Chapter 271: The Undying King

Inside the captain's cabin of the Golden Dream, Edwina was introducing her collection one by one; a fondness for showing off one's collection was a common affliction of the Church of Knowledge.

"This key is the treasure we found last time. Judging from its patterns and size, it should be a giant-made artifact from the Second Epoch, but I still can't determine exactly what place it's a key to."

"However, I had the crew members staying at the Gargas Islands discreetly spread the word that this is the key to opening some ancient ruin, and that ruin contains a great deal of treasure."

"This is enough to attract the Admiral of Blood to take a risk, but it could equally attract other pirate generals, or even a pirate king."

Edwina stopped in front of a massive iron-black key and introduced this collectible to Rekton.

This key was as large as a lyre; a normal human would have to hold it in both arms to lift it. It was altogether dull and lusterless, its form ancient.

Finally, Edwina added:

"You can try studying it."

Rekton chuckled and shook his head:

"No thanks. Perhaps at some point later, I'll buy it from you, but for now, let it stay here."

His gaze swept around the collection room, and he soon spotted what he had been looking for on a desk.

A book bound from parchment, its dark brown cover bearing a line of Ancient Fussak: "Groselle's Travels."

Noticing Rekton's gaze, Edwina immediately stepped over, picked up the book, and began introducing it with a smile:

"It came from a shipwreck on the ocean floor. It was submerged for 165 years and still hasn't been damaged."

"It records a story inside: a giant named Groselle decided to go to the Kingdom of Frost to hunt the 'King of the North,' a powerful frost dragon. Along the way, he encountered a series of companions—a female elf, a devout ascetic, a noble of the Solomon Empire, a soldier of Ruin. The story had just progressed to their direct confrontation with the 'King of the North' when it abruptly stopped."

"It's not that there's no continuation—it's that the last few pages can't be opened by any method. You can try."

Saying that, she handed over "Groselle's Travels" in her hand.

After Rekton reached out and took it, he flipped through this book that concealed the divine kingdom of the "Dragon of Imagination," Angelweed, with some curiosity.

He turned the pages of the book, letting the yellowish-brown sheets of paper slide by one after another.

The contents inside weren't much different from what Edwina had described, but the plot felt very abrupt, full of a disjointed sensation, as if someone were invisibly dragging the progress bar forward nonstop.

Soon, he reached the last few pages and found that they were indeed stuck together, impossible to separate by any means.

Come to think of it, the God of Knowledge had already gone in and taken a look—why didn't He just drag the story's progress to the ending?

Narrowing his eyes slightly, a conjecture surfaced in his mind: Angelweed's imprint left in the sea of collective consciousness had fixed this book's ending. Even the God of Knowledge had no way to directly change this ending and could only exert influence from the side?

Edwina did not interrupt Rekton's contemplation. She waited quietly for a moment.

Then Rekton handed "Groselle's Travels" back, and she casually took it and placed it on the desk nearby, asking at the same time:

"Do you have any insights on this book? I've studied it for many years and never gained anything from it."

Hearing this, Rekton's gaze fell once more upon "Groselle's Travels." He reached out and tapped it lightly, then spoke in deliberation:

"Judging only by the content, this book should be a modern product, yet it is sufficiently ancient—likely an item from the late Second Epoch."

Edwina nodded gently:

"Indeed. I researched it with some secret arts and found that the parchment dates back at least three thousand years, before the Great Cataclysm."

Rekton nodded noncommittally, then spoke with something like a sigh of emotion:

"This book, passing through the hands of one holder after another, recording figures from different eras, gives one a sense of ritual—a very ancient sense of ritual, as though it were waiting for an opportune moment."

"Most likely, it's something left behind or arranged by a high-level powerhouse of the Spectator pathway. They can influence the development of events by affecting the deep sea of collective consciousness, making things both bizarre and reasonable."

"Captain! We've found the Death Herald of the Undying King!"

Rekton's words were interrupted by First Mate Blue Walls, who had suddenly burst in. He quickly recounted the current situation, then shot a glare at Rekton, who was still inside the captain's cabin within the iceberg.

"The Undying King?" Edwina frowned slightly, then picked up a spyglass from the desk beside her and walked out of the captain's cabin.

The next moment, Rekton's figure suddenly blurred and vanished from the captain's cabin.

When he reappeared, he was already at the foremost gunwale of the Golden Dream.

Boatswain Daniels and Third Mate Yodson were also here, each holding a clearly modified spyglass, observing the situation in the surrounding waters.

With an artisan on board, all manner of wondrous items and tools really were fully equipped.

Rekton sighed in admiration inwardly, then withdrew his gaze.

