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

Chapter 340 [The Young King of Cinder] [Self-Execution]

"Conceal...memories?"

Xia En silently pondered the information revealed in Jane's words, and a chill ran through him.

Mass memory loss...

In his previous life, he probably wouldn't have believed such a thing could happen.

But after wandering the Seven Seas for so long and having come into contact with deities such as the [Filthy Fate], Shane realized that such things were not inconceivable to them.

However, what puzzled Xia En was—

If Jane's guess is correct, then the Black Flame Walker's memories were deliberately erased and hidden.

What is the other party's purpose in doing this?
What exactly happened during that time?
Afterwards, Shane carefully inquired about Irina's memories before their eternal sleep.

According to Irina, all she remembers is that the Lord of Cinder seemed to have foreseen the impending disaster, so he ordered them to make extensive preparations for a certain plan.

The preparations include, but are not limited to, collecting unusual materials and supplies, building shelters, and transporting key people or items...

For this, the Great Yan Kingdom expended a great deal of manpower and resources.

It can be said that the entire nation's resources were mobilized.

But at that time, even the Blackflame Walker, who personally carried out the plan, did not know why the Lord of Cinder was doing this.

Such a thing could only happen in the Great Yan Kingdom, where the King of Cinder wields near-absolute power.

In some countries where the king's control is weaker, doing this might directly cause unrest.

Upon hearing about collecting seeds and biological embryos, Shane immediately realized that part of the Blackflame Walkers' preparations were likely for "Project Ember!"

That is, to create the [Ember Shelter] (Ember Treasure) to leave behind the seeds of civilization for future generations.

From today's perspective.

The catastrophe that Lord Cinder faced at that time was naturally the first world-ending flood.

Moreover, the Lord of Cinder at that time was remarkably farsighted, not only predicting the impending disaster but also making numerous preparations.

The Ember Project is just one of many.

However, from the few fragments of information Irina provided, Shane was unable to ascertain what the Lord of Cinder's other plans were.

It can only be vaguely guessed that it is closely related to the freezing of towns and the formation of glaciers in the far north.

After hearing Irina and the other person's answers, Shane stroked his chin.

"You mean... your memories of carrying out the plan for Lord Cinder are still clear."

"The only thing that's blurry is the memory of the period before and after the disaster?"

Irina thought for a moment and nodded, "That's about right."

"In fact, I have no memory of the great flood at all."

"I only remember that I was on a mission when I suddenly fainted. When I woke up, it was a thousand years later."

"The Great Yan Kingdom has also become what it is now..."

Upon hearing this, Xia En asked curiously, "What was the Great Yan Kingdom like in the past?"

Irina said, "In the beginning, the Far North, although it was a harsh and cold place compared to the Southern Continent, was not as cold as it is now."

"Moreover, after the King of Cinder developed a special large-scale heating device, the climate of the Great Yan Kingdom became much warmer."

"Only winter is exceptionally cold; the other seasons are almost the same as those in the Southern Continent."

Xia En's expression was somewhat strange.

What kind of massive heating system would it be to change the climate of the entire far north?

So Yan Yan, you're an inventor too?!

However, upon closer reflection, with Yan Yan's own secret fire power, plus the technological legacy obtained from that unknown secret realm, it's clear that...

It's not too surprising that the Great Yan Kingdom possesses the ability to alter its climate.

Seemingly sensing that Shane was still somewhat skeptical, Irina hesitated for a moment before taking a pocket watch from her clothes and carefully handing it to him.

Irina treated the pocket watch with extraordinary care, as if it were a rare treasure.

But Xia En could tell at a glance that the pocket watch was made of very ordinary material, and even looked somewhat decayed over time.

"This is……"

Seeing Xia En's puzzled look, Irina explained.

"There is a photograph of the Great Yan Kingdom from the past here."

"You'll understand once you've seen it, but please... be gentle with it."

Xia En was naturally not too rough with something that others cherished, and he quickly and gently opened the pocket watch.

