Pirate Kingship

Chapter 360 - 303: The Edge of the World, The Conspiracy Begins_2

Chapter 360: Chapter 303: The Edge of the World, The Conspiracy Begins_2

The majority of Ghost Ships plow through these waters; this is their absolute home field!

Once an ordinary person falls into their midst, facing a terrifying Ghost Ship, the best probable outcome is a desperate longing for life, matched by an inability to find death.

The "Double-faced Person" Smith Robert paid no heed to Byron and his fellow humans.

Or rather, "The Golden Deer" was already a target for the Ghost Ships.

Once an opportunity arose, the "Double-faced Person," tasked with a Kingdom mission, was eager to sweep away all other competitors in one fell swoop.

His goal was not merely to intercede but also to take lives!

Smith’s deathly pale face maintained a smile, only now it appeared even more chilling, "The rules of the game are the rules of the game. As long as I eliminate all other competitors, the Castilia Kingdom will effectively gain the Right to Protect, even dominion over the Bantaan Archipelago, without doing a thing! Wouldn’t it be even more satisfying to transform the predetermined Archbishopric into a vice-kingdom?"

"The May Wind" had been pulling the entire crew of "The Golden Deer" towards the Dream Realm, and now suddenly, an equally formidable force had joined in from the same direction.

It was as if in a hard-fought tug-of-war between evenly matched sides, one suddenly gained heavyweight reinforcements.

The illusory anchor chains could no longer maintain their balance.

CRASH—!

The anchor Byron and Violet had forged using the Starlight Body instantly disintegrated. Beneath their feet, they felt the sudden weightless sensation of plummeting from a great height.

This time, not only was their consciousness being dragged down, but the entire ship as well.

Byron quickly shouted, "Not good! All crew members, hold fast to the ropes! We’re falling! Brace for impact!"

However, in the captain’s cabin of the octopus Warship below, the increasingly inhuman "Infinite Evolver" Balboa showed no surprise at this scene.

A glint of manic Human Nature flashed through his eyes, "GURGLE GURGLE... The opportunity I’ve been waiting for... has finally arrived! For my Lord!"

Raising his left hand, which had transformed into something resembling an anemone with writhing tentacles, he brought a golden, glittering compass before his face.

This was the Second-Level Cursed Item: Desire Compass.

The compass had three layers. From top to bottom, one layer corresponded to the Material World, another to the Edge of the World, and the last to the Sea of Origin Matter beyond the Material World.

This indicated that, if it wished, it could traverse the World Rifts and freely travel to any of these layers of space to find what its heart most desired.

Normally, the compass needle remained still. One shouldn’t expect it to work as diligently as its peers, which always silently point south.

Only the strongest desire could drive that gold needle to spin.

Whether it was something you sought, a wish you wanted to fulfill, or even a simple will to survive, it could point you to a specific location.

Follow that direction, and you might directly obtain the item, find relevant clues, or, at the right time and place, encounter a series of coincidences that fulfill your desire.

No anti-divination measures could completely block its perception. At most, they could blur its precise positioning, expanding the possible area from a few meters to several hundred or even thousands of kilometers.

When it came to finding objects and satisfying desires, it was one of the most proficient tools in the world.

The only downside: it only provided a direction. Whether one succeeded depended entirely on oneself, and survival was not guaranteed upon reaching the destination.

"GURGLE... My desire... GURGLE GURGLE... is, of course, to assist my Lord... GURGLE... in bringing the Luanyan Epoch back to reality!"

The "Infinite Evolver" Balboa’s lifelong dream had been to find a New Continent.

In the end, his wish was fulfilled, and it was there he became contaminated.

After his fall, his sole desire became to awaken the sleeping God and allow It to return to the mortal world.

Recalling the Divine Envoy’s instructions, the gold pointer on the compass began to turn, following his desire.

From the Edge of the World where they were plummeting, it suddenly pointed... toward the lower Spiritual World, the Sea of Origin Matter!

Its eight damaged tentacles danced wildly, drawing power from the Dream Realm and yanking the three anchored Warships in a new direction.

The next moment, with a SPLASH! they brushed past the Edge of the World, infested with Undead, and plunged into the pitch-black Sea of Origin Matter.

「Meanwhile.」

A dense, milky-white fog suddenly appeared on the sea surface northeast of the Grenville Earldom in the Tayman Archipelago, slowly moving with the prevailing northeast wind.

Even the torrential rain pouring from the sky had no effect on this white fog.

From its upwind position, it drifted slowly, bit by bit, over the entire garish International Port.

In the thickest part of the fog, four other octopus Warships were also approaching the port along with it.

The mature Barnacles covering their hulls continually split open, releasing more fog into the air and making the mist increasingly dense.

Evidently, the other four Escort Ships of the nine-Warship octopus Fleet had not been captured.

Magnyra’s guess that "The May Wind" wanted to capture them to bolster its Fleet was merely a smokescreen, a deception from start to finish.

How similar was this to the anti-fraud techniques Byron had initially explained to Jacqueline?

All the forces hunting "The May Wind" saw it as the incarnation of supreme power. Capturing it was akin to securing the Right to Protect.

Once news of its appearance on the sea surfaced, anyone capable of reaching it inevitably rushed to get involved.

Iris, Hightins, and Castilia were all the same.

No one suspected there might be a gaping pitfall waiting for them; they only rushed headlong towards fame and profit.

They were just like those old men at the village entrance who hear about financial products with a 35% annualized return. One word: Charge! Two words: Buy it!

When such obvious, substantial profits were dangled before them, no amount of anti-fraud knowledge mattered.

Perhaps only disinterested bystanders could truly remain clear-headed.

When I was exploring the great sea of humanity’s collective subconscious, I once came across a saying: strategically, despise your opponent; tactically, take them seriously. Although I know those fellows have limited strength and can’t ruin things, the Silver Law in the Governor’s hands is ultimately a bit troublesome. It’s better to have them all exit the stage prematurely. Perhaps I cannot control the process, but the Desire Compass will naturally guide events in the most appropriate direction. Now, even if you scream until your throats are raw, no one in the entire Bantaan Archipelago will be able to come and save you.

On the sternwalk of an octopus Warship, the young gentleman in a formal suit and gold-rimmed glasses smiled, tipping his hat to the entire port city, "I wish everyone in the International Port... an eternal, undisturbed rest!"