The turbulent sea's anomaly in the spiritual realm stems from the fall of the God of Death... It is said that the deity's remains and belongings are hidden somewhere within this sea, awaiting someone who holds the right key to unlock them. This bronze whistle originates from Mr. Azk, who has confirmed to be a direct descendant of the God of Death, belonging to the generation just before or the one prior. Therefore, has the bronze whistle just sensed something—or been influenced by something? In his mind, Klein rapidly flashed through a series of messages, weaving them together to form an initial hypothesis. He intended to stay in Bodo Port, find a hotel, check into a room, and then go to the Gray Mist to try the "dream divination" method to gain further insights before deciding on his return time and route to Eskenson Port, so as to avoid any unforeseen incidents along the way. Until then, he needed to find food for the "craving hunger." Descending from the coastal cliff, Klein entered Bodo Port. The buildings here appear to have been constructed wherever the idea struck, with little overall planning—so much so that some roads are wide and spacious, others narrow enough for only pedestrian use, and some so high that one can hardly see the sky, instead seeing vast stretches of clothes still drying in the sun. With a fresh, new appearance, Kline strolled through this environment, among many pedestrians dressed as pirates, naturally seeking out prey at taverns and similar establishments. At this moment, he noticed a gathering of people around the notice board on a small plaza ahead. What's going on? Curious, Kline approached, using the balance and agility of a clown to weave through the gaps in the crowd, finally managing to reach a spot where he could see the notice board clearly. On it, a single sheet of paper stood out prominently, completely covering the others so that it was immediately visible. The header read: "Recruitment for crew on the 'Black Emperor.'" "The Black Emperor?" Isn't this Nast's vessel—the one that sails through the spiritual realms? How could a king in the making of piracy openly recruit crew members? Caine spoke softly, somewhat astonished. "How could this be possible?" "Why not?" The tall, broad-shouldered man beside him, with his sleeves rolled up and arms bare, burst into laughter. "It wasn't possible before, but now it is!" "Why?" Caine had been waiting for someone to speak, so he turned and asked immediately. The man's arms, forearms, and cheeks were adorned with dark blue and black tattoos, giving him a fierce appearance. He pointed toward the main shipping route. "A week ago, the 'Black Emperor' encountered the steam ironclad 'Prize,' which had been heavily promoted by Runa. A naval battle ensued, and the 'Black Emperor' lost many crew members—now it urgently needs reinforcements!" Ah? Caine's first thought was that this wasn't something mystical. Based on the content reported in the newspaper and the various accounts he had heard at sea, he knew that the "Prize" was a conventional giant ship with heavy guns, lacking any extraordinary elements. Perhaps in terms of physical destructive power, it outperformed the "Black Emperor," but the latter could leverage spiritual "jumps," much like the large-scale "Traveler," rendering it immune to conventional thermal weaponry. Moreover, Nast, the "King of the Five Seas," should be a semi-divine figure of the third sequence through the "Black Emperor" path—the most renowned strength in maritime circles—and capable of directly warping the trajectories of cannonballs, standing nearly invincible when encountering non-mystical naval forces. In Caine's view, the two were opponents of entirely different levels, yet the final outcome did not match his expectations. He could not conceal his astonishment and asked directly, "What about the 'Prize'?" The sturdy man with a fierce demeanor shook his head and replied, "Not entirely clear, but it seems to have sustained only minor damage—just two escort ships sank." "This... Caine was first stunned, then gradually began to grasp what had actually happened. He recalled the situation when the mummy of Thutmose II had been stolen—the military half-gods had employed a "law that weakens the mysterious and strengthens reality." Once activated, such a law rendered the "Black Emperor," an unusually special and somewhat unconventional sail-powered ship-of-the-line, ineffective against ironclads: it could neither fight them effectively nor withstand their strength, nor could it outrun them. In another sense, this also implied that half-gods from the military were present aboard the "Prize," otherwise such a law could not have taken effect." It's no small feat for "The Black Emperor" to escape under these circumstances, which clearly demonstrates that Naest, the "King of the Five Seas," possesses an exceptionally strong实力—absolutely among the top tier, even when compared to angels. It seems precisely because of the existence of the "Arbiter" path, this world's military development has remained closely aligned with Earth's, enabling it to effectively cope with higher-level mysteries. Klein nodded thoughtfully, then decided to