On the observation deck of the passenger ship, a sharp and loud horn sounded, penetrating the obstacles formed by wind and rain and waking up all the passengers.
They didn't have time to put on their clothes, so they ran to the window in their coats, pajamas, or barefoot to look at the situation outside.
Half of them soon saw the huge three-masted sailing ship that was contrary to common sense, saw the three black sails, and saw the dim yellow balls swaying in the dark environment.
With the whistling wind, the pattering rain, and the night sky without a red moon or stars, many passengers felt as if the other side was driving out of hell, bringing with it unspeakable terror and majesty.
"Black Emperor"!
After a brief moment of stagnation and panic, this term emerged in their minds.
Anyone who has had some experience at sea and lived in the port cities of major colonies for a period of time knows more or less the existence of such a pirate ship!
"Oh, the storm is with you and me."
"May the goddess bless you!"
"Steam on top!"
…
Prayers rang out subconsciously, full of fear and helplessness.
These passengers knew very well that the owner of the "Black Emperor" was the one with the highest bounty on the five seas and was in some sense the king of pirates. He was a powerful figure who could still remain active despite being surrounded by fleets of various countries. He was definitely not something that the artillery and crew of a passenger ship could contend with.
This means they are about to fall into the hands of pirates!
Many women could not help but imagine the scene of being bullied by pirates and sold to strange places. Some trembled in fear, some felt their knees go weak and slid down from the window and knelt on the ground, some hurriedly fetched daggers and revolvers, not knowing whether they wanted to resist or were unwilling to face the worst outcome; some could not find any weapons and simply moved the coat rack to their side.
The men did not perform much better. Except for a few who took out weapons and tried to organize a resistance, the rest were either dazed, or looked for places to hide, or cursed the damn cruise ship and the "King of the Five Seas".
Finally, the captain's voice reached everyone's ears through some kind of loudspeaker or means:
"Be quiet! Don't be afraid!
"The owner of the 'Black Emperor' has made his own laws. Unlike other pirates, he and his men only robbed property and did nothing else!"
These words were repeated several times, and the panicked passengers finally calmed down and were no longer so frightened.
Compared to what they had just imagined, being able to be alive and not being bullied was already a very good outcome.
After dozens of seconds, some passengers thought about how they had worked hard for so many years and finally saved some money, but now they were about to lose it all. It was unbearable, and grief surged, and they actually cried.
Several of them even borrowed money to do business. If they fail to bring back the money this time, their families will probably have to wander the streets and rely on the workhouse for survival.
Thinking of this, they quickly took action and hid the money in various hidden places, hoping to keep as much as possible. After doing all this, they each grasped their weapons and prepared to die with the pirates at the critical moment.
Even wild beasts will fight back when they are dying, let alone humans?
At this time, many pirates on the "Black Emperor" had been waiting on the side of the ship as ordered, ready to jump onto the "prey" at any time after closing the distance.
Their second mate, "Viscount Fear" Bird Mustang, was holding a monocular telescope, observing the passenger ship on the opposite side without paying much attention, and silently calculating in his mind how long it would take for the two sides to get closer.
This big pirate, whose bounty had long exceeded ten thousand pounds, was wearing an Intis-style shirt with intricate patterns on the cuffs and collar, and a dark red captain's uniform, as if he was waiting for a banquet to begin rather than a robbery to happen.
Suddenly, his eyes blurred and he could no longer see the passenger ship!
Bird Mustang quickly moved the monocular telescope to look, but there was nothing in that direction except waves blown by the strong wind and red-headed sea eagles that liked to hunt fish in heavy rain.
Such a large steam-sail hybrid passenger ship just disappeared!
"..." Bird Mustang's eyes flickered, and he was unable to make an accurate judgment.
"Where's the boat?"
"How about a ship that big?"
“It was there just now!”
…
The pirates on the deck also noticed something was wrong and cried out in surprise.
Ghost ship? No, there is no such ghost ship. It is a hybrid power of steam and sail that has only become popular in recent decades... Illusion? Someone used a large-scale illusion to hide the passenger ship? This level of illusion must be demigod-level... Bird Mustang thought about it, put away the monocular telescope, and walked towards the cabin.
During this whole process, the distance measurement standard seemed to be confused. Bird Mustang only took seven or eight steps to cover the long distance. He came to the bottom of the captain's room and saluted respectfully:
"Count, something unusual happened during the hunt."
——On the "Black Emperor", "King of the Five Seas" Nast always called himself Earl, which came from the title given by Emperor Roselle.
