Chapter 19 Gathering

There were too many treasures in the Crystal Palace, and it would take a while to salvage them all. The Dawnbreaker Company was also a little tired from the continuous hard battles, so they set up tents by the lake to rest.

There was no day or night in the Sea Ruins. The light of the alchemical lamps illuminated the military tents in the jungle, and everyone was busy.

With Karma, his little apprentice, taking care of the tent, Suren felt quite relieved.

The "water poison" inflicted on him by the divine power was indeed tricky, but fortunately, Dr. Banks helped him, and he recovered quickly.

It was two days later that the treasures in the Crystal Palace were all salvaged.

Then, the Dawnbreaker Company broke camp and set off.

......

In the dense jungle of Devil's Island, the thousand-person team stretched out for a long distance.

Because the Sea King had been killed, the undead monsters in the Sea Ruins no longer had a leader, and could not gather into large groups.

The threat to the Dawnbreaker Company was not too great.

High-level monsters were usually quite intelligent. Sensing that the Dawnbreaker Company was not easy to provoke, few came to cause trouble. However, occasionally, when passing by swamps or rivers, they would disturb one or two hibernating, very tricky high-level undead monsters. But with the concentrated fire of the Dawnbreaker Company, they could be dealt with without any danger. Everyone proceeded cautiously.

Devil's Island was very large. It would take a day for the large army to reach the seaside.

Everyone was very excited about this trip, as they had gained a lot of treasures.

In the center of the team, Suren and Qian Tiao walked side by side, surrounded by Karma and a few other young members of the company.

Tani had been very excited since last night because he had obtained a great treasure.

At this moment, he was showing off his newly mastered spell. He used the trident to condense a large water ball, and excitedly showed off, "Lolota, Karma, look, I can condense the second-tier arcane spell [Water Elemental Imprisonment]!"

This spell was very complex, and even many veteran second-tier professionals in the company rarely mastered it. It was indeed amazing.

Karma listened and smiled without saying a word.

Lolota rolled her eyes at him and said faintly, "Isn't it because Mr. Suren gave you that treasure? Otherwise, you'd be far from condensing this spell."

Tani didn't mind admitting this fact, and showed off the trident in his hand, his proud butt almost reaching the sky, and said, "That's right! Mr. Suren's [Aegir's Sea God Trident] is a sealed artifact-level treasure!"

As he spoke, he didn't forget to shout at Suren, "Thank you, Mr. Suren."

Suren listened and nodded with a smile.

The sealed artifact [Aegir's Sea God Trident] could control the waves and was considered a water-type treasure, but no one in the company could use it. Suren first gave it to Tani to practice water element control, and also to see if he could master the ability to control the wind and waves that he had awakened.

The other members of the Dawnbreaker Company in front and behind listened and showed friendly smiles.

Sealed artifacts were given away as gifts. This was impossible to see in any other team, even the wealthy Ruling Royal Family. Although the Dawnbreaker Company had only been established for a short time, the atmosphere was becoming more and more harmonious after these days of running together.

Listening to Tani's show off, Lolota flicked her ponytail, "Humph~"

Because of Qian Tiao's relationship, she was already very familiar with Suren, and could be considered a semi-direct disciple.

This girl, like her teacher, had developed a carefree personality. She immediately trotted to Suren's side and said in a resentful tone, "Mr. Suren, you're biased..."

Suren listened, feeling amused. He understood the implication and could only respond, "Haha... If there's a chance next time, I'll get Lolota a famous sword too."

Lolota immediately perked up when she heard this, "Wow~"

But before she could be happy, she was knocked on the head with a sword scabbard.

She looked at Qian Tiao next to Suren with a aggrieved expression, and said with a bitter face, "Teacher, why did you knock me again~"

Qian Tiao said angrily, "Instead of practicing swordsmanship properly every day, you're just thinking about external objects. When your swordsmanship is good enough, you'll naturally encounter a good sword. Otherwise, even if you were given a 'Twelve Excellent Crafted Sword' like [Zongzheng], you wouldn't be able to control it."

"Oh."

Lolota was very docile after being scolded, and pouted, "I know, Teacher."

Hearing this, others smiled even more brightly.

......

At the same time, at the end of the team.

Barrett and the leader of the "Black Panther Company", "Red Nose" Miles, were chatting idly.

Old friends reunited, sighing with emotion.

The great change in the Judgment Corps had caused a stir throughout Ruling. With the Queen's personal order, no one thought Barrett could survive.

This could be considered a farewell to life and death.

