Pirate Kingship

Internal Strife!

A brutal slaughter unfolded within the golden apple orchard, indeed stemming from within the same treasure-hunting team.

The strength of this team was clearly not weak.

Even without knowing the load limit one could carry—equal to one's body weight—they still scorned the silver coins found all along the roadside, unwilling to return home for such trifles.

But when they arrived at this golden apple orchard, disagreements unsurprisingly emerged.

Some were satisfied with the golden apples that filled the garden and were unwilling to take further risks and press on.

Others advocated for continuing towards the island's center to search for the great pirate Flint's hidden treasure cave.

In particular, many in the team whom Byron had cursed as "living dead" lacked any desire; they were uninterested in gold and silver treasure, fine wine, gourmet food, or beauties.

Aztec's Cursed Coins were their sole objective.

Although the team leader temporarily suppressed the internal disagreements, as night fell, the various desires within people's hearts continuously amplified. The disagreements then transformed into blatant murderous intent towards others!

Whatever a person desired, they gradually became consumed by possessiveness towards it. Worse, this possessiveness was exclusive. They alone could own it and had to eliminate anyone who could possibly contest them for it.

After all, gold will eventually be spent by me, so I... want it all!

The fire of conflict was first lit by the one whose possessiveness was strongest, and in an instant, it swept through the entire treasure-hunting team.

It didn't matter whether you actually wanted to compete, or if you could still control your desires; your very existence was the mistake.

In the end, even those who existed in a constant "Wise Time," immune to any pleasant sensations, untempted by the allure of Xilaralavia, and theoretically the safest—the "living dead"—were also dragged into it.

Blood soon flowed like rivers within the camp.

This bloodbath signaled that from this night on, danger would no longer come only from the Secret Realm itself, but also from teammates who could suddenly lose control at any moment, and from others like them, who were everywhere on the island!

One point Byron clearly got wrong was that while the contented may die quickly on this island, the greedy die just as fast.

"AWOOO—!"

Soon, on the horrific battlefield of internal strife, a series of inhuman, sorrowful howls sounded, followed by the sounds of gnawing and swallowing.

"You damned fools, spilling blood everywhere, even the Reanimated Corpses have lost control! Ah, no—!"

"Run! These Reanimated Corpses are infected with 'puffer poison'! I don't want to become such a ghastly sight!"

Before Byron and Violet, who had heard the commotion, could decide whether to investigate or urgently seek safety, several dark figures drenched in a heavy stench of blood had already charged out from the golden apple orchard at high speed.

All of them appeared to be muscular men with tattered clothing.

Their eyes glowed green, their skin was blue-black, canines protruded, and their mouths, among other areas, were smeared with filthy bloodstains.

Underneath the bloody scent lingered a more persistent aroma of herbs and the stench of decay.

Four or five shadows suddenly burst out of the night together, as if a pack of evil spirits had been unleashed—the sight utterly terrifying.

No matter how you looked at them, they did not resemble the living.

The Sailing Logbook had already read their history the moment it noticed them.

Black Sorcery Creation: Revenant Corpses:

"In life, they were sailors of the Rhein Alliance, transformed into Reanimated Corpses by the Black Serpent Brotherhood, an affiliate of the Voodoo Sect, using knowledge from the Voodoo Sect's Forbidden Book, 'Fudu Sect Ritual.'

They are without reason, without pain, immensely strong, swift-footed, and impervious to ordinary bullets. They are often used by the Black Serpent Brotherhood to replace oxen and horses for labor, or as expendable soldiers.

Once their numbers reach a certain threshold, they become a horrific disaster.

Moreover, special varieties exist that can spread a Wizard-crafted poison, 'puffer poison,' to other living beings, turning them also into Reanimated Corpses.

Their drawback is they decompose completely within three years at most, unless regularly supplemented with a large amount of fresh human flesh and blood."

"The Voodoo Sect? It's them."

As the manager of the International Port, Byron was naturally well-informed, long familiar with all the major powers in the Bantaan Archipelago.

The Voodoo Sect, like The Skinners' Church and the Bloodthirsty Cult, was one of the many taboo cults of the Bantaan Archipelago.

Compared to the former two, it was a relatively young organization.

Yet, the Voodoo Sect's growth within the Bantaan Archipelago had been swift, establishing several branches across the islands of the Sapphire Sea.

The Black Serpent Brotherhood was one of them, with the principle "all members are brothers; keep secrets for brothers, and take a knife in the ribs for a brother."

Turns out, they indeed upheld "taking a knife in the ribs for a brother"—though the ribs were those of a brother.

It is said the Voodoo Sect's Forbidden Book, 'Fudu Sect Ritual,' originated from a Fourth Order Pioneer who found it while exploring the 'Celestial Sphere Circulation' in ruins.

They coerced believers into joining by instilling fear, specializing in Voodoo Potions, mediumistic spirit possession, enslavement of the dead, commanding Dead Souls, and substitute dolls...

Referring to them as a necromantic cult wouldn't be inappropriate either.

Over the years, the Voodoo Sect's most infamous and representative Black Sorcery has been the horrifying "Reanimated Corpses," even gradually forming new legends of terror to the point it could silence crying children.

BOOM!

As the several terrifying Reanimated Corpses were about to charge at the two of them, a gunshot suddenly burst forth from the woods.

The Reanimated Corpse running at the front had its entire upper body shattered by a close-range shot from Byron.

He shielded Violet—who had changed back into a clean, neat shirt and trousers—behind him, guns in hand, twirling them elegantly.

Muzzle flashes flared, and his shots finished them all on the spot.

