"Could there be traps? Are these sacrificial vessels? Burial goods?" The Minstrel was reeling from the shock, but now he felt that nothing could faze him. Freddy quickly composed himself. Even as he warned everyone to watch out for tricks, his hands were already busy picking out the most portable golden artifacts.

"The guards will definitely find those if they search you," Rorschach said, speechless as he watched Freddy put gold rings on all ten of his fingers. He scanned the area with [Arcane Vision] first but saw no Spiritual Light.

’This is a bit strange. After that evil business in the midship section, it’s actually abnormal that these valuables *aren’t* tainted. Something is very wrong.’

Rorschach infused some Magic Power, but there was no reaction. They really were just ordinary cups, plates, and jewelry. However, he also noticed the items had no patterns at all, giving them a sort of minimalist, Northern European style he recalled from his past life.

After confirming repeatedly that there were no issues, Rorschach collected everything into his Storage Ring. "Remember, we share what we find, Lord Heisenberg..." the Minstrel said, reluctant to hand everything over, even though Rorschach had promised to return his portion later and was just storing it temporarily in the ring.

Like the midship section, this was also a relatively sealed space with no access to the deck. The three of them could only return to the stern the way they came. "We have to figure out what happened," Rorschach said. "Let’s head to the deckhouse."

From the stern, they could get to the deckhouse via the engine room. Naturally, everything inside was a mess from the impact. By the time they reached the captain’s room, not a single small object remained intact in its cabinet or on the walls. The three of them had to climb up with difficulty, and Rorschach first had to clear a space for them to stand.

The sea charts were still there. The drawer was already broken, so there was no need to pick the lock; they could just pull it apart. On the shattered table, Rorschach also found slash marks, bullet holes, and bloodstains.

"This ship has been to El Island, and it also traveled back and forth along the Tams River..." the Minstrel said. He had found the ship’s log and was able to piece together its usual routes from a few place names.

Singrev found something that shouldn’t have been there. He picked up a hat, and Freddy recognized it instantly. "By Is, isn’t this a cop’s hat?"

What the Dwarf had found in the corner was a tall, dark blue hat. Because Istani’s infantry wore bright red uniforms while its police officers wore dark blue, they were jokingly nicknamed "cooked lobsters" and "raw lobsters." They soon found the golden insignia as well. There was a large gash in the hat.

"So the captain fought the cops? Was this a smuggling ship?" The three of them naturally pictured a scene where a smuggling ship was discovered by customs police, leading to a fight.

"It’s more likely they didn’t want the officer to discover what was in the hold." The tea and sugar seemed like a cover, cargo piled high to hide the sealed midsection, probably to pass an inspection. Had the officer found something wrong and insisted on a deeper inspection? It was impossible to know now. Aside from the ship’s hull and the corpses, the rest of the sailors and the captain had vanished.

Looking out the window of the captain’s room, they had a commanding view of the market street below. People bustled about, and the thick smoke from cooking pots and oil lamps drifted up, mingling with the gray, hazy fog of the surroundings. The people below still had no idea what had happened, their attention focused solely on the sugar and tea being carried off the ship.

Just as Rorschach was about to leave, another group of people approached the sunken ship, shouting. They were all dressed in robes and hoods, and one look was enough to tell they weren’t to be trifled with. The crowd parted to let the hooded figures through, watching as they confronted the Guard.

’Mages?’ Rorschach had never seen anyone besides Casters dress like that. He had a feeling they’d get dragged into trouble if they went down now, so he pulled back the Dwarf, who was about to leave. "Let’s wait a bit before we go down."

The Minstrel cupped his hand behind his right ear, listening intently. "They claim to be... from the Sect... The ship is theirs... They don’t want the cargo, they want... everyone to scram..."

Soon, they saw the two groups begin to shove each other. The Guard were about to use their weapons to give the insolent newcomers a good thrashing, but the lead hooded figure simply took the blows, remaining motionless and expressionless. This, in turn, made his attackers hesitate.

