Chapter 192 [Book of Shadows], The Price of Becoming a King
As soon as he saw Xia En approaching, the pirate prisoner's eyes immediately showed deep fear.
He knew very well that the other party was the God of Death who killed his companions one by one in the black mist just now!
It was this man who killed his own captain with one against two!
Pirates' awe of the strong is engraved in their bones!
But the prisoner still pretended to be calm and said: "Captain John, you really hide your secrets."
"This time, even if we chose the wrong target, we can't blame others."
Xia En With a calm face, he said: "You haven't answered my question yet."
"Who wants to kill me?"
The prisoner seems to have understood his current situation and is honest and serious. Said: "I don't know."
He smiled bitterly: "You guys like us, how do you know who is behind the scenes?"
"I'm afraid only Captain Keith and Captain Bond know, but well..."
< br>The prisoner turned his head and glanced at the bodies of the two captains not far away, and the meaning was self-evident.
Dead people cannot speak.
As soon as these words came out, Xia En believed most of them.
For such a major event as the attack on the apostles of the pirate principality, most likely only a few people know the inside story. The other pirates are just tools to carry out the mission.
But Shane still had some doubts about the prisoner.
It is not his words that are doubtful, but his person!
It was no coincidence that Xia En found this one among so many prisoners.
In his perception, this prisoner hid part of his strength, and even in the fight in the black mist, this man held back and did not take action.
The subsequent surrender was even more straightforward and not sloppy at all.
Xia En thought of two possibilities.
Either this prisoner is a trump card prepared by the mastermind behind the scenes.
Or, he may be one of the secret path participants in the promotion ritual!
Xia En also just realized that although he is one of the twelve apostles, it does not mean that all trialists are like this.
They may be apostles, they may be just ordinary pirates, they may be handymen, or they may even be members of other forces participating in the pirate conference.
Their trial tasks may not be the same as Xia En's.
Maybe someone’s mission is to kill the pirate king!
Thinking of this, Xia En twitched the corner of his mouth and secretly complained.
“Why does it feel like you are playing Werewolf?”
On the one hand, he must hide his identity and mission, and on the other hand, he must catch the flaws of other trialists.
Isn’t it just a werewolf killing!
While Xia En was thinking, the prisoner continued.
"The ones who dare to attack you, Captain John, are just those few families, maybe... two or three of the apostles."
Xia En's heart moved slightly.
He actually knew who the "those families" the prisoners were referring to were.
First of all, this starts with the current structure of the [Pirate Principality].
Although the pirate king Augustine conquered all pirates on the high seas, to manage a "principal", fists alone are certainly not enough.
Augustine cannot manage such a large area of sea alone.
So, after establishing the [Pirate Principality], Augustine divided the sea into five jurisdictions.
He himself is located in the richest and most prosperous central sea area, and the other four sea areas are governed by local pirates.
The leaders of each jurisdiction are also famous pirates.
They are called the "Five Kings of the Ocean" together with Augustine, and some people call them "one emperor and four emperors."
Of course, in terms of strength and prestige, the four great pirates are all Far inferior to Augustine.
But now, isn’t Augustine seriously injured?
Even the fleet brought out was mostly damaged.
How could these powerful and ambitious pirates not want to test the waters?
As for the other apostles mentioned by the captives, they are not completely alarmist.
From John’s remaining memories, Shane learned that his relationship with several apostles was not harmonious.
Maybe First Officer Philip and the failure of the last mission were all their fault.
But Xia En vaguely felt that the other apostles were not bold enough to attack him directly.
"Oh, it's so complicated and confusing..."
Xia En sighed, feeling a little tired.
He has never been very good at these conspiracies, and just thinking about them gives him a headache.
He is still more accustomed to using absolute violence to crush them all the way.
Simple, crude and direct!
"Why don't we just flip the table over!"
Xia En's idea is just a thought for now.
Even if the strength of the entire promotion ritual is suppressed, there will definitely be fourth-level or even fifth-level experts in the [Pirate Principality].
