Above the mage

Chapter 506 Iron Crown

In the early morning, the warm sunlight cast a gentle glow on the shimmering sea.

The sea breeze was calm, carrying a faint salty and damp scent as it swept across the surface of the water, the sails swaying gently, creating a peaceful scene.

It was mealtime on the Fire Knife.

The restaurant was filled with the aroma of grilled fish.

Bounty hunters sat in twos and threes around a wooden table, cutting the charred fish on the plate with daggers or grabbing it directly with their hands.

Suddenly, a series of hurried footsteps came from the outside corridor, like a rapid drumbeat, instantly breaking the quiet and comfortable atmosphere inside the restaurant.

"Something's happened!" A crew member entered the restaurant, walked quickly to Baozai who was leisurely eating, and hurriedly reported to his superior.

"What's going on?" Bao Zai put down his knife and fork, his brows furrowed slightly, and asked calmly.

"The lookout has spotted a large ship heading toward Ash Isle." The crew member swallowed hard, trying to keep his voice steady, but the tension in his words was still hard to hide.

"A big ship?!" Baozai's eyes flashed with a sharp light upon hearing this. Without bothering to ask any further questions, he first ordered, "Sound the alarm."

Immediately, he stood up abruptly, quickly left the restaurant, and went to Shenban's observation platform to observe through the alchemical telescope.

This binoculars is made of brass, with lenses that gleam with a faint magical glow, and the entire barrel is engraved with complex runes to enhance vision.

Baozai brought his eyes close to the eyepiece of the binoculars and skillfully turned the adjustment knob.

As the lens focused, the distant horizon became clear.

Where the sea meets the sky, a massive ship is breaking through the morning mist, slowly revealing its blurry outline.

The ship was exceptionally tall, like a mobile fortress, casting a huge shadow on the sea.

Baozai's brows furrowed instantly, and his fingers unconsciously tightened around the frame of the binoculars, his knuckles turning slightly white.

Based on the blurry outline, he had already discerned the origin of the large ship.

Simply put, this is the only ship like this in the Blue Flame Islands, making it extremely iconic:

Originally a Holy Empire warship, it was later plundered and modified by Pirate King Davy Jones, and is now the Iron Crown, a pirate ship that symbolizes his domination of the seas but retains its original name!

Baozai took a deep breath and shouted in a deep voice to the bounty hunters who had gathered on the deck because of the alarm: "Get ready to welcome the guests. If things don't go well, abandon ship."

With its black iron-like bow cleaving through the boiling waves, the Iron Crown, like a behemoth awakened from the abyss, bared its fangs toward the deserted, blue-flame-burning gray island.

This warship, which once served under the Imperial Grand Master, is hundreds of years old, yet even by today's standards, it remains majestic and invincible.

Its true appearance is ferocious, and its total length is nearly 150 meters.

The entire hull is covered with riveted composite armor, and the hull is forged from the Holy Empire's unique "blood-patterned iron". The rusted metal surface is covered with spider web-like cracks and charred marks, like the old wounds of a giant beast that have healed and torn open again.

A massive ram stood on the foredeck of the Ironcrown.

It is said to be a siege hammer enhanced with the alchemy of Sea Nest City: a three-story-high iron frame wrapped with poisoned barbs.

Behind the ram, four massive cannons protruded from their rotating turrets, their dark muzzles visible.

The Holy Empire emblem etched on the cannon barrel had been roughly scratched off by David with his scimitar, replaced by a twisted, blood-red cross.

The bridge tower rises like a cliff, and the three-story ironclad command platform adopts the "bastion-style" structure unique to the Holy Empire's warships. The sloping iron plates are stacked like dragon scales, and the portholes are as narrow as arrow slits.

In front of the highest-level steering wheel, a tall and imposing figure stood ramrod straight, the outline of his ram's horn hat resembling the curved horns of a demon.

The deck beneath his feet was welded with heavy harpoons, a feature of the Black Sail City.

As the warship approached Gray Island, it suddenly emitted sulfurous smoke, a characteristic feature of the Holy Empire's warship engines, from its stern.

Black smoke gathered into clouds above the ship's tracks, as if draping a banner over this steel beast that possessed the glory of a sacred empire and the prestige of a pirate king.

The Iron Crown arrived abruptly, radiating an air of arrogance.

Compared to such a behemoth, Sarah's equally renowned pirate ship, the Fire Knife, looked like a mere figurine.

Before the Iron Crown landed on Gray Island, Bao Zai had already used his flying skills to float in the air and arrive in front of the Iron Crown's path.

