The Epic Dragon Titan

Muria was silent for a moment, then awkwardly changed the subject. "Where is the former captain of this fleet?"

"Dead," the ghost ship's first mate responded sadly. Then he noticed the liches hiding their auras behind Muria, and the soul fire in his skull flared up. "Captain, are these the new crew members you brought?"

Muria glanced back at the liches and nodded. "Oh, yes. They are the new crew members I brought. I heard our fleet suffered heavy losses, so I brought some undead to replenish the crew."

"Captain, our losses weren't just heavy!" The ghost ship's first mate spoke with a mournful tone. "We were almost completely wiped out. Our fleet originally had thirteen ships, but now there are only five left. Including me, there are less than a hundred crew members left."

"Don't be fooled by the ship we're on now; it looks intact. Before the battle, this ship was 322 meters long from bow to stern. Now, it's only a little over a hundred meters. The rest of the ship was destroyed. After repairs, it shrank to this size."

Muria's mouth twitched. Fortunately, he wasn't the actual newly appointed captain. In this condition, he would have been furious. If a human fleet were beaten to this extent, it would almost be disbanded. But a ghost ship, losing two-thirds of its structure and still repairing itself, was impressive.

"What happened to you?" Muria asked curiously. "These ghost ships belong to Barbosa's fleet. How did you get beaten so badly?"

"We were ordered to patrol a dark river but were unlucky and ran into a group of priests from the surface. A fight broke out, and they had a cardinal with them. Our captain was purified on the spot," the first mate lamented.

"If I hadn't escaped quickly, none of these ships would have survived. The remaining ships and crew would have been purified too."

"So, you deserted?" Muria nodded, finding a suitable reason. "Where are the second and third mates? Bring them to me."

"They're all dead. All the captains and first mates were killed in the battle. I'm the only one left," the first mate replied, dressed in tattered clothes. "Only a few crew members survived."

"You're demoted because you deserted. You're now the third mate." Muria swiftly demoted him from first mate to third mate.

"Who will be the first and second mates?"

"She will be the first mate," Muria said, pointing to Mikaela. Then he pointed to Irvist, who was wearing black armor and emitting smoky death energy. "He will be the second mate. You will follow their orders from now on. Understood?"

"Understood," the newly demoted third mate replied quietly. He sensed the powerful death energy from Muria's armor. Although he lacked experience, he knew this pure death energy signified something significant.

"Oh, I forgot to ask. What's your name?"

"Reporting, Captain. My name is Gibbs. May I ask, Captain, what is your name?"

"My name is," Muria paused, thinking of a famous pirate captain's name. Although fictional, it could be useful. "Jack Sparrow. You can call me Captain Sparrow."

"Captain Sparrow, should we recruit more crew members? We don't have enough to man the five remaining ships," Gibbs reported.

"Indeed, we should. Do you have any suggestions?" Muria asked, not knowing much about it.

"I suggest going to Blackstone Harbor to recruit crew members. The undead you brought aren't enough to man the ships," Gibbs replied.

"Haha!" Muria and the liches behind him couldn't help but laugh. Any of the liches could summon a legion of undead numbering in the millions. The idea of needing more undead was laughable. Even if only considering intelligent undead, there were still enough to fill the ships.

"What's so funny?" Gibbs asked, puzzled.

"Nothing. Blackstone Harbor?" Muria's eyes gleamed as he thought of the rules among pirates. "Let's head to Blackstone Harbor."

"Captain Sparrow, how many low-level wraith coins did you bring? Without enough, we can't move the ships," Gibbs asked cautiously.

Muria looked puzzled at Gibbs, who quickly explained, "The wraiths bound to the ghost ships were nearly all consumed in the last battle, and repairing the ships used up most of the rest. We need to replenish them. Otherwise, the ships can only move by instinct, which would take a year to restore full power."

"Just to get moving, it shouldn't be a problem. But I don't know where Blackstone Harbor is. Can you guide us?" Muria asked, looking around the dark sea. "As the former first mate, you should have some navigation skills, right?"

Gibbs stiffened, finally realizing something was off. How could an undead in the Sea of the Dead not know where Blackstone Harbor was? It was the largest and busiest port in the Sea of the Dead, a haven and supply station.

"Yes, I know," Gibbs replied, looking at Muria, who stood in his golden armor, radiating authority and menace. The pure death energy from the lich bones made Gibbs want to kneel in reverence. He realized that whoever these beings were, they were far beyond what he had imagined. Officially, no new captains were appointed; the ships were personal property. If a captain died, the ships would be taken over by other pirate captains. Muria's arrival was seen as a lifeline by Gibbs.

Gibbs didn't need to know who Muria was. He only needed to know he was a powerful undead. According to the rules set by the great undead pirate king Barbosa, any undead could become a captain if acknowledged by the crew.

Given the current state of the ghost ship's crew, even if Gibbs brought the ship back to Blackstone Harbor, he wouldn't be able to keep it. It would be taken over by other powerful captains, and he might not even remain as a crew member. He might be forced into the ship to power it.

Unaware he was being seen as a lifeline, Muria ordered the weakest lich to wield a bone staff, summoning a wind of death energy to sail the five ghost ships towards Blackstone Harbor.

"Is this the legendary Sea of the Dead?" Muria stood on the bow, frowning. The ghost ship had been sailing for nearly two hours, and he still hadn't seen Blackstone Harbor. However, seeing Gibbs' calm demeanor, he knew this was normal.

"This sea is too vast. Is this really Barbosa's half-plane?" Muria estimated they had sailed over two hundred kilometers. This distance was considerable even in the main world, let alone in a half-plane.

"Considering he's a millennia-old lich, this scale isn't surprising," Irvist, dressed as a black knight, commented.

"Don't act like you know everything. Have you seen a half-plane larger than this Sea of the Dead?" Muria retorted.

"In terms of area, several half-planes in my Cloud City are just as large," Mikaela, wearing white jade armor, interjected honestly.

"But those half-planes are controlled through Cloud City, while Barbosa has merged with and fully controls the Sea of the Dead."

"A half-plane this large must have special circumstances. Barbosa likely can't fully control it. Our infiltration without encountering any resistance proves this," Irvist said calmly. "As long as we don't cause too much commotion, we won't be detected."

...

"Well, if it isn't David Martin's fleet. What a sorry state! Only a few broken ships left."

A mocking voice reached Muria's ears. In his vision, a fleet of fifteen ghost ships appeared, forming a semicircle to surround his five smaller ships.

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