The scene before him startled Odis.
A mummified corpse walked up the dimly lit staircase.
As luck would have it, the light from the "spirit tube" shone directly onto the face of the mummified corpse.
The two ladies behind Odis covered their mouths tightly to keep from screaming.
The mummified corpse wearing the captain's hat seemed to have spotted Odis and the other two as well, and suddenly quickened its pace.
Odis had a sudden inspiration and pushed Feli and Renata back to the room where they had been hiding.
After closing the door again, the footsteps outside stopped rushing and returned to their normal walking pace.
As the footsteps drew closer, the two women began to tremble again.
It must have been tough for them, encountering such a thing on their second day at sea.
If I yell at myself, the psychological pressure won't be so great.
But now I can't call out, I can't speak, I can only sob silently.
At the same time, Odis also discovered that the mummies huddled in the corner were trembling, even the one who had hanged himself was shaking as if he wanted to jump down.
This shows how much psychological trauma this footsteps caused them.
The footsteps stopped outside the door. Odis quickly took out an "invisibility scroll," but he suddenly realized something very serious: how could he use the scroll without chanting the incantation?
However, he immediately realized that as a "scroll professor," he didn't necessarily have to chant incantations when using scrolls.
He can use the scroll normally simply by using his extraordinary power.
However, for extraordinary individuals who have attained enlightenment through other means, in addition to infusing the scroll with spirituality, a spell is required to open it.
With that thought, Odis tossed out the scroll and silently chanted in his mind in ancient Hermes: Open!
The scroll indeed shattered, first forming a black vortex, and then the figures of Odis and the other two disappeared.
Odis gestured for Philie to turn off the "spirit tube," and the two stood silently facing each other across a door.
Finally, footsteps sounded outside again, and the other person left.
The three people inside the door secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
After hearing the footsteps outside fade into the distance, Odis was about to open the door when Feli and Renata stopped her.
The three people who had all used the invisibility scroll could see each other.
Odis turned around and saw two women shaking their heads desperately, their faces streaked with tears.
So Odis took out paper and pen and wrote in his notebook: "This mummified corpse is the only one on the ship that is moving. There must be something special about it. We must follow it and see. You can stay here and wait for me."
After the two ladies finished reading, Odis closed the notebook, gently pushed open the door, and found it still dark outside, with the footsteps of the mummified corpse still echoing outside.
Odis stepped forward and followed. Although Odis felt fear towards something that was visible and tangible, he did not back down.
Because he knew that such a thing, by destroying its material existence, would essentially annihilate the opponent completely.
I'm afraid of those who end up in a mess and still don't even know what the other person looks like.
After a brief struggle, the two women decided to follow.
After all, there were four strangely shaped mummies in the room, so it would be safer to follow Odis.
The mummified corpse wearing a captain's hat wasn't walking fast, and Odis wasn't in a hurry to chase after it, so he just listened to the footsteps and followed it from a distance.
Once upstairs, as Odis passed the restaurant, she noticed that the postures of the mummies seemed to have changed!
Some of the mummified corpses facing the stairwell seemed to still be looking at the location of Odis and the others with their withered eyes.
But they are destined to see nothing, because Odis and the others are currently invisible.
After passing the brightly lit restaurant, the three of them returned to the deck.
The sea breeze outside was still icy cold, making them feel as if they had suddenly returned to the normal world.
It was still pitch black outside; the ship seemed to be sailing in an endless darkness.
It seems we'll never reach the next island, forever adrift on the sea.
It seems the ghost ship has already crossed paths with the Argo once again.
Squeak~ Clang~
The sounds of doors opening and closing came from upstairs.
Odis saw that the lights were on on the second floor of the deck, which must be the captain's cabin.
As she hurried up the stairs, Odis gestured to the two ladies behind her, asking them to keep some distance.
Then, Odis slowly pushed open the door, as if it had been blown open by the wind.
