376 - Strangebeast Island
The pirates rushed the docks, back to their ships. But, they found no safety. As they tried to climb the boarding ropes and gangplanks, they were met with a wall of lead and magic.
Bell unleashed a wall of fire across the dock. Blocking their path. Those who tried to jump through the flames were systematically picked off by the support crew's sniper rifles and Reina’s precise dual-wielded shots.
Suddenly, a massive figure pushed through the crowding pirates. He was a giant of a man. Almost as tall as Jack and Moby. He was wearing heavy iron plates over his shoulders and a horned helmet. His eyes were bloodshot, and he carried a massive, two-handed cutlass. One that dripped with the blood of the island warriors.
"Where are the bastards who dare attack my ship?" The man roared. His voice was shaking the wooden planks of the dock.
He leaped from the dock. Landing heavily on the deck of the flagship. The wooden planks groaned under his immense weight. He glared at Jack. His face twisted in a snarl of pure rage.
"You bastard!" He roared again. "Attacking the ship of this Dragon Skull Warlord!? I will flay you alive and feed your bones to the sharks!"
The pirate captain raised his massive cutlass. The blade glowed with a dull, heavy aura of eldritch power.
"DIE!" The pirate bellowed. Lunging forward with a strike meant to cleave Jack in two.
Jack didn't bother to move. He didn't even bother to use his [Chains of Vengeance]. He simply raised his steamrune shotgun with one hand. Pointing the heavy muzzle directly at the Warlord's face.
"Too loud!" Jack said bluntly. He pulled both triggers simultaneously.
BOOM! The shotgun roared. A massive blast of pressurized lead, kinetic force, and blazing hot energy exploded from the barrel at point-blank range.
The pirate's armor, helmet, and weak transcendent aura meant nothing against the concentrated, high-powered steamrune blast at such a distance. The blast shattered the dragon-skull helmet, obliterated his face, and blew him clean off the deck.
The pirate captain's body splashed into the dark water below. The heavy iron armor dragged him straight to the bottom of the bay. But.. he was already dead before he even touched the water.
The remaining pirates on the dock froze. Their warlord captain, a man they believed to be invincible, had been annihilated in a single second.
"Run!" One of them screamed.
But there was nowhere to run. The island warriors closed in from behind, while Jack’s crew continued their systematic termination from the ships.
Within ten minutes, the gunfire stopped. The only sounds left were the crackling of the burning pirate ships... And the heavy breathing of the surviving islanders on the shore.
Jack let the steam drift from his shotgun barrels before slinging it over his shoulder. He looked around the deck of the flagship. It was clear.
Rune floated down. Her body glowed with a peaceful, blue light. Signaling that no active threats remained nearby.
"It's done, Dear." Reina said. Stepping over a fallen pirate to stand beside him. She wiped a speck of soot from his cheek with her thumb.
"They're not much of a challenge, Love." Jack replied calmly. He turned to a shadowy corner of the ship. "Chloe, did you get anything useful?"
Chloe emerged from the shadow. Sparkle was right beside her. "Four chests of gold, plenty of gemstones, a map of the archipelago's trade routes, and two pieces of treasure maps."
"Oh, and there are some slaves locked down here." She continued. "I've given them the keys. They should be out here soon."
"Good. Leave the ships!" Jack commanded all his crew members through the communication rune he developed for his crew. "Leave them for the slaves and the natives. Let's head back to the Ocean Wanderer."
As they were back in their ship, Jack looked toward the shore. The island warriors were watching them. Their weapons were lowered in silent respect.
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Jack nodded at them. But he didn't land to shore. They had done everything they need to do in the island. And other places in the Myriad Island Archipelago were still waiting.
He stood tall on the deck. His eyes were fixed on the horizon where the endless dark sky met the darker sea.
"Argust, get us out of here." He ordered the navigator. "Let's continue the voyage. To the next destination... the Strangebeast Island."
...
The Silent Mermaid cut through the dark waters of the night sea. Its hull glided silently despite the heavy winds.
Inside, it was nowhere as silent. Baroness Artheim called a meeting in the main cabin. The whole crew members, other than Argust who was navigating the ship in the control cabin, were there.
The baroness stood at the head of the table. Her fingers traced a jagged outline on a parchment map.
"Strangebeast Island..." The baroness began. Her voice was crisp and academic in tone. "It is entirely wild. There are no ports, no trading posts, and no permanent human settlements. The coastal waters are treacherous, and the interior is covered by a dense, suffocating jungle."
