In the "Shared Dream" of the "Ruins of the War of Gods," in the black monastery, Odis and Klein, guided by Anderson, see the mural that brings misfortune.
At the head of that long pilgrimage procession was a tall, thin man with long silver hair. He had gentle features, closed eyes, and layers of wings on his back.
Odis and Klein exchanged a glance. They both recognized him as Ouro, the "Tail-Eater" depicted in the murals of the Temple of the "True Creator," which the "Little Sun" had shown them earlier.
Odis then said, "This is the 'On the Road' mural."
Klein nodded, understanding that Odis meant that these were murals left on the way to the "Forsaken Land".
He also discovered differences between the murals provided by "Little Sun".
For example, the background of this mural is a sea burning with golden flames, while the mural provided by "Little Sun" is a desolate and lifeless plain.
The destination here is the depths of the sea, while the destination provided by "Little Sun" is a distant mountain with a huge cross on its summit.
This mural was clearly left behind on the way to the "Forsaken Land".
At this moment, Odis laughed and said, "A great escape, turned into something like an outing to sketch by this 'King of Angels'."
It looks like Ulorus was drawing as he walked!
Odis asked Anderson, who was continuing to build his canoe, "Where did you find these murals?"
Klein was taken aback, and immediately realized that the murals in the Black Monastery must have corresponding real murals somewhere in the real world.
"We've discovered a ruin," Anderson said. "In that ruin, we found quite a few special properties, as well as several magical items."
"Then we went inside and saw this mural."
Odis asked, "You've come here together to search for treasure?"
Anderson continued working on his canoe: "This sea is full of treasures."
"As long as you can get it and get out alive."
At this moment, Klein looked into the depths of the hall and said, "Do you know what's in there?"
Anderson glanced at Klein before saying, "I don't know."
As he swung his axe, he said, "At least a third of my companions went there to explore, and never came back."
Klein pressed further, "Do you mean the real world, or the dream world?"
"Of course, it's the real world," Anderson said with a smile. "The other third of my companions were exploring in the dream, and they didn't come back either."
when!
As he spoke, Anderson's axe struck the wood again, but with a metallic clang. His axe shattered into two pieces, one of the smaller fragments shooting towards him.
Bright red blood immediately flowed from between Anderson's right chest and abdomen.
He covered his wound with his hand and looked at Odis and Klein, saying, "I told you, ever since I saw that mural, I've been plagued by bad luck."
"Fortunately, it's not too bad. At least they didn't ruin my ordinary, handsome face."
Klein thought to himself: How did these two adjectives end up together?
The two watched as Anderson quickly removed the shards, treated his wounds, and administered medication. They noticed that he was calm and skilled, seemingly accustomed to such treatments.
Klein considered his question carefully before asking, "While your companions began their exploration, did you and the rest of the group stay behind to study the murals?"
Anderson paused for a moment, then tied the medicine pouch to his belt: "No."
"I belong to the third that is exploring forward."
As he spoke, a warm smile gradually spread across his face.
Klein's pupils contracted, and he immediately hunched back and stepped back, raising the hand that wore the "Wriggling Hunger" badge.
Even Odis, who knew the truth, couldn't help but take a step back: This guy deserved his bad luck, his acting was so convincing!
Just then, the blinding sunlight came into view.
Odis, aboard the Argo, opened her eyes and found that it was noon again outside.
Odis sensed something. The moment he reached out and took out the crystal ball, the crystal ball began to surge with spiritual energy. It was "Admiral of the Stars" Cattleya trying to contact him.
But after Odis established a spiritual connection, Klein appeared in the crystal ball first, asking, "What are your thoughts on Anderson, whom you met in your dream?"
"I don't have any ideas," Odis smiled. "It was probably just one of his pranks."
Klein was visibly taken aback, recalling Anderson's personality, and realized that such a prank was indeed possible: "I understand."
He then disconnected.
