Chapter 231: Section 19: Empire Inventory
“In truth, the Greedy Divine Bone had long been confiscated by the knight youth. However, upon arriving at New Moon Port, the youth returned the small Divine Bone to Ashen One ahead of time.
This was to conceal the existence of the Pearl Bubble.
According to the rules of the Holy Tablet and pirate divinity, if the knight youth had snatched the Divine Bone from Ashen One, this act would comply with the pirates’ plundering behavior, and the youth’s name would be honored on the Holy Tablet.
But on the Holy Tablet, it was always Ashen One’s name.
To this, the knight youth explained to 006 and the Empire that although he had defeated Ashen One, he had not taken his treasure but instead wanted to recruit the Beastman as a subordinate.
The Empire was deceived and did not yet discover the true facts.
The knight youth also used this to keep the Green Jade Gold Coffin a secret. Currently, only Ashen One knew this secret.
“Has Ashen One’s ranking been squeezed out? Who did it?” the knight youth asked, curious.
But the receptionist shook his head, “It was the Holy Daughter Qing Yu of the Beast Race, who severed the arm of our monk Tuoyin and stole the legendary gauntlets Sunrise. Because the battle took place in a seaside city, her name was listed on the Holy Tablet.”
The knight youth thought it was some legendary pirate who had acted, and was surprised it was someone else.
However, both Qing Yu and Tuoyin were well-known powers of the Holy Domain, and the youth had long heard of their feud.
Compared to this information, the youth was more concerned about another question—why could the Holy Daughter Qing Yu take the first spot and squeeze out Ashen One?
The legendary gauntlets Sunrise… their value was clearly not comparable to the Divine Artifact, the Green Jade Gold Coffin.
“Could it be that there’s a plundering element to this, and her actions, compared to Ashen One’s mere treasure hunting, align more with a pirate’s deeds? Thus, does the Pirate King’s divinity favor her more than Ashen One?”
This was just a guess; the knight youth was not yet able to obtain an answer.
The practicality of the Pearl Bubble made the inner details quite complicated. The Holy Tablet was certainly also a Divine Artifact, and how it compared in strength with the Mermaid’s Fairy Tale, the knight youth couldn’t estimate.
The situation now was that the knight youth had snatched both the Green Jade Gold Coffin and the Greedy Divine Bone from Ashen One. Under normal circumstances, his name should have replaced Ashen One, ranking first on the Holy Tablet.
However, because of the Pearl Bubble, he had deceived the Holy Tablet, resulting in Ashen One still being at the forefront.
So the question arose—does “Ashen One” on the Holy Tablet refer to the person himself or to the knight youth? The extent to which the Pearl Bubble could disguise was unclear to anyone.
This was an issue the knight youth needed to explore very cautiously. Because even a slight carelessness could expose himself.
“Inspection complete, property returned to its original owner,” the receptionist said, storing away the used identification scroll and returning the Greedy Divine Bone to the knight youth.
The knight youth then gestured for Ashen One to put it away.
Next, it was time to sign the official contract.
Before, the knight youth had used 006 to have the Empire send through Swift Eagle a Magic Contract Scroll, merely to confirm his and the subordination of Ashen One, Golden Chin, and Sea Snake Lady.
Now that this contract was signed, they were truly recognized by the Empire and became one of the members tasked with executing the Empire’s spy missions.
The content of the contract was concise and clear, with not many restrictions on the knight youth and others—in fact, the conditions were very lenient.
The Empire side, wanting to attract pirates to join them, naturally couldn’t impose too many restrictions.
Once confirmed there were no issues, the knight youth and the others all signed the contract with the same content.
After this step, the receptionist’s attitude became even more enthusiastic.
He took out a scroll, presented it with both hands, and handed it to the knight youth.”
This is an alchemy scroll, utilizing an alchemy technique known as “Endless Paper,” usable by any Transcendent. Mages infuse mana, Priests infuse divine power, while fighters can channel fighting energy.
“Just like this…” the receptionist explained as he demonstrated the use of the scroll in front of everyone.
Under the influence of his Black Iron Level fighting energy, a series of text and numbers continuously emerged on the surface of the scroll.
“According to the contract we just signed, Captain Long Fu, you possess Black Iron Level authority. This authority allows you to enjoy certain discounts when purchasing Bronze Level supplies and enables you to buy most Black Iron Level items as well as a few Silver Level items.”
“The specifics are all here on the scroll. We simply need to focus our spirits to access more content.”
Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the scroll.
As expected, the content of the scroll continuously appeared as the receptionist shifted his spirit.
“Eh? It seems that the items listed here cannot be purchased solely with currency?” queried the Sea Snake Lady.
“Yes,” nodded the receptionist. “To purchase the items listed here, there are two types of currency required. One is the regular currency that is commonly in circulation, and the other is contribution. Some very important items must be acquired through contributions.”
“Contributions are the conversion of your honors and achievements, calculated and discussed by scholars to determine the specific numerical results.”
“Sometimes, the Empire issues certain targeted missions. Completing these missions could earn you a significant amount of contribution.”
Golden Chin crossed his arms and then asked, “If we have loot from our raids, would you purchase it?”
“Of course,” replied the receptionist. “We generally buy it at market price. If the materials are rare, we shall also offer a higher price. The specifics are all detailed in the alchemy scroll.”
Golden Chin nodded slightly, very pleased with this arrangement.
Being offered market price was already quite exceptional.
Because the booty pirates plundered was often sold below market value.
“May I try it?” the knight youth asked after observing for a while, extending his hand toward the receptionist.
“Of course,” the receptionist handed the scroll to the young man.
As the knight youth channeled his fighting energy, he found that part of his spirit also engaged with the scroll. When he wanted to see the subsequent content, the original text on the scroll quickly faded, and new text and numbers appeared.
The content within the scroll was plentiful and extremely complex, with an array of items listed.
The first part was about intelligence.
The Empire provided substantial support in intelligence to pirates who have surrendered.
Whether it was about islands, ships, or powerful entities at sea, or even treasure maps—all were included.
The knight youth was well aware of the importance of intelligence.
Not to mention Rou Cang. If he had known Rou Cang’s real strength in advance, he would have made a more adequate response plan.
Senior pirate groups actually had informants spread across all major ports and even on supply islands along the routes.
By relying on these informants, pirates gathered intelligence that allowed them to accurately block other vessels.
Of course, the knight youth didn’t have any.
If he were to engage in a pirate raid, he would likely just patrol the trade routes, hoping his luck would bring him to a merchant ship.
“Intelligence provided by the Empire will compensate for my biggest shortcoming!”
Of course, the intelligence provided by the Empire was selective, with a strong implicit bias, and this intelligence was not free of charge—it required purchasing with money. Some particularly important pieces of intelligence would also cost contributions.