One after another, awkward, cumbersome, harsh, and utterly incomprehensible words emerged slowly from Caine's mouth, silencing the hurricane generated by the bronze gates' terrifying suction and deepening the already dim surroundings into an even more profound stillness. Only then did he realize that the extraordinary ability Ludewell, the "Lord of Hell," had just employed—known as "The Language of the Dead"—could bypass the protection of flesh and directly address spirits. It was an advanced form of the seer's gift, elevating direct communication between spirits into a force capable of commanding and even enslaving them! The language of the living, now echoing across the foredeck, rendered Ludewell motionless. His pirate captain's form quickly began to shimmer with a translucent layer. His spirit was being pulled by an ethereal force. At that moment, the square, dark ring on the index finger of his left hand glowed with a soft,幽 light. The separated spiritual essence immediately returned to the body, reuniting once more. Crack! Lord Ludewell drew the slender, sharp sword from his belt. The sword was iron-black in hue, its tip gathering ambient light and condensing into a dark, solid point. With a sudden, powerful stride, the "General of Hell" surged forward, his fierce gust of wind closing the distance between him and his opponent. His slender sword then flashed out like lightning, swiftly and precisely. The bronze gate, adorned with mysterious patterns, remained steadfast in its original position—unmoved despite Ludewell's withdrawal of his left hand and the execution of his maneuver. This differed from the ability Ludewell had previously witnessed in Miss Chaelin, which relied on the use of magical artifacts. Pffft! The dark-pointed sword struck Clarein with unyielding force, piercing him. Clarein's form rapidly shriveled, thinning into a sheet of paper—yellowed and brittle, as though weathered for ten thousand years. The gale raised by the bronze gates swept the paper figures to shreds. From the depths, Caine leapt forth, now clutching a large handful of inscribed glyphs from the "God of the Sea" domain. "Storm!" The urgent, stilted words of ancient Hermes burst forth, each thin sheet of white tin igniting and offering itself as sacrifice to the "God of the Sea"—thus, as long as Caine wished, he could recover most of the materials, reuse them repeatedly, until the metals could no longer bear the spiritual essence. Hoo! Blades of azure wind surged forth, lifting heavy waves that rose to match the height of the ship's hull. Since Caine had neither time nor opportunity to distinguish the types of glyphs, these attacks surged in a broad, enveloping wave toward Ludewell, while corresponding supernatural effects accumulated upon the "General of Hell" himself—layer upon layer of abilities such as underwater respiration, free movement, aerial buoyancy, and resistance to pressure—effects that currently held little significance. Ludewell suddenly opened his mouth, emitting a silent, piercing cry—waves about to strike him and countless wind blades momentarily froze in midair. Immediately, the "General of Hell" raised his left hand, and the square black ring on his index finger radiated an eerie, somber glow, instantly brightening. Wheee! The bronze gate, imbued with an indescribable sensation, instantly expanded, doubling in height and width. With a heavy creaking sound, the crevices between the panels widened further, and the already terrifying suction surged to an unimaginable intensity. Seawaves of deep blue, dark waves of black, and the figure of Caine in the air all surged toward the gate, converging upon the strange, slowly unfurling vines and arms. As Caine prepared to summon the soul of the "Priest of Light" and strike the bronze gate with "Divine Light" to gain a moment of respite, he suddenly saw a luminous white sphere, the size of a man, approaching from a different direction. The speed of the fireball, amplified by the dramatic suction generated by the great door, carried it past克莱恩, just a short distance away, and struck directly into the gap of the mysterious double bronze door. Boom! The blazing white wave splashed out like rain, falling onto various surrounding areas, yet it could only cause the open bronze door to tremble slightly and dim a bit. Klein seized the moment and snapped his fingers. At once, several matches stored separately in his pocket ignited, sending out waves of crimson flame that swiftly enveloped his body, dissolving him. A flame surged up from the side of the bronze door, and Klein leapt out from within. He immediately spotted Anderson Hood floating awkwardly in midair, his hands tightly gripping a long, blazing white spear. The "Strongest Hunter" had finally arrived, though he seemed still unaccustomed to flight. Ludewil, the "General of Hell," looked up and noticed the scene—clearly, the pale flame at the silver-white mask's eye sockets flickered twice. It was obvious that he had not anticipated the presence of two naval generals of pirate rank aboard the "Future," both of whom carried impressive magical artifacts or seals. At that moment, Ludewil suddenly raised his hand and, unexpectedly, removed the silvery-white mask from his face. A deep, pale radiance burst forth from behind the mask, instantly spreading the profound stillness carried by the black square ring on his left index finger. This stillness surged into the bronze