He was surrounded by a pale blue magical aura, took a deep breath, and activated a megaphone spell, his voice carrying far across the sea: "Halt! This is the base of our Gold Coin Hunters!"

Even when facing that terrifying steel-clad killer, Bao Zai remained calm.

Before the Iron Crown's helm, the tall figure, Karen Skullbreaker, the vice-leader of the Bloodsail Pirates, stared coldly at Baozai in the air.

He spoke in a dull, mechanical voice through the ship's loudspeaker: "By order of Pirate King Davy Jones, the Bloodsail Pirates are to take over Ash Isle. All bystanders, retreat immediately."

"Our Gold Coin Hunters have been stationed in the bay of Gray Island for ten years, and the Fire Knife has been docked here year-round. Logically speaking, this place should have been our territory long ago. It's not appropriate for you to just say you want to take over Gray Island and ask us to leave, is it?" Baozai raised an eyebrow.

He spoke again.

Karen Crackhead smirked, her voice flat and emotionless: "Rules? In these waters, Davy Jones's will is the rule. I don't care how many years you've been stationed here, or whose territory this used to be. I only act on the Pirate King's orders."

He paused, glanced warily at Baozai, and continued, "However, our boss's idea is that we can give Captain Sarah some face."

"You have half a day. If you know what's good for you, you'll leave on your own in the Fireblade. You're not our target, so don't force us to take action."

His words carried a threat, but he did not show any intention of launching an immediate and forceful attack.

Faced with the Bloodsail Pirates and the Iron Crown, ordinary people would probably have been terrified and their souls would have scattered.

However, Baozai remained calm and composed.

Although their Gold Coin Hunters are not as strong as the Bloodsail Pirates, it's unlikely that the Bloodsail Pirates could do anything to them. Sarah was able to take a tough stance when facing Davy Jones back then, so he naturally won't back down when protecting his son against Karen today.

"I'll give you your exact words: leave the Iron Crown within half a day on your own. Don't force us to take action. Otherwise, you might be able to take Ash Island, but whether you can keep your heads is another matter." Baozai was no longer polite and responded forcefully.

This is why no one dares to mess with the Gold Coin Hunters.

The bounty hunters of the Blue Flame Islands are essentially very similar to assassins.

No one would want to provoke an assassin organization if they couldn't wipe them out in one fell swoop.

Otherwise, the consequence would be living in constant fear and anxiety.

After saying the wolf's words, Baozai didn't say anything more and quickly flew away, returning to the Fire Knife.

Faced with Baozai's "threat," Karen did not get angry or embarrassed, nor did she show any negative emotions.

He simply followed the original plan and temporarily anchored the Iron Crown in the waters outside Gray Island, facing the Fire Knife from afar, quietly waiting for three hours to pass.

On the Fire Knife.

Baozai's figure fell.

The bounty hunters on deck all turned their attention to this, concerned about the situation.

Baozai did not hide anything and briefly told them the details.

"Keep an eye on the Iron Crown's movements. If they persist in their course of action, we'll have no choice but to temporarily abandon the island and this base. But after that, we must take a piece of their flesh and make them feel the pain," he ordered.

As bounty hunters, they are not good at direct combat, but they are good at revenge assassinations afterward.

"Yes!" Baozai's order brought a sigh of relief to everyone.

"Also, inform the people patrolling and guarding the island so they can be prepared to abandon the island at any time." He then waved to a member to go ashore and deliver the message.

"Okay, I'll go and inform them right away!" the member replied quickly.

With the Bloodsail Pirates lurking nearby, at least on the Blue Flame Islands, no one was without fear and anxiety.

Even the Gold Coin Hunters, one of the top forces in the Blue Flame Islands, are no exception.

Baozai gave the order that if the situation turned bad, they should abandon the island and leave.

But this can only slightly alleviate some of their anxiety.

It is clear that, at this moment, both the Fireblade and the bounty hunters on the island are focused on this matter, on the Iron Crown, whose outline can now be seen with the naked eye.

Ash Island.

A figure sped across the sea, accompanied by the whistling sound of wind.

It was so fast that it almost left a trail of afterimages.

In just a moment, the figure landed steadily in the safe area at the edge of the island.

The distinctive red hair, gleaming like flames in the sunlight, identified the newcomer as the leader of the Gold Coin Hunters. The moment Sarah landed on the island, she pulled a brass whistle from her bosom and began to blow it rapidly.

Strangely, no sound was produced, as if the whistle was broken.

The truth is, a strange energy fluctuation was released as Sarah blew her whistle.

