Drift Of The Multiverse: [Marvel] [Resident Evil] [DC] [Bleach] [DB]

Meeting Brent again took place on the choppy sea. Compared to the Goddess of Dawn, Brent's new ship was much more stable on the water. Standing aboard it, he felt only a slight sway, a motion that, for those who lived on the sea year-round, was no different from standing on land.

"Wonderful new ship."

From the moment he stepped onto Brent's Hope, Ethan had been looking around, curious to see what kind of vessel Brent had invested so much wealth and effort into.

It had a wooden structure reinforced with metal plating and four masts filled with sails. It was still primarily sail-powered. However, Ethan had noticed before boarding that there was a clear bulge beneath the waterline at the stern, where a magic stone thruster must have been installed. With Brent's financial resources, this ship wouldn't have to worry about being stuck even if there were no wind.

Ethan was puzzled as to why Brent hadn't simply abandoned sails. Perhaps it was habitual thinking, or perhaps he worried the magic stone thruster might fail at a crucial moment, making the sails a backup. Many designers had similar ideas during Earth's transition from sail to steam power, especially since refueling coal wasn't always convenient—so sails were retained for a long time.

Additionally, the helm was installed indoors. Although still located on the sterncastle, it wasn't an open-air design. This was likely due to the harsh sea conditions in this region, which severely tested the crew's physical endurance. The best solution was to remain in a temperature-controlled interior. From this, it could be inferred that the ship was equipped with a temperature regulation system to maintain relatively normal conditions inside.

"Thank you for the compliment. If you'd like, I can show you around later. You can use it as a reference when you get a new ship."

Brent was very hospitable and wasn't at all concerned that the information he had painstakingly gathered would leak through the ship's design, nor did he worry that Ethan would share details with outsiders that might benefit his enemies.

"If it's convenient, I'd be delighted to tour your new ship."

"It's no inconvenience."

Brent led Ethan into the ship's cabin. The Hope had a very spacious interior, large enough to accommodate a proper conference room. When Brent led Ethan inside, several people were already seated.

Among them was Bruno, whom Ethan had met before, along with several others he didn't recognize. It seemed they were all captains participating in the expedition.

"Gentlemen, this is Captain Ethan, the last member of our temporary fleet for this mission." Brent had clearly prepared an explanation for Ethan's late arrival. "Captain Ethan set out ahead of time to conduct initial reconnaissance in the area. So far, the situation is not significantly different from what we previously understood."

The captains looked at each other, then carefully sized up Ethan. They didn't show any contempt despite his relatively young appearance.

In fact, for someone so young to sail a ship to this location and still have the courage to join this mission, they regarded Ethan with more seriousness than they would a regular captain.

A young man like that was either a genius who had come across a great opportunity or a lunatic. Either way, he had to be treated carefully, or it would be easy to get themselves and their crews killed.

Several people greeted Ethan one after another, but none of them, including Bruno, offered to introduce themselves.

Ethan thought for a moment and understood. This operation was initiated entirely by Brent. As long as Brent knew who they were, that was enough. There was no need for them to get too familiar with one another—who knew if they would be enemies the next time they met.

Brent also understood what they were thinking, but he still gathered all the captains for a meeting. If nothing else, at least they would know who to find if conflict or problems arose.

Of course, he hoped no conflicts would arise at all, that they could smoothly deal with the challenges ahead, and that everyone would return safely and happily together.

Unfortunately, that wish was destined to be short-lived. Just as everyone had gathered and hadn't even had a chance to exchange pleasantries, one of Brent's subordinates rushed in without knocking.

"Captain, there's a situation."

His meaning was clear: Brent should come out and assess things personally to make an appropriate decision.

Seeing this, no one remained seated. They followed Brent out of the conference room and headed straight to the top of the sterncastle.

Because Brent's ship had a specially customized sterncastle with an indoor helm and steering equipment, it was higher than those with open-air controls. The added level was fully used for observation.

All the captains gathered there had a wide enough view to clearly see what was happening. In the distance, they could see several white streaks rapidly approaching from across the sea.