ask no further questions. As for the extraordinary ones below Sequence 4, during large-scale thermal warfare, aside from a few professionals capable of delivering strong offensive output and effective defense, the rest must either avoid direct confrontation and operate as units akin to "strike teams," or simply provide support—such as the "Master of Secret Figures." If the puppets are fully equipped, mid-sequence extraordinary beings can absolutely hold their own in one-on-one combat, unphased by most opponents. However, once on the battlefield, exposed to artillery fire and machine gun sweeps, their inherent vulnerability becomes evident. Even with "puppet substitutes," they often remain within the line of fire and suffer secondary damage—by that point, there may not be enough time to deploy the puppets again. In such thermal warfare, the most effective mid-sequence extraordinary beings are undoubtedly the "Wailing Spirits," who are largely immune to artillery and gunfire, remain undetected by enemies, and can directly impact large swathes of targets through their "shriek." When Rhen thought his thoughts began to drift, the sturdy man who had just spoken stepped in: "Would you like to join the 'Black Emperor'?" “…still hesitating,” Kline replied casually. The tall, muscular man with extensive black tattoos on his arms spoke with great enthusiasm: “Honestly, I’m going to give it a try. There aren’t more than ten people here I can actually beat, and I’ve got solid pirate experience—surely they’ll notice me! But I won’t stay long on the *Black Emperor*. There are so many dull rules—like being allowed to only rob, not kill unresisting passengers, or having to wait for a woman’s consent before taking her aside to court her. Listen to this—listen to this—does this even sound like pirate life? Though the *Lord of the Five Seas* is one of the four great kings and widely recognized as the king of pirates, his rules are simply—simply—terrible! I’ve lived a real pirate’s life and truly enjoy it. I won’t be changing that any time soon!” "I simply heard that the crew of the *Black Emperor* might gain extraordinary powers, so I decided to join them. At a certain point, I'll leave and establish my own pirate fleet." The man was speaking with great fervor when suddenly he noticed the stranger across from him expression had grown somewhat strange. He hesitated, then asked, "What's wrong with me?" Seeing this, Colin exhaled slowly, his expression calm as he murmured softly, "The Ferryman." He had worked closely with this former Chief for a long time and knew well the challenges she faced—specifically, the lack of the "Silver Knight" potion formula from the "Giants" path at Sequence 3, which had left no one able to advance beyond the half-divine level. She had long intended to transition into a nearby sequence, and that plan had finally shown promising signs when they discovered the "Ferryman" potion formula—Sequence 3 from the "Phoenix" path. Since then, the former Chief had been steadily constructing this mausoleum, eventually settling here and sealing off the entrance. After quietly observing the site with the deep green symbols glowing steadily, Colin spoke with measured calm: "Take the boat." Wether and Lovira expressed no hesitation, fully trusting the Chief's judgment, and followed closely behind, boarding the dim, unusual small vessel. Throughout this process, the three moved without hesitation, neither glancing around nor pausing—seeming not to be exploring at all, but rather making a purposeful visit. The small boat gradually began to move, gliding smoothly across the seemingly perfect blackness of the water, leaving behind a long, clear trail. Those blood-streaked arms, those smooth, sinuous tentacles, reached wildly upward, clapping and thrashing against the hull, yet left no trace and made no impact whatsoever. In just a matter of ten or so seconds, the three elders of the "Council of Six" reached the other side of the ethereal river. There, a platform stood tall, upon which rested a heavy, iron-black coffin. Colin Iliad immediately stepped off the boat and drew out another straight sword, now clearly more cautious and deliberate than before. Shortly thereafter, Weyt approached, lifting his iron-gray hammer and stepping firmly onto the shore, his weight causing a noticeable tremor in the surrounding ground. He looked at the massive coffin surrounded by the monster's skulls, took two steps forward, drove his long mace before him, and drew out the dragon-hunting bow slung across his back. At that moment, Wether suddenly felt a slight itch on the back of his hand. Instinctively, he lowered his gaze and saw fine white hairs, stained with yellow grease, sprouting vigorously from the pores of his skin, growing thicker and longer. …… Bodhum. After satisfying the "craving hunger," Caine found a messy inn and booked a room that was barely clean. Then, he stepped backward four paces and arrived upon the gray mist. Sitting into the "Fool's" position, Caine first projected the Azk copper whistle, then materialized paper and quill, and wrote down the corresponding divinatory phrases: "The unusual condition of this copper whistle today."