DOTM: Chapter 258/259

Chapter 258: A Sudden Naval Battle

Meeting Brent again took place on the choppy sea. Compared to the Goddess of Dawn, Brent's new ship was much more stable on the water. Standing aboard it, he felt only a slight sway, a motion that, for those who lived on the sea year-round, was no different from standing on land.

"Wonderful new ship."

From the moment he stepped onto Brent's Hope, Ethan had been looking around, curious to see what kind of vessel Brent had invested so much wealth and effort into.

It had a wooden structure reinforced with metal plating and four masts filled with sails. It was still primarily sail-powered. However, Ethan had noticed before boarding that there was a clear bulge beneath the waterline at the stern, where a magic stone thruster must have been installed. With Brent's financial resources, this ship wouldn't have to worry about being stuck even if there were no wind.

Ethan was puzzled as to why Brent hadn't simply abandoned sails. Perhaps it was habitual thinking, or perhaps he worried the magic stone thruster might fail at a crucial moment, making the sails a backup. Many designers had similar ideas during Earth's transition from sail to steam power, especially since refueling coal wasn't always convenient—so sails were retained for a long time.

Additionally, the helm was installed indoors. Although still located on the sterncastle, it wasn't an open-air design. This was likely due to the harsh sea conditions in this region, which severely tested the crew's physical endurance. The best solution was to remain in a temperature-controlled interior. From this, it could be inferred that the ship was equipped with a temperature regulation system to maintain relatively normal conditions inside.

"Thank you for the compliment. If you'd like, I can show you around later. You can use it as a reference when you get a new ship."

Brent was very hospitable and wasn't at all concerned that the information he had painstakingly gathered would leak through the ship's design, nor did he worry that Ethan would share details with outsiders that might benefit his enemies.

"If it's convenient, I'd be delighted to tour your new ship."

"It's no inconvenience."

Brent led Ethan into the ship's cabin. The Hope had a very spacious interior, large enough to accommodate a proper conference room. When Brent led Ethan inside, several people were already seated.

Among them was Bruno, whom Ethan had met before, along with several others he didn't recognize. It seemed they were all captains participating in the expedition.

"Gentlemen, this is Captain Ethan, the last member of our temporary fleet for this mission." Brent had clearly prepared an explanation for Ethan's late arrival. "Captain Ethan set out ahead of time to conduct initial reconnaissance in the area. So far, the situation is not significantly different from what we previously understood."

The captains looked at each other, then carefully sized up Ethan. They didn't show any contempt despite his relatively young appearance.

In fact, for someone so young to sail a ship to this location and still have the courage to join this mission, they regarded Ethan with more seriousness than they would a regular captain.

A young man like that was either a genius who had come across a great opportunity or a lunatic. Either way, he had to be treated carefully, or it would be easy to get themselves and their crews killed.

Several people greeted Ethan one after another, but none of them, including Bruno, offered to introduce themselves.

Ethan thought for a moment and understood. This operation was initiated entirely by Brent. As long as Brent knew who they were, that was enough. There was no need for them to get too familiar with one another—who knew if they would be enemies the next time they met.

Brent also understood what they were thinking, but he still gathered all the captains for a meeting. If nothing else, at least they would know who to find if conflict or problems arose.

Of course, he hoped no conflicts would arise at all, that they could smoothly deal with the challenges ahead, and that everyone would return safely and happily together.

Unfortunately, that wish was destined to be short-lived. Just as everyone had gathered and hadn't even had a chance to exchange pleasantries, one of Brent's subordinates rushed in without knocking.

"Captain, there's a situation."

His meaning was clear: Brent should come out and assess things personally to make an appropriate decision.

Seeing this, no one remained seated. They followed Brent out of the conference room and headed straight to the top of the sterncastle.

Because Brent's ship had a specially customized sterncastle with an indoor helm and steering equipment, it was higher than those with open-air controls. The added level was fully used for observation.

All the captains gathered there had a wide enough view to clearly see what was happening. In the distance, they could see several white streaks rapidly approaching from across the sea.