But when the door was halfway open, Odis saw a mummified corpse wearing a captain's hat standing inside the doorway.
Its withered eyes stared silently at Odis, as if they could see through Odis's invisibility.
The two ladies behind them almost turned around and jumped into the water.
However, Odis remained calm. He had already reached into his bag, ready to give the other party a few scrolls at any moment.
After a standoff of two or three seconds, the mummified corpse wearing the captain's hat suddenly turned around and walked towards the spacious chair in the room.
The seat in front of you, which is also the best spot on the ship, has a huge glass window that lets you see the sea in front of the ghost ship.
The captain's cabin was large and contained living furniture such as a bed and a wardrobe.
In the center of the room were three desks placed side by side. On each desk was a nautical chart, and there were some surveying tools, notes, books, and what appeared to be a telescope scattered around.
Odis glanced at the motionless mummified corpse sitting in the chair, then quietly stepped to the desk.
There was indeed a telescope on the table. The moment Odis saw the telescope, his eyes suddenly became very deep, and his "Eye of Secrets" quietly opened on its own.
Before him, a phantom corridor first appeared, then the corridor quickly receded, and Odis, feeling slightly dizzy, arrived at the end of the corridor.
At the end was a huge glass window, the same glass window that stood in front of the mummified corpse wearing the captain's hat.
Odis saw that outside the glass window was a city on the sea.
It was like a mirage, somewhat illusory, with shadowy figures, like spirits, moving about in the city, creating a lively scene.
Beneath this floating city, there appears to be an enormous warship.
It moved slowly forward, carrying that illusory city, drifting on the sea.
Immediately, the scene before Odis's eyes shattered, his vision returned, and he was back in the captain's cabin of the ghost ship.
Feeling a little dizzy, Odis quickly glanced at the mummified corpse and saw that it was still motionless. Odis quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
He stood for a while, holding onto the table, and felt his discomfort ease. He then immediately went to look at the nautical chart spread out on the table.
Judging from the route marked on the nautical chart, the ship had been constantly lingering in the eastern part of the Furious Sea, seemingly searching for something.
Its current location is on the west side of the Raging Sea, and it's unclear why it has come here again.
Odis glanced at the titles of the books; they were all about the Tronsust Empire. He quietly opened the notebooks, which were also left behind by the great nobles of the Tronsust Empire.
Finally, Odis turned his gaze to the open logbook.
He didn't turn the page; he just looked at the one that was open.
The words on it were written in hasty handwriting: "...We found it. After three years at sea, we have finally found it."
That's the "Trensost Empire"! The ship that carries the treasures of the Trensost Empire!
No one expected it to be so deep within the raging sea.
The environment here is extremely dangerous; many crew members have died mysteriously, but it was all worth it…
...This ship is huge, it's like an island!
It looks very unusual, but I don't know how to communicate with the ghosts on this ship. Boarding it rashly would be extremely dangerous...
...I don't know why, but disaster struck. I seemed to hear a majestic voice saying: "Silence is prohibited here!"
As a result, whoever speaks dies inexplicably!
The Empire is alive; no one can get close to it!
We must get out of here as soon as possible! Otherwise, we'll all die!
The majestic voice said again: The ship that escaped will never reach the shore.
The raging sea suddenly became even more violent, but we can pull through!
The solemn voice also said: The people on that ship, though on the sea, will die from water loss.
We began to lose water rapidly, and we died! We died!
The ship had changed, and by the time we realized it, it was too late!
We turned into mummies!
We can never leave this ship, and we can never reach the shore!
The last three lines were written in a very messy manner, and just one glance made Odis feel somewhat uncomfortable.
He never expected that the ship would find the legendary "Trensurst Empire".
It was said to be a ship the size of a city, and all the wealth of the empire was transferred to that ship, but not a single member of the Trensault family boarded it.
Strangely, the ship simply vanished, and no one knew where it went.
Even now, some people still claim to have seen the ghost ship on a foggy night.
