CHAPTER 480: 370 CHAPTER THE THREE LAWS OF SHIP SPIRITS

On the fringes of the Celestial Orbital Belt, a seagull that had been hunting nearby just happened to fly through that strip of milky-white mist.

After a sea breeze blew by, it unexpectedly noticed a faint glimmer of gold shining through the hazy white fog and couldn’t help but tilt its head.

Driven by instinct, it subconsciously flew toward that faint light.

Yet, even though it felt within reach, it seemed to lose its direction, flapping its wings awkwardly and unable to reach its destination no matter what.

FLAPPING——

Until a notorious ’Pirate Bird,’ an infamous Warship Bird known for using its flying speed to rob prey and considered a ’malevolent being’ among all aquatic birds, suddenly emerged from the mist.

Only then did it turn and flee in shock.

As the sea breeze died down, the faint trace of gold vanished, leaving no sign of anything unusual.

Hidden by the National Border Lock ordered by the ’First Overseas Development Command,’ the Sacred Relics Warship ’The Golden Deer’ was motionlessly suspended above the water using a sailboat’s braking mechanism.

When it was still, others would only think this sailboat’s design concept was a bit special.

No one could tell it possessed the special effect: ’See Ship Fast.’ Its speed was enough to crush all sailing vessels in the world, including Legendary Warships—truly the ’world’s fastest ship’!

In the captain’s cabin, lit by a bright Whale Oil Lamp,

That was close! Lucky our ’The Golden Deer’ didn’t join the gathering at Fortress Bridgehead. If it caught the eye of the ’Sailboat Collector’—an infamous ’Sailboat Fanatic’ known far and wide—we’d be in for a load of trouble, even if our world-beating speed allowed us to escape. Just one glimpse from that guy, and I’d feel like our precious ’The Golden Deer’ would be tainted.

Byron, sitting in his chair behind the desk, diverted his gaze from his two ’servants’ and instinctively wiped away the nonexistent cold sweat on his forehead.

The main reason he had decided not to join them was because the situation was unclear, and to guard against the Pirate King breaking the rules. He worried that upon seeing him—this kidnapper who had bound his own brother—looking so respectable, a dangerous thought might arise in the Pirate King’s mind: ’At such a young age, he is already so fearsome. He must not be left alive.’ Unexpectedly, due to a fortunate twist of fate, not only did he avoid this potential deadly trap, but he also dodged another certain disaster!

"Mordent Gray? That guy who vows to take a ship as his wife also went to Fortress Bridgehead?"

Violet blinked her curious, large eyes and casually took out a handkerchief faintly scented with her body fragrance, summoning a stream of water to moisten it and wipe Byron’s face.

"Yeah, who else could be worthy of the title ’Sailboat Collector’ besides him?"

Byron shook his head as a series of Mordent Gray’s significant achievements surfaced in his mind.

Mordent Gray, 45 years old, a Fifth-order Legend Artisan from the Tower Sequence and a Shipwright who, like Little Hans, specializes in shipbuilding techniques. He himself comes from a shipbuilding family of the Kingdom of Castile. His ancestors were even excellent Shipwrights serving the Kingdom of Castile during the Great Nautical Age, when the pioneering Prince Henry initiated it. After reaching adulthood, he worked for the Castilian Royal Shipyard, enjoying special allowances similar to those of ancient Alchemists of the State. Before his defection, he was one of the leading Grand Artificers in shipbuilding, holding the highest status. Since childhood, he was particularly obsessed with shipbuilding techniques, aspiring to personally craft a Legendary Warship with a soul. In his career, he conducted extensive research on Wonder Battleships and Sacred Relics Warships. He especially studied the Kingdom of Castile’s four-decked, 140-gun, world’s largest Sail Battleship—the ’Legendary Battleship - Holy Trinity.’ Through diligent study, he also created numerous related patents for Castilia.

But just as every roller-coaster story begins with an unexpected event shattering the peace, the ’Sailboat Collector’ was no exception.

Back in his youth, he wasn’t this insane. Initially, his life trajectory was even in perfect synchronization with the ideal ’Social Clock.’ At eighteen, just of age, he married a childhood sweetheart from next door. With a successful career and happy family, he lived quite a satisfied and proud life for an extended period, until his wife contracted an incurable serious illness. In desperation, Mordent Gray gambled everything, using his grievously ill wife in an immature Ship Spirit initiation experiment. He wanted her to continue living in another form. Obviously, it didn’t succeed. He was left with a grotesque mishmash of flesh, timber, and canvas, barely maintaining a semblance of a female figure. Despite this, Mordent Gray still didn’t give up. Using his Transcendent strength, he personally hunted civilians to feed his bizarre wife. A few months later, his actions were exposed. However, the Tribunal, considering his talent and status as a Mid-Sequences Transcendent, chose not to execute him. Instead, they stripped him of all his honors and titles and placed him under the Tribunal’s surveillance, allowing him to continue working for the royal shipyard.

Several more years passed until the situation gradually calmed down and the supervision relaxed. Mordent took advantage of the opportunity to build a Second Grade Wonder Battleship, the ’Phantom,’ for the Navy, under the pretext of accompanying it on sea trials. In international waters, he made his move. He killed all the Navy men from Castilia onboard, completely defected from the Kingdom of Castile, and fled with the ship. In the nearly ten years that followed, he slowly replaced parts of this not-so-special Second Grade Wonder Battleship. He gradually transformed it into the ’Phantom Bottle,’ now a Quasi-Legendary Warship.