Chapter 48: The Beginning of the Great Turmoil (Part 2)
The Jester.
This was a name Anacelis was not very familiar with.
She found it quite strange.
Though Anacelis understood that her knowledge was limited, she could at least name a few individuals from this era who were truly powerful or formidable—whether they were righteous or wicked, kind or malicious. After all, one never knew when she might have to face those people in a life-and-d*ath battle.
But as for “the Jester”… this name that sent shivers down everyone’s spine, Anacelis pondered for a long time and truly realized she had no idea who this person was—her curiosity piqued, she wanted to ask Captain Williams for clarification, but she didn’t know how to start.
Later on, many knights entered the tent one after another, their faces stern as they gathered around the table to discuss matters for a long while. During this time, Anacelis felt a bit stifled, so she stepped outside for a while, gnawing on half a dry biscuit. As night fell and more people at the camp began to mobilize after receiving new orders, the atmosphere grew more intense. She ran into the hulking giant Labio, a man as beefy as a bull; Anacelis thought of asking him but found he seemed even more dazed than she was, only scratching his head in confusion.
When she returned to the command tent, Nick Williams had arranged a new mission for her.
“Those heretics are using their own people as bait. Archbishop Ansiel was attacked, the situation in the Northern Sea is dire… Most importantly, the heretics took the Divine Reliquary from the Royal City. That is something we absolutely must retrieve…”
Captain Williams ultimately decided to sail with six thousand Church Knights overnight to pursue the enemy. Following the sailing routes provided by a previous informant, they hoped to intercept the heretics before they reached the Mete Islands and reclaim the relic.
“I’m sure we both understand that this could be a trap set by the enemy, but I have no choice but to proceed, Anacelis. The Pope has delivered a divine oracle; the great relic cannot fall into heretical hands just like that. Even with the tiniest chance, I must take this risk…”
“I won’t be accompanying you this time; the six thousand knights will be under the command of the leader of the Sixth Knights Order. Having you along soothes my nerves a bit more. If the relic is truly on their ship, just… retrieve it at all costs.”
As for Captain Williams, he would remain on the Mosley coast to confront the potential, greater threat—a direct assault here from the enemy seemed likely given the current circumstances.
The information about “fleeing back to the Eastern Continent” was basically a ruse.
But then again, it might not be.
“After all, it is the Jester…”
Seeing her captain so worried, Anacelis took the opportunity to ask who the Jester was.
“Oh, you’re still young… It’s normal not to have heard of him. He’s been missing for nearly twenty years, and the Church later intentionally erased all records of him. Only those who experienced that incident 21 years ago… heh, let’s just say he’s not someone to be underestimated, Anacelis. At least after Elder Ryan reached his peak, the only person to have escaped intact from his bloodthirsty sword and even wounded him is the Jester… even that big bad demon couldn’t manage it. If you really encounter him this time, please be very careful.”
“Is the Jester a councilman?”
“The Jester doesn’t seem to have a defined position in the Gate of Truth; perhaps he could be called the First Executive… He wasn’t a councilman back in the day. While the Gate of Truth may act crazily, those councilmen still have their reservations and weigh benefits and losses— the Jester doesn’t. He does things solely based on whims, and to my knowledge, at least two councilmen died at his hands.”
“He’s a completely deranged madman.”
…………
Pulling her thoughts from those memories, Anacelis slowly opened her eyes at the bow of the ship.
It was getting dark.
The setting sun sank into the sea, leaving behind a shimmering afterglow on the far horizon, like a fading rainbow.
“Miss Anacelis, it’s getting late; the wind is a bit chilly. Shall we head back to the dining cabin? It’s livelier over there, and you should rest and grab something to eat.”
The first mate was still by her side.
He finished off his beer and, with his reddened eyes, looked at Anacelis and said, “Don’t worry. We’re the lead ship, and we have nearly twenty lookout crew members on board. Any situation will be spotted immediately.”
Anacelis thought for a moment, readjusted her small bag, hung her sword at her right side, and stood up.
She was indeed a bit hungry.
Her bag still had two and a half dry biscuits, and quite a lot of jerky, but those were her rations collected over the days. When food was available elsewhere, Anacelis typically wouldn’t eat her supplies unless they were close to spoiling—she had a habit of hoarding leftover food on her, like a squirrel stashing acorns.
A sword and provisions.
Without either, Anacelis felt an overwhelming sense of insecurity. She dreaded the thought of starving or, worse, not being able to k*ll.
Anacelis glanced at the first mate and nodded.
He began to smile again.
Just then, the sea started to get foggy.
The fog was grayish-white, wafting mysteriously without any warning, as if it had suddenly appeared from nowhere, enveloping the last rays of twilight and rapidly thickening. In a matter of seconds, even the remaining sails around them became fuzzy, consumed by the fog, leaving only vague outlines.
“It’s foggy now…”
“What the heck? What kind of weather is this…? ”
The crew stirred restlessly.
The two who were initially heading back to the dining cabin suddenly halted in their tracks.
“d*mn it…”
The first mate cursed, seeing that dinner was pretty much ruined, and feeling a surge of anger as he noticed many people were still standing around on deck, he glowered and shouted, “What the hell are you all sulking for?! Drop the sails! Where’s the bosun? Where on earth did he go?! Light those d*mn torches! Move it! Do you want to be slammed into the sea by the ships behind us?!”
While he shouted, he kicked a slow-moving crew member in the rear and then turned, giving Anacelis a distant grin.
“Miss Anacelis, you should head down! I’ll be there shortly!”
That smile was hazy in the fog.
