Chapter 192: [Book of Shadows], the price of becoming a king
Chapter 192 [Book of Shadows], the price of becoming a king
As soon as he saw Xia En coming, the pirate prisoner's eyes immediately showed deep fear.
He knew very well that the other party was the God of Death who killed his companions one by one in the black mist just now!
It was this man who killed his own captain with one against two!
Pirates' awe of the strong is engraved in their bones!
But the prisoner still pretended to be calm and said: "Captain John, you really hide your secrets."
“This time, we chose the wrong target and we can’t blame others.”
Xia En looked calm and said, "You haven't answered my question yet."
“Who wants to kill me?”
The prisoner seemed to have understood his current situation and said honestly and seriously: "I don't know."
He gave a wry smile: "Young guys like us, how do we know who the mastermind behind the scenes is?"
"I'm afraid only Captain Keith and Captain Bond know, but..."
The prisoner turned his head and glanced at the bodies of the two captains not far away, and the meaning was self-evident.
Dead people cannot speak.
As soon as these words came out, Xia En believed most of them.
For such a major event as the attack on the apostles of the pirate principality, most likely only a few people know the inside story. The other pirates are just tools to carry out the mission.
But Shane still had some doubts about the prisoner.
It is not his words that are doubtful, but his person!
It was no coincidence that Xia En found this one among so many captives.
In his perception, this prisoner hid part of his strength, and even in the fight in the black mist, this man held back and did not take action.
The subsequent surrender was even more straightforward and not sloppy at all.
Shaan thought of two possibilities.
Or, this prisoner is a trump card prepared by the mastermind behind the scenes.
Or, he may be one of the secretists participating in the promotion ritual!
Xia En also just realized that although he is one of the twelve apostles, it does not mean that all trialists are like this.
They may be apostles, they may be just an ordinary pirate, they may be a handyman, or they may even be members of other forces participating in the pirate conference.
Their trial tasks may not be the same as Xia En's.
Maybe someone’s mission is to kill the pirate king!
Thinking of this, Xia En twitched the corner of his mouth and secretly complained.
“Why does it feel like you’re playing Werewolf?”
Hide your identity and mission on one side, and catch the mistakes of other trialists on the other.
Isn’t it just a werewolf killing!
While Xia En was thinking, the prisoner continued.
“The ones who dare to attack you, Captain John, are only those few families, and maybe... two or three of the apostles are included.”
Xia En's heart moved slightly.
He actually knew who the “those families” the captives were referring to.
First of all, let’s start with the current structure of the [Pirate Principality].
Although the pirate king Augustine defeated all pirates on the high seas, to manage a "principal", fists alone are certainly not enough.
Augustine could not manage such a large area of the sea alone.
So, after establishing the "Pirate Principality", Augustine divided the sea into five jurisdictions.
He himself is located in the richest and most prosperous central sea area, and the other four sea areas are governed by local pirates.
The leaders of each jurisdiction are also famous pirates.
Together with Augustine, they are called the "Five Kings of the Ocean", and some people call them "One Emperor and Four Emperors."
Of course, in terms of strength and prestige, the four great pirates are far inferior to Augustine.
But now, isn’t Augustine seriously injured?
Even the fleet that was taken out was mostly damaged.
How could these powerful and ambitious pirates not want to test the waters?
As for the other apostles mentioned by the captives, they are not completely alarmist.
From the remaining memories of John, Sean learned that the relationship between him and several apostles was not harmonious.
Maybe the first mate Philip and the failure of the last mission were all their fault.
But Xia En vaguely felt that the other apostles were not bold enough to attack him directly.
“Oh, it’s so complicated and confusing...”
Xia En sighed, feeling a little tired.
He has never been very good at these conspiracies. Just thinking about them makes him feel dizzy.
He is still more accustomed to using absolute violence to crush people all the way.
Simple, rough and direct!
“Why don’t we just flip the table over!”
Xia En’s idea is just a thought at the moment.
Even if the strength of the entire promotion ritual is suppressed, there will definitely be fourth-level or even fifth-level strong men in the [Pirate Principality].
