Pirate Kingship

Moreover, under the influence of the "Grenadier March," it forcibly locked in the [Dismayed] effect after its defeat.

The faint soul fire flickering in its hollow eye sockets conveyed a clear emotion of fear when Byron approached it.

It seemed to have turned misfortune into a blessing—after losing all the rotten mud and various burdens on its body, it unexpectedly recovered part of its sanity and became capable of communication.

Byron patted its head, joy appearing on his face:

"Just when I was dozing off, someone brings me a pillow.

I was just saying I wanted to give the Pirates of Black Sails Harbor a new job of collecting tolls, and I was worried they couldn’t hold the line; you came at exactly the right time.

Double Flower Red Stick, Scavenger, Black Gloves... there’s no one more suitable for these positions than you."

The Kingdom of Castilia has a famous saying:

"Whoever controls the Ocean controls trade; whoever controls world trade controls the world’s Wealth, and in the end, controls the world itself!"

Conservative estimates say that the true arrival of the Spiral Annals is still decades away—several generations’ time.

Before that, Byron wants to control the Material World and unite all forces that can be united; the "Echidna Triangular Circulation," this natural waterway connecting three Continents, is the top priority.

The Mud Swamp Giant is clearly the divinely chosen wage slave guarding this waterway.

"From ancient times, those who kill and burn have always ended up being granted amnesty.

You can join the Million Heavenly Army under my Flower Mountain Celestial Kingdom as an Assister... forget it, that title sounds too impressive; you don’t deserve it.

Even with amnesty, there’s still a difference between one person and another.

Since your brains have already rotted clean, let’s just call you: No-Brain."

He took out the "Faustian Contract," smeared some Sealing Mud on its forehead, and pressed its head down to sign its name on the contract.

Then he transformed this Curse Spirit, which was already a Dead Spirit, into a [Wild Hunt Servant], making it the second Fifth Order Servant after the [Abyssal Horror] Dagon.

He easily obtained the complete Forbidden Knowledge "Core of the Melting Furnace" from its soul.

With one glance he memorized it all, then handed it to Violet, who was likewise highly compatible with this body of knowledge, and looked toward the turbid sea with a trace of yearning in his eyes:

"I wonder how that Old Gods [Master Creator], the [Bull-headed God], is doing now—whether he has recovered his sanity like the Wolf God.

If we can find his Corpse in the Sea of Origin Matter.

As long as we deal with those Kin acting as his guards, we might be able to help you snatch one or two [Divine Positions]; [Forging] and [Flame] are both quite good.

With a bit of tweaking, you can use them straight away; it’s far more time-saving and energy-saving than slowly condensing them yourself."

At the mention of seizing the Old Gods’ [Divine Positions], everyone around them had their eyes light up.

Especially Heather, standing beside Byron; her beautiful big eyes, fixed on her son’s side profile, were full of little stars, as if she were looking at her favorite bear-shaped cookies.

Byron quickly said:

"Mom, you get a share too. You were already a Fourth Order Mythical Creature twenty years ago; although your Extraordinary System is different from ours, you should be getting close to a Fifth Order Demigod, right?"

Since they were heading for the Eastern Continent, Byron had already learned most of the relevant Extraordinary World information from Heather and Saranthe.

With the Life Essence of a Fifth Order Pseudo-God supporting them, some Hidden secrets that would cause ordinary people to drop dead on the spot no longer had any effect on them.

Snap!

Heather snapped her fingers; a light flashed between her brows, and a hefty Grimoire floated in front of her.

Its silver cover showed a small town with a crescent moon as the backdrop; with a "whirr," it flipped open to reveal a series of Fairy Tale Witchcrafts.

The last entry was her own story, "Little Mermaid."

"Soon. I’m only one final ritual away from the High Sequence—becoming a fairy tale.

I need to return to the Corridor of Truth to wrap things up."

Because the activation level of Knowledge there is too strong, the power system of the [Corridor of Truth] is different from all other places.

Its requirements on talent are the harshest, and its numbers the smallest, yet it most closely resembles those Wizards of ancient texts who pursued Truth.

Its basic organizational unit is not the Church or The Society, but the academic School.

Their maxim: "Knowledge is Power; give me a fulcrum and I can lever the entire world."

They have no [Silver Law] or [Golden Law] as Anchoring, so naturally no one dares to study the Old Gods’ [Bloodline Codex], yet they have created Grimoires unique to themselves.

The [Leech Lady] and the [Homicidal Doctor] accompanying them were seeing this novel Extraordinary System for the first time.

Thinking of Byron’s words before departure—"The Eastern Continent’s Extraordinary System suits you better"—they couldn’t help but fall into thought.

Beside them, the [Sea Magician] Saranthe swept his gaze over the companions around them, slightly lifted his chin, and said with some pride:

"Everyone knows that each complete Forbidden Book comes from some Old Gods.

But do you know how those very first Forbidden Books of the Paleozoic Era and early Mythological Era came into being?"

Given the chance to learn Origin Level Extraordinary Knowledge, everyone instinctively pricked up their ears.

Saranthe glanced at his aunt; after receiving her nod, he explained to the group:

"We don’t study ready-made Forbidden Knowledge; instead, as Truth-seekers, we explore Knowledge that the Old Gods have yet to grasp or pollute, piecing together unprecedented concepts and Truths.

Take sister-in-law’s Whale Oil Industry for example—Mechanical Knowledge, dynamics, combustion reactions... an entire series of Knowledge can ultimately be combined into the ’Whale Oil Steam Engine.’

This final concept and Truth is what the various Schools call a [Truth Embodiment]!

It’s also the original source of those Forbidden Books in the world.