Chapter 162: Laughter

Chapter 162: Laughter

Klein could not go against his own wishes and comfort Frank Lee, nor could he bring himself to say directly that the inability of red-wine fish to reproduce was a good thing. He could only act as though this were an insignificant issue and offer no response at all.

He stepped diagonally around Frank, arriving at the edge of the railing, and gazed out over the uneven rise and fall of the sea.

At that moment, the clouds high above had grown thinner and paler. The crimson moon’s light brightened the gloomy night by a small degree.

In that environment, Klein could make out a scene not far away. There, layer upon layer of dark clouds hung low and heavy. One could see materialized hurricanes rampaging back and forth, shrouding an unknown expanse of sea.

Illuminated by one silver-white bolt of lightning after another, dense rain danced with the wind, creating an apocalyptic scene.

That terrifying disaster was only a few nautical miles from the Future—perhaps even closer. Yet this side was barely affected. Only the wind had grown a little stronger.

This is the meaning of a safe route—traveling through the gaps between storms… Without a qualified navigator, perhaps simply sailing normally would still mean being swept into disaster… Klein turned his head toward the front of the ship. The light there was dim and fog filled the air; visibility was extremely low. It was difficult to distinguish dangerous areas from safe ones with the naked eye alone.

Such situations had not been too obvious west of Olavi Island. But once they reached this side, once they entered a secret route, they became normal.

Klein was about to withdraw his gaze when he suddenly noticed an enormous, dark shape seeming to hide at the edge of the storm.

A sea monster? He instantly recalled the maritime rumors he had heard in various bars:

Once away from the safe routes, it was easy to encounter all kinds of monsters. Some were vast in size and highly aggressive. If they surfaced, they could swallow a ship in a single bite.

The Future did not stop moving forward. Before long, it had closed the distance with that gloomy, enormous thing.

Klein finally saw it clearly and discovered that it was not a sea monster, but a sailing ship even larger than the Future.

The ship was nearly two hundred meters long. Both its bow and stern rose high, making the whole vessel resemble a crescent moon.

Its surface was painted black. Along its sides, cannons were arranged in three staggered rows, ordered from top to bottom. Apart from its masts, the portions protruding above deck were likewise towering and massive, at least equivalent to a five-story building.

The strangest thing about the ship was that it had only a single sail, upon which a black tombstone was painted.

“The Death Knell…” A grave voice sounded beside Klein’s ear. Frank Lee had, at some point, discarded the silver-scaled fish whose blood was red wine and come to his side.

This first mate, who carried a 7,000-pound bounty, had a heavy expression. Every muscle in his body was tense, as if the slightest change from that gigantic sailing ship would make him attack.

The Death Knell? Klein was first startled. Then he remembered what that name represented.

It was one of the most famous and legendary ships across the five seas.

It was the flagship of the Undying King, Agalito!

We actually ran into one of the Four Kings… Klein clicked his tongue inwardly, unable to stop himself from entering a state of high alert.

However, his surface remained indifferent and calm. He continued gazing at the Death Knell.

Thinking of the Undying King’s second mate, “Slaughterer” Gilchies, with a bounty of 9,500 pounds, who had recently appeared in Nas and warned him, Klein quickly felt relieved. He was no longer puzzled about why they would encounter the Death Knell not far from the Gargas Islands.

After letting that question go, he recalled even more rumors. Among them, some could be confirmed as true…