With his current strength, he is not qualified to overturn the table.
Soon, Xia En got rid of distracting thoughts, looked at the prisoner in front of him, and said directly.
"Give me a reason not to kill you."
Hearing this, the face of the unattractive prisoner suddenly changed.
He realized that Xia En was really murderous.
The prisoner was puzzled for a while, thinking that he had disguised himself so well, where did he reveal his true identity?
Seeing Xia En's eyes getting colder and colder, the prisoner did not dare to hesitate and spoke quickly.
"Cooperation! We can cooperate!"
Xia En said lightly: "What can I do to cooperate with you?"
"If people like us, We have the same purpose, why can’t we cooperate?”
“Many seniors have had this experience in the past, it’s not a shame.”
The prisoner's words were strange, and the preface and the follower were inconsistent, which made the other pirates confused.
Xia En understood immediately.
He admitted his identity in disguise, and explained that this kind of cooperation between secret travelers is actually very common.
However, this alone is not enough to gain Xia En's trust.
Xia En continued to ask: "So, where is your sincerity?"
The prisoner smiled bitterly and said: "I can tell you...my name is Huiyun."
"This is my real name."
Real name?
Xia En was thoughtful.
This real name obviously refers to the name of the prisoner in reality.
In the optional mission, the description of the role is...not to be seen through and exposed by other trialists.
Xia En had always thought that the focus was on "seeing through", but now that I think about it, it is actually on "exposing!"
In other words, the criterion for failure is not that the tester failed to play the role, but that he was People question and expose it.
And knowing the real name is equivalent to having a handle, and you can reveal the other party's true identity at any time.
But after thinking about it, Xia En still said: "Not enough."
After all, the role-playing mission is an optional mission, and there is no indication of what the punishment will be if the mission fails. What if the prisoner tries to drag himself into trouble even if he fails in the mission?
Huiyun was so anxious that he was sweating, so he had to say: "Is it okay if I swear to the [Secret Sea]?"
"Here, there is no way to swear to the [Secret Sea] A real effect."
Xia En grinned: "Okay."
In Hui Yunli, "I will not do anything detrimental to Captain John during this ceremony." After the oath, Shane took him to the captain's cabin.
After closing the door, Xia En asked: "Tell me, what are your tasks and abilities?"
Hui Yun said honestly: "My necessary task is to ensure that Augustine does not die during the ritual." "As for my abilities... I can only say that I am a [Scholar] in the secret path."
Xia En was thoughtful, and he suddenly realized that he had another Something went wrong.
The promotion ritual when breaking through to the third level, the only people who participate in the promotion are those who are on the secret path of [Captain].
And when it reaches the fourth level or above, all the people from the secret path break in and make a mess!
“The water of this promotion ritual is really deep!”
Xia En took a deep breath, looked at the gray clouds in front of him, and thought in his heart: “[Scholar] means He is a kind of spell caster. "
"However, I have never heard of the name 'Grey Cloud' in Qihai."
Think about it, considering the size of Qihai. , Xia En has only explored a small corner now, and it is normal to meet mysterious people who have never heard of it.
After a few more casual conversations with Hui Yun and exchange of information.
Xia En asked First Officer Carney to continue heading towards the [Pirate Principality], while he returned to the room and counted the spoils of the battle.
Each of the two captains has a space ring.
Xia En has learned from Hui Yun that some of the props and money obtained in the promotion ritual can be taken out of the ritual.
Moreover, the higher the final evaluation, the more things you can take away.
This point really made Xia En a little tempted.
But it can also be inferred from this -
The origin of Hui Yun is not simple. He is definitely not a wild secret traveler like Xia En, but has his own teacher or leader. Only people can know the rules within the promotion ritual in advance.
Xia En opened the space ring to check, his eyes sweeping over the gold and silver jewelry and various rare props.
Can’t read more.
After reading it, he will realize that he cannot take all these treasures with him.
It will be very distressing.
Xia En’s main search target is still things that may record secrets and mysterious techniques.
