Chapter 38: Free Giveaway
The fires on the port of 'Batu Island' gradually subsided, and the cursed people were inspecting the ruins as the smell of burnt things spread.
When attacking Batu Island earlier, Su Xiao's goal was not to plunder wealth. Compared to the potential Sea Gold Coins, crushing the morale of the West Sea King's pirate group was more important.
Batu Island, as a pirate island that the West Sea King had painstakingly managed for years, was now under attack. Yet the West Sea King remained holed up in his base camp. The blow this dealt to the morale of his pirates was imaginable—everyone would think the West Sea King was afraid.
Of course, the West Sea King wasn't afraid. Compared to losing his assets, seizing the Sea King's Horn was more important to him.
In a town behind the port, inside an underground warehouse.
It was more fitting to call this place a treasure vault. Two rows of wooden shelves lined the walls, and above, several rows of crystals emitting a faint golden light were embedded in the ceiling, illuminating the space while casting a golden hue.
Su Xiao walked in front of the wooden shelves. There was a faint floral scent in the treasure vault, but he couldn't find its source.
The two rows of shelves held many strange and exotic items. All these items shared one characteristic: they had not been notarized. Su Xiao had gained ownership of these items but couldn't take them out of the Sea World.
Su Xiao had a solution for this: choose the most valuable treasure, place it in the magic chest on the Doom Number, and after completing the curse purification, it would likely be notarized.
Su Xiao picked up a fang from the wooden shelf. The fang was nearly ten centimeters long.
[Blue Fang (This item possesses supernatural characteristics and has a certain degree of mental conductivity.)]
Originally, Su Xiao couldn't view the information on this item, but his 'Supernatural Item Sensing' ability allowed him to obtain the basic details of [Blue Fang].
There were many items in the treasure vault. Su Xiao planned to select one and have the rest sold through Kaisa to obtain a large number of Sea Gold Coins.
After searching the treasure vault, Su Xiao found a bone staff nearly 1.2 meters long. The end of the bone staff was sharp, and the top was a metal skull about the size of a fist. Judging by its color, the metal skull had been burned.
[Death's Lament (An ancient bone staff. All its past owners died from misfortune or accidents. It seems to contain the power of the undead and the dead.)]
Su Xiao looked at the bone staff in his hand. Judging by its supernatural characteristics, this [Death's Lament] was the most valuable item in the treasure vault.
This item had the characteristics of both the undead and the dead. Both were branches of the death system.
The death system, alongside the magic system, healing system, etc., was a general term for a major system. The branches of the death system included: the undead system, the dead system, the ghost system, etc.
As 'brothers,' the undead system and the dead system seemed similar at first glance, but they were not. The undead system was the younger brother among brothers, while the dead system was at the father level.
Curse energy was somewhat related to the death system. If [Death's Lament] underwent curse purification, and the bone staff became a weapon of the undead system, it would be a huge loss. If it became a main weapon of the dead system, it would be a massive gain.
People of the dead system were all impoverished, but this 'poverty' didn't mean they lacked Soul Coins; rather, their Soul Coin consumption was enormous.
The stronger the inheritance and profession, the more expensive the weapons used. The main weapons of mages and the dead system were so expensive they made people question life.
Putting away [Death's Lament], Su Xiao walked out of the treasure vault. Besides the gains in Sea Gold Coins, capturing 'Batu Island' also yielded a significant amount of World Source and Legendary Points.
[Tip: You have captured 'Batu Island' and killed over 80% of the pirates on the island.]
[You have gained 12.9% World Source.]
[Legendary Points increased by 852.]
……
Besides these, when Amangus killed a pirate leader earlier, Su Xiao unexpectedly obtained a Holy Spirit Chest, specifically [Holy Spirit Chest (98%)].
Even in an Eighth Rank world, obtaining an Immortal Chest was difficult. As for the good fortune of obtaining an Immortal Chest by killing the Executioner of the Pain Dungeon in 'Holy Land · Chiriad,' that would never happen again.
The danger level of Holy Land · Chiriad, even among Eighth Rank worlds, was in the lower middle range. Su Xiao entered it as a Seventh Rank Hunter, plus the bonuses from winning the World War, the high-risk area bonuses, etc., which resulted in such generous rewards.
It was proven that to become stronger faster, entering high-risk areas was the quickest way, but also the most dangerous.
At this stage, Su Xiao wouldn't do that. He had just advanced to Eighth Rank, and rashly entering a high-risk area would be suicide.
Su Xiao had entered many high-risk areas. These places had one characteristic: human wave tactics were useless.
Dead Silence City, Abyss Serpent Mansion, Doom Town, Holy Land · Chiriad—these were all high-risk areas. Looking at them, which one could be breached with human wave tactics?
