Chapter 215: Section 3: Pirate Throne
The knight youth, Zong Ge, and others swam out of the Grey Rat, rapidly rising to the surface.
The closer they got to the surface, the more light there was, and the clearer their vision became.
The booming sound of cannons was also clearer.
Iron cannonballs mixed with broken wood and mutilated bodies, carrying a mass of bubbles, were frequently falling into the sea.
From beneath the water, the knight youth and Zong Ge could clearly see the situation—three enemy ships were charging toward a grey pirate ship, but there was still some distance between them. During the charge, the three enemy ships continuously fired their cannons.
The grey-clad substitute youth, subdued under the dragon-man form, had already been captured. His subordinates were also detained within the pirate ship’s cabin.
Therefore, the Grey Rat pirate ship was currently being bombarded passively.
The knight youth and Zhang Ge were the first to emerge from the water and board the ship from the back of the pirate ship.
Due to the ship’s body blocking the view, the enemy probably couldn’t see them.
“Zong Ge, go free those pirates. I’ll go find the man in grey!” the knight youth said as he ran.
Zong Ge nodded and quickly split from the youth at the staircase.
The knight youth burst through a door and saw the man in grey.
The man in grey was sitting on the bed, wearing Magic Ban shackles. These shackles, produced by the War Merchant’s Alchemy Factory, securely restrained the Silver Level man in grey.
“It seems your enemies are here; don’t you want to say something?” the knight youth said.
The man in grey laughed coldly, quickly stood up, and straightened his body, looking as though he had already shed his captive status: “I can hear the horns. They are coming to rescue me.”
The knight youth was taken aback, not expecting the man in grey’s answer to be this: “When did pirates start to become so loyal and righteous?”
Raising his head with pride, the man in grey said, “Ordinary pirates wouldn’t, but I am a member of the Brother Pirate Guild, ranking forty-ninth among all the brothers!”
The Brother Pirate Guild!
The knight youth was instantly shaken.
This pirate group was notorious worldwide and could be considered the largest in scale currently. Its leader, known as Firebeard, was a Legendary Level warrior.
He was generous and highly loyal with an extremely strong charismatic allure, attracting many pirate captains. Firebeard had made them his sworn brothers and gradually formed a massive maritime power.
“Take me up to the deck; I just need to shout to make them stop,” the man in grey said.
He didn’t really want to start a battle.
The knight youth hesitated for a moment, then nodded, grabbed the man in grey, and took him up to the deck.
Zong Ge soon followed after, having freed all the imprisoned pirates.
These pirates began to take control of the ship.
Standing at the railing, the man in grey faced the sea breeze and carefully identified the flags of the three enemy ships.
At this moment, it was evening.
There were large patches of sunset clouds in the sky, the slight breeze making the sea shimmer with golden brilliance.
The visibility was good.
With a light chuckle, the man in grey turned to the knight youth behind him: “It’s Golden Chin and the Sea Snake Lady, they are both captains of the Brother Pirate Guild, ranked higher than me.”
“Golden Chin is at the peak of Silver Level, and the Sea Snake Lady is even a Silver Level Mage.”
“You might have the ability to fight, but why should you? Do you really want to become mortal enemies of the Brother Pirate Guild?”
“I, the man in grey, am a man of dignity. I was outmatched and accept my defeat fully; in the end, I was captured by you. I’m willing to exchange treasures for my freedom, as well as for my ship and my crew.”
He had said these words when he was captured.
But at that time, the substitute youth was hurriedly taking the Green Jade Gold Coffin back and hadn’t interrogated the man in grey. Thus, the substitute youth had only just found out that the man in grey was a member of the Brother Pirate Guild.
The knight youth thought for a moment, then nodded and agreed to the man in grey’s terms.
If he had truly been a Holy Temple Knight, he might not have let go of this pirate leader. But now that the youth knew the truth, he no longer held himself to the strict doctrines of the Holy Temple Knights.
“Right now, the most important things are, first, to revive Zi Di, enabling the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce to take action. Second is to use the captive Zhenjin to contact the Clan Leader of the Hundred Needles. Combining these, we attempt to rid ourselves of the accusations.”
The knight youth didn’t want to become a wanted criminal of the Empire; killing Jia Sha was a matter of last resort. Although it was a capital crime, there was still a chance for redemption as Jia Sha was only a priest, not a bishop.
“We have inherited the legacy of the War Merchant, and we can offer a large part of it in exchange for the Empire’s forgiveness.”
Interest can sway the human heart; if it does not, it is often simply because the benefit is not enough.
No one wants to be wanted by the Empire.
In this world, the Holy Bright Empire is the most powerful, without a rival.
“Just take this step, and I will go search for the clues to ascertain my true identity.”
It was not just the knight youth, Zi Di also needed to rejuvenate her Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce, and the issue of Cang Xu being wanted by the Shata family could also be settled. He could righteously return and reconcile, reunite with his son.
