The Rich Cultivator-Chapter 452. Pirates’ Attack

One Month Later...

The White Pearl glided through the sea, its sleek hull splitting the waves with grace and force. Powerful cannons along its sides occasionally fired bursts of high-pressured water and laser beams, lighting up the horizon with each discharge.

But despite the ship’s speed and defenses, it had become a magnet for pirate attacks.

Not the first time. But this was different.

They were being attacked repeatedly.

Again and again.

It was clear something had changed.

"Probably because we’re getting close to the Overlords’ territories," Tyler muttered as he studied a floating map projection. "The so called righteous faction, The Federation’s influence is weaker out here. And the Bank of Atlantis— being a neutral faction —won’t interfere unless someone targets them directly."

"They’re retreating!" Tuman shouted from the deck. "There’s a huge hole in their hull!"

The rest of the crew erupted in cheers. Another pirate group repelled.

Back in the CIC room, Lily sat with one leg draped over the other, flipping through a book as if nothing had happened. There is also a chessboard and chess pieces on the table. The distant sounds of battle didn’t bother her in the slightest.

"Lots of pirates in these waters..." she remarked calmly, eyes still scanning the page.

Darla slumped into the seat next to her, visibly tired. "Should we activate Mode: Shadow? And just join them?"

"No," Lily replied, finally closing the book and setting it aside. "We’re being watched. It’s too early to switch. The plan was to go Shadow Mode after getting even closer to the dragon King faction territory. I didn’t expect this many pirates before we even reached that point. Someone clearly leaked our route."

Darla blinked. "Leaked? But who would—? We don’t have any real enemies, do we?"

Lily leaned back with a smirk. "Come on. This is the ocean, darling. Out here, everyone’s a potential enemy."

Their conversation was interrupted by a quiet voice.

"Do you girls seriously not need me to do anything?"

Tyler appeared, his presence barely noticeable. His aura nor Prana was nonexistent —completely concealed by his Divine Sense. Not even the ship’s internal sensors could detect him.

He was practicing concealment every moment, trying to perfect it.

Lily gave him a side glance. "Nope. Stay low, until that Immortal F dies. We’ve got this."

Tyler sighed, glancing toward the horizon. He wanted to fight. His control over his domain powers had improved, and his strength felt like a beast caged inside him.

"You’ll probably get your chance," Lily said knowingly. "Whoever leaked our position might be planning to fish in troubled waters. The real threat hasn’t shown itself yet."

She got up and joined him at the window.

An hour later, the White Pearl quietly sailed away from the last battle site. They had made it look like a retreat— just to throw off any pursuers.

Now was the time to transform.

Inside the ship, the crew activated the scanners, sweeping the surrounding waters and skies.

"We’ve checked all channels, Vice Captain," Tuman reported. "There’s no one nearby. We also moved the newbies and non-combatants into the Ship’s Pocket Dimension. We’re ready to activate Shadow Mode."

Lily, however, didn’t give the go-ahead.

She stood still, brows furrowed. "Wait a bit longer... Something feels off."

Tyler’s interest piqued. "Let me check," he offered, already bored from inactivity.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Go on, then."

Tyler’s face lit up like a child offered his favorite treat. Tuman, watching the exchange, tilted his head in confusion.

Who’s the captain and who’s the vice-captain again? Did they switch roles or something...?

Tyler closed his eyes and expanded his Divine Sense. Unlike scanners, which had range limitations and blind spots, his perception spread like an invisible fog across the ocean, feeling every ripple and movement.

A few minutes later, he opened his eyes with a slight frown. "I sensed a few ships. They’re far, but definitely there."

"Few ships?" Lily repeated, now fully attentive.

Tyler nodded. "They’re just beyond the ship’s scanning range, maintaining distance."

Lily fell silent, thinking.

Then, she pulled out a set of chess pieces from the board placed them on the tactical table. A white queen stood in the center and gave the pawns to Tyler.

"This is us," she said, pointing at the queen.

Tyler, understood. He arranged the pawns in different position according to the Ships position that are outside.

"Oh... I see it now," he said.

The queen — White Pearl — was surrounded. The black pawns formed a wide circle around them.

