Pirate Kingship

Chapter 361 - 304: The Dragon’s Roar, The Silver Wing Knights!

Chapter 361: Chapter 304: The Dragon’s Roar, The Silver Wing Knights!

They were busy sweeping up in the virtual stock market in the morning and had gone through a fierce naval battle in the Windward Strait.

The time had quietly reached evening.

The daylong heavy rain not only didn’t stop, but it was also getting heavier, and the dark clouds kept piling up thicker and thicker.

Added to that, an eerie mist silently converged from all directions, and even before night fully fell, the International Port was completely shrouded in darkness.

Inside a house in the city’s residential area, a family of five, consisting of parents and three children, was getting ready for dinner.

Before starting their meal, they didn’t forget to clasp their hands in front of their chests for a pre-dinner prayer.

If zealous Priests could see this scene, they would certainly be very comforted, but if they heard the prayer these people were reciting, they’d probably be fuming with rage.

And then they would probably sentence them all to burn at the stake.

A normal pre-dinner prayer should be:

"Our Creator in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread; forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit; from this day unto eternity, forever and ever!"

Even the most perfunctory and concise version should at least be:

"We thank the Creator, for He has bestowed upon us food, keeping us alive."

But this family’s prayer was completely different from those of devout believers elsewhere; what they were murmuring was:

"We thank the Sea Hunter, for he has bestowed upon us food, shelter, land, and wealth, enabling us to live a life of abundance.

We pray, Lord, protect him; we pray, Lord, that you may sanctify him!"

Less than a hundred years had passed since the beginning of the Great Nautical Age, and most of the pioneers from the lower classes of this era were criminals, bankrupts, slaves who couldn’t survive otherwise, and their descendants.

The reason they left their homes to seek a living in the Bantaan Archipelago was that they clearly hadn’t enjoyed much of the Creator’s blessing.

Therefore, they were hardly devout.

Compared with intangible faith, these colonial people were more pragmatic and clearer about where their good life came from.

Ever since the International Port was opened and the island gradually became wealthy, the Governor’s Mansion took the lead in launching a guaranteed welfare policy ahead of the entire world:

"The Governor’s Mansion will resolve basic housing for the island’s permanent settlers.

If you want better conditions, we encourage residents to strive for it with their own hands; we provide all the convenient conditions and numerous positions (Chapter 171)."

Following a series of policies, the island’s residents, as long as they were diligent and reliable, would definitely live much better than people in other places.

The International Port was changing day by day; all residents who followed Byron and Catherine’s policies were making a fortune.

They couldn’t care less whether their Governor was some great pirate or how severely he exploited outsiders.

After all, all external looting and primitive accumulation ultimately benefited us insiders, so I would support you even at the risk of my life.

As a result, their Mind Wish Power naturally grew stronger every day.

Unconsciously, Byron had gradually replaced the Creator in their hearts.

There’s a joke that for pragmatic groups: "My level of faith in God is directly proportional to how many chicken eggs I’m given each day."

Compared to the Creator who demands tithes, the Sea Hunter truly provides grain, money, jobs, and houses!

This kind of behavior was exactly what the Church’s missionaries would harshly target in the future.

And the situation in the industrial city of Rapid Stream Port was even more severe.

To become a qualified worker, the first step is to start learning and to learn to think.

With more thinking people, naturally, there were fewer who were devout to the Church.

This was also why Byron must strive for "exemption rights," and play by his own rules – it was one of his fundamental motivations.

"Let’s eat, children."

After completing the prayer, the head of the family called out to start the meal, but at that moment his body suddenly shook a few times, his head gradually became heavy, and slowly dropped onto the dining table.

Then he started to snore loudly.

The rest of the family did the same; almost at the same moment, they all fell asleep at the dinner table.

Every functional area, including the bustling port district, was not spared.

This time should have been the liveliest moment at the International Port; the lights of various bars and entertainment venues should have been lit early.

But just as the noisy voices began to emerge, they immediately fell silent, as if like that Ghost Ship, everything turned into a deathly hush.

TAP, TAP, TAP...

Only a figure dressed in formal attire, leading a group of oddly shaped Parasitic Coral people, swaggered onto the port, taking swift steps on the stone avenue leading directly from the dock to the central square.

Even in the heavy rain, there was not a spot of mud underfoot.

He looked at the already asleep merchants, sailors, dancers, and local residents in each building, nodding his head in satisfaction. "Summoning the second Touch of the Kraken to descend, how could it lack my personal witness? Go forth, open the gates to the Dreamworld for me."

The hundreds of Parasitic Coral people immediately lay on the ground, forming a huge ceremonial altar resembling a circular gate amidst the pouring rain.

The parasitic corals on their bodies rapidly diversified, digesting the human flesh underneath in an instant and clinging together to form clumps of marine organisms.

It looked like a huge rock covered with corals and various parasites.

Divine Light flickered upon it, and then an illusory pillar of light shot into the sky, connecting to another layer of this world’s realms.

GURGLE, GURGLE...

Cryptic, bubbling language echoed in the ears of the young gentleman.

