a series of maneuvers, and the bow of the Crescent Moon was leveled and swept close to the canopy of the blue sea.

In the newly mounted jet port behind it, orange-colored flames shot out from time to time, sometimes shooting out strands of smoke.

On the deck, the corpses of the ghost soldiers hanging there quickly crumbled and drifted away like sand blown by the wind after seeing the weak sunlight.

The crew was still repeating Albert's orders, but their voices, which had come together, now sounded disorganized, like a group of fearful

whispering sobs in fear.

Albert clutched the helm, his eyes lax and gasping violently.

The whispers of the Beyhive came into his mind again, and it drove him into a trance.

"Brat, wash your hands first."

"Brother, look!"

"Always remember to press the clutch first ......"

"Albert! I made a date for you with Jenny, how about we go to the movies tonight?"

His mother, his sister, his father, and even the coworkers who always tried to help him get out of the house appeared in Albert's mind, and along with them, the scene.

Albert could smell the sweet aroma of apple pie, feel his sister's hot cheeks and his father's strong hands, and even see the excitement in his coworkers' eyes.

the reflection of himself in the excited eyes of his colleague.

Likewise, he could see the car accident, his parents who were killed in the accident, his sister who was devastated, and the silent man at the funeral.

and the silent family and friends at that funeral.

"No! I must not die in a place like this!"

With a struggle, Albert's entire body lurched to the side, and after regaining consciousness, Albert hurriedly grabbed the helm to avoid the Crescent Moon from veering off course.

Wearing a ragged breath, he looked at the crew swinging out, stabilized himself, and began to sing.

It was a song from his world, one that depicted sailors as they battled the storm.

But he didn't sing for long before he stopped.

Not because he didn't need to brace himself, but because what appeared before him was something ten thousand times more terrifying than the storm.

It was a pitch-black arm reaching out into the blue sea.

It was like the arm in a child's drawing, huge, withered, with disproportionately long and weirdly curved fingers.

As the arm opened, large clusters of black sticky material fell down, and they landed on the wide canopy of the blue sea, emitting gusts of blue

smoke.

It blocked the course of the Crescent Moon, its five fingers open, as if waiting for the Crescent Moon to fly into its palm.