After doing all this, Sarah moved swiftly and decisively toward the island.

But perhaps because she was in a hurry, she didn't notice that among the rocks on the shore, a pair of eyes hidden in the stones were firmly locking onto her whereabouts.

After Sarah disappeared from sight, a ripple shimmered on the surface of the reef.

David Jones's figure "squeezed" out from among the rocks.

Looking in the direction Sarah disappeared, a calculating smirk curled at the corner of his mouth.

The departure of the Iron Crown was naturally his idea.

Otherwise, why would the Bloodsail Pirates have any designs on such a deserted island?

However, incorporating Ash Isle would only prevent Sarah from obtaining the [Spell Bottle].

This makes no sense to David Jones.

What he needs is to obtain the [Spell Bottle] himself.

Therefore, what David Jones really needs to do is to take control of the ability to find the Spell Bottle.

The problem is, it's very difficult to do.

Threat?

Sarah wasn't buying it at all.

Forcibly taking people away?

How do I snatch it?

In the current situation, as soon as they sense something is wrong, the Gold Coin Hunters can immediately abandon the island and hide in the shadows, causing trouble like maggots.

It's not fatal, but it's annoying.

Those who have nothing to lose are not afraid of those who wear shoes.

The only shoes the Gold Coin Hunters own are the "Fire Blade".

But in the end, this was just a piece of spoils Sarah had stolen, at best a pair of flip-flops.

Although it's comfortable, it's not very valuable, and if necessary, I wouldn't feel bad about throwing it away.

Moreover, even with constant vigilance, a mistake can still happen.

Even if he takes over Ash Island and sends people to seal it off, with Sarah's strength, she is fully capable of secretly sending God back to Ash Island once the storm has passed.

With the blue flames providing natural cover, once Gaode enters Ash Isle safely, he can continue searching for the [Spell Bottle] without restraint.

Finally, after finding the [Spell Bottle], they quietly left with Sarah's help.

David held Sarah's methods in high regard.

All of this was inevitable unless he personally took charge of Ash Isle.

But clearly he can't stay on Gray Island forever.

A cunning and treacherous person like David quickly devised a solution.

The Iron Crown's siege was actually just a smokescreen.

Karen's domineering words and the imposing posture of pointing the cannon at the island were all an act for the Gold Coin Hunters.

The real purpose of this decoy was to attract the attention of all members of the Gold Coin Hunters, including Sarah, and make them focus all their attention on dealing with the threat on the sea.

David Jones would take this opportunity to personally visit the island, and then wait for the right moment to act.

Even he couldn't easily venture into the Blue Flame Zone to find the elusive Gao De.

However, he knew very well that Sarah must have a way to contact God, who was searching for the [Spell Bottle] in the Blue Flame District.

With the Iron Crown approaching, she would definitely notify Gaode immediately.

This way, if things go wrong, they can simply abandon the island with Gaode and leave, then make a comeback once things calm down.

The moment Sarah met up with Gao De was the perfect opportunity he had been waiting for to make his move.

Sarah had reached the edge of the Blue Flame Zone and stopped, waiting for something.

Her expression remained relatively calm, but a hint of anxiety inevitably lingered deep within her eyes.

Fortunately, Sarah didn't have to wait too long.

About twenty minutes later, within the blue flame area, amidst the dark blue curtain of flames, a blurry figure outlined by blue flames slowly emerged.

The figure appeared and disappeared amidst the flames, seemingly enveloped in a flowing blue light.

He was moving quickly toward Sarah, his steps steady and unaffected by the surrounding blue flames. His figure gradually became clearer under the reflection of the blue flames.

Sarah's eyes lit up.

The figure was already very close; even though the blue flames would obscure the view, at this distance, one could still clearly see his shape and face.

It was an extremely young face, a face that could touch the heartstrings of the Pirate King.

The "key" to unlocking the treasure of the [Spell Bottle]: Gao De.

David Jones, who was hiding in the shadows, was making the final confirmation.

The information that Bane had almost risked his life to obtain was now being verified.

That's right, it's Gao De. He moves freely in the blue flames; he's a real person, there's no faking it.

The so-called protective magical aura does indeed exist.

After quickly confirming everything, just as "Gaode" was about to step out of the edge of the blue flame zone.

A black mist suddenly appeared, spreading rapidly like an overturned ink bottle, from which eight thick, shadowy tentacles emerged.

One of the streaks coiled into the blue flames, while the other seven, like living snakes, swept towards Sarah.

David Jones has made his move!