We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 189 Special Promotion Dungeon – [Pirate Duchy!]

When Xia En woke up, the sunlight hitting him made him squint.

The terrifying sandstorm that had just shrouded the sky in darkness had vanished, replaced by a gentle sea breeze and a clear blue sea.

Ok?
Azure?

Upon realizing this, Shane was suddenly startled.

Shouldn't the seawater in the promotion ceremony be black?

"Captain John! John!"

The call from beside him brought Xia En back to his senses. It was a strange pirate with a scar on his face.

The pirate looked at Shane with a strange expression and chuckled, "Hey, John, what are you doing standing here all alone?"

"We're almost there. You'd better prepare how to apologize to Lord Augustine."

Xia En glanced around calmly, but a storm was brewing in his heart.

Because at this moment, the ship beneath his feet was not the familiar "Black Swan," but another ship he had never seen before.

Not only that, Shane didn't know any of the crew members on the ship.

Moreover, judging from their clothing and demeanor, they seemed to be seasoned pirates who had been at sea for a long time!
When Xia En looked down again, he found that his attire and the thickness of his arms were different from before he entered the ritual. It was not hard to guess that his appearance was probably different as well.

"He called me... Captain John?"

A thought flashed through Xia En's mind, and he wondered to himself, "Have I transmigrated again?"

"No, that's unlikely. My power is still there, and I can call upon it at any time."

"So, this space is actually part of the ascension ritual?"

Just as Xia En was pondering to himself.

A few lines of text appeared before his eyes.

[You are John Smith, twenty-eight years old, and one of the twelve disciples of the "Pirate King" Augustine Norwich.]

A month ago, Augustine led his fleet to explore uncharted waters, but returned empty-handed.

Most of his crew members were killed or wounded, and Augustine himself was seriously injured. He went into hiding in the pirate capital and has not shown his face since.

This situation has stirred up restless activity among the pirates within the Pirate Kingdom and among the various nations of the Southern Continent.

Just a week ago, you received a letter from Augustine.

He summoned all twelve disciples, preparing to convene a pirate council.

[But what Augustine didn't know was that one of his twelve disciples had already betrayed him and was plotting to seize his throne at this pirate gathering...]

After reading this text, Xia En's heart skipped a beat.

Based on this information, he is indeed in the process of being promoted.

However, the format of this promotion ceremony was vastly different from that of the past.

Before Xia En could continue to ponder, several more lines of text appeared before his eyes.

[Trial Mission:]

[Necessary Task——]

Find the traitor among the twelve disciples and ensure Augustine's safety through ritual.

[Optional Tasks]

[Perfect Roleplay: Continue impersonating John Smith without being recognized or exposed by the other trial participants.]

[The Last Supper: Killing the traitor among the twelve disciples.]

[The treasure is mine: I have obtained the "Twilight Black Pearl".]

[Renowned Throughout the Land: Gain as much prestige as possible within the pirate principalities.]

[On the Throne: Gain Augustine's approval and become the Pirate King!]

[Note: If the participant dies, the mission is considered a failure!]

Everything you experienced in the "Secret Sea" is related to, but different from, real history.

Perhaps the true history has already been altered, but no one can remember the original history.

Most of the figures appearing here are virtual projections; their strength will be adjusted according to the rank of this advancement ritual.

Time flows at a speed 10000 times faster in this sea area than in reality.

Upon seeing all of this, Xia En's pupils suddenly contracted.

The promotion ceremony was completely different from what he had imagined.

First, from a timeline perspective, the era when the Pirate King was still alive was clearly in the past.

However, this "return to the past" is clearly not like the encounter in the Elf Temple, but more like entering a fragment of history.

Or rather, a copy created from the past?
Nothing done here will change the established history.

Secondly, here, Shane no longer acts as himself, but needs to play the role of "John Smith".

Moreover, it's not hard to guess from the descriptions of this information...

There are definitely more than just Xia En among those undergoing the trials of this advancement ceremony.