Odis stared at the crystal ball for a moment, then thought: This reminds me of those people who hang up the phone incredibly fast.
...
On the "Future", after disconnecting, Klein handed the crystal ball to Cattleya, who was standing next to him.
After receiving the crystal ball, Cattleya seemed to recall for a moment before saying, "In the dream, we seemed to have talked?"
Klein did not deny it: "Yes."
He first encountered Cattleya, and then met Odis, who was gazing at the "Giant's Court." Klein thus misjudged the situation, assuming that Odis, like Cattleya, was in a dazed state of dreaming.
Cattleya then asked, "Both you and Odis can move freely in dreams."
Klein replied half-jokingly, "Yes."
"This is a gift from my Lord."
My Lord!
There was a noticeable flicker in Gadria's eyes behind her glasses, but she didn't ask any further questions.
Then something seemed strange. "The World" was able to move freely in dreams because of a gift, but what about Odis? Why could he do the same?
The fleet had sailed forward for a short while when an island covered with huge trees appeared to the side and front of the "Future".
Caldelia felt that they had been sailing for quite some time and should dock for a short rest, so she had the crew signal to the two ships behind them that the "Future" was about to dock.
The Argo and Golden Dream ships also indicated they would dock together.
There is a very nice harbor on the island, where three ships docked one after another.
Cattleya said to her subordinates, "You may go out onto the island for a while, but do not venture too far in; you must remain within artillery range."
Klein also came to the island, where he simply walked back and forth on the beach, enjoying the feeling of his feet touching the ground.
At that moment, he noticed a black dot moving at high speed, rushing towards him from the edge of the cliff.
The black dot grew larger and larger, and it turned out to be a human figure!
The crew members who had disembarked to rest immediately became alert.
However, Cattleya, who remained on the "Future", Odis, who remained on the "Argo", and Edwina, who also did not disembark, simply observed the situation carefully without taking any immediate action.
In other words, the target is not very dangerous.
The figure drew closer, wearing a white shirt, a black vest, and short blond hair!
Klein recognized him; it was Anderson!
Poor Anderson!
Without hesitation, Klein, playing Gehrman Sparrow, pulled out a talisman and produced the ancient Hermes word: "Storm!"
As spiritual energy was infused, the sound of the wind in mid-air suddenly surged.
Klein threw the talisman at Anderson without any expression.
One after another, condensed into cyan "wind blades" shot towards the target, while Anderson raised his right hand with a smile, as if to greet him.
Upon seeing the wind blade, he quickly fell to the side and rolled over repeatedly.
The "wind blade" pierced the sand, cutting out obvious gaps, but it was still a little short and failed to hit the target.
Anderson shouted, "I have no hostility! No malice!"
"I can have Edwina as my witness!"
"Admiral Star" also disembarked from the ship and stopped Klein, who was continuing to take the talismans: "Anderson Hood!"
Klein recalled his conversation with Odis earlier, so he stopped attacking. However, he was a little puzzled as to why Anderson would have "Lieutenant General Iceberg" testify for him.
Although he didn't throw out any new spells, Klein kept a close eye on Anderson.
Anderson, with his blond hair, quickly explained, half-laughing and half-crying, "I was just joking in the dream to lighten the mood. Don't you think it's great to suddenly have a scary environment?"
Klein said coldly, "I don't think so."
Anderson paused for a moment before forcing a smile and continuing, "I was planning to tell you that I was joking and ask for your help, hoping you could come and take me away, but then the dream ended."
"Damn it! This is so unlucky."
Klein then took out a coin and performed a divination in front of Anderson to confirm that he was not lying, and then said nothing more.
Then, to dispel everyone's concerns, Anderson took the initiative to tell his own story, which was similar to what he had said in his dream. He had formed a treasure hunting team with some bounty hunters and came to the "Ruins of Gods War" to search for treasure.
At first, they found a lot of good things, but after they saw the mural that appeared in their dream, the whole team became very unlucky. In just two days, team members died or went missing for various reasons.
