The night sky hung low, a bright moon suspended high in the boundless heavens, while stars, like scattered diamonds, dotted the profound night.
In an open clearing, a massive bonfire blazed fiercely. The flames sometimes gently licked the night breeze, sometimes violently surged towards the sky, emitting a "crackle-crackle" sound.
The air was filled with the aroma of roasted meat and various delicacies, mingled with a hint of alcohol.
Around the bonfire, pirates were singing, dancing, chatting, and boasting. A bit further from the flames were tables and chairs that the pirates had somehow hauled over from who-knows-where.
Bathed in the firelight, everyone's faces were flushed red, the atmosphere as lively as the last feast.
Sitting on the periphery, Euryale, who had no desire to join the men's revelry, simply rested her chin in her hand, watching them as she casually sipped from her cup.
Asterios, however, was overjoyed. Sitting cross-legged on the ground, a simple, honest smile on his face, he watched the pirates' movements intently, listening to their songs while occasionally clapping his hands softly.
As a lonely monster, he had never experienced such a bustling scene before.
Seeing the little bull happy, Euryale also felt relieved.
"...Has he fallen asleep?"
Just as she turned her head, Euryale noticed Lin Qi, who had already slumped over the small table, emitting a soft, rhythmic snore, and she looked slightly surprised.
If she remembered correctly, before this, Lin Qi had only eaten some roasted meat and drunk a few sips of water.
"Can't be helped. The previous battle exhausted him. Let him rest properly for a while," Drake said, glancing at Lin Qi and shrugging helplessly.
"He seems like the type who puts his all into everything he does... rather similar to my foolish little sister, actually."
Euryale seemed to recall something, and her gaze towards Lin Qi softened considerably.
"Haha, we also think Little Lin always gives off the feeling of a well-behaved younger brother from next door."
"...But unfortunately, as his older siblings, it seems we can't help him much. On the contrary, he's the one taking care of us more often."
Drake scratched her head, somewhat embarrassed.
"Oh? Hearing you say that makes him even more like my foolish little sister. When it comes to combat power, both my older sister and I are the ones protected by her."
Euryale raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.
"Speaking of which, who exactly is your sister?"
Drake stroked her chin, finally asking the question she hadn't had the chance to ask until now.
"...You really have no knowledge at all, do you? You invited me onto your ship, so I thought you would at least know my identity."
Euryale was speechless.
Clearly, Drake did not know.
But this was also related to the unexpected nature of the day's journey. First, they encountered Blackbeard, then used the storm to escape, only to coincidentally run into Euryale and the other right afterwards.
Although they had inadvertently achieved Lin Qi's initial objective, it was hard to say if this was good luck or bad.
So much so that Lin Qi had even forgotten to explain the details to Drake.
...
The peaceful night passed quickly.
Lin Qi managed to get a good night's sleep, recovering most of the mental and physical strength depleted from the previous battles.
Because the Golden Hind had sustained significant damage in the earlier fight, everyone's first task upon waking was to search for various materials to patch up the Golden Hind.
Only after the repairs were done would they consider setting sail again.
Lin Qi had a few more tasks, as he needed to replenish the magical energy for the Runes on the ship so their effects could be restored.
As for how to move the Golden Hind from the center of the island to the seaside...
"Excellent, just like that! Our target is the ocean one kilometer ahead! Charge, charge, charge!"
On the deck of the Golden Hind, Drake placed her right foot on a crate, pointing her pistol forward with a face full of excitement.
"Uwoooooh——!!"
With a roar, Asterios, who was pulling the Golden Hind forward with ropes at the very front, actually used his sheer brute strength to drag the entire massive ship forward!
A ship moving over land!
Lin Qi, also on the ship with Drake, waved a flag (metaphorically, supporting the effort) and used his Noble Phantasm to add defensive reinforcement to the Golden Hind, lest it get wrecked during this journey.
"Hahaha, I told you it would be interesting following the Captain, right? Now our ship has been both in the sky and on land!"
The pirates cheered along the way.
Their eyes shining as they watched the Golden Hind gliding over the land.
