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Chapter 193. Exchange

Fresh blood trickled down the pair of pale hands and stained Audric\'s hideous face.

With a swift motion, Charles brought his Dark Blade down with chilling precision and severed both of Audric\'s hands. The vampire let out a sheer shriek of agony and morphed into a bat to soar out of the waters.

The crippling pain radiating from Charles\' abdomen forced him to hunch over. However, he couldn\'t afford to rest. From above, Dipp was already diving down with clear, murderous intent.

Hoisting his prosthetic limb upward, the sharp blade at its end left a deep cut on Dipp.

Noticing the crazed madness in Dipp\'s eyes, Charles had no intention to engage. With a fluid twist, he plunged into the icy waters.

The icy chill of the water enveloped Charles, and the blood seeping out of his abdomen gradually dyed the area around him in crimson red.

The sound of gunfire echoed from the deck above. The crew on the Narwhale unleashed their firepower toward the scarlet-hued waters.

Swoosh!

All of a sudden, four-meter-long leathery wings stretched out from beneath the waters and glided along the surface. In the next moment, Charles soared into the air in his bat form and sped toward the distant V12 island.

A piercing sunlight emerged from behind him, and Charles felt as if a searing iron was pressed against his back. Foreseeing the impending danger, Charles folded his wings and dove back into the frigid waters, using the cold depths to counteract the sun\'s scorching touch.

After the sunlight had dissipated, Charles found another spot to emerge from the waters again. As he repeated the process a couple of times, he soon accumulated countless injuries. However, his eyes burned with increasing determination.

He knew the crew as well as they knew him. As a qualified captain, Charles was well aware of the supplies aboard the Narwhale. They didn\'t prepare that many Mirrorboxes for this voyage, and he discerned that there weren\'t many left.

By his fifth resurface, Charles was sure the crew had exhausted their supply of Mirrorboxes. Without any hesitation, he sped toward the island that was now only a kilometer away.

Boom!

The deck cannons roared to life to display their fearsome power.

With deft agility, Charles twisted and turned mid-flight and expertly avoided the barrage of cannon fire. As he neared V12, the bombardment from the cannons intensified. Despite his attempts to remain as low as possible as he glided across the waves, he couldn\'t avoid their projectiles.

Then, just as Charles soared into the airspace above V12, a cannonball struck his left wing and exploded. His vision spiraled as he plunged downward toward the land beneath.

Disregarding the risk of grounding itself on the shores, the Narwhale charged forward. Dipp was the first to jump down the vessel, and searching through the darkness, he managed to spot the blood stains on the ground.

"Here! He\'s badly injured! He couldn\'t have gone far!" Dipp shouted.

The crew mobilized and followed the trail of blood toward the distant mountain peak.

In the dimly lit stairwell, Charles gasped for air as he gripped the railing with one hand and held onto his injury with the other.

The prolonged escape attempt had consumed most of his energy. Coupled with his injuries, he had never felt that climbing a flight of stairs could be so taxing.

"Mr. Charles, are you alright? I\'m sorry. If it weren\'t for me, you wouldn\'t have suffered such serious injuries," Lily\'s soft voice sounded as she poked her head out of Charles\' pocket. Her tiny ears drooped in guilt.

Droplets of seawater fell from Charles\' hair as he shook his head.

"I\'m... I\'m fine," Charles reassured her as he tried to catch his breath. "We\'re almost... there."

First floor, second floor, and the third floor... Charles was getting closer and closer to the exit to the eleventh floor. His eyes already picked up the light glimmering through the crack underneath the door. It seemed to be from a flashlight.

Just then, a sharp pain shot through Charles\' calf. A dark shadow darted toward him from below and pinned him against the stairwell\'s wall.

Charles\' prosthetic arm sprang to life, readying the chainsaw for a counter-attack. But before he could retaliate, a large hand seized the chainsaw and immobilized his left arm. The hand belonged to James.

The Narwhale\'s crew members swarmed up from below. Their hostile glares were fixated on Charles.

"Hey! If you don\'t want this guy\'s head on the floor, release our captain NOW!" An arrogant voice suddenly echoed from above them.

Everyone\'s gazes turned upward collectively. At the doorway of the eleventh floor stood the same faces from the Narwhale. A bruised and battered Charles was in their custody.

The voice earlier belonged to Dipp. His blade was pressed on the neck of the other Charles.

It was a mirrored standoff as two groups of almost identical beings faced each other.

After a tense moment of silence, Charles tilted his chin toward his counterpart above and spoke in Chinese. "A hostage exchange, then? There is no conflict of interest between us per se."

Previously, they had clashed because they didn\'t trust each other and resorted to violence as the last resort. But now, with both of them caught, things had become simpler.

The other Charles, now distinguishable by a deliberate vertical scar on his face, answered in a grave tone, "Alright."

"Release him."

"Release him."

As both Charles commanded simultaneously, their corresponding crew members loosened their grip. A shuffling of footsteps echoed in the stairway as the two men, one ascending and the other descending, slowly approached each other.

Both crews watched the hostage exchange situation with bated breaths. Meanwhile, both Charles had their fingers placed over their weapon triggers in case of any unexpected surprises.

Fortunately, the process proceeded smoothly. With mutual wariness, the two Charles slowly swapped their positions.

"Captain! You\'re finally back!" Dipp exclaimed in elation and pulled Charles into a tight embrace.

A wave of relief washed over Charles as he reunited with his rightful crew.

"How did you guys realize that he was 1344-1?"

"When we returned to the ship, we realized that Lily was missing from his pocket. We knew something was amiss immediately. You care so much about her. You wouldn\'t have been so indifferent about her disappearance," Dipp replied with a face full of smiles.

Charles commended Dipp with a pat on his back and to also loosen his grip on him.

Charles then turned to look at the group on the stairs just a floor below. He caught sight of his doppelganger, who was animatedly conversing with his crew.

"Hey, your crew has a sharp sense of alertness," Charles remarked.

"Hmph, yours isn\'t too shabby either," the other Charles commented. With that, he then descended the stairs with his crew in tow.

As the illumination from the flashlight grew dimmer, Charles readied himself to leave. He took Lily out of his pocket and gently stroked her furry head.

"Lily, we\'re back. Everything\'s fine now," Charles comforted.

Hearing Charles\' words, a sweet smile blossomed on Lily\'s face, "Yes. Mr. Charles is so formidable!"

However, a hint of confusion appeared on Lily\'s furry visage in the next second.

"Mr. Charles, do they really belong to another world?"

"Don\'t concern yourself with them. Even if they are from another world, they are no match for us. We have you, but they don\'t," Charles said with a chuckle.

"Yeap!" Lily exclaimed as she nuzzled Charles\' hand with her head.

Watching Lily\'s adorable rodent features, the corners of Charles\' lips curved into a faint smile. He transferred her onto his shoulder and was ready to return to his original ship.

However, as soon as he reached the center of the vast hallway, he halted in his tracks. He swiftly pivoted on his heel and sprinted toward the stairwell he had just come from.

"Everyone, catch up! I\'ve just figured out something!"