“Everyone trusts me, electing me as their leader. I must be responsible for myself and for others!”
“For now… better to avoid trouble,” the knight youth thought clearly.
Getting covered in grey was just an accident; the substitute youth’s main objective had already been achieved—he had reclaimed the Green Jade Gold Coffin.
Golden Chin and Sea Snake Lady were very strong, mainly because they had robust forces at their peak.
They were backed by the Brother Pirate Group, this largest pirate group could even confront the Navy fleets of the Empire.
Having received the youth’s promise, a man in grey shouted out, “Stop fighting, both of you Captains. It’s me, a man in grey, and I am still alive. You arrived just in time; I’ll definitely reward you richly later. But stop fighting for now!”
However, the response he received was even more intense cannon fire.
The man in grey was stunned, in disbelief.
“So, this is the Brother Pirate Group you mentioned?” Zong Ge couldn’t help but scoff teasingly.
Golden Chin’s voice rang out: “Man in grey, don’t blame your brothers for being heartless. You know, the times are precarious. Just hand over the treasure, and we’ll spare you.”
“Damn it!” the man in grey yelled furiously, “You two actually dare to strike at a brother in the alliance; aren’t you afraid of the boss’s punishment?”
“Hehehe,” the laugh of Sea Snake Lady came over, “Now is the time for the three Great Legendary Pirates to vie for supremacy, to vie for the Pirate King’s throne. The boss has been too busy to care about himself; even if he investigates later, at worst, we’ll just offer up this treasure. If the boss truly becomes the seventh generation King of Pirates, ascending the divine throne, we will undoubtedly be indispensable!”
“Competing for the seventh generation King of Pirates’ divine throne?!” The knight youth and Zong Ge exchanged looks, both seeing the shock in each other’s eyes.
During their struggle to survive on Mysterious Monster Island, such a significant event had occurred in the seas!
King of Pirates was not just a honorary title—it was a divine name, and a divine throne.
Ascending to the King of Pirates’ throne, even a mere mortal could possess the power of divinity. (Of course, this statement is somewhat exaggerated, existing only in theory, as historically there had never been such an instance.)
Throughout history, pirate activities were rampant; when pirates’ faith in the King of Pirates reached a certain level, it could converge into a divine throne. It turned out that a man in grey, Golden Chin, and others were desperately collecting treasure for this ritual.
In the divine domain of the King of Pirates, powers including sailing, treasure hunting, plunder, theft, and naval battles were integrated.
This ceremony was just beginning. At this stage, whoever collected more treasures could obtain more favor of divinity.
Through a series of stages, whoever received more favor ultimately would become the seventh generation King of Pirates.
As the struggle around the Pirate Throne escalated, a massive wave was stirred up in the world’s seas. And just as the knight youth and his companions escaped from Mysterious Monster Island, they were swept into this huge wave.
As three enemy warships closed in, the man in grey gritted his teeth and shouted again: “You two also covet the Pirate Throne? We are only Silver Level; it isn’t something we should aspire to. Out of all the Pirate Kings, the lowest cultivation of the sixth generation was also Gold Level. But not long after sitting on the divine throne, he was assassinated by a Legend. It shows that the divinity granted by the throne is not our true power!”
Golden Chin laughed loudly: “Of course, we know! We just want the treasure you got; don’t even think about playing dumb, we won’t let you get away with it. Don’t you know, on the Holy Tablet in Pirate City, your name, a man in grey, is now ranked first!”
A man in grey was stunned as he turned to look at the youth behind him: “What exactly is in that coffin that thrust my rank to the first?!”
The Holy Tablet displayed the rankings of pirates currently favored by divinity.
“Wait!” all of a sudden, the man in grey’s eyes flashed brightly as he exclaimed, “I was robbed, I’ve already lost that coffin. Now my name must have fallen to a normal position!”
“Liar! You still want to fool us!” Golden Chin scoffed coldly.
Sea Snake Lady sarcastically added, “Man in grey, I heard you are an honorable man. Since your tricks have been seen through by us, trying more will not succeed. Before firing the cannon, I used magic to contact Pirate City, reconfirming the rankings. We all understand your reluctance. It really makes us force it, probably won’t be so honorable for you then.”
“This can’t be!!!” the man in grey screamed.
He felt exceedingly wronged—having been robbed and captured, his crew being imprisoned, even the Grey Rat falling into others’ hands, yet why was his name still atop the Holy Tablet?
This was no joking matter!
If things went south, someone could really die.
Now, he had become a target for all pirates, the crest of the wave’s spray.
Without clearing up this misunderstanding and without delivering the treasure, his fate was worrying!
The man in grey was a pirate captain, of course not afraid to die. But dying like this seemed far too wronged.
“No, it’s very likely.” The knight youth had a thought, looking at Zong Ge, who also turned to him.
Both of them concurrently thought of a name—Pearl Bubble!