On the inside back of the pocket watch, there is a photograph that is not very large.

The photo shows Irina and several Blackflame Walkers.

The background looked like a small grove of trees, bathed in bright sunlight, and the ground beneath their feet was even a meadow covered in green grass.

The whole scene evokes a warm feeling, like strolling in the spring sunshine.

Xia En exclaimed in surprise, "This is the former Great Yan Kingdom?"

Soon, his gaze fell on one of them, and his eyes widened slightly.

Behind Irina and the others, there was an exceptionally tall figure.

He was handsome, with sharp eyes and a straight back like a sword. His whole demeanor was confident and resolute.

Just looking at him makes you feel exceptionally reliable.

The smile on this person's lips added a touch of subtle arrogance and high spirits, like the sun at eight or nine in the morning.

Full of youthful vigor and ambition.

Who else could it be but Yan Yan?
Looking at Yan Yan in the photo, Xia En couldn't help but feel a bit complicated.

The man in this photo is actually quite different from the Yan Yan he knows.

The Yan Yan he knew was a sunny, cheerful, innocent, and kind-hearted young man with no guile or scheming, which is why he was able to get along so well with every crew member on the Black Swan.

The man in the photo is clearly more deserving of the title "King of Salvage".

From him, Xia En could even see a so-called "kingly aura".

That is the true power to govern a country and the confidence to lead it to strength.

Moreover, even the current King of Cinder probably can't recapture that aura from the photos.

There is a reopening day, and no one is young.

Having gone through so much, the current King of Salvation has a completely different mindset than he did when he was younger.

"When Wang saw that we wanted to take a picture, he took the initiative to ask to take a picture with us, which is how this photo came about."

Irina said with a touch of nostalgia.

“I have carried this photo with me ever since, and I still do today.”

"But... of the other people in the photo, very few are still alive."

At this point, Shane understood why Irina valued the pocket watch so much.

For her, this photo holds precious and important memories.

Those emotions separated by a thousand years can perhaps only be glimpsed in this photograph.

At this moment, Joey leaned her little head in.

Looking at the group photo, she sighed softly.

"Is this Yan Yan when he was young? He looks so different from how he is now!"

"However, I always feel that he looks a bit like Captain Shane."

"Hmm?" Upon hearing this, Xia En raised an eyebrow and asked curiously, "How is it similar?"

Joey paused for a moment, then said, "Well... actually I don't really know either, it's just that kind of similar vibe!"

Irina chimed in, "Actually, I think so too..."

In their eyes, although Shane looked a little younger than the Lord of Cinder in the photo, he had the same natural charisma to become the backbone of the group.

Even in Joey's eyes, Shane's reliability was no less than that of the Lord of Cinder!
"Is it?"

Xia En neither confirmed nor denied it, and did not continue the topic.

After returning the pocket watch and photograph to Irina, Shane quickly ended the interrogation.

Although not much useful information was obtained, it at least gave Xia En a better understanding of the former Yan Yan and the [Great Yan Kingdom].

After leaving the room, Jane finally couldn't help but ask.

"Captain Shane, there's something I've wanted to ask you for a long time."

"What exactly is your relationship with the Lord of Cinder?"

This question had been on Jian's mind for a long time.

Even someone as calm and composed as her couldn't resist, which shows just how curious she was about it.

If it were just Shane alone, it wouldn't be so strange, but the fact that even Joey, Trish, and others acted as if they were very familiar with the Lord of Cinder is extremely odd.

"Actually, this was an accident."

Xia En hadn't intended to hide it from Jane anyway, so he quickly began to recount, "It all started when we unexpectedly ended up in the [Cold Sea]..."

After hearing about how Xia En and the others got to know Yan Yan, Jian suddenly realized the truth.

"So that's it."

She exclaimed, "This is truly a wonderful coincidence."

Who in their right mind would imagine that the big boy they picked up by chance was actually the legendary Lord of Cinder?
I'm afraid even those theatrical scripts wouldn't dare to portray it like that.

