Chapter 189: Special promotion copy [Pirate Principality! 】
Chapter 189 Special Promotion Copy—[Pirate Principality! 】
When Xia En woke up, the oncoming sunlight suddenly blinded him.
The terrifying sandstorm that had been dark just now disappeared, replaced by the gentle sea breeze and the blue sea.
Um?
Azure blue?
Perceiving this, Xia En was suddenly shocked.
Shouldn’t the sea water in the promotion ritual be black?
“Captain John! John!”
The call from beside him brought Xia En back to his senses. The person calling him was a strange pirate with a scar on his face.
The pirate looked at Shane with a strange look on his face, and said with a smile: "Hey, John, why are you hanging out here alone?"
"We are about to arrive at our destination. You must be prepared to apologize to Lord Augustine."
Xia En looked around calmly, but his heart gradually stirred up huge waves.
Because at this time, the ship under his feet was not the Black Swan that he was familiar with, but another ship that he had never seen before.
Not only that, Xia En didn’t know any of the crew members on the ship.
Looking at their clothes and behavior, they all look like senior pirates who have been at sea for a long time!
Xia En looked down again and found that his dress and the thickness of his arms were different from before entering the ritual. It is not difficult to guess that his appearance may also be different from before.
“He called me…Captain John?”
Xia En's mind flashed, and he guessed in his heart: "Have I traveled through time again?"
“No, it’s unlikely. My power is still there and can be called upon at any time.”
“In other words, this space is actually part of the promotion ritual?”
Just when Xia En was thinking secretly.
A few lines of text appeared before his eyes.
【You are John Smith, twenty-eight years old this year, and one of the twelve disciples of Augustine Norwich, the "Pirate King". 】
【A month ago, Augustine led his fleet to explore an unknown sea area, but failed. 】
Most of the crew members he carried were killed or injured, and Augustine himself was seriously injured. He hid in the pirate principality and never showed up again. 】
【This situation has made the pirates in the Pirate Principality and various countries in the Southern Continent ready to take action. 】
Just a week ago, you received a letter from Augustine. 】
【He summoned all the twelve disciples to prepare for a pirate conference. 】
【But what Augustine didn't know was that some of his twelve disciples had betrayed him and were preparing to take away his throne at this pirate conference...】
After reading this paragraph, Xia En's heart skipped a beat.
Judging from this information, he is indeed on the promotion track.
It’s just the form of the promotion ritual this time, but it’s hugely different from the past.
Before Xia En could continue to think deeply, a few more lines of text jumped out in front of his eyes.
【Trial mission:】
【Necessary tasks—】
【Find the traitor among the Twelve Apostles and ensure Augustine's safety in the ritual. 】
【Optional mission—】
【Perfect performance: continue to play John Smith without being seen through and exposed by other trialists. 】
【The Last Supper: Killing the traitors among the Twelve Apostles. 】
【The treasure is mine: Obtain "Twilight Black Pearl". 】
【Famous in all directions: Gain as much reputation as possible as a pirate principality. 】
【On the Throne: Obtain Augustine's approval and become the pirate king! 】
【Note: The death of the tester will be regarded as a mission failure! 】
【Everything you experience in the "Secret Sea" is related to but different from the real history of reality. 】
Perhaps, the real history has been changed long ago, but no one can remember the original history. 】
【Most of the characters appearing here are virtual projections, and their strength will be adjusted according to the level of the promotion ritual. 】
【The flow of time in this sea area is 10,000 times faster than reality. 】
Xia En’s pupils suddenly contracted after seeing all this clearly.
The promotion ritual this time was completely different from what he had imagined before.
First of all, judging from the time point, the era when the Pirate King was still alive was obviously in the past.
However, this "going back to the past" is obviously not like an encounter in the Elven Temple, but more like entering an afterimage of history.
Or, a copy made from past history?
Everything done here will not change the established history.
Secondly, here, Shane no longer acts as his own identity, but needs to play the role of "John Smith".