"What are those things?"

"Whatever they are, they're not good!"

Everyone present was an experienced captain. In the middle to later parts of this sea region, various strange creatures would appear—some powerful enough to treat adventurers as prey.

"We're going to have a naval battle, captains. You need to return to your ships as quickly as possible and take command."

Even without Brent's reminder, the captains were already descending from the sterncastle, heading back to their ships moored around the Hope. Even those further away could swing back using ropes.

As the captains returned to their vessels, Ethan took a moment to observe each one.

Most were similar to Brent's Hope, all equipped with thrusters and reinforced plating. Only two retained open-air control decks. The rest had switched to indoor steering.

And as the captains returned, the warships gradually raised their sails. What struck Ethan as odd was that none of them chose to accelerate immediately using their thrusters.

"Rigid thinking?"

Ethan's Aurora was moored right next to them. He didn't need to perform any acrobatics and could simply walk across the gangplank. Before he left, Brent gave him one more instruction: "Have your ship follow behind the Hope. Just provide long-range fire support with your magic stone cannons. Whatever you do, don't charge to the front."

"Understood."

At present, the Aurora was undoubtedly the weakest among them. Brent didn't know whether Ethan had installed a magic stone shield, so for safety, he treated it as if he hadn't.

"Is your ship's firepower sufficient?"

"It has one deck of cannons."

He had to thank the previous raid. Otherwise, the Aurora would still be in the awkward position of having only ten cannons on one side. Now he could fill the gunports. It still wasn't powerful, but at least it didn't look too bad.

"That's enough." Brent emphasized again, "Just remember, don't charge too far forward."

Ethan returned to the Aurora. Logan had already completed all the preliminary preparations. As soon as Ethan boarded, the Aurora slowly began to move again.

As all the ships regained mobility, the captains maintained appropriate distances and kept the same speed with tacit understanding. Brent's Hope had now become the flagship, coordinating all the ships for battle.

"I noticed none of them used their thrusters to accelerate right away, so I didn't either."

Ethan stood at the helm. He didn't think there was anything wrong with Logan's decision. Although he didn't know why the other captains were doing this, he didn't want to stand out too much. He had no experience in fleet battles, so it was better to follow the lead of others.

"Just follow the orders. There's no need to rush to show off."

The newly installed communication device sat next to the helm and could also be controlled mentally. With Ethan's current mental strength, he could easily control the helm remotely while still observing the distant situation with a telescope.

As the fleet gradually picked up speed, Brent directed all the ships to move to the windward side and form a battle line in preparation for bombardment.

Ethan's Aurora was positioned behind the Hope. Even without a communication device, it didn't prevent him from following Brent's instructions. He simply needed to stay behind the Hope and fire his side cannons when the time came.

Boom boom boom boom!

The sound of just ten cannons firing was already impressive. Now, with hundreds of cannons from several ships firing at once, the noise was deafening. Although magic stone cannons weren't as loud as gunpowder ones, the sheer force of hundreds firing together was truly overwhelming. Even Loki, who wasn't particularly interested, left his room and stood beside Ethan to watch this rare naval battle.

"Primitive fighting style." Loki, as always, began with a sarcastic comment. "But it's quite entertaining to witness occasionally."

Perhaps men just enjoyed this kind of thrill. When all the cannons fired together, Ethan felt a jolt of electricity run from his feet to his head, a strange tingling sensation stirring from deep within.

"Excited?"

"Yes." Logan, who had somehow gotten another cigar, replied. "I know that feeling. It captivated me for a long time back then."

Looking at the veteran beside him, who had participated in countless major battles, Ethan stood by the railing and continued watching the distance. The energy projectiles fired by the magic cannons had struck the white streaks ahead, and something seemed to be mixed in with the splashes from the explosions.

"Is that it?"

Ethan knew that was what had been rushing toward them. Using the telescope, he could barely make out the shapes of the things in the distance. They looked somewhat like sharks?

(To be continued.)

