Anbaixiu shut the magic mirror and let out a sigh. He had never expected to drop one of his disguises like that. What he didn't realize was that the Rose of Decay had completely misunderstood—he had only killed Mengge Grayriver later on and assumed his identity, rather than playing the role since childhood. It was just that the lad happened to have dead parents, which made him somewhat similar to Anbaixiu's previous aliases.
Still, it was no big deal. So what if she knew? It wasn't as if he had swindled the Rose of Decay's money.
Aige smiled. "What is it? Did you upset little sister Rose? You two already have a child together—is your relationship really that shaky?"
Anbaixiu could only remain silent.
After a moment, the awkwardness grew so thick that Aige curled her toes against the deck. She hadn't expected to ruin the mood the moment she opened her mouth; she truly was awful at small talk.
Fortunately, Anbaixiu did not linger in awkwardness for long. He promptly changed the subject. "We don't need to worry about the Raging Tide Kingdom. They've already signed the contract. Once Gold Coin Island and Dragon Island complete their handovers, we can begin constructing the alchemy factories. In half a year at most, they'll be up and running."
Thanks to the explosion of the City of Alchemy, an enormous stockpile of alchemical machinery was being sold off at dirt-cheap prices. Pulling a few strings was all it took for Anbaixiu to quickly procure the finished equipment he needed.
Modern alchemy was already highly automated. A brief training period was all that was required to get things moving. When the time came, having Isabel come over to supervise for a while would ensure steady factory output.
Everything was looking up. Anbaixiu could not resist breaking into a smile, though he quickly reined it in.
One shouldn't get smug too early. It wouldn't be too late to celebrate once the glittering gold coins actually dropped into his pockets.
With that thought, Anbaixiu composed himself and said to Aige, "Senior, should we continue searching for that merfolk goddess, or should we go take a look at the Volcanic Sea?"
The Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn had originally erected numerous Gates of Hell. Under the long-term influence of hellish energies, the volcanoes across the country had gradually turned active.
Once the land of the Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn vanished, subterranean magma had surged forth, meeting the rushing seawater that flooded in. Because of this, the creatures of the deep had come to call this new region the Volcanic Sea.
With vast quantities of magma pouring out, the seafloor environment was changing dramatically. The conditions had previously been too harsh, preventing any underwater factions from venturing there for the time being.
Now a few months had passed. Many of the undersea volcanic vents had cooled or become blocked, and the water temperature had gradually dropped to a point where marine life could inhabit the area.
As a result, Anbaixiu and his companions had set to sea right in the middle of a massive maritime conflict, with all manner of bizarre undersea intelligent species eagerly rubbing their hands together to compete for new territory.
This was an expanse of sea the size of an entire kingdom—hundreds of thousands of square kilometers. Not to mention that the seabed was a three-dimensional space. How much food could it provide, and how large a population could it sustain?
With such a juicy piece of meat dangling before their eyes, none of the ocean's various factions could turn a blind eye.
Anbaixiu continued, "If the gods descend to contest this sea, heading straight into the battlefield to demonstrate our strength might make it easier to catch their attention."
Their goal was to harvest the faith of marine creatures. However, most intelligent beings already had their own deities. Anbaixiu hoped to borrow the power of faith through negotiation, wanting only enough to help Aige attain godhood without having to wage actual war against the gods.
Yet the problem was that Aige rarely dealt with fishmen. If they wanted to communicate with the sea deities now, they had no choice but to seek out fishman priests.
With the entire ocean thrown into chaos, heading to the Volcanic Sea seemed the best way to find someone.
Aige was also pondering the matter. Having never imagined that she would one day need to ask for someone else's help, she was momentarily indecisive.
"Heading into the Volcanic Sea right now will definitely stir up trouble, won't it? Could it compromise our plans?" Aige asked.
What if they went to the Volcanic Sea and were taken for territory-grabbers?
It wasn't that they couldn't fight, but they hadn't come for a brawl. How would that be any different from seizing faith by force?
Aige sought godhood not for liberation, but to plead with Ao to resurrect her shipwright father. Thus, she did not wish to stir up major conflicts with other deities. Otherwise, if she spent every waking moment fighting divine wars after ascending, how would she ever get the chance to beg for Ao's help?
Anbaixiu thought for a moment before replying, "That is a possibility, but not necessarily an insurmountable one. According to you, the locathah and merfolk under the goddess Eadro are vast in number but not particularly adept at combat, and the merfolk are quite far from this sea. If we conquer a territory first and offer it to the goddess, it might serve as a stepping stone to earn her favor."
Trying to claim faith was bound to offend some deity. Many of the sea deities were bitter rivals; helping one meant offending another, so offering a pledge of loyalty straight away might be the better course.
Eadro belonged to the true neutral alignment and held no aversion toward the undead. With an enormous body of worshippers, she was the best potential partner for Aige.
Still, whether the goddess Eadro would accept if they barged in and took territory was hard to say.
It was a venture fraught with risk, where their efforts might not yield the corresponding reward.
Thus, Anbaixiu did not make the decision for Aige. He merely shared his reasoning and let her choose for herself. After all, when it came to fighting, the undead of the Silent Night Pirates would bear the brunt of the battle, while Anbaixiu would merely play a supporting role.