"They’re positioning for an ambush," he murmured. "Making sure we don’t escape when they close in."

"And more importantly," Lily added, "they’re probably the ones who spread those rumors. The so-called pirate attacks were just a distraction. This is a trap to slow us down."

The pieces on the board stood still, but the air inside the CIC grew heavy with tension.

Tyler’s eyes narrowed. "Looks like they are somehow watching our moments too."

"They’re smart enough to stay outside scanner range," Lily said. "Which means this isn’t some random group of pirates."

"No one in the northern waters is a random pirate," Tyler muttered, his voice calm but grim.

Darla, gripping the file she was holding nervously glanced over with a worried expression. "Should we escape... using that?"

"Escape?" Tyler sighed, shaking his head. "It’s too late for that now."

The words had barely left his lips when the entire ship jolted violently. A deep metallic sound echoed across the deck as something massive struck them. Then came another. And another.

The White Pearl shook again and again.

Crew members rushed out, alarmed by the tremors. Their eyes widened in panic as they looked overboard— massive harpoons were slamming into the ship from every direction. The steel like bolts pierced even the defensive barrier surrounding the vessel, embedding deep into the hull.

Chains followed, thick as a grown man’s waist, snaking out from the mist and locking around the ship like the coils of a sea serpent. The harpoons came so swiftly and precisely that even the crew’s magical defenses couldn’t react in time.

Only one harpoon failed to pierce the hull. It had been blocked by a glowing red shrine that stood silently near the rear deck, its presence often ignored but never useless.

Su Fei stood beside it, her face expressionless. She simply stared at the deflected harpoon with disinterest, as if this attack was just another mundane event.

"It’s the pirates!" Tuman yelled. "Everyone, arm yourselves!"

Some crew members were already in motion, grabbing spears, drawing swords, and preparing the cannons. The atmosphere was tense. No one doubted the danger they were in.

Lily stood calmly among the chaos, her sharp eyes analyzing the harpoon chains that now anchored the White Pearl in place.

"The ship’s movement has stopped. They’ve locked us in," she said.

"Well, they’re smarter than I thought," Tyler muttered, his eyes scanning the mist-shrouded horizon.

"Of course they are," Lily said, her voice low. "These harpoons... they’re not ordinary. I’ve seen this kind of tactic before. I think it’s the same pirates who attacked Verga City."

Tyler’s eyes narrowed. "The Hunter Pirates?"

Lily nodded. "The Hunter Pirates aren’t just one crew. They’re a massive force with multiple divisions. The ones who hit Verga City were probably from a different squad. But the weapons and tactics—these definitely belong to the same group."

Suddenly, shadows began to dart across the chains.

From the distance, figures were riding along the harpoon lines, charging toward the White Pearl. They were mounted on massive boar-like beasts, each creature with jet-black fur and tusks glowing red-hot. Fire spewed from their mouths as they galloped through the air along the anchored chains.

"HAHAA! Such a fat chicken!" one pirate howled, pointing at the White Pearl. His voice was loud and ragged. "Come on, boys! Let’s pluck every feather off her shiny back!"

Laughter erupted from the rest of the pirates. The sound echoed over the sea, sharp and savage.

Just then, a sudden gust swept over the ship. Clouds formed rapidly overhead. Within seconds, rain began to fall—thick, cold droplets soaking the deck.

One of the pirates jerked his head up in confusion. "W-what? Rain? There was no storm on the radar!"

"Something’s wrong!" shouted another.

Back on the ship, Lily’s lips curled into a smirk. Her eyes glinted.

"Looks like our captain’s ready to play," Lily said with a smirk.

Darla glanced at where Tyler had been standing—he was already gone.

No one saw him move. One moment he was beside Lily, and the next, he had vanished. No sound, no trace, just gone like a shadow.

"Boss is giving off major Mana vibes," Darla muttered.

"What’s that supposed to mean?" a voice suddenly whispered beside her.

Darla froze for a second, eyes widening. She turned her head slowly.

"See? That’s exactly what I mean," she said, exasperated, while trying not to scream.

Lily just laughed at them. They didn’t even panic a little.