Anderson was quite strong, which is why he managed to swim to the island despite the constant misfortunes.
As he was building the canoe, his axe, much like in his dream, shattered in two.
After recounting his experience, Anderson smiled at the "Star Admiral" and said, "Would I have the honor of boarding your ship and leaving? I will pay the fare."
Caldelia said, "I have no problem with that, but if you want to board another ship, you need the other captains' permission."
Although she had received payment from Klein for the boat trip, which brought him to the "Ruins of the Gods War".
However, once on the high seas, Captain Cattleya held unquestionable authority in dealing with matters concerning the "Future".
Anderson's gaze lingered between the "Future" and the "Golden Dream" before he said, "Of course I'd like to board the 'Future'."
Cattleya asked bluntly, "Why didn't you choose the 'Golden Dream'?"
Anderson chuckled twice: "When I was in school with Edwina, we didn't get along very well."
This answer surprised Klein slightly: You went to school? You were classmates with "Lieutenant General Iceberg"?
"I grant your request," Cattleya said, "but once we leave this sea, you must give me half of your belongings. If you have nothing, then I will take nothing."
Anderson paused for a few seconds before saying, "Deal."
He then laughed and said, "I must remind you that although my misfortune is limited to myself, you should still be careful, as it might attract monsters. Of course, I believe..."
Just as I finished speaking, the entire island trembled slightly, and dust billowed out from the primeval forest.
Anderson's lips twitched visibly: "Could it be that a monster has really arrived?"
As they were speaking, a figure nearly three meters tall appeared at the edge of the primitive island.
Its entire body is grayish-white, seemingly composed of giant rocks, and the pits and craters on its face form rather abstract facial features.
"Stone Giant," Cattleya whispered the monster's name.
At this moment, Odis, who had been looking out from the deck and had basically heard their conversation, shouted the order: "Bow machine guns, aim the water bombs, fire!"
Just as Cattleya was about to remind her that ordinary cannons would have little effect on this monster.
Because its "core" is one of the main materials of the "Guardian" in the "Warrior" pathway Sequence 5, it has very high defensive capabilities.
But before she could speak, the turret at the bow of the "Argo" suddenly changed position and unleashed a barrage of blue shells at the "Stone Giant".
These shells did not explode, but they still forced the "stone giant" to retreat repeatedly.
Some trees in the primeval forest were unfortunately "hit" and were instantly cut in half by the highly penetrating "water bullets".
The stones around the "Stone Giant" that were unfortunately hit by the bullets were either pierced directly or smashed in half.
In that area, fallen trees and broken branches flew everywhere, and rubble and soil bounced around.
After the "Stone Giant" withstood several cannonballs, cracks began to appear on its body. Soon it could not hold on any longer, its extraordinary defensive power disappeared, and water bullets pierced its body, first its limbs were broken off, then its head was blown off, and finally its torso split into several pieces and fell to the ground.
Odis raised his hand: "Cease fire!"
Two or three seconds later, the pebbles and branches that had been kicked up finally fell to the ground.
The crew members of the "Future" and "Golden Dream" were stunned. They had initially thought that the "Argo," being such a small ship, wouldn't have much firepower.
To their surprise, just one cannon on the Argo had such power!
On the beach, Anderson spoke first: "With such intense shelling, even someone as agile as me would find it difficult to dodge."
The only solution he could think of was to summon "fire crows" to engage the cannon in a firefight, and in the process, retreat as quickly as possible to escape the cannon's range.
Klein and Gadriya also put themselves in the shoes of the "stone giant" they had just encountered, thinking about how they would deal with such an attack if they were that "stone giant".
Cattleya immediately thought of several targeted "spells," but before that, she had to get close enough to attack the target.
She then realized that it was impossible to get close to the cannon while it was firing, and she had no confidence in blocking all the shells. The only way was to temporarily leave the firing range and look for another opportunity.