Perhaps because she was accustomed to the deep sea where day and night blurred together, Aige seemed to possess no concept of time; she remained lost in thought for two whole hours.
Just as Anbaixiu was running out of patience, Aige suddenly lifted her head and looked toward the bow of the ship.
"Senior, what is it?" Anbaixiu asked.
"A large group of undersea creatures is fighting up ahead. The battlefield is drifting our way—it'll slam into us in a few dozen meters." Battles beneath the waves were three-dimensional, with attacks coming from above, below, left, and right. Combatants moved constantly, often drifting dozens of kilometers as the clash unfolded.
Right now, the battle was migrating straight toward the Silent Night Pirates, and they would soon be swept into it.
"Which races are fighting?" Anbaixiu asked.
Aige sensed the waters for a moment and quickly had her answer. "Ixitxachitl and sahuagin. Neither is the reasonable sort."
The ixitxachitl worshipped the Demon Prince Demogorgon and were textbook cruel, vicious beasts. The sahuagin were hardly any better; their deity Sekolah was notoriously savage and bloodthirsty. The two gods had forged a feud untold ages ago, and their worshippers had slaughtered each other ever since.
From what Aige could sense, this seemed to be a small hunting party of sahuagin that had walked into an ixitxachitl ambush. The sahuagin had suffered heavy casualties, and the ixitxachitl were relentlessly hunting them down.
The sahuagin had fought as they retreated, drawing the battlefield in this direction.
"Not many of them—barely over a thousand between both sides," Aige said to Anbaixiu. "Should we steer clear, join in, or kill them all?"
Sekolah was hardly an ideal partner to work with, which was why Anbaixiu had never considered dealing with sahuagin. As for Demogorgon, that went without saying; cooperating with devils could at least be profitable, but cooperating with demons was sheer idiocy.
Neither side was good, so Aige wouldn't mind consuming them all. Provided the ixitxachitl numbers weren't absurd, Aige could easily stomach a bit of demonic toxin—at most, she would need to rest for a spell as though tipsy.
Before Anbaixiu could reach a conclusion, Aige suddenly added, "Strange. Someone just broke into the battlefield."
"Huh? Who is it?" Anbaixiu asked at once.
With a flick of Aige's finger, the seawater before them twisted and warped, giving rise to numerous bubbles that gradually formed the silhouette of a humanoid figure. Aige said to Anbaixiu, "Isn't this that idiot you mentioned? That fellow named Aeolus."
Though the bubble outline was indistinct, Anbaixiu recognized the fool at a glance.
He was still wearing the clothes Anbaixiu had given him, though they were now utterly tattered. Gripping a fish spear, he was darting between the two factions.
The sea seemed to have become an extension of his body, relentlessly shredding the sahuagin and ixitxachitl before drawing the gore into his mouth.
"He's gotten stronger!" Anbaixiu said in surprise. "It's only been a few days!"
Was a divine blessing truly this formidable? After just a few days apart, Aeolus's performance was putting genuine pressure on Anbaixiu. His control over the ocean currents carried power bordering on ninth-tier spells.
Yet Anbaixiu soon broke into a smile, telling Aige, "Let's ignore both sides and help Aeolus instead."
Aige was taken aback. "Weren't you trying to sabotage his marriage to the Princess of Raging Tide? And now you want to help him?"
Anbaixiu replied, "Aeolus was definitely sent by some deity to stir up trouble, and that deity might very well be one of the sea gods. It isn't easy for us to find a priest capable of communicating with a god, so isn't Aeolus the perfect candidate dropped right on our doorstep? At the very least, let's find out who's pulling his strings first. We can decide whether to cooperate or be enemies after that."
Aige nodded. "Fine. We'll go with your plan."
None of the undead in the Silent Night Pirates were particularly bright. They charged forward with howling ferocity in a fight, but whenever it was time to tally the gold coins offered by the Raging Tide Kingdom, they vanished faster than anyone.
Aige herself couldn't be bothered to think too much. Following Anbaixiu's lead was simple and easy.
Deep beneath the sea, over a dozen ghost ships surged forward at full steam, crashing straight into the battlefield.
This time, Aige had brought out the full might of the Silent Night Pirates, including several ghost ships that had only recently been converted.
This undersea fleet had roamed the seven seas without meeting an equal, and today was no different.
The ghost ships slammed headlong into the fray between the sahuagin and ixitxachitl. The specters aboard exploded outwards like a scattered school of fish, whirling and dancing madly through the depths. Immense dark magic coalesced into an array of necromantic spells, blasting the enemies into bloody chunks in an instant.
Then, a vast host of undead fishmen leapt from the decks, brandishing fish spears as they plunged into the enemy ranks.
Phil the Sharp Spear was the fiercest among them, showing no mercy even though the foes were fellow sahuagin. Undead were undead, indifferent to whatever race they had been in life. Phil's spear whipped up a vortex, drawing the sahuagin in to be torn apart, before he hurled it with immense force, skewering several sahuagin like hawthorn berries on a stick.
Anbaixiu didn't even get a chance to lift a finger. The Silent Night Pirates' reputation was forged through slaughter; crushing an enemy force of this size was as easy as turning over a hand.
Anbaixiu turned his full attention toward Aeolus, pondering how he might coax out the identity of the deity backing him. Hopefully, it would be a god willing to talk.
Chapter 412