Moreover, if they hadn't encountered the Dawnbreaker Company this time, their Black Panther Company would have probably been wiped out in this "Sea Ruins".

This meeting was not easy.

The two friends who hadn't seen each other for a long time still had a lot to talk about from yesterday's meeting until now.

They naturally took everything in front of them into their eyes and smiled.

Looking at the harmonious atmosphere of the Dawnbreaker Company, Miles sighed slightly, with both envy and emotion, "Your Dawnbreaker Company is really a special team. That young man is indeed very powerful. But I'm also curious, why would a hot-tempered person like you, Barrett, who dares to snub even the Empire's Grand Marshal, be a squad leader in someone else's team? If you had been willing to stand with someone back then, you wouldn't have to be out leading troops all the time, and you'd probably be a 'Lieutenant General' by now, and you wouldn't have encountered that kind of thing..."

This old friend was also puzzled. Apart from the Marfa Empire, it was hard to imagine that there was any force that could make an Imperial General like Barrett willingly serve.

"The Judgment Corps is already a thing of the past..."

Barrett shook his head with a bitter expression. Those past events were no longer important.

Honor, military rank, and status had all turned into smoke.

Having gone through this ordeal, he had also understood too many things.

He looked ahead and said meaningfully, "Suren is a young man with great courage and insight. The Dawnbreaker Company is also very special, and everyone is excellent. In the future, they will definitely shine brightly."

Miles listened and didn't ask any more questions, but the image of yesterday's battle flashed back in his mind, "I'll also wait and see."

Geniuses in Ruling Imperial Capital were as numerous as carps crossing the river, but he had never seen such an enchanting young man.

Moreover, it wasn't just the combat power of a certain individual. The entire Dawnbreaker Company seemed to give people a vibrant atmosphere.

Thinking of this, he sighed again, "The decaying empire is like a setting sun, it's really hard to see a glimmer of hope. Now that you say so, I realize that the situation in Ruling is so bad. If I didn't have too many concerns, I would really want to welcome the light of dawn with you..."

Barrett's expression was also very complicated, and he shook his head with a chuckle.

At this time, Miles seemed to have thought of something, sighed slightly, and said, "Alas. I didn't help much this time either. After hearing about what happened to your Judgment Corps, I ran a lot of relationships in Ruling, and your teachers and classmates at the War College also tried various methods, but to no avail. The Queen issued the order herself, and no one dared to disobey."

Barrett shook his head, having seen through many things, "My old friend, you've already helped me a lot."

Miles sighed repeatedly and said, "If you have the opportunity, go back to Ruling to see your teacher, General Rostov. Because he vouched for your Judgment Corps and wanted to protect your family, he was seized upon by Congressional politicians and suffered a lot of trouble, and was dismissed from his post."

As he spoke, his tone suddenly became indignant, "Such loyal old generals are treated so unfairly. Sooner or later, the empire will be gnawed to the bone by those damned arms dealers and dirty parasites!"

Barrett listened, his expression darkening, "Hmm."

......

This "Devil's Island Treasure" attracted more than 100,000 people to search for treasure. In the past two days, it was obvious that there were still adventurers who were unaware of the situation entering the Sea Ruins one after another.

The sound of battle could be heard everywhere on Devil's Island. Through the mist, the lights of artillery fire could occasionally be seen flashing on the distant islands.

The Dawnbreaker Company had already personally tested it. There were countless undead monsters in this Sea Ruins, but not all adventure teams had the strength of the Dawnbreaker Company.

The adventurers who were lured here by the treasure were destined to suffer heavy casualties.

Suren and the others were now planning to leave the Sea Ruins, but they also left some signs with words engraved on them along the way on Devil's Island. It explained the truth about this treasure and how to leave the Sea Ruins, which could be considered a glimmer of hope for those survivors who might survive.

Now, they needed warships to leave.

Two of the Dawnbreaker Company's three warships had been destroyed. When they went to the seaside, the remaining one was also badly damaged by the monsters.

Obviously, the dilapidated seaship could not support all of them leaving.

But now, they had an even better choice.

Suren had also been thinking about the Sea Emperor-class warship "Eternal Night Emperor".

During the initial artillery battle, Dr. Banks had left a mark on that black-sailed warship.

Now, Suren and the others had also searched all the way there, and successfully found the legendary warship quietly moored in a bay.

Next to it were more than a dozen dilapidated ancient ghost ships.

Without the Sea King, this warship was like a throne without a king. It was obviously aloof, but slightly desolate.

But this was good news for the Dawnbreaker Company.

Not many ships meant that there were no endless undead monsters.

