Chapter 377 - 170: The Noble Lady Fleeing at Night
The unfurled sails on the steamship creaked in the sea breeze.
Behind the figurehead of the *Ronan* stood a wooden statue rising from the deck. It depicted a beautiful lady with neatly combed long hair, eyes inlaid with blue gemstones, a straight nose, and full lips. Her face, overall, possessed an unwavering fortitude.
The outline of light armor was carved onto her body, and a Half Moon Saber hung at her waist. Her entire getup made her look more like a pirate.
Wei’en leaned against the lookout post, gazing down at the statue.
This depiction of Lady Storm certainly fit the common image of a pirate on the Cordo Sea.
’All she’s missing is a tricorne hat. Hmm, a scar by the corner of her eye would make it even more convincing...’
Wei’en chuckled involuntarily at the thought. If the Lady herself knew what he was thinking, she would probably strike him down with divine punishment instantly.
His gaze shifted from the statue to the clear night sky. The dark, silent expanse of the deep sea around them made the red moon’s glow seem far more bewitching, yet also more brilliant, than it did in the city-states.
The red moon, seemingly unwilling to be obscured by anything, was a pure blood-red. Three halos of progressively lighter color ringed its outer edge, like three extra coronas.
’If it weren’t for that bizarre corruption, it would actually be quite beautiful...’
In his predecessor’s memories, there were some interesting legends about those three halos.
The inner crimson halo was the sanctity of the Dawn, resisting the darkness of the red moon.
The middle apricot-colored halo was the weight of the bountiful Earth, shouldering the malice of the red moon.
And the outer orange-red halo was the might of the Storm over the oceans, weakening and scattering the darkness and malice.
Through the power of three gods, the red moon’s corruption was weakened, preventing its destruction of the world and allowing this land to precariously maintain a limited order.
Legends like this, with their clear pro-faith bias, obviously made people more grateful for the gods’ greatness.
But regardless of whether the legends were true, the red moon’s corruption was undeniably real.
On the surrounding dark and silent sea, fish that occasionally leaped from the water would transform into terrifying Deep Sea aberrations under the red moon’s corrupting influence.
"ROAR..."
"GURGLE..."
Wei’en didn’t probe beneath the sea’s surface with his spiritual perception, yet the hideous terror of the aberrations surfaced in his mind, and he could almost hear their desperate, crazed roars.
In comparison, the *Ronan*, sailing under wind power, seemed unnaturally quiet.
At this moment, he had to admit that the existence of the four True Gods did indeed preserve the most fundamental order in this world.
Take Lady Storm, for example—under the red moon’s glow, the blue gemstone eyes on her statue emitted a faint blue halo, resisting the moonlight. Even though it was just a wooden statue, the unique might of a god was still on full display.
’Protecting the *Ronan*?’
No.
’That’s the power that protects order. The order of the seas.’
[You have entered a containment field of endless killing intent from an unknown entity. As your Spirit level is over 5000, you have successfully resisted the erosion of Spiritual Power... Special Reward: Survival Points +10.]
Wei’en was left speechless.
’Of course, there are some places it can’t protect...’
But this alone showed him just how terrifying the entity that had placed these countless pockets of killing intent in the sea truly was—it could actually bypass the divine protection of Lady Storm’s faith.
’Or perhaps it used some kind of trick?’
Logically speaking, if the fundamental power of the being behind all this surpassed that of Lady Storm or the red moon’s glow, why would it need to act so furtively?
’An open heist is far easier than a covert one. They could at least operate during the day, couldn’t they?’
At this thought, Wei’en shook his head. The mastermind behind this grand scheme was far beyond his reach, and certainly not someone he could handle right now.
The only thing he could do was remain vigilant, so as not to be dragged into that dreamscape completely unprepared.
"...Haisa, are you sure you want to escape? At night?" A voice, deliberately hushed yet as crisp as a bird’s song, broke the silence on deck.
’Hm?’
’Someone’s coming out at this hour?’
"Yes. Listen to me, Vian. That Lady of a Thousand Faces is absolutely not a kind person. Ever since she appeared on the Eastern Continent, she has always taken pleasure in destruction. If we don’t escape now while she’s gone, I’m afraid we won’t get another chance."
"But she saved us before, and it’s the middle of the night. We..."
’Saved them?’
Wei’en raised an eyebrow. He remembered Ronan mentioning the two new Guards Clelia had found during the day. ’So, it’s them?’
’Heh, this is getting interesting.’
’If Clelia found out the Guards she’d just hired were planning to escape that very same night, I wonder what she’d think.’
"I just went to the wheelhouse to check. From our current position, we’re only half a day from Dakman Island. With that piece of Rune Equipment, if everything goes smoothly, we can make it ashore there tonight."
"I’m still a little worried... The Cordo Sea is full of mutated monsters at night. What if..." The soft, gentle voice was still laced with worry, but there was no refusal in it. "So, what do we do?"
"I’ll go down first. Wait until I’ve used that equipment to form a contract with a reliable Deep-Sea species, then you come down."
"...Um, o-okay then. You be careful."
As two figures emerged stealthily from the cabins below, Wei’en got a clear look at them.
Although his spiritual perception had already sketched a rough outline of the two, seeing them in the flesh made Wei’en sigh in admiration. For some people, looks were merely an embellishment; their true charm lay in their extraordinary aura.
One of them, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman, was clearly the Extraordinary. Her gaze was steady and her expression resolute; she looked quite powerful.