LRAB Chapter 196 A Series of Chance Encounters
Chapter 196 A Series of Chance Encounters
Chapter 196 A Series of Chance Encounters
After an unknown amount of time, Lorne, who was lying on the floor, twitched his eyelids slightly and slowly opened his eyes.
Feeling the ship rocking, he shook his dizzy head, staggered to his feet, and leaned against the wall for support.
"Cough...cough cough..."
Taking a direct hit from a 'Blazing Sun' spell at close range—though I didn't die, it was still a truly unpleasant experience.
He turned his head to look at Señor's completely cold body on the ground, and let out a long sigh of relief.
Then he saw Laki, Danitz, and Gadriya lying on the ground as well.
He quickly went up to them one by one to check their condition. Fortunately, they were all just unconscious, breathing steadily, and should be fine.
After doing all this, he dragged his exhausted body to the window he had smashed and cautiously looked outside.
The storm on the sea had passed, and it was already daylight, but all around was an endless expanse of unfamiliar sea.
It looks like we've been through a huge storm. The ship's position has completely shifted off course, Lorne thought to himself. Damn it! Why does every time we go out to sea we have to encounter something like this!
throat.-.
After calming himself down, Lorne went back to the cabin and approached Senor's body, where he began to examine it carefully.
He first activated his "spiritual vision" and scanned the area, discovering that the spiritual reactions on the body had completely dissipated.
What a pity...
The body had been dead for quite some time, and the spirit had completely dissipated, making it impossible for him to perform "spirit communication" anymore.
"If we could communicate with spirits, perhaps we could find out his true purpose and how he came to find us. But now, there's no way."
The pirate general has a bounty of at least tens of thousands of pounds. However, redeeming the bounty can be a bit of a hassle.
Tens of thousands of pounds!
Lorne looked at Senor's pale face and made his own calculations.
"Huh? Just as he was searching for his spoils, Lorne noticed something peculiar about the necklace Senor was wearing. It seemed to be a magical item."
He picked up the necklace with a pendant of the same color that resembled an ancient coin and examined it carefully.
Soon, he discovered a line of extremely small inscriptions in ancient Hermes on the edge of the coin:
The luckier you are now, the more unlucky you will be later.
This is a magical item from the "Monster" pathway!
Upon recalling Señor's bizarre "luck" in the battle just now, Lorne immediately understood the origin of the necklace.
He held the necklace in his hand, feeling it.
This necklace's sequence should be higher than mine, but not by much. Most likely—it's around sequence 5.
"Throat—" Lorne couldn't help but sigh again.
If only it were an extraordinary property from the start. A magical item can't be directly consumed as a potion.
Fortunately, this time, he didn't encounter that terrifying giant hand again, Lorne thought with lingering fear.
This isn't some isolated, primitive island. If I were forced to howl at the heavens again here, I'd truly have nowhere to hide.
Most likely, this small, dilapidated boat, along with the lightning that fell from the sky, would be blasted into dust.
Just then.
"Queen.-"
A dream filled with pain and pleading softly escaped from the still unconscious Cattleya's lips.
"No, no, don't send me away." Her body trembled uncontrollably, as if she were experiencing something incredibly sad.
"Mother, please don't abandon me."
Suddenly, she jolted awake from her nightmare. She rubbed her still throbbing head and slumped down on the cold floor, feeling utterly ashamed.
Just then, a hand was stretched out in front of her.
Instinctively, she reached out her hand as well. Immediately, someone pulled her up from the ground.
"You...you are..." Gadriya was still a little confused as she looked at Lorne in front of her.
"I'm sorry, she's not your mother," Lorne said with a cold tone, making a joke.
After a few minutes, as the discomfort gradually subsided, Gadriya began to recall what had happened. She glanced at the charred corpse of Señor on the ground, then at herself, completely unharmed.
She asked:
"You saved me?"
Seeing Lorne nod, she asked again:
"The Queen—has she arrived?"
This time, Lorne didn't move; he simply watched her quietly.
Seeing his reaction, Gadriya's face didn't show any extra expression, but a hint of disappointment could not be hidden in her deep eyes.
