Just as the *Unicorn* was about to be overwhelmed by the paper figures, a piercing shriek suddenly echoed from afar, causing the paper figures on the *Unicorn* to freeze in their tracks.

  Struggling to look into the distance, Charles saw Audrick, transformed into a giant bat, hovering above the wooden ship. The waxy yellow sails trembled violently under the power of the sonic waves, and the entire wooden ship began to shake.

  Seeing his crew regain some ground, Charles could no longer hold on. His body brushed against the ship's side and slowly began to fall to the deck.

  The crew immediately noticed their captain's condition and rushed to his side, each face etched with concern.

  “Captain! Who did this?” The first mate stared at the protruding blade from Charles's chest, his expression filled with despair.

  “Don’t worry about me… Quickly… deal with those paper figures…” Charles managed to say, his vision growing dim.

  The first mate nodded vigorously and led the sailors toward the trembling enemies.

  As darkness closed in around him, Charles could no longer hear the sounds of battle. He watched as torches were lit on the deck, and a thought flashed through his mind: “Am I going to die?”

  Charles felt everything grow brighter, and the pain in his body began to fade rapidly. Strangely calm about the impending death, he thought, “So this is it... I wonder if I’ll be able to traverse back…”

  Just then, the previously absent first mate squeezed through the crowd around Charles, dragging two people with him.

  One was a new sailor with a deep gash on his neck, and the other was Deep, who had been shot. The sailor’s injury was not fatal, and Deep's gunshot wounds had missed vital areas; both were still alive.

  Charles could see the two men speaking in terror to Bandage, but he could hear nothing.

  Bandage laid the two men side by side on the deck, gave Charles a deep look, and took the black blade from his hand.

  Charles wanted to ask what Bandage was doing, but his bloodless lips trembled and could not form words.

  With the blade in hand, Bandage swiftly drew a blood sigil on the deck, filling the gaps of the array with twisted runes.

  “Pfft!” The sharp blade pierced the sailor’s chest, and disbelief filled Charles and the surrounding crew.

  Bandage positioned the sailor’s corpse within the array and then turned to Deep, raising the blade.

  “Shh.” A ship nail pinned the first mate’s hand that held the knife.

  Seeing the rage in Charles’s eyes, Bandage silently lowered the blade, crawling on the ground and softly chanting something.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  The blood from the sailor’s corpse seeped into the sigil on the deck as Bandage’s chant grew louder.

  A transparent octopus tentacle formed from seawater emerged from the edge of the ship, and Bandage’s voice rose in intensity.

  The tentacle pointed toward the sailor in the array, and the corpse, with wide-open eyes, quickly slid into the tentacle.

  The blood-stained tentacle rapidly swung toward Charles, drenching him in blood.

  With this, Charles, who had just been on the brink of death, let out a horrific scream.

  Smoke rose from his body as he writhed and twisted like a snake; the blade inside him was rapidly expelled, and his wounds began to heal.

  In mere seconds, Charles lay in the seawater, fully healed.

  Bandage calmly approached and helped the drenched Charles to his feet. “Captain… the sacrifice was only half completed… your wounds are not fully healed.”

  Gasping for breath, Charles shot a complex look at his first mate, said nothing, and turned his gaze toward the battle ahead.

  At this moment, the shrieking had ceased, and Audrick, covered in blood, was being besieged by a group of black paper figures.

  Charles dashed to the deck cannon and fired directly at the wooden ship in the distance.

  However, due to the distance, several shots went wide.

  Turning to the crew on deck, Charles commanded, “Bandage, take the helm! James, overload the turbine! Everyone else, prepare your weapons; we must catch up to it!”

  Everyone immediately sprang into action, and the *Unicorn*, which had been idle for too long, began to move again.

  The wind whipped through Charles’s black hair as he stood resolute, his face cold as frost, but the hatred in his eyes was unmistakable.

  Seeing the *Unicorn* close in, the wooden ship attempted to flee, but it was no match for the speed of the *Unicorn*, and the distance between the two vessels rapidly decreased.

  Under Charles’s command, the deck cannon tilted again, sending up splashes of water around the wooden ship.

  “Crack!” The wooden ship's mast was shattered, sending the sail crashing onto the deck, causing its speed to plummet.

  “Don’t slow down! Charge straight in!” Charles roared in fury.

  The *Unicorn* accelerated further, and before everyone’s eyes, its bow plunged deep into the belly of the wooden ship.

  Seeing the figures on the ship, Charles didn’t hesitate; he turned the cannon toward the opposing deck and unleashed a barrage. The cannon roared, and the wooden ship was instantly riddled with holes, bloody corpses flying everywhere.

  A few more shots, and the ship would surely sink, but Charles held back; he needed to know who had sent this ship.

  “Jump aboard!” Charles shouted, leading the crew toward the other side.

  Crossing the battered deck, Charles and his crew descended into the wooden ship's cabin.

  Just as they reached the bottom of the stairs, a glint of cold light swung toward Charles’s face. He shrank back, swiftly cutting the paper figure in front of him with his black blade.

  But this was just the beginning; a continuous wave of black paper figures surged forward, frantically attacking the crew.

  “This thing seems to be controlled by someone! Hold them off! I’ll go take care of their master!”

  After saying this, Charles charged toward the paper figures, his body slipping through them like an eel.

  The paper figures, seemingly panicked, surged forward, trying to block Charles’s path.

  He was like a small boat in a storm, precarious yet always upright.

  However, the more there were, the more Charles's human agility could shine through; their dense formation caused them to accidentally strike their own kind.

  After a few seconds, a clearing appeared before him. In the dimly lit cabin, a figure dressed in a black captain’s coat was muttering to himself, with four sky-blue candles flickering beside him.

  Upon seeing the masked Charles, the man’s face turned pale with fear. He quickly blew out the candles, plunging the room into darkness, and hurriedly ran toward a nearby window.

  This little trick was useless against Charles, who possessed dark vision. He raised his pistol and pulled the trigger.

  Blood blossomed on the man’s limbs. Before he could react, Charles pressed the black blade against his throat.