Klein discovered that without his "creeping hunger," he would have had a hard time escaping.
At this moment, Odis, who was looking into the distance from the deck, said, "Strange, this 'stone giant' has not extracted any extraordinary materials."
"In this sea area, there are some extraordinary creatures that do not contain extraordinary materials," Cattleya explained.
Odis looked at Anderson and laughed, "Is this your bad luck, or mine?"
Anderson said with a wry smile, "It must be my bad luck."
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
Odis sighed, "I was just thinking of having you run around inside the island to attract some monsters and bring them here. I would then use the machine gun to wipe them out, and we would split the materials we got."
"I don't have that thought anymore."
Klein thought to himself: Is this the legendary "luring monsters"?
Anderson breathed a sigh of relief and whispered, "Looks like there's a benefit to being unlucky."
With the "Stone Giant" incident, the rest period on the island ended early, and the fleet set sail again.
...
On the Argo.
Odis was in the bridge, watching the navigators draw up nautical charts, when he suddenly sensed the spiritual fluctuations of the crystal ball.
He took out the crystal ball and saw that it was Cattleya contacting him again. After establishing a connection, Gehrman Sparrow appeared.
The other party expressed their desire to visit the "Argo".
Odis knew that Klein was very curious about the "extraordinary machine gun," so he agreed to the other party's request.
A few minutes later, Klein used the "Flight" spell to land on the deck of the "Argo".
Odis greeted him on the deck: "Tired of being on the 'Future'?"
Klein used Gehrman Sparrow's analogy: "Didn't you just say in your dream that we should get together more often?"
Odis gestured for him to proceed and smiled, saying, "I didn't expect you to be so proactive."
Klein didn't follow Odis to the restaurant, but instead looked at the "extraordinary machine gun" on the bow of the ship: "When I came before, I didn't have a chance to see it. Aren't you going to show me around and introduce the weapons here now?"
He was indeed very interested in this "machine gun" because it was exactly the kind of firepower suppression he had previously admired.
"Alright," Odis said. "You've seen this 'extraordinary machine gun' before; it's actually a modified version."
Over the past month, Odis has used the convenience provided by the "Alchemy Glasses" to upgrade the weapons on the "Argo".
While its power isn't significantly greater, it's more convenient and easier to use than before.
For example, regarding the "Extraordinary Machine Gun" of the Gate, Odis explained: "In previous versions, the firing angle was limited, and targets above 70 degrees could not be hit."
"The improved version has the following slide."
Klein just noticed that there's a slide in the middle of the turret, dividing the entire turret in two: "Does this allow for 180-degree firing with no blind spots?"
"There are still blind spots," Odis smiled. "After all, you can't shoot downwards; if the enemy gets close enough, you won't be able to hit them."
"Furthermore, to prevent crew error, shells could not be fired at angles that might hit the sails or bridge of the 'Argo'."
Klein exclaimed, "That's so advanced!"
Although he had never visited the ironclad ships of Rune, in his memory, ironclad ships only had some large-caliber cannons and did not seem to have such flexible and powerful weapons.
He then asked, "What if the enemy gets close to the Argo?"
Odis answered Klein's question with action, calling out to an "extraordinary puppet": "Open that 'extraordinary machine gun'."
Following the captain's instructions, the "Extraordinary Puppet" opened a wooden crate standing upright on the port side of the "Argo".
These wooden crates look quite sturdy, but they are actually very easy to open. Once the lock in the middle is opened, the crates can be tilted to the sides, revealing the metal gun racks and machine guns inside.
The "Extraordinary Machine Gun" is mounted upright, so it doesn't take up much space.
Once the "Extraordinary Puppet" pulls out the retaining ring, the angle of the machine gun firing can be freely changed, and it can hit even directly below the ship's side.
Klein had previously wondered why the "Argo" had several wooden crates fixed to its side, but now he understood that the crates were full of weapons.
