Chapter 660: Behind the Mask
One syllable after another of distorted, incomprehensible, jarring, and
indecipherable words slowly spewed out of Klein's mouth. It made the
hurricane produced by the bronze door's terrifying suction force to
instantly calm down, cloaking the already dim surroundings with a deeper
gloom.
Only at this moment did he know that the Beyonder power which Admiral
Hell Ludwell had just used was known as the Language of the Dead. It
could circumvent the protection of one's flesh and blood, so as to
target the Spirit Body.
It belonged to an advancement in a Spirit Medium's powers. It could go
from direct communication with spirits to that of commandeering, to the
point of enslavement!
Living creatures were unable to understand the resounding language.
Ludwell couldn't help but freeze on the spot. A transparent layer
rapidly surfaced on his pirate captain attire.
His spirit was being tugged at by an illusory power!
At this moment, the black, square-shaped ring on Ludwell's left index
finger produced a faint glow.
The minute portion of his Spirit Body which had been forcefully drawn
out had returned to his body as the two fused back into one.
Ding!
With his right hand, Ludwell drew the thin rapier hanging by his waist.
It was iron-black in color, and its tip gathered the surrounding light,
turning into a dark point.
Admiral Hell suddenly took a step forward and with vigorous wind
currents, he suddenly closed the distance between him and Klein.
Immediately, he thrust out the rapier in his hand at lightning speed!
The bronze door which was covered with mysterious patterns remained
standing erected in its original spot. It didn't vanish because of
Ludwell's retracting of his left hand and subsequent actions. This was
different from the similar-looking ability that Miss Sharron had
previously cast using a mystical item.
Oof!
The black rapier pierced through Klein in an unavoidable manner.
Klein's figure rapidly crumpled into a piece of paper. Its surface
turned yellow and dry, as though it had been weathered for thousands of
years.
The hurricane brought about by the bronze door completely pulverized the
paper figurine.
In midair, Klein jumped out of the darkness as he held a huge handful of
charms from the Sea God domain.
"Storm!"
He quickly shouted in ancient Hermes as the tin flakes lit up
individually as they sacrificed themselves to Sea God. This also meant
that if Klein wished so, he could recycle most of the materials and use
it multiple times until the metals could no longer withstand the
spirituality.
Whoosh!
Blue wind blades shot out as the surrounding waters sprayed out heavy
waves that were as tall as the ship. As Klein didn't attempt or have the
time to distinguish between the different kinds of charms, while these
attacks inundated Ludwell, the extraordinary effects also augmented
Admiral Hell. He was given augmented effects like Underwater Breathing,
underwater mobility, flight, and pressure resistance, none of which were
useful at that moment.
Ludwell suddenly opened his mouth and produced a silent screech. He then
struck the waves beside him as countless wind blades temporarily froze
in midair.
Immediately following that, Admiral Hell raised his left hand as the
black, square-shaped ring on his index finger produced a sinister and
eerie glow that instantly brightened.
Whoosh!
The bronze door, which exuded an indescribable feeling, instantly
swelled as it doubled in height and width.
Amidst a heavy creaking sound, the gap in the door opened up. The
already terrifying suction force immediately rose to an unimaginable
level.
Blue wind blades and black sea waves were produced as Klein charged at
the door from the air, heading straight for the strange vines and arms
that extended outwards.
Klein had planned on using the Priest of Light by clashing head-on with
the bronze door with Light of Holiness to catch a breather, but he ended
up seeing a glaring white fireball about half the height of a person fly
over.
The fireball's speed was augmented by the ridiculous suction forces
generated by the door. It flew by Klein and smashed at the gap of the
mysterious door.
Boom!
The white flames scattered as they rained down, but all it did was make
the bronze door quake a little and dim a little.
Klein took the opportunity and snapped his fingers.
The few matchsticks he separated in his pockets immediately lit up as
scarlet flames rapidly enveloped his body as he melted away.
A flame burst out by the side of the bronze door as Klein leaped out of
it.
He instantly noticed that Anderson Hood was floating in midair in a
rather awkward manner. He held a burning-white spear in his palm.
The Strongest Hunter had finally arrived, but he just appeared
unaccustomed to flying.
When Ludwell looked up and saw this scene, the pale-white flames behind
the silver mask clearly jumped twice.
Clearly, he never expected that the Future had two other powerhouses at
the pirate admiral level apart from Admiral of Stars Cattleya.
Furthermore, they wielded pretty good mystical items and Sealed
Artifacts.
At this moment, Ludwell suddenly raised his hand and pressed down on his
face, surprisingly taking off his silver mask.
Heavy, pale-white light suddenly spewed out from behind the mask,
causing endless silence to instantly spread out from the black,
square-shaped ring on Ludwell's left index finger.