He frowned slightly, looking toward the sea to his front-side. There was a black shadow approaching at high speed; it was still quite far away, and relying on the naked eye alone, the specific details of the ship could not be made out.

"On the open sea, the naked eye is easily deceived. Here!"

Yodson beside him explained in a not particularly friendly tone, then handed over the spyglass in his hand.

Rekton glanced at this former playboy. When it came to matters not involving the affairs within the iceberg, the man was actually quite easy to get along with.

Then he shook his head slightly and offered an explanation:

"No need. Things that appear within my field of vision don't become blurred because of distance."

The next moment, a glint of purple radiance flashed through his eyes. His gaze easily pierced through the obstruction of space and made out the situation of the distant "Death Herald."

It was a sailing ship nearly two hundred meters in length, its bow and stern curving sharply upward, its overall form resembling a crescent moon.

Its outer layer bore a black coating. The cannons along the ship's sides were arranged in three staggered rows, orderly from top to bottom. The parts rising above the deck, apart from the masts, were similarly towering and massive—at least the equivalent of a five-story building.

It had only a single sail, upon which was depicted a black tombstone.

The crew aboard wasn't too numerous. In Rekton's sight, they shared some deep-level connection with the "Death Herald" beneath their feet, more like an extension of the "Death Herald."

Woo~woo~~

A faint, illusory sound rang out in Rekton's mind, brimming with filthy, depraved undertones, saturated with malice.

The "Death Herald" attempted to reverse-establish a connection with Rekton through his gaze and exert influence.

Rekton swiftly withdrew his gaze, severing the connection between himself and the "Death Herald."

He exhaled slightly, then frowned and murmured aloud:

"That ship is a Sequence 3 Babbleer. Dealing with it is a bit troublesome—fortunately, the Undying King it controls can only exert Sequence 4 level of power."

"What do you mean 'only' Sequence 4 level of power? At Sequence 4, one is already a demigod!"

Yodson beside him cast a suspicious glance at Rekton. He felt that this fellow's words just now were pure bragging, yet also felt there was something to them.

Lei Kedun paid no attention to Yue Desen, who was still puzzling over his own strength beside him; he turned his gaze and casually scanned the sea.

His eyes suddenly grew deep and gloomy, covered with a layer of hazy white.

The world in his vision changed; amidst a river of countless silver-white threads woven together, he directed his gaze toward a future that was somewhat transparent and illusory.

Relying on his connection to the Golden Dream, he gazed with deep eyes at the approaching future, where many tangled fates intersected.

After a moment, his eyes cleared again, though his brow furrowed slightly.

Sai Ni Ao Er actually didn't choose to let the Rose School's people come help; instead, he chose to muddle the news released by Ai De Wen Na's side, attracting more pirates — a development not too surprising.

After a moment of contemplation, Lei Kedun's mouth curled into a smile; he turned and stepped forward, and in the next instant his figure vanished from the deck.

"How does this guy keep appearing and disappearing like that?"

Yue Desen muttered a complaint to Dan Ni Er Si beside him.

Dan Ni Er Si nodded in agreement, then asked:

"Why don't you steal his extraordinary ability to teleport?"

"If I had that ability, I would already be the chief mate of the Golden Dream." Yue Desen glanced at Dan Ni Er Si and said nothing more.

Beside Ai De Wen Na, Lei Kedun's figure suddenly appeared.

"Sai Ni Ao Er did some publicity for the news he released; the Golden Dream now attracts many eyes, and the 'Death Herald' is merely the most blatant of them."

Ai De Wen Na nodded in response, her expression solemn.

"This is foreseeable; what are you preparing to do?"

Lei Kedun raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said with a smile:

"Change course and directly clash with the 'Death Herald'; on a demigod-level battlefield, the ordinary pirates drawn by greed will retreat on their own."

"But this is the best opportunity for action for Sai Ni Ao Er, the pirate general."

Ai De Wen Na frowned slightly and said:

"This risk is high; you need to be able to completely restrain the 'Death Herald' and provide reinforcement at the critical moment."

"Moreover, Sai Ni Ao Er might not intervene in our conflict with the Undying King as you expect."

Lei Kedun curled the corner of his mouth into an arc, speaking with full confidence:

"Lucky people always have some blind spots."

"Furthermore, I am quite familiar with the abilities of the Solar Domain and the Gate Path."

"After all, as a disciple of knowledge, I can request help at any time!"

Ai De Wen Na fell silent for a moment, hesitated slightly, then nodded her agreement to the plan.

Afterward, she used a secret technique to broadcast her voice across the entire Golden Dream.

"Change course, target: the 'Death Herald'!"

(End of chapter)