Just as Odis was about to lead Klein on the tour, the two of them, as if sensing something, looked together at the "Future" ahead.
The two men saw that the cannons on the "Future" were spitting out milk.
Klein remarked, "In these waters, Frank is more dangerous than Heath Doyle, the second officer of the USS Future, and even more dangerous than Anderson."
In a previous dream, Frank mentioned that he was researching something that could make bulls produce milk. Whether that thing would actually make bulls produce milk was uncertain, but what was certain was that it made the cannons on the "Future" ship produce milk.
Odis "recalling" the relevant events, his gaze sweeping over the surrounding sea: "It's very likely the result of Anderson and Frank 'adding' together."
Klein nodded: "That makes sense."
At this moment, they saw a large number of vines suddenly emerge from the deck of the "Future". In just over ten seconds, the nearly 100-meter-long giant ship turned into a forest of vines.
Klein also realized something was wrong, but instead of rushing back to provide support, he chose to observe further and find the source of the strange phenomenon.
Then they heard Cattleya's amplified voice: "Perhaps the breath of the Earth Mother Goddess remains here."
Odis was unfazed, but Klein was quite surprised. The words of the "Star Admiral" overturned his previous guesses about a divine war in this sea area.
"It's here!" Odis's sudden, seemingly random words brought Klein back to his senses. At the same time, he saw a giant hand suddenly emerge from beneath the sea and slap the side of the "Future".
The hand has five long fingers, nearly half a meter long, and is a grayish-black color that seems devoid of any life.
Then it grabbed the side of the boat and quickly climbed upwards, pulling out the part below the sea inch by inch.
The monster seemed to be haphazardly pieced together from countless gray and black corpses. Behind its enormous hand was a withered arm, which itself came from the corpse of a giant.
The giant's single eye was tightly closed, and several heads were stuck to its neck. From beneath those heads extended fish-like bodies covered in scales, the remains of lizards, and twisted human corpses.
Layer upon layer, they formed floating island-like chunks of meat.
From the different corpses and from the gaps between the pieces, streams of yellowish-green gas emanated and spread outwards, seemingly enveloping the area.
Odis remarked, "The higher-level abilities of the 'Cultivator' pathway are very similar to those of the 'Death' pathway!"
He now suddenly understands why Sequence 3 of this pathway is called "the coffin bearer".
Klein paused for a moment, but still didn't rush back to help because he couldn't think of a good solution.
Immediately, the mystical symbols on the "Future" lit up in distinct layers, transforming the entire ship into a dazzling sea of stars.
The pervasive yellowish-green gas was blocked by starlight. Boatswain Nina and First Mate Frank were leading the sailors to adjust the sails and get away from this area as quickly as possible.
However, the enormous, gray-black monster had already wrapped itself around the front of the ship, and its underwater body was connected to something unknown, forcibly holding back the "Future".
Odis immediately gave the order: "Turn left and proceed forward four steps!"
"Set distance from the 'Future' and prepare the bow guns for fire!"
The "Golden Dream" followed the "Argo" as it turned.
As the Argo came to the side of the Future, Odis was about to order the cannons to fire when the atmosphere suddenly became quiet. Everyone's emotions were affected, and even Odis felt like he had become an emotionless zombie.
At this critical moment, a giant sailing ship, also nearly a hundred meters long, emerged from the void in the sea ahead!
The ship was predominantly black with a hint of dark green, and its pale mainsail was painted with a blooming, jet-black tulip.
This is the flagship of "Admiral" Ludwell, the "Black Tulip".
It is said to be a frequent visitor to this area, and it is unknown what it is searching for here.
Klein's gaze sharpened. Although the "Black Tulip" did not launch an attack immediately, it was clearly observing and would launch an attack as soon as the opportunity arose.
After glancing at the other party, Odis said to the pilot, "Start charging the Spirit Wave Cannon!"
