Chapter 130: Reunion with the Ghost Ship, the Terror Cruise (Grand Finale)

"Ah!"

A shriek pierced the air. A middle-aged woman clutched her head, screaming as she writhed on the ground. It took a full five or six minutes before she finally stopped, gasping for air as she collapsed in a heap.

"Did you fail again, Cynthia?"

Inside the enclosed room, a tall blonde woman stood by the doorway. This was Claudia, the Saintess of the Sanctuary Church.

"Ha, some people only know how to brag. Saying their necromantic witchcraft is so powerful—looks like it’s just average to me. See? Another failure, isn't it?" Andrea, the middle-aged woman standing nearby, chimed in with schadenfreude, seizing the opportunity to kick her colleague while she was down.

"Shut up, you fool. Cynthia’s necromancy is second only to mine; she is the strongest among all of you. The female water ghost she controls has claimed hundreds of lives and is a terrifying, malicious spirit. If even she failed, it means our enemies’ strength far exceeds our imagination. If we don’t unite now, we are doomed."

Claudia was incredibly frustrated. At a time like this, her own people were still infighting. She had thought capturing the sacrifices would be an easy task, but they had suffered setback after setback, losing soldiers and generals, and now even Cynthia had failed. If this continued, the enemy would gauge their true strength and launch an attack. Given their current state, they were likely no match. The top priority was to return to Silent Hill and use the church's power to eradicate them.

Andrea shut her mouth, looking resentful. She knew the Saintess was in a foul mood after the consecutive failures—even the sacred beast raised by the church had been slaughtered, resulting in heavy losses. Now was indeed not the time for infighting.

"I was wrong, Saintess. Cynthia, I apologize; please forgive my selfishness." Andrea stepped forward to help her colleague up. She wasn't truly stupid; otherwise, she wouldn't have climbed to the position of the third-in-command of the church.

Cynthia nodded weakly. She looked up at Claudia, her tone heavy. "They are strong—very strong. Especially the young man leading them. He actually possesses both light and dark powers. Furthermore, I felt an unusual aura within his energy; he hides a great secret."

Claudia frowned. She knew this all too well. How could ordinary people continuously thwart them? They had used every means at their disposal, and logically, these should have been impossible to guard against, yet he had dismantled them one by one. They hadn't pursued them for a counterattack yet, likely because they hadn't fully grasped the church's foundation and didn't want to act rashly, preferring to follow at a leisurely pace until they were certain of victory.

Claudia understood that this failure was a major crisis. Nearly all their methods were exhausted, and she was the only one left who hadn't acted—yet even she didn't have absolute confidence in stopping them.

"Cynthia, rest and recover your magic. I am going to summon that legendary ghost ship on the Saint Lawrence River to completely block their path."

"Saintess, you don't mean... that ghost ship?"

Cynthia’s face changed drastically, and she asked urgently.

Claudia nodded heavily, her expression resolute and fanatical. "There are no more chances. This is our final opportunity to act. After this, they will surely see through our true state and launch a counterattack. So this time, I cannot give them any chance for a comeback. We must resolve them once and for all, even if it leaves us severely crippled. Once we return to hold the ceremony and my god descends, our power will not only be restored, but we will enter a brand new realm: the Divine Realm!"

A look of fanatical fervor appeared on the faces of Cynthia and Andrea. The Divine Realm—that was the supreme state they dreamed of, one that truly transcended mortals. It was the realm of the gods.

***

"Once we pass the river mouth, we will enter the Saint Lawrence River basin. Their speed is increasing; it seems they are desperate, like a cornered dog running out of tricks," Lin Xiao said to the group while standing on the yacht's deck.

After three days of sailing, they had successfully passed Lake Ontario and were about to enter the Saint Lawrence River, trailing the members of the Sanctuary Church.

The Saint Lawrence River, spanning 1,287 kilometers, is a major waterway in the east-central part of North America and serves as the border between the United States and Canada. It flows from Lake Ontario all the way to the Atlantic Ocean, acting as the Yangtze River of the Americas.

The Great Lakes-Saint Lawrence system is one of the busiest international trade routes in the world, with about 40 million tons of cargo passing through the Montreal-Lake Ontario section annually, primarily transporting grain from the American Midwest and iron ore from Quebec, Canada. For the convenience of navigation, ships can travel freely on this river with just a simple permit, without needing passports or visas from both countries, making it very convenient.

Having continuously dismantled the schemes of the Sanctuary Church, Lin Xiao felt emboldened. He tentatively shortened the pursuit distance to within ten kilometers. At night, he would take Michael into the air, where they could already see the enemy's ship. However, for safety reasons, he still didn't rush in to save the captives. Based on everything they had seen, the Sanctuary Church members were no weaklings, and their methods were bizarre. He needed to probe further and fully understand their total strength before launching a counterattack.

Of course, the main reason was that he was secretly wary of Duke Cullen. The old vampire's attitude was unclear, and he didn't want a fire to break out in his own backyard during a fierce battle—that was a consequence he could not afford.

The yacht sailed out of Lake Ontario and entered the Saint Lawrence River. The river basin was vast, and boat traffic was frequent and lively; under such circumstances, he assumed the Sanctuary Church members wouldn't dare act recklessly.

They pursued for another two days, passing through American territory and following the Saint Lawrence River into Canada, sailing near Quebec City. Because they didn't have a transit permit, Lin Xiao worried about running into Canadian water police, which would be troublesome.

But then he thought, with a boat full of supernatural beings—including witches and a vampire—even if they did encounter the water police, it didn't seem like a big deal.

Then, he tragically discovered that his "jinx" ability hadn't waned in the slightest.

That night, as they sailed near Cap-Santé, near Quebec, a water police patrol boat blocked their path. Six uniformed Canadian water police officers boarded Lin Xiao's yacht and demanded to see their permits. Lin Xiao saw Duke Cullen licking his lips with a ravenous expression, giving him a headache. He quickly had Misty use mental manipulation to send the poor fellows back.

However, as soon as they returned to the patrol boat and sailed away for a short distance, a dense fog suddenly rolled over the river surface. Lin Xiao and the others watched in astonishment as a massive ocean liner suddenly appeared on the river, crashing into the patrol boat. A violent collision echoed through the air; the patrol boat was smashed open, sinking beneath the water and disappearing from sight.

"A ghost ship, another ghost ship. Is this a horror liner?" Lin Xiao muttered to himself. This ocean liner, which looked ancient, was yet another ghost ship, and a far more terrifying one at that.

In his senses, countless shrill screams emanated from the ship—eerie and terrifying, enough to turn anyone pale. It was a heart-wrenching sound, as if the final pleas, cries, curses, prayers, and chaotic clamor of countless dying people had converged into a death song, echoing endlessly over the river.

"This is... could it be the legendary ghost ship—the Empress of Ireland?" Misty was well-informed; recognizing the ghost ship on the river, her face turned ghastly, and she longed to immediately use Apparition to leave this hellish place.

Duke Cullen didn't look any better. The old vampire’s body was actually trembling slightly. He stared blankly at the looming ocean liner, as if his soul had been sucked away, before collapsing to the ground.

***

Everyone boarded the ghost ship to reach Silent Hill, where they rescued Nancy. Lin Xiao and Zoe became a couple, Michael and Eleven became a couple, and they all lived happily ever after. The End.

The results were too poor; I had a mental breakdown. Crying as I rushed the ending, losing everything.
Unable to make ends meet, I won't even be returning home for the New Year. Preparing a new book, to fight again in the reincarnation cycle.