Black Sail
Chapter 188: CLXXXVIII. Speed

Chapter 188: CLXXXVIII. Speed

The train sped wildly, like a runaway without brakes, the piercing screech between the wheels and rails as if coming from Hell.

"Fuck this shit!"

Mika’s head buzzed, and he still had two pirates watching the horses on the low ridge.

All the other pirates had already boarded the train, leaving just the three of them, along with a group of horses intended for escape in the plan.

But now, everything was thrown into chaos.

The train grew smaller in their line of sight, about to disappear completely.

"What do we do?"

One of the pirates was somewhat anxious, thrown into disarray as the main force had all left with the train.

Mika’s thoughts raced, and he quickly made a decision—the horses absolutely could not be abandoned. In this wilderness, where would they go to buy horses?

"Stay right here, don’t move. Liszt will find a way to stop the train; just trust him."

Mika made up his mind.

On the other side.

A wilderness of white reeds stretching vastly like a sea of clouds.

Within the nine train cars.

The strong wind battered their faces, all items in disarray, breakables already smashed, metal utensils, and chunks of furnishings jostling with the runaway train.

Carousel lanterns, illusions, bizarre colorful patterns layered one upon another.

Like a thunderbolt piercing straight through the mind, the folds of the cerebral cortex buzzed.

The sounds heard by the ears all became weak.

Liszt’s daze lasted two seconds.

Swan and Weber had already arrived, and soon Meredith, Gawain, had all reached the car where Liszt was; thus, all the nobles on the entire train were now controlled by Black Sail, the security guards and any nobles daring to resist had been killed.

But a new situation arose.

The nobles were all violently shaking, sprawling on the ground, afraid to get up once they went down.

This was not some super stable high-speed train; the violent shaking with increased speed, plus the gale, meant they needed to hold onto something just to stand firm.

"What about your deal! What should we do now?"

Gawain’s hands on the Great Curved Sword were covered in blood, his eyes slightly bloodshot with killing intent, pressing Liszt for answers, but even his raging voice was somewhat softened passing through the wind.

If these pirates didn’t make it back alive, the lives of his own brothers would be hard to safeguard.

With Liszt’s mental fortitude, he quickly collected himself; these cowardly nobles were already frightened stupid, posing no threat whatsoever.

"We head to the front car, all the power comes from the engine. Once we sever the coupling of the first car, it’s over."

Liszt wiped off some blood on his hair, which he hadn’t cut in months, and flicked his hand.

The sharpness of the Junlin Sword was unparalleled—nothing it could not cut through, not even steel; Fen and Claude may have encountered some misfortune.

Of course, he could simply sell out Fen.

Giving up half the income, starting to uncouple right from this car, the remaining nobles could fetch an astronomical sum.

But.

The Netherworld Stele was tucked inside Fen’s jacket.

At that moment.

The speaker in the car blared an extremely sharp shrill, the sound like sharp metal drilling into the brain, diabolical noises flooding the mind.

It seemed like a sound check.

Then came a middle-aged man’s voice, mixed with the sound of electricity, his hoarse voice exuding a terrifying oppressive force.

"I am Joshua, the chief of the Pioneer.

Thieves have broken into the train, a matter concerning national stature, the Emperor’s majesty must not be yielded to, show the mettle of Aran Country nobles.

I don’t know who you are.

Surrender now and you will receive a fair judicial sentencing, otherwise...

I will personally send you to the Northern Prison.

The train’s emergency backup forces have been activated, and Magic Puppets will attack anyone who tries to leave the cars indiscriminately.

That’s all."

With the dull sound of the microphone being put down, the announcement came to an end.

He finished his speech.

The nobles in the carriages were even more terrified because what the conductor implied was, to protect the dignity of Aran Country, not to let the scandal of a train being hijacked by bandits leak, they all had to be "gloriously" sacrificed?

They were quaking even more now, prostrated on the ground.

Liszt’s forehead bulged with veins. Wasn’t Mu Ran that damned conductor? How had such a ballsy person popped up, who wouldn’t be threatened by hostages?

"Fuck his mother, we must bring the train to a halt right now, ten minutes, we have to do it within ten minutes."

Liszt was well aware of the importance of time. They had to act before reaching the next station, had to take out that Joshua in this uninhabited area and then stop the train.

Fucking big prison, what magic puppets, you think you’re so special? I’ll chop you up right away.

"Everyone follow me, Meredith, go to the rear carriages and inform Morison and the others. Hurry to the front of the train!"

After saying this, Liszt led by example, braving the howling wind as he dashed toward the door at the end of the carriage, with the other three close behind.

The rest of the pirates who had boarded the train didn’t need to worry about anything else; just keep the nobles in the carriages under control.

Meredith also immediately turned around.

It was a matter of life and death now.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sudden sound of metal footsteps thundered down from above the carriages, followed by several muffled thuds landing heavily on the platforms between each car.

They had been given orders. From the elevators in carriage two and carriage twenty-one, they reached the top of the train and then positioned themselves on the platforms outside each carriage.

Being magic puppets, they couldn’t understand overly complicated commands to recognize enemies and could only mechanically perform single tasks.

The instructions they received were to defend the connecting platforms at all costs. If an enemy appeared, they were to annihilate them immediately.

Inside, Liszt and the others had no idea what kind of monsters they were dealing with. Judging by the footsteps overhead, there was one weighing at least five or six hundred pounds, stopping at the door, wary of acting recklessly.

Sweat soaked through Swan’s hair as he hesitated over whether to open the door.

Meredith didn’t dare to make a move either, now trapped in carriage nine.

Liszt’s throat clenched. Behind the door was something completely unknown; he glanced at the broken window and realized he had no other choice.

"I’ll go up to the roof first and see what’s happening outside."

Liszt was reckless.

Now it wasn’t just coal; using magic energy as fuel, the steam train accelerated to nearly two hundred miles per hour. The parts weren’t designed to operate at such high speeds for extended periods and started making clanging noises as if they were about to give out.

Reeds on both sides became blurred and shimmering mirages, and the tracks were lined with piles of rubble. At this speed, falling off would mean breaking one’s spine.

But Liszt had already climbed up, leaving behind his big anvil, he stood on the window ledge and with a leap, he clung onto the train’s roof—which was not an edge at a right angle but a smooth curve, lacking points of leverage.

Crack!

The Red Ghost Shadow’s arm pierced through the metal, using it as leverage to flip up onto the roof of the train.

"He’s insane!"

Gawain’s forehead beaded with sweat. These madmen from Heaven Port were too fucking fierce.

Liszt knew only one thing: there were just over nine minutes left, if he wasn’t fierce, they’d all end up in Hell!

Swan, who was in this line of work, followed up onto the train roof as well.

Meredith and Weber were wielding heavy weapons.

Gawain flexed his neck, causing it to crackle like frying beans. His brother’s life was still in his hands. Even if it meant risking his life with scum, he also clambered onto the roof.

Inside carriage eighteen.

Rein and Shadi had also heard the announcement and had found Morison.

The three of them were now trapped inside this carriage.

"This is bad. We need a quick victory."

Rein didn’t even want to think what would happen if they delayed any further. They were already slowly dying; the later it got, the worse it would be.

They were near carriage twenty.

Meanwhile, in the special compartment.

The situation was extremely complicated.

Grim could easily jump off the train himself, but taking Alanee with him would result in her getting hurt.

Outside the carriage were automata that attacked indiscriminately.

The train’s condition was very unstable, rattling loudly; the excessively high speed was so fast they could derail and overturn at any moment.

Grim had no choice but to take the initiative and leave Alanee for a brief moment.