The pirates almost completely obeyed Edwina's words. As soon as Iceberg Admiral finished speaking, they jumped into the gap blown open by the 'Solar Flare', using it to quickly reach the bottom of the ship's hold.
Only after Lex also descended did Edwina leap into the gap. In this dangerous moment, Iceberg Admiral resolutely took on the heavy responsibility of covering their retreat.
One had to know that the Nether Queen's Descendant might still exist, and could appear at any moment. The person walking at the rear would have to bear immense risk.
They ran through the bottom of the ship's hold, passing one wooden door after another, following the path they had come from, heading towards the opening in the depths of the hold that led outside.
Just as the opening was not far away, Lex's vision suddenly darkened. The surroundings abruptly became silent, dark, and cold.
He felt as if he had suddenly arrived in a deep underground mausoleum, as if coffins, some upright, some lying flat, were hidden in the surrounding darkness, as if the rotting dead within those coffins were struggling to rise.
An unspeakable terror, like a cold python, coiled around his warm heart.
He could not hear the voices of others, nor see any light. A dense black aura permeated like a haze, slowly flowing, eventually enveloping him, coiling around him, and threatening to make him completely lost.
Just then.
Lex's arm suddenly felt a sharp pain, as if he had been bitten. He abruptly snapped back to consciousness, finding himself still in the ship's hold, still running.
He saw Edwina; Iceberg Admiral's expression was grave. At this moment, Lex heard a non-human sound behind him, in the rear of the ship's hold.
Hoo, hoo, hoo!
Lex subconsciously wanted to turn his head for a look.
In his ear was Edwina's stern shout: "Don't look back!"
Iceberg Admiral roared: "No matter what you hear, no matter what you feel, just pretend you heard nothing, felt nothing."
"Run, keep running forward, don't look back!"
Those in front all agreed.
Lex also restrained the urge to look back, but he could feel a cold, deep, deathly silent, and dangerous aura surging wildly.
All they could do at this moment was run!
Run! Run! Run!
Finally, the opening was in sight.
"Charge out!" Jodeson yelled, and was the first to rush out of the opening. He was still carrying that huge and heavy black iron key, but at this moment, he ran faster than a rabbit.
The others successively rushed out of the opening.
Lex and Iceberg Admiral followed closely behind them. The moment he leaped out of the opening, Lex heard heavy panting and felt a rush of air spray past him quickly.
He subconsciously sprayed crimson from beneath his feet, reached out and grabbed Edwina. The two of them instantly shot out of the Nether Lord, leaving a trail of crimson, and landed on the ground.
"Keep running, don't stop!" Edwina shouted loudly, and ran towards the edge of the volcano, towards the suspended stairs they had just ascended.
Lex caught up, calling out: "Captain, may I carry you?"
One by one, the pirates behind looked up, their eyes both surprised and indignant.
Iceberg Admiral clearly knew what Lex was about to do, and nodded sharply: "You may."
They had already reached the edge of the mountain. Edwina suddenly leaped, her agile movements like a deer in the mountain forest, landing towards Lex.
Lex reached out and embraced her, slightly lowering his center of gravity. A flash of fire lit up beneath his feet, and large waves of flame exploded, propelling Lex to leap off the mountain, descending towards the base.
The wind howled, the rising air currents had already blown away Lex's hat and swept Edwina's long hair upwards. After descending for a distance, Lex pointed his feet downwards, spraying flames, using the counter-thrust to slow his speed, finally landing steadily on the rugged black ground at the foot of the mountain.
At this point, Jodeson and the others only just reached the platform.
At this moment, Jodeson looked at Danitz, who immediately cried out: "Don't look at me, I can't, and I don't want to carry you, not at all!"
Jodeson chuckled, jumped onto the suspended stairs, and descended step by step.
By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, it was more than an hour later. They did not stop, passed through the stone forest, and returned to the stone beach.
On the stone beach, the pirates who had returned earlier saw Lex and the others come back and rushed to meet them.
Edwina said in a deep voice: "We return to the ship immediately and leave this place."
Seeing the Captain's solemn expression, the pirates dared not hesitate. They quickly moved the small boats on the stone beach into the Sea. After a busy period, the small boats sailed out of the reef forest and returned to the Golden Dream.
Having boarded the deck, Lex finally sat down, at last able to catch his breath.
He glanced towards the Sea Island, seeing a grayish-white surge within the dark hull of the Nether Lord, between the windows and gaps.
He didn't know what the situation was like inside the ship now, but one thing was certain: if they were still on the Nether Lord, death would probably be the best outcome.
The Golden Dream set sail, heading in the opposite direction of the black Sea Island. After sailing for a distance, everyone's vision blurred, the Sea scenery changed, and they were back on the calm, placid Sea they had been on before.
The Golden Dream stopped near a small island. The warm afternoon sun shone on them, giving Lex the illusion that he had been dreaming.
However, the nautical diary in his backpack and the golden Feathered Serpent scepter were both telling him that it was not a dream.
They had indeed found the Nether Lord, indeed encountered a spirit body suspected to be the Nether Queen's Descendant, indeed dealt with her mythological creature form, and indeed miraculously survived.
"I'll never go into such a terrifying ship again, even if it kills me," Lex muttered, throwing his backpack onto the deck and pulling out the nautical diary.
He planned to read it himself first, then hand it over to Iceberg Admiral for study.
Lex opened the diary, looking at the Ancient Feysac inside, grateful that he had studied it, otherwise he would only be able to stare blankly and have to hand it over.
He quickly flipped through it, finding that some pages of the diary had been torn out, and not much was left, so it was impossible to understand the Nether Lord's entire journey.
Lex casually turned to the first page, and saw written in Ancient Feysac:
'I still refuse to believe that the great Nether Lord would fall like this. She must have left behind a plan for resurrection, and I will definitely find items that can help her return.'
'I left Kardashian behind. She is my most outstanding student, and I believe she can complete those studies, using another method to help her return.'
'On the eleventh day after leaving the continent, we encountered a storm. It seemed as if some force was trying to stop me, and foreshadowing the outcome of this journey.'
'A bolt of lightning from the sky destroyed the figurehead designed by Kardashian. Could this be some kind of omen?'