Pirate Kingship.

Chapter 426: First Level: The Test of the Lake Monster Jibaro

"The mummy of the previous king? And my suicide goddess? Why are they here?"

Two things that should have been completely unrelated not only came together, but also promoted the solution of [The Cloud of Succession of the Throne of the Solar Empire].

This discovery made Byron frown subconsciously, his mind racing, trying to think about what the connection between them was.

“Atahuallpa told me this before when he was explaining the empire to me.

The average life expectancy of mortals is 35 years, and their limit is about 150 years.

If one fails to advance to the fifth level of [False God] and forge his own immortal godhood before his lifespan runs out, he will begin to age rapidly, and in the end there is a high possibility that he will explode or collapse into a Sun Holy Stone.

It sounds similar to what happens to the sun in its twilight years.

His father, the previous king Huayna Capac, failed to take that crucial step, but he was much luckier than most of the descendants of the Sun God.

There was no explosion or collapse due to death from old age, but he died like a normal person, leaving behind an intact body.

It is said that among the descendants of the Sun God, only those who died suddenly would have such complete bodies preserved.

These descendants of the Sun God are also strange. They do the opposite of normal humans.

Others seek to die of old age, but they seek to die on the battlefield. The latter has a much greater chance of leaving an intact body than the former, and they also have the chance to be made into a mummified body. "

Byron's intelligence channel was not limited to Atahualpa alone. He had also long since relied on the power of the "Lord of Heaven" to infiltrate the collective subconsciousness of the Quechua people in the Empire of the Sun and absorbed many secrets.

This continent is truly a place where all things have spirits.

Most people will return to the sea of ​​collective subconsciousness after death. A small number of people with particularly noble bloodlines will enter the sky city of Machu Picchu and fall asleep at the feet of God. Still others will become nature spirits by accident.

In other words, in the Beast Paradise where the blood moon is in the sky and the source tides are particularly active, life and death are not clearly distinguished.

A very small number of natural spirits can even become new totem gods, reincarnate from death and return to the empire.

Of course, these totem gods are just exceptions, and no one can guarantee that they will receive such a God-given opportunity after death.

The key point is that because the "Holy Book of the Sun" is too different from death, the Sun God and his many powers have not yet touched upon the authority of the underworld.

Regardless of one's noble or humble origins, even the gods cannot interfere too much after death and cannot open back doors for future generations.

Therefore, most of those nobles of divine descent would be made into mummies after their accidental death, to serve as an anchor for their souls in the material world, giving them at least one more chance than becoming wandering ghosts.

During family celebrations or sacrificial ceremonies, these mummies would be carried out and fed with delicious food, fine wine and tributes to sustain their survival in the spiritual world.

If one cannot become a fifth-order [pseudo-god], he can still come back as a nature spirit or [totem god].

Under this tradition, it is normal for the old king's mummy to be brought out to witness history at the coronation ceremony to decide the next king, as an anchor for communicating with his soul.

As for why the crystal skull was on his body?
The only connection Byron could think of between the two was this:
“Could it be that the former king Huayna Capac saw that death was inevitable, but was unwilling to enter the sky city of Machu Picchu and fall into eternal sleep?

So, he didn't actually die of old age, but used the power of Crystal Skull No. 13 [Suicide Goddess] to protect suicides and ended his life early?

Since it can promote the density, it doesn't seem to be as simple as increasing the chances of reincarnating as a totem god."

Byron is always looking forward to collecting all thirteen crystal skulls and synthesizing his first level zero relic [Heaven on Earth]!
Among them, Skull No. 13 [The Goddess of Suicide] and Skull No. 1 [The Lord of Heaven] who act as the gatekeepers of heaven and shelter suicides and various undead spirits are equally important.

During this trip, he returned to his old business as the "Pioneer Navigation Military Dispatch Company" and agreed to provide military support to Atahualpa. One of his main purposes was to take away this crucial treasure from the royal treasury.

I thought the so-called "dark clouds" referred to the open and covert struggles among various forces behind the four princes.

Previously, the main focus was on totem gods, the old gods' followers, and foreign colonists.

At this moment, he unexpectedly discovered that this treasure was involved in the matter together with the dead king, and his face suddenly became uncertain.