In this way, Shane and the other crew members can understand the unusual attitude towards Lord Cinder.

However, Jane suddenly thought of something strange: "Captain Shane, you said that when you met the Lord of Cinder, his whole body was engulfed in flames."

"Constantly being burned, and constantly being regenerated, is that right?"

Xia En nodded and said, "That's right."

Jane frowned slightly and said, "That's a bit strange..."

"According to several historical records, the Lord of Cinder was born from a volcano and was born with the power to control fire."

"Or you could say that fire is his companion."

"How could the flames have burned his body for a thousand years?"

Upon hearing this, Xia En's expression changed slightly.

He had thought about this problem before, but he hadn't thought about it in depth.

But after Jane's reminder, Xia En suddenly realized what was wrong.

Suddenly, a strange idea popped into Xia En's mind.

"Perhaps... this is Yan Yan's punishment for himself?"

Although it didn't happen often, Xia En had seen pain and self-blame on Yan Yan's face before.

That emotion becomes even more pronounced when he reminisces about the past.

Ordinary flames cannot harm Yan Yan.

Only his own flames can harm him.

Perhaps burning himself was not the result of Yan Yan's subjective control, but it was very likely that it was his subconscious that was at work.

He believed that some of his sins could not be washed away, and that he could only torture and torment himself in this way day after day.

The one who truly cannot forgive the King of Cinder is none other than himself!
This is why it can burn itself for thousands of years.

That pain was his punishment of himself.

Although this was just Xia En's guess, he felt that he had inadvertently stumbled upon the truth.

The key lies in...

What exactly did the King of Cinder do that he still can't forgive himself for?
The answer to this question is probably only known to the Lord of Cinder himself.

at this time.

A gasp came from Tracy on the deck.

"Captain, something has happened!"

Shane immediately strode out of the cabin and asked Tracy, "What happened?"

Look over there!

Tracy quickly pointed to the ice in the distance.

Xia En turned his head and saw a rather large ship on the ice field.

However, these are different from the three ships of the [Dragon Pirate Crew] that were rescued earlier.

The ship was mostly stuck in the ice, as if it had capsized in some way.

Moreover, the entire surface of the ship was covered with a thick layer of frost, as if it had been abandoned for a long time.

"How is this going?"

After thinking for a moment, Xia En decided to take An and Xiange, who could fly, to observe them up close.

And when they arrived above the ship.

Shane immediately understood the situation of the ship.

On the deck of this ship, one can clearly see numerous signs of battle and bloodstains that have long since dried and frozen.

And one frozen corpse after another.

Clearly, a fierce battle took place on this ship.

Ultimately, all the crew members perished in the battle, and the entire ship was abandoned there, gradually merging into the icy landscape.

At this moment, with the arrival of Xia En and his two companions, a series of "thump-thump" impact sounds quickly came from the cabin and the vicinity of the hull.

Soon, a group of monsters, similar to but different from the previous ice crystal monsters, emerged from around the abandoned ship.

Roar! Roar—

These monsters have thick, long white fur on their bodies, making them look like ugly yetis.

They looked up at Shane and his two companions, letting out terrifying roars, their eyes filled with malice towards the living.

"Another kind of monster..."

Xia En frowned slightly. He could also sense the power of [Hui Si Ming] from these Yetis.

However, compared to the previous ice crystal monsters, the Yeti's [Filthy Power] seems to be weaker, allowing these monsters to retain many characteristics of living beings.

"Then I will grant you liberation."

Shane slowly descended and began to bestow merciful deaths upon the Yetis.

Compared to ice crystal monsters, yeti do not possess the powerful characteristic of immortality, but their physical attributes far surpass those of the former.

However, in front of Xia En, there was not much difference between the two.

Wait until everything is settled.

Shaen collected the bodies from the ship, gave them a simple burial on the ice field, and erected a monument for them.

Although he didn't know these people or their identities, since they came to stop the disaster and save the world, it was worth it for Shane to do this for them.

(End of this chapter)