I've Become the King of Villains in the Game
Chapter 865 - 550: Slanted Cross

The small island was not large, only about the size of two or three squares.

The vegetation on it was sparse, making it look barren.

"Here! Here!"

On the rocky shore, a ragged man was waving excitedly. His whole body was purple from the cold, his lips were bloodless, but his expression was filled with hope and anticipation.

As the small fishing boat approached, the man’s originally weak body seemed to be infused with boundless energy. He shouted and ran towards the fishing boat.

Even though his bare feet were cut by the sharp stones on the ground, he was indifferent.

When the fishing boat docked, several young people jumped out from his surprised gaze and came ashore. Although the other party was a bit wary and vigilant, the man didn’t care and took a few steps forward. Taking advantage of his remaining strength to speak, he hurriedly said:

"Please... Please take me back to Enlightenment Port, I..."

"Don’t rush, speak slowly."

Raphael frowned and took a cup of pre-prepared hot water from Lucy’s hand, handing it to the man.

"Th-thank you!"

The man greedily and quickly drank the hot water.

After taking a few breaths, he calmed his emotions before telling his story.

It turned out this guy was named Teddy, the captain of a small merchant ship. He usually dealt in sea wine and leather. "Sea wine" was a specialty of Enlightenment Port and sold well in other places, considered a widely circulated commodity.

However, two days ago, Teddy’s merchant ship accidentally encountered a storm in this area. The ship deviated from its course and even capsized, leading to the destruction of both the ship and crew... Fortunately, he, the captain, drifted to this small island and survived with the few supplies scattered on the shore.

"Could you please take me back to Enlightenment Port? Although the ship is gone, I still have some savings, which I can offer as a reward... As long as my life is spared, that’s enough!"

Captain Teddy pleaded.

As he spoke, afraid that the group wouldn’t agree, he kept fumbling on his body and finally took off a ring from his finger, hurriedly handing it to Raphael.

"This is the only valuable thing I have left. I hope you can show some compassion and take me back..."

But when Raphael took it, his expression changed dramatically.

The ring in his hand was entirely bronze, with a square green gemstone inlaid on it, engraved with a slanted cross symbol.

His friend Felisiano, at his side, found the ring familiar. The ring Captain Teddy handed over looked a lot like one he had acquired from a beggar a while ago...

Looking closer, it was not just similar, it was identical!

"Damn it!"

Raphael cursed under his breath. He suddenly felt that what he held was not a ring, but a lit bomb!

The intense unease prompted him to throw the ring into the sea.

Whoosh!

The green gemstone ring traced an arc before falling into the sea, disappearing without a trace.

"What are you doing..."

Captain Teddy looked stunned and utterly confused.

But in the next second.

Boom!!

A strange creature as large as a blue whale suddenly emerged from the sea. Its head resembled a huge mouth full of sharp teeth, with no other visible features.

The back of the creature was covered with deformed scales and fins, infested with various parasitic organisms. As its giant mouth closed, it emitted a terrifying shockwave-like sound.

Everyone was startled.

Raphael’s sharp gaze immediately noticed a glint of light at the corner of the unknown sea monster’s mouth.

His pupils shrank slightly.

That was unmistakably the ring he had just thrown out!

Boom!

Another deafening sound.

The sea monster fell back into the sea, raising massive splashes like an explosion had occurred.

As the sea surface calmed, everyone was still in a state of shock.

"That ring was problematic, it brings terrible misfortune..."

Raphael retracted his gaze and said in a deep voice.

Everyone was startled and, recalling Captain Teddy’s experience, started to understand... This person probably encountered a shipwreck because of that ring, right?

"Raphael, why are there two..."

Felisiano couldn’t help but ask.

But before he could finish, Raphael was already pulling him towards the fishing boat, simultaneously instructing the others:

"Let’s go quickly, this place isn’t safe."

The expressions of the Polaris group were very serious. Trusting Raphael, they hurriedly began to walk away.

The shipwreck survivor named Teddy tried to follow, but Raphael coldly stopped him:

"Don’t follow us!"

With a clang, the young man drew a delicate rapier from his waist, cutting through the air and pointing it straight at Teddy’s throat.

The latter stiffened and quickly raised his hands.

"We will send someone to rescue you on our return, but not now... Of course, that’s if you can survive until then."

Raphael was resolute this time; he didn’t seek the opinion of the others and directly chose to leave this uncertain factor on the island.

Ignoring Teddy’s pleas, Raphael turned cold-heartedly and quickly returned to the boat. He asked Polaris to raise the anchor and then piloted the fishing boat away.

As the boat sailed away from the island, Asoka and Felisiano still had looks of reluctance, but seeing Raphael’s determined attitude, they refrained from persuading him.

Felisiano walked up to Raphael and asked softly about the ring, but his friend just shook his head, seeming to know little more.