"The bow's 'Extraordinary Machine Gun' fires at the chest and abdomen of the monster that's entangled with the 'Future'!"
If we only shoot the arm, the target is too small and it's easy to accidentally injure the "Future"!
Bang bang bang bang bang!
The "Extraordinary Machine Gun" began firing, and a series of shells hit the monster, exploding and spreading in flames, causing both explosions and fire.
In an instant, severed limbs flew everywhere, breaking the monster in two from its chest and abdomen.
The "Future" was finally able to move forward. At the same time, while defending against the enemy's toxic gas, Cattleya organized her men to cut off the five fingers of the giant hand, and the upper half of the corpse fell into the sea.
But in the instant of the fall, many corpses that were connected together suddenly separated from the giant's corpse and used the giant's corpse as a springboard to jump onto the "Future".
The crew of the "Future" immediately launched a counterattack, but they soon discovered that the severed parts of the corpses suddenly transformed into a new monster.
The injured monster then grew back its severed body.
As a result, the number of monsters on the deck increased with each kill.
At this moment, the "Black Tulip" suddenly moved out, and the ship's cannons were aimed at the "Future" for a round of calibration firing.
Odis and Klein were both slightly taken aback; they hadn't expected the "Black Tulip" to launch an attack on its own initiative.
Odis immediately realized that, from the perspective of the "Black Tulip," the scene of the "Argo" firing at the "Future" looked like the "Argo" was driving the giant corpse to attack the "Future" while simultaneously using its cannons to attack the "Future."
"Admiral" Ludwell planned to attack from both sides, severely damage the "Future", and then retreat immediately.
Even if they can't severely damage the "Future", given the speed of the enemy, they can quickly withdraw from the battlefield and avoid being attacked by the "Future".
This is a common tactic of pirates: kicking someone when they're down.
Whether or not the stone hits the person at the bottom of the well is irrelevant; the main thing is to take advantage of this moment to "throw" the stone out, so that they will feel comfortable.
Odis stopped Klein, who was about to play the adventurer and rush towards the "Black Tulip".
Klein paused for a moment, but did not try to be brave. He held the talisman he had taken out tightly in his hand and did not use it.
Odis observed the battle situation on the deck of the "Future". The situation was not too critical, but it would take time to get rid of those monsters.
After a moment's thought, he ordered the cockpit: "Lingbo Cannon, fire at the 'Black Tulip'!"
The next second, Klein saw a tiny point of light being launched at an extremely high speed, and because of the close distance, it hit the "Black Tulip" almost instantly.
Boom!
Klein watched in astonishment as the explosion enveloped the "Black Tulip" and formed a mushroom-like cloud of smoke in mid-air.
Immediately following was a violent shockwave. Because the explosion had occurred just a few kilometers away, the shockwave and the resulting waves and air currents caused the "Future" to tilt severely, as if it were about to capsize.
After the seawater relieved the pressure, the "Mirai" ship was able to right itself.
Many monsters on the ship fell into the sea. Although some crew members were also thrown out, Cattleya intervened in time and caught them with starlight that materialized, then "thrown" them back onto the deck.
The next second, the shockwave reached the "Argo" and "Golden Dream" which were a little further away. Klein then came to his senses and quickly dove down to reduce the area in contact with the shockwave.
Immediately afterwards, the Argo also shook violently. At that moment, Klein felt like a leaf in a storm, extremely small and helpless.
Fortunately, thanks to the enhanced physique from the "Joker" ability and his excellent balance, Klein managed to grab the ship's side and avoid being thrown off.
Jumping back onto the deck of the "Argo," Klein saw that Odis had already used the "Defense Scroll" to block the violent shockwave, and he was standing there unharmed.
Klein glanced at the "Golden Dream" behind him. The large sailing ship was now radiating a golden light, having withstood the shockwave with its extraordinary design.
The explosions several kilometers away ceased, and Klein saw that the "Black Tulip" had been sunk.