Chapter 76: Facing the Storm
They picked the best ship and directly left Raphael’s deep-sea fishing boat, no longer taking part in any further discussions about Celula and her group.
As for the seven Captains led by Richard and Derek, they firmly demanded that Raphael meet up with Celula and the others as soon as possible.
They couldn’t wait to raid Celula’s group and make up for their losses in crew and equipment.
Standing on Raphael’s side, still insisting on principles and advocating for maintaining a good alliance with Celula, there were fewer than five Captains.
Under the pressure from Richard, Derek, and the others, Raphael had no choice but to sigh. "Let me say it again. The storm is still chasing us from behind, and those monsters could show up beside us at any moment. Before we get through this crisis, you are not to attack our allies. Agree to this condition, and I’ll turn a blind eye to your scheming."
Richard blew out a smoke ring and smacked his lips. "No problem, Captain Raphael. We’re still hoping those women will take the lead and take the hits for us. Hahahaha!"
With that, Richard and Derek put their arms around each other’s shoulders and walked side by side off Raphael’s deep-sea fishing boat.
Toti watched the two of them acting like partners in crime and spat hard. "Pah! A few days ago they were mortal enemies. Now, just to rob an ally, they’ve shamelessly joined forces. They have no bottom line!"
Raphael looked at Valentina beside her, then at the other Captains, and sighed. "Let’s pick a new ship too. As an apology for hiding key information from our allies, we’ll give this deep-sea fishing boat to Celula and her group."
The Captains frowned when they heard Raphael’s tone.
Valentina stepped forward and quietly asked, "Captain Raphael, do you know something? You don’t seem worried that Celula and the others might be in danger."
Toti stood off to the side and rolled his eyes.
He was about to explain, but Raphael cut him off. "No, I just want to use this way to make up for my guilty conscience."
The other Captains nodded at this and scattered.
Only when Raphael and Toti were the only ones left did Toti tug at his beard. "Why didn’t you let me explain just now? If that Dragon Form Mist Phantom we saw is under Amelia’s control, then Richard and Derek are just clowns trying to smash rocks with eggs."
Raphael shook her head. "We’re going to break with Richard and the others sooner or later anyway. There’s no need to tell them these things in advance. Keeping your enemy stupid is the best way to win."
When Toti heard this, he suddenly realized what was going on. "Raphael, are you saying that among the Captains who joined us, there are spies?"
Raphael turned to look out the window and said calmly, "You should say that every single one of those who just joined us is a spy."
At the same time, deep inside the human-faced wasp’s nest.
The Empress completely panicked when she learned that both Labis and Hillary had lost contact with her.
She writhed wildly, occasionally bouncing up and down, slamming into the nest and shaking the whole place.
"Dammit! Who is it? Who took my three egg shells? I’ll kill them!"
In her rage, the human-faced wasp Empress let out a blinding red light.
A large amount of steam shot out from the surface of her meatball body.
Then, one tentacle after another unfolded from inside the meatball.
The originally huge meatball, which was the size of a small house, quickly shrank.
Soon, the meatball grew arms, legs, and a head. On the head grew eyes, a mouth, and ears.
The tentacles quickly became thin and shrunk, gathering on top of the head to become a head of flowing hair.
A pure white leg stepped out.
The once ugly meatball had turned into a seductive woman, about one meter ninety tall, radiating a mature charm.
At this moment, the human-faced wasp Empress was completely naked.
She raised her hand, and a large number of human-faced wasps flew toward her.
But as soon as they got within ten meters of her, they were crushed into meat paste by a terrifying psychic force.
As one human-faced wasp after another died, the Empress pressed the meat paste flat, stretched it out, and finally turned it into a long dress that draped over her body.
Then, she turned around and knelt down before a magical formation deep inside the nest.
"Respected Lord Soros, your most devout servant begs for your forgiveness." The Empress sent everything that had just happened to the Eldritch magical formation.
Soon, a terrifying will spoke: "Bibi Vespa, I will grant you the power of revenge. Go find the one who blasphemed against the gods, and sacrifice him to me."
The human-faced wasp Empress’s whole body trembled violently.
Her tailbone was suddenly pulled out by this will, stretching into a thick tail.
The end of the tail swelled up like a blown-up balloon, slowly turning into a tiny meatball.
The aura given off by that tiny meatball was exactly the same as that of the human-faced wasp Empress herself.
The human-faced wasp Empress Bibi Vespa trembled all over as she knelt on the ground, pounding her head hard. "I obey your command. Your wish is my mission."
