Armed with what little additional information Port Dusk could provide, Tirto knew at least had a better idea of how wide-ranging this group was. There was some possibility there were several different groups, but the lightning damage was a consistent marker. The fact that he hadn’t noticed traces of water element cultivators earlier was an unfortunate failure, but he had no reason to disbelieve Tenzing on that front.

Water and air were the best elements to run ships swiftly and efficiently, and water could augment the effects of lightning running through it. That would explain how it was focused into the hulls of the ship so easily, instead of inefficiently scattering. Sufficient control of a single element could produce similar results, but that would limit the number of users of such a technique.

Now that they knew something about their enemies, they needed to consider how to counter them. “How would you stop lightning coming through the water?” Tirto prompted Verusha.

“Same way I’d stop anything else targeted at the ship. Make people unable to do it.” She shrugged. “Besides, it wouldn’t likely cause the ship to sink without a sustained attack, right? So we just have to worry about winning in general.”

“Lightning is already a pain to deal with. If we’re facing experts in conducting lightning through water, things will be much more difficult.”

“So don’t use water,” Verusha pointed out.

Tirto looked at her, then over the edge of the ship, then back to her. “Of course. I’ll just learn how to channel earth before we run into them. Should be simple enough.”

“I bet you could,” Verusha said. “But I mean, if they’re specialized in attacking through water water… just don’t let there be any of that. I bet they’d be thrown off by dealing with steam and ice.”

Tirto nodded. “I suppose we can manage that well enough, but that won’t work well for the rest of the crew. Then again, simply being prepared for a tactic should be extremely useful. I wonder if we can come up with anything else?”

“I can roast them alive,” Verusha said. “Mom taught me how to slip through typical water defenses, after all.”

“That’s not really a tactic,” Tirto pointed out. “Just your standard form of operation.”

“Hey, if it works,” she shrugged.

-----

Knowing they were likely dealing with water cultivators, Tirto had their small fleet focus slightly further away from shore. They still could only cover so much territory at once without becoming separated, but they readjusted where they were looking slightly.

Now that everyone was aware of Carl’s presence, the leviathan could also be part of their plans. By himself, he was likely only slightly stronger than a Consolidated Soul Phase cultivator like Tirto, but he was extremely fast when he needed to be. He could roam a little bit further, and he wouldn’t attract that much direct attention. After all, he fit into the ocean perfectly.

Since he had come along, they might as well make use of him. His instructions were only to find ships and return- any sorts of ships including the rare local traders, potential pirates, and anything sunken. Any of those would hopefully lead them closer to their goal. Tirto didn’t want to return to their allies empty handed. Though even if they failed to accomplish that, he hoped to establish slightly more solid connections with the Gloom Desolation.

Their current goals were continuing along the coast to reach Port Midnight and Port Dawn. Hopefully without getting into conflicts with more local.s

-----

A huge spray of water came from the area around Carl as his fins cut through the surface. He was moving rapidly towards the ship, but he turned before reaching them, merely rocking them with his wake.

“Looks like he’s found something,” Tirto said. “Did you find a ship?” he called forward. A few fins waved excitedly. “What element cultivators?” At that question, the leviathan gestured towards the shore. “Darkness? Should be locals, then. Unless…”

Carl gave no indication that they were hiding anything, but he couldn’t exactly get close without revealing himself. There was a big difference between something far away in the sea and getting close enough for people to actually see him. Which was quite a long distance, with his massive stature. The darkness of the depths could provide some cover for him, but that was less effective both nearer to shore and where actual darkness cultivators were involved.

About an hour later they passed the other ship. It was clear that they were cautious about strangers. They might not have heard about Tirto’s presence yet, as they likely left port before messages from Tenzing could arrive. Even so, they didn’t make the first move. It would have been foolish against three ships, and Tirto gave them plenty of space. Though he did dive into the water and sneak closer himself just to verify that they weren’t hiding anything.

Aside from a general veil of darkness over their ship, which seemed to be the most proper sort of defensive formations to have in the Gloom Desolation, Tirto sensed nothing. Certainly no hiding water or air cultivators. Beyond that, he had literally no interest in the actual contents of their cargo.

-----

They came across one wreck they already had been informed about, and a new one that hadn’t been on the list. Paying very careful attention, Tirto was indeed able to discern the feeling of manipulated water element in the area, faint as it was against the background of the ocean. He was glad to confirm what Tenzing said with his own senses, as that gave weight to the rest of his words.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Port Midnight was their next stop, and they approached cautiously until they could confirm it was safe. They had only used a few days of supplies, but they stopped there regardless to make it clear that they were peaceful.

The port did know of the ship they had passed, but had little other information for them.

-----

Once again back at sea, Tirto wondered if they would ever find anything. Perhaps these pirates had already been tipped off to their presence and would know how to avoid them. Then again, if their trail of destruction went across the whole width of the Gloom Desolation, might it stretch even further?

