Chapter 280: The Pure Malice of the "Hive"

A blazing hand appeared in front of Charlot Mecklenburg, catching the thrusting rapier projected by the Mirror Spirit.

Simultaneously, a flaming hand appeared before the Mirror Spirit as well, but despair was evident in its gaze.

Charlot’s Blood Rose was a transcendent weapon, while the rapier thrown by the Mirror Spirit was merely a common mirror projection.

Charlot’s Flame Dragon’s Hand was a secret art of the Adonis Clan, while the Mirror Spirit’s flaming hand was merely an imitation, lacking the profound mysteries of the Adonis Clan's secret arts.

Thus, Charlot’s blazing hand easily crushed the rapier projected by the Mirror Spirit, while the Blood Rose pierced through the Mirror Spirit, reducing it to ashes.

Having seized control of this mirrored world, Charlot promptly departed.

He wandered around the third city layer of Saint Michael Island, took control of five other mirror worlds through shop windows, and then found a secluded spot to cast the Mirror Gate.

Charlot, however, did not return to the five mirror worlds he had just seized, nor did he choose the Queen Bee, but instead appeared on Elysée Avenue.

Without returning home, Charlot, taking advantage of the early hour, purchased several mirrors, hired a carriage, and headed straight for Machubi.

He intended to retrieve the Crystal Bottle and Bag of Insects from Machubi, as these two items were undoubtedly connected to the Queen Bee.

Charlot planned to test them aboard the Queen Bee.

Without the Dark Luxury, his journey was slightly inconvenient, causing some delays before he finally obtained the two extraordinary artifacts. Using the Mirror Gate, he appeared back aboard the Queen Bee.

This ancient magical warship was heading in the direction of Britain.

Charlot had no idea what the Queen Bee intended to do in Britain, but it didn’t stop him from conducting a small experiment.

He released a black insect, which could also be called a queen bee.

The black insect, unguided by the holder of the Bag of Insects, circled Charlot once, then flew downward, heading directly for the ship's hold.

Intrigued, Charlot transformed into a wisp of Bloodflame Aura and followed closely.

Suddenly, an overwhelming surge of malice, as vast and turbulent as stormy waves, struck him head-on.

For a moment, Charlot felt he could not breathe.

He even thought he was once again facing an Evil God.

The hold of the Queen Bee had no bottom, only an impenetrable darkness.

Within the darkness, countless black queen bees fluttered, their dark red eyes brimming with all the malice of humankind.

Occasionally, the dark mass churned, producing a surging force that transmitted to the bizarre magical arrays surrounding the hold. Charlot sensed that this darkness was the Queen Bee's source of propulsion, and it was not of this world.

In an instant, Charlot realized why the ship was named the Queen Bee—its energy source was a hive of pure malice and ultimate darkness.

He had no idea what this thing was.

But he knew it was extraordinarily sinister.

The black queen bee Charlot had released was now lost within the darkness, impossible to locate.

He pulled out the Bag of Insects, and the extraordinary artifact emitted a strange attraction. Countless queen bees swarmed toward it, voluntarily crawling inside.

Charlot stroked his chin, thinking, “It only collects some queen bees? This thing isn’t particularly useful.”

Just as he was about to test the Crystal Bottle, he felt an immense pressure. A colossal figure, seven or eight pimi tall, emerged from the darkness beneath the ship. It had a stunningly beautiful head and an upper body resembling a voluptuous woman, but its lower half was that of an enormous queen bee. Its massive wings buzzed, emitting a sound like gnashing teeth.

Charlot activated his Bloodflame Aura and fled the hold. Behind him came a deafening crash as the monstrous creature slammed against the sealed deck of the hold, shaking the entire Queen Bee.

Heart pounding, Charlot thought, “What is this monstrosity?”

From below, the sounds of relentless pounding echoed continuously. The creature was attacking the hold like a mad beast, seeming ready to break through at any moment. Charlot dared not linger.

Moments after he left, over a dozen pirates entered the hold. None dared descend into the bottomless darkness. One pirate leader shouted, “Throw them in!”

Soon, a group of slaves was brought in. The pirates hurled dozens of them into the hold, followed by harrowing screams and horrifying crunching sounds. The atmosphere was chilling.

Though Charlot did not witness this, he saw the pirates herding slaves into the hold. When the area fell silent, and the pirates emerged without the slaves, Charlot understood what had occurred.

These pirates had used the lives of the slaves to appease the creature.

Charlot couldn’t help but gasp. He had not expected the Queen Bee to be such a sinister ancient magical warship.

Although he confirmed that the Crystal Bottle and the Bag of Insects were indeed connected to the Queen Bee, they seemed largely ineffective. Apart from the Bag of Insects’ ability to collect some queen bees and provoke the hive queen, Charlot found little value.

For the next few days, Charlot tirelessly “conquered” mirrored worlds. By the time the Queen Bee reached the island of Britain, he had already seized control of half the ship's porthole mirrors. These mirrors’ worlds were interconnected, allowing Charlot to map most of the Queen Bee’s journey.

He uncovered a significant secret: the mirror worlds of the Queen Bee’s portholes revealed scenes from its construction.

The Queen Bee was not built in the Seven Seas, but on the Old Continent.

The Queen Bee did not dock in Britain but stopped at a military port about five or six hundred kilometers away. At this port, Charlot spotted the Imperial Navy of the Ingrima Empire.

Though he knew the Golden Rams Fleet collaborated with the steward of Cappadocia, he had not anticipated a tacit understanding between the Golden Rams pirates and the Ingrima Navy.

On reflection, this seemed reasonable. Every empire needed a black-gloved enforcer for unsavory tasks. If Ingrima had this arrangement, so likely did the Fars Empire. Charlot simply lacked the status to encounter such dealings.

This explained why the White Sea Dragon and Titanic Whale had appeared in Cappadocia City, causing the Golden Rams Fleet to abandon their attack. Similarly, the Ingrima Navy showed no intention of assaulting Saint Michael Island.

From the pirates’ conversations, Charlot learned that the Queen Bee would stay at this port for a week. Suddenly, he felt compelled to visit Britain to meet an “old friend.”

With Golden Ram Herolf absent from the Queen Bee, this was a golden opportunity.

Tacit understandings, after all, had their limits—not everyone shared the same understanding. Some within the Ingrima Empire worked with pirates, but certainly, others... did not know of it.

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