Chapter 445: The Thirteenth Series Episode (Part 2)
The night was dim, the fog dense. The moon smeared a deep, quiet glow between heavy mist. A ghost ship, as though it had sailed straight out of the underworld, cut across the sea. Waves lapped softly against its black hull. The light brain captured the scene like a thick oil painting—every frame worthy of being a wallpaper. In the air, a figure in black combat gear descended in a glide, locking eyes for a fleeting moment with the towering man standing on the highest deck of the four-story ship below. The other three decks were packed with vicious Northern pirates. Beneath them, four colossal Lavides writhed violently. The atmosphere was suffocating.
The light brain thoughtfully labeled the key figures. Above the man standing at the very top appeared a clear marker: Pirate King, King of the Lavides — Saroyan. Bounty: 200,000 Vecktas.
Beside him stood his first mate, "Bonebreaker" Norris, and the boatswain, "Shadow" White—notorious pirates with bounties of 30,000 and 20,000 Vecktas respectively, each capable of commanding a pirate crew alone.
By contrast, Zhou Ning, dropping rapidly from the sky, and the four massive Lavides far below looked utterly disproportionate—his small frame and their colossal, intertwined serpent bodies creating a stark, jarring contrast that punched the senses. Yet his gaze remained calm and resolved.
The next instant, Saroyan opened his palm on the deck below. Electricity crackled violently in the air. The camera abruptly snapped to a head-on close-up of Zhou Ning. Every player could now clearly see that a platinum-white specter had materialized behind him!
Wayne Sturwell's Execution Anthem gunfire rang out.
Many players had been drinking water. More than a few sprayed it across their screens in shock. What the hell is that? A stand now?
At the same time, a line of text appeared above the specter's head:
[Platinum Star: A unique ability of Wayne Sturwell. A projection condensed from spiritual energy, invisible to ordinary people. Specific effects unknown. Awaiting player discovery and documentation.]
The bullet chat froze for a moment—then exploded into a flood of disbelief.
"Whoa, the protagonist gets a new ability every so often! Mom, I wanna learn this!"
"Forget it, didn't you see? It's unique. But maybe other special abilities exist…"
"This is what a growth-type protagonist looks like! Even the light brain doesn't know the new ability!"
Under the tense attention of countless players, the platinum specter hovered before Zhou Ning, arms crossed. In a flash, a barrier made purely of mist formed in front of him, neutralizing the explosive arcs of electricity into nothing. Then, like a shooting star, Zhou Ning plummeted straight downward, his jagged cape billowing high behind him.
The camera cut at lightning speed.
In the lowest deck of the Silent One, several Northern sailors heaved to unshackle thick iron chains. The moment the four huge beasts broke free, they lunged upward in a feral assault, shredding the afterimage Zhou Ning left behind.
Time seemed to freeze in an eerie still frame. The crescent moon hung silently in the mist—then suddenly, on the opposite side, Zhou Ning reappeared in his black combat suit, the platinum specter hovering beside him like a shadow. Thick mist had unfurled around his body. Beside him—at some unknown moment—two of the Lavides already had their six heads twisted into immovable knots.
Bullet chat flooded with question marks and exclamation marks. Many viewers began rewinding, slowing playback to half speed, even quarter speed—but nobody could decipher how the protagonist had even struck. They had no choice but to swallow their disbelief and keep watching.
The remaining two Lavides opened their cavernous maws, spewing venom and ice storms in a blistering barrage that completely swallowed Zhou Ning's position. Thanks to the light brain's editing, the scene felt impossible to escape.
But in almost the same instant, Zhou Ning ricocheted back into the sky—dodging the twin venom blasts in an absurd, near point-blank dance. The moment felt like an ant taunting an elephant. Viewers instinctively clenched their fists in second-hand panic.
Then, amidst a gale of roaring wind, night itself seemed to freeze. Within the sprawling shroud of mist, the two Lavides unleashed agonized screeches and plummeted downward. The titanic four-layer vessel Silent One abruptly caved inward, warping into a deep concave shape.
The ship's crooked lantern light, the interior rooms, the hail of splintered wood, the chaos of shouting—all were swallowed by the downward spiral of the Lavides as the camera tracked the collapse.
Third layer. Second layer. First layer.
Then—the gut-wrenching crack of the ship's lowest hull shattering. Silent One snapped in two, splitting into an unmistakable figure-eight as it crashed into the sea. A massive vortex churned. The wreck sank steadily toward the depths.
Wayne Sturwell, jagged mantle now unfurled into vast bat-like wings, hovered in the sky. Platinum Star lingered behind him in silence. Together, they watched the ocean surface until the wreck finally disappeared into the abyss and the water returned to stillness.
The entire battle had been smooth, effortless—like a routine hunt, not a clash with a 200,000-Vecktas Pirate King.
At that moment, a single caption appeared behind him:
"Because one can shoulder it, one must press on."
The screen shifted again.
Saroyan, having sunk into the sea, used an unknown artifact to transform into a dolphin and escaped. On another ship, a middle-aged pirate arrived at a newspaper office in Temple Harbor to deliver a tip.
"Batman defeats Saroyan, King of the Lavides, single-handedly. Suggested bounty adjustment: 225,000 Vecktas."
Below, a wanted poster appeared—Batman crouched dramatically at the prow of the Black Pearl.
The scene left players boiling with adrenaline. Blood surging. The chat scrolled endlessly with "Because one can shoulder it, one must press on," brimming with momentum and awe.
After the Darkland Tragedy, Wayne Sturwell had already become the hero willing to strike down a god to save the world. Now, having struck down the King of Lavides, players naturally assumed he had acted after learning of Saroyan's brutality. Their image of him grew sharper, richer, more vivid. This was what a game protagonist should be.
But Zhou Ning only wanted to bury his face in his hands. The light brain was so unbelievably dramatic it made his toes curl in second-hand embarrassment. He really had just stumbled into the fight by accident—he only wanted to hunt a high-tier creature to complete his class advancement, that was all.
When the battle segment ended, the progress bar had only reached one-third of the episode.
By now, players were fully hooked, ravenous for what came next.
A great many events had unfolded during this period, but the light brain wove the sprawling information together cleanly and coherently. As it advanced the main plot, it inserted a side story about the plump noble, Pruden.
Just as Zhou Ning predicted, Pruden was a fallen aristocrat and diplomat assigned by the Kingdom of Sepharic to the Kingdom of Bryston.
According to Cardinal Kaelson of the War God Church at the start of the episode, Pruden—like certain other nobles—had been influenced by subliminal suggestion and hypnosis from the ascetic priest Fred (the very priest whom Zhou Ning killed). Under that influence, Pruden blamed his family's downfall on Angus Motley, treating him as a blood enemy and plotting his assassination on Teldron Island.
The scene then cut to an inn on Teldron Island. A beautiful, mature woman sat at a desk, opening a book in her hands.
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