Flap, flap, flap—

First, dozens of white seagulls spread their wings and swooped down from the clouds, each clutching a vial in their claws. However, this time Aiven learned from the previous aerial assault on the "Eagle Spirit", instructing the seagulls to peck open the glass bottles mid-air.

In an instant, the light golden liquid turned into a thin mist, gently scattering downwards.

Simultaneously, seagulls skimmed swiftly over the sea surface from both sides of the battleship, and just before reaching the ship's sides, they suddenly ascended, dropping the vials through the open gun ports on the lower deck.

Pop!

The battleship, inside and out, was instantly shrouded in this light golden mist.

Sizzle—

"Aargh—!!!"

As if doused with a splash of concentrated sulfuric acid, a mass of "corpse monsters" on the ship, regardless of whether they still retained any intelligence, couldn't help but let out agonizing wails with their decayed vocal cords.

Even former powerful extraordinaries like the "Leopard Cat" Luunk and "Bone Breaker" Tampas couldn't escape unscathed. Although their physical defenses offered more resistance to the Holy Water.

On the other hand, the living pirates of the "Iron Bone", entangled with the corpse monsters, seemed as if they had encountered a downpour after a long drought, their spirits and vigor significantly revitalized in the mist, allowing them to hold on tenaciously against the assault of the "corpse monsters"!

"Kill!"

"Uha—!"

Undoubtedly, that light golden liquid was the Church's specialty, the military-exclusive "No. 3 Holy Water"!

It wasn't that Aiven was more clever than Milan, capable of foreseeing his encounter with these "dead".

Rather, in this era with relatively undeveloped medical conditions, Holy Water, with its functions of exorcism, blessing, healing, and more, is an essential panacea for long voyages. Often, it proves more reliable than quack doctors who treat with alcohol and bloodletting.

Ships with a bit of means and connections would prepare a few bottles.

At most, Aiven merely leveraged his good "relationship" with the Church to... ahem... acquire a little more.

As the "corpse monsters" on both the lower gun decks and the main deck were simultaneously damaged, and the firepower system lost personnel control and temporarily fell silent, a large and prominent thick fog rushed towards the two conjoined pirate ships.

With favorable winds, the speed of both warships was extremely fast, especially without obstruction from the battleship's artillery, soon closing in on the "Skeleton Tomb".

Boom! Boom!

The three smaller ships encircled the battleship, which relied heavily on its firepower for its dominance. Now with its cannons silenced, it was merely a large water fortress.

At this moment, its combat capability could only rely on the "corpse monsters" aboard.

"Board! Jump across!"

By this point, there was no need to leave anyone on guard. With a do-or-die spirit, the two ships "Conch" and "Big Thumb" put all two hundred-plus crew members into the fight.

"The head is their weak spot, attack!"

Bam! Bam! Bam!...

The appearance and numbers of the corpse monsters seemed intimidating, but the battleship's total capacity was evident, normally staffed with about 350 people. Even if these "corpse monsters" could withstand harsher conditions, at most, there were four or five hundred of them.

Moreover, most were "monsters" that only used claws and teeth for attacks, holding no absolute advantage against the navy advancing in three-person formations, especially after the chilling wave of Holy Water weakened their defense significantly.

Under coordinated attacks from Aiven's crew, skilled in swordsmanship, the numerically superior "corpse monsters" were actually at a disadvantage, allowing the pirates of the "Iron Bone" to finally catch a breath.

"Be careful, it's not just Basem who is an extraordinary. There are other extraordinaries on the ship that he has already turned into 'corpse monsters'!"

William loudly warned the navy charging onto the deck, as intelligence sharing was the priority, now that everyone was in the same boat.

At this point, it was irrelevant to question why the unexpected reinforcements turned out to be navy they had once encountered. At least, being somewhat "familiar" was better than unknown pirates or demons prying into living souls.

"First Mate, you command, eliminate these ordinary 'corpse monsters'. Milan, Gary, let's confront that Great Pirate together!"

"As you command, Sir!"

William's reminder was unnecessary; with sea birds around, Aiven's crew was already well-informed of the movements on the pirate ship. They had long devised strategies for the unexpectedly appearing two extraordinary "corpse monsters".

"Captain William, please handle the 'Leopard Cat' Luunk, leave the rest to us."

Hearing Aiven's instructions, William found this young Navy Captain, whom he had once crossed swords with, increasingly elusive in understanding.

Originally, he thought that despite their duty to combat pirates, they would at least involve him in the assault on the ship's strongest presence, Basem, but surprisingly, they assigned him an opponent merely matching his own capabilities.

Although he lacked complete assurance of victory, he was confident enough to remain undefeated in the short term.

"Ah ka ka ka, who would've thought, new guests aboard my ship?"

With home advantage and sufficient confidence in his power, Basem hadn't moved a step so far.

Even though the "corpse monsters" suffered from attacks by Holy Water, harboring potent positive energy, he remained unconcerned, knowing that as long as they returned to their coffin-like environment in the lower hull to recuperate, they would gradually recover.

However, when he glanced at the few who approached voluntarily, his gaze skipped over Aiven, landing directly on Milan beside him.

"Ah! Ah ka ka ka...!!!"

Basem suddenly burst into laughter without any warning, revealing once again that disgusting, snake-like tongue covered in black patterns. Although the laughter was piercing, the joy within was unmistakable.

"An official-level 'Prophet'? Truly a destiny's arrangement, delivering a perfect material during my critical moment to ascend as a Deceitful Fate Wizard! Ah ka ka ka..."

Even if sacrificing treasured materials like the "Leopard Cat", "Bone Breaker", and "Iron Bone" were necessary, Basem was convinced that with Milan, an official wizard of the Prophetic School, alone, his "Corpse Bone Altar" could be completed in excess.

Through a perfect "Corpse Bone Altar" advancement ritual, he was certain to gain destiny's favor, successfully advancing to a Tier 3 "Deceitful Fate Wizard".

Milan had already shared all the information about this bizarre profession with Aiven.

"Tier 1: Corpse of the Living Dead. Ritual: 1. Revive from the grave on the first full moon night three days after death without anyone's help.

Tier 2: 'Tomb Guard'. Ritual: 1. Survive for a month within a tomb inhabited only by corpses, without any food or water. 2, ...

Tier 3: Deceitful Fate Wizard gains, through the perfect 'Corpse Bone Altar' ritual, the ability to avert prophesied misfortunes and acquire a formidable power called "Substitute Fate"...

Although this extraordinary profession's main strength lies in 'Destiny', because it constantly accompanies death, a part of its power also extends into the domain of death.

This is an extraordinary profession that combines both the physical side and the mysterious side, and is why the name Wizard is used despite its eerie nature.

Not to mention the peculiarity of it, even considering the early-stage combat ability alone, Milan's Prophetic School is frankly quite inferior.

It's no surprise that Milan, usually unyielding, was so determined to rid of this guy once and for all!

Earlier, Milan had already shared with Aiven all intelligence about this bizarre profession.

Although the main strength of this extraordinary profession hinges on "fate", due to its constant association with death, part of its power also extends into the domain of death.

At Tier 1, it grants the "Corpse of the Living Dead", with immense strength residing between life and death. At Tier 2, it holds the ability to create "corpse monsters". By Tier 3, it can harness multiple lives, or even lifetimes, using the formidable power known as "Substitute Fate".

The peculiarity of this path, especially its early-stage combat power makes Milan's Prophetic School seem like a bunch of wimps.

No wonder Milan was uncharacteristically resolute about taking out this guy!

Previously, Milan had already shared all the intelligence of this eerie profession with Aiven.

"""

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