Deep Sea Embers

On the deck of this steel battleship, six triple-barreled giant artillery guns acted as its main arsenal, with secondary turrets of smaller sizes acting as support. In this state of readiness, no mortal vessel would dare challenge this behemoth because it’s not only operated by the undead, but its captain was also an infamous pirate known worldwide.

But don’t assume they’re just rabbles that only know how to pillage and rob. The battleship was a tight vessel, and everything ran with swift precision below deck.

And that’s not all. In the tail end of the Sea Mist, a tiny church with its own independent broiler had also been performing a prayer.

The gloomy undead priest overseeing the ritual had lit the incense candle used to repel evil, allowing the blessings of the goddess to course through the steam pipes that stretched across the entire vessel.

Like the rest of the undead crew, the priest was also an old watery corpse with half of his skull smashed in on one side. However, one unique feature that differentiates him from the rest – those white eyeballs were mucked by two dark clouds, reflecting the faith of Gomona that’s still watching over him.

This was how a fully functioning ship worked in this modern age: utilizing a miniature church that endowed the vessel with the goddess’s blessing through the steam pipes created a vein-like structure that shields the ship from corruption. Truly a technological marvel that’s been tested in 1835 when a major event nearly destroyed an entire fleet if not for this structural design.

And from a certain point of view, the era of naval technological innovation could also be traced back to the 1800s, when the “Vanished” incident occurred. The most advanced exploration ship in human history directly plowed into subspace by losing its way, a piece of news big enough to warrant anyone’s attention.

The undead priest finally withdrew his gaze from the goddess’s statue after making the blessing. After half a century of not having beating heart, his numb and cold body was surprisingly restless at the thought of encountering the Vanished.

“May you shelter us from the darkness,” the priest bowed his head and prayed reverently for a second time, “we will confront the shadows of subspace head-on. Please bear witness…”

The electric bell on the side suddenly rang the second the prayer ended, and a small light flashed in front of the communication desk.

The priest came to the communication desk and turned on the copper tube corresponding to the small light: “This is the church… Yes, the grease and steam are ready, and the blessings have come.”

On the bridge, the captain of the Sea Mist, Tyrian Abnomar, stood quietly in the captain’s spot, overseeing the seemingly calm sea in the distance.

His eyes were aching with pain as a disturbing murmur echoed in his head. Tyrian knew why he’s suffering from this. Sitting beside his right hand was an intricate brass machine comprising many intermeshing gears, compass dials, and a small bowl at the center with the man’s blood.

First Mate Aiden came over from the side then, nodded to Tyrian, and reported: “Captain, the units are ready, and the church has reported in the goddess’s blessing is activated.”

“…… The Vanished is just ahead,” Tyrian whispered as if to himself and then glanced back at the brass machinery next to him, “I think ‘he’ must have sensed me too.”

First Mate Aiden’s gaze also fell on the brass machine, especially the boiling blood.

The pale-skinned bald man spoke with a low voice: “The blood compass will guide the reunion of those connected by blood, but this item never brings good luck and reunion… It points only to slaughter and desolation.”

“Fitting in this situation,” Tyrian said lightly. At the end of his field of vision, an ethereal black spot seemed to have loomed into view, “… It really came, pointing straight at Pland.”

“We can fire,” the first mate couldn’t help but remind, “actually, we could’ve done so just now.”

“…… No, keep getting closer until we’re in close range,” Tyrien shook his head. “We already tried it once half a century ago. The shelling from long distances will never fall on the Vanished. That ship is affected by some kind of distorted space-time, and anything outside of it will get warped by the distortion.”

Aiden lowered his head: “… Yes, the Sea Mist will continue to move forward.”

……

Duncan put down the binoculars in his hand, re-hung them around his waist, and then continued to hold the steering wheel tightly.

He saw the ship as well.

As its name suggests, the Sea Mist was surrounded by a thin layer of ice fog, which does not look like a normal phenomenon.

But what really surprised him though was not the layer of fog that seemed to be related to supernatural powers but the state of the ship itself.

It was a very advanced-looking steel battleship with heavy armor, towering chimneys, a well-structured and stylish bridge, and an advanced multi-mounted battery reminiscent of modern-day naval warships.

None of the Sea Mist resembled anything like the wooden galleon of the Vanished. In fact, he couldn’t even see a sailing mast on it, let alone a wooden hull.

This made him recall some rumors about the Sea Mist and Bright Star.

For example, Tyrian’s warship was a monster that grew and transformed by devouring metal alloys. As to where it gets the metal? That’s simple, the ships it vanquished and the alloys found on the seabed.

Now it seems that these rumors were born with a reason…

Duncan shook his head, temporarily putting aside the thoughts that were out of tune with the situation.

The Sea Mist had no intention of backing down and seemed ready for battle. Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to make a detour either, meaning a confrontation was inevitable.

Duncan didn’t know much about naval warfare, but in theory, he didn’t have to worry about combat – the cannons on the Vanished could handle everything independently. Even so, it doesn’t mean he could remain calm like an experienced pirate. He’s still, what’s the word? Excited? Nervous?

Tyrian Abnomar, captain of the Sea Mist, is one of Captain Duncan’s children. Theoretically, Duncan’s current identity meant he’s the father of the pirate leader, and no father would want to confront their children in this manner.

Isn’t that ship supposed to stay in the cold sea?

Shouldn’t you be busy looting homes and collecting protection fees?

What’s the deal in coming here?

Tyrian looking for Daddy? Father and son reunion?

“Captain,” came the voice of Goathead suddenly, sounding a little… excited, “The Sea Mist has begun to enter its firing stance. Shall we adjust our positioning?”

Adjust the orientation, avoid the first direct fire coverage of the opposing weapon, and enter the combat position with the least hull projection while bringing as many of their own weapons into firing angle – Goathead was clearly ready for an artillery battle.

Duncan raised his eyebrows: “You sound like you’re looking forward to it?”

“The Sea Mist is a good opponent. First of all, it can’t beat us. Secondly, it dares to fight us,” the wooden sculpture sounded pleased. “Finally, the Sea Mist is very durable regarding a beatdown. That ship is full of the living dead. Even if the ship itself is tainted with a little ‘unsinkable’ characteristic, it’s still a far cry from the dominance of the Vanished. There’s no better practice board for us.”

“…… In short, you want to give the kid a beating lesson, right?” Duncan said blandly.

Exactly then, the ghost captain had caught sight of the fog dispersing apart from the Sea Mist. Then shortly after that, a sharp whistling sound sounded from the metal beast, followed by the chugging of the mechanical engine of the Sea Mist running at full throttle. It’s declaring war!

As expected, the Sea Mist fired first. As a steel ship that’s technologically more advanced than the Vanished, its weapons range could walk circles around the old wooden galleon under Duncan’s control.

This preemptive strike instantly sent the ghost captain into a nervous wreck inside, which any normal person should be in. Numerous water columns rose up from the sea over the bombardment, shaking even the hull of the Vanished from the recoil.

Yet, none of them fell on the Vanished itself. The Sea Mist’s first round of shots had all been missed!

Now, this left Duncan wondering, wondering if this was how ancient naval battles ensued. Since there are no guided missile weapons in this world nor highly complex computers to help handle the angles, it would be safe to assume the hit rate to be only at this extent.