Chapter 259: Death Shark

Warships lined up in battle formation were unleashing a torrent of firepower. In this world, there was no established concept of a battle line. Adventurers typically operated alone, and fleet-versus-fleet combat was nearly nonexistent. Naturally, no formal formations had ever developed.

However, experienced captains could still figure out how to maximize the firepower of multiple ships, so they quickly arranged themselves into a proper battle line, preventing the rapidly approaching creatures from getting any closer.

"Cease fire!"

Brent's new order came through the communicator. His ship, the Hope, was just ahead of Ethan's Goddess of Dawn. Ethan could see Brent, like himself, standing on the quarterdeck, observing the distant situation.

Almost all the captains were doing the same, but unlike them, Ethan was using detection devices to scan for creatures and energy signatures.

"Be careful, those monsters have gone underwater!"

The technology provided by Tony Stark proved useful once again. Ethan could clearly see countless pockets of negative energy hidden beneath the surface, closing in on their position at a speed not much slower than before.

Upon receiving Ethan's alert, Brent immediately issued a command to all the captains to activate their magic stone shields.

"Brace for impact!"

Shouts echoed in the distance. Although the Goddess of Dawn didn't have a magic stone shield installed, that didn't mean Ethan lacked a way to defend against the coming attack.

He had already taken out the Book of Inheritance, which came into play once again. A white magical barrier immediately enveloped the Goddess of Dawn.

Almost simultaneously, a layer of energy shields covered the surrounding warships. Though the shield colors varied, not a single ship lacked protection.

Boom! Bang!

This time, it wasn't the roar of magic stone cannons, but the sound of those shields being struck. Including the Goddess of Dawn, all the warships were attacked. One ship was even lifted clear out of the water by the sheer impact and then came crashing back down heavily. Who knew how much structural damage that caused to its hull?

The Goddess of Dawn was relatively lucky. Although it was hit, it remained stable on the surface, not moving an inch. To the other captains, it appeared Ethan had simply been fortunate and hadn't taken as many hits.

Only Ethan knew that he hadn't received fewer attacks than the others. According to the detector, the number of creatures attacking each ship was roughly the same, meaning all the vessels endured similar levels of assault.

At this point, one could assess each ship's condition. For instance, the ship that was lifted into the air clearly had a lower displacement than the others.

However, not a single shield had been broken. This showed how much importance the captains placed on this life-or-death equipment. No one had chosen a flimsy shield just to cut costs.

"Watch the water! Don't spread out too much, or you'll be picked off individually!"

As Brent's voice came through the communicator, the fleet's formation had already started shifting.

The creatures had closed in. At this point, maintaining a battle line was meaningless. The cannons were no longer effective, and each ship had to rely on its own capabilities.

Looking down from the quarterdeck, Ethan could see a dense concentration of negative energy beneath the Goddess of Dawn. He knew this energy was emanating from the creatures. From a distance, he couldn't be certain, but now that they were close, he was sure these shark-like beings were radiating death energy.

"Death energy again?"

Since becoming an adventurer and living on the ocean, he had clashed with death energy multiple times. It seemed like he couldn't avoid it.

He didn't think this was all coincidence. Considering that each event was more or less connected to the man named Beckford, Ethan suspected this sea zone anomaly was also related to him.

"If that's the case, I can use this opportunity to resolve the issue."

Ethan leaned against the railing and looked around. Logan was still steering the ship, while Loki stood on the side, clearly still in spectator mode. His posture made it clear he had no intention of joining the battle. He wasn't a warmonger, and his interest in combat was far less than in scheming and manipulation.

Back during the battle with Onyxia, the Black Dragon Princess, if Ethan hadn't used an illusion to lure Loki into action, that guy might have quietly watched the entire fight from the sidelines. Even if Onyxia had insulted him, Loki wouldn't have interfered. At most, he would have gone over to mock her before she died.

"You're going underwater?"

"Yeah."

"I remember that suit of yours was damaged. Has it already been repaired?"

Everyone on the ship knew Ethan's magic gear had been damaged. Logan also knew Ethan had relied on that gear to fly and dive before.