Of course, he also publicly declared that sooner or later he would establish a pirate kingdom and become a grand duke, prince, or even emperor.
After a brief silence, a deep and majestic voice came from the captain's room:
"Go around."
"I'll follow your wishes!" Bird Mustang agreed without asking why.
Of course, he could imagine why:
Regardless of whether it was an illusion or not, it was impossible for a low- to mid-sequence person to make such a large passenger ship with sails and steam power disappear silently under the gaze of hundreds of pirates. There must be a demigod or a powerful person who holds a demigod-level seal on that ship!
It is absolutely not rational to conflict with an unknown demigod over an ordinary passenger ship. Even if Earl White Maple Nast is the "King of the Five Seas", he will not rashly do such a thing unless there is a direct and sufficient conflict of interests or positions between the two parties.
From this point of view, the demigod on the opposite side only hid the passenger ship and did not make any counterattack, which also shows that he did not want to have a fierce conflict with the "Black Emperor" and the "King of the Five Seas", so he only showed his presence and made a deterrent.
Bird Mustang immediately ordered the sailors to leave the side and maneuver the Black Emperor to change its course.
At this moment, a huge and heavy red-headed sea eagle suddenly left the group and flew towards the "Black Emperor", circling back and forth in the sky above this ghost ship.
As the pirates were confused, the red-headed sea eagle looked down at the deck and spoke in a low human voice:
"I want to meet Earl Bai Feng."
Bird Mustang was stunned for a second, then turned his gaze towards the cabin.
The majestic voice of Nast, the "King of the Five Seas," sounded again. He did not directly answer the red-headed sea eagle, but instead instructed his subordinates:
"Let him in."
Just as Bird Mustang was about to do as ordered, the red-headed sea eagle swooped down in the dark wind and rain, its body gradually changing, twisting and wriggling into a human shape.
When it landed on the deck, there was no longer any bald eagle, only a man wearing a tall hat, a banquet suit, and a feather mask on his face.
Bird Mustang's pupils dilated slightly, as if he wanted to see the other person more clearly.
But no matter how he observed, he could not find anything abnormal about the ostentatious man from the front, as if a red-headed sea eagle had never appeared just now.
A few seconds later, Bird Mustang's pupils dilated even more because the man in the feather mask passed in front of him and he saw his side profile.
This man who was invited to the dinner party was very thin, only as wide as two fingers put together!
For a moment, Bird Mustang seemed to see the walking paper man, but the other party was a little thicker than the paper man!
Monster… He swallowed hard and watched the terrifying demigod walk towards the cabin.
The pirates on the deck all took a few steps back and leaned against the side of the ship, as if what they had just walked through was a nightmare.
To them, this man with extremely strange proportions was something they had never seen before, and was even more terrifying than many monsters they had seen before.
On the third floor of the cabin, outside the captain's room.
Klein reached out and grasped the handle, turned it, and opened the door.
He made his image so strange, which was a half-passive and half-active behavior. The passive reason was that the Red-headed Sea Eagle was not big enough. After separating some of its body to make clothes and masks, even without the internal organs, it could not support the normal human body. The active reason was that he began to explore and try to play the role of "Strange Mage", and had some ideas:
The mage is not the point, the point is to express the word "weird" in the mage's way!
With a slight creak, the dark door opened, revealing the scene inside the captain's cabin:
Candlesticks hung down from great heights, 41 on the left and 40 on the right, with different numbers. At the end of them, a black platform rose up, surrounding an iron-black chair.
The "King of the Five Seas" Nast was now of a normal size, just over 1.9 meters tall. He was not like the giant he had met before, more like a human.
He still wore the scaled-down spire crown and a black robe with silver edges. His face had hard lines, slightly wrinkled forehead, a short black beard on his chin, and dark red light flowing in his deep black eyes, which made people want to lower their heads unconsciously.
"I haven't seen you before." Nast said in a low voice, "Mr. 'Trickster'."
Klein took off his hat, saluted and said:
"Now we know each other."
Nast's voice that made the spirit tremble echoed in the captain's room:
"Tell me, why do you want to see me?"
“Count, I want to know your impression of Emperor Roselle. Everyone knows that you and your father have met Him more than once.” Klein replied unfazed.
Nast glanced at the paper-like demigod opposite him, and the dark red light brightened a little as he said:
"Sit down first."
Before he finished speaking, Klein already felt a strong pressure. He had no choice but to obey the order and sit on the chair next to him.
However, he only brought a secret puppet, and as the "spiritual thread" bounced, the thin figure as thin as a book quickly returned to stability.