"Sounds like a lovely vacation spot." Leon Drake muttered as he leaned against the wooden wall.
"The island's name is literal." Baroness Artheim continued. Ignoring the sarcasm. "The fauna there defies natural classification."
"Just trees and weird beasts then? What makes it worth our time?" Barnaby asked.
"My research indicates that these creatures did not evolve through natural selection." The baroness said. "If my hypothesis is correct... the island houses the ruins of Malleh City."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Malleh City? The lost city of the arcane?"
He had heard about the city. It was mentioned in many mystic books. One of the seven lost wonders of the mystic world. Known only by its name and its title. Everything else was... pure speculation.
"Precisely, Captain." The baroness said. Nodding with a serious face. "I suspect it was home to a massive, highly advanced arcane laboratory. In my hypothesis... I believed that the ancient people who lived there experimented with life-weaving and biological manipulation."
"When the city fell..." She continued. "The arcane laboratory's containment might have failed. The residual energies and runaway experiments leaked into the ecosystem. Forcing the local wildlife to evolve in bizarre directions over centuries."
"So, we are going into a contaminated island filled with bio-engineered monsters?" Leon asked.
"Not that much different from the Battle Moon Realm then." Ned said, while cleaning his steamrune rifle wit a wet cloth.
"True!" Bell and Moby nodded in unison. They did not look worried at all. They looked... prepared.
"So, our target is this lab in Malleh City ruins?" Jack asked.
"Yes. The laboratory ruins might contain invaluable ancient technology, runes, and energy cores." Baroness Artheim said. "However, the strange beasts there are not that easy to handle. They had pretty ridiculous power."
"Sounds lovely..." Leon muttered helplessly. "A jungle full of unnatural monsters."
"And... that is only half the problem." The baroness continued. Her sharp eyes scanned the room. "We will likely face competition on the ground."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "Who?"
"The Sacred Destination Sect." Baroness Artheim answered. "According to my intelligence sources, one of their high-ranking oracles issued a prophecy three years ago."
"The oracle claimed..." She continued. "... that a crucial clue leading to their supposed 'Heaven' is hidden within the Strangebeast Island. Sect cultists have been lurking around the island and infiltrating the jungle for years trying to find it."
Hearing the name of the sect, Jack's expression darkened slightly.
He remembered the Sacred Destination Sect. They were a group of different type of menace compared to Purity Cult or Undeath Sect.
Their goal sounded harmless enough. Finding the final destination, the 'heaven' where they could gain the ultimate joy and power. However, they believed that this heaven they sought was in a different spatial realm. And, they had to open the correct realm gate to enter it.
That was the main problem. To find the correct 'gate', they opened and enlarged any spatial crack or tunnel to unknown destination. They didn't hesitate to tear open reality. Creating unstable spatial holes without caring who or what got sucked in or spat out.
Jack recalled a specific incident near Mirebarrow Town a while back. A group of Sacred Destination cultists had opened a dangerous spatial crack inside a hidden cavern.
The idiot cultists were immediately slaughtered by the entities on the other side. And a horde of savage and hostile cockroach-men poured out from it. Destroying a train and killing a great portion of its passengers.
Jack, Reina, and a few transcendent fighters nearby had to spend hours fighting and days guarding the hidden cavern. They had to wait until illuminated powerhouses from the kingdom came to seal the crack.
"Those reckless lunatics." Jack said bluntly. "They don't care about treasure or history. They just want to tear holes in the world and die in the mess they make."
"Precisely." Baroness Artheim agreed. "If we encounter them, do not expect negotiation. Those suicidal fanatics don't have enough brain cells to hold any logical argument."
"If they get in our way, we put them down." Reina said quietly. Her tone was practical and void of emotion. "Simple as that. Isn't that so, Dear?"
"Agreed." Jack said. "We stick to our objective. We land, find Malleh City if it's there, take what's valuable, and strike hard at anything that tries to kill us. Human or beast."
The crew nodded. Nobody argued. In such situation, hesitation would get them killed.
...
The next few days passed without major incident. The weather held. And the Silent Mermaid stealthily passed near a few gigantic sea-monster without needing to engage.
And finally, they reached their destination. A jagged, dark green landmass rose out of the ocean mist. Strangebeast Island.
Even from miles away, the place felt wrong. The jungle canopy was unnaturally thick, forming a solid blanket of deep green and turquoise foliage. High-pitched shrieks and deep, rumbling roars echoed across the water.
Argust navigated the Silent Mermaid into a secluded, shadow-draped cove. One surrounded by steep basalt cliffs.