Moreover, it is not difficult to guess from the description of this information...
Xia En is definitely not the only one who will be promoted to the ritual tester this time.
Whether it is the complexity of the ritual or the difficulty of the task, this promotion trial is several times deeper than the previous three levels of trials.
“Is there such a big difference between the third-level and fourth-level rituals?”
“No wonder some people say that the fourth level is the first dividing line for those on the secret path.”
Shaan sighed secretly in his heart: "But, necessary tasks and optional tasks?"
The necessary tasks are well understood.
This is the main line of this promotion ritual. If it is not completed, it may be directly judged as a failure of promotion.
But the optional missions are very interesting.
The panel does not explain what rewards will be obtained for completing the optional tasks, nor does it say whether there will be any penalties for not completing them.
According to Xia En's speculation, this optional task is likely to determine the final trial evaluation.
or…
Is there a limit to the number of people who can be promoted in this ceremony?
Completing optional tasks can improve your ranking among the trialists, but will trialists with lower rankings be eliminated?
However, no matter what kind of speculation it is, it is always right to complete as many tasks as possible.
You’ve come, you can’t leave empty-handed, right?
Thinking of this, Xia En's eyes first scanned the pirate ship.
He needs to understand his current situation before he can consider his next move.
While observing the surroundings, some related memories emerged in Xia En's mind.
Obviously, this is a little convenience provided by [Secret Sea] for the trialists to play.
From this, Xia En learned that the three-masted sailboat under his feet was named [Sky Serpent].
The scar-faced pirate just now is the first mate of the Serpentis, named Philip.
Looking at the strength of the pirates on the ship, they are generally only at the second level, with only a few at the third level.
This kind of combat power may be able to dominate the sea, but no matter how you think about it, one of the Twelve Apostles should not be on the ship.
At this moment, Xia En understood the meaning of the sentence [The strength of the projected character will be adjusted according to the level of this trial].
This is equivalent to lowering everyone’s strength.
So that there will be no imbalance in combat power.
Aware of this, Xia En breathed a sigh of relief.
If he were to face those seventh-level strong men in history, he would probably only be able to say "Huh? I'm playing a legend?" and then be completely crushed.
Xia En’s behavior of looking around also attracted the attention of other people on the boat.
Soon, Philip asked with a smile: "Captain John, why are you acting strange today?" "Is it because you are about to see Lord Augustine, and you are afraid of being held accountable, so you feel guilty?"
His tone sounded a little sinister, not the way a first mate should treat a captain.
With the help of the remaining memories in his mind, Shane quickly understood Phillip's weird attitude.
It turns out that among the Twelve Apostles, this "John Smith" had a somewhat special status.
He was the youngest and the least powerful, but he was deeply loved by Augustine and was even the adopted son of the pirate king.
This kind of special favor has been prone to the jealousy of others since ancient times.
John is no exception.
Just two months ago, John received an order from Augustine to carry out an important mission.
But in the end, under heavy resistance, John failed.
This is naturally regarded by pirates as a symbol of incompetence.
As for the conflict between Philip and John, it actually happened over a day or two.
the reason is simple.
This ship [Sky Serpent] did not originally belong to John.
Only after the old captain of the Serpentis died unexpectedly, Augustine made the decision and directly rewarded John.
Philip, who could have naturally become the captain, resented John because of this.
On the surface he was obedient, but secretly he was always plotting something nefarious, colluding with other crew members in an attempt to remove John from his position as captain.
If it were an ordinary pirate, he might have been purged long ago.
But this John's temperament was soft, and he still had a hint or two of the naivety of a young man, which made Philip's attitude become more and more arrogant.
Thinking about it now, the failure of that mission may also be inseparable from this first officer.
Thinking about the ins and outs behind this, Xia En's thoughts became clear instantly.
— No matter which ship he was on, there could only be one voice.
That is...the captain's will!
Xia En narrowed his eyes and slowly scanned the pirates around him.
