Night was gradually falling.
Thick clouds blanketed the sky, allowing only faint traces of moonlight to slip through before swallowing them again.
“White Wharf? What’s he doing there?”
Inside the villa atop the hill, Miss Fortune frowned in confusion after hearing Rafen’s report.
“According to the men who came back, he seems to have found a lead on Twisted Fate,” Rafen replied.
“Should we take some men over there?”
“Not yet. We’ll hold our position for now. Levi probably has his own plan.”
After thinking it over, Sarah ultimately decided to wait.
Even so, Rafen could clearly see the hint of concern in her eyes.
“White Wharf… It’s not going to be as disgusting as Bloodharbor, is it?”
After what he’d endured in Bloodharbor earlier that day, Levi had become wary of Bilgewater’s ports.
At the very least, he wanted to mentally prepare himself before arriving.
“Relax. It’s just an ordinary wharf. There probably won’t be a single person there this late at night,” Graves replied casually after thinking for a moment.
When they reached their destination, Levi was completely dumbfounded.
Now he finally understood why it was called White Wharf.
Every inch of the ground was covered in white bird droppings.
Even at night, without so much as a lamp burning nearby, the entire place seemed strangely bright.
“You people in Bilgewater sure keep your place names simple. A harbor covered in red blood gets called Bloodharbor, and a wharf covered in white bird crap gets called White Wharf.”
Levi rolled his eyes as he complained.
White Wharf might not have had the stomach-churning stench of Bloodharbor, but it certainly wasn’t anyone’s idea of prime real estate.
Countless buoys of every size floated in the surrounding waters, packed so densely together that anyone with trypophobia would probably want to turn around and run on the spot.
Looking at them, Levi couldn’t help asking, “What’s with all these buoys?”
“Gravestones.”
“Gravestones?” Levi repeated, confused.
“Yeah. People in Bilgewater don’t bury their dead. We return them to the sea. This stretch of water is a graveyard, and those buoys are the grave markers.”
Graves explained it without the slightest concern.
Beneath every buoy hung a coffin containing a corpse, yet he spoke about the whole thing as casually as if he were discussing the weather.
The nighttime sea breeze swept past them.
Levi glanced at the dense field of grave-buoys all around and immediately felt goosebumps rise across his body.
Levi and Graves continued onward, their footsteps against the wooden walkway sounding unnervingly loud in the dead silence of the night.
Levi had already fought an army of undead, but wandering through a graveyard like this in the middle of the night still made him deeply uncomfortable.
“Gangplank actually hides out in a place like this?”
Levi swallowed, but once he considered Gangplank’s current circumstances, it made a lot more sense.
“Into the water.”
Without waiting for Levi to respond, Graves jumped straight into the sea and began swimming into the distance.
Levi had no choice but to follow.
He leaped into the water and swam after Graves, gradually leaving the grave-buoys behind.
They swam for quite some time.
Just as Levi was beginning to lose patience, Graves finally stopped.
Hidden behind a towering rocky gorge was an enormous warship.
Unless someone deliberately came around to this side, it would have been almost impossible to spot.
“That looks like a Noxian warship. Damn, Gangplank really does deserve to be called the Saltwater Scourge. He even managed to steal one of these.”
Graves couldn’t help sounding impressed.
Gangplank might have been a vicious, bloodthirsty murderer, but there was no denying that few men possessed his sheer nerve.
“Let’s approach slowly. Don’t let anyone spot us,” Levi warned.
Both men submerged themselves and cautiously swam toward the ship.
They eventually reached the hull.
A handful of lights flickered aboard the vessel, illuminating small patches of the surrounding water.
“Damn it. I didn’t bring any gear. How the hell are we supposed to climb…”
Graves had barely begun speaking when Levi’s eyes widened and he immediately clamped a hand over his mouth.
Levi motioned for Graves to follow.
The two swam around the ship until they finally found a relatively dark section of the hull.
Levi raised one hand, firing a strand of webbing that stuck firmly to the side of the ship.
Using the silk as a line, he quietly climbed aboard and looked around.
There didn’t seem to be any guards nearby.
Levi waved down to Graves.
Understanding immediately, Graves grabbed the webbing and silently climbed up after him.
Water dripped steadily from their soaked clothes, forming a growing puddle beneath them that glimmered in the nearby firelight.
“Who’s there?”
A voice suddenly called out, followed by the soft sound of approaching footsteps.
A skinny man appeared, holding a short blade as he craned his neck to peer into the darkness.
Levi and Graves remained hidden in the shadows until the man came right up to them.
Levi moved like lightning.
One hand clamped over the man’s mouth while the other grabbed him and yanked him close.
Graves reacted just as quickly, catching the knife as it slipped from the man’s hand.
Together, they slowly dragged him deeper into the dark corner without making a sound.
The skinny man began struggling desperately, twisting his entire body, but Levi held him firmly in place.
To the captive, Levi’s hands felt like iron clamps that were about to crush his bones.
Graves pressed the short blade against the man’s throat.
The razor-sharp edge immediately drew a thin line of blood.
The cold steel and sharp sting against his neck instantly brought the man back to his senses.
He stopped moving, cold sweat continuously beading across his forehead.
“I ask, you answer. Don’t shout. If you do, you die. Blink once if you understand.”
Levi spoke in a whisper.
His voice was calm, yet carried an unmistakable chill.
Terrified out of his mind, the man immediately blinked.
Levi slowly removed his hand from the man’s mouth.
The captive didn’t dare make the slightest noise, much less call for help.
He was terrified that one twitch of Graves’ hand would separate his head from his shoulders.
He knew his life was firmly in the hands of the two men standing before him, and he certainly wasn’t about to gamble with it.
“Is Gangplank aboard this ship right now?”
The skinny man nodded.
Levi continued, “Did you capture a man named Twisted Fate?”
The man nodded again.
Graves became so excited that his hand jerked slightly, nearly making the captive piss himself in terror.
Levi shot Graves a glare.
Realizing he’d gotten careless, Graves gave him an embarrassed grin.
“Where are you holding Twisted Fate?”
“In the condemned cell at the very end of the second level below deck,” the man answered hoarsely, barely daring to breathe.
Now that they’d gotten the information they wanted, Levi glanced at Graves.
Graves immediately slammed the butt of his gun into the back of the man’s head.
The captive’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious.
Levi dragged him into the most concealed part of the dark corner, then used webbing to bind him tightly from head to toe, sealing his mouth as well.
The Spider Queen’s webbing was ridiculously useful.
Levi was starting to get the strange feeling that he was slowly turning into Spider-Man.
Now that they knew Gangplank himself was still aboard, the two of them had to be even more cautious if they wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Keeping low, Levi and Graves moved silently forward, reducing the sound of their footsteps as much as possible while gradually making their way toward the ship’s lower decks.