On the deck, a Descendant was controlling the ship, attempting to stabilize the course.
The other Descendants stood expressionless, as if the violent swaying had nothing to do with them; only the occasional metallic glint beneath their skin suggested they were well-prepared.
Philip led the deacons in chanting prayers in low voices, the holy emblems in their hands emitting a faint light that formed a nebulous barrier around them.
The Arbiter was activated.
That massive mechanical creation stood in the center of the deck, silent as a mountain, the red light in its mechanical eyes slowly scanning the surrounding waters.
Lu Yuan felt a headache.
It wasn't a warning from the grey text, but a more instinctive discomfort—images from the Strange Dreams flashed continuously, fragmented yet exceptionally clear.
Island... cave... altar...
He gripped the railing, suppressing the rising nausea in his heart.
【Sanity: -1, 67/70】
His Sanity, which had just recovered after a rest, had already begun to drop before even landing on the island.
The pollution level of this island far exceeded expectations.
The Abyssal Hunter circled the island and found a barely usable harbor on the leeward side.
Then Lu Yuan saw the Iron Whale—or rather, the wreckage of the Iron Whale.
The former long-distance vessel was wedged diagonally among the reefs, its hull severely damaged as if torn apart from the inside by something.
The mast was snapped, the sails rotted, and the deck was covered in a layer of eerie deep blue mucus.
"Found it," Marcus's voice came from behind, carrying a metallic quality. "The Iron Whale."
Lu Yuan turned to look at him, only to see the gears on the mechanical half of Marcus's face turning slowly, red light flashing continuously as if searching for something.
As a burst of steam escaped from the gaps in Marcus's body, the flashing red light finally stopped.
"Disembark!"
Marcus shouted as if he had seen something.
Immediately after, a Descendant controlled the Abyssal Hunter to drop the anchor, and the gangway fell with it.
The moment Lu Yuan stepped onto the beach, a strong sense of discomfort spread up from the soles of his feet.
Although there was gravel beneath his feet, stepping on it felt like standing on a piece of slowly squirming flesh; this tactile sensation made everyone's expression shift, especially Philip of the Holy Church, who condensed a beam of golden holy light beneath his feet.
Not only that, but the island was incredibly quiet—no birds chirping, no insects buzzing, even the sound of waves hitting the rocks was isolated by some force.
【Environmental Perception: Pollution intensity is too high; prolonged exposure will lead to a continuous decrease in Sanity.】
Alice gripped her warhammer, her gaze darkening slightly.
She turned to look at Lu Yuan and made a hand gesture—it was a signal to be on high alert for danger.
Lu Yuan noticed that the fingers she used to grip her weapon were trembling slightly.
As a rank 2 Flesh transcendent, Alice's sixth sense was far more acute than an ordinary person's.
What did she sense?
Marcus sent two Descendants to board the wreckage of the Iron Whale first.
The black-robed figures stepped onto the rotted gangway and climbed onto the deck, their crow-beak masks turning slowly to scan the surroundings.
After a moment, one of them made a "clear" gesture.
Marcus nodded, signaling for everyone to follow.
The moment Lu Yuan stepped onto the deck, a foul stench hit him.
That layer of deep blue mucus covered the entire deck, emitting a pungent, fishy stench like the secretions of some creature.
His boots stepped on it, making a sickening, sticky sound.
【Environmental Perception: Residual intense pollution source.】
Lu Yuan frowned; "intense pollution source" was a term he was seeing for the first time.
This meant that the thing that attacked the Iron Whale had a terrifying degree of pollution.
"Search the cabins," Marcus ordered decisively upon seeing the Iron Whale.
The Descendants dispersed silently, heading toward the various cabins.
Lu Yuan followed Gray toward the captain's quarters, while Alice took the others toward the deeper parts of the ship.
The captain's quarters were located one level below the deck, and the interior was a mess.
Tables and chairs were overturned, items were scattered, and there were obvious scratch marks on the walls—as if someone had tried to flee but was dragged back by something.
There were no corpses, and not even much blood was seen.
Only that omnipresent layer of deep blue mucus was everywhere.
Lu Yuan was about to take a step when he suddenly stopped, because grey text surfaced once more.
【Environmental Perception: Concentration of anomalous creature traces is extremely high.】
In the next moment, Lu Yuan saw a mass of deep blue mucus squirming slowly in the corner of the cabin.
The thing was about half the height of a man, with an unstable form like a giant mound of jelly, its surface constantly churning and contracting.
And at the top of that mass of mucus—
A human head was impaled there.
The head was severely rotted, its eye sockets hollow and flesh peeling, yet its mouth was still opening and closing as if silently calling for help.
The mucus enveloped the neck beneath the head, constantly eroding and melting it, yet it always maintained the head's integrity.
【Witnessed Deep Mutation: Putrid Body】【Warning: Sanity check in progress... Check failed. Gazing at the target causes continuous moderate Sanity pollution.】
Lu Yuan's pupils shrank suddenly as the head turned around.
Those hollow eye sockets with residual flesh met Lu Yuan's gaze.
【Sanity: -1... 63/70】
"There's something here!" Lu Yuan barked, retreating as he aimed the revolver in his coat at the target.
"Bang!"
The specially made alchemical slug shot out, accurately hitting the body of that mass of mutation.
The moment the mucus was pierced, a "hissing" corrosive sound rang out, and the slug dissolved rapidly within it.
But the mass of mucus only trembled for a moment before it seemed to be enraged, lunging at him with astonishing speed.
Gray reacted extremely quickly.
He yanked Lu Yuan behind him and drew the short sword from his waist, slashing hard at the lunging mucus.
The moment the blade cut into the mucus, a "hissing" corrosive sound rang out, and the metal surface quickly became pitted.
"This thing is corrosive!" Gray roared, taking the momentum to hurl the thing back.
By now, a section of the blade had been eaten away.
A look of terror actually surfaced on the face of the human impaled in the mucus; then, its mouth flew open to let out a silent scream, the mucus churning wildly and releasing a visible wave of mental impact.
【Sanity: -1... -1, 61/70】 Lu Yuan's face turned grim as he endured the headache, raising his revolver once more.
Gray let out a muffled groan, his face turning pale suddenly, yet he still gritted his teeth and stood in front of Lu Yuan.
But before Lu Yuan could fire.
In the next moment, a black shadow swept past from the side.
A Descendant.
The black-robed figure leaped over Gray and directly met the lunging mucus monster, with no intention of dodging.
The moment the mucus touched him, the "hissing" corrosive sound rang out again.
The strong acid, capable of dissolving steel, was eroding the Descendant's black robe, with white smoke rising.
But the Descendant remained motionless.
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