System S.E.X. (Seduction, Expansion, eXecution)

Chapter 752: Chapter 752: The Ghost Fleet

Ethan and Princess Isabella had departed, leaving behind a silence that was gradually swallowed by the low murmur of the White Unicorn Corps soldiers, who continued clearing the battlefield. In the firmament above, the hundreds of warships comprising the Crimson Fleet remained motionless, suspended in midair like monuments of dark metal. No engines roared, no maneuvering lights flickered; they simply hovered in a perfect, unsettling formation.

The Captain of the White Unicorn Corps sheathed his sword and walked over to the group of maidservants Ethan had left behind. Observing Mary, who seemed to be the leader among them, he adopted as respectful a tone as possible.

"Madam, could you please order the fleet to follow our instructions to dock at the piers?" the captain requested, adjusting his silver armor.

Mary, whose mind was still overwhelmed by the day’s events, Ethan’s terrifying display of power, and the awe-inspiring presence of the royal line, blinked in confusion and took a step back.

"Excuse me, sir..." Mary said in a trembling voice. "We... we don’t know who controls the fleet."

The captain narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaw. For a brief second, he thought these women were mocking him. However, remembering that they had arrived under the direct protection of Ethan—a monster capable of subduing Vice General Marlon himself—he decided to swallow his pride and refrained from saying anything out of line.

Turning around, the captain marched with firm steps toward the squadron’s flagship and raised his voice with authority:

"Open the boarding hatch!" the captain shouted toward the metallic structure.

As soon as the echo of his voice died down, a hydraulic hiss echoed from the hull. The ship responded instantly extending a side boarding ramp that lowered until it touched the ground.

The captain drew his saber and ascended the ramp with drawn sword, followed closely by a squad of his most experienced men. Stepping onto the main deck, the captain glanced to both sides, feeling a sudden chill run down his spine. The dim gloom and the silence inside the corridor were suffocating.

"Show me the person in charge!" the captain bellowed, his voice ringing through the metallic halls. "I have orders to escort the ship to the docks!"

No one answered. The only sound was the faint, distant hum of the life-support systems.

One of the lieutenants took a position beside him with a pale face, his hand gripped around the hilt of his weapon.

"Captain... I have a bad feeling about this place," the lieutenant whispered, staring at the shadows along the walls. "It feels like a ghost ship."

"Ethan doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who plays stupid games..." the captain replied through grit teeth, feeling the tension in the air cut off the blood flow to his hands. "What the hell is going on here? Why is it deserted? Who is keeping this thing afloat?"

"Remnants of the Crimson Sect?" another soldier suggested, taking half a step back as cold sweat trickled down his forehead. "Did they... take control when young Ethan descended and are waiting to ambush us?"

The troops tightened their ranks in the middle of the deserted corridor. Their runic weapons ignited with a faint glow, ready to react to any movement in the dark.

The captain shook his head, attempting to dispel his subordinates’ paranoia, and tightened his grip on his sword.

"If it were an ambush, it would only be remnants," the captain said, trying to maintain his composure. "Lord Ethan has already wiped out the main force. What are you afraid of?"

Guided by his words, the soldiers surged down the corridors with their weapons raised and clear intent to kill. They searched room by room, pried open hatches, and checked every corner of the structure. Yet, no matter how thoroughly they searched, they did not find a single soul. The interior of the massive metal ship was deserted.

With the tension in the air growing thicker, the captain finally reached the command deck. He approached the main console and began inspecting the control panels.

As he checked the magical indicators and runic readings, a cold sweat trickled down his neck. It appeared as though someone was operating the ship at that moment, and it was no joke. The hull’s automatic stabilizers were deactivated; nevertheless, the ship manually and compensated for its own weight, preventing itself from plummeting to the ground and exploding.

The captain glanced around. The command deck was completely empty. There was not a single pilot, nor a single operator.

"Who the hell is controlling this place...?" he whispered to himself, feeling a chill run down his spine.

One of the lieutenants rushed into the cockpit with his sword drawn.

"Did you find anything, Captain?" the lieutenant asked, eyeing their surroundings suspiciously.

"Negative, everything is quiet..." the captain replied, unable to take his eyes off the self-adjusting panel. "But someone is operating the ship."

"What do we do?" the officer asked, bewildered.

"Get into position," the captain ordered, pointing toward the pilot seats. "Try to move the ship and take it to the docks."

The White Unicorn Corps pilots rushed to the seats and grabbed the runic control levers. They tried to turn the helm and adjust the acceleration, but the controls remained stiff, vibrating faintly under their hands.

"The ship is stuck, Captain!" one of the pilots yelled, applying all his strength. "The controls aren’t responding, we can’t move it!"

It was as if an invisible, colossal presence was pushing the ship’s energy in the exact opposite direction, overriding their every attempt.

The captain clutched his head, staring in panic at the console that answered to a force they could not see.

"What the hell is this...!?" the captain roared, taking a step back.

"The fleet is being operated remotely by Master Ethan... State the location for descent, and the automatic pilots will engage in 10 seconds."

Upon hearing that voice echo through the ship’s speakers, everyone drew their weapons and pointed frantically in all directions, but no one could see where the voice was coming from.

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