The knowledge and skills learned in the promotion ritual can definitely be brought back to reality, right?
Although the strength displayed by the two captains was only level three, in real history, they were at least level six.
How could the secret technique they left behind not be a good thing?
Soon, Xia En actually found several seemingly extraordinary ancient books.
There is a book with a dark cover and no name on the spine.
Xia En stretched out his hand to touch the cover, and there was a warm and delicate touch on it, as if he was touching human skin.
Moreover, as the book was taken out, the whole room suddenly became dark.
It was as if...the surrounding light had been sucked away by this ancient book.
[Book of Shadows]
[Quality: Epic]
[Type: Props]
[Description: Recording the secrets of the Shadow Clan Books, if you study them with concentration, you can understand the secrets in them. 】
[The Shadow Clan is a rare race from ancient times. They live in the shadows all their lives, and they also master the secret of assassination that is unparalleled in the world. 】
【Now it is extinct. 】
【Walking in the shadows, serving the light, everything is empty, everything is allowed. 】
“What a good thing!”
The corners of Xia En’s mouth raised slightly: “It is indeed a special copy of the promotion ritual.”
Obviously, this [Book of Shadows] is the treasure that the "Shadow Blade" Bond kept at the bottom of the box.
His previous ability to attack Xia En in the black mist relied on the secret technique in this book.
This harvest verified Xia En’s previous conjecture.
This promotion ritual is full of treasures!
……
……
The next day, in the evening.
Xia En walked out of the captain's cabin and couldn't help but stretch.
His eyes looked a little tired, but his breath changed subtly.
If you look closely at Xia En's body, you will find that his body has become "darker", as if the light has been sucked away by something.
Maybe it was because he had learned [Shadow Swordsmanship] before, or maybe he was used to controlling the projection body.
This [Book of Shadows] is very compatible with Xia En.
In just one afternoon, Xia En benefited a lot and unlocked a new skill.
[Shadow Walking]
As the name suggests, it can temporarily travel through the shadows, a bit like the mage's [Arcane Leap].
Although Xia En is not an assassin, in battle, this practical little skill can often achieve surprising results.
At this time, Xia En glanced out of the corner of his eye.
I saw the setting sun hanging in the sky, and the fine waves on the sea glowed like broken gold.
Not far away, a special maritime city is enlarging and getting closer little by little.
This city is really special.
Below it is not land or island, but dilapidated ships one after another!
Among them, there are pirate ships, fishing boats, and navy-like ships, all of different sizes and shapes.
The messy wood and metal are mixed together in a seemingly loose but solid manner, showing a faint blood color in the sunset.
In Xia En's eyes, this is a city made of countless ship skeletons!
It can be said that every dilapidated ship has its own story.
Only now, they are just a foundation of the city.
"Isn't it spectacular?"
At some point, Hui Yun also walked out of his room, walked to Xia En and sighed.
“This is Augustine’s [Pirate Principality].”
“Augustine captured these ships one by one, and the [Pirate Principality] also grew stronger in his battles. Grow and grow.”
"Behind this, I don't know how many fights and sacrifices are hidden."
"But..."
Hui Yun looked in the direction of the sea city, a strange look flashed in his eyes.
“If you want to sit on the throne, how can you not step on the bones of corpses under your feet?”
“In other words, aren’t the corpses of these ships the throne of Augustine?”
Xia En was slightly startled.
Inexplicably, he remembered King Xin whom he had seen in his vision.
Under the other party, there seems to be a throne made of bones?
"Is this the price of becoming a king?"
Xia En fell into thinking.
At the same time, the distance between the [Sky Serpent] and the [Pirate Principality] is also constantly shortening.
As it approached, the emotion conveyed by the [Sky Serpent] obviously became a little fearful and uneasy.
This "Ten Thousand Ships Tomb" has a strong sense of oppression for the soul of any ship.
Soon, the [Sky Serpent] anchored at the port of the [Pirate Principality].
A one-eyed old man greeted us on the shore with a gentle smile.
"Master John, welcome home."
(End of Chapter)