Chapter 492: Misfortune Entwined

The ground trembled slightly, causing the sand and gravel on the beach to sway continuously.

Soon, a figure nearly three meters tall emerged from the edge of the island's primeval forest.

It was entirely gray‑white, as if formed from a single massive stone; its face was pitted and hollow, lacking obvious eyes, mouth or ears.

"Stone giant—its core is the primary ingredient of the Sequence‑5 'Guardian' demon‑potion, and it possesses extremely high defense," Jia De Li Ya whispered, relaying the monster's data.

Ke Lai En and An De Sen, though knowing nothing about such a creature, still wore serious, earnest expressions as they stared at it.

Jia De Li Ya turned, stepped a few paces toward the Future, half‑raised her right hand, and amplified her voice, shouting:

"Aim!"

Upon Jia De Li Ya's command, the pirates on board immediately readjusted the dozens of cannons on the port side to target the lumbering stone giant.

Boom—! Boom—! Boom—!

Cannonballs flew out one by one; dust rose instantly around Luo and the stone giant, shrouding the area. Amid swirling flames, fragments scattered as if capable of destroying everything.

The towering gray‑white figure stomped out of the smoke‑filled zone, and the earlier volley of cannon fire had only knocked loose a few surface stones.

An De Sen clicked his tongue at the scene, teasingly saying:

"That defense is way too strong, isn't it? If we swapped in the 'giant' path's Guardians, would this barrage leave them completely unscathed?"

"No wonder the Galgas Archipelago has not a single resident demigod; even extraordinary beings below demigod rank struggle to breach the defense of those hulks."

Sitting on a beach chair, Lei Ke Dun rose, his right hand gesturing in the air; moments later, an ancient‑styled spear materialized, its tip to hilt engulfed in clusters of dark crimson flame.

The dark‑red spear solidified and flew from his hand, leaving a slowly fading streak of light that pierced straight through the stone giant's vital core.

The spear left a bowl‑sized hole in the giant's core, instantly breaching its body and falling into the primeval forest beyond.

Boom!

A massive explosion roared, raising a spray of mud, sand and debris; the dark‑red flame burst, turning the uplifted dust and trees to ash.

All this occurred in an instant, and the stone giant's body seemed yet to react, continuing its forward stride.

It had just set its right leg down when its body collapsed, causing a modest tremor; the massive form stiffened in place, cracking sounds echoing from within, and within seconds the three‑meter‑tall stone giant crumbled into a heap of rubble.

An De Sen turned his head in surprise and asked Lei Ke Dun, "You can see its weak point too?"

"A Seeker's eye works better," Lei Ke Dun replied evenly.

Ke Lai En watched the stone giant collapse into rubble, noting the exaggerated crater left in the blasted forest behind; a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth suggested it felt like using cannons on a mosquito, and the giant's death was rather dignified.

"So, if we could dispatch this stone giant so easily, what was the purpose of that earlier barrage?"

An De Sen spoke while moving toward the giant's corpse.

"It wasn't a real monster, so there's no loot," Lei Ke Dun explained calmly why he hadn't eliminated it outright.

An De Sen's steps halted as he stared unblinking at the fragments ahead, watching them vanish at a visibly rapid pace.

No wonder the misfortune‑clad fellow summoned only false monsters, leaving no bounty. Ke Lai En couldn't help but mutter internally, abandoning his notion of using unlucky An De Sen as bait to lure monsters for hunting.

Luring such phony monsters was a complete waste of effort.

An De Sen shrugged, slumped back, and kept muttering:

"That's the biggest problem with these waters— not every monster yields treasure; sometimes it's just a futile grind."

"That's why the 'Audience' path is the most aggravating," Lei Ke Dun sighed softly, then reclined onto the starlight‑formed beach chair.

"Why the 'Audience'? Are these fake monsters linked to the 'Audience' path?"

An De Sen sauntered over, cross‑legged on the sand beside Lei Ke Dun.

Lei Ke Dun turned his head, glanced at the approaching An De Sen, and said evenly:

"Why didn't you focus on studying back then? With enough wilderness survival knowledge you wouldn't have triggered the power left on Wu Luo Liu Si's mural, nor be clueless about the abilities of the deities in the 'Audience' path."

An De Sen twitched his mouth, lowered his head, sighed, and changed the subject:

"Those beings you mentioned who wield some fate authority—how can I gain their aid? Offer faith? Or sacrifice my soul?"

Ke Lai En's expression turned complicated as he glanced at An De Sen, noting that a goddess surely wouldn't bother a shallow believer who suddenly switched faith; Wu Luo Liu Si and Wei Er Ang Sai Ting were still at odds, likely too busy to respond, and as for the "Fool," sorry, I'm just a Sequence‑6 nameless one, and Mr. Fool is powerless—only A Meng might answer a prayer out of curiosity, asking for nothing more than all of you.

Perhaps Ke Lai En's stare was too obvious; An De Sen glanced back suspiciously, feeling that the nameless figure's gaze held a hint of pity.