doors, pushing them away from the deck and lifting them into the air. The doors, adorned with intricate mysterious patterns, rapidly expanded beyond thirty meters in height, standing firm upon the sea surface as if connecting to another world, distinct from the one they now occupied. Clang! The bronze doors suddenly swung open, and an incomparable darkness surged forth, enveloping the foredeck of the "Black Tulip." Caine, seeing this, abandoned his attack and quickly drew out the correct incantation, casting it upon himself. A fierce gust of wind surged forth, hurling him out of the upper deck of the "Black Tulip." The massive sailing vessel, drawn into the darkness, advanced ten meters at a time, entering the bronze gates and moving toward another world. Ludewil, the "General of Hell," stood at the bow, gazing upward into the half-sky, his face veiled in a pale glow, making his features indistinct. His gaze first swept over Caine, then settled upon Anderson Hood, as if trying to remember these two hunters; yet he made no further attempt to attack, as though restrained by the surrounding darkness. Anderson was momentarily stunned, then immediately launched his lance of blazing white flame at Ludewil. The lance surged straight toward Ludewil, but as soon as it entered the realm of darkness and stillness, it vanished silently. Was Ludewil retreating? What a decisive move!... Caine was momentarily stunned, then remembered that the Azk copper whistle was still aboard the "Black Tulip." As the massive ship neared halfway through the bronze gates and had already entered another world, with no possibility of stopping it, Caine tossed a match into the air and snapped his fingers once. Beside the Azk copper whistle, which had been passed back and forth among the undead creatures tearing at each other on the aft deck within fifty meters, the match suddenly flared to life, rising into a bright crimson flame. Within the flame, Caine's figure emerged, reaching out and grasping the whistle. This was precisely the move he had prepared to recover the whistle! Moreover, to prevent unforeseen circumstances—such as the match being pulled away by the undead—he had coated the whistle's surface with a layer of sun-essential, easily combustible oil! Snap! With countless undead surrounding him, Caine had no time to release his grip on the whistle and immediately snapped his fingers again. At that moment, hands—transparent, decaying, pale, or ethereal—had already reached out and grasped him! The match克莱恩 had thrown earlier ignited in midair, surging upward with a stream of flame. His figure soon emerged within the glow of the fire, yet his face had turned bluish and his lips were pale. As countless shadows, vengeful spirits, and other immortals clutched at him,克莱恩 felt an intense cold emanating from deep within his spirit, struggling to maintain his bodily control, and then, with a sudden plunge, sank downward into the sea, now once again shimmering with golden light. ——As the "Black Iris" had largely passed through the bronze gates, the sea surface, which had previously resembled the entrance to hell, had now returned to normal. After sinking several meters,克莱恩 was choked by a bitter, thick tide of seawater, and finally stabilized. Fortunately, he had been well-prepared... Yet, in a flash of thought, he suddenly realized something was wrong. With the fishfolk cuff pins he wore, he should have had ten minutes of passive underwater breathing—there was no reason he should have been choking at all! Klein suddenly turned his head, looking at his wrist—there, the sapphire cuff pin had already detached itself from the organization. It had been lost... lost by the "Seed" hand. He had been on the "Black Tulip" the entire time. Klein kicked several times, rising to the surface, just in time to see the massive ship's stern fade into darkness as the bronze gates slowly closed. Instinctively, he swam forward several meters before stopping, selecting one of the remaining sigils and bestowing upon himself the extraordinary ability of underwater respiration. Anderson Hude, watching from above, silently marvelled: "He's absolutely mad! He's even trying to pursue them!" At that moment, shimmering stars fell from the "Future" ship, coalescing into a long bridge that extended toward them. Finally, the "Star General" Gardeleia had vanquished the resilient gray-black monster that had previously proven so hard to defeat. Alas, if General of Hell had hesitated just a moment longer, if he had not escaped in time... Anderson sighed silently and landed steadily on the starbridge. Watching Germán Sparo come flying in, he had just meant to greet him, to offer some praise, when he saw instead a cold, silent face. Instinctively, Anderson stepped back, chuckled dryly, and allowed Germán Sparo to pass by him. On the return journey along the starbridge to the *Future*, Klein had calmed his emotions. When Frank Lee approached him and raised his thumb, he said: "You're the most crazy person I've ever seen in my life!" "You dared to climb aboard the *Black Tulip* alone, to face off against General of Hell, and come back alive!" Apologies—when it comes to craziness, I'm far from matching you... Klein replied quietly. At that moment, many of the pirates with long hair or tousled heads expressed their amazement and admiration as well. In this atmosphere, Crane closed his eyes, feeling the "Faceless" potion fully absorbed.