Chapter 140

Chapter 140: Mirror, Mirror, Tell Me

A dazzling white light flashed, and the plastic-like fake Peace Star adhered to the compass.

The compass instantly transformed from being the size of a bowl to the size of a basin. The space in the middle for the pointer protruded into a spherical shape, and the axis of the pointer disappeared, indicating that it was no longer confined to flat rotation.

"It looks like the enhancement was successful, but we don't know if the function is what we wanted," Sharkler, familiar with the fake Peace Star, explained. He knew that the enhancement effects could be quite varied, and once the Peace Star was removed or its power depleted, the effects would disappear.

"Anyway, the pointer isn't shaking anymore. It seems unrelated to magnetism now. Let me try," Adrian cleared his throat and mimicked the voice of a witch from a cartoon. "Compass, compass, tell me, who is the most beautiful woman in the world?"

"... Silence filled the air for a second.

Rui Mengmeng teased, "Boss, this isn't a magic mirror, and you're not a queen!"

"Haha, just trying to lighten the mood. Next time, if we get another Peace Star, we can stick it to a mirror and see if it can make a magic mirror," Adrian said to the compass, "Tell me Tom's location."

The pointer in the compass seemed to be searching for a signal, rotating horizontally once and then vertically, finally pointing towards Tom.

Tom moved two steps to the left, and the pointer turned to the left.

Tom moved two steps to the right, and the pointer turned to the right.

Tom leaped above Adrian's head, and the pointer pointed diagonally upwards.

"We did it!" Sharkler and Rui Mengmeng high-fived.

Adrian was also delighted; this Peace Star wasn't wasted. "Compass, compass, tell me the location of Vander Decken IX!"

With those words, the compass's pointer searched for signals for two rotations and finally pointed in one direction.

"I don't know how long this Peace Star can last. Artoria, can you speed things up?" Adrian handed her the compass.

"Understood." Artoria took the compass and stood at the bow of the ship. Invisible ripples spread beneath her feet, enveloping the ship and the rowboat with the Ryugu Ship.

The Ryugu Ship suddenly felt full of strength, and it seemed to think that eating had given it extra energy.

Watching the revitalized Ryugu Ship, Adrian had a bold thought: "What if I carry Artoria on my back during a fight? It would be like having an acceleration device."

But he quickly shook his head. It wasn't worth the effort; it was better to let her fight on her own.

Following Artoria's guidance, the Ryugu Ship weaved through underwater reefs and evaded attacks from large sea creatures, making it a thrilling underwater adventure.

After more than half an hour of swimming, a bright light appeared on the horizon.

"Found something?" Rui Mengmeng asked uncertainly. Seeing a light in the deep sea usually meant someone was there, right?

"There does seem to be a gathering of life signs nearby, but it feels strange. Let's prepare for battle," Artoria cautioned.

Adrian and Rui Mengmeng each took out their weapons, but Tom wasn't sure how to fight in this situation.

Fortunately, they had Sharkler, who had summoned a Giant Shark to scout ahead.

The Ryugu Ship continued to approach the light, but suddenly, the light moved towards them. A large, toothy mouth emerged from the darkness and lunged at the Ryugu Ship.

"No, this is a Giant Anglerfish! Dive!" Adrian recognized the iconic 'lantern' on the fish's head and panicked slightly.

His memory included the infamous 'Bonbori' from a special episode of One Piece, but this one wasn't as massive.

The Ryugu Ship and the Giant Shark Giant agilely dodged the Anglerfish's bite, and then the Anglerfish received a powerful punch.

It was a punch almost the size of a ship that created a big bump on the Anglerfish's head.

"That's one big fellow, even bigger than Neptune!" Sharkler, within the Giant Shark, marveled.

Rui Mengmeng stammered, "Th-th-this... is this a Giant?"

Artoria corrected her, "No, I read about Vice Admiral-level Marines in the newspapers, and their height is around 20 meters. This person is almost 100 meters tall."

"Ankoro, how many times do I have to tell you? Don't eat the ship! Captain will get mad if you eat it! Sink them and take the treasure!" The giant creature with four legs spoke with a childlike tone.

The Anglerfish, who had received a blow, was tearfully obedient and didn't resist.

"It's him!" Adrian recognized this person. Although he had forgotten his name, he remembered this was one of Vander Decken's subordinates. Despite his enormous size, his personality and intelligence were akin to that of a young child, making him easy to manipulate.

At this moment, a sinister and terrifying pirate ship appeared before them.

A massive skull hung at the ship's prow, with the words 'Flying Dutchman' written on the main sail—a flying Dutchman.

Looking at the tattered sails and chaotic decorations on the ship, it indeed resembled a ghost ship.

A hoarse voice came from the ship's bow, "Ankoro, Wadatsumi, if you eat the ship, you won't get the treasure. Sink them and snatch the treasure!"

"Got it, Captain!" Wadatsumi replied, with a childlike tone, and then slowly raised his fist.

Tom instantly recognized the four-legged figure standing at the bow and remembered the incident during their meal when he had hit him on the head. He was so infuriated that he stamped his foot.

Tom somehow pushed out a massive cannon from somewhere, aimed it at Vander Decken, and lit the fuse.

"Boom!" A spherical cannonball crossed the bubble membrane, pierced through the seawater, and entered the bubble membrane of Vander Decken's ship, heading straight for his head.

Although Vander Decken hadn't expected the sudden attack, and his target was him, the cannonball's speed was quite slow. He lowered his head in time to dodge it.

"You guys dare—"

Unbeknownst to Vander Decken, the cannonball struck the mast and, because Tom used a solid cannonball, there was no explosion. Instead, the mast bent into a strange curve and rebounded the cannonball, sending it directly towards the back of Vander Decken's head.

"Huh?" Vander Decken turned around in confusion, then his eyes bulged in astonishment, "Huh??"

"Boom!" The solid cannonball hit Vander Decken's face squarely, sending him tumbling headfirst into the ship's deck, his four legs twitching in the air.

"Ohohohahaha!" Tom burst into laughter, rolling on the floor.

"Captain!" Wadatsumi, whose massive fist had failed to land, looked worriedly at his captain.

Artoria had already prepared herself to board the enemy ship and engage in combat. She wasn't sure if her attacks would damage the ship's bubble membrane, though.

Sharkler took advantage of the situation to control the Giant Shark and ram the damaged ship of Vander Decken, preparing to split it in half.