Thoughts swirled for a moment, then An De Sen's smile returned; his eyes lingered on Lei Ke Dun and Ke Lai En as he said:

"What should I call you?"

"A Er Tai En Si."

"Ge Er Man Si Pa Luo."

Lei Ke Dun and Ke Lai En each calmly supplied a false name.

An De Sen was startled at first, then quickly composed himself, turned to Lei Ke Dun with a smile and said:

"I've heard of you, mainly from the Storm Church's wanted list; rumors say you have a good relationship with the 'Ice Mountain General'? I was classmates with Ai De Wen Na before."

Ke Lai En watched the attempt to chat up An De Sen, thoughts flashing through his mind:

Being classmates with the 'Ice Mountain General' yet not joining the Knowledge Church, yet from A Er's tone he still keeps ties with the Knowledge Church—could it be he was dropped for failing an exam? That's typical Knowledge Church, judging people by intellect.

Jia De Li Ya also fixed her gaze on An De Sen. The Knowledge Church's hidden network on the sea? Many treasure hunters may be linked to the Knowledge Church, hunters of treasure and scholars of knowledge alike.

Ignoring Ke Lai En and Jia De Li Ya's scrutinizing looks, An De Sen smiled and turned to Ke Lai En, saying:

"Ge Er Man Si Pa Luo, a newly risen bounty hunter on the seas, has in just a few months hunted many pirates, including some formidable ones; most legendary is his near‑kill of the 'Disease General', earning him the title of the craziest hunter!"

"If it weren't for the relentless calamities at Luo Si De Qun Dao, I'd have planned to share a drink with you; unfortunately the Storm Church has driven most of those pirates away."

"Now we've met," Ke Lai En nodded, replying evenly.

After a brief exchange, the group rested on the beach where Lei Ke Dun's starlight blocked part of the sun.

When the pirates' downtime ended, the Future soon set sail again, heading deeper into the ocean.

As a hunter, An De Sen roamed the ship, quickly blending in with the pirates aboard the Future.

Lei Ke Dun lounged on the rail, his gaze catching An De Sen drinking with a few pirates in the cabin's shadows; a slight curl of his mouth noted, "Unlucky An De Sen, you got the Frank‑spiked brew."

Ke Lai En, who had been watching from the deck for mermaid traces, stepped closer; seeing no one else around, he dropped his Ge Er Man Si Pa Luo persona.

Anyway, my faceless demon elixir has already been digested, so when I don't need to act I can detach from the role, which is better for my mental state.

As thoughts drifted, Ke Lai En planted a hand on the rail, pushed off with the tip of his foot, and sat side by side with Lei Ke Dun on the rail, his tone tinged with concern as he asked:

"Is something wrong with your condition? Ever since we encountered that gold‑cast carriage, you've become much colder. Although you don't show much change in daily behavior, to the faceless one's eyes these are obvious abnormalities."

Lei Ke Dun chuckled, nodded, then shook his head and said:

"Borrowing a high‑rank power that isn't yours will inevitably be influenced by its master. It's not a huge effect; you just need to gradually adjust your mindset, and you can recover in less than two months."

As he spoke, he extended his right hand forward, retrieved a card from the shadow behind his backlight, tapped the card twice with his right index finger, and a spray of pale blue stardust fell, causing indescribable changes to appear on the card.

Lei Ke Dun handed the card to Ke Lai En and said:

"You can take a look, or go above the Gray Mist to play a costume‑change game."

"Costume‑change game? Am I a character you cultivated in your game inventory?" Ke Lai En retorted while reaching for the card.

At first glance, he noticed a few words in the upper‑right corner of the card, in Gufusak language: Sequence 0: The Hermit.

The front of the card depicted an elderly Luo Sai Er, with white beard and hair, wearing a tattered robe, holding a lantern in one hand and a staff in the other.

Ke Lai En examined the card in his hand and couldn't help exclaiming:

"Having seen the Black Emperor (Item), then the Hermit card, I suddenly get a sense of a great emperor fallen from grace."

Lei Ke Dun twitched the corner of his mouth, then said thoughtfully:

"If we use this card to create a paper‑person duplicate, would the Fool gain an extra lantern angel beside him?"

"Lantern angel?" Ke Lai En tilted his head slightly, thought for a moment, then asked, "Can this card leverage the power of the Gray Mist to clear the misfortune afflicting the unlucky An De Sen?"

Lei Ke Dun shook his head slightly and said:

"No. The Hermit's path expresses authority over fate mainly in observation and foresight, and lacks direct intervention ability. If you were using the Wrong or Fool card, you could, via occult connections, employ a high‑sequence ability of the corresponding path to resolve An De Sen's persistent misfortune."

"Then which entity do you intend for An De Sen to seek to solve his problem?" Ke Lai En asked curiously.

As soon as the words fell, the bright noon turned black in an instant, and a deep, silent night shrouded the entire sea.

The Future was instantly veiled in starlight, illuminating the passages to every location, and Jia De Li Ya's voice rang across the whole ship:

"Everyone, return to your quarters immediately, or find a corner and enter sleep mode."

(End of chapter)