Chapter 42: Disguised

Words : 1039 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

Chapter 42: Disguised Looking at the deceased crewmate who had uttered their final name, Leonard’s expression was stoic. "You’ve done well, Greg. May you rest in peace." He calmly uttered and stood up. He couldn’t even close the person’s eyes because of the severe disfigurement that left nothing on his face. It was hard to imagine that the latter were even able to speak some more before dying. "This person was burning his entire life force to the maximum to struggle for a few minutes." Mirelle approached the area and commented. She could tell Greg was barely holding on and pretending to be dead to deceive the enemy. Had it not been for the two crewmates following along with them who called out Leonard’s title, Greg might have just died without speaking up. "Check the damages in the engine room and sound the alarm to be wary of any crewmate that seemed to have gone missing for a long time and reappeared," Leonard commanded. With how things had turned out, he could no longer conceal the presence of a hidden enemy. "Yes, Crown Prince." One of the two crewmates obeyed the command and left to alert the captain. The remaining crewmate stood by his side, clearly unwilling to leave him unattended. Since that was the case, Mirelle could no longer bother to act as a courtesan and took the lead to enter the engine room. When the remaining crewmate noticed her action, he wanted to halt her, but Leonard simply waved his hand to signal it was fine. His eyes, however, were focused on the pool of blood that surrounded him. His clothes were also somewhat stained in the blood from kneeling down earlier to speak with the decreased Greg. "Should we return to the private chamber and get you a new change of clothes, Crown Prince?" "What’s the point?" Leonard sneered and glanced down at his shoes. The corpses here were more or less an indirect result of his choices. But there was nothing else he could have done. Although he could have warned in advance and alerted everyone, the enemy might have just changed their plan and possibly done something even crazier. Of course, Leonard didn’t try to use that as an excuse to brush off his guilt. ’Fret not, your death won’t be in vain.’ He closed his eyes for a few seconds to pay his respects before swinging his sleeve. "Let’s head to the upper deck." "But Crown Prince—" "Enough! I know what you’re trying to say. The upper deck is dangerous and the private chamber is the safest. But what kind of crown prince would I be if I only stayed behind while dangers were coming at me?" Leonard lashed out and coldly exclaimed. The crewmate was astonished by the outburst and quickly knelt in fear and respect. They ignored the blood staining their clothes. While the crewmate was kneeling, Leonard asked, "By the way, what’s your name? I noticed you didn’t have a name tag." "The Crown Prince can just refer to me as number 13. We are not regular crewmates but trained naval soldiers assigned to protect you." The crewmate, identified as number 13 said respectfully. "Number 13 huh..." Hearing that, Leonard no longer pressed the topic further. Instead, he calmly absorbed this blunder in his heart. The enemies that he faced weren’t some Tom, Dick, and Harry. They were ruthless and cold-blooded by nature. Killing was no different than slaughtering some chicken in their eyes. "Tell the captain to lock down all lifeboats and liferafts. Anyone who dared to approach them without my permission shall be executed!" Leonard commanded. Since the enemy planned on sinking the ship, their only escape path was to use one of the lifeboats or liferafts to escape. Otherwise, they would sink to the bottomless sea as well. If that was the case, then Leonard would make sure the latter wouldn’t be able to obtain one. "But Crown Prince, I cannot leave your side." Number 13 wanted to disobey the command. "Don’t you have any magical communication item to directly communicate with the captain?" Annoyed, Leonard was truly exasperated with their incompetence. "We do, but I’m certain that the captain’s communication is currently filled with reports and orders to defend the ship." Speechless, Leonard became unsure whether these people were competent or incompetent. The magical technology appeared superior, but when it came to serious events, it somehow looked no different than children’s toys. What kind of system collapses under its own reports? ’Don’t they have separate channels? One that is specifically for me.’ Sometimes, Leonard questioned whether his identity as Crown Prince was truly prestigious or just a show to the public. "Do give Captain Perry a notice first about the situation. And conceal the fact that there’s a disguised enemy." Leonard suddenly said. Initially, he planned to reveal it after witnessing the massacre, but now that his emotions had calmed down. He realized why Greg revealed his identity at his final breath. It wasn’t to tell him to expose the assassin’s identity but rather to use the information as a countermeasure. Given the enemy had gone out of their way to disfigure all their victims and ruined their bodies, it was obvious that they wanted to take on their identity to stay in disguise. To simplify, Greg’s final move was a trump card that Leonard could use to reverse the tide. ’The assassin must have thought they killed all eyewitnesses, but Greg survived for a bit longer. If you dare to disguise as Greg or anyone related to him, then it’s checkmate.’ Leonard thought to himself. Based on the wounds that Greg sustained, it was clear to him that the former was backstabbed by someone he supposedly knew and could trust. As for why he knew it well, it was because Leonard had seen and dealt with such types in his old world. Sometime later, Number 13 finished relaying the words from Leonard to the Captain, and Mirelle also promptly returned outside. Her expression was grave. "The engine room’s main core has all been destroyed. It wouldn’t be long till the ship would sink under the continuous bombardment of the sea monsters."

Chapter 42: Disguised

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