Pirate Kingship

Over Great Tayman Island, clouds gradually hung low, with only a slanting ray of sunlight falling upon Byron near the cattle pen.

"Kukulkan is both king and god.

When the Feathered Serpent God ruled as king, the Corn God, Flower God, Rain God, and Water God aided the people in agriculture, bestowing abundance.

When the corn harvest was bountiful, and gourds grew as thick as a man's arm, and cotton of every color grew on its own, with no need for humans to dye it..."

As he held the immobile Number Eight Crystal Skull and suddenly began to chant the epic, calling forth a heavenly phenomenon, the expressions on the faces of several natives turned spectacularly animated in an instant, and they couldn't help but cry out in astonishment, "How could you possibly know the epic chants of the Feathered Serpent God? Those chants that activate the Authority of the Sacred Relics were all lost along with the thirteen Crystal Skulls when the Thirteen-Tiered Pyramid collapsed."

"Could it be that the prophesied child is not really from the Tenor People, but a distant traveler from the Old Continent?"

Due to differing focuses in their Transcendent Systems, the natives had no high Tower Sequence [Historians] or [Naturalists] capable of reading history. Relevant professions among outsiders were also unable to communicate with the natives' collective subconscious or read the knowledge embedded within it due to racial barriers. Once a civilization experienced a break in its continuity, it was truly severed. These Taya People could only pin their hopes on a turning point emerging after the unification of the thirteen Crystal Skulls, just as foretold. But having witnessed such an unexpected and astonishing scene, if they hadn't clung to their last shred of composure, they probably would have prostrated themselves before Byron, hailing him as the prophesied child.

Byron glanced at them nonchalantly, not paying them much attention.

Hah, the natives are ultimately still quite unsophisticated. If the same thing happened in the Old Continent... forget about being the prophesied child, even if that ultimate embodiment of the rules, the 'Creator' who has never before appeared in the Material World, were to suddenly descend upon the Mortal World and speak, it's probable that he would be designated a heretic by the higher echelons of the Church and be subjected to an armed crusade in the blink of an eye. After all, 'not a single boy can walk out of Church intact' is not some joke made up to smear the Church.

HISS HISS HISS...

As a serpent's hissing sounded near everyone, a bright Morning Star lit up inside the Crystal Skull, then gradually rose into the sky. Under Byron's guidance, it cast a beam of light onto a nearby branch, instantly transforming it into a rough wooden spear. Another beam fell upon a stone, instantly turning it into an exquisite sculpture of the Feathered Serpent God...

The Great Shaman, his eyes shining with wonder, watched these magical abilities manifest—abilities the Crystal Skull had never shown when it was in his hands.

"Mr. Byron must be the prophesied child! The messenger of the Taya gods. I will go back and reorganize the inscriptions left by our ancestors; I will certainly find some clues."

Kukulkan holds dominion over the Morning Star, weather, knowledge, books, and legislation, representing death and rebirth. The Authority of the Crystal Skull is called Morningstar Light of Knowledge. Simply put, as long as the wielder has a thorough understanding of certain knowledge, they can skip all intermediate processes, allowing that knowledge to directly manifest in reality!

For example, making a Flintlock Gun requires a series of knowledge in the field of military manufacturing:

"Firstly, concerning iron-making, we need to solve numerous technical problems such as iron ore, coke, carburizing, and so on. We have to refine three types of steel with different properties. One is for making the gun barrel or iron rod blanks, one is spring steel for making the gun's spring, and another is the hard steel used for manufacturing a boring machine, for drilling and milling the gun bore.

"Secondly is the making of mechanical parts related to the Flintlock Gun, such as polishing the barrel and bore, manufacturing the spring, and assembling the mechanism. If the craftsman's skill level is insufficient, or the available tools are substandard, it will definitely be impossible to make. This doesn't even take into account the issues of standardized mass production.

"Thirdly, there's black powder, where different mixtures determine the quality and properties of the powder. It took several centuries to transition from the initially explosive formulas prone to igniting at the source to the more stable ones better suited for firearms. Additionally, the manufacturing process of granulated gunpowder is not simple either. Compared to powder, granulated gunpowder is easier to load, more powerful, burns more fully, granting the lead shot greater initial velocity and making it safer to transport."

Then, based on this knowledge, one would proceed with design drawings, material selection, smelting, parts manufacturing, gunpowder mixing, and final production... Without a doubt, this would be a time-consuming and complex military engineering category. On this primitive island, it's tantamount to establishing an industrial system from scratch.

But for Morningstar Light of Knowledge, it is much simpler. Once you possess this series of knowledge, you can eliminate all the complex intermediate steps. Let raw material plus knowledge directly turn into firearms in one step! The clearer the manufacturing principle, the more complete the knowledge system, the stronger the ability to transform knowledge into a concept and directly modify reality.

In fact, when Byron first saw this ability, his first thought was not curing diseases, but attempting what was difficult due to craftsmanship—those so-called bullets. Once he found the raw materials, he was ready to give it a try!

The only drawback is that the Feathered Serpent God isn't like a borrowed cow or horse from a neighbor that can work indefinitely; there is a limit to how much it can transform the Material World. And the greater the mass of material, the greater the consumption, making it unsuitable for large-scale industrial manufacturing.