"Stop looking at me with yesterday's eyes. I can cast those simple spells on my own now."

"Will this protective magic vanish after you go underwater?"

Ethan gave Logan a reassuring look. "As soon as I go into the water, those creatures will definitely focus on me. I won't give them a chance to attack the ship."

Without waiting for Logan's response, Ethan jumped straight from the quarterdeck, casting an underwater breathing spell on himself as he fell.

He plunged directly into the sea. Due to the abnormal climate in the region, there still wasn't much sunlight that day. The moment he entered the water, visibility dropped sharply. He couldn't see even a few meters ahead.

Fortunately, he wore specialized goggles that not only detected threats but also marked the location of his ship, ensuring he wouldn't mistakenly strike his own vessel during combat.

Just as Ethan had predicted, the moment he entered the water, the sharks infused with death energy went berserk. They charged at him like real sharks that had caught the scent of blood.

After Ethan dispelled his magic shield, leaving no barrier between himself and the sharks, three of them reached him almost instantly.

Although he couldn't clearly see their forms, the goggles marked the exact location and distance of each energy body, allowing Ethan to "see" them. As the three sharks rushed him, he pulled out the Battle Cross and slashed at the nearest one.

"One."

Ethan's movements were fast and precise. Before the shark could react, it had already been cleaved in two.

"Doesn't seem very intelligent."

After killing one, Ethan didn't pause. He immediately thrust the weapon into the head of the second shark. However, unlike the first one, which stopped moving after being cut in half, this one showed no signs of dying even after being pierced through. It thrashed violently, its mouth full of sharp teeth, trying to bite Ethan.

"Undead creatures?"

Almost as soon as the thought occurred to him, the Holy Light cross on his chest erupted with radiant energy. Bathed in the Holy Light, not only did the still-thrashing shark in front of him disintegrate into ash, but even the one that had been cut in two was purified.

The third shark, which Ethan hadn't yet attacked, was also severely wounded by the burst of Holy Light. He could feel the death energy within it greatly weakened. Taking the opportunity, Ethan delivered a clean finishing blow, and the shark's remaining energy completely dissipated.

Having slain three sharks in a row, Ethan didn't stop. These three were only the beginning. Countless more surrounded him, encircling him completely.

These sharks completely ignored the fact that their "comrades" had been easily slaughtered. They continued to charge Ethan relentlessly.

Now that he had confirmed Holy Light was the natural enemy of these death-energy-infused sharks, Ethan put away the Battle Cross. Although it could still release energy blades with Holy Light properties, they were "outdated" and increasingly ineffective.

He brought his hands together, drawing the energy from the Holy Light cross on his chest. As he slowly separated his hands, a long energy blade made purely of Holy Light formed in his right hand.

This was essentially the same magic technique used in Kamar-Taj to transform energy into weapons. Previously, Ethan had done so using a magic item—the Battle Cross. Now, he was using pre-stored Holy Light as mana to personally condense the weapon.

With a Holy Light energy blade in his right hand, Ethan clenched his left hand into a fist and aimed it at an approaching shark.

Bang! Boom!

A ball of Holy Light energy shot from his fist and struck the target, instantly reducing the shark to dust. The resulting shockwave scattered Holy Light energy into the surrounding water, creating chaos among the death sharks.

While it wasn't powerful enough to annihilate them all instantly, the scattered Holy Light disrupted their formation, giving Ethan an opening to calmly swing his blade and cut them down one by one.

He could have released all the Holy Light energy at once to wipe out the entire swarm. However, suspecting that Beckford might be behind this, Ethan chose to conserve his energy.

At the moment, he had no way to replenish his Holy Light. Selene could "summon" it, but the Holy Light of Azeroth was not the same as the transformed magic-based Holy Light Ethan used. Until he fully understood and integrated the two, he couldn't rely on Selene to help replenish his supply.

So he needed to be more conservative. Using the Holy Light blade to dispatch the sharks only cost physical stamina, which wasn't a concern for him.

Besides, this gave him a chance to observe the performance of the other ships.

(To be continued.)