The representative was Dead Silence City. Without obtaining a 'Shelter-type item,' entering that place meant suffering high True Erosion damage per second. Corresponding 'Shelter-type items' were very rare. Using human wave tactics to charge in would only result in a large pile of corpses near the entrance, with no other effect.
Su Xiao returned to the captain's cabin of the Doom Number. He opened the magic chest, where [Extreme Freeze Stone] was floating within the curse energy.
He took out [Extreme Freeze Stone] and placed [Death's Lament] inside. After observing for a moment, he found that the purification efficiency for this bone staff was dozens of times faster than for [Extreme Freeze Stone]. The characteristics of this bone staff were related to curse energy.
He checked the time. Three hours had passed since capturing 'Batu Island.' The West Sea King remained calm, not sending out his fleet.
Su Xiao now had two options: one was to head straight for the West Sea King's lair, and the other was to continue capturing the West Sea King's territories, gradually eroding his forces.
Su Xiao leaned toward the latter. Although capturing other islands would yield less World Source and Legendary Points than capturing 'Batu Island,' he had the Doom Number, and this kind of lossless gain couldn't be missed.
After waiting on the Doom Number for a long time, a Royal Navy ship sailed in from the sea. It was Kaisa, coming to take over the sellable assets on 'Batu Island.'
"My dear friend, Kaisa was assassinated a few hours ago and almost couldn't see you!"
Kaisa had one arm in a cast, looking terrified. In reality, this guy hadn't suffered a scratch. It was Fuland on the navy ship who was now sitting in a wooden wheelchair.
"..."
Su Xiao knew that the subsequent potion transactions wouldn't go smoothly. He had to arrange combat power to protect Kaisa and Fuland.
The cursed people were ruled out first. Once these guys got angry, they were more dangerous to Fuland and Kaisa than the enemy.
Sending Bubu Wang was useless. If Bubu went, after an assassination attempt, Bubu would blend into the environment, Kaisa would activate his survival ability, and Fuland would be left crying.
Baha was also unsuitable; he was better at assassination. The only one left was Amu.
"Amu."
"Moo."
Amu grabbed Kaisa by the back of the collar and leaped onto the navy ship over ten meters away. With Kaisa around, Amu only needed strong combat power.
Su Xiao didn't plan to continue the potion business for long. Once enough gold coins were earned, Amu would use Kaisa's spatial item to enter Minguang Island, where they would rendezvous easily.
The handover was quickly completed. Commodore Murray didn't show himself. In the potion transactions, Commodore Murray was responsible for blocking threats from the open. As for sending people to protect Kaisa and Fuland, Commodore Murray couldn't and wouldn't do that.
In the captain's cabin, Su Xiao pressed his hand against the wall. Tree-like roots spread and coiled around his hand.
Thump~
A wave spread outward from the Doom Number. All the cursed people on the island looked toward the dock, sensing that the Doom Number was summoning them.
Within a minute, the scattered cursed people assembled.
With a whoosh, the sail, as if soaked in blood, was lowered. The Doom Number set sail, heading for Crystal Ring Islands.
Su Xiao stood at the bow, the sea breeze blowing in his face. He would be very busy in the next dozen or so hours.
……
At 4 PM that day, in the Imperial Council Hall of Saint Roland City.
"Ladies and gentlemen, quiet."
A white-bearded old gentleman spoke in the noisy hall, and the discussing imperial officials gradually fell silent.
This old gentleman was named Fegway, the Imperial Chancellor. He represented the royal family, or rather, in most cases, he made decisions on the empire's major and minor affairs.
On both sides of the council table sat over a dozen high-ranking imperial officials, including Commodore Murray, who was resting with his eyes closed. It could only be said that, aside from his old yinbi style, Commodore Murray was a 'refined' mature man, such as trimming his nails daily and getting a haircut every three days.
Behind the dozen or so imperial officials stood their trusted subordinates. These people were the most numerous, with dozens of them, forming the empire's middle-ranking officials.
"Ladies and gentlemen, let me first mention a not-so-important piece of news. Reef Island was attacked, and all 1,295 pirates on it were killed. Fortunately, the civilians on the island were not attacked. Nearly a hundred were injured, mostly from trampling or collisions while fleeing. The attacker's target was not them, otherwise, no one would have survived."
Chancellor Fegway put down the slightly yellowed paper in his hand.
"Reef Island? That's within the West Sea King's territory."
"All the pirates on the island were killed? This..."
The imperial officials discussed among themselves. Some middle-ranking officials looked serious. This 'not-so-important news' was already explosive. What was the important news?