Suren and the members of the Dawnbreaker Company observed on the cliff for a long time. The Harbinger Bird circled around, and the perception-type professionals used all kinds of methods to confirm that there were not many high-level undead monsters.

Only then did they decide to attack!

Not long after, the battle broke out.

"First Company, intercept the bay! Second Company, clear the other ghost ships! Third Company, follow me in and clear the monsters in the 'Eternal Night's' cabins!"

"Everyone, check your ammunition and prepare for battle!"

"..."

Under Barrett's command, the members of the Dawnbreaker Company rushed into the bay.

Probably because the undead monsters had dispersed to hunt down various adventure teams, there were not many monsters here, probably about 10,000 or 20,000.

Although it was a bit troublesome, it wasn't too bad.

As soon as Suren's dozens of Mechanical Octopuses appeared, they completely destroyed those dilapidated ghost ships.

The members of the Dawnbreaker Company assembled their army and pushed over. Suren reaped "gray mist" everywhere in the team to prevent the monsters from resurrecting. Their momentum was like a rainbow, like a sharp dagger that was thrust into the monster swarm.

The battle and cleanup were carried out in an orderly manner, and there were no accidents.

After Barrett and Qian Tiao killed a few high-level undead monsters, the battle completely entered its final stage.

The members of the Dawnbreaker Company successfully boarded the "Eternal Night Dawn".

.......

What was it like to board a Sea Emperor-class warship?

The 300-meter-long hull was really like an aircraft carrier!

The top deck was extremely spacious, and you could even drive a four-wheeled motorcycle on it.

After a casual appraisal, the masts were permanently solidified with the seventh-order rune variant [Moses's Solid Rune]. This rune language, which was specially tailored for materials, was really integrated to the extreme. The runes on the masts were not separate, but connected to the entire warship. This also made its defense a whole. When the masts were attacked, the entire hull would share some of the energy shock.

The wood of the ship was [Cursed Golden Oak by the Evil God]. This wood was a mythical material that was hard to come by.

Even the cables on the ship were identified as being woven from the [Whiskers of the Mountain Fish Cat], which allowed them to not rot for hundreds of years. But the cables on the deck, which were as thick as arms, were probably thousands of meters long, and the amount of whiskers consumed was unimaginable.

And the most shocking thing was that the keel of the warship was not wood, but the bones of an ancient [Blue Dragon]!

The sails were not made of woven material, but the skin of the [Deep Sea Anglerfish], which had super toughness, compression resistance, and corrosion resistance...

After boarding the ship, Suren was worried about the hidden dangers on the ship, so he appraised it all the way.

But the more carefully he looked at it along the way, the more shocked he was.

Every detail on the ship was used just right.

Although the ship was large, it was like an exquisite work of art, and the details showed the wisdom of the legendary master shipbuilder Moses.

This was a masterpiece of top-notch skills in sailing warships.

This was a ship that could not be rebuilt, even with blueprints.

......

Sporadic sounds of fighting came from the cabins. The members of the Dawnbreaker Company were cleaning up the monsters hiding in the dark.

This huge warship had a total of six decks, separated into countless cabins, and the internal structure was as complicated as a tunnel.

Ammunition hold, gunports, storage room, waterproof compartment, kitchen, warship energy compartment...

An extra-large dining hall?

Oh, this was unimaginable on other sailing warships. It was said that only the super-large Qi warships of the Marfa Empire had such a luxurious configuration.

Before, the crew members of Suren's three "second-class battleships" had to get their own food and squat on the deck or in a corner to eat.

"Hahaha... Now our Dawnbreaker Company has a good ship!"

"Oh, there are enough soldier cabins for each of us to sleep in one! The sound insulation of the cabins is so good, I finally don't have to listen to Sandru snoring all night."

"Haha, yeah. This ship was probably built according to a standard of 5,000-10,000 people, and we can fit several times more people. Oh my god, the legendary Sea Emperor-class warship is really too exaggerated!"

"..."

The crew members were also very excited.

The seaship was like most of their home, and with such a good ship, everyone's living and living environment had been qualitatively improved.

Suren followed the team members down to clear the ship, making sure to clean the "Eternal Night Emperor" thoroughly.

Because there were still many mysterious cabins with special barriers that restricted perception.

As they cleared the way, they encountered a few century-old evil spirits formed from the resentment of being trapped on the ship. If these things were not cleaned up, they would inevitably create some "supernatural events" for the people on the ship at night.

As soon as Suren's black umbrella came out, it was directly collected to be used as fertilizer for the umbrella.

Magic lamps were hung along the way, and this dark, centuries-old cabin was illuminated for the first time.

