He waited for a while so that the others could digest the information and continued,

  “First are the three islands which have the lowest difficulty. The average monsters here are around lv 25. As for the 5 islands at the end that form a crown shape, they have the highest difficulty. There are natives as well as monsters living on that place. And most if not all of them are above lv 45.”

  Zyrus spoke the last sentence with heavy emphasis. What did it mean to have an average lv of 45 and above? It meant that even little kids living there could kill Camazotz, a field boss who nearly wiped out 6000 players.

  “The time to conquer that place is still far off, so let’s focus on the present. We’ve already conquered one of the three ‘easy’ islands. The difficulty for the next two islands is about the same. The one closest to us has more dangerous ocean surrounding it, while the other island is the habitat of some annoying monsters. We’ll be heading to the closest one first.”

  Zyrus concluded in a composed tone. Even though the journey to the next island would be risky, he was confident in dealing with any incidents.

  The captains nodded at him and left one by one. Only Ria and the galleons’ captains remained to chat longer.

  “What is your plan for the middle islands?” Ria asked him out of curiosity and expectation.

  “Can’t you guess?”

  “Looking at the map, I bet you’ll separate us into two groups to fight on both sides.”

  “Close enough.”

  Zyrus did plan to separate them, but they’d be fighting on three sides. Or rather, he would be fighting the third side on his own.

  The group discussed about further actions and parted ways after an hour. Zyrus had once again reminded them of the dangers on the journey and the ways to deal with them.

  Nothing unexpected happened in the rest of the day. Hours went by as the ships sailed at moderate speed on the Cyan Ocean. No one dared to relax despite that. The current situation was similar to a calm before the storm.

  *Buuuuuuu*

  Zyrus sharpened his eyes after hearing the bugle’s sound. It was the same bugle that the goblin riders used in the first ring. The same goblin riders were now acting as a watchguard.

  “Deactivate the speed runes, keep the barriers active and preserve your mana. Also, make as little noise as possible.”

  A silent yet heavy atmosphere surrounded the fleet. The ocean became eerily quiet as the sun dipped below the horizon.

  The endless sea was terrifying to look at in the night. Light and land were the cornerstones of everyone’s lives. The players felt an instinctive fear at the absence of the two. The lack of air and water current only worsened the sensation.

  “Prepare to activate the night’s blessing,” Zyrus's voice resounded across the fleet. The words were like the devil’s whisper in the players' ears.

  The environment was dark and creepy enough as it is, was there a need to activate the night’s blessing at this time?

  Of course, there were just the thoughts in their heads. No one had the guts to say that out loud.

  ‘Huu.. finally, it’s time. That ‘thing’ always attacks the first ship at night.’

  Zyrus wasn’t the only one who thought of conquering the ocean. Before the players’ arrival, many others on the continent had similar ideas. However, all of them were thwarted by a single entity.

  Before his regression, countless fleets were destroyed before they saw the next sunrise on the ocean. No matter where or when they sailed from, ‘it’ would appear on the first night and sink all the ships. Like a haunted curse a single creature held back the entire continent from sailing on this ocean.

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  It took a lot of coordinated effort to defeat that ‘thing’. Only after players defeated it with the system’s assistance did the northern marine routes open. This was one of the many reasons why the natives couldn’t unify the whole continent and the third ring.

  The next fight would be impossible without the crown and flag’s authorities. Zyrus didn’t have any offensive authority, but he had enough cards up his sleeve.

  “Activate the night’s blessing, and Drop the anchors!”

  *Plop*Plop*

  The ocean gurgled as the anchors sank into the dark waters. A similar dark fog seeped out from ships, shrouding the entire fleet.

  [Night’s blessing (Rare)]

  A ring forged with the power of darkness.

  Durability: 100/100

  Effects: Shrouds the user in a mist of dark mana.

  These were the original stats of the rings. And Zyrus had placed thousands of such rings all over the ships.

  Forget about the fish in the ocean, even the players were unable to differentiate between the dark water and nearby ships. If not for the barriers that were still emitting a faint halo, they would’ve gone mad from fear.

