The ship sailed into the dark realm.

Ed stepped off and made his way to the forge where old Bobby had once worked.

Inside, he found Gami, the crew's newest member, already deep in his craft, forging something.

"What's the difference between a blacksmith and a sculptor?" Ed asked curiously, watching Gami work.

Several pieces of metal melted into liquid in his hands. A mechanical tentacle, shimmering with faint light and engraved with strange runes, extended from the machine he was operating, helping to shape the molten metal.

In no time, the metal ingot had been formed into a cylindrical handle.

"Was the one on the ship before a sculptor?" Gami asked, turning his head at him.

Ed nodded. Bobby had been primarily a sculptor, though he possessed some blacksmithing skills as well, given his age, he is quite versatile.

"Engravers excel at inscribing and arranging incantations, while blacksmiths focus more on the overall modification and creation of items," Gami explained casually.

Then, he turned to Ed again. "Are you interested in these things too?"

Looking at Gami, Ed nodded, after all, he engraved his spells on cards, so this skill is very useful for him.

The two began to talk, with Ed primarily learning. As time passed, they gradually became familiar with each other.

Ed learned that although Gami looked like a child, he was actually twenty years old. This congenital defect of not growing up had resulted in powerful magical control and a high affinity for blacksmithing.

But Ed felt sorry for him, although he got something in exchange for his adult body, but he lost the most sacred thing and happiness a man can experience with a woman.

The Church had sent him to Andre's ship to nurture his talent.

This meant Gami was likely on the ship for the long haul, though no one could say for sure, a year, perhaps two, or maybe longer.

Suddenly, the ship stopped.

Sensing this, Ed and Gami quickly went to the deck. When they arrived, everyone else was already there.

"Pirates...?"

Ed stared blankly at the several pirate ships with black sails approaching them. For a pirate crew to rob a treasure-hunting ship was rather audacious.

Jason, seeing Ed's bewildered expression, chuckled with a hint of schadenfreude. "It's normal. Not every area is as safe and peaceful as the Blood Gold Alliance or the Church's Seas. We've already left the Church's territory. This vast area has virtually no security; encountering pirates is commonplace."

This made sense. The Blood Gold Alliance had several naval fleets constantly patrolling to ensure safety. Even so, pirates were occasionally spotted and quickly destroyed. The Church's Seas were incredibly safe, with no pirates at sea and rare violent clashes on the islands.

But outside the territory of such large powers, various problems surfaced. This was, after all, a world of the sea. Plunder and bloodshed were the norm.

At this moment, Andre turned to Gami. "Have you taken over some control of the ship?"

Gami nodded.

"Good. Then you destroy them."

Hearing this, Gami did not hesitate and walked to the ship's side. The ship was now anchored, its broadside facing the approaching pirates. The pirates weren't fools; two ships were already flanking them, preparing an encirclement.

Gami raised his right hand, a faint glow emanating from his palm. One by one, the cannons on the ship's side opened, their muzzles automatically extending. His eyes gleamed, and he swung his right hand down sharply.

Bang!

A muffled roar, much louder than the stone cannons Ed had heard before, echoed across the water. This was, in fact, the first time he had seen the Blue Fist's cannons fire.

Several cannonballs whistled through the air, accurately striking the pirate ships. The immense power of the No. 3 rock cannons tore through the enemy vessels. One shot struck a mainmast directly, sealing that ship's fate. Another pirate ship inexplicably burst into flames, as if the cannonball had ignited its stores.

With just one volley, two pirate ships were rendered useless. Seeing this, the remaining ships breaking for the flanks showed no intention of closing in; they drove straight past without a backward glance.

Just like that, they had repelled four pirate ships without even seeing their enemies.

Watching one ship sink and another burn, the Blue Fist continued its journey.

"Aren't we going to collect the spoils?" Ed asked, somewhat puzzled. It seemed wasteful. After all, even mosquito meat is still meat. They could at least sell the wreckage, even if the pirates had nothing valuable.

Jason shook his head. "This pirate crew is unknown, never heard of. And look, although they had four ships, they're all old and dilapidated. They couldn't even withstand a single salvo. One's burning, another's sinking. Even if they had cargo, it wouldn't be worth much. It's a pointless waste of time and energy. Besides, we don't need to dally here right now."

After listening to Jason's explanation, Ed nodded. To put it bluntly, they didn't care about the loot and were too lazy to retrieve it. They were a treasure-hunting team under the Church, essentially casual scavengers with little interest in items worth less than a gold sail, especially after a recent huge haul, while they were still basking in their success.

Even intact cargo would need to be moved into the hold and sold elsewhere. Selling it cheap wouldn't bring much, and valuable items were rarely found on pirate ships. Pirates lived for the moment, treating each day as their last. Therefore, fighting them seldom yielded great reward and often resulted in casualties, which was why they were so disliked.

Having roughly understood, Ed nodded. After a moment's thought, he bid farewell to everyone and returned to his cabin.

Lying on his bed, he began to channel magic through his circuits, starting to strengthen them.

"I feel like your meditation speed is quite slow," Said Lucilia, who, like a ghost most of the time, hung herself behind Ed like a scarf, rarely speaking and just watching everything with interest. She was now sitting beside the bed.

"Slow? Why do you say that?" Ed had asked others as well, and his meditation speed was considered above average.

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