radicalducati Chapter 341 - 334: The Day of the Golden Crow Prophecy Has Come
Chapter 341 - 334: The Day of the Golden Crow Prophecy Has Come
"All monitoring devices have been activated and are providing full coverage."
"Unable to detect any life fluctuations from the Nameless Cocoon. The corresponding seabed area of the Great Rift Valley is now clear of any threatening life forms."
"Probability of death: 99.99%."
"Threat eliminated."
As the reports came in, cheers erupted in the control and research rooms of the Black Gold. The scientists and Commanders, who had been suppressing their emotions for so long, finally let out years of pent-up feelings.
A Holy Hall Tier expert truly is invincible!
Without a doubt, Shi Ming had earned the unprecedented friendship of a King-level Wandering Ship. While this wasn’t essential for his path to power, who would refuse a sincere alliance? Especially one with a ship that was still one of the top six powers!
The threat at the center of the Sea of Boiling still remained.
Still, the Black Gold held a grand celebration banquet. The burden of the past thirty years had been completely cast off. Even the dedicated scientists were beaming with renewed vigor. After a few glasses of red wine, Xivier’s face was flushed, her usual dignified and rigorous demeanor seemingly set aside for the moment.
She brought good news to the million inhabitants of the fifteen-kilometer-long wandering ship.
"I declare today Black Gold’s ’New Sail Day’!"
"All personnel, excluding those in special posts, will have a day off!"
New Sail Day was meant to commemorate the Black Gold completely breaking free of its shackles and setting sail on the Endless Ocean once more. It was a day worthy of remembrance, one that would become a legal holiday for the Black Gold, celebrated together at this time every year.
In the Wandering Era, holidays were a luxury.
This only made it all the more precious.
"Stone Patrol Envoy, the Black Gold owes you a great debt this time."
"I promise that the friendship of the Black Gold will be like the hardest diamond in the Africa Sea Area, growing stronger with time."
Xivier presented Shi Ming with a massive black diamond.
Watching the celebration onboard, Shi Ming felt a growing sense of peace.
After ascending to the Holy Hall Tier, many of the things he once had to be wary of and hide no longer mattered. Even without the Abyss Lord incident as a catalyst, and even if he didn’t need the Sealed Prison, he would have dealt with the lingering problem of the Nameless Cocoon as soon as possible.
Now, everything had fallen perfectly into place.
It was time to deal with the two most powerful sea beasts in this sea area.
In his Captain’s Space, nourished by the Dragon Flesh of the Great Black Heaven and illuminated by the Full Moon Treasure Pearl, the Bodhi Fruit and the Fruit of Eternal Youth had rapidly taken root and sprouted. The original Jianmu Seedling’s trunk had also grown much thicker, and a wisp of a black vein had appeared on it. This was the destructive aura from the Great Black Heaven Dragon, which had been integrated into the Jianmu, becoming one of its own powers.
The seedlings of the Bodhi Tree of Suffering and the Immortal Tree were still very small and didn’t require many nutrients. The Jianmu Seedling, however, had already opened up, ravenously absorbing the power within the Dragon Flesh of the Great Black Heaven each day like a whale swallowing water.
A faint dragon pattern had also appeared on the Jianmu’s fruit.
It had grown to three times its previous height. With a trunk over a meter tall, it gave off the impression of a small giant—looking young, yet standing firm between heaven and earth.
Shi Ming watched as it digested the dragon’s flesh and blood.
’I wonder what kind of changes these magical trees will undergo if I use various types of Holy Hall-level Flesh and Blood as nutrients?’
...
"Stone Patrol Envoy, this is the recovered Sealed Prison. The Black Gold has already repaired the damage it sustained in battle. It’s now fully operational."
[Wondrous Item - Ranked #27]
[Sealed Prison]
[...]
[Once the sub-unit makes contact with an item or creature to be sealed, the main unit can be used to seal, unseal, strengthen the seal, suppress, or smelt it... Operating the main unit consumes a large amount of Energy Stones and fuel. Once activated, the main unit cannot be moved.]
The Sealed Prison was an object resembling a stone pedestal.