Chancellor Fegway, seated at the head, looked at Commodore Murray.
"Commodore, do you have anything to say?"
"Hmm? What does this have to do with me?"
Commodore Murray smiled, as if he didn't understand what Chancellor Fegway was talking about. In truth, he was uneasy inside, feeling he was about to be inexplicably blamed.
"Is that so? Then let me tell you the important news. This morning, the port of Batu Island was leveled..."
As Chancellor Fegway's words fell, the hall erupted in uproar. Commodore Murray leaned back in his seat, staring at the patterns on the ceiling as if they contained infinite knowledge that captivated him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, quiet. Besides Batu Island, at noon, Crystal Ring Islands suffered a continuous half-hour bombardment."
After delivering this bombshell, Chancellor Fegway slowly exhaled and picked up another document.
"Senario Bay, Zulfa Islands, Death Knell Port, Twilight Island, Grommash, Turtle Island, etc., a total of 27 pirate islands and 12 trade islands were all attacked."
After speaking, Chancellor Fegway looked around at the imperial officials. The hall fell so silent that a pin drop could be heard. Even the high-ranking imperial officials were momentarily stunned by the news.
Commodore Murray slightly lowered his head, the corner of his eye twitching. He didn't need to think to know who was behind this shocking event—the Doom Number.
"Commodore Murray, don't you have an explanation? I heard you have close dealings with the captain of the Doom Number."
Chancellor Fegway stared at Commodore Murray. At these words, everyone in the hall focused on Commodore Murray. The two beside him even moved slightly away.
"Chancellor, where did you hear such a rumor? I, personally, hate pirates the most..."
"Murray, when you were still in diapers, I was already the Imperial Chancellor. You little brat, I watched you grow up. Stop talking nonsense."
Chancellor Fegway's words shocked everyone. The imperial officials were stunned. They had never seen the Chancellor curse before.
"Ahem, there is some cooperation."
"Very well. I don't care what method you use, but maintain that cooperation. No matter what, don't let the Doom Number attack our ports."
"I'll do my best."
"Not 'do my best.' It must be done."
Chancellor Fegway tossed the document onto the table. The Doom Number was indeed infamous, but previous captains of the Doom Number were all madmen, rarely launching targeted attacks. More importantly, the cursed people of the Doom Number couldn't land on islands.
This time was different. Not only could the cursed people land, but the Doom Number's attacks were also very targeted, specifically hitting the West Sea King's territories.
Thinking of this, Chancellor Fegway felt a chill run down his spine. Once that ship fully broke free and reached its strongest state, a certain monster would appear. The last time that monster appeared, it swallowed a three-masted ship in one gulp.
Compared to Chancellor Fegway's worries, the Twin Towers · Empress was in an even worse mood.
In a dim room, a graceful figure knelt on the bed, holding a deep blue horn. It was the Twin Towers · Empress.
The Twin Towers · Empress remained silent. For some reason, she felt the Sea King's Horn in her hand was burning. If the West Sea King was killed, would she be the next target? Would she suffer the same fate as the West Sea King?
Thinking of this, the Twin Towers · Empress felt a tightness in her chest, an indescribable discomfort. She hadn't provoked anyone. The Sea King's Horn in her hand was something she had bought for 2 Sea Gold Coins once.
Now, the Twin Towers · Empress had two choices: 1. Hand over the Sea King's Horn, or 2. Fight to the death with the Doom Number.
In the darkness, the Twin Towers · Empress narrowed her eyes. As a great pirate, territory was more important. As a female pirate, backing down wasn't shameful.
"But..."
The Twin Towers · Empress suddenly thought of something, and her eyes lit up. She could completely give this piece of the Sea King's Horn to the Duke, claiming it was a transaction between her and the Duke. This way, she saved face and didn't have to fight the Doom Number to the death. She knew that the captain of the Doom Number was cursed by the Sea Curse and wouldn't waste time fighting her to the death.
Thinking of this, the Twin Towers · Empress's thin lips curled up. If the Duke fell, more than half of his territory would fall into her hands. Her territory bordered the Duke's, which was a natural advantage. If the Doom Number lost, it had nothing to do with her.
"Someone."
As the Twin Towers · Empress's words fell, a short figure appeared before the bed.
"Send this horn to the Duke. No matter how many die, it must be delivered."
"Yes."
The short figure in the darkness took the horn and quickly disappeared.
The Twin Towers · Empress began to wait. The Duke didn't need to pay much—10,000 Sea Gold Coins would suffice.
Two hours later, the short figure returned, kneeling on one knee before the bed. She brought back news: the Duke hadn't bought the horn. Not only would he not spend 10,000 gold coins to buy it, but now he wouldn't even take it for free.