The midday sun hung in the northern center of the sky, without a single cloud. In the azure background, there was only one large black bird, stretching its wide wings, soaring between the sea and the sky.
The scorching sunlight fell on the sparkling sea, reflecting enchanting colors.
This was an empty expanse of sea, from the immediate foreground all the way to the horizon, nothing abrupt or unusual could be seen, only a rich, deep blue.
The gentle sea breeze brushed across the water, drawing out schools of flying fish that, facing the sun, flapped their wide fins with a crackling sound.
What startled these small creatures was not some ferocious marine predator, but a three-masted sailing ship, a hundred meters in length.
A black sailing ship resting quietly on the sea.
The hull was entirely black and shiny. The dark hull seemed glazed, gleaming brightly under the sun.
The first two main masts held five dim square sails, while the last mast held a large triangular fore-and-aft sail; the sails were fully unfurled, yet the black ship remained eerily still, not moving an inch. The sea for several miles around was calm.
On the stern deck, there was a lantern, its light weak and green. But even in this clear, sunny sky, that lamp emitted a dazzling glow, enveloping the entire ship in its aura.
Several thick ropes were tightly fastened to the mast at the bow, which slanted upwards towards the sky, running the entire length of the black ship and securely bound to the thick mast in the center of the ship.
Beneath the bowsprit, a figurehead of a female demon with clasped hands was placed.
The demon's crimson eyes glowed faintly, her expression lifelike, her entire body as white as jade, forming a stark contrast with the black ship. She was clad only in a thin veil, yet a thick, crimson iron chain was wrapped around her neck and arms, encircling her body.
Dozens of large, fine-scaled snakes, as thick as a child's arm, coiled around her head. At this moment, these lovers of cold caves were listlessly drooping their bodies under the scorching sun, flicking their tongues, hanging from the spear-like mast at the bow.
Warm days always make people feel lazy.
Laziness can breed a drowsy atmosphere.
The deck was empty, with no diligent crew members wiping it, and even the ropes hanging from the mast were too lazy to sway.
A coarse cloth lounge chair was placed on the cabin roof.
On the lounge chair, a black-haired young man in a pink POLO shirt and white-and-green floral beach shorts had an open copy of “Ms. Duoduo” covering his face. Faint snores could be heard from beneath the magazine.
Directly behind the sleeping young man, on the main mast, hung a bald, burly man in coarse cloth shorts, his head drooping, motionless, without a trace of life. His arms were spread wide, like a crucified Jesus, and his muscular body was covered in scars.
To the front of the port side, a tall, blond young man leaned against the railing. He held a thick cigar in his mouth, his eyes narrowed, motionless, staring at the fishing rod in front of him.
Perhaps he was the only conscious person on deck.
The black sailing ship was moored solitarily in this calm sea, with only rolling waves as far as the eye could see. Besides fishing, this awake fellow found no other pleasure.
But even this small pleasure slowly dissolved under the intense sunlight.
"Damn it!" the blond youth cursed angrily.
His fishing rod hadn't had a chance to reel in since morning; the calm sea was like a blue glass, without the slightest ripple. The piece of intestine hanging on the hook hadn't even attracted a green-headed fly.
"Have these wizards been doing too many poisonous experiments lately, so much so that even flies hate their flesh and blood?" the blond youth speculated maliciously, raising his head in boredom.
Then he saw the black speck circling high in the sky.
"That damned feathered beast!" The youth took a deep drag from his cigar.
It was all that big bird's fault.
He lifted his eyelids, glanced at the black speck in the sky with his crimson eyes, and exhaled a heavy smoke ring.
In the center of the smoke ring, the large bird casually stretched its wings.
Ever since the Captain discovered a pair of Wizard's eyes hanging overhead, he had ordered everyone to raise the sails and drop anchor.
So the black ship was stopped in this place where only a bird could defecate.
Normally at this time, everyone should be on the white beaches of the Mediterranean, listening to Siren singing ballads, slaughtering two Minotaurs kept by the Moonlight Council, and expressing praises to the beautiful moon.
But because of a big bird, everything was ruined.
"Harry!" The blond youth threw the half-smoked cigar into the sea, staring at the lounge chair on the cabin roof, and shouted angrily, "Have you really not stolen any bird eggs lately? That feathered beast has been circling above us for three days!"
The snoring from beneath “Ms. Duoduo” paused. The young man in the pink POLO shirt covered his ears with his hands, mumbled a few words, turned his body, and presented his backside to the blond youth by the ship's side, continuing to enjoy the tranquility under the sun.
The blond youth narrowed his eyes again.
A hint of blood flashed in his pupils, and a violent smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Three days of pent-up anger only needed a baseless reason to explode.
Perhaps after the fight, both of them would be severely beaten by the Captain and then hung on the mast to be air-dried.
But if he didn't act, he worried that the accumulated fire in his heart would burn him to ashes.
The blond youth rubbed his palms together, producing a series of fine popping sounds.
The young man in the pink POLO shirt, with his back to him, tensed all his muscles, and the snoring from beneath “Ms. Duoduo” vanished without a trace.
The fine-scaled snakes hanging from the bowsprit seemed to sense something, raising their necks and hissing their tongues at the blond youth and the pink-shirted youth.
The bald head of the burly man hanging from the mast swayed slightly.
For a moment, the deck fell into a peculiar silence.
Then, with a 'pop', a soft sound like a bubble being pricked came from the bow, breaking the silence on the deck.
A graceful figure shimmered into existence at the tip of the bowsprit with that soft sound.
The hurried sound of Dongdong's high heels echoed as this figure cat-walked and then jogged across the mast.
As this figure passed the base of the mast, she snorted coldly and stomped her foot heavily. The fine-scaled snakes coiled around the mast watched their companion stomped into two pieces, hissing in terror, scattering and rolling back onto the head of the demon figurehead.
"Nikita, after a few years, your temper has grown a lot." The blond youth's gaze followed the severed piece of snake flesh as it fell into the sea, his tone quite unfriendly: "Since when could Lich King's people run wild on the high seas?"
The calm sea began to churn. A swarm of small white fish, like foam, engulfed the piece of snake flesh. Before a drop of blood could spill, the snake flesh melted into the snow-like foam.