Is the "mysterious queen" her mother? Or perhaps—someone as important to her as a mother?
Combined with the previous rumors circulating at sea that the two of them had broken up—and her sorrowful and helpless appearance while she was unconscious—
Was she abandoned by the "mysterious queen"?
Lorne made a rough guess about Cattleya's current situation in his mind.
"Don't think about it so much." He tried to comfort her in a calm tone. "At least you're saved and alive and well, aren't you?"
After calming herself down, Gadriya raised her head again, looked at Lorne, and said in a sincere tone:
Thanks."
"Hehe." Lorne chuckled, then changed the subject, "Madam, I think you should return the 1,500 pounds deposit to me first."
Upon hearing this, Gadriya was taken aback for a moment, and then couldn't help but smile.
"no problem."
The two chatted briefly.
Lorne no longer sensed any hostility from Cattleya, and his spiritual intuition was normal.
This eased his tense expression slightly, after all, with Tracy as a cautionary tale, she was extremely wary of these pirates.
As for Señor, Cattleya said she could help with the bounty. She could also help connect the corpse with buyers if any of its unusual characteristics required a sale.
Lorne did not directly reject the proposal, but the specific details would need to be discussed further between the two of them later.
Afterwards, the two went up to the deck and looked around at the unfamiliar seascape.
"It seems we've been through a huge storm and been blown here," Lorne said. "Can your ritual still be activated? Can it just send us away?"
Cattleya glanced at the surrounding ocean currents and shook her head: "No. The distance is too far, and the previous battle has caused some irreversible damage to those ritual materials. They can no longer be used."
"So we won't get lost at sea?" Lorne's lips twitched slightly.
This plot... it feels kind of familiar, doesn't it?
Last time, she was adrift with "Disease Lieutenant General" Tracy. This time, it's "Star Admiral" Cattleya.
"Am I destined to never escape the sea in this lifetime?" he complained to himself.
"We should be in the waters around Olavi Island right now," Cattleya said calmly. "If we're lucky, it won't be long before we reach Olavi Port. I have my own base there."
"Understood." Lorne nodded.
Then, Cattleya spoke up again, asking, "Are you an adventurer?"
"almost."
“I originally thought,” Gadriya looked at Lorne and hesitated for a moment before saying, “that you would have accepted Señor’s suggestion, or—killed me and took both bounties.”
Lorne remained expressionless: "I know Señor's reputation, so I never believed him from the beginning."
"As for the latter—" he paused, "I've already said I wouldn't let you die. How could I go back on my word?"
"Don't let me die at Señor's hands?" Gadriya thought of Lorne's earlier words and felt a warmth in her heart for no reason.
"How is your injury?" she asked with concern.
"It's alright, it's not a big problem."
2
Then, Lorne sighed: "By the way, please keep the fact that 'Blood General' died at my hands a secret."
I'm not the kind of person who likes fame.
"Of course," Cattleya replied.
Just then, a massive ship, entirely painted black, suddenly appeared on the distant horizon. On its mast…
A white flag depicting a giant skull is fluttering in the air!
“The Black Death,” Cattleya said suddenly, looking at the ship.
"The 'Black Death' of 'General of Disease'?" Lorne asked instinctively.
"Mm." Cattleya nodded.
Damn! How did I end up here again?!
Is it because the area around Bayam has been sealed off by the Church of Storms that Tracy has also come to this sea area?
Seeing Lorne's expression turn somewhat serious, Cattleya analyzed, "Don't worry, we should be safe now."
Speaking like a seasoned pirate, she said, "Our ship is too small. In their eyes, it's probably just an ordinary fishing boat, with no value whatsoever for plundering."
"Besides, look at how fast the 'Black Death' is going; it probably has some urgent business to attend to. It's impossible for it to deliberately stop and attack 'small fry' like us."
"I'm doing alright right now, so you don't need to worry."
"Hmm," Lorne responded, but still indicated that he should go into the cabin first to avoid the situation.
Watching Lorne's hurried departure, Gadriya wore a thoughtful expression.
On the Black Death, in the luxurious yet somber captain's cabin.
