Ashes Of Deep Sea-Chapter 378 - 382 The Sudden Appearance of Flames

Chapter 378: Chapter 382: The Sudden Appearance of Flames

Chapter 378: Chapter 382: The Sudden Appearance of Flames

In his frantic running, Lawrence couldn’t help but look back toward the direction from which Martha’s voice had come.

However, besides the thick fog that didn’t dissipate on Dagger Island, he saw nothing—the voice seemed as though it had risen directly in his mind, urging him repeatedly to leave the island, to return to the Homeloss, to leave this place, to go to Frost.

Martha certainly wasn’t here.

But Lawrence still believed this was some kind of guidance—perhaps from his faith, perhaps from his subconscious, where unnoticed clues and intuition were guiding him, guiding him to a way out of this predicament.

He sprinted toward the harbor as the piercing wind and fog hit his face, whooshing past his ears while his first mate and sailors surrounded him, and the continuous booming of cannon fire could still be heard from a distance, including the firing from Homeloss’ light escort guns—the Homeloss’s retaliation against the “enemy’s” attacks seemed weak, clearly at a disadvantage.

“Martha” told him the Sea Swallow had arrived—but which ship was the Sea Swallow?

The port came into sight at the end of the fog, with the beautiful hull of Homeloss still docked at the end of the pier, lights flaring at the bow and stern, and flashes from cannon fire tearing through the mists, while giant water columns occasionally surged from the nearby sea—evidently from the enemy’s attacks.

“The ship is still there!” the first mate shouted joyfully upon seeing Homeloss, his shout meant for the captain as well as to encourage the breathless sailors, “Jason hasn’t abandoned us!”

Jason was the name of the second mate on board.

“By the Storm Goddess! Get on the ship and leave this cursed place,” a sailor cried out, “Homeloss sitting here is like sitting ducks!”

A group of men quickly ran toward Homeloss, figures moving on board as the sailors who stayed behind apparently noticed the returning captain’s party, and a rope ladder was dropped from the side of the ship, with two sailors at the edge of the deck lifting lanterns, anxiously swinging them through the air.

The sailors who had gone ashore exploratory quickly ran toward the rope ladder.

But suddenly, Lawrence’s steps halted, and he fiercely drew his revolver and fired a shot into the air: “Stop, everyone!”

Startled by the gunshot and the captain’s shout, the sailors froze, turning their heads in puzzled astonishment, as first mate Gus also stopped, slightly confused as he looked at the old captain—but in less than a second, the experienced old sailor realized why the captain had suddenly ordered a stop.

First mate Gus, panting, looked around as cannon fire continued incessantly, his gaze quickly sweeping over the sailors around and the captain’s figure.

Sixteen sailors stood bewildered around him, every face seemingly familiar, while Captain Lawrence looked over with a severe expression.

“How many people did we bring when we left?” Lawrence quickly said.

“Besides you and me, there were…” the first mate quickly began, but he visibly faltered when he came to the actual number, pausing only one or two seconds before successfully recalling, “another twelve sailors!”

Lawrence’s gaze grew heavy as he scrutinized the group in front of him, counting each one in his mind.

And in the depths of his pupils, a faint green glow seemed to flicker on and off.

“We have four extra people,” the first mate quickly completed his count, his face growing grave as he raised his gun into the air and fired, loudly commanding, “Everyone, spread out with a one-meter distance! Face the captain! Keep your hands where we can see them!”

The sailors also realized what was happening, each face showing tension, but being experienced sailors who had dealt with the Endless Sea for many years, they naturally knew how to respond—under the first mate’s direction, the sixteen sailors quickly dispersed.

The Homeloss’s cannon fire still continued, more and more water spouts rising around the harbor, and the vessel identified as the “Sea Swallow” seemed to be gradually approaching, Lawrence’s thoughts churned like boiling water amidst the roar of cannon fire—

We can’t stay here any longer, Homeloss being in the harbor is a target, its weak self-defense firepower and structure won’t last long, but he also couldn’t take this team back to the ship, as something from the island had clearly mixed in, and if he brought them back… Homeloss’s fate wouldn’t be much better than being sunk by gunfire.

His gaze swept over the sixteen sailors in front of him, desperately trying to discern unfamiliar or incongruent faces—when had the four extra people mixed in? Was it during the passage through the thick fog? Was it inside the harbor office? Or was it during the brief moment of chaos when continuous explosions shook the island, and the team had panicked?