Pulling a ship wasn't too difficult a task for Asterios's terrifying Strength parameter, so it didn't take long before he had hauled the ship all the way to the sea in one go.
"All hands, hoist the sails! Set sail!"
At Drake's command, the pirates skillfully began controlling the ship's movements.
Setting the Golden Hind sailing smoothly upon the sea once more.
"Little Lin, which direction do we head next?"
Once the Golden Hind was a reasonable distance from the shore, Drake, standing on the higher deck, turned her head and called out to Lin Qi.
Is it my job to navigate again?
Lin Qi had no intention of refusing. [Revelation] was indeed very useful for finding the way, especially in this Singularity where it felt somewhat enhanced.
Now that the task of finding Euryale was complete, and they had bolstered their combat strength somewhat...
The subsequent objective was quite clear.
Heracles on Jason's side was practically invincible in this Singularity; defeating him was basically impossible. The only method was to use the instant-kill mechanism of King David's [Ark of the Covenant] to eliminate him.
So, should they go find King David now, join forces with him, and set a trap waiting for the others to come to them?
A strange idea suddenly occurred to Lin Qi.
"Boss, do you think we stand a chance of winning if we go looking for Blackbeard now?"
Drake looked at him, surprised.
"You mean we turn around and cause trouble for that Blackbeard?"
She dug a finger in her ear, thinking she had misheard.
"Correct."
Lin Qi nodded in affirmation.
In fact, Singularities are generally formed and maintained by the Holy Grail. Theoretically, as long as the Holy Grail is retrieved, the Singularity should collapse on its own.
—With the exception of the Sixth Singularity, where the Divine Lion King used the power of the Holy Lance to anchor the Singularity, replacing the Holy Grail, intending to destroy the entire Singularity.
And the Seventh Singularity, where the Beast of Regression, Tiamat, manifested, also possessing the ability to destroy human civilization without the need for a Holy Grail.
Those two Singularities were exceptional cases. For the others, simply retrieving the Holy Grail should be enough to complete the mission.
Thinking it over this way, if they got their hands on the Holy Grail early and retrieved it, wouldn't that mean they could avoid fighting Heracles altogether?
Surely Blackbeard would be easier to deal with than Jason's group, right?
Lin Qi explained his line of thinking to Drake.
"If it's as you say, then attacking Blackbeard really is the best choice..."
Drake also stroked her chin thoughtfully upon hearing this.
The purpose of this journey was to help Lin Qi save the world. If there was a way to kill two birds with one stone, why not use it?
Moreover, after fiddling with the Holy Grail in her possession for so long, Drake had gleaned some experience from it. While its combat power probably didn't match her own after ascending to a Servant, in situations where neither side used Noble Phantasms, the difference wasn't that great.
Looking at it that way, didn't their combat power seem fairly evenly matched?
"Let's do it! Next stop, we ambush Blackbeard and get our pride back!"
After thinking it over, Drake smashed a fist into her palm, making her decision.
The pirates who heard Drake's words grew excited.
"Oh? We're going to get our payback?"
"Right now? Right here?"
"Bet on it, mate!"
"Let's show them right here who's the real boss of these seas!"
...
The pirates spoke with high morale, unanimously agreeing with Drake and Lin Qi's decision.
After all, they were hot-tempered pirates too!
Being taunted to their faces by Blackbeard like that, and having to flee not once, but twice, had already built up a bellyful of anger.
Though there was one who wasn't too keen.
"Your decision makes me wonder if I boarded the wrong ship..."
Just the thought of having to see that disgusting guy again gave Euryale a headache.
"What's the big deal? We finish him off quickly, and then you'll never have to see him again, right?"
Drake said with a grin.
"...That's true. It's more fitting to send a guy like that, who pollutes the entire world, back to the Throne of Heroes as soon as possible."
After a moment's thought, Euryale also affirmed Drake's statement.
Short-term pain is better than long-term pain. Directly eliminating the problematic person can solve more than half the problems.
With unanimous agreement, and after Lin Qi used [Revelation] to indicate the direction, everyone set course towards Blackbeard's location.
While sailing, they made preparations for battle on the ship.
At the very least, Lin Qi needed to prepare a few more Rune-enhanced cannonballs.
...