The silence surged into the bronze door and lifted it off the deck and
into the air.
The door covered in mysterious patterns fused with the endless silence
as it rapidly burgeoned to more than thirty meters tall.
With the sea as its base, it stood there, erect like an entrance to
another world, one completely different from the present world.
Creak!
The bronze door opened as unspeakable darkness surged out and enveloped
the Black Tulip's bow.
Upon seeing this, Klein didn't focus on his attacks as he quickly took
out the correct charm and rapidly used it on himself.
A strong gust of wind swept over and lifted him above the Black Tulip.
With the pull of the darkness, the gigantic sailboat steered into the
bronze door, ten meters a time, as it sailed into another world.
Admiral Hell Ludwell stood at the bow as he looked up into the sky. His
face was blanketed by the pale-white luster, preventing anyone from
discerning his looks.
His gaze first swept past Klein before landing on Anderson Hood. He
seemed to make a mental note of these two hunters, but he didn't make
any further attempts to attack. He seemed to have been restrained by the
surrounding darkness.
Anderson was taken aback as he didn't hesitate to throw out the
burning-white spear in his hand.
The spear shot straight at Ludwell, but once it entered the region
enclosed by darkness and silence, it silently vanished.
Ludwell is planning to escape? How decisive... Klein was first
stunned before he recalled that Azik's copper whistle was still on the
Black Tulip.
With the gigantic sailboat halfway inside the bronze door and about to
enter another world with no way to stop them, Klein threw a matchstick
and snapped his fingers.
He appeared fifty meters above the stern where the undead creatures were
fighting for Azik's copper whistle. This item which kept changing hands
finally burst into a scarlet flame due to the matchsticks tied to it.
Amidst the flames, Klein's figure surfaced there and grabbed Azik's
copper whistle.
This was the preparations that he had made for retrieving the copper
whistle!
Furthermore, to prevent any mishaps from happening, such as the
matchsticks being pulled away by the undead creatures, he had also
coated the copper whistle with an easily flammable essential oil of the
sun!
Pa!
Surrounded by countless undead, Klein didn't have the luxury of time to
retract his hand that grabbed the copper whistle. He immediately snapped
his fingers again.
At this moment, transparent, rotting, pale, or illusory hands grabbed
him!
The matchstick Klein had previously thrown into the air ignited in
midair as it produced a flame.
His figure quickly materialized amidst the flames. His face was livid
and his lips were white.
Having been grabbed by countless shadows, wraiths, and undead creatures,
Klein felt that the depths of his Spirit Body was ice-cold. He couldn't
control his body as he plummeted into the sea dyed in gold.
With the Black Tulip almost completely crossing the bronze door, the sea
which appeared like an entrance to hell had been restored to normal.
Klein sank a few meters and swallowed a few mouthfuls of bitter and
astringent seawater before he ultimately recovered.
Thankfully I was sufficiently prepared... As this thought
flashed past his mind, he suddenly felt something amiss.
By wearing the Murloc Cufflink, he had the passive ability to breathe
underwater for ten minutes. He shouldn't have drank mouthfuls of water!
Klein suddenly turned his head and looked at his wrist, only to realize
that the blue cufflink had detached itself at some point in time.
*It's lost... Tinder lost it... I was on the Black Tulip the entire
time...* Klein splashed a few times and floated to the surface,
just in time to see the gigantic sailboat's tail meld into the darkness
as the bronze door slowly closed.
He instinctively swam forward a few seconds before ultimately stopping.
He selected one of his remaining charms and gave himself the Beyonder
effect of Underwater Breathing.
In midair, Anderson Hood clicked his tongue when he saw this.
"This fellow is really crazy...
"He's actually trying to engage in pursuit!"
At this moment, the starlight above the Future fell and condensed into a
long bridge that extended over.
Cattleya had finally finished off the grayish-black monster with immense
vitality!
*What a pity. If only Admiral Hell had hesitated a little and didn't
flee in such a timely fashion...* Anderson Hood sighed silently
and firmly landed on the star bridge.
As he watched Gehrman Sparrow fly over, he was just about to greet and
praise him when he saw the cold and gloomy expression.
Anderson instinctively made way and chuckled dryly, allowing Gehrman
Sparrow to walk past him.
After returning to the Future via the star bridge, Klein held back his
effusing emotions and watched Frank Lee walk over and give him a thumbs
up.
"You're the craziest fellow I've ever met!
"You actually dared to board the Black Tulip alone and single-handedly
challenge Admiral Hell. You even returned alive!"
Sorry, in terms of craziness, I'm far inferior to you... Klein
thought in response.
At this moment, pirates with long or disheveled hair expressed their
astonishment and amazement.
In such an atmosphere, Klein closed his eyes and felt his Faceless
potion completely digest.