Both in terms of the complexity of the rituals and the difficulty of the tasks, this advancement trial was several times more challenging than the previous three levels.

"The difference between the rituals of the third and fourth orders is really that big?"

"No wonder some people say that the fourth rank is the first watershed for those who travel the secret path."

Xia En thought to himself, "But, necessary tasks and optional tasks?"

Necessary tasks are easy to understand.

This is the main part of the promotion ceremony; failure to complete it may result in a failed promotion.

But the optional tasks are quite interesting.

The panel doesn't explain what the rewards are for completing the optional tasks, nor does it mention whether there will be any penalties for not completing them.

Based on Shane's speculation, these optional tasks are very likely to determine the final trial evaluation.

or……

Is there a limit to the number of people eligible for this promotion?

Completing optional tasks can improve your ranking among the trial participants, while those who rank lower will be eliminated.
However, regardless of the speculation, it's always good to complete as many tasks as possible.

Since we're already here, we can't leave empty-handed, can we?
With that in mind, Xia En's gaze first swept across the pirate ship.

He needs to understand his current situation before he can consider his next move.

As he observed his surroundings, some related memories surfaced in Xia En's mind.

Clearly, this is a small convenience provided by the [Secret Sea] for the trial participants to role-play.

Thus, Xia En learned that the three-masted sailing ship beneath his feet was named the "Heavenly Serpent".

The scarred pirate from earlier was Philip, the first mate of the Sky Serpent.

Looking at the strength of the pirates on the ship, most of them were only at the second tier, with only a handful at the third tier.

Such combat power might be enough to dominate coastal waters, but it's simply unthinkable that it would appear on one of the Twelve Apostles' ships.

Only then did Xia En understand the meaning of the sentence, "The strength of the projected characters will be adjusted according to the rank of this trial."

This is equivalent to suppressing everyone's strength.

This will prevent an imbalance in combat power.

Realizing this, Shane secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

If he were to face those legendary seventh-tier powerhouses from history, he would most likely only be able to utter a bewildered "Huh? Me, fighting a legend?" before being utterly crushed.

Xia En's wandering gaze attracted the attention of the other people on the ship.

Soon, Philip asked with a smile, "Captain John, why are you acting so strangely today?" "Could it be because you're about to meet Lord Augustine and are afraid of being questioned, so you're feeling guilty?"

His tone sounded somewhat sarcastic, unlike the attitude a first mate should have towards the captain.

With the help of the remaining memories in his mind, Shane quickly understood Philip's strange attitude.

It turns out that among the twelve disciples, this "John Smith" held a somewhat special position.

Despite being the youngest and weakest, he was deeply favored by Augustine and was even the adopted son of the pirate king.

This special favor has always been a source of resentment from others.

John was no exception.

Just two months ago, John received orders from Augustine to carry out an important mission.

But in the end, John failed due to numerous obstacles.

This was naturally seen by the pirates as a symbol of incompetence.

As for the conflict between Philip and John, it's actually been going on for quite some time.

the reason is simple.

This ship, the "Serpent," did not originally belong to John.

However, after the old captain of the Serpent died unexpectedly, Augustine decided to give it directly to John.

Philip, who could have easily become captain, harbored a grudge against John because of this.

On the surface, he was compliant, but in reality, he was plotting something, conspiring with other crew members to try to remove John from his position as captain.

If they were ordinary pirates, they probably would have wiped them out long ago.

But John was rather soft-hearted and still retained a bit of youthful naiveté, which made Philip's attitude increasingly arrogant.

Looking back now, the failure of that mission may also be inextricably linked to this first mate.

Once Xia En understood the ins and outs behind this, his thoughts became clear instantly.

—No matter which ship he's on, there can only be one voice.

That was... the captain's will!

Xia En narrowed his eyes, his gaze slowly sweeping over the pirates around him.

As he scanned the area, the pirates felt a sudden jolt, as if they were being watched by a ferocious deep-sea beast.

