Chapter 54: The Agreement
Su Xiao looked at the black sea chart in his hand. His goal had been achieved; the location of Terror Island was recorded on it. As for the "Raging Sea Soul Refining," that had nothing to do with him.
Upon arriving at Terror Island, Su Xiao would complete the third round of the Strongest Warrior Battle. At that point, he would be teleported out of the Viking Sea, and he most likely wouldn't have time to finish the "Raging Sea Soul Refining."
Although it was a bit regrettable, the cost for Su Xiao to obtain the "Raging Sea Soul Refining" was very low: one right arm of an Ancient God, plus some gold coins from this world. These were all obtained incidentally after killing the Ancient God.
On the other hand, in terms of gains, after Bubu Wang devoured the flesh and blood of dozens of sea beasts, his strength would increase. Not only that, Su Xiao could also sell the [Raging Sea Soul Refining]. Thirty-five seventh-rank Soul Coins was no small amount. Based on his estimation, the price of a Holy Spirit-grade equipment was around 100 to 150 seventh-rank Soul Coins. The more specific price would depend on the type of equipment.
Besides these, Su Xiao also obtained five Legendary Chests and one Epic Chest by purchasing sea beasts.
Adding all this up, the returns far exceeded the time invested.
The negotiation ended, and Redbeard took his leave. After all, he had just schemed against Agati, so naturally, he wanted to leave quickly.
Although Agati had been schemed against, she was very satisfied with this transaction. She had only been responsible for connecting both parties, and she had obtained a god's arm.
After Redbeard left, Agati's pirates also withdrew, lurking near the small building to prevent Redbeard from causing any more trouble.
"You... want to kill me?"
Agati spoke in a low voice. What she had done before was hardly honorable.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak, but a smile appeared on his face.
"So you can smile too. Tell me, what do I have to pay? I won't be naive enough to think that what I did before could earn me this god's arm."
Agati raised her hand, and a crow with black-and-red feathers flew over, placing the Ancient God's right arm in her hand.
"No, it's yours."
Su Xiao stood up and walked toward the door, which made Agati furrow her delicate brows. Without even noticing it herself, the strands of hair behind her ears had turned white.
The divine power of an Ancient God—even Su Xiao, an alchemist, wouldn't use it recklessly. Yet Agati had directly integrated the residual divine power within this arm into an artifact.
"Wait... is there something wrong with this arm?"
Agati pulled off a necklace pendant and tossed it onto the table.
Agati was very ambitious. She had her sights set on the Dim Light Divine Cult, planning to use this Ancient God's arm, combined with several secret relics, to control the Dim Light Divine Cult and take this cancerous tumor for her own use.
"Ten thousand Kingdom gold coins. I only need information—information about this arm."
Agati's words made Su Xiao, who had already pushed open the door, stop in his tracks.
"The Ancient God has already been killed by me. I have no information to sell you."
Su Xiao glanced sideways at Agati, then stepped out of the small building.
Meanwhile, on a certain isolated island.
Black storm clouds hung overhead, and the shallow waters below reflected a faint red shimmer. Upon closer inspection, the water was filled with corpses. Their deaths were extremely painful, and some bodies were covered in black scales, resembling monsters.
At the center of the shallow waters, a figure draped in a black robe stood atop a pile of corpses. The night wind lifted his tattered robe.
"The one with the evil god's inheritance... has appeared. I made a pact with that person to kill them all."
With a bang, a shockwave of air exploded outward. The figure in the black robe vanished instantly. His target was Agati, thousands of miles away. Except for the Nightmare God, Nigadi, who could drag him into the dream world, there were few in this world who could defeat him. He was a sorrowful ferryman, and also the death of heretics.
At this moment, Agati had no idea that death was about to knock on her door.
...
The blazing sun hung high in the sky. A mist of water sprayed from the sea surface, and a massive whale churned up large waves in the ocean.
The Doom Number sailed swiftly, cutting through the waves. The deck was unusually lively.
"Woo-woo!"
A wolf howl echoed far into the distance. It was Bubu Wang waking up. He had passed the dormant stage. After absorbing a large amount of life force, his energy was exceptionally vigorous. If Baha hadn't stopped him, this guy would have started dismantling the Doom Number.
Once Bubu Wang's "rebellious phase" was over, his attributes and various abilities would improve.
The Doom Number was now sailing straight toward Terror Island, located at the center of the world. However, given the level of sea charts in this world, determining the center of the world was not as reliable as directly searching for Terror Island's coordinates.
Based on Su Xiao's estimation, the difficulty of the third round of the Strongest Warrior Battle mainly lay in finding Terror Island's location and landing on it.
Now that the location of Terror Island was confirmed, they could simply sail directly to it. He didn't believe that, with the current Doom Number, landing would pose much difficulty.
The third round of the Strongest Warrior Battle would eliminate many participants. After the second round ended and they returned to the rest area, Bubu Wang and Baha had roughly counted the remaining participants.
After the second round, there were probably still a few hundred participants left, over 90% of whom were Void races.
As for how many would remain after the third round, it was likely that more than two-thirds would be eliminated.
Previously, Su Xiao had obtained the coordinates of Terror Island in a "wrong" way—he had directly gotten the [Raging Sea Soul Refining] from Redbeard, and the location of Terror Island was just a bonus. Yes, just a bonus. The ultimate goal of most participants was obtained by Su Xiao as a side benefit.
If it weren't for the limited time and the lack of mission rewards, Su Xiao would have had ways to stir up conflict between the kingdom and the three great pirates, triggering a large-scale naval battle.
If the Viking Sea were a mission world, the Dim Light Divine Cult would be interesting, and the Fyinding Kingdom could also be contacted.
Originally, Su Xiao's plan was to ally with either Agati or Redbeard to attack the other, with the condition that the naval battle must take place near Terror Island.
The forces in this world had been mutually restraining each other for too long. Once two or three sides started fighting, it would inevitably escalate into a multi-sided melee.
Su Xiao would draw the battlefield near Terror Island, thereby blocking other participants from reaching it.
What would happen if no other participants could reach Terror Island? The answer was that the Strongest Warrior Battle might not have a fourth or fifth round; it would directly culminate in a decisive battle near Terror Island.
Unfortunately, the Viking Sea also had the great pirate Bone Sheep, the fleets of various kingdoms, and the cancerous Dim Light Divine Cult.
With enough time, Su Xiao could turn the area near Terror Island into a chaotic bloodbath. But unfortunately, this wasn't a mission world, and contacting various factions took too long.
During his search for the Ancient God and his dealings with Agati and Redbeard, Su Xiao had incidentally obtained Terror Island's coordinates.
The sea breeze blew in his face. Su Xiao sat on the deck at the bow, looking up at the azure sky. The sunlight made him squint. The weather was good, and his mood was good, so he decided to abandon a certain plan in his mind.
This was the day after leaving Turtle Island. Su Xiao gazed into the distance, and a strangely shaped island came into view. From afar, it looked as if two horns on the island pierced straight into the sky.
Terror Island had arrived.