"What are those things?"

"Whatever they are, they're not good!"

Everyone present was an experienced captain. In the middle to later parts of this sea region, various strange creatures would appear—some powerful enough to treat adventurers as prey.

"We're going to have a naval battle, captains. You need to return to your ships as quickly as possible and take command."

Even without Brent's reminder, the captains were already descending from the sterncastle, heading back to their ships moored around the Hope. Even those further away could swing back using ropes.

As the captains returned to their vessels, Ethan took a moment to observe each one.

Most were similar to Brent's Hope, all equipped with thrusters and reinforced plating. Only two retained open-air control decks. The rest had switched to indoor steering.

And as the captains returned, the warships gradually raised their sails. What struck Ethan as odd was that none of them chose to accelerate immediately using their thrusters.

"Rigid thinking?"

Ethan's Aurora was moored right next to them. He didn't need to perform any acrobatics and could simply walk across the gangplank. Before he left, Brent gave him one more instruction: "Have your ship follow behind the Hope. Just provide long-range fire support with your magic stone cannons. Whatever you do, don't charge to the front."

"Understood."

At present, the Aurora was undoubtedly the weakest among them. Brent didn't know whether Ethan had installed a magic stone shield, so for safety, he treated it as if he hadn't.

"Is your ship's firepower sufficient?"

"It has one deck of cannons."

He had to thank the previous raid. Otherwise, the Aurora would still be in the awkward position of having only ten cannons on one side. Now he could fill the gunports. It still wasn't powerful, but at least it didn't look too bad.

"That's enough." Brent emphasized again, "Just remember, don't charge too far forward."

Ethan returned to the Aurora. Logan had already completed all the preliminary preparations. As soon as Ethan boarded, the Aurora slowly began to move again.

As all the ships regained mobility, the captains maintained appropriate distances and kept the same speed with tacit understanding. Brent's Hope had now become the flagship, coordinating all the ships for battle.

"I noticed none of them used their thrusters to accelerate right away, so I didn't either."

Ethan stood at the helm. He didn't think there was anything wrong with Logan's decision. Although he didn't know why the other captains were doing this, he didn't want to stand out too much. He had no experience in fleet battles, so it was better to follow the lead of others.

"Just follow the orders. There's no need to rush to show off."

The newly installed communication device sat next to the helm and could also be controlled mentally. With Ethan's current mental strength, he could easily control the helm remotely while still observing the distant situation with a telescope.

As the fleet gradually picked up speed, Brent directed all the ships to move to the windward side and form a battle line in preparation for bombardment.

Ethan's Aurora was positioned behind the Hope. Even without a communication device, it didn't prevent him from following Brent's instructions. He simply needed to stay behind the Hope and fire his side cannons when the time came.

Boom boom boom boom!

The sound of just ten cannons firing was already impressive. Now, with hundreds of cannons from several ships firing at once, the noise was deafening. Although magic stone cannons weren't as loud as gunpowder ones, the sheer force of hundreds firing together was truly overwhelming. Even Loki, who wasn't particularly interested, left his room and stood beside Ethan to watch this rare naval battle.

"Primitive fighting style." Loki, as always, began with a sarcastic comment. "But it's quite entertaining to witness occasionally."

Perhaps men just enjoyed this kind of thrill. When all the cannons fired together, Ethan felt a jolt of electricity run from his feet to his head, a strange tingling sensation stirring from deep within.

"Excited?"

"Yes." Logan, who had somehow gotten another cigar, replied. "I know that feeling. It captivated me for a long time back then."

Looking at the veteran beside him, who had participated in countless major battles, Ethan stood by the railing and continued watching the distance. The energy projectiles fired by the magic cannons had struck the white streaks ahead, and something seemed to be mixed in with the splashes from the explosions.

"Is that it?"

Ethan knew that was what had been rushing toward them. Using the telescope, he could barely make out the shapes of the things in the distance. They looked somewhat like sharks?

(To be continued.)