Odis never expected that it was the "Trentost Empire" that turned the ship into a ghost ship.
However, the magnificent sound coming from that ship seemed to be something beyond the capabilities of the "arbitrator" approach.
"Mute here" is still a capability of this channel.
But the last two sentences sound more like a curse!
Just as he was thinking this, Odis seemed to sense something spiritually. He looked up and saw that the mummified corpse wearing a captain's hat suddenly stood up and stared at Odis for two or three seconds.
This made Odis almost certain that although he was still invisible, the other party could see him.
Odis remained cautious and did not make any rash moves. He knew very well that in this environment, danger would suddenly erupt only after someone did something or even said a word that shouldn't have been said.
Now, although the ship is also in danger, the real danger is lurking in the shadows.
At this point, there is no need to launch a rash attack.
The mummified corpse came to the desk and stood opposite Odis.
This made the two ladies outside the door gasp for breath, and they were sweating for Oddes, feeling like they were about to faint for the captain.
Odis stared at the mummified corpse for two or three seconds, then suddenly picked up a pen from his desk and wrote in the blank space of his diary: Hello.
He wanted to see if the other person was intelligent.
The mummified corpse picked up a pen and wrote: Everyone must die.
Odis was taken aback. The sentence looked familiar. Was there a part after it that said, "Including myself"?
Odis wrote again: What's wrong with this ship?
Odis saw this sentence in the ship's log and realized that it must be a very important piece of information.
The mummified corpse wrote: "Request to enter port... It came to life..."
Odis suddenly felt a chill run down his spine: The ship... was alive?
He then realized that the mummified corpse in front of him still retained some intelligence, but not much.
Odis wrote again: How can we get rid of the ghost ship?
The mummy wrote: We are all dead, turned into mummy bodies. People who come to this ship will also turn into mummy bodies after a while.
Odis frowned; this seemed to answer his question, yet it also seemed to answer it.
At least one clue has been given: this ship is key!
Odis wrote again: What are your last wishes?
The mummified corpse wrote: Resurrection.
Odis twitched his lips: Let's try something else.
Mummified corpse: Gone.
Odis concluded by writing: Thank you.
As he spoke, he carefully walked around the desk and headed towards the door.
Throughout this time, the mummified corpse kept turning its head to stare at Odis until the captain's cabin door closed.
Once outside, the two ladies finally breathed a sigh of relief, while also admiring the captain's courage.
Odis did not leave the second floor immediately, but pondered in the cool breeze whether he should go back and use the "Spirit Wave Cannon" to greet the ship.
However, the mummified corpse's warning might not be effective, or it could be lying, since these mummies have been on the ship for so long and may have been completely controlled by the ship.
After thinking for a moment, Odis took out his notebook and wrote: Let's go find the other crew members first.
The two ladies nodded, having no objection.
When Odis arrived at the restaurant for the third time, he noticed that the postures of the dozen or so mummies had changed again.
It's as if they drank and feasted as soon as Odis left, and then when the door opened, they just pretended to be dead.
After activating the "Spirit Cylinder," the group returned to the floor below the deck.
Odis had only gone halfway down the stairs when he heard someone running rapidly below. He looked down alertly and saw Bazel running quickly from the bottom of the stairs.
It seems that during that "destination" of the two ships, the ghost ship captured Bazel again.
Upon seeing Odis, Bazel was somewhat surprised, but immediately put his index finger to his lips.
Thanks to the popularization by Emperor Roselle, some gestures that Odis was very familiar with had long been widely spread.
Just as Odis was wondering how Bazel knew not to make a sound, he saw a series of mummified corpses crawling out of the stairs behind Bazel.
These mummies are different from the "mummified captain" above, as well as the mummies in the restaurant. Their clothes are very tattered, and they all have obvious wounds.
They climb quickly on walls and rooftops like geckos, but they just won't use the stairs.
Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!