With his current strength, he is not qualified to overturn the table.
Soon, Xia En got rid of his distracting thoughts, looked at the prisoner in front of him, and spoke directly.
“Give me a reason not to kill you.”
Hearing this, the face of the unattractive prisoner suddenly changed.
He realized that Xia En was really murderous.
The prisoner was puzzled for a while, thinking that he had disguised himself so well, where did he reveal his true identity?
Seeing that Xia En's eyes were getting colder and colder, the prisoner did not dare to hesitate and spoke quickly.
“Collaborate! We can cooperate!”
Xia En said calmly: "What can you and I do to cooperate?"
“If people like us have the same purpose, why can’t we cooperate?”
“Many seniors have had this experience in the past, it’s not a shame.”
The prisoner's words were strange, and the preface and the follower were inconsistent. The other pirates were confused when they heard what he said.
Xia En understood immediately.
He acknowledged his identity in disguise, and explained that this kind of cooperation between secret travelers is actually very common.
However, this alone is not enough to gain Xia En's trust.
Shaan continued to ask: "So, where is your sincerity?"
The prisoner smiled bitterly and said, "I can tell you...my name is Huiyun."
“This is my real name.”
real name?
Xia En was thoughtful.
This real name obviously refers to the name of the prisoner in reality.
In the optional mission, the description of the role is...not to be seen through and exposed by other trialists.
Shaen had previously thought that the key point was to “find out”, but now that he thinks about it, it’s actually about “exposing!”
In other words, the criterion for failure is not that the tester failed in his performance, but that he was questioned and exposed.
Knowing the real name is equivalent to having a handle and you can reveal the other party's true identity at any time.
But after thinking about it, Xia En still said: "Not enough."
After all, the role-playing mission is an optional mission, and there is no indication of what the punishment will be if the mission fails. What if the prisoner is trying to get himself into trouble even if he fails in the mission?
Huiyun was so anxious that he was sweating all over, so he could only say: "I swear to the [Secret Sea], it's okay?"
“Here, swearing to the [Secret Sea] has real effects.”
Shaan grinned: "Okay."
After Huiyun made a vow that "during this ritual, he would not do anything detrimental to Captain John," Shane took him to the captain's cabin.
Closing the door, Shane asked: "Tell me, what are your tasks and abilities?"
Huiyun said honestly: "My necessary task is to ensure that Augustine does not die during the ritual." "As for my ability... I can only say that I am a [scholar] in the secret path."
Xia En was deep in thought, and he suddenly realized that he had missed something again.
The promotion ritual when breaking through to the third level, only those on the secret path of [Captain] can participate in the promotion.
At the fourth level and above, all the people from the secret way broke in and made a mess!
“The water of this promotion ritual is really deep!”
Xia En took a deep breath and looked at the gray cloud in front of him, thinking in his mind: "[Scholar] means that he is some kind of spellcaster profession."
“However, I have never heard of the name ‘Grey Cloud’ in the Seven Seas.”
Thinking about it carefully, with the size of the seven seas, Xia En has only explored a small corner, so it is normal to meet a mysterious person who has never heard of it.
After having a few casual conversations with Hui Yun and exchanging information.
Shane asked First Officer Carney to continue heading towards the [Pirate Principality], while he returned to the room and counted the spoils of the battle.
Each of the two captains has a space ring.
Xia En has already learned from Huiyun that some of the props and money obtained during the promotion ritual can be taken out of the ritual.
Moreover, the higher the final evaluation, the more things you can take away.
This point really made Xia En a little tempted.
But it can also be inferred from this—
The origin of Hui Yun is not simple. He is definitely not a wild mystic like Xia En. Instead, he has his own teacher or guide, so that he can know the rules of the promotion ritual in advance.
Xia En opened the space ring and looked at it, his eyes sweeping over the gold and silver jewelry and various rare props.
Can’t read too much.
After looking at it, he will realize that he cannot take all the treasures away.
It will be very distressing.
The main target of Xia En's search is things that may record secrets and mysterious techniques.
