Black Sail
Chapter 62: LXII. Marcus of Coldharbour

Chapter 62: LXII. Marcus of Coldharbour

Hundreds of corpses lay on the coast, their blood flowing like a river, while lightning flashed and thunder roared outside the cave, accompanied by fierce wind and rain.

The rockets, previously snapped by the First Officer of the Black Sail, had fallen on some of the nearly scrapped ships nearby, igniting the doused rags and boxes inside, and now they blazed intensely with fire.

Sparks drifted throughout the entire cave.

All they needed to do was to kill this last person to ensure a successful escape by sea.

Liszt had an extremely ominous feeling—the ground awash with blood and corpses, the open coastal plain, the giant ship ablaze with fire, the cave’s exterior whipping with gales and torrential rain—all of it stacked up like a damn battlefield from Boss Era.

A thunderbolt struck, its flash instantaneously piercing through heaven and earth.

Marcus, who had aged a bit, with wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, had dry hair, and his eyes were completely clouded over, blind. His terrifying metal jaw and the scratched-up face never revealed a Priest’s kindness, no matter the expression. Adorned in Chain Armor, he stood atop the coast.

Fen never imagined this individual had concealed such prowess; seeing Liszt receiving the goods, he too was reassured.

"I am a ritualistic priest of the Sect, my hands should not be tainted with fresh blood, but since it has come to this, there is no other choice."

To maintain the necessary Comprehension required for resonating with the Dragon Lord, he must abstain from bloodshed, setting aside all distractions.

But he was surrounded by a bunch of incompetents, so Marcus had to take matters into his hands.

Liszt and his group dismounted. It wouldn’t be long before they set sail, and these horses would have to be abandoned here.

Marcus, despite being blind, possessed a divine ability akin to Heart Eye Divine Power, allowing him through Magic Power to sense those around him, detecting Caroso, Goria, as well as that person’s presence.

Ultimately.

He sensed the Magic Sword in Morison’s hand.

"So Zahak has been defeated, indeed, in the end, he was too young, unreliable. Such a high position, yet to be killed by pirates."

The sinister Spiral Sword in Marcus’s hand was still swirling.

In the Imperial Court, powerful ministers ruled, old officials abounded, the tail too large to cut off, all for promoting their own protégés, sending a few seemingly prestigious but useless individuals caused the downfall of state affairs.

The so-called students of the Sword King only learned a few tricks and poses, and the champions of the Imperial Arena were but monthly runner-ups. Only a runner-up from the Continent Martial Arts Competition in September would be regarded somewhat highly.

Fires reached for the sky amidst the stormy wind and rain.

Marcus stood alone, unafraid within the encirclement of twelve core members of the Black Sail, over a hundred crew members, and two external supporters, expressionless.

Liszt rolled his tongue in his cheek, thinking to himself that this old man was damn arrogant, as if Zahak, the Aran Vice Admiral, was unreliable, and you, an old man with one foot in the grave, would be dependable. Even if his previous feat of slaying the giant was impressive, the entirety of Black Sail was present here, and even if the Emperor himself descended, he’d be slapped twice before he could leave.

"Originally, we thought to spare you on account of your age, out of mercy, but now that you want to escape, it won’t be that easy."

With some disdain, Liszt thought the situation was as good as settled, and this old man could still talk tough with his blindness—how audacious could he really be?

"Is that so..."

Marcus tightly clutched the Spiral Sword, neither affirming nor denying.

Liszt gave Morison a meaningful glance.

Morison wasted no words. With his Flying Knives and arrows already spent, a flick of his boot tip sent a short-handled axe lying beside a corpse soaring into the air, which he grasped and hurled toward Marcus. It spun wildly in midair, its power formidable.

His aim was naturally without need of mention.

It was only in this moment that Fen realized why Marcus had previously been unscathed—it was due to an invisible force field surrounding his body, causing anything that entered it to be deflected away.

Morison’s axe grazed past Marcus, causing no injury at all.

The Spiral Sword, too, thrived on the power of this force field.

"Huh?"

Morison’s interest perked up a bit.

Caroso, wholly dispirited just moments ago, suddenly surged with energy, lively as a dragon. He clenched the Thunder Gun in his hand and blasted away at Marcus.

Marcus only intoned his Praying as a sign of respect to the Dragon Lord, but under the current exceptional circumstances, he conjured wooden stakes from his hand to shield himself from the Thunder Gun’s force.

