Pirate Kingship

"Gus!"

"Eight Fingers!"

Byron glanced over, and the two men behind him immediately understood. Gus, the Phantom Blade, drew the pair of daggers at his waist. His figure flashed, transforming into a wisp of blue smoke as he silently disappeared into the dense jungle.

As per the adventure team's assigned roles, he was naturally the scout, responsible for eliminating dangers and leaving markers along the way.

Although communication between the inside and outside of the Secret Realm was cut off, the Golden Law still enabled unhindered communication among members of The King's Right Hand within it. Even common Parrot Conches and Echo Conches remained effective, which was sufficient for their adventuring needs.

Eight Fingers drew the double-bladed battle-axe from his back and strode to the edge of the tropical rainforest, where there was no clear path.

A flash of silver light, and a tall tree fell instantly. In a matter of moments, he had carved a wide path through the jungle. Then, like a tireless humanoid machine, he kept swinging his axe, moving straight toward the ship's mast without flinching or dodging. Compared to his initial trek through the rainforest on their way to the Aztec Royal City, he was much more adept.

Clearly, he, like Gus, had already advanced to the Second Order.

The advancement of a Bayfolk Berserker was simpler and more straightforward than that of a Pirate; "kill, kill, kill" was the way. The requirement was survival through one brutal, bloody fight after another: five people, ten people, twenty people... That is, by achieving what swordsmen commonly referred to as slaying ten, a hundred, or a thousand men, one could advance further by stepping over the corpses of their enemies.

After successfully advancing, the Second Order core ability gained was called Bloodthirsty Berserker:

"Self-induced madness, built upon the foundation of the Transcendent Stamina Byron had always desired, significantly increases physical constitution, strength, reaction speed, primal instincts, and healing abilities. Simultaneously, it blocks pain and greatly enhances resistance to various abnormal states.

Curses, acid, burns, and piercing wounds that would be fatal to an ordinary person would only count as minor injuries that slightly affect his combat power.

It turned him into something tough: unboilable, unbakeable, poundproof, blastproof—a real tough nut to crack."

Even without activating his transcendent abilities, his physical attributes would continuously strengthen. At its peak, his physique could develop to rival that of the strongest primate, the silverback gorilla, reaching the theoretical limit for his species. By now, Eight Fingers' height had exceeded two meters, his bulging muscles as solid as granite.

Of course, for a transcendent ability within the safety-focused Ladder of Glory system, such a significant physical enhancement was not without its price. Overuse exhausted the limits of cellular division, leading to a shortened lifespan—just like Dennis, the Child Guardian and former Military Governor of Iron Anchor Bay.

Following Byron, the team—Violet, several pirate officers, and fifty marines—moved forward, while Alfred, known as Blood Red Whiskey, secured the rear.

They had just landed on the island, and the situation was still within controllable safety limits; no dangerous entities had actively revealed themselves.

However, Alfred, who was preparing his Third Order life menu, was fortunate enough to catch a unique "Ruby Crab" native to the island. Its entire carapace seemed composed of a ruby-like crystal, and its tender, white flesh was clearly visible through its translucent body.

If Alfred hadn't possessed Flow State, allowing him to perfectly discern the fissures in its body and pry open its steel-hard carapace with a single strike, many Second Order Transcendents would likely have been helpless against such a peculiar Demon Monster.

The Gourmet took out the fine crab vinegar he always carried, seasoned the Ruby Crab lightly, and began to eat it raw. In a few quick bites, he fulfilled the requirements for one of the eight courses on his life menu: a side dish (seafood, fish). With one-eighth of the Promotion Ceremony complete, his spirits visibly lifted, and his Spirituality became much more vibrant.

After only a short delay, the group arrived beside the Lancaster family's exploration ship.

"Byron, this ship seems too severely damaged for only eleven years," Violet, herself a Grand Artificer, was the most qualified to comment and noticed something unusual at a glance.

Though only a brief eleven years had passed, the ship looked as if it had endured a century of weathering. Half of the ship's hull was buried in the earth, covered with fallen leaves, humus, and moss. In some places, trees as thick as a human waist had even taken root. Had it not been for the mainmast still standing tall, from a distance, it would have been mistaken for an unremarkable green mound.

The side facing the team was darker and damper. Its planks, originally made of fine oak, were severely decayed, with strange, colorful bracket fungi and mushrooms even growing on them. Through the open gunports of the gun deck, one could see the bronze cannons inside, already encrusted with a thick layer of verdigris.

Although bronze, a copper-tin alloy, is far more corrosion-resistant than iron, even Wayne Dote, the team's most daring Artillery Expert, wouldn't have dared to fire a single shot from them.

However, there were no signs of attack on the hull, indicating that the crew must have been wiped out before they could retreat from the island's depths back to their exploration vessel.

"Stay alert. Let's go take a look."

Byron waved his hand. The group was about to approach and search the remains of the exploration ship, hoping to find any useful clues inside.