The legendary knight Baron was slain by Yun Li, a topic that became the most popular among the unled apprentices of the Sea Wheel at that moment.
No one knew why Baron had suddenly attacked Yun Li, but everyone understood that it must have been at the behest of the great Dila, for there was no way Baron would have attacked Yun Li without reason.
However, what no one could have predicted was that Yun Li, seemingly as if prepared for this moment, engaged Baron in a fierce battle. The clash of strange sorcery and a massive axe rang out for dozens of rounds before Baron's head vanished abruptly. The cut across his neck was so smooth it resembled a mirror, and his headless body collapsed lifelessly.
Yun Li remained indifferent, merely pausing to catch his breath, as if unconcerned by Baron's ambush. He continued to nonchalantly play with a small mouse in his hand. This strange calmness stunned all who witnessed the battle. To them, Yun Li appeared as nothing more than a monster, not a human being. No one dared to provoke such a creature.
The following day, as a massive shadow loomed over the Sea Wheel, many apprentices emerged from the ship's cabins to gaze in horror at the sky, where a cloud of crows blackened the horizon.
No one knew whether Dila was alive or dead.
From the cloud descended a mysterious wizard. As the figure touched down, countless crows swarmed into his wide sleeves, disappearing as though they had entered a boundless void. In an instant, the blackened sky cleared.
The mysterious wizard landed in the center of the deck. When the apprentices saw his face, they gasped in terror. This wizard had no eyes, no nose, and no mouth—his entire face was smooth, as if his skull was covered with a thin layer of skin, leaving only a terrifying blankness.
"Hehehe, little ones, welcome to the Black Sota Wizard Academy!" The faceless figure "looked" around the deck before his gaze lingered on Yun Li and Bibiliana. With an eerie voice, he continued, "You may call me Neirmasha, or the Faceless Mask. Hehehe, I don't care..."
As the apprentices recoiled in fear, one apprentice calmly stepped forward, holding a crow in his hand. He whispered, "Master."
"Good work," the Faceless Mask complimented, and the crow disappeared into the wizard's sleeve as if swallowed by an endless void.
The apprentices stared in disbelief. It was clear that this apprentice, Soram, had been the one to betray Dila. His role as an informant left a chilling sense of betrayal in the air.
On the other side, Green, Raffi, Yorkris, and Yorkliana were dumbstruck, their hearts racing with cold sweat. The apprentice who had stepped forward was none other than Soram, the one who had always looked down on them. But Soram didn't acknowledge them now, instead casting his interest toward Yun Li and Bibiliana.
The Faceless Mask, uninterested in the apprentices' thoughts, grinned coldly and declared, "The Black Sota Wizard Academy believes in competition, survival of the fittest, and natural selection! Hehehe, so, to help you adapt to academy life, and to eliminate the useless ones, there will be a new rule aboard this ship..."
Every apprentice listened intently, hanging on to every word.
"From this day forward, every second morning, I must find that five people have been thrown into the sea, or I will kill ten at random." The wizard's voice was calm, and with a mere gesture, he pointed to a sailor in the distance. Without warning, the sailor exploded in a shower of blood and flesh.
The apprentices screamed in terror as the ship descended into chaos. Yet the wizard remained unfazed, coldly stating, "Just like this."
A chill gripped every apprentice as they stared at the wizard, seeing him now as a monstrous predator, an embodiment of death.
Unfazed by the commotion, the Faceless Mask laughed darkly and continued, "From now on, my word is law on this ship, unless any of you can kill me! Hehehe, little ones, see you tomorrow!"
With that, he ignored everyone and conjured a luxurious tent at the ship's edge, signaling the first mate to enter.
The apprentices remained wary, glancing at each other in unease. Even Green couldn't help but look at Yorkris, Yorkliana, and Raffi. Yorkris, clutching his sister, whispered, "We won't really do what the wizard said, will we?"