In an instant, the thick stakes turned charred black from the electricity, while Marcus remained utterly unharmed.

"I know who this man is; he’s one of the Sergeants of the Old Aran Witch Hunting Secret Department. The Emperor didn’t wipe them all out, and they were sheltered by the Eternal Sect. We need to leave, we can only stall, you definitely cannot win against him, set sail immediately."

Caroso knew that a Priest would come, but he hadn’t expected such a figure.

"Eternal Sect Witch Hunting Secret Department?"

Liszt had heard that the Old Aran Monarch, persuaded by slander, had witches killed to refine a secret medicine for immortality. This secret department reported directly to the Monarch, with the highest privileges, responsible not only for witch hunting but also for secret surveillance and intelligence work—extremely intimidating, with unchecked power in Old Aran.

He hadn’t expected that even after a change in the ruling dynasty, remnants still received sanctuary within the Church Court.

"So you’re aware of my background, which is no small feat. Just hand over that girl and let me take away that Demon, and we’ll consider this matter closed. You can continue being pirates."

Marcus stated calmly.

"Getting cocky, are we?"

To Liszt, Haywood was just a tool, expendable. But once Black Sail had their prize, there was no reason to give it up.

Ox launched a frenzied attack, wielding the Special Large Blade, bringing it down with a force heavy as a thousand jun.

Marcus gripped the Spiral Sword, and though he was blind, the spreading of his force field allowed him to perceive everything.

Sparks flew like a waterfall.

The Spiral Sword twisted against the Special Large Blade, and Marcus’s arm, incredibly, withstood Ox’s strike with just one hand. He stirred it so wildly that the Special Large Blade’s edge got hot as a branding iron, emitting thick smoke.

Liszt couldn’t believe his eyes. How was this possible?

"Everything has its weaknesses."

Clearly, Marcus wasn’t relying on brute strength but on magic. The power of magic reinforced the Spiral Sword. He was a Demon Swordsman, skilled in Object Manipulation Magic and Wood Element Magic, his swordsmanship reaching an exquisite level.

The Eternal Sect knew the importance of capturing their target, sending out a true... top-tier powerhouse.

The invisible force spread, first pressing down on the gills on Ox’s back and then tearing several gashes into them.

"Once you find the vulnerabilities, all things are defenseless," Marcus spoke as he tucked the Scriptures into his Chain Armor. With a Power Slash, the Special Large Blade was knocked away, and Ox stumbled backwards, struggling to breathe.

Then Marcus yanked hard, and the three-hundred-plus-pound Special Large Blade flew back into his hand. He grabbed it with one hand, and as the blade screeched and wailed, it was twisted into a spiral by an invisible force.

A Special Large Spiral Sword appeared, fearsome in stature; the air around it churned, blasting out fierce winds.

Marcus swung his sword, and the wind... sliced straight ahead in a deadly line.

Morison, well aware of its might, whipped out his whip blade and blocked wildly.

Rein, Shadi, and the others didn’t dare slack off, shielding themselves with metal.

For a moment, the sound of clanging was incessant. In front of Marcus, the ground looked like it had been plowed, twisted into strange patterns, cutting open layers upon layers of spiral grooves.

However, where it wasn’t blocked, more than a dozen pirates exploded into blood mists, a tragic sight to behold. The already devastated coast was now suffused with an even stronger scent of blood.

The giant ship burned, flames and smoke reaching for the sky, while outside the cave, thunder roared.

As if stepping on invisible stairs, Marcus slowly walked on "Power Plates" shaped by his Magic Technique, ascending into the air.

"Even the Emperor who slays dragons barehanded will one day weaken and die. Only time erases all, returning everything to eternity!"

Marcus chanted his Praying.

Wood Element Magic surged as thick branches grew wildly from beneath his feet, turning into nearly a hundred wooden spikes, attacking towards Liszt and his men.

"Fuck your mother..."

Liszt finally realized that Black Sail was now facing the most terrifying individual since its founding, no doubt about it, all because of this major affair.

Liszt followed three principles in his dealings: be ruthless, uphold brotherhood, and have many allies.

Everyone was present, and they couldn’t let a single religious charlatan defeat them. Otherwise, all their years would have been in vain.

"Whether it’s the lords of eternity and time, if anyone disrespects me, I won’t give them face," Liszt swore as blood flowed from his palm, the tip of the sword piercing his skin.

The Junlin Sword was far from being just for parrying.