It was divided into two parts: a main unit and a sub-unit.
Its surface was carved with all sorts of peculiar patterns. By injecting the power of Sea Crystal Stones and a Sea Beast Heart, it could manipulate the sealing threads and chains extended by the sub-unit. Even the most powerful S-rank sea beast would be rendered completely helpless once sealed.
However, it had one drawback.
The stronger a sea beast’s resistance, the weaker the sealing effect.
If used directly against a living Abyss Lord, the probability of a successful seal was undoubtedly zero. But Shi Ming didn’t need to worry about that. He only needed it to seal the source of the Abyss Lord’s pollution after its death, preventing it from dissipating for three to five days.
Handed over to Shi Ming along with the Sealed Prison were over a hundred Sea Beast Hearts from the Black Gold’s stores. This meant he didn’t have to worry about fuel consumption. At the same time, the Black Gold announced that it would retract the Heart of the Sea Beast Wanted Order in seven days. Any unredeemed points had to be exchanged within a month, after which they would expire.
The Black Gold no longer needed to purchase Hearts of the Sea Beast at high prices!
This would save another huge chunk of their budget.
The problem of the skyrocketing price of the Heart of the Sea Beast, which had long plagued the Black Gold, was no longer a concern.
In contrast to the Black Gold’s joy, beneath the magnificent, glittering dome of the Pharaoh, Ptolemy—who had been harboring a sliver of hope—now had no other recourse. On the advice of his other ministers, he paid reparations, surrendered treasures, and signed the "Tutankhamun Treaty."
1. The Pharaoh shall compensate Shi Ming with 20,000 Pure Dome Crystals, payable either in a lump sum or in 12 installments. If installments are chosen, each payment will incur an additional 30% interest;
2. The Pharaoh’s ship-suppressing treasure, Tutankhamun’s Golden Mask, shall be gifted to Shi Ming.
3. All wealth and treasures collected by the Ptolemy Clan shall be transferred to Shi Ming.
4. Shi Ming shall no longer hold the Pharaoh responsible for conspiring with other factions to hunt him.
With these terms, the general-level wandering ship instantly lost 90% of the resources and wealth it had accumulated over the years. It was left with nothing but its title and scale, becoming the most pathetic general-level wandering ship in the Africa Sea Area, and perhaps even the entire Endless Ocean.
But he had no other choice.
If he didn’t submit, the consequences would be predictable.
At least he had managed to save his ship and his life. Compared to the Black Society and Moon Shadow, his fate was far, far better.
The Pharaoh’s Awakened and crew worked through the night to gather the first batch of Pure Dome Crystals. Under Ah Bu’s leadership, they were preparing to deliver the payment to a large transport ship from Dinglan’s fleet, which was anchored near the Black Gold.
However, they were told that the captain had temporarily left.
...
...
...
In the Sea of Boiling, heat waves surged to the heavens.
For the past three months, this sea area had not been calm. Today, it was even worse, with dark clouds gathering as if a great catastrophe was about to descend. The heavy downpour evaporated into steam from the terrifying heat before it could even touch the sea’s surface. Any ordinary carbon-based life form would be instantly roasted and rapidly reduced to ash here.
And yet, upon this very sea, a perfectly ordinary-looking canoe floated atop the heat waves.
The man in the canoe was bare-chested, the crimson patterns on his left arm glowing with a fiery heat.
The Nine-Headed Dragon Pattern, which had long since faded on his chest and abdomen, reappeared with clarity. At the same time, an illusory head sprouted from each of his shoulders, and his six arms became fully corporeal, each brewing a different aura of destruction.
Though he had a human form, he was like a ferocious beast.
Nine-Headed Sanctuary!
Tsunamis raged across the sea, yet amidst the overlapping waves, an illusory landmass was born.
Upon this land, crimson flower stamens swayed in the wind. The three-headed, six-armed man left his canoe and stepped onto the illusory ground. One of his arms pulled a sharp blade from the soil, and with that, the world began to tilt.
Fallen Sanctuary!
Two Holy Hall Level Skills were cast simultaneously.
From the depths of the sea, a terrifying malice began to rise.