"Felisiano, I have a bad feeling..."

Raphael exhaled deeply, his eyes fixed on the sea ahead.

Next to him, Polaris’ eyes suddenly narrowed.

He vaguely saw some kind of pattern emerge behind Raphael and Felisiano as they stood together... It looked like two puzzle pieces coming together to form a slanted cross.

Others gradually noticed this scene, including Sunny Xiaoyu, who couldn’t help but speak:

"Luck Points..."

Halfway through the sentence, she realized something and frantically signaled to Polaris with her eyes. The latter instantly understood and cast a Scout.

Immediately, his pupils constricted sharply.

Felisiano’s Luck Points were shockingly "-50"!

Accompanied by a negative status of "Impending Doom"!

Although Raphael’s level was too high for Polaris to see, his intuition told him that Raphael’s situation was likely similar to Felisiano’s.

"Raphael!"

Polaris called out in a deep voice.

The handsome young man with long curly brown hair turned his head, frowned, and looked puzzled. Polaris hurriedly recounted what he saw, including the slanted cross pattern behind them.

Raphael and Felisiano exchanged glances, both looking extremely shocked.

"I understand now, the ring itself wasn’t the point!"

Raphael suddenly said through gritted teeth.

"It was merely a medium, a trigger for a ritual... Everything was orchestrated by someone. Although it coincided well, the traces of human design are too obvious, meant to mark both Felisiano and me simultaneously!"

He seemed to realize something but began pacing back and forth in front of the helm, full of gravity and deep in thought.

Polaris and the others looked at each other, not knowing what was happening. It wasn’t until Felisiano spoke out about his recent bouts of misfortune and mentioned that he had also acquired an emerald ring that everyone understood.

"So someone is deliberately setting you up?"

Sunny Xiaoyu said.

"You could say that..."

Raphael halted his pacing and turned to speak.

"But I don’t know what their ultimate goal is. If they just wanted to kill us, they wouldn’t have to go to such great lengths."

"Raphael, it seems we’re both in for some serious bad luck."

Felisiano said with a bitter smile.

Just as he finished speaking, the fishing boat shook violently.

Bang!!

As if something had collided with it, everyone heard a loud crash.

"Something is attacking the hull from beneath the sea!"

Polaris’s Spiritual Intuition warned him, and he quickly spoke up.

Raphael had just taken out a palm-sized wax statue, but before he could activate it, the entire fishing boat capsized completely!

Boom!

The giant Sea Monster they had seen briefly before leaped out of the water, its mouth filled with fragments of the fishing boat.

*

*

*

Who knows how much time passed.

Felisiano woke up from a dazed state, realizing that the sky had darkened. To his left came the glow and warmth of a fire.

Quickly sitting up, he saw Sunny Xiaoyu, Lucy, and Asoka gathered around a campfire. Asoka seemed to be still unconscious, cradled in Lucy’s arms.

"You’re awake, Felisiano."

"Where are we...?"

Felisiano asked aloud.

"The ship was sunk by the Sea Monster, and it was Polaris who finally saved us…"

Lucy said.

She was roasting a skewer of fish, which she handed over.

"Eat something first. Polaris and Raphael should be back soon. They went to scout the surroundings."

"Thanks."

Felisiano took the roasted fish and started eating voraciously.

Besides a sandwich in the morning, he hadn’t eaten anything all day. The roast fish tasted quite bland, and had many bones, but Felisiano was starving and quickly devoured it.

While eating, he listened to Lucy recount the events. It turned out that the attack happened not far from their destination, the deserted island they now found themselves on.

After Polaris rescued them, he and Raphael went to explore the area, hoping to quickly find the supernatural materials.

"Thank Jing Yao, it’s fortunate everyone is safe."

Felisiano offered a prayer, then asked with concern:

"But the ship is destroyed, how will we get back?"

"Don’t worry, we have a plan."

Sunny Xiaoyu gave him a reassuring look, easing Felisiano’s mind. Despite her appearing younger than him, he had immense respect and trust for her.

Soon, footsteps were heard.

Everyone turned to see two figures quickly approaching from the dense coniferous forest of the island: Polaris and Raphael.

However, their expressions were extremely grave, and Raphael shouted:

"Run! Follow the coastline!"

Felisiano was stunned, but Lucy had already hoisted Asoka and started running.

"Why are you standing there? Go!"

Sunny Xiaoyu grabbed Felisiano’s arm and turned him around to run.

In the last moments, Felisiano saw faintly behind Polaris and Raphael, seven or eight tall hunched figures pursuing them relentlessly.

In the gradually darkening sky, those figures seemed to hold staffs with green glowing lanterns at the tips!

Sunny Xiaoyu also saw them, but in her eyes, they were creatures marked with deep red names—

[Supernatural Creatures "Egg Incubators" (Ancient God "Emerald Bird" Clans)!]