"What a fine cruise ship! Mind if I come aboard?"
Regulus Black's Aquarius broke through the surface of the sea, and in the next moment he soared into the air.
"Who are you?"
Shao Jun backed away a few steps, questioning Regulus Black who had landed on the bow of the ship.
"Who am I? Soon I'll be the new master of this ship. Both the vessel and you will belong to me."
Drawing his wand, Regulus Black was ready to act. This place was far from Britain and equally far from America, outside the jurisdiction of both Ministries of Magic. In Britain, Regulus Black still had to restrain himself somewhat, but here in the open ocean there was no need. He could simply let his power speak for itself.
"You're a wizard!"
When Shao Jun saw him pull out his wand, she hadn't expected to face a wizard's attack at such a moment. As a member of the ancient assassin order, the Old Man of the Mountain, she was of course aware that wizards existed in this world.
Wizards weren't confined to Britain; they were found in other countries as well. In the East, for example, wizards had often intervened in history. In dynastic upheavals or disasters, their traces could frequently be found.
"Well now, don't be nervous. This is only for self-defense. Your real opponents are them."
As soon as Regulus Black finished speaking, five dark, violet-haired figures emerged from his shadow. Each wore a skull mask, their figures varied, but all exuded grace, charm, and elegance.
These were Regulus Black's protective charms, the Soul Guardian Seal Sextet—an offensive artifact that carried its own abilities.
One of them had been assigned long-term surveillance of Harry Potter. The remaining five always stayed by his side, and today was the perfect chance to test their strength.
The moment they appeared, frost spread across the deck. Their natural Dementor abilities, combined with an enchantment of +7 Cold Domination, caused ice to rapidly engulf the ship.
"Drive them off the ship!"
Shao Jun didn't intend to act personally. She waved her hand, sending the expendable minions forward, while she herself retreated and vanished from sight.
A horde of raggedly dressed ghosts charged, wielding weapons from their lifetimes or attacking bare-handed.
+7 Mind Hammer: Assassins harness immense mental power to forge a psychic warhammer, striking enemies and knocking them back. The effect is powerful—you don't even need precise aim, and it still delivers a repelling force.
+7 Mind Blast: By channeling their life force, assassins crush the will of their foes, stunning them and even redirecting their aggression toward other targets.
And when five Hassans unleashed these two skills simultaneously, the effect was utterly overwhelming. It was sheer annihilation—instant death for whoever was targeted.
The area was cleared in an instant. Among the retreating ghosts, a shadow flickered—Shao Jun had slipped away in disarray, once again concealing herself.
It turned out her earlier retreat had only been a feint. She had mingled with the charging ghosts, changing her appearance to set up a surprise attack.
But she hadn't expected Regulus Black to unleash such devastating abilities right away, suppressing the assault and knocking her back with the repelling effect, exposing her attempt.
"Mental abilities? They won't work on me. My mind is not so easily shaken."
Shao Jun gestured again, and her ghosts launched another charge.
+7 Brutal Effigy: This barbarian skill allows one to fashion a totem from the corpse of a slain enemy. The resulting talisman radiates such dread that all demonic servants flee in terror. With further training, the range of its influence increases.
Although originally a barbarian skill, Regulus Black had affixed it to the Hassans' skull masks.
All five masks suddenly gleamed, and the ghosts scattered in panic, as though they'd seen something even more horrifying than themselves.
The second assault collapsed once again. Only Shao Jun remained, unaffected, standing alone and fully exposed.
"Don't tell me commanding ghost charges is all you can do. If you have no other tricks, I'll be taking this ghost ship for myself."
Regulus Black's question was edged with doubt. The scene was almost awkward. He had lost even the urge to attack, and instead was wondering aloud if his opponent had any other cards to play.
"You! This is outrageous… I won't let you succeed!"
But Shao Jun truly had no more options. This entire ghost ship had only come together under the collective power of all the ghosts, arranged in a primal hexagram formation. Shao Jun had merely become the dominant spirit because her mental strength was the greatest, and because she had once been a princess, which gave her a commanding—ghostly—presence.
Aside from her agility and grace, she had learned martial techniques and weapon skills as a disciple of the Old Man of the Mountain. But she had never trained in wizardry.
As the ship's master spirit, her only added power was the authority to command all the ghosts in battle.
So against a wizard like Regulus Black, she had no chance of victory.
Her only defense lay in her ability to move and hide at will aboard the ghost ship. As long as she wasn't caught, she remained the master spirit, and the vessel remained her domain. While it was still hers, she could continue to vanish and reappear freely.
The logic was much like a wizard casting the Fidelius Charm and making herself the Secret Keeper. As long as she never left the residence, no one could ever find the address. An unbreakable safeguard.
Just as Shao Jun was about to disappear again, Regulus Black's five Hassans unleashed another skill.
+7 Frost Nova: Similar to Lightning Nova, it is highly effective against swarming melee enemies. Though it deals slightly less damage, it freezes enemies in place.
Magical effect: Creates a ring of frost that damages and slows enemies.
On the bow of the ship, five Frost Novas burst forth, sweeping across everything. Every ghost was frozen where it stood—even those farther away.
Yet Shao Jun still managed to withdraw. In this ghost ship that was her own domain, moving and hiding was as easy as a thought.
"Looks like I'll need another way to claim this ship."
Regulus Black walked forward slowly. Along the way, the frozen ghost statues blocking his path were torn apart by the Hassans' claws.
+7 Dominating Claws: With this skill, assassins gain mastery over their unique claw weapons.
But who said only metal claws count as weapons? Hands themselves can be claws. With this skill, the Hassans' fingernails became blades as sharp as steel. If they had feline ears to go with them, the look would be perfect.
"Did you think you could escape becoming one of my trophies? What a foolish dream."
Regulus Black entered the grand dining hall, the central hub of the ghost ship. On a normal cruise, this was the luxurious banquet hall for the upper-class guests.
"Leave one behind. The other four will find her and bring her before me."
Seating himself on a sofa, Regulus Black gave the order.
The Hassans carried two more skills, slightly modified from the barbarian's arsenal in Diablo.
+7 Find Item: In the wild, skilled and fortunate barbarians could often find the items they sought. Some even found ingredients to brew potions that healed wounds or restored mental strength.
+7 Gather Item: While many overlooked useful things, barbarians, hardened by poverty, learned to scavenge everything. By searching the corpses of the recently dead, they could sometimes extract enough components to create potions of health, mana, or restoration.
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