Back then whenever anyone ran into a war, their first reaction was to cheer, afraid the world wasn’t chaotic enough.

But now, as the intensity of the war ramps up, it has gradually evolved from a local conflict into a war between Sea Countries.

The progress of the war is constantly squeezing the living space of the Blue Star Captains.

During local wars, those who didn’t want to participate could still pack up and leave for another land.

But when the entire continent is at war, there’s nowhere to run. Everyone is forced to participate in this war.

Only now have some of the Blue Star Captains realized the crisis, their attitude shifting from joking around to genuine worry.

"Brothers, you can’t come to Tianyu Port anymore, this place has fallen."

"Linzi Port is still okay, but the fighting here is way too intense. All our normal quests have been cleared, only war quests are left to take."

"I don’t want to take war quests, is there any daily quest I can do? The current war quests are straight-up hell difficulty."

"Machuan City has already been locked down. Now even if I want to leave, I can’t. The enemy’s advance is way too fast. By the time I got the news, I was already trapped in Machuan City and couldn’t get out."

Some Blue Star Captains cried for help at the top of their lungs, even offering huge rewards, hoping someone would come rescue them.

The retreat routes from the front lines are already jammed. If you want to cross a port, you have to spend thousands of Gold Coins, and the price is still going up. Only a tiny fraction of Blue Star Captains can afford it and manage to escape.

And the rest...

"Dead. All dead. The Blue Star compatriots who couldn’t pull back from the front have all been wiped out."

"Damn it, did the Blue Star Captains in Lanyun Sea Country not get any intel at all? Before they mobilized, was there not the slightest sign? Even if they’d just posted something on the forum one day in advance..."

"No, brother, we didn’t get anything. Lanyun Sea Country suddenly launched an offensive, and only then did we start receiving quests one after another."

"We were kept in the dark too. The military in Lanyun Sea Country seems to know that we Blue Star Captains have some special way of contacting each other, so they didn’t leak any info to a single Blue Star Captain."

A Blue Star Captain from Lanyun Sea Country spoke up on the forum.

Even though these Blue Star Captains are all soldiers of Lanyun Sea Country and aren’t on the ambushed side right now,

they still feel just as bitter inside.

Because now that the great wheel of war has started rolling, they feel they’ve become somewhat powerless to control their own fate.

Their old "just playing a game" mentality has been completely shattered, disillusioned.

Only now do these Blue Star Captains realize this world is nothing like what they imagined; what’s behind the scenes... runs very deep.

"We’re not in control either, brothers. The military of Lanyun Sea Country is even guarding against us. We only find out where we’re going when the operation actually starts..."

"Take care, brothers. Try your best not to die on the battlefield."

The meat grinder started turning, and the battlefield entered a state of extreme ferocity.

...

"Fang Yu! Fang Yu!"

Right now, Ma finished reading the posts on the forum, his heart jolting as he was about to start making arrangements.

But at that moment, a voice rang out from outside the door, someone loudly shouting Fang Yu’s name.

"It’s Wang Yun..."

Ma’s heart lurched. He shoved the door open and went out, and sure enough saw Wang Yun standing in front of him, anxiously looking past him toward the room behind.

"Why are you here? Where’s your Captain? And how come the sea ship is gone too?"

The moment Wang Yun saw Ma, there was a trace of disappointment in his eyes. Then he spoke in a low, anxious voice.

"The Captain?"

Ma felt a stab of bitterness inside.

You’re asking me? Who am I supposed to ask?

I also went out to handle some business and came back to find that the Captain had already sailed the ship away from the West Cyan Continent.

Now he messages Fang Yu, but the private chat channel is dead silent. The private messages sink like a stone in the sea; there’s no response from Fang Yu at all.

Where on earth did the Captain go?

At such a critical time, this is exactly when we need the Captain back to take charge.

Ma sighed helplessly inside, but of course he wouldn’t let Fang Yu’s reputation take a hit on his face. He looked at Wang Yun before him, took a deep breath, quickly adjusted his mentality, and spoke in a low, steady voice:

"Our Captain went out to take care of some matters and will be back soon. He’s instructed me to act as his proxy on the West Cyan Continent. Whatever you need, Mr. Wang Yun, you can just tell me—same difference."

"Same difference if I just tell you?"

Wang Yun glanced at Ma, then slightly shook his head.

Although Ma has now gradually approached the threshold of level 60, and thanks to the investment of Lord Points, the aura he gives off is far stronger than that of a normal crew member,

his thoughts turning can even give rise to spiritual pressure, his presence extremely strong.

But... standing in front of him is Wang Yun.

A top expert at the Sky Dome Ship level. No matter how strong Ma’s aura is, in front of Wang Yun it doesn’t even register.

Right now Wang Yun slightly shook his head, clearly not believing Ma had the qualification to talk to him on equal footing. He spoke in a low voice: "What I need to discuss is, of course, the Sea Country war that broke out today. This is a matter of great importance. I have to explain it to Fang Yu in person."

"Where exactly did he go? Why isn’t he replying to my private messages either? It’s like he’s just vanished."

Wang Yun frowned, a trace of suspicion flashing in his eyes.

Ma’s heart tightened. Facing a master over twenty levels higher than himself, he could clearly feel an invisible pressure rolling off the other party.

Even so, Ma did not show weakness. His expression stayed calm as he spoke in a low voice: "The Captain will be back soon. How about this—once he returns, I’ll have him come to you first thing."