In that instant, it was as if a nest of reptiles had run out.
Odis casually took out a scroll but didn't throw it away immediately, because these mummies didn't seem to be very aggressive at the moment.
Bazel made the "shut up" gesture again and covered his mouth and nose, indicating that he should not make any noise.
The group of mummies crawled over Bazel's head and both sides at an extremely fast speed, then climbed up the stairs, almost touching Odis and his two companions, and quickly reached the top.
There were many of these mummies, probably more than a hundred. It felt like it took Odis a long time to climb over them all.
After the monstrous, desiccated corpses left, Felicity and Renata's legs went weak, and they collapsed onto the stairs.
Bazel tiptoed forward and gestured in front of Odis.
Odis paused for a moment, then quickly took out a notebook and a pen and handed them to the other person.
Balzer let out a long sigh and wrote in his notebook: "They chase sound; as long as you don't make a sound, they won't attack. Ilai Zhe is down below; he's trapped. I accidentally stepped on something and disturbed the mummies; I didn't have time to help him."
Odis paused for a moment, not expecting that making too much noise was also not allowed. He wrote: You lead the way, we'll go down and take a look.
Bazel turned and walked ahead, carefully descending the stairs. The corridor below was even darker and colder.
In the corridor on this floor, there are many mummified remains. Some of them are lying on the ground without making a sound, while others are only half an arm or half a leg, yet they are still moving around.
Odis frowned, realizing that the monstrous mummies he had just seen were clearly different from the "Mummy Captain" and the others.
In one of the rooms, Odis and the others saw Ileizer stuck in the hull of the ship. This room was a bit strange, with cylinders of varying thicknesses and heights, each over a meter tall, growing out of the floor.
The surface of these cylinders was covered with wooden flooring, and Odis had the illusion that they didn't look like something that should be on this ship.
Upon seeing Odis and the others arrive, unable to communicate verbally, Yi Lai Zhe, who was in the center of the room, could only manage a wry smile, one of his legs stuck in a cylinder.
At the door, Odis gestured for everyone to wait outside. He went inside and carefully examined one of the cylinders.
From their appearance, they do not seem to show any signs of life.
How did Ilya's leg get stuck there?
Because Ireja did not make any gestures to stop him, Odis bypassed the pillars, came to Ireja, took out paper and pen and wrote: How were you trapped?
He then handed the notebook and pen to Yi Lai Zhe, but Yi Lai Zhe did not reach out to take them, instead continuing to wear a wry smile.
Odis was taken aback, not understanding what the other person meant.
Clang~
Just then, the door was suddenly slammed shut.
Odis realized something was wrong and immediately threw out a "defense scroll".
He saw Yi Lai Zhe's figure fade rapidly and eventually disappear. From the top of all the cylinders, black, shriveled things, like sea anemones covered in tentacles, emerged.
The tentacles also have sharp, barbed teeth that grip the defensive magic circle, making them look extremely sharp.
Without a defensive array, these spikes would surely cut through flesh and tear off chunks of blood and flesh.
Perhaps the other party's goal is not to tear off flesh, but to suck out the blood and water from the body.
At this moment, Odis realized that this was a very simple trap. After the ghost ship encountered a new ship at sea, it captured people in batches. Therefore, the image of one of the companions was displayed in this room to trick the others into coming in to rescue them.
The other party's disguise was so realistic that even Odis, with his "eyes of mystery," didn't notice it.
However, now is not the time to consider this. Odis tried throwing out a "Radiant Sun Scroll," and a beam of intense light filled the room. The black anemone-like things immediately retracted into the cylinder.
Using the bright light, Odis cautiously peered inside. The cylinder was made up of wooden floorboards, like a wooden barrel.
The black, anemone-like creature was very soft and hidden at the bottom of the wooden barrel.
But because the light was so strong, it still seemed to be making it very uncomfortable, so it moved around a bit more and then left the bottom of the barrel, revealing a layer of illusory white substance at the bottom.
