Ashes Of Deep Sea

Chapter 379: Chapter 383 Anomaly 077 Chapter 379: Chapter 383 Anomaly 077 Guns were booming, and scorching cannonballs were howling as they fell from the sky, creating colossal spouts of water both inside and outside the port, some of which nearly grazed the hull of the White Oak. The sea’s surface churned and the entire ship swayed from the impacts, giving off a disconcerting, creaking, and grinding noise.

Lawrence and First Mate Gus, leading twelve sailors, had climbed the rope ladder and returned to the deck of the White Oak without mishap; behind them, Dagger Island remained shrouded in thick fog, and an empty harbor was suddenly whipped up by turbulent winds, with the mist spinning and tumbling in the air as if filled with malice, as if enraged by unwelcome guests.

The boatswain hurried over—a tall sailor with a face full of tension, clutching a rifle in his hand (though it was of little use in naval combat). He rushed to Lawrence’s side, quickly checked the captain’s condition, and then breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank goodness! You’re finally back—we heard thunderous noises coming from the island, and you didn’t return for so long, the second mate thought you’d encountered an accident…”

Flashes of the recent scene in the dock plaza crossed Lawrence’s mind, as he thought of the additional four sailors and the sudden emergence of green flames, a complex expression crossing his face.

Indeed, something had happened, and it was no small matter—but now was clearly not the time for explanations.

“Forget about that for now,” he shook his head, “What’s the situation? Where’s Jason?”

“The second mate is commanding the battle from the bridge; we’re engaging with an unidentified warship,” the boatswain spoke rapidly, “That ship had begun bombarding us from a great distance the moment it appeared, and it’s been drawing closer—our stern took a hit a short while ago. Luckily, the damage isn’t too severe, but we must hurry and leave; the White Oak cannot match a warship.”

“Let’s get out of here, immediately,” Lawrence quickly responded.

The steam core roared deeply as the Boiling Gold Catalyst began to release its surging energy. The powerful propulsion system drove the propeller, accelerating the White Oak away from the eerie harbor, weaving between the underwater bombs that continued to drop nearby, the advanced cargo and exploration vessel, with its white hull, sped up, leaving Dagger Island behind in a heavy fog.

However, the Assailants were relentless in pursuit.

Lawrence went up to the bridge and, through the large windows to the rear side of the bridge, he observed the situation on the sea. At the far end of the vast Endless Sea, he could clearly see the silhouette of the Assailants—a warship, not too large in size, which was simultaneously pursuing them and continuously firing from its bow’s main cannon, the bright flashes piercing through the dark veil covering the sea time and again.

Fortunately, it was a small ship, not a fierce battleship, otherwise the White Oak could not have lasted this long in the attack.

Unfortunately, that ship was very fast, and even as the speed of the White Oak increased again and again, Lawrence could tell that the other ship would eventually catch up.

And that ship was even accelerating.

“We can’t shake it off,” the first mate said with some despair, “It’s too fast… and our firepower is no match for a military vessel!”

Lawrence said nothing, his mind racing.

By classification, the White Oak was indeed a civilian vessel, but that did not mean it was a lamb waiting to be slaughtered—as a special exploration ship that could sail the Endless Sea for an extended period and transport sealed artifacts between City-States, it was equipped with a military-grade steam core and anti-sinking structures. Moreover, its keel, waterline hull, and superstructure had all been specially reinforced, making the ship’s structural strength comparable to that of similar warships.

What it lacked was firepower—after all, as a civilian ship, it could only be fitted with a few small-caliber cannons for fending off small bands of pirates or sea monsters, which were virtually powerless against military vessels.

Given the current situation, the White Oak was bound to be caught—once the distance between the two ships narrowed further, the enemy’s hit rate would not be this low.

No matter how sturdy the ship’s structure was, being used as a target would not last long.

A sharp whistling sound came from afar, followed by a thunderous explosion that interrupted Lawrence’s thoughts. His ears buzzed, the ground beneath his feet seemed to quake, and in the corner of his eye, he saw a fireball rise from the side of the White Oak, with broken metal fragments and deck structures shattering in all directions.

The boatswain shouted, “We’ve been hit on the side… quick, put out the fire!”

Lawrence steadied himself against the severe shaking, and his expression switched rapidly as if he had suddenly made up his mind.

“The cargo manifest,” he looked up, addressing the first mate who was maintaining order on the bridge, “Bring me the cargo manifest!”

“The cargo manifest?” The first mate blinked, then realized the captain’s intention, his expression becoming conflicted and solemn, but he immediately followed the order and brought a logbook to Lawrence.