As he glanced around, the pirates' hearts skipped a beat for no apparent reason, and they felt as if they were being targeted by ferocious beasts in the deep sea.
Some of the weaker pirates could not help but have their hearts beating rapidly and their hairs standing on end.
They just discovered today that Captain John, who is usually gentle to a bit weak, can actually have such power once he gets serious!
Upon seeing this, Philip's face turned cold and he shouted softly: "John, what do you want to do?!"
“Humph, what do I want to do?”
Xia En sneered: "Should I ask you this?"
“You and other apostles secretly framed me, hindered my actions, and dared to openly ignore my orders. Could it be that you wanted to rebel?”
Philip was shocked and angry.
He had no idea that John would suddenly attack today.
But as a pirate who licks blood from his knife, Philip is certainly not without a temper. He looked gloomy and said resentfully.
“So what about rebellion?”
“You just became the captain of the Serpent because of Augustine’s favor.”
“In terms of strength, talent, and means, in what way am I not better than you?”
At this point, Philip roared out as if he wanted to vent all his past grievances.
“Without Augustine, you are nothing!”
At this moment, a cold and calm voice sounded from behind him.
“So, you really want to disobey Lord Augustine’s order?”
“You should be very clear about the consequences of betraying the Pirate King, right?”
Hearing this, a chill rose up behind Philip, and his hair stood up.
Augustine's title as "King of Pirates" was not spoken out loud, but was revealed in battles.
Everyone who opposed him being the king is dead!
Even though Augustine was said to be seriously injured, few people dared to openly disobey his orders.
While Philip's hair stood on end, a realization arose in his heart: "He was just waiting for me to say these words..."
next moment.
A sharp scimitar slashed straight at his throat.
Phillip is a third-level Mystic after all. At the critical moment, he shouted loudly, his size suddenly increased, and he pulled out the dagger at his waist and blocked the scimitar.
But the strength and sturdy dagger he was proud of could not last even a second in front of the scimitar.
The power on the opponent's blade is incredible!
It was as if a ship had hit his own weapon, causing the dagger to shatter.
The moment the machete cuts through the flesh.
Phillip groaned, and suddenly used a unique secret method, and appeared behind Xia En like a flash.
"go to hell!"
Philipp looked ferocious, his eyes were red, and a poisonous hidden sword popped out of his sleeve, about to pierce Shane's back.
But when the sword was thrust out, the feeling coming from the sword was very strange.
“You can be proud if you can block one of my moves.”
“But the second move...how are you going to take it?”
Philipp tilted his head stiffly, and Shane's figure came to his side at some point.
And what he had pierced before was just an afterimage of this man.
“His speed is actually so fast?”
In Phillip's desperate eyes, Shane slashed it with a knife, and a big head fell to the deck. After rolling twice, Gululu stopped moving.
Everything happened too fast.
From the time Philip started taunting to the time his head hit the ground, it was less than three minutes in total.
The powerful strength and methods shown by Xia En in the battle shocked everyone on the ship.
That was one of the strongest third-level mystics on the ship, and he was killed like a chicken?
In fact, this is the performance that Shane 3.4's comprehensive quality should have.
Even though he was in such a miserable state under the hands of the vampire Twilight, he seemed to have no power to fight back.
That's not because he is weak, but because the enemy is too strong!
Facing the Mystics who are also at the third level, especially those who are good at physical strength like Phillip, Xia En can achieve the effect of an instant kill.
This is also the reason why Xia En dares to use thunderous means.
At this time, facing the stunned pirates on the ship, Xia En said loudly.
"You have all heard that Philip intends to rebel against Lord Augustine. As the captain, I have the obligation to clear the door for Lord Augustine."
“Do you...do any of you have an opinion?”
Looking at Xia En's stern face and the headless corpse still bleeding at his feet.
The pirates were silent, no one dared to say a word.
This is the world of pirates!
The law of the jungle is clearly reflected in the law of the jungle.
They all know that from today on, the man in front of them will become the real owner of this ship!
(End of this chapter)