But for the cowpox vaccine, there is no such problem. As long as it is within fifty meters of Bizarre The Bury-the-Dead Plague Doctor, it can spread the smallpox virus conceptually, effortlessly breaking through a Transcendent's spiritual barrier and causing an immediate, undelayed outbreak. Compared to that conceptual smallpox virus, the Feathered Serpent God can also transform vaccines or other treatment methods into the same concept or rule, directly implanting it into the collective subconscious of a native city-state. This allows it to manifest in reality and affect an entire group! Byron couldn't help but think of targeted genetic weapons designed for specific ethnic groups, with the Transcendent version being even more powerful.

"Bring out the cowpox vaccine."

After a few experiments, Byron shed the Light of Knowledge onto those cows and extracted a conceptual vaccine from them. Turning his head to Catherine, who had never had smallpox before, he said half-jokingly, "There are two possibilities for people in the Old Continent when they get infected with the smallpox plague. A one-in-four chance of dying on the spot, or a three-in-four chance of surviving, but becoming a woman with a pockmarked face. Beautiful Earl, do you wish to die with the beauty of the Flower of the North, or do you want to live as a woman with a pockmarked face?"

Whenever smallpox was rampant in the Old Continent, pockmarked faces became the norm to the point that any woman without pockmarks was considered beautiful and her value soared. Milkmaids who did not have pockmarks on their faces were therefore called "beautiful milkmaids," regardless of their own beauty or ugliness.

Hearing his words, Catherine's head shook like a rattle-drum. "Neither. Just vaccinate me with cowpox."

How could a girl, who at only 19 could tell Byron to save all the Blood Brew Bloody Mary for her (Chapter 107), allow herself to become like that? Saying this, she rolled up her sleeves and bravely extended an arm as smooth and white as jade to Byron. It glittered in the sunlight, not a pore to be seen. Vaccination would also leave an unsightly scar on that perfect, delicate arm, but it was far better than the two previous outcomes.

"From now on, you won't be able to wear short-sleeved pretty dresses," Byron teased Catherine verbally, then illuminated her with the Light of Knowledge.

However, contrary to expectations, the girl only felt a slight pain in her body, and then there were no other symptoms. The cowpox vaccination was complete.

To leave scars on such a beautiful body would truly be a waste of heaven's gifts.

It seemed the conceptual vaccine also skipped the process, directly fast-forwarding to the production of antibodies.

Byron also took the opportunity, using the Golden Law of the island as a medium, to vaccinate all pirates and islanders. Finally, he heaved a sigh of relief,

"Mission accomplished.

With this successful case, we need not fear even if we face a widespread plague in the future. The natives are afraid of all the viruses from the Old Continent: smallpox, measles, tuberculosis, bubonic plague, and various flus... If it weren't for Crystal Skull No. 8, I might be able to cure them once with cowpox, nature's own conqueror of smallpox. But what about those other plagues? If the Empire develops to its peak, only to find its native subjects completely wiped out by wave after wave of plagues, then I would be the most laughable emperor in the world. The Feathered Serpent God's Morningstar Light of Knowledge, combined with the immunology knowledge in my mind... With the corresponding antibodies and other biological materials, I could directly create the relevant immune products. This is also called the 'convalescent plasma' therapy. Those genocidal biochemical weapons should never exist in this world."

To achieve this, both Crystal Skull No. 8 in the hands of the Taya People and the knowledge in Byron's mind were equally important; one could not do without the other.

Catherine, having grasped the whole story, watched those grateful natives with a subtle gaze.

A sense of déjà vu washed over her—like she was loaning money to support the Pioneer Navigation Colonization Company's development, paying herself a salary from it, and then working her hardest for the company.

Of course, the natives were not at a loss either. If they lost their lives, wouldn't their gold, silver, treasures, and lands end up in the hands of the People of Castilia? They could still distinguish between gains and losses.

At that moment, the native prince, his eyes filled with stars, approached Byron and pleaded, "Mr. Byron, may I ask you to be my tutor? I want to learn medicine from you!"

"Medicine?"

After a moment of surprise, Byron suddenly felt that this suggestion might be very promising.

In his past life, long illness had made him a doctor. Before the ALS had become so severe that he could only lie in bed, he had tried every means to cure himself. Lacking the money to hire a professional R&D team, he studied various medical texts on his own. His skill might not have been very high, but he was clear on what modern medicine should look like. And in the shadows, there was also the Versatile Enchantress Beatrice, a Third Order Hospital Sequence, who was more than qualified to be his teacher.

Stroking his chin, he mused to himself:

In the Old Continent, those Doctors who studied the human body are still persecuted by the Church. Perhaps, on this land where Witch Doctors are prevalent and Church power is weak, medicine could shine in an entirely different light. Moreover, many things can be delegated to disciples. Not bad, not bad at all.

So, under the expectant gaze of the young prince, who was also the next King, he promptly agreed.

The next step is to race against The Bury-the-Dead Plague Doctor and the Kingdom of Castile to see who can digest the big piece of cake that is Yucatan Island first. It's time for our external support to make an appearance.

A sly smile touched his lips, and he raised his hand to send a message to Bruh, "Mr. Bill, come with me on a trip. Let's go pay a visit to... your father-in-law (Chapter 152)!"