Not one managed to get within seven steps of them.

Nevertheless, who knew how many from the Black Serpent Brotherhood had arrived, or how many Reanimated Corpses they had brought with them.

When the masterminds behind the creation of these necromantic weapons died, hordes of Reanimated Corpses gained their freedom, instinctively attacking any creature with warm blood.

The members of the Black Serpent Brotherhood suffered a backlash from their own witchcraft, spiraling out of control and joining the ranks of the Reanimated Corpses, then launching assaults in all directions.

Byron and Violet found themselves right in the path of the main assault.

Of course, even if those people had not transformed into bloodthirsty Reanimated Corpses, driven by intense possessiveness, their aggression would likely have been even more frenzied and harder to deal with.

"Kill!"

The two exchanged a glance and nodded simultaneously.

Back to back, they each raised their dual guns, "Thorn Rose" and "Ebony and Ivory," and fired thunderously.

The orchard was instantly ablaze with gunfire, suppressing even the howls of the Reanimated Corpses.

Byron took a deep breath and immediately entered the Flow State, bringing Violet, who had long been accustomed to coordinating with him, into seamless synchronization.

Their breathing became one, their Spiritual Radiance merging into a continuous glow.

The firing cadence of their four guns in the forest shifted dramatically, as if each shot was imbued with life.

Their keen spiritual senses precisely locked onto the trajectory of each bullet, each steel ball.

With each shot fired, "Storm Child" immediately applied a lateral force to the alloy slug, effortlessly tweaking its flight path.

Without exception, each shot was a headshot.

Even if a bullet seemed to have missed, the moment it hit a stone, it ricocheted off at an angle, instantly blowing off the head of a Reanimated Corpse...

Within a seven-step radius around them, the area was absolutely dominated by their firearms, rivaling the Supreme Art known as the "Ritual Circle."

And the more Reanimated Corpses they killed, the more their gunnery skills improved.

Precision, lethality, and control all advanced rapidly.

This was a miraculous form of gunnery never before exhibited by Fortress Sequence Musketeers or Lighthouse Sequence Artillery Experts.

It was as if they possessed a fraction of the legendary "Gun Dueling Technique."

Actually, the principle behind such a technique was not complex.

By relying on precise calculation, launch the most damaging attack from the safest position.

Swordsmanship combined with firearms, integrated with principles of ballistics statistics, ultimately culminated in a scientific art of killing!

In fact, the Supreme Art / Geometric Swordsmanship that Catherine excels in utilizes the same concept.

Based on data and formulaic calculations, an effortless flick of the wrist could turn complex problems (or enemies) into a scattered mess.

Although Byron didn't have the same sensitivity to numbers as Catherine, he possessed the perceptive abilities of the "Sailing Logbook."

Want to know the attack radius, wind speed, relative position... just look directly or read the information; it was even more convenient than a Supreme Art.

Theoretically, with two guns, he could hit any blind spot around him and increase bullet power by twenty percent.

Ordinary people could master the conventional technique, which uses the geometric shapes centered on their own body as the basis for simultaneous attack and defense.

The advanced version, however, was "ballistic control," achievable only with the aid of Extraordinary Powers!

A bullet, guided as if an extension of one's own finger, could effortlessly eliminate an enemy behind an obstacle.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!...

The "Thorn Rose" hand cannon emptied its twelve large-caliber bullets.

Its cylinder swung open, ejecting the spent cartridges automatically, while backup ammunition loaded itself under the control of an invisible spiritual hand.

The speed surpassed even that of an automatic weapon using a magazine.

The two moved quickly, shooting as they went, like two leaves dancing in the wind, roaming everywhere.

They always kept the Reanimated Corpses within the optimal range and angle for shooting.

Using the fewest bullets, they achieved double, even triple, penetration kills.

Their breath in unison, hearts reliant on each other, gunfire blossoming, bullets leaping, they effortlessly harvested souls bound within decaying flesh.

It was as if they were performing a beautiful, deadly waltz together.

If this group from the Black Serpent Brotherhood had still been alive, exterminating them would not have been so easy.

But once they lost their intelligence, no matter how powerful the Reanimated Corpses were, they were merely target practice.

In this "grand ball," Byron's Gun Dueling Technique rapidly took shape, with Violet becoming the first beneficiary.

In fact, once Byron acquired the abilities of "Storm Child" and the Flow State, he already had the prerequisites for creating the Gun Dueling Technique.

The only reason he had not yet demonstrated such a miraculous ability was twofold: he lacked two suitable firearms that resonated with his spirit, and he missed a "dance partner" who could seamlessly coordinate with and cover for him.

With the material conditions fulfilled, the birth of a new art form naturally followed.

In the past, limited by the performance of muskets, the prerequisite knowledge for the "Musketeer" profession, "Musketry," mainly involved firing in formation.

But Byron believed that as Violet's firearm technology advanced and revolvers slowly became widespread in this world, one day, those Musketeers who wished to advance would have to learn his Gun Dueling Technique!

This was similar to the Lighthouse Sequence "Pirate." Initially, its prerequisite knowledge was the Bayfolk Axeman Technique, which was later replaced by the Barbary Pirates' Fisher Swordsmanship.

As eras relentlessly advance, who is to say that modern people are inferior to the ancients in transcendent abilities?

As the human race develops, the related abilities of the "Ladder of Glory" will become stronger and stronger.

Even the Storm Knights of the Lancaster Party would likely have to leverage their inherent advantage of ballistic control. They would then embark on a new path, achieving mastery with both guns and swords.

A Storm Knight who can't conjure a metal storm is not a good swordsman!