Chapter 23: Ambush

“So… Your Majesty, are you really going to pee?”

Ella stood on the deck. 

The sea breeze tousled her silver hair into a wild mess. 

Sunlight poured through gaps in the clouds, spreading a glittering band of gold across the sea.

If not for the fact that there was no true land in this ocean and countless monsters lurked beneath the waves, it would have been a beautiful place.

Too bad she wasn’t here to admire the scenery.

She glanced down at the deck beneath her feet, then at the black outfit she wore. 

The corner of her mouth twitched.

Ugh, of all things… peeing…

The more Ella thought about it, the more embarrassed she felt, but she also knew this awkwardness was perfectly normal.

As a person, how could she possibly get used to marking her territory like a dog every single day? 

Still, she had no choice. 

She needed the swarm.

“In that case, Your Majesty, please go ahead. I’ll step away for a moment.”

Yiwen turned and headed toward the bridge. 

Her long red hair swayed in the morning light before disappearing behind the door.

Ella took a deep breath and squatted down.

Then—

A pitch-black figure burst out from inside the bridge. 

The speed was so fast that Ella’s eyes could barely keep up. 

Her body instinctively stepped back as her gaze chased the silhouette.

It was Zhuluo.

The black-haired girl’s posture was completely different from usual. 

Eight spider legs had fully extended from her back like eight unsheathed scimitars, gleaming with a cold metallic sheen in the morning sun.

Her body hung in mid-air, the tips of her legs piercing the corridor walls and ceiling as she moved through the narrow passage with spider-like agility.

Her left arm was cradling someone.

Pink hair. 

It was Dieyi.

Wait—

Was that blood?

A thick, metallic stench slammed into Ella’s nostrils—fresh, warm, iron-rich blood mixed with the salty sea breeze, exploding in the morning light.

Ella’s body instinctively drew two deep breaths.

The sweet scent of blood made her pupils dilate sharply. 

Her fingers clenched unconsciously, nails digging into her palms.

Her body trembled slightly—not just from fear, but from an almost overwhelming excitement surging up from the marrow of her bones, threatening to knock her off her feet.

“What happened?!”

Yiwen rushed out from the bridge and took Dieyi from Zhuluo’s arms. 

For the first time, the red-haired older sister’s gentle composure shattered. 

Her brows knotted tightly, and anxiety and rage churned in her red pupils.

Dieyi’s body was covered in claw marks—deep and shallow gashes running from shoulders to waist, arms to calves, as if she had been savagely torn apart by some wild beast.

Blood continued to seep from the wounds. 

Her pink scaled outfit was soaked dark red, the original color nearly unrecognizable. 

Her eyes were closed, brows faintly furrowed, lips pale. 

Her breathing was shallow and rapid; she had almost lost consciousness.

“Those werewolves sneaked in from under the hull.”

Zhuluo’s voice remained flat and emotionless as always.

“Dieyi was ambushed by them.”

Her expression showed no change. 

Even in this situation, she still wore the same icy, aloof beauty.

The eight spider legs had already retracted into her body. 

She stood there, the pleated skirt of her dress fluttering lightly in the sea breeze.

Ella noticed she had changed clothes—into a black sailor uniform with a deep red necktie at the collar, a black pleated skirt, black short socks, and black flat shoes. 

The outfit looked neat, practical, and easy to move in.

But no matter how calm her expression, the severity of the situation remained unchanged.

Their ship had been ambushed. 

The invaders were still onboard.

Boom—boom—boom—

Violent explosions erupted from the stern. 

The entire ship shuddered violently. 

Ella staggered, nearly falling, and only managed to steady herself by grabbing the railing.

Orange-red flames blazed up from the stern—bright, devouring light that quickly swallowed the entire view.

A scorching heat wave slammed into them, carrying the smell of burning wood and the acrid stench of some unidentifiable chemical.

“It’s over! Looks like the ship is done for!”

Yiwen’s voice rose above the aftershocks of the blast. 

She shielded Dieyi with her body, her long red hair whipping backward in the heat wave.

“Dieyi is already so badly hurt! Those damn pirates!”

She looked up, her gaze landing on Zhuluo.

“Zhuluo! Give me some spider silk! Hurry!”

Zhuluo extended her hand. 

Translucent white spider silk shot from the gaps between her fingernails. 

Yiwen took the silk and quickly wrapped it around Dieyi’s wounds.

Her movements were swift—one loop after another, tying knots, pulling tight—fashioning simple bandages.

“Go start the lifeboat! Zhuluo!”

“Understood.”

Zhuluo turned. 

The eight spider legs extended from her back once more. 

She leaned forward, the tips of her legs piercing the deck as she raced toward the stern at a speed that seemed to defy physics.

Her black pleated skirt clung tightly to her body from the high-speed movement. 

The eight legs gleamed like lethal spikes in the morning light. 

Her figure vanished around the side of the deck in an instant.

“Your Majesty! Prepare to abandon ship!”

Yiwen shouted while continuing to bandage Dieyi’s wounds. 

Her hands moved faster and faster, spider silk dancing between her fingers.

“Your Majesty?”

No response.

Yiwen whipped her head around.

“Your Majesty?!”

What she saw was a horrifying scene.

Ella stood at the edge of the deck. 

Her silver hair fluttered in the sea breeze. 

Her crimson pupils were narrowed slightly as her gaze fixed on Dieyi—no, not on Dieyi herself, but on the wounds covering her body.

She reached out. 

Her index finger gently traced one of the gashes.

Her fingertip came away stained with blood.

Bright red, warm, still-flowing blood.

She brought that finger to her mouth.

Her lips closed around the bloodied tip. 

Then, slowly, as if savoring some rare delicacy, she sucked.

Her eyes narrowed slightly. 

Her lashes trembled faintly in the morning light as an expression of near-rapturous, immersive pleasure slowly spread across her face.

“Excellent DNA…”

“A body brimming with power…”

She pulled her finger from her mouth. 

A faint reddish sheen of mixed saliva and blood still glistened on the tip.

Her gaze left Dieyi and shifted toward the flames still burning at the stern.

“If I could catch just one…”

Her pupils dilated slightly.

“Using his body as nourishment, I should be able to…”

“Your Majesty?!”

Yiwen’s voice grew even louder, almost a scream.

But Ella did not respond. 

Her gaze remained locked on the firelight, the dancing flames reflected in her crimson eyes.

She had sunk deep into her own thoughts and did not answer for a long time.

Yiwen knelt on the deck, still cradling Dieyi, spider silk still tangled between her fingers.

She stared at Ella, her expression twisting with helplessness.

“As expected.”

The next moment, Ella’s voice rang out again, her tone shifting from casual to icy.

“Failures are still just failures after all.”

The corners of her mouth curved upward. 

As their creator, she made no effort to hide her contempt for the three of them.

“Unable to handle even enemies of this level.”

Yiwen’s pupils contracted slightly.

“What… Your Majesty, you…”

Her voice caught in her throat.

Ella did not look at her again.

She turned, her silver hair drawing a graceful arc through the air. 

Wearing those black boots, her slender legs wrapped in black pants stepped onto the deck, now glowing red from the firelight. 

Step by step, she walked into the darkness deep within the corridor.

That silver figure vanished into the depths of the passageway. 

Her footsteps echoed a few times before being swallowed by the explosions and the howl of the wind.