Abyssal Awakening

Once everything was loaded up onto the ships, Alice made her way to the main boat as the crew looked at her with confused eyes.

Her outfit was extremely eye catching and her presence was a little confusing.

This was a secret smuggling operation after all, eye catching is the last thing they wanted. However, seeing as how Lorien was standing next to her without saying anything, they ignored it and carried on.

Currently, Alice was leaning by the helm of the ship.

"Since we're expecting the Pirate Queen to intercept, any useful information you can give me? I hope you don't expect me to fight blindly." Alice asked with a soft chuckle.

"We've only ever seen her use four Sigils at most so we don't know what else she's got up her sleeve. However, we know that she can summon a phantom fleet just like Darrow." Lorien frowned as Alice raised an eyebrow.

"Phantom Fleet?"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Yes. She hunted the same beast as Darrow and got the same power. Just like him, she's able to summon a fleet of ghost ships and surround whoever she wants to fight at sea. Of course, this skill loses most of its effectiveness on land but at sea, it's extremely potent.

"From our previous scouting reports, we've seen her summon up to 10 additional ships but we're unsure if that's the full number of what she's capable of."

Hearing this, Alice stared at him with a blank expression.

"And you're only bringing three ships to fight someone who can summon up to 10?" She questioned, wondering if he was dropped on the head as a child.

Ignoring her insult, Lorien nodded his head.

"The phantom fleet has one glaring weakness and that's requiring the caster to focus. We've seen it a few times but whenever the Pirate Queen uses this skill, she has people defending her so that she can focus on commanding the fleet remotely. I'm sure you can deal with her if she were to use this skill right?" Lorien asked as Alice contemplated for a moment.

"Sure, I can do that. But allocating me to focus on her leaves the ships exposed, doesn't it? How will you take responsibility if my pay is deducted because you wanted me to keep her occupied?" Alice rubbed her fingers together, reminding him that he was paying her quite a bit to protect the shipment.

"Don't worry about that. If you can occupy her ships, I'll take responsibility for the shipment if a mistake appears on my end." Lorien reassured.

"Don't go back on your word now~ Anything else I need to focus on aside from her phantom fleet? Any Sigils to help her in one on one situations?"

Alice wanted to make a mental note of things since overconfidence would no doubt lead to her death.

No matter who her opponent was, she had to get as much information as she could.

"We know that she fights primarily with a cutlass. As for her Sigils… Aside from the phantom fleet, there have been instances where a strange pink energy appears on her blade and in her eyes. But we don't have much information regarding that since she mainly finishes fights using her phantom fleet."

Tapping her fingers on the wood, Alice thought about it for a moment before nodding her head.

Lorien didn't seem like he was withholding information so Alice didn't push for more.

"I'll be sitting by the pointy thing in front, let me know if anything pops up okay?~" She waved her hand, making her way over to the bowsprit of the ship.

Compared to the dark murky waters deep in the Abyss, seeing a clear sea like this was rather relaxing. The faint shimmering of the sun's reflection upon the waves, the gentle breeze that brushed through her hair, the clear blue sky with white clouds.

This was what freedom felt like. Free of burdens, free of responsibilities. In this moment, Alice enjoyed the sea to its fullest.

###

"Have they left their port?" Minerva asked while standing on the main deck.

Besides her, a man could be seen calling in a bird that landed on his arm. It transformed into an eye and he slotted it back into his skull.

"They have. But a new… person appeared at the last moment. She was seen riding a Chitonis Serpent into the port." The man replied with a frown.

Hearing this, Minerva furrowed her brows.

"A tamer?"

"Doesn't seem likely. The beast immediately left and even seemed to show hostility towards her. I think she simply scared it into submission." He shook his head.

"Hmm… Prepare some wards in the off chance that she is indeed a tamer. I'd rather not take that chance. Do we know anything else about her?"

"She was seen to be making a scene in the underworld a day or so ago. Killed quite a few slaves and even one of the traders before talking business with Lorien."