The knowledge and skills learned in the promotion ritual can definitely be brought back to reality, right?
Even though the strength displayed by the two captains was only Level 3, in real history, they were at least Level 6 experts.
How could the secret skills they left behind not be a good thing?
Soon, Xia En actually found several ancient books that seemed to be extraordinary.
There is a book with a dark cover and no name on the spine.
Xia En stretched out his hand to touch the cover, and there was a warm and delicate touch on it, as if touching human skin.
Moreover, as the book was taken out, the whole room suddenly became dark.
It was as if...the surrounding light had been sucked away by this ancient book.
)
【Quality: Epic】
【Type: Props】
【Description: A book that records the secret techniques of the Shadow Clan. If you study it with concentration, you can understand the secret techniques in it. 】
【The Shadow Clan is a rare race from the ancient times. They live in the shadows all their lives, and they also master the secrets of assassination that are unparalleled in the world. 】
【Now extinct. 】
【Walking in the shadow, serving the light, all things are empty, all things are permitted. 】
“Good stuff!”
The corner of Xia En's mouth raised slightly: "It is indeed a special copy of the promotion ritual."
Obviously, this [Book of Shadows] is the treasure that "Shadow Blade" Bond kept at the bottom of the box.
His previous ability to attack Xia En in the black mist relied on the secret technique in this book.
This harvest verified Xia En’s previous conjecture.
This promotion ritual is full of treasures!
…
…
The next day, in the evening.
Xia En walked out of the captain's cabin and couldn't help but stretch.
His eyes were a little tired, but his breath had changed subtly.
If you look closely at Xia En's body, you can find that his body has become "darker", as if the light has been sucked away by something.
Maybe it’s because he has learned [Shadow Swordsmanship] before, or maybe he is used to controlling the projection body.
This [Book of Shadows] is very compatible with Shane.
In just one afternoon, Xia En benefited a lot and unlocked a new skill.
【Shadow Walk】
As the name suggests, it can temporarily travel through the shadows, which is a bit like the mage's [Arcane Leap].
Although Xia En is not an assassin, in battle, this practical little skill can often achieve surprising results.
At this moment, Xia En glanced out of the corner of his eye.
I saw the setting sun hanging in the sky, and the fine waves on the sea glowed like broken gold.
Not far away, a special maritime city is enlarging and getting closer.
This city is really special.
Below it is not land or an island, but dilapidated ships one after another!
Among them, there are pirate ships, fishing boats, and naval vessels, all of different sizes and shapes.
Those messy woods and metals are mixed together in a seemingly loose but solid manner, showing a faint blood color in the sunset.
In Xia En’s eyes, this is a city made of countless ship skeletons!
It can be said that every dilapidated ship has its own story.
But now, they are just a foundation of the city.
“Isn’t it spectacular?”
At some point, Huiyun also walked out of his room, walked to Xia En and sighed.
“This is Augustine’s [Pirate Principality].”
“Augustine captured these ships one by one, and the [Pirate Principality] grew stronger in his battles.”
“Behind this, I don’t know how many killings and sacrifices are hidden.”
"but…"
Hui Yun looked in the direction of the sea city, a strange look flashed in his eyes.
“If you want to ascend to the throne, how can you not step on the bones of corpses?”
“Or, aren’t the carcasses of these ships the throne of Augustine?”
Xia En was slightly startled.
Inexplicably, he thought of King Xin whom he had seen in the vision.
Under the opponent's body, there seems to be a throne made of bones?
“Is this the price of being a king?”
Xia En fell into thinking.
At the same time, the distance between the [Sky Serpent] and the [Pirate Principality] is also constantly shortening.
In the process of getting closer, the emotion conveyed by the [Sky Serpent] obviously became a little fearful and uneasy.
This "grave of ten thousand ships" has a strong sense of oppression for the soul of any ship.
Soon, the [Sky Serpent] anchored at the port of the [Pirate Principality].
A one-eyed old man greeted me on the shore with a gentle smile.
“Master John, welcome home.”
(End of this chapter)