The deck buzzed to life as crew members sprinted about, lighting fires at both the bow and stern, the bright lights in the ever-thicker mist resembling flowing liquid. Some knights, both armored and unarmored, gradually emerged from below decks, gripping their sword hilts and casting wary glances into the thick fog.
Anacelis frowned.
She turned around, her gaze fixed on the sea surface, which was gradually disappearing into the mist, even the ship’s railings, her left hand slowly and deliberately drawing her sword.
“Drop sails, drop sails, drop sails! The ship is still rocking!”
“Helmsman, prepare to change sides! Lookouts better have their eyes peeled—”
“First mate, it’s too foggy! Can’t see a thing!”
“Who asked you to say that?! Keep your eyes glued to the sight!”
“First mate, is the ship okay?”
“Who the hell asked— Oh, it’s the Captain, isn’t it? It’s fine, fine—just some fog, and it’s dark… I’ll go find the Captain immediately; we might need to halt the fleet…”
“We can’t proceed any further…?”
“Probably not. The fog is too thick; it’s dangerous…”
The ship’s speed dropped rapidly.
The visibility around them was now barely ten meters.
Anacelis held her sword in one hand, standing at the bow, listening intently amidst the noisy shouts, with only the sound of the sea filling her ears.
She listened for a long time.
Clunk…
Suddenly, from the left side of the ship, a distant sound emerged—it seemed like a massive, old wooden ship sailing at full speed, the creaking noise of the hull straining under pressure.
At first, nobody noticed this sound except for Anacelis. But as the groaning echoed closer, some more experienced sailors began to catch onto it.
“What’s that sound…?”
“A ship is approaching… a very large ship…”
“Is it our ship…?”
“Can’t see it…”
Clunk, clunk, clunk…
The sound was approaching from the left, growing increasingly clearer in her ears.
“Oh no…”
“Light the torches! They can’t see us—”
“It could be an enemy attack!”
“Turn hard right! Tighten the mainsail lines! We can dodge them—”
The ship shook violently as the waves surged. The crew members wading through the fog became all too aware of the impending danger. The first mate was furious and bellowing, but it was already too late.
Clunk, clunk, clunk, THUD, THUD, THUD—
The noise coincided with the sudden appearance of lights that were now mere meters away, shaking the air with a deafening roar.
“Move, move, move!”
“Collision imminent—”
“Sixth Knights Order, prepare to engage—”
Boom!
The waves churned violently in the fog, crashing against the left side of the ship. Following closely behind was an ominous shiphead crashing through the mist, akin to a mountain, with a fearsome ram capable of piercing the hull.
Boom—!
At that moment, it felt like the earth itself was shaking.
Anacelis barely had time to crouch down when the giant impact struck with a thunderous roar. The monstrous ship that had emerged from the fog slammed its prow against the port side of the three-masted sailing ship, instantly shattering the hull. The side of the ship nearly contorted, with massive cracks racing across the deck, splintering the railings to bits, and fragments of wood exploded before her eyes as a wave slammed over, knocking Anacelis aside.
“Ahhhh—”
In the chaos, some were thrown off balance, some fell from the mast, while the first mate furiously shouted above the din, struggling to rise. Knights swayed unsteadily, desperately pulling out their swords, as simultaneous crashing sounds echoed from within the deep fog all around.
“Enemy attack!”
“It’s the heretics—”
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
In the next moment, countless black spheres were thrown onto the damp deck, bouncing and exploding before anyone had the chance to react—most were still unable to even steady themselves, and then, “Boom, boom, boom, boom!”
Grayish-white smoke instantaneously filled their vision.
“Cough, cough!”
“What is this…?”
“Lotus Seed Grass… it’s Lotus Seed Grass smoke! Don’t breathe it in—”
Someone screamed hoarsely.
“Ahahahaha—”
A maniacal laugh echoed from the direction of the enemy ship.
“k*ll the church’s lapdogs!”
“Slaughter these pretentious waste!”
“k*ll, k*ll, k*ll, k*ll—”
“Remember to laugh! Laugh out loud—!”
“Hahahaha—”
Countless ropes and grapples were flung from the enemy ship, bridging the gap between the two vessels with makeshift gangplanks, shadows emerging from the darkness and fog.
The sounds of slaughter rang out.
Anacelis gripped her sword tightly in her left hand, scrambled up from the deck, patted her small bag to ensure it was still there, and then, amidst the violent shaking, charged into the gray mist. In the chaos, she swung her sword, decapitating one enemy and cleaving open another’s chest, then leaped back to escape the smoke, gasping for air.
Many had fallen.
Countless crew members and knights, lost within the dissipating smoke, lost consciousness and ceased to resist, cut down by frenzied stabs, their throats bitten open, bl**d streaming down. The heretics laughed madly, scarlet flames erupting from within them, mingling with the bl**d on the deck.
Crouched in a corner, the commander of the knights fought back desperately, crackling electricity surrounding him, slicing down enemies with his sword, but ten corpses soon rose to life once more. They were like feral mad dogs, relentless in their assault, dragging the knight commander down to the ground, overwhelmed, and in the moment when flames blazed forth, the knight commander’s desperate roar abruptly ceased.
Five meters away, the first mate’s headless body was seized by the heretics, shrieking and tossed into the sea.
Anacelis tightened her grip on her sword again.
“Hey—”
She let out a loud battle cry as the blade gleamed coldly, charging once more toward the numerous grotesque faces laughing maniacally.
The waves surged relentlessly.
In the midst of the fog, countless dim lights rose, flickering amidst the tumult of shouts and chaos.