The sailors also quickly observed each other, in that moment, seemingly no one could be trusted, even one’s own memories and judgement seemed doubtful.

“Captain,” the voice of Gus reached Lawrence’s ears at this moment, the old sailor’s face showing a certain resoluteness, “the Homeloss can’t stay here any longer—you must get on the ship quickly.”

Lawrence’s expression turned extremely grave: “What do you mean?”

“You take the ship away, and I’ll stay with everyone — we’ll slowly figure out what snuck in and take care of it. When it’s safe, you can come back and pick us up…”

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Lawrence stared into the first mate’s eyes, his expression grim and without a word.

The so-called “come back for us when it’s safe” was fooling no one.

Once the White Oak left the port, those left on the island would be permanently abandoned — the strange situation here was clear for all to see. In such a short time, four unidentified creatures had infiltrated their ranks; what could possibly result from staying any longer?

“Don’t be so quick to sacrifice yourself,” Lawrence said softly. Suddenly, he recalled something, and his eyes changed, “Humans have only two eyes…”

His gaze landed on a sailor.

Then on a second person, a third, a fourth.

One of the sailors pointed at himself in surprise. He blinked, then blinked a third and fourth eye, “Aren’t I just two-eyed?”

Lawrence didn’t say anything but silently raised his revolver.

The second to raise his gun was the first mate Gus, followed by other sailors as if awakening from a nightmare.

As if they had stepped beyond a veil, with their cognitive disruptions shaken, all stared in shock and fear at those in their ranks who resembled humans but weren’t quite right, and each raised their firearms.

The four not-quite-human “sailors” were surrounded, standing there confused and oblivious. Then their faces shifted from lucidity to confusion.

As if a temporarily simulated personality had been impacted and suddenly crumbled, these quasi-human “counterfeits” wobbled and looked up at their “captain.”

All Lawrence could do was sigh deeply, “You are not members of the crew.”

The next second, even as he gaped in stunned fascination, he suddenly saw a tuft of eerie green fire burst out of nowhere in the air—

The fire initially was just a few sparks. It leaped and appeared among the twelve normal sailors like sparks in an electrode device. In a flash, the sparks violently expanded and grew into massive flames. The spectral green fire blazed furiously among them, pouncing on the dazed “counterfeits” like a predator scenting its prey.

There was a fiery explosion and crackling noises. The four counterfeits struggled violently in the fierce flames, unable to utter a sound before they turned into piles of black ash—resembling the black mud seen earlier on the dock slope, but dryer and more crumbled.

The sailors were terrified. The moment the spectral fire ignited, as members of the White Oak, they remembered all the fearful scenes they had experienced—the harrowing moments encountering the Homeloss on the Endless Sea, the shocking scenes of fiery meltdown at Plunder City-State… They were all too familiar with these flames.

Why did this flame appear here now?

Could “Captain Duncan” be nearby?

Yet, as this horrifying speculation exploded in everyone’s hearts and all the sailors panicked, the flames suddenly dissipated—as quickly as they had arrived. Along with the four counterfeits reduced to ashes, the eerie green spectral flames also vanished completely.

They left behind a group of terrified sailors, a stunned first mate, and a captain who felt he truly should have retired earlier.

“What… What was that just now?” First mate Gus turned his head with difficulty and swallowed hard, “Captain, that fire seemed like…”

“It’s the power of the Homeloss… The Homeloss…” Lawrence swallowed, suddenly looking toward the sea as if trying to catch a glimpse of the ghost ship, but he saw only the direction of the White Oak where gunfire continued, the sailors who had been by the ship’s edge with lanterns had now vanished—likely all thrown in battle.

The crew aboard the White Oak were fighting valiantly, buying time for their captain to board.

The Homeloss wasn’t here, but Captain Duncan’s flames appeared before everyone.

“Don’t panic,” Lawrence rapidly spoke, calming the sailors, “We’ve already encountered the Homeloss once. Plunder City-State was even saved by that ship—it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Haven’t you heard the rumor? They say Captain Duncan Ebnomal has found his humanity again…”

The first mate subconsciously made a gesture of praying to the Storm Goddess, then asked, “Captain, should we… head back to the ship now?”

“… Let’s go back, quick! Before more strange things infiltrate!”