Chapter 536

Chapter 397: Control

“Because I’ve been fighting with those guys on this ship, the Shining White Pearl has been spiraling south and west after veering off course. The result is that a ship on a normal course would soon catch up. If my calculations are correct… we shouldn’t be too far from them now!”

Dorothy thought, then immediately closed her eyes, beginning to sense Vania’s current position through the information channel, gauging the distance between them. After a moment, she opened her eyes.

“This distance… it’ll work…”

After confirming Vania’s position and her distance, Dorothy’s expression relaxed. She quickly closed her eyes again, sending a message to Vania through the information channel in the name of Akka, asking how big the church ship was and what the guard strength was like there.

……

“Eh? Miss Dorothy… is she calling me again through Akka?”

In a plainly decorated, spacious, and bright cabin, Vania, who had been praying earnestly at a simple altar, suddenly opened her eyes and looked around, murmuring to herself.

“Under normal circumstances, Miss Dorothy only troubles Akka to convey messages in very urgent situations. Does that mean… she’s encountering some crisis? It always feels like Miss Dorothy easily gets caught up in something… ever since I met her, the frequency of being involved in incidents has risen significantly…”

Standing up and adjusting her glasses, Vania pondered in her heart, recalling that in the past six months, the number of incidents she had been involved in was more than the sum of the past ten years of her life. However, her merits and rank had also been rapidly increasing.

“Never mind that for now. If Miss Dorothy is in danger, she’s definitely fighting against cultists and evil societies again. I need to support her to the best of my abilities.

“But if she’s asking me how big our ship is and about our guardian strength, I need to go out and confirm that…”

With these thoughts in mind, Vania walked to the front of her cabin, opened the door, and quickly walked down the simple corridor toward the deck. Along the way, she encountered a gaunt ascetic also on a pilgrimage. After giving a slight greeting, she continued forward and finally ascended the stairs to the deck of the ship she was on.

The howling sea wind brushed against the white nun’s robe that marked Vania as a Healing Priest, and flocks of seagulls soared in the sky. In the wind, Vania held onto her nun’s hat and looked around, finding herself on a vast deck. Beyond the deck, in the distant sea, there were several fully armed escort warships.

On the vast ocean, three ordinary passenger ships maintained a formation, with one in front and two behind. Surrounding these three passenger ships was a circle of escort formation, composed of six church warships under the flag of the Radiant Sun, including two larger ones and four smaller ones.

The two large warships, positioned at the front of the fleet, were nearly a hundred meters long, covered in thick iron armor from bow to stern. Each ship had two dual-mounted main guns on the front and rear decks, and there was a row of smaller secondary guns along each side. Three tall chimneys expelled black smoke into the sky.

The bow was adorned with a statue of a sword-wielding angel, and beneath it was an exaggeratedly large ram. Not only were signal flags hung on the ship, but also pages filled with scriptures. Numerous sailors in matching uniforms moved about the deck.

“Mm… the Order of the Holy Ceremony Knights, specifically escorting pilgrims, the maritime escort strength they assigned to us… I wonder what it’s like? Figuring it out is quite a headache… If I ask too many details, I might raise suspicion…”

Gazing at the circle of warships surrounding her ship, Vania felt a bit troubled in her heart. After a moment, she decided to report what she saw to Dorothy first.

……

Conquer Sea, Shining White Pearl.

Under the gray sky, the giant cruise ship sailed westward, heading towards White Tear Island under Costa’s orders. More than 2,700 passengers on board were unknowingly continuing their fun, heading toward a destination that completely did not belong to them.

In the cockpit, two sailors sat in their seats, bored, discussing whether human bl**d was better drunk directly or boiled before drinking. After setting the course and securing the helm, they usually chose various ways to pass the time.

While they chatted, a sound of footsteps approached from a distance, making both sailors tense up and look toward the door, only to see a serious-looking Bins entering, their superior.

Seeing the first mate Bins, the two sailors quickly stood up to greet him. Bins nodded in response and then asked, “Is the current course okay?”

“No problem! According to Mr. Costa’s orders, the current course is heading west, towards White Tear Island!” the sailor replied earnestly.

After hearing the reply, Bins said nothing but slowly walked to the helm. He took a look around before fixing his gaze on the compass next to the helm.

After carefully confirming the compass’s position, Bins furrowed his brows and turned to the two sailors, shouting, “Is this heading west? Look at the compass yourself! See where the needle points? Can you tell me where we’re heading now?!”

Furious, Bins yelled at the two sailors, who were momentarily stunned. They hurried to check the helm-mounted compass. After confirming the needle’s position, they realized the ship was not heading west but southwest. At this rate, they wouldn’t reach White Tear Island!

“Uh… Sorry, Mr. Bins! We were careless; we’ll correct it right now!”

“Make it quick! Before Mr. Costa comes to check, hurry up! If this deviation delays our time to White Tear Island, you’ll be in for it!”

Seeing the ship’s heading wrong, the two sailors hastily rushed to correct the course. Meanwhile, they were unaware of a flying insect climbing under the compass in the control panel, with invisible currents flowing over it.

On the other side, Dorothy sat in her cabin, listening to the sounds from the cockpit while sipping coffee. After tasting a sip, she looked out at the cloudy weather.

“Ha… really careless, those two. In this weather where the sun and stars aren’t visible, the only navigation we have is the compass. If they don’t strictly follow it to determine the course, they won’t reach their destination.”

Murmuring to herself, Dorothy raised her small hand to look at the flickering arc of electricity between her fingertips.

While she couldn’t electrocute the two sailors outright, she could subtly control the magnetic field of the ship.