It was not until the sun chariot escorting the king's mummy passed through the path cleared by the two groups of people and flew to the island in the lake that Byron straightened up along with the others and thought to himself:

“I’m afraid something unexpected will happen during this coronation ceremony.

Now that we have come to this point, we have to be extremely careful and take each step one by one.

At least I have the navigation log, and the information I have is far more comprehensive than others. Once I get close, I can directly usurp the supreme control of the [Suicide Goddess].

The most important thing is to help Atahualpa get through this difficult time first.

Once you get the throne, you can slowly plan your future plans. At worst, you can find an opportunity to take it away. After all, pirates are also pirates!"

At this time, the third prince and the fourth prince, who were originally arguing with each other, felt that the argument was meaningless after being interrupted by their father's mummy.

Each of them snorted coldly and led their own team, following the mummy to land on an island at the outermost edge of the holy lake where a magnificent sun temple was built.

People from all parties arrived one after another before the sun rose completely.

Byron and Violet also saw the other contenders for the throne and their guards for the first time.

The distance was too far and the [ship log] was difficult to reach, but Atahualpa, who had bribed his servants in advance and collected a lot of intelligence, introduced it to them.

The one in front is the eldest prince [Earthquake Light] Ninan Koyuki Capac, who was born to the previous king and the earthquake dragon.

The real person has an exceptionally strong build. Even when maintaining his human form, his height is nearly as tall as a floor. Standing beside him are two other guards with impressive auras.

One of the guards who is only slightly smaller than him is his son, [Son of the Sun] Lyok Capac, who also has the bloodline of an earthquake dragon.

The age of the eldest prince [Earthquake Light] is also an advantage to some extent. At least his sons have reached middle age and are older and stronger than many princes of the same generation.

The other one looked like an ordinary native, and outwardly looked like an ordinary [Son of the Sun], but his aura seemed vaguely different, and his face was too pale.

“Your Majesty, Lord of Heaven, it is strange to say that my elder brother clearly has the bloodline of the Totem God, but he usually refuses to come into contact with the Totem God.

He regards himself as the orthodox empire all day long.

The second elder brother was of pure blood, but he loved to mingle with those totem god tribes and never avoided suspicion.

They are two extremes.”

Atahualpa was still young and inexperienced, but Byron was accustomed to this situation.

The more they are related to foreigners or the more they are of foreign origin, the more they will actively avoid suspicion, and even intensify their opposition to them. This is the fanaticism of converts.

It's mainly because of his inferiority complex. He tries every means to please others. No wonder he has a bad temper and gets angry when people ridicule his background.

On the contrary, the less problematic your identity is, the less you need to care about these details.

Byron looked at the team of the second prince, the [Playboy] and the [Flirtatious] Huascar Capac.

Standing beside him were obviously two female totem gods. As the legend goes, they trusted outsiders and did not even recruit a single relative of the Sun God. The woman with transparent fly wings, six slender arms, and a pair of compound eyes was the [Totem God·Poison Messenger].

She is also the mother of the fly lady in the gossip story.

Seeing how overly intimate they were, it was hard to describe in words.

The other one is a beautiful girl with a flower growing out of her left eye, a fourth-level totem god [Flower Fairy].

Therese Ashbell, the powerful succubus that Byron had expected, was nowhere to be seen.

Glancing from a distance, it was impossible to tell where she was hiding without the logbook.

But Byron knew that in order to successfully hold the promotion ceremony to usurp power, the other party must have come here.

I just don’t know what the mythological form of this succubus is, and who she is in disguise. It could be the fourth or third level present.

Moreover, even if the succubus's whereabouts could be found, she could not be touched before the ritual began.

Finally, two guards came out from the team of the third prince [Hero's Blood] and stood beside him.

Both guards were wearing black hooded robes that were obviously of rare items, which concealed their appearance. It was impossible to even see their appearance clearly, let alone their extraordinary abilities.

Atahualpa took one look and curled his lips:
"Third brother has really learned bad things from those white barbarians, hiding his true intentions and being secretive.

His territory is by the sea, so there must be many outsiders visiting his territory. I guess there is at least one white barbarian among them."

Apart from these few brothers who were observing and confronting each other, most of the others were at level three, and they all stayed away, obviously not wanting to confront the four of them right away.

The old king had more than two hundred sons and daughters, most of whom were assigned to administrative positions at various levels or border tribes.