"I don't want to die! Maybe we will…" Raffi answered cryptically, casting a glance at Green. Both Yorkris and his sister were shocked by Raffi's response, but Green calmly accepted it, his mind racing with the implications.
However, in the pit of his stomach, Green felt a bitter taste. If it would take forty days to reach the Black Sota Academy, that meant 200 apprentices would be tossed overboard. If it was sixty days, would any of them survive?
Suddenly, a scream cut through the air. A female apprentice had viciously stabbed a male apprentice in the chest, her face twisted in rage. "If it weren't for you, Rea would never have died! I'll kill you!" she screamed.
The female apprentice, frantic and driven by madness, repeatedly stabbed the helpless male apprentice.
Everyone realized this was likely the result of previous conflicts, and no one dared to intervene. Perhaps this was also part of the wizard's cruel "task."
With caution, the apprentices began to disappear from the deck. Green and his companions decided to meet in Raffi's room to discuss their next move.
Meanwhile, Yun Li, Bibiliana, and Soram remained on the deck, the tension between them palpable. Yun Li and Bibiliana, both powerful from their earlier battles, were not to be trifled with. Soram, a new student of the Faceless Mask, was clearly no ordinary apprentice. It seemed inevitable that something would occur between the three of them. But for now, it was best not to get involved, lest their intentions turn deadly.
"What should we do? I can't believe Soram…" Yorkris muttered, his brow furrowed as he looked at Green and Raffi.
Raffi scoffed, "What else can we do? We take it one step at a time." He pulled out a small, finely crafted crossbow and added coldly, "It's not a magical weapon, but the poison on it should be enough to kill even a wizard."
Green tensed. "There's no need to rush. We're going to be on this ship for a long time. Besides, Soram hasn't shown any hostility toward us. He hasn't even acknowledged us. It's best not to reveal our trump card just yet."
Raffi nodded, slipping the crossbow back into his bag. The four of them settled down in the cramped room, awaiting whatever came next.
The following morning, a cacophony of noise erupted, and the apprentices gathered on the deck.
The Faceless Mask stood for a moment before calmly announcing, "Only three missing? Then..."
With a casual flick of his finger, four apprentices suddenly exploded, their blood and gore splattering across the deck. One of them had been in Green's group.
The scene was horrifying. Green and his companions wiped the blood from their faces, the reality of the violence overwhelming them. Green even found chunks of flesh on his clothes, the smell of blood thick in the air.
"Ugh..." Raffi and Yorkris vomited, while Green, though uneasy, kept his composure, keeping a vigilant watch over their surroundings.
The Faceless Mask ignored the chaos and cackled, "The Black Sota Wizard Academy is part of the Wizard Alliance. We don't kill innocent civilians, but remember this: as apprentices, you are no longer civilians. The path of a wizard is fraught with danger."
Turning on his heel, he coldly added, "Except for Lab (the first mate), Soram, Yun Li, and Bibiliana, anyone who doesn't want to be killed tomorrow should start by eliminating five others."
Without a word, Yun Li and Bibiliana walked away. Soram, too, made no attempt to engage with the others. Bibiliana gave one last cold glance before letting out a soft laugh.
The apprentices, drenched in blood and gore, stood frozen in place, the weight of their predicament settling in.
"Kill!"
With a roar, the remaining sailors, driven mad by the sea monsters, charged at a nearby group of five apprentices, hacking them to pieces. Blood and screams filled the air as the sailors tossed their victims' remains into the sea.
The sailors, now covered in blood, turned to the others, their eyes cold with menace. The leader spoke in a chilling tone, "No one wants to die, but this is the reality of the wizarding world. From now on, you're no longer the masters of this ship. You better find five scapegoats, or we won't hesitate to make an example of you."
With that, the sailors stalked off into the ship's cabins.
Green's group stood pale and trembling, realizing how close they had come to being the next victims. They couldn't help but feel a strange sense of relief that Wade had been devoured by the sea monsters.
Now, the apprentices faced an even more pressing dilemma: who would be chosen to die?