"So another scum, great." Minerva clicked her tongue in annoyance.

These cockroaches seemed to be appearing left right and centre. Every time they kill one, five more appear out of the woodwork.

While she wasn't exactly excited by the prospect of having another variable that she needed to watch out for, nothing could be done about it right now.

Even though Darrow warned her, she couldn't leave this be. If they allow this shipment to enter Caethis, that's practically announcing to the world that everyone can do whatever they want in this city.

Minerva refused that kind of fate. She refused to allow the world to think they were weak just because they are an independent city.

"Ready all men! We'll intercept them when they're transferring the cargo! If they turn on us, prepare to sink them!" Minerva shouted as her subordinates cheered back. Everyone got to work and soon, five ships set off from the main port.

Watching everything from Pirate Bay, Darrow sighed after seeing Minerva's impatience.

"Should we prepare our own ships Sir?"

"Send one to observe the situation in case it gets out of hand. Try not to interfere too much. Minerva needs to experience a setback or two otherwise she won't be able to take over once I step down." Darrow let out a soft chuckle while walking away from the beach.

"Don't say that sir, I'm sure you'll succeed this time." The man behind him frowned but Darrow shook his head.

"When you approach the realm of Lord, you can usually tell if the Abyss will show you its favour. How many times have I approached a shaman now? How many times have I tried to connect through a communion point? Yet every single time, without fail, the Abyss shows me nothing.

"No beasts to hunt, no method to reach the realm of Lord. It has not given me a path out therefore I can only hope that Minerva is ready to take up my role.

"I've made many enemies, Virn. Each of them more eager than the last to take my head. The only goal I have left is to hope the Abyss will show favour to Minerva and give her a chance to reach the realm of Lord." Darrow glanced back with a smile.

Seeing Darrow give up in such a manner brought a sadness to Virn's heart. However, it was an undeniable fact that the Abyss had closed off the path forward for Darrow.

As his enemies began to catch up in strength, Darrow was growing weaker. If one of them were to attain the rank of Lord, then the freedom of Caethis would disappear. They could seek help from the Northern Queendom of Verona but doing so was essentially saying they were incapable of defending themselves.

A lose lose situation unless someone in this city reaches the rank of Lord. Stay tuned for updates on empire

And currently, the one with the highest chance to achieve this was Minerva.

"Should I tell them to step in if things get dangerous?" Virn asked as Darrow nodded his head.

"She needs to experience a setback but not one that causes her death. I have my own meeting to attend so I can't go even if I want to." Darrow sighed.

The people who live underwater were beginning to get a little out of hand, demanding more and more from the port and Pirate Bay. Even though they weren't in a good situation themselves, they continued to believe they were the superior force in this city and that their arrogance was justified.

Therefore, in the next meeting, Darrow needed to let them understand exactly where they sat on the table.

He may be growing old and weak but he was no pushover. Peace was a luxury that people had died for.

Even the people of the Underworld weren't as rowdy as them. The Underworld operates within its own boundaries, not wishing to step out. They may be planning something now, but so long as he can stall out this period of peace, he is satisfied. It gave them more time to prepare Minerva for her ascension into a Lord if the Abyss allowed for it.

But if these underwater parasites wished to take advantage of this peace that they've achieved, then Darrow wouldn't mind letting the Underworld take over their spot as the third power to keep this city in balance.

After all, they mistook his mercy and leniency for weakness.

###

In the distance, Alice could see a group of ships approaching. Even from this distance, she could sense their auras and estimated that all of them had six Sigils!

If it wasn't for the fact that Lorien was trading with them, Alice would be rather tempted to fight them herself.

Once they got close enough, Alice noticed that all of the members hid their appearances with a strange cloak. This cloak obscured what they looked like beneath, making it seem as though all of them were nothing but a tangle of shadows.

And on the side of their ship, an emblem was engraved. Three eyes hovering within a flame.