Whether in terms of manpower, financial resources or personal strength, they cannot be compared with the four governors.

But no one knows whether there is anyone among this group of people who wants to let the four of them fight each other for their own benefit.

Soon, when the sun rose completely, a group of senior nobles from the Council of Nobles carried the old king's mummy to the main gate of the Temple of the Sun.

The "Holy Lake Coronation Ceremony" was opened by the high priest.

"Bring an offering!"

An exotic alpaca with golden wool that sparkled in the sun was led up by the priest.

After Atahualpa's whispered introduction, Byron learned that this was the beastly descendant of Uchichoy, a fifth-level subordinate god [Alpaca God], and had the blood of both the sun god and the alpaca.

If you really think about it, this alpaca might even be their cousin.

Referring to the earthquake dragon and alpaca, it is obvious that this is a fine tradition of the Capac royal family of the Sun Empire.

Anyway, the Totem God has been able to break reproductive isolation since the third level, and there are countless such hodgepodge creatures in the Beast Paradise.

Although the sailors on the ocean-going ships of the Old World also love sheep, they are on a completely different level compared to them.

All I can say is: awesome.

It's like the ancient Greek god-king who was in charge of breaking reproductive isolation.

"BAA Baa baa"

The high priest took out an enchanted golden ceremonial knife, pressed the very strong golden alpaca to the ground with one hand, and muttered something.

The ancient Quechua language, which sounded incomprehensible to others, seemed to communicate with some great existence in the dark and attracted its attention.

The ceremonial knife in the other hand skillfully cut open the alpaca's belly, and the bloody and colorful internal organs covered with fascia flowed out instantly.

Meow——!
The strange thing is that although the alpaca should have been in extreme pain, it did not move at all after the high priest released his hand.

He just stretched his neck, and his originally clear and pure eyes seemed to be covered with a layer of shadow, reflecting a brilliant spiritual world.

The high priest stared intently at the internal organs flowing out of it, and even reached out to scoop up some of it, his eyes shining with the same strange light as the alpaca's.

This is [Viscera Divination], which can not only predict good or bad luck, but also use the golden alpaca's dying state between life and death to communicate with the gods in the sky.

The incantation chanted by the high priest in Quechua became louder and louder, and the 52 secret islands in the lake suddenly glowed with a bright light, with a colorful beam of light rising into the sky from each island.

Interwoven in mid-air were scenes of the hardships and dangers that the founders of the nation had experienced.

Manco Capac and his group of eight sons of God traveled in the Ring of Fire Mountains for twenty years, encountering countless dangers along the way.

That period of history of the founding of the country represents where this country came from, and in the collective subconscious of the 20 million people of the Solar Empire, it is also the most critical collective memory.

The world rift in the lake carried the source tide and integrated that period of history to manifest into 52 islands in the lake, each representing a crisis they had encountered.

There are 52 secret islands, but it does not mean there are only 52 kinds of dangers. There will be no problem in adding up to difficulties.

It’s just that these 52 are the most representative.

Of course, no one would expect the princes to follow the complete route that the founding ancestors had taken. Do they still want to imagine that these descendants who grew up in a honeypot can reproduce the great achievements of their ancestors?

As long as you offer a sacrifice, only three to five of them will be opened at random, forming a simple "Trial to Become the King", and the end point is the [Sun Crown] that symbolizes royal power.

Whoever can wear it on his head will be the ultimate winner.

“Your Highnesses, every time you pass a level, you must find a Sun Badge. Only with the badge can you enter the next level, until you finally arrive in front of the [Sun Crown].

There are no restrictions on any means in between.

Now, the trial begins!"

Following the high priest's order.

Rumble.
A stone door rose from the ground, and behind the misty door was obviously the starting point of the "King's Trial".

Led by the eldest prince [Earthquake Light], hundreds of princes and twice as many guards walked into the gate very consciously.

The moment Atahualpa, Byron, and Violet entered the stone gate, a voice suddenly rang in their ears:
"Level 1: The Test of the Lake Monster Jibaro."

call--!
A gust of cold wind blew across the backs of all the trial-takers' heads; even the fourth-rank [Son of the Sun] couldn't help but feel his hair stand on end.

It seemed as if I could hear the sound of gold coins colliding and women laughing coming from the depths of the lake behind the fog.

(End of this chapter)