Not long after, they arrived at the gunports. The undead monsters here had been completely killed.

The crew members were unloading the usable loot from the corpses, and then throwing the skeletons into the sea.

Because Suren could sense the layout of the space, when he walked here, he had a clear understanding of the structural drawing of the entire ship in his mind.

The three-layer gunports were connected up and down, and the design was very ingenious.

What was amazing was that after staying in the Sea Ruins for so many years, the black gunpowder in the ammunition sealing compartment was still preserved very well!

This layer of cabins had nearly sixty cast-iron cannons weighing several tons or even dozens of tons.

Because they had been fired by the undead gunners two days ago, the cabin was filled with a strong smell of gunpowder.

Qian Tiao knocked on the thick gun barrel with his hand, making a dull thumping sound, and muttered, "Yo, these iron bumps haven't rusted. The casting process is really good."

Barrett also looked at these old antiques and said with a slight sigh, "This [m1817 Cannon] was the most advanced cannon two hundred years ago. There are still a few samples in the Ruling War College Museum. There is also the Ruling Military Shipbuilding Factory number on it. In the past, it would not be leaked through any channels except for royal warships. I don't know how these pirates got their hands on it..."

Thinking that it was probably the masterpiece of those greedy arms dealers again, after all, the situation in which the parliament was controlled by arms dealers had lasted for hundreds of years.

Barrett shook his head.

After a pause, he said, "In order to pursue range, this type of cannon must be made large enough and long enough, which also takes up a lot of space. In the past, in naval battles, it was invincible with hundreds of cannons. But now, any cannon bought on the market has the power of these cannons. But they are smaller and more convenient."

Suren also smiled as he listened, and thought of many possible modifications in his mind, and said, "Yes. With the current number of two hundred cannons on one side, the cannon battle is enough to crush any sailing warship. If you replace them with the current technology's cannons, the number can be doubled several times with the same weight. Well... some can also be replaced with shipborne rapid-fire guns and anti-ship missile launchers. You can even add a steam mechanical boiler to provide some extra power when necessary."

The exaggerated displacement of this [Eternal Night Emperor] was enough to support more weight of equipment.

The current technology was very different from that of two hundred years ago. Suren himself was a mechanic, and he immediately thought of countless possible modifications.

But the problem was, where would they get so many advanced cannons and modification equipment now?

The best shipborne cannons were all in the Ruling military.

You might be able to get one or two on the black market, but if you wanted to equip them in batches...

You still had to rob the North Sea Fleet pirates!

Oh no!

There was also Duke Raphael!

Suren had seen Duke Raphael's behemoth steel warship before. That Grand Duke had secretly developed a lot of good things under his hands.

When the topic came to this point, Suren and Qian Tiao Barrett on the side glanced at each other, and the three of them saw the meaningful smile in each other's eyes.

They were pirates now.

It was better to rob than to make it yourself.

.......

Not long after, Suren and the others cleaned up the

This [Eternal Night Emperor] was the pirate ship of "Pirate Emperor" Francis Drake. Some valuable antique treasures were also found on the ship.

But after all, the Dawnbreaker Company had just come out of the Crystal Palace, and everyone had long been numbed by the treasures. After counting, there was nothing to look forward to.

"Everyone, clean up the cabin. This will be our Dawnbreaker Company's warship in the future!"

"Okay! Brothers, let's get started..."

"..."

Except for the structure of the ship itself, almost all other items on the ship had rotted.

This would be the Dawnbreaker Company's new home in the future, and the crew members began the cleaning work with great interest.

The functions of the warship were all fine. The shipwright mechanics also began to repair and maintain it, and they could sail far out to sea after some maintenance.

After cleaning up the monsters, Suren and a few others were about to go up.

But at this moment, Tani's voice suddenly echoed in the bottom cabin: "Mr. Suren, please come to the cockpit. There's a little... problem here."

Suren looked up and saw that the voice was coming from the elaborate brass pipes on the wall.

There were no mechanical communication devices two hundred years ago, but such a large ship also needed timely communication. Therefore, the captain's room and the cockpit had "communication pipes" that connected all important cabins.

Shouting into the hole could send the sound to a specific place.

Tani had probably figured out these old antiques. Even though they had communication devices, he was testing them out for fun.

......

Suren went all the way up and soon arrived at the spacious cockpit.

Tani was the Dawnbreaker Company's chief navigator, so the cockpit was naturally his territory. He stayed here as soon as he boarded the ship.

But now, looking at his sad face, it seemed that he had encountered some trouble.