Rorschach saw the Spiritual Light of Magic Power gathering and immediately knew the Guard wouldn’t be able to stop this group. Sure enough, a cloud of green spray erupted, instantly felling a group of guards. Anyone still able to move screamed and fled. It was clear the members of the Sect were about to come aboard.

"Get ready to fight." Rorschach glanced at the Minstrel. "Maybe you should stay here in the captain’s room?"

"I suddenly feel much safer with you guys."

The three of them carefully maneuvered to the entrance of the deckhouse. The temporary wooden planks set up by the Count’s Guard began to creak and groan—the Sect members were coming up. Rorschach shifted to a better vantage point and activated [Mirror Flower Water Moon], using the fog of the Shadow Land to his advantage.

"What the fuck, why is the fog even thicker in here?" The Sect members who came aboard were nearly overcome by the powerful stench. They didn’t use Magic to block it, instead lighting something. A flame flickered in the smoke, and a sweet fragrance spread, barely managing to suppress the foul odor.

Of course, this mix of sweet and foul only made the smell inside the ship even stranger.

"The wall’s been breached! Someone’s been here!" the lead hooded man exclaimed in alarm, ordering the lackeys behind him to search the area.

There was no longer any need to hide. Rorschach reinforced the filtering bubbles around himself and his teammates, then gave the order using [Communication Skill]: "Go!"

From the Sect members’ perspective, the smoke suddenly became incredibly dense. Their vision turned into a sea of white, and they could only make out the silhouettes of their nearest companions. As a burst of explosive music erupted, a massive hammer suddenly flew out of the thick smoke and slammed into someone’s face.

The first man to be attacked cried out in pain, his nose shattered to pieces. His head ringing from the concussion, he collapsed backward.

Having found its mark, the hammer immediately changed direction for a horizontal swing, catching a nearby cultist in the chest. This time, it was ribs that broke, and the man sprayed a mouthful of blood as he flew back.

Rorschach quickly used [Communication Skill] to remind the Dwarf: "Leave... a few of them alive."

In the spirit of "mercy," he only used [Cold Ice Beam]. Combined with the moisture in the white fog, it proved to be excellent for crowd control. When daggers got too close, he used an enlarged [Protective Palm] to forcefully shove the attackers away, leaving the cultists completely disoriented.

"They’re roughly in that direction!" Because Rorschach’s group had attacked from behind, the original Leader was now at the back of the formation. He located them by sound within the dense fog and hurled a burning pouch of herbs toward the source of the BGM.

"Ouch!" The voice, of course, belonged to Freddy. The Minstrel, who had positioned himself to protect the others, became the first on their side to get hurt. He’d forgotten that when vision is limited, hearing becomes the enemy’s most important tool for judgment. Since he was constantly trying to apply buffs for Rorschach and Singrev, he had become a living target.

A cloud of green smoke burst outward. Fortunately, Rorschach had learned his lesson from the last time. Protected by the filtering bubbles, the Leader’s attempt failed. When the smoke cleared, only Sect members lay on the ground; their enemies—two tall men and one short one—were still standing.

The Leader cried out internally, realizing how bad the situation was. He grabbed his second-in-command and shoved a seed into the man’s mouth. The poor fellow had no time to react before he was completely drained of nutrients. Thick, powerful vines erupted from his body and lashed out at Rorschach.

The Mage raised his staff, and a [Molten Beam] shot across the room. It not only shredded the vines but also sliced the entire cabin in two. To leave them alive, he had intentionally avoided sweeping the beam over any of the Sect members. The Leader was overjoyed, preparing to jump from the goddamn sunken ship through the newly opened gap.

The hull groaned and began to collapse, threatening to fall to the ground at any moment. From this height, the Leader could leap to safety and escape.

However, Rorschach’s prepared spell, [Reversing Beam], was ready. It traced the path of the previous ray in reverse, seamlessly knitting the collapsing freighter back together.

The Leader stared blankly as the fissure sealed itself shut. With a THUD, he fell to his knees before Rorschach.