Lawrence opened the logbook, his gaze quickly sweeping over it until it settled on one entry.

“Open sealed room number two, bring the sealed item ‘Anomalous 077’ to the bridge,” he lifted his head and rapidly ordered the first mate, “Get a clean shroud and a new rope ready, prepare for resealing at any time.”

The first mate’s face was taut; although he had anticipated this scenario, he still showed reluctance, “Captain, this…”

“We’ve got an emergency, no other choice,” Lawrence spoke seriously, “There’s precedent for unsealing artifacts onboard in special situations to resolve crises—if the Church wants to pursue this matter afterward, I’ll explain to them.”

The first mate seemed to want to say something else, but faced with the captain’s stern gaze, he swallowed his words and finally nodded forcefully: “Yes, Captain!”

The order was swiftly executed, and several sailors charged down to a special section below the deck, they opened Seal Chamber Number Two and followed the containment procedures for Anomaly 077 to remove the room’s sealed state.

Moments later, amidst the booming of artillery fire, the sailors brought Anomaly 077 to the bridge, placing the item requested by the captain before Lawrence.

Lawrence looked down, his expression notably grave as he watched the sailors bring the “anomalous item” out of the sealed chamber—
It was a mummified corpse tightly wrapped in shroud.

Anomaly 077—Sailor.

Lawrence was aware of the information regarding every piece of cargo on his ship, including this anomalous item.

Anomaly 077 first appeared on a mysterious exploration ship that had vanished for three years and was considered the prime culprit behind the vessel’s disaster. At a glance, this anomaly seemed to be just a mummy, standing at about 1.7 meters tall. In an unsealed state, it would exhibit “living” traits, even capable of holding conversations and thinking. Its strength matched its “identity” closely.

As a sailor, it would attempt to influence the nearest ship to it, irrespective of environmental conditions, ship type, or control techniques, taking over all the ship’s functions in a short span—an entire vessel could be teleported to a random corner of the Endless Sea in just a few minutes under the “Sailor’s” influence.

But this teleportation wasn’t a peaceful journey—the ships transported by Anomaly 077 would always appear in the center of a significant storm.

No one knew whether Anomaly 077 deliberately chose storms as its teleportation destinations, or if it created storms just for the transport. The only certainty was that, in the numerous recorded teleportation incidents, only a few ships managed to safely navigate away from the storm at the “landing site.”

Many more vessels, and hundreds of unfortunate souls, became the victims of Anomaly 077.

However, according to information Lawrence possessed, Anomaly 077 itself wasn’t difficult to deal with. Although its abilities would automatically activate before the teleportation was completed, once the process was over, it would be easy to reseal it. Simply placing a new noose around its neck stopped it in its tracks, then rewrapping it in shroud put it back into slumber—the mummy had no strength beyond that of a human, and its combat ability wasn’t strong.

At that point, all the crew of the White Oak would need to do was figure out how to contend with the storm—and Lawrence and his sailors had battled countless storms.

Lawrence bent down slowly and placed his hand on Anomaly 077’s shroud.

The sailors on the bridge watched nervously.

Lawrence took a deep breath and undid the knots on the shroud.

A faint gasp reached his ears almost instantaneously.

The sound came from the mummified corpse within the wrap.

The shroud came loose as if invisible forces had undone all the knots remotely, and Anomaly 077’s true face was exposed under everyone’s gaze—an emaciated, near-skeletal mummy wearing an old era sailor’s jumper with sparse hair, lying quietly on the floor.

The mummy’s chest was subtly heaving, and the heaving became more pronounced until Lawrence thought he could hear its heartbeat and breathing.

Anomaly 077 was free—The Sailor awakened from its seal.

The mummy slowly opened its eyes and began to sit up stiffly, its joints cracking loudly.

“You’re in temporary command of this ship,” Lawrence bit his lip and spoke with a complex expression, “take us out of here.”

Anomaly 077 straightened up, slowly looking around before its gaze finally settled on Lawrence.

For some reason, Lawrence suddenly felt as though he saw a flash of terror on that withered and frightful face.

Then he saw the mummy shudder.

“Don’t… don’t mess around!”

A hoarse cry of terror came from the mummy’s mouth; the next second, under the watchful eyes of everyone, it closed its eyes and lay right back down, pretending to be dead.

It even reached out to pull at the nearby scattered shroud, as if trying to stealthily rewrap the cloth around itself.

Lawrence: “…?”

Sailors: “…?”