As soon as Suren went in, he asked, "What's wrong?"

Tani pointed to the old-fashioned helm with obvious traces of time and said speechlessly, "Although I don't think I should say this, it seems to be 'haunted'... Just now, I clearly didn't move it, but the helm moved by itself. I checked it and the structure is fine, but the gears and bearings need to be oiled."

Haunted?

Suren raised his eyebrows and asked, "The helm moved by itself?"

Lolota on the side also said with a puzzled face, "Yes. Mr. Suren, I saw it too just now."

Karma also interjected, "Teacher, I saw it too. But I didn't find any traces of ghosts."

Tani shrugged, indicating that he wasn't talking nonsense, and crooked his neck to describe the strange feeling in his heart, "Also, I feel... like this ship is different from other ships. It doesn't seem to like being controlled by others."

Supernatural events for a materialistic alchemist were almost all special phenomena of abnormal energy overflow.

But listening to the three of them say this, Suren also paid attention to it.

[All-Knowing Eye] appraised it, and there was nothing special. The cockpit was full of antiques, and there were a few alchemical objects, but nothing special.

Suren thought of something, took out the black umbrella and held it in his hand. His perception became much sharper.

Suddenly, he discovered slight soul fluctuations and immediately realized what was going on with this haunting event. He muttered, "Ship spirit?"

Tani on the side had obviously heard of this term and exclaimed, "The legendary 'ship spirit'?"

"Hmm."

Suren nodded.

It was said that some seaships that had been drifting at sea for a long time gradually developed their own spirituality due to certain special circumstances.

Many legends of "ominous ships" and "ghost ships" were actually because the seaships had bred evil ship spirits that would harm those who boarded the ship.

But there were also some good ones. Ship spirits could automatically repair ships, navigate, avoid danger, find wind, and guide the correct course...

In Suren's understanding, it was like a certain degree of intelligent driving.

It could bring a lot of positive help to the adventure team in naval battles.

When he first saw and appraised this "Eternal Night Emperor," he was reminded that "It had bred a powerful ship spirit," but he didn't find it anywhere when he swept around the ship before.

So it was here.

Suren thought, walked over, and put his hand on the handle of the helm.

Sure enough, at that moment, he felt a faint spiritual fluctuation.

Unlike the soul fire of humans or other creatures, that fluctuation was very weak.

But it was very special.

Like a child with newly developed intelligence.

The "ship spirit" was probably contacting humans for the first time and was frightened by Suren's perception. The helm also turned nervously.

The three Karmas on the side watched this weird scene and covered their mouths to call out softly, "That's it, it's coming again!"

But Suren smiled.

He touched the helm and contacted it with his soul, introducing himself, "My name is Suren, and we are the 'Dawnbreaker Company.' We will definitely be the greatest adventure team on this sea!"

Speaking of this, he paused, and then said in a very solemn tone, "Are you willing to be our partner?"

Listening to Suren say this, the three Karmas looked at him with very strange eyes: Was he talking to a ship?

As soon as these words came out, the ship's cabin fell into silence.

There seemed to be no response.

Suren pondered for a moment, thought of something, and suddenly burst out with a condescending aura. A scythe reaper phantom with a murderous aura rose behind him. The oppressive aura, like the descent of the god of death, instantly swept the entire cockpit.

The domineering aura made the three Karmas in the cabin turn pale.

At the same time, the "ship spirit" also felt it.

Treasures had spirits, and only the strong were worthy of such a top-notch warship!

The nascent "ship spirit" also felt Suren's heart and responded with a thought.

Although it couldn't communicate like humans, the meaning was: "I'm willing..."

Suren looked at it and raised the corners of his mouth, "From now on, you are our partner!"

As soon as these words came out, the whole ship seemed to be happy. The helm turned cheerfully, and the entire hull shook slightly.

Like a child dancing with joy.

The three Tanis watched the godly scene in front of them, and a surprised and excited smile appeared on their faces, as if they were infected by a cheerful atmosphere.

At the same time, on the ship, when the Dawnbreaker Company crew members, who didn't know what was going on, were still wondering where the problem was.

Suren shouted loudly through the brass communication pipes in the cockpit, "Welcome our Dawnbreaker Company's new member, the 'Eternal Night Emperor'!"

As soon as he said this, someone immediately understood what had just happened.

"Ship spirit! Just now, it was the ship spirit controlling the ship!"

"Oh my god, our warship has a ship spirit!"

"Hahaha, welcome to join our Dawnbreaker Company..."

"..."

In an instant, warm cheers and shouts rang out in the ship's cabin.