The substances were flowing slowly like liquid. Suddenly, an eye appeared at the bottom of the barrel, staring coldly at Odis.
Odis quickly looked away and breathed a sigh of relief after checking that he was in good condition.
While the intense light of the "Radiant Sun Scroll" was still lingering, Odis quickly went to the door and opened it.
The moment the door opened, a mummified corpse slowly approached Odis.
Odis quickly stepped back and, upon closer inspection, realized that the walls and ceiling of the corridor were covered with mummified corpses.
The mummified corpse wasn't lunging at Odis; it was actually lying on the door, and because the door opened inwards, it created the illusion that the corpse was attacking him.
Before Odis opened the door, the mummies seemed to be lying obediently in the corridor.
After the door was opened, the bright light inside caused the mummies to shun it, clearly indicating that they disliked the scorching light.
But Bazel and the others had disappeared.
The fact that these mummies are lying here so obediently suggests that Bazel and his men may have gone into hiding.
Odis still did not attack the mummies, because although they were ugly and somewhat frightening, Odis wanted to throw a scroll at them.
However, they have not shown any aggression, or rather, the conditions that would trigger them to attack have not yet been met.
Holding a "defense scroll" in his hand, Odis cautiously walked into the corridor. Seeing that the monstrous, desiccated corpses still did not attack him, Odis decided not to continue to meet up with Bazel and the others, but to explore the situation of the ship first.
Only by understanding the ship's environment can one find a way to completely escape it.
Continuing forward, Odis found that the doors to many rooms on this floor were open, and inside were the same cylinders as the room he had just been in.
In one of the rooms, Odis saw that several cylinders had been kicked over and there was a large hole in the hull.
Odis immediately realized that Ilya might have escaped from here, but he didn't know if he had successfully escaped.
Since the "Wind-Centered One" can fly and dive, there's not much to worry about.
Continuing forward, Odis saw at the top of the stairs a faint white light emanating from the next floor, as if white figures were moving about.
He cautiously descended and saw that there were indeed some pure white, illusory figures walking around, or rather, floating around.
Those figures were all spirits!
They strolled around the corridor as if they were shopping, looking very peaceful.
After they meet, they will nod to each other and even stop, as if they are having a conversation.
The doors on this floor are all open, and inside are illusory figures, some standing and some sitting, much like a scene from a normal life.
Whether it was due to the reflection of light emitted by the spirits or not, the walls on this floor seemed to emit a faint white light, and there was a layer of what looked like a flowing, illusory liquid on the top.
Odis realized that this was the same flowing liquid he had just seen in the "barrel".
However, this one doesn't have the same eye as before.
Odis cautiously entered the corridor on this floor, nimbly avoiding the spirits, and observed the situation.
Suddenly, he noticed a layer of dust on the ground. He crouched down to take a look and realized it was a layer of "dust from vengeful spirits"!
Odis looked around at the spirits. With so many spirits gathered here, it wasn't surprising that this thing was there.
"Wraith Dust" is a type of spirit material, a very high-grade spiritual material. Odis remembers that 20 grams of it cost as much as 500 pounds!
Odis took a deep breath, quickly took off his coat, tore off the sleeves and slashed here and there, and soon gathered a small pile of about 50 grams.
There was still a lot of dust on the ground, but Odis did not continue to collect it, because the most important thing now was to observe the ghost ship.
The surrounding spirits seemed to completely ignore Odis's presence, continuing to walk around freely.
Odis observed for a while longer but found nothing of interest. He returned to the stairs and, halfway up, looked back again.
Suddenly, Odis froze. The scene before him was just like... just like the scene on the "Trentost Empire"!
Odis suddenly had a breakthrough in his thinking and found the crux of the problem!
The main body of this ghost ship is not those mummies, but the ship itself!
Because of the influence of the "Empire", it possesses certain characteristics of being alive.
