Exploring Technology in a Wizard World
Chapter 428 - 427: Ghost Ship!

Chapter 428: Chapter 427: Ghost Ship!

Afterwards, everything proceeded as if nothing had ever happened. There was no mutiny, no murder; the vessel sailed normally. The only difference was that there was a new captain.

"If things go on like this, it would be quite nice," Richard thought to himself.

But just when it reached the afternoon, turbulence arose once again.

"Buzz!"

The "Naru Glory Fisherman" suddenly rocked, and many passengers in the cabins were thrown to the ground, clutching their swollen heads and arms as they ran out of their rooms, asking in confusion what had happened.

It didn’t take long to figure out.

The newly appointed Captain Jack had suddenly ordered the ship to stop at sea.

The reason given was that the ship’s food supply was insufficient, so they stopped in an area abundant with sea fish to catch for two days and fill the stores before setting sail once again.

The justification was laughable; almost everyone on board knew that the "Naru Glory Fisherman" had just stocked up at Hai Ya Port, and there was more than enough food for everyone to eat their fill for over half a month.

Despite this, no one dared to challenge the decision openly; they just grumbled in private.

So, the "Naru Glory Fisherman" came to a halt.

Upon receiving this information, Richard pondered, murmuring to himself, "Two days?" His eyes narrowed bit by bit.

If before, there was only speculation about the strange happenings on the ship—suspecting the work of a divination woman—now it was certain.

The two days were precisely what the divination woman had repeated over and over again in the inn at Hai Ya. Apparently, something special would happen in two days that would enable the divination woman to achieve some goal.

Therefore, the divination woman had made every effort to have him leave the port two days later. But he had not complied and boarded the "Naru Glory Fisherman" ahead of time to leave. Now, it seemed the divination woman had used some method to control Sailor Jack and stop the ship, attempting to claw back the two days.

Was a form of spiritual magic used?

Richard speculated.

Quite likely.

But considering that Jack wasn’t controlling the "Naru Glory Fisherman" on his own but had the implausible support of many sailors, it’s possible spiritual magic was used on several people. In other words, in addition to controlling Jack’s mind, at least some other sailors had been controlled. They had fanned the flames and contributed to the unrest, which allowed the mutiny to succeed under the oppressive reign of Captain Morgan.

Then what exactly was the divination woman delaying two days for?

If it was for something he possessed, he didn’t believe it.

After all, in the previous inn, under the double concealment of the Concealing Breath Skill and the Shadow Cloak, he appeared as just an ordinary person. Even when he captured the divination woman’s "pet rat," it was nothing more than a somewhat difficult ordinary person. He had not shown enough value or reason for the divination woman to expend so much energy on him.

Therefore, a plausible explanation would be that the divination woman wanted more than he had anticipated. Perhaps she was after the ship or something unknown on the ship—he was merely incidental, caught in the upheaval by coincidence.

It was even possible that the divination woman was not acting alone but had accomplices. After all, no matter how one looked at it, the divination woman’s powers were not strong enough to remotely control several people.

Well then, what exactly was the truth behind all this?

Richard was genuinely curious and decided to stick to his original plan, not to expose his true strength, and to observe as an ordinary bystander how this play would unfold.

And so, time passed quickly...

...

Half a day, a day, a day and a half...

Just when Richard felt that the two days were almost over, and the answer was about to be revealed, an unexpected change occurred on the ship—a second mutiny broke out.

The rebellion started in the lower deck cabins, with the instigators being passengers who had been driven down from the upper-tier cabins.

During the first mutiny, Jack had locked up Captain Morgan, the First Officer, Second Officer, Third Officer, and other sailors who were staunch supporters of Captain Morgan, in the upper-tier cabins. The reason for choosing the upper-tier cabins rather than the lower-tier was to prevent anyone who broke free from any restraints from destroying the ship’s bottom out of desperation. Even if damage control was possible, it would be a massive effort.

Consequently, there wasn’t enough room in the upper-tier cabins, and several passengers who had paid a premium to stay there were unceremoniously displaced to the lower-tier cabins.

Having been sent to the lower deck, these people were full of grievances, and after some discussion, they naturally conspired to do something significant, to teach the new captain a lesson—a plan that seemed rather foolish to Richard.

But these people weren’t hopelessly foolish; some self-aware, they realized quickly that their unarmed rebellion was impossible—they lacked the capability and the courage. After another discussion, they decided to sow discord among the mutinous sailors, encouraging these sailors to take the lead in a redemptive act.

If they succeeded, all well and good, if not, they would act as if nothing had happened. With their minds made up, these people split up to search for sailors to sound them out.