Some of the weaker pirates couldn't help but feel their hearts pounding and their hair standing on end.

They only discovered today that Captain John, who was usually so gentle that he was almost weak, could be so imposing when he got serious!
Seeing this, Philip's expression turned cold, and he said in a low voice, "John, what do you want to do?!"

"Hmph, what do I want to do?"

Xia En sneered, "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?"

"You and the other apostles have secretly framed me and hindered my actions, and you even dare to openly disregard my orders. Do you intend to rebel?"

Philip was both shocked and furious.

He never expected that John would suddenly launch an attack today.

But as a pirate who lived on the edge of a knife, Philip was certainly not without temper. His face was gloomy, and he said resentfully.

"So what if we rebel?"

"You only became the captain of the Serpent because you gained Augustine's favor."

"In terms of strength, talent, and methods, in what way am I not better than you?"

At this point, Philip roared as if he wanted to vent all the grievances he had held in the past.

"Without Augustine, you are nothing!"

Just then, a cold and calm voice rang out from behind him.

"So, you really do intend to disobey Lord Augustine's orders?"

"You should know very well the consequences of betraying the Pirate King, right?"

Upon hearing this, Philip felt a chill run down his spine, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

Augustine's title of "King of Pirates" was not given by word of mouth, but earned through countless battles.

All those who opposed him becoming king are dead!
Even though Augustine is said to be seriously injured, few people dare to openly disobey his orders.

As Philip felt a chill run down his spine, a sudden realization dawned on him: "He was just waiting for me to say those words..."

next moment.

A sharp curved blade slashed straight at his throat.

Philip, being a third-tier Mystic, shouted in the critical moment, his size suddenly increased, and he drew the short sword from his waist to block the curved blade.

But his pride and joy, his sturdy short sword, couldn't even last a second against the curved blade.

The force on the opponent's blade was unbelievable!

It was as if a ship had crashed into his weapon, causing the dagger to shatter.

The moment the curved blade sliced ​​through the flesh.

Philip grunted and suddenly used a unique secret technique, appearing behind Shane as if by teleportation.

"go to hell!"

Philip's face contorted in a ferocious grin, his eyes bloodshot, and a poisoned dagger popped from his sleeve, poised to pierce Shane's back.

But when the sword was thrust out, the sensation from the blade felt very strange.

"You can be proud of yourself if you can block one of my attacks."

"But how will you respond to the second move?"

Philip stiffly turned his head away, and Shane's figure had appeared beside him without him noticing.

What he had pierced earlier was merely an afterimage left behind by this man.

"His speed is actually that fast?"

In Philip's despairing gaze, Shane cleaved the head in two with a single stroke, and the severed head fell onto the deck, rolled twice, and then lay still.

Everything happened so fast.

From the moment Philip opened his mouth to mock him until his head hit the ground, less than three minutes had passed.

However, the formidable strength and skills that Shane displayed in the battle shocked everyone on the ship.

That was one of the strongest Tier 3 Mystic Path users on the ship, and he was killed like a chicken?

In fact, this is the true performance that Shane 3.4 should have in terms of overall quality.

Don't be fooled by his disheveled appearance at the hands of the vampire Twilight, where he seemed powerless to fight back.

That's not because he was weak, but because the enemy was too strong!

Against fellow third-tier Mystic Path practitioners, especially someone like Philip who excels in physical strength, Shane could achieve an instant kill.

This is also the source of Xia En's confidence to take drastic measures.

At this moment, facing the stunned pirates on the ship, Xia En spoke loudly.

“You all heard it, Philip intends to rebel against Lord Augustine. As the captain, I have a duty to clean house for him.”

"Does anyone have a problem with this?"

Looking at Xia En's cold and stern face, and the headless corpse still bleeding at his feet.

The pirates were terrified and none of them dared to utter a single word.

This is the world of pirates!

The law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak, is vividly demonstrated.

They all knew that from this day forward, the man before them would become the true owner of this ship!
(End of this chapter)