Several days out, the leviathan once again came to report in. This time, he circled around Tirto’s ship without stopping, displaying excitement. Tirto could guess what it was, but he needed him to calm down slightly. “Hold on there. What did you find?” Carl merely splashed around for a while. “Does that mean you finally found water element people…?”

It took a while, but Tirto was able to confirm that, as well as an enthusiastic confirmation of there being air element cultivators.

“Do you recognize any of their energy styles?” Tirto asked. Water and air could easily come from the Shimmering Islands, and while Tirto wasn’t afraid of attacking cultivators from his region, he wanted to know what he was getting into.

Carl was not unintelligent, but he wasn’t good at communicating. Ultimately, it took some time to confirm that they didn’t feel like the Shimmering Islands, which was a start.

“We just need to hunt them down. I want you to lead us to them, but wait for us to start fighting first.” Carl looked somewhat upset at that, but Tirto explained, “You’ll come in from behind and sink their ships- or catch anyone who is fleeing.”

Nitza managed to squeeze a bit more information out of the guy. “How many were there?” she asked. “And how strong?” When she asked about many, she spread her hands wide. Carl spread his own fins wide, then put them closer together. “More than us, or about the same?” He held his ‘front’ fins steady. “The same then. How strong?” she asked, raising her arm up. Carl held a fin straight up. “Very strong? What about compared to my father, or you?”

Carl took a moment. He carefully stretched a fin over the ship, patting it on Tirto’s head then raising it up slightly.

“Stronger than me… but not frighteningly so?” Tirto asked.

Carl splashed around in what was probably confirmation.

-----

The leviathan led them onward. Even without him, they likely would have run into the ships. Tirto thought they might pull away, seeing a trio of vessels that didn’t appear afraid, but they actually locked in their approach. He was slightly worried about their strength, but as they were still approaching Tirto tried to measure their cultivation.

They were no longer hiding it, and Tirto felt what Carl had been warning them of. Along with a number of Consolidated Soul Phase cultivators, there was an Ascending Soul Phase cultivator. Early Phase, but just barely.

Then Tirto recognized not the specific individual, but the general style. “Sky Islands,” Tirto grumbled. “Just the one, though.” He’d seen all of the Island Masters, hadn’t he? So why didn’t he recognize the figure? Perhaps they had been banished or…

“I’ve got it,” Verusha said. “That has to be Morana, right?”

“Can’t see her arms from here,” Tirto admitted. “But she was the only one who didn’t show for the tournament.”

“Do you think this is some sort of protest by the Sky Islands? Or is she working alone?”

“The easiest way to find out is to keep her alive.”

“Yeah, sure,” Verusha rolled her eyes. “That’s so easy to do with a cultivator stronger than us.”

“First of all, we don’t need her very alive,” Tirto said. “She can afford to lose a few more limbs. And I’m going to declare that she’s not stronger than us. Stronger than me? Certainly. Stronger than you? Quite probably. Stronger than us?” Tirto raised an eyebrow. “Not a chance. There’s no way Ursel can beat Abritt alone and we can’t take out this lady together.”

Verusha crossed her arms in front of her. “I’d say something about the circumstances being different but instead I’ll just agree. Nitza!”

“You can’t keep me from the fight, mom!”

“Don’t be stupid. You stay with Carl, okay?”

Nitza nodded, jumping over the rear of the ship towards their now-trailing companion, before anyone could change their mind.

“So,” Verusha said. “What are our tactics against her? She has an elemental advantage.”

Tirto nodded. “True. But it’s not like I don’t know how to deal with a bit of wind or lightning. The Sky Islands might be above most stormclouds, but the Shimmering Islands isn’t lacking in that area. And there’s one weakness I know she has for sure.”

“What’s that?” Verusha asked.

“She’s going to try to kill me.”

“Doesn’t sound like a weakness. Sounds like a good way to die,” Verusha huffed.

“True, but I meant she’ll likely focus on me in particular. Because she’ll want revenge for her arm.”

“Yeah, but can you guarantee that?” Verusha said. “What if she targets someone else?”

“We don’t have to worry about that,” Tirto said. “I’ll just channel you for a moment.” Tirto got a stern look on his face, then boosted his voice with his spiritual energy. “Hey old hag, I thought you were done after my father cut off your arm! But it looks like you’re trying to lose another one!”

Verusha burst out laughing. “She’s not even old, is she? … Yeah, that’s totally going to work.” Lightning clouds suddenly began to grow over the approaching flagship. “Wow, talk about a lack of control over her emotions.”

Tirto just looked at Verusha.

“Shush you,” Verusha turned her head away. Her hair turned into streaks of blue, light and dark mixed together. “We should probably start attacking or whatever.”

With both sides approaching each other at full speed, the distance between them was rapidly shrinking. Tirto took Verusha’s hand. It wasn’t a strictly necessary thing to do, but the two of them fought together and it was most effective if they weren’t separated even for a moment. Tirto stepped forward onto the prow of the ship, waiting for the first bolt of lightning from the cloud above. Though he knew that the actual threat to the ship would come from below.