The result was... the progress of the event was far smoother than anyone had imagined. As soon as these conspiring passengers connected with the sailors, they found out that, although many sailors had complaints against Captain Morgan, they were still loyal to him at heart.

"Why the rebellion," said the sailor himself, "was because somehow, people around him just lost it, and spurred on by Jack’s words, he heatedly and uncontrollably took his stand behind Jack. By the time he calmed down, it was already too late for regrets."

Now, hearing they had to save Captain Morgan, offering them a chance to make amends, they readily joined in.

So, a day and a half after the ship had stopped, and on the fifth day of the voyage at noon, a premeditated mutiny broke out anew.

After the outbreak of the rebellion, there was hardly any resistance; the situation was overwhelmingly one-sided. The majority who supported Jack switched sides in an instant, and Jack was quickly subdued. The bound Captain Morgan, the first officer, the second officer, the third officer, and others were released, and the reign over "Naru Glory Fisherman" once again returned to Captain Morgan’s hands.

...

On the deck.

Captain Morgan stood firm with the first officer, the second officer, the third officer, staunch loyalist sailors, and numerous redemptive sailors who had "seen the light" and "turned from their errors" behind him.

A little over a day of confinement had left Captain Morgan looking somewhat weary, but his eyes were as sharp as ever, staring intently at Jack, who was trussed up in front of him like a rice dumpling.

"Jack!" Captain Morgan called out harshly, "I don’t know if you remember, but if it hadn’t been for my pity in taking you aboard this ship, you would have starved to death in Sam Port like a beggar. And this betrayal is how you repay me?"

"Hey, Captain Morgan!" Jack, tied up, laughed eerily, completely transformed, "You don’t understand, you just don’t understand! I’m saving you! Yes, I’m saving you! My betrayal is your salvation! Otherwise, I would have killed you long ago, get it?"

"Saving me, huh? I don’t need your salvation!" Captain Morgan replied coldly, "And I don’t need anyone else’s salvation. I control my own life!"

"You just don’t get it, you really don’t!" Jack shouted, "You understand nothing! I heard the voice of God, God’s guidance, and God is never wrong. If you don’t listen to me, you’ll just end up in hell!"

"It seems, you really have gone mad."

"I’m not mad, I’m completely lucid..."

"Enough!" Captain Morgan interrupted Jack and turned to look to the side.

First Officer Williams approached, asking, "Captain, what should we do with him, kill him or..."

"Not yet. Don’t kill him," Captain Morgan said coldly, "I want to see whether he’s truly mad or just faking it. If he’s genuinely mad, once his frenzy fades, I will question him thoroughly about how his mind works. If it’s just an act... Well, I’ll make sure he learns that there are things far worse than death in this world."

"Uh..."

"Alright, Williams. Take some men, gag him, and throw him in the hold. Let him starve for a couple of days first!"

"Yes," the first officer moved quickly with his men and dragged Jack away.

Jack struggled violently and yelled at Captain Morgan and the sailors on deck, as well as the many onlooking passengers, "You will regret this! You really will! If you don’t listen to me, if you refuse my salvation, then you will soon welcome death, and your souls will suffer in the hellish flames! Wooo..."

Towards the end, Jack’s mouth was ruthlessly stuffed with a rag by First Officer Williams, nearly splitting his lips, leaving him unable to speak, and he was dragged into the hold.

The entire deck fell silent.

"Whew—"

Captain Morgan then let out a breath, looked to everyone, to sailors who had betrayed and supported him, and to passengers he had always ignored.

"A lot has happened recently, and I don’t wish to say much about it. I am a Captain, and my sole purpose is to get you all to your desired destination, that’s all. Before this, whatever people have done, I do not wish to pursue it further. But make no more mistakes hereon, for this is my last tolerance. Let us sail forth, and continue our voyage. That is all."

Captain Morgan spoke his piece and strode towards the Captain’s Room.

At that moment, a sharp-eyed passenger spotted something in the distance over the sea and exclaimed, "What... what is that?"

"Hmm?" Everyone was stunned, turning to look behind the "Naru Glory Fisherman."

Captain Morgan also stopped in his tracks and glanced at the rear of the ship, his eyes suddenly narrowing.

There, a massive sea vessel enveloped in black, even larger than the "Naru Glory Fisherman," was swiftly catching up, riding the wind and breaking the waves.

Painted on the hull of the ship was a chilling skull with eyes ablaze with blue flames.

The deck was eerily empty, as the whole ship sailed on, seemingly under the control of some supernatural power, rapidly closing in on the "Naru Glory Fisherman."

What was it?

"A Ghost Ship!"

Someone suddenly cried out!

The voyage had been delayed, someone kept urging, and so... the Ghost Ship, which should have only arrived two days later, had succeeded in catching up after just over one and a half days!