"My lord."

The door to the captain’s cabin was pushed open, and a burly figure walked in.

"Blood Axe" Aurum.

"That damn kid! He actually... he actually gave Barbossa’s body back to that beast!"

Aurum’s voice was like the roar of a caged animal.

He slammed his fist hard on the nearby oak table. The solid table let out a groan as if overwhelmed, and its surface was instantly covered in a spiderweb of cracks.

He couldn’t accept this outcome.

To get Barbossa’s treasure, he had paid a huge price, even going so far as to cooperate with a Necromancer like Modi Caesar.

The plan had been on the verge of success, only to be completely ruined by some young Count who had appeared out of nowhere.

And what frustrated him most was that he didn’t even have a chance for revenge.

Behind that person stood a Catastrophe Level Thunder Dragon.

An existence of that level was already beyond his ability to fight.

However, in the face of Aurum’s rage, Modi Caesar’s reaction was unnaturally calm.

He slowly turned around. From under his hood, two clusters of ethereal blue Soul Fire quietly watched the furious Aurum.

"Aurum, your anger is meaningless."

His voice was like a rusty file, scraping against one’s eardrums.

"Raylo... is a decisive young man."

Modi Caesar said.

"Under those circumstances, he made the most correct choice. If it were me, I would have done the same."

"But, my lord! Our plan..."

Aurum said, unwilling to accept it.

"There is always a backup plan."

Modi Caesar slowly raised his withered hand.

As he moved, the shadow behind him began to twist and squirm violently.

Then, six tall figures, also clad in gray cloaks, silently emerged from the twisting shadow.

They stood motionless behind Modi Caesar like six loyal, silent shadows.

Immense Domain Power radiated from their bodies without reservation.

Six... Domain Level Powerhouses!

Aurum’s pupils contracted sharply.

"Even without Barbossa, we can still search for the treasure."

Modi Caesar’s voice faded.

Behind him, the six figures in gray cloaks slowly removed their hoods.

Beneath the hoods were six bloodless faces, their skin a strange, ashen gray.

Their eyes were empty and lifeless, devoid of any spark of the living.

Undead.

Six powerful Domain Level Undead!

Aurum’s heart skipped a beat.

This Necromancer, Modi Caesar, was even more terrifying than he had imagined.

In less than a month, the six Domain Level Powerhouses, lured here by the information he spread about the Pirate King’s treasure, had already been turned into Undead under his control.

"Hoist the sails."

Modi Caesar’s voice rang out again, interrupting Aurum’s thoughts.

"Set sail."

"We’re heading directly to the Endless Sea."

He gazed out at the vast, deep blue expanse, full of the unknown.

"Let these six ’Vanguard Officers’ open Barbossa’s treasure for us."

...

After leaving Seagull Port, Raylo didn’t linger for a moment.

Astra, transformed into a bolt of lightning, tore across the sky, racing South at a speed beyond imagination.

He stood on Astra’s back, which was as broad as a mountain ridge.

Beneath his feet, the earth receded at a dizzying speed.

Mountains, rivers, forests, plains...

All familiar scenery was stretched into blurry, flowing patches of color in his vision.

The clouds in the sky seemed to have become a static scroll painting.

He could clearly see how Astra’s massive draconic body effortlessly pierced through layer after layer of the Cloud Sea, leaving a long, white tunnel of shattered clouds in its wake.

The feeling was utterly marvelous.

It was as if the entire world had been put on slow motion, and only he was moving forward at a speed that transcended the bounds of space and time.

Baofeng’s speed was already top-tier among Flying Magical Beasts.

But compared to Astra now, it was like the difference between a stumbling toddler and a Knight riding like the wind.

This was a Catastrophe.

「An hour later.」

「Storm Cape.」

This cape, once renowned in the northern Continent for its magnificent scenery and busy shipping lanes, had now become a forbidden zone for all life.

Raylo’s gaze drifted downward.

As far as the eye could see, there was a chaotic scene brimming with an aura of destruction.

The sky was shrouded in incredibly thick, leaden storm clouds.

Within the clouds, massive, cyan Wind Blades and gales, like frenzied dragons and serpents, periodically tore through the sky, letting out deafening roars.

The surface of the sea had long since lost its former tranquility.

Under the lash of the gales, continuous waves, dozens of meters high, smashed crazily against the jagged, black reefs along the coastline, exploding into a sky full of white spray.

Gale-force winds ravaged the space between heaven and earth.

Even from a great distance, Raylo could still feel the terrifying aura of tyranny and destruction rushing toward him.

This was the Power exuded by a Catastrophe Level Giant Dragon in its rage.

It merely had to coil here, and the immense Power of Calamity it released was enough to alter the weather of an entire region, turning this place into a forbidden wasteland where ordinary life could not set foot.