Tracy, dressed in a loose men's coat, sat quietly on the captain's chair. Her fingers were unconsciously stroking the barrel of a strangely shaped shotgun over and over again.
"Brando."
From time to time, she would softly murmur the name, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.
But a moment later, the gentleness on her face was replaced by a heavy gloom.
Misor is a piece of trash!
They can't even handle a mere 'Blazing Flame'!
Originally, Tracy intended to execute Misor for his serious dereliction of duty. However, after some consideration, she decided to give him one last chance to make amends.
Tell him to go and bring back that damned "Flame" Danitz.
As a result, he disappeared without a trace after he left.
She had initially thought that the good-for-nothing had run away out of fear of punishment.
As a result, when she was about to curse him with the blood she had saved, she unexpectedly discovered that Mithall was already dead.
It's obvious that he died at the hands of "Flame" Danitz or his accomplices!
"Useless! Useless!" Tracy couldn't help but mutter a few curses under her breath.
Upon receiving this news, she decided to personally take action to bring Danitz back.
Unexpectedly, her mother suddenly sent her a message, asking her to go to the nearby sea area immediately to meet her.
Judging from her mother's unusually wolfish tone, Tracy guessed that she had run into some tough guys from the Church of Storms in Bayam, and it seemed that she had suffered quite a loss.
"Captain." At that moment, a sailor knocked on the door and came in to report.
"What's wrong?" Tracy asked coldly.
"Captain, we've spotted a small boat ahead..."
"boat?"
With her superhuman eyesight, Tracy could clearly see through the window, even without binoculars, that a small boat was indeed drifting on the turbulent sea in the distance.
"What's the point of caring about such a small boat? Full speed ahead!" Tracy impatiently gave the order.
"Yes, Captain!"
As Lorne had predicted, the "Black Death" completely ignored their inconspicuous "fishing boat," maintaining an extremely high speed and sailing straight past them from a short distance away.
That is?
Through the narrow porthole, Lorne noticed that something seemed amiss on the mast of the Black Death.
He looked closely and saw a blonde figure in a white dress, bound by ropes and hanging high on a comb pole.
Let it be exposed to the wind and sun.
It seems to be an extremely cruel form of punishment.
Did this guy offend Tracy?
It's kind of scary—if I hadn't managed to escape back then, I might be the one hanging up there now.
Lorne looked at the figure swaying in the wind and thought with lingering fear.
The Black Death was very fast, and in no time, it disappeared completely from the horizon.
After some time, once it was confirmed that it was safe, Lorne returned to the deck.
At this moment, Cattleya, who had been standing at the bow of the ship, suddenly turned around and came to his side, saying in a calm, factual tone:
"Monkey Brando?"
1
Upon hearing the name, Lorne's body stiffened slightly.
Although he quickly calmed down, Cattleya still noticed something amiss: "It seems I was right."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm just verifying my guess," Cattleya replied. "Your reaction when you saw the 'Black Death' clearly indicates that you and the 'Disease Admiral' seem to have some kind of entanglement."
According to my intelligence, there happens to be an adventurer at sea recently, for whom "Admiral Disease" Tracy has placed a hefty bounty.
Dealing with smart people is such a hassle—Lorne thought to himself.
"What?" He looked up, staring directly into the other man's eyes. "You want to use me to exchange for that bounty?"
"No." Cattleya shook her head. "I just think we should have a formal self-introduction."
?
Under Lorne's slightly questioning gaze, she extended her hand, her tone gentle:
"Let me introduce myself, I am Cattleya, the 'Star Admiral'."
Looking at her earnest expression, Lorne remained silent for a moment, then extended his hand as well:
"Monkey Brando."
"A novice adventurer."
Soon, dusk arrived.
The small boat traveled a distance on the sea.
Lorne stood on the deck, feeling the glow of the setting sun, and inexplicably felt a sense of leisure.
"If it weren't for those accidents, the sea would still be beautiful," he remarked.
What?
As the sun set, he saw another ship sailing towards this area of water.
He looks somewhat familiar.
It was a clean and tidy sailboat, several tens of meters long, that reflected a golden hue in the sunlight.
This—this is—. Lorne was somewhat surprised.
Golden Dream!