One Piece Shadow Army - Chapter 18
After resting for a moment, Kahn pushed open the cabin door, which emitted a long, creaky sound as it swung open.
“Creaaak!”
The interior was pitch dark, making it impossible to see anything clearly.
Hiss!
The sound of a flame igniting broke the silence.
“Stay close to me.”
Kahn lit a kerosene lamp he had brought along and stepped into the dim cabin first.
Curls followed closely behind, spreading his sense for any undead energies to avoid another ambush by Death Knights.
Inside the cabin, they found a long corridor lined with standard rooms. The rooms were filled with decayed furniture, and covered in cobwebs, showing that they had been abandoned for a long time.
There wasn’t much of value unless they searched meticulously, but Kahn and Curls weren’t here for treasure; they were here to solve the mystery of the ghost ship.
They continued their exploration, accompanied by the eerie sound of the wind whistling through the broken windows, adding to the ominous atmosphere.
After passing through the corridor, they reached the dining area and encountered more enemies—four Death Knights clad in black, tattered armor, standing guard at the dining hall entrance.
“I’ll handle this,” Kahn said, handing the kerosene lamp to Curls before swiftly advancing toward the four Death Knights.
Curls watched intently. Although Kahn had shown his swordsmanship before, Curls wasn’t sure of his true capabilities.
The four Death Knights wielded their swords, launching precise and deadly attacks simultaneously.
Kahn’s approach was swift. The sound of his sword being drawn echoed sharply in the silence of the cabin.
Curls then saw Kahn’s figure accelerate like lightning, streaking past the four Death Knights.
In the darkness, a blazing sword light suddenly appeared!
With a powerful flame slash, Kahn shattered the armor of the four Death Knights.
After ending the fight with ease, Kahn sheathed his sword, Yujin, back into its black scabbard.
“You can come and summon now.”
Curls was astonished. It was a complete defeat! Each Death Knight was formidable. Even with his shadow soldiers and Devil Fruit powers, Curls could only manage to hold them off.
Yet Kahn had defeated them with a single strike. This was beyond the typical lieutenant’s level.
Curls approached the remains of the knights and dismissed four of his weaker shadow soldiers to summon the stronger [Shadow Knights] in their place.
With the summoning complete, Kahn and Curls continued their exploration.
As they walked, Curls asked, “Lieutenant, how did you perform that flame slash? Can you teach me?”
He was fascinated by the impressive technique and eager to learn it.
Kahn patiently explained, “The flame slash I used was primarily due to this sword, Yujin, which was forged from rare, special materials. But it’s not impossible for a swordsman to produce flames with their technique alone. However, your swordsmanship is still at the basic level. To learn the flame slash, you need to reach the Iron Cutting level first.”
Curls felt a bit disappointed. In this world, aside from certain abilities, flames couldn’t be conjured out of thin air.
The Iron Cutting level was a significant milestone for a swordsman. Those who reached it could cut through steel effortlessly.
Curls knew he was still far from that level, so learning the flame slash would have to wait.
He then asked, “Lieutenant, does this mean you’ve already reached the Iron Cutting level?”
Kahn didn’t hide the truth, “Yes, I achieved it a few years ago.”
…
Not long after, Kahn and Curls reached the end of this deck. Along the way, they passed through the ship’s meeting and recreational areas, encountering six more Death Knights, all of whom Kahn easily dispatched. Curls was able to summon six new [Shadow Knights].
This deck hadn’t revealed anything useful about the ship’s secrets. They now faced two choices: to explore upward or downward.
“Typically, the lower decks are for storing food and miscellaneous items. Let’s head upward,” Kahn suggested, drawing from his experience as a navy lieutenant.
However, Curls offered a different opinion, “Lieutenant, I sense a powerful undead energy above us. We should explore the lower decks first.”
He wasn’t lying. Since entering the ship, he had felt a strong presence of undead energy above them. The Death Knights were nothing compared to this powerful presence.
After considering Curls’ words, Kahn nodded.
“Alright, let’s check the lower decks first and see if we can find any clues about the ghost ship.”
Kahn led the way, descending the stairs to the lower deck with Curls following closely behind.
In the lower deck, they were greeted by a long, silent corridor that seemed to hide many secrets.
Kahn held the kerosene lamp, lighting their path as they advanced cautiously.
“Lieutenant, there are murals on the walls!”
With his keen eyesight, Curls noticed something unusual about the corridor walls.
Kahn brought the lamp closer to the wall, illuminating the murals carved into the wood. Despite their age, the carvings were still clear.
Hiss, hiss, hiss!
Kahn lit a few oil lamps along the walls, brightening the once-dark corridor.
As the light filled the passage, they could see the murals more clearly.
Curls wasn’t adept at interpreting these murals; he could only decipher some of the images. For example, the first mural depicted a starry sky and a moon, the fourth showed a man in armor holding a sword, and the ninth depicted an altar.
Fortunately, Kahn had some knowledge in this area. After closely examining the murals, he understood their general meaning.
Curls asked curiously, “Lieutenant, what do these murals depict?”
Kahn took a moment to process the information before explaining, “They tell the history of this ship or perhaps the history of a nation.”
Curls was puzzled. Why would a nation’s history be carved into a ghost ship?
Kahn combined what he learned from the murals with his own knowledge and explained, “Over a hundred years ago, there was an island in the Grand Line called Moon Island, known for its rare silver mines. The country on the island, the Silver Moon Kingdom, became wealthy because of this. However, this also attracted pirates and bandits. Due to its weak defenses, this small nation of tens of thousands was wiped out by pirates and disappeared from history. There’s also a well-known story about a legendary sword.”
“A legendary sword?” Curls echoed in surprise.
Kahn gazed at the ninth mural, his expression somber.
“More accurately, a cursed sword.”
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