  *Thunk*

  Zyrus jumped down from the mast and landed beside Franken. The one-eyed reindeer had completely taken over the role of the helmsman.

  “Why didn’t you tell the players beforehand?” Franken asked with a strange smile. Despite all the talking earlier, Zyrus hadn’t spoken much about what was to come next.

  “Don’t you know that thing’s specialty?”

  “I’m not an encyclopedia like you arcanists. I only remember what I find interesting,”

  *Kreeeak*

  Croaking sounds echoed below the fleet while the duo were chatting. The boats started to sway as if they were sailing under a thunderstorm, but strangely, not a sound was heard apart from the eerie croaking.

  “Well, you’ll know the answer in a while.”

  There was a very good reason why Zyrus didn’t tell anyone about this. Their opponent was someone who preyed on other’s fears.

  It was something that even a group of lv 50 players couldn’t defeat with brute force. There were only two ways to defeat the monster that haunted the oceans of Kyros continent.

  The method used by players in his past life was rather straightforward. Every player who participated in the raid had to be strong and fearless. Just having a bold personality wasn’t enough. The players needed achievements that were related to mental fortitude as well.

  But Zyrus couldn’t use the same method. There was neither the time nor the opportunity for his troops to gain such achievements. Fortunately, one of his arcanist friends had created another strategy. It was unverified since the monster was a unique existence and didn’t respawn, but still, he was sure that it would work.

  The whole strategy could be summarized in one word: Ignorance.

  *Gurrrrg*

  “Brace for Impact,”

  *Bang*Thunk*

  Zyrus’s words were right on time as the ships barely avoided crashing into one another. Even then, nearly half of the barriers had cracks on them due to collision.

  *Tok*Torrrukk*

  While everyone was guessing what the hell was attacking their ships, a sudden light filled their vision. The only light that was left.

  [You have encountered Nuckelavee: The warden of the sea]

  [Mission: Survive until sunrise or defeat the Nuckelavee]

  [Rewards: The Ocean's Testament, Ring of Sebek]

  [Penalty: Death]

  The status screens carried an ominous vibe. The text were colored red with a matching, tendon-like borders.

  “Calm your mind and focus on your ships. No matter what happens from now on, you’ll be safe as long as they're intact.” Zyrus’s steady voice resounded across the entire fleet.

  *Kiiiek*

  The warden of the sea roared at his interference. Fear was its greatest weapon, and even Zyrus wasn’t immune to it.

  ‘But It’s nothing compared to the Eternals,’

  Zyrus blocked the mental interference in just a breath's time. His mind was like a lofty mountain. It stood tall and proud against the mental attacks that hurled at him like fierce winds. The one thing that didn’t regress was his willpower.

  “Surge,”

  Cyan waves rose on the black ocean, but just as they were about to form a vortex, they were assimilated with the pitch-black water. Zyrus wasn’t surprised by this since he had predicted such an outcome.

  ‘There you are,’

  He curved his lips at that empty stretch of ocean and attacked with Shackles of Nihility. The first annoying ability of the Nuckelavee was that it didn’t exist in a physical form.

  How could you attack something that didn’t exist in the first place? This was the biggest headache for everyone who wanted to sail the seas.

  *Neeeigh*

  But this wasn't a big issue for Zyrus. Nothing was exempt from the power of laws. It didn’t matter what type of existence Nuckelavee was, for as long as it was within his sight, Zyrus had the means to drag it out.

  “Create an opening.”

  “You want to drag that thing into the middle?”

  “Yes,”

  Zyrus didn’t have the time to explain his strategy; nor did he need to. He held onto the chains which were connected to the black mass of water while Franken hurriedly spun the wheel under his hooves.

  *Whiiish*

  The dragon of war made a sharp turn towards the back. Such a feat was possible due to the mana stored within the ship.

  Still, after making this 180-degree turn, the warship was rendered useless in combat. Even maintaining the barrier would be a strenuous task.

  “Nice, that was a close call,” Zyrus heaved a sigh of relief and deactivated his skill.

  The mighty shackles of nihility were reduced to common hooks and chains. Even with the power of laws, he could only drag the Nuckelavee into the fleet’s formation.

  Damaging it was out of the question.