Chapter 39: Weighing the Options
The stars filled the sky, eight in the evening, West Ge Sea.
Su Xiao stood at the bow of the Doom Number, looking at an island burning a nautical mile away. Throughout the day, relying on the Doom Number's sailing speed, he had attacked multiple islands.
Compared to the gains from attacking 'Batu Island,' the spoils from taking other islands were not high. The reason was that the pirates belonging to the West Sea King's forces on these islands had hastily withdrawn after Batu Island was captured.
The remaining pirates and the mercenary guards formed by slave traders were all sycophants, bought off by the West Sea King with a few words.
This was normal. Aside from a few major powers, the medium and small factions in the Demon Sea World had poor information flow. They might only learn of events days or even longer later.
[Prompt: Your Legendary Fame has increased by 3 points.]
[Your Legendary Fame has increased by 1 point.]
[Your Legendary Fame has increased by 5 points.]
The prompts appeared one after another, a characteristic of Legendary Fame. As news of Su Xiao conquering many islands spread, he would gradually gain more Legendary Fame, which was tied to reputation.
Su Xiao tallied his previous island-conquest gains. He had obtained a total of 9.7% World Source, two [Epic Chests], and one [Holy Spirit Chest]. These gains came without cost, so he naturally wouldn't let them go.
He had killed far too many pirates. Even though the sea of enemies lowered the chest drop rate, killing enough always yielded miracles.
The West Sea King still had many islands under his name, but Su Xiao decided not to continue. Attacking those with weaker defenses yielded nothing, and travel took time. Most of the previous island assaults had been spent on sailing.
Su Xiao opened the Legendary Fame Leaderboard to check his current fame.
[Legendary Fame Leaderboard Activated. Current Rankings:]
First Place: Bai Ye (Reincarnation Paradise): 4530 points of Legendary Fame.
Second Place: Alec (Death Paradise): 3990 points of Legendary Fame.
Third Place: Nether Wolf (Reincarnation Paradise): 3975 points of Legendary Fame.
Fourth Place: Light Radiance (Holy Light Paradise): 1850 points of Legendary Fame.
Fifth Place: Black Rose (Reincarnation Paradise): 1622 points of Legendary Fame.
Sixth Place: Sweet Orange (Apocalypse Paradise): 888 points of Legendary Fame.
Seventh Place: Carnival (Apocalypse Paradise): 760 points of Legendary Fame.
...
Temporarily first, Su Xiao looked at Alec's Legendary Fame and felt that Alec might still be able to catch up.
Su Xiao was very curious about one thing: if he truly secured first place, would the Demon Sea Baptism be a direct reward, affecting him immediately, or would the authority be sealed within an item, requiring activation to obtain the Demon Sea Baptism?
He tried to inquire about this through his mark. Although he was currently first on the Legendary Fame Leaderboard, he didn't hold out much hope. Surprisingly, a prompt did appear.
[Prompt (Void Tree): The Demon Sea Baptism is an authority-type reward. Upon acquisition, it will be sealed within a specific item.]
Seeing this prompt, Su Xiao became interested in first place. He was now the captain of the Doom Number and didn't crave the Demon Sea Baptism himself, but that didn't mean others didn't.
Regardless, it was the reward for first place, and its value was undoubtedly astonishing. If he managed to leave the Demon Sea World alive and return to Reincarnation Paradise, Su Xiao urgently needed a large number of Soul Coins.
After Dragon-Slaying Flash was promoted to Immortal Rank, it needed to be enhanced, plus an Immortal Rank gem needed to be socketed.
Gem socketing could wait for now. Just enhancing Immortal Rank equipment alone would cost an exorbitant amount. The only consolation was that enhancing Immortal Rank equipment didn't use Soul Crystals (Complete), but another rare type of crystal.
He had Baha hang a lantern on the bow of the Doom Number. A black mist vortex appeared ahead, and the Doom Number returned to Minguang Island.
As soon as they returned to Minguang Island, Su Xiao summoned over a dozen cursed shipwrights to begin repairing the Doom Number. Having attacked so many islands, naval battles were unavoidable. The Doom Number wasn't invincible and had sustained damage.
Bubu Wang and Baha took 3400 Demon Sea Gold Coins to find the Sea Devotee to replenish the cursed men. As long as the cursed men like Amangus, Ghost Shadow, and Mad Dog Quake didn't die, the situation was manageable.
All the cursed men detached from the ship's hull. They actually needed rest too, or rather, they needed to absorb a special energy on Minguang Island.
This special energy was unique to Minguang Island. The cursed men couldn't absorb it actively; as long as they were on Minguang Island, this energy would gradually enter their bodies.
Su Xiao walked into the captain's cabin and lay down on the bed to rest. After completing this round of repairs, it would be time for the decisive battle with the West Sea King. He had developed for so long; this battle was the test.
Minguang Island was filled with wailing and howling. Su Xiao slapped the wall panel beside the bed, and a wave spread from within the Doom Number, quickly silencing Minguang Island.
Su Xiao fell asleep. In his dream, he felt himself sinking, sinking to the bottom of the sea, eventually swallowed by darkness.
Su Xiao's eyes opened. He sat up from the bed, carefully recalling the dream just now. The feeling had been too real.
He sat on the bed in a daze for a moment, then picked up the pocket watch on the low cabinet. Minguang Island had no distinction between night and day; it was now seven in the morning.
It was time. Su Xiao walked out of the captain's cabin. The next destination: Bloodhoof Island. Bloodhoof Island was the West Sea King's stronghold. The island was large, surrounded by red boulders. Seen from above, the red boulders around the island looked like a hoof print, hence the name Bloodhoof Island.
The island was notoriously easy to defend and hard to attack. The surrounding red boulders acted like a natural barrier, the shortest being over ten meters high, providing a commanding height.
The surrounding darkness receded. After leaving the alternate space where Minguang Island was located, the salty sea breeze hit his face.
The Doom Number was currently in the West Ge Sea, not far from Bloodhoof Island. Soon, Bloodhoof Island appeared ahead.
Su Xiao looked into the distance. As the rumors said, the island's edge was all red boulders. There was only one dock, and currently, no ships were near it.
The entire Bloodhoof Island was eerily quiet. No pirates were seen guarding the red boulders. Looking around, there was no one.
"Baha."
Su Xiao signaled Baha to scout from above. Baha took off. Just as it was about to fly over Bloodhoof Island, a sense of being locked onto appeared.
"These old guns from this era, even with supernatural traits, the bullet speed won't be fast... Damn it!"
Baha shuttled into an alternate space. A harpoon whooshed past. If Baha hadn't been fast, it would have been skewered.
Baha began continuously teleporting through space above. After a while, it flew back near the Doom Number.
"Boss, no ambush spotted near the island edge. The West Sea King's men are all in the island's center. Too far, the bow cannon can't reach."
"Mm."
Su Xiao maneuvered the Doom Number to submerge into the sea. All the cursed men detached from the ship's hull. The large iron cage on the deck holding Mad Dog Quake was dragged away by several cursed men.
Mad Dog Quake was a trump card. For this battle, Su Xiao planned to release Quake to test his combat effectiveness.