As soon as she finished speaking, the meatball at the end of Bibi Vespa’s tail suddenly opened up into a pitch-black hole.
The ground around her shook violently. The huge human-faced wasp nest, which was as big as an island, was rapidly shrinking.
The human-faced wasps that had been busy inside the nest were torn apart by this force and, like items on an assembly line, were quickly sucked into that hole.
Only after the entire nest had been drawn into Bibi Vespa’s tail did she show a look of Eldritch satisfaction.
"Thank you for the gift, my god. The human-faced wasp race no longer has to be stuck inside a fixed nest anymore, hahaha!"
With that, the black dress on Bibi Vespa’s body quickly changed shape, spreading open three pairs of pitch-black wings on her back.
Like a dragonfly, Bibi Vespa flew swiftly into the distance. "Labis and Hillary have completely disappeared. But I can still track Eliana’s aura. You, whoever stole Eliana away—you are my first prey!"
Meanwhile, Kevin brought Eliana back to the Two-Masted Sloop.
By now, Raphael and Celula had already agreed on a new meeting point.
It was a small island less than thirty nautical miles away from everyone. Some Survivors had been there before and had refilled their fresh water on the island.
Hearing this, Kevin nodded. "We’ll meet there, then."
With that, Kevin turned his head to look at the Black Curtain behind him.
The Black Curtain was getting closer and closer to them, and the wind pushing their sailboat was blowing harder and harder.
Kevin did a quick calculation of the time and said in a serious voice, "We have at most forty-eight hours to prepare. Before that, we have to get onto land. Otherwise, with the shape we’re in right now, we have no chance of beating those giant monsters out on the open sea."
The girls had already heard Kevin describe those monsters more than once.
They knew the situation was urgent, so they didn’t stop. They sailed through the night toward the target island.
By the time the sky started to get light, every Survivor was waiting for the new day’s system announcement.
But after reading the latest rankings, every Survivor was stunned.
[Kevin, Rank 1.]
[Luna, Rank 2.]
[Amelia, Rank 3.]
...
[Congratulations to the Survivors on the leaderboard. The top ten Survivors will receive one portion of tomahawk steak, one pack of Camel cigarettes, one bottle of German beer...]
[Warning: The Black Curtain has begun releasing a sea storm. Some monsters have already escaped the Black Curtain’s. Please be prepared, all Survivors. We wish you a safe passage through the next 72 hours.]
"What the hell? What did Kevin do last night? How did he get back to number one?"
"And you’re still worrying about Kevin right now? Take a look at that last warning. The disaster is coming!"
"You’ve got to be kidding me. A sea storm? This piece of junk we’re sailing can’t even compare to a medieval pirate ship. One wave and we’ll sink. How are we supposed to survive a storm?"
"Does anyone still not know that the monsters have escaped from the Black Curtain? I’ve seen those creatures. Damn it, I swear they’re bigger than the tallest skyscraper I’ve ever seen in my life!"
For a moment, the world channel was in chaos. Every Survivor was discussing how to deal with the coming disaster.
Even Bella, Joseph, and Justin, who had been tracking Kevin, gave up their current plan and focused entirely on dealing with the terrifying enemy ahead.
Luckily, with Keston and Stephanie as their inside contacts, Bella was able to get some advice from them on how to handle the crisis.
"We need to find an island and build defensive fortifications," Bella said seriously.
"Bella, have you been watching too many war movies?" Justin joked, looking unconcerned.
He was full of confidence in his own fighting ability and didn’t take Bella’s suggestion seriously at all.
Joseph gently patted Justin on the shoulder and said seriously, "Stop joking. Do what Bella says."
Justin frowned and glanced at Joseph. "What a pain. My brother, you’d better give me a good reason for this."
Joseph leaned close to Justin and whispered, "This is the advice I got from that big shot at The Eye of Tarot."
With that, Joseph turned and glanced at Bella, then said in a voice only Justin could hear, "That bitch Bella is just a social butterfly. She’s probably slept with some big shot before, and now she’s hooked up with another one."
Justin snorted coldly. "Hmph. If it weren’t for the fact that she’s carrying your child, I would have killed her myself."
Bella looked at the two brothers with an innocent face and said with a smile, "So? There are two islands nearby. Let’s pick one and get to shore quickly."
While all the Survivors were busy with their own matters, Kevin and his group finally met up with Raphael’s fleet.
On the agreed-upon island, nineteen ships were docked at the shore.
Before Kevin and the others could even get off the boat, they saw a large crowd walking toward his Two-Masted Sloop.
Celula saw this and frowned. "Captain Kevin, I have a bad feeling about them."