It's not that it came to life like a living organism, but rather that it formed a structure at the bottom of the ship's hold, similar to the "Soul City" on the "Empire".
These spirits, seemingly living freely here, likely originated partly from the crew and partly from spirits "collected" by the ghost ship as it wandered the seas.
The initial crew members were in two different states. Some crew members' spirits were completely imprisoned at the bottom, and they became those monster-like walking corpses, completely controlled by the ship.
Since the ship was originally lifeless, the mummies' senses were different from humans; they had no sight or touch, and would only attack if they made a sound.
Because the Empire once had a rule of "no talking here," anyone who violated this rule would be "punished" by the mummies.
Another group of crew members, including the "mummy captain" and the mummies in the restaurant, had only part of their spirits imprisoned at the bottom.
So they became like zombies or ghosts, normally in the state of zombies, and also possessing a certain degree of intelligence.
Having figured all this out, Odis looked down at the next level again, and therein lay the key to the problem!
Odis's first thought was to disrupt the "ecosystem" that the ship had already formed, composed of living corpses and spirits, so that the ship would be in a state similar to being out of commission, and he could take the opportunity to escape.
The "Lingbo Cannon" might not be very effective, after all, the ship is currently in a rather strange state, and it is unlikely that external attacks will be able to affect the operation of its core components.
The only way to destroy it is from the inside!
Odis examined the spirits carefully once more. If they were all sent back to the underworld, would the balance of the ship be broken?
As for how to send them to the underworld, Odis has the "Spirit Shattering Scroll" to attack spirits, which can relatively easily kill these unsuspecting spirits.
If that doesn't work, he has further plans.
But he also knew very well that the moment he attacked, the mummified corpses lying in the corridor above, and the ship itself, would instantly regard him as an enemy.
So he first used an "invisibility scroll", then a "defense scroll", and finally a "speed scroll".
He was still a little uneasy, but that was all he could do.
Taking a deep breath, Odis took out two "Spirit Shattering Scrolls" from his bag and threw them to both sides of the corridor.
But just as the scrolls shattered, the illusory liquid at the top of the corridor suddenly cascaded down, enveloping the two scrolls.
The scroll exploded with pure white light, but the attacks on the spirits were all enveloped by the illusory liquid.
Odis twitched his lips. He thought the ship would react a beat slower, but he didn't expect the other party to react so quickly after sensing the threat.
At this moment, the spirits on the lower level looked at Odis with indifferent eyes, while the mummified corpses upstairs gathered at the stairwell.
The "invisibility scroll" is completely useless!
This is not surprising, after all, the ship seems to have been influenced by a very high level, which makes it behave in a very high level in some aspects as well.
Despite being surrounded, Odis remained calm and shouted upwards, "Attention! I'm about to throw a 'bomb'!"
This was to inform Bazeir and the others, so that they wouldn't also be in the outer corridor.
Since she was already being watched, Odis was no longer afraid of the "cannot speak" rule.
Almost simultaneously with his warning, Odis threw out the "Explosive Scroll".
Boom!
A violent explosion occurred in the corridor on the upper floor, because it was a long and narrow corridor.
The flames from the explosion swept through the entire corridor and even shot from the staircase to other floors.
Odis, who was standing on the stairs, was protected by the "defense scroll" and was not harmed by the shockwave and flames.
But the mummies weren't so lucky; a large portion of them were blown to pieces, and the rest were engulfed in flames.
But the mummies did not back down; even with flames burning on their bodies, they continued to strike the "defensive shield" in front of Odis.
The ship was made of wood, but the explosion did not cause much damage to the hull, and the flames were quickly extinguished.
Odis felt a chill run down her spine as the spirits from the lower levels surged up, revealing ferocious expressions as they attacked the "defense shield" like evil spirits.
Odis threw out an "ice scroll," temporarily freezing the mummies on it, and then broke through their encirclement.
It doesn't matter if the first plan doesn't work, because he has a follow-up plan.