At the other end of the altar’s communication were clearly other members of the Deep Dive Church.

The young man took out his Grimoire, "Spiral City Manual," and began to chant again:

"In the name of the residents of Luanyun, the city below the sea, and in praise of the Slumbering God.

In the name of the Mark of Kish and all those who submit to it, the Gate of the Deep Sea, and all who use this door..."

Illusory Divine Light spread from the altar, steadily Anchoring the collective subconscious of the entire International Port, turning this cosmopolitan port city into a colossal Anchor.

They aimed to drag a colossal being slumbering in the Sea of Origin Matter forcefully ashore.

A nebulous figure covered with tentacles also began to coalesce above the altar, filling the entire city with a pungent stench.

The human structures in view grew increasingly hazy and twisted, ever more resembling that dream-city, Luanyun.

Yet the young gentleman failed to realize that the Golden Law, which rules over heaven, earth, and humans, had already descended quietly before their landing.

From the top floor of the Governor’s Mansion, close to the square, a pair of cold eyes watched his every move.

This man looks like the Bayfolk, possesses self-awareness, yet he attacks the International Port alongside octopus warships. What exactly does he intend to do?

It was only when the ritual began and approached the most sensitive phase, when it could not afford any interruption, that Miss Catherine, the Regent King "Mithril Dragon," slowly stood up and moved toward the tower of the Governor’s Mansion.

In her hand, a flash of silver light.

A Mithril-made, five-meter-long, sharp lance appeared, its rear affixed with a square-shaped banner of an Order of Knights.

Considering the enormous size of the lance, it was clearly an ancient Dragon Knight’s giant knight spear and had a distinct name – the "Dragon Lance"!

To accommodate a Giant Dragon’s size, a Dragon Lance was usually at least five meters in length.

Secured at one end to the dragon’s saddle with hooks, grasped in the middle by the Knight, who would then thrust with the tip to strike.

It was the ultimate weapon for Dragon Knights engaged in aerial combat.

However, since the Silver Era, not a single Dragon had been seen on the Old Continent, and even the Sub-dragon Species gradually vanished into the annals of history.

This Dragon Lance, passed down from ancient times, had since been utilized as a massive javelin for Ballistas.

It acquired yet another name: "Third-Level Sacred Relic – Javelin of the Silver-winged Knights."

It’s worth mentioning that the Old Continent, now officially known as the Silver Continent, was called the "Dragon Court" before the Silver Era.

The Dragon Blood flowing in the Lancaster Family’s veins, just like every Dragon Lance scattered around the world, naturally testified to a historic legacy.

Catherine held the Dragon Lance aloft, a splendid silver halo exploded above her head, the strong winds billowed her magnificent gold-and-red skirt, making her look both beautiful and valiant.

Time had come to early May; she had already smoothly completed her advancement to the Third Order, and with the blessing of the Golden Law, she had risen yet another tier.

In the stronghold of the International Port, she was a deserving Tier 4 Hero.

With a cry from her mouth:

"Silver-winged Knights, come forth!"

ROAR—!

Amidst ear-shattering dragon roars,

Five resplendent, silver behemoths with sharp teeth, claws, and dragon wings, ridden by five slender figures shimmering in silver, erupted into the sky from the tower of the Governor’s Mansion.

Heroic unit: Silver-winged Knights!

Count: Five.

Catherine’s wealth surged every day, but even though these Flying Dragon Knights were not fashioned of solid Mithril, their massive size alone had depleted all her Mithril reserves.

Though dozens of Heroic Spirits had been summoned, currently only five could be granted bodies of Mithril.

Base ability: "Demonslayer Holy Silver."

The lance’s innate capability had been inherited by each of the Silver-winged Knights.

Their armor and lance tips, in addition to the inherent properties of Mithril, were all equipped with bonus effects against magic foes.

Against magical defenses, their attack power was greatly boosted. Against magical attacks, their defense was also substantially enhanced.

If the initial Summoning Heroic Spirits ritual had only involved that Dragon Lance, then the legion’s abilities might have stopped there.

But it was Byron’s sacrifice of a forbidden knowledge, "Shadow Robe," in exchange for the legion’s battle standard that brought her an unexpected boon.

Advanced legion ability: "Do Not Disturb the Slumbering Dragon."

The effect could only be described as very powerful, extremely powerful!

However, Catherine, touching her own tiny treasury and Byron’s savings, would rather never have to use such potent abilities.

No, I hope not in the next lifetime, nor the lifetime after that. Even without starting to use it, I can already guess how that once celebrated Silver-winged Knights, with their excellent wartime achievements in the late Mythological Era, met their demise.

From her lofty position, Catherine looked down at the young gentleman in the square. He clearly hadn’t anticipated such a turn of events, his face filled with disbelief. She fiercely brought down her Dragon Lance:

"Any Tom, Dick, or Harry thinks they can create trouble in the International Port.

No matter what you’re up to, I have no interest in knowing.

Order of Knights, heed my command! Wealth defeats all magic—eliminate him!"