Pirate Kingship
Chapter 50 - 49: Distraction Technique, Holy Grail of Blood

Chapter 50: Chapter 49: Distraction Technique, Holy Grail of Blood

The one-eyed first mate had long heard all sorts of strange and sinister tales about this vast ocean.

After sensing something was amiss, he didn’t immediately turn around to check.

He knew that turning around abruptly without being certain of what the other party was would be the ultimate taboo.

Instead, he continued walking forward nonchalantly for two more steps.

The keen senses of a Transcendent were fully engaged as he held his breath and listened carefully to the footsteps behind him.

The Pirate from the Lighthouse Sequence, upon reaching the Squire Level, gained three abilities: "Weapon Mastery," "Mountain Goat’s Steps," and "Blind Fighting Expert."

His perception was absolutely top-notch.

Two of them? Yes, just two, not three. It must have been the drink; I must have had a hallucination.

When he carefully distinguished the sounds, he found that there were indeed only two sets of footsteps. He breathed a sigh of relief, berating himself for being overly suspicious.

However, before he could take another two steps, he suddenly heard the footsteps behind him... reduced to just one!

The one-eyed first mate couldn’t help but shiver, half the alcohol’s effects scared out of him.

His steps sped up involuntarily.

And the footsteps behind him mirrored his pace, quickening when he quickened, slowing when he slowed.

What was more terrifying was that just as he couldn’t suppress the fear in his heart and was about to burst into a frenzied run, the footsteps behind him abruptly changed back to two!

"Damn it! Who is playing tricks on me, daring to toy with me—Cyclops Arno?!"

Extreme terror finally erupted into raging anger, and he could no longer care about any taboo as he turned his head furiously.

But what he saw was Tom, one of his subordinates, looking at him with an innocent face.

"What’s the problem, First Mate? You were walking so fast I could hardly keep up with you."

Seeing the familiar face of Tom, Cyclops finally relaxed.

He even began to suspect whether the unscrupulous bar owner had added some kind of hallucinogenic contraband to the drink he had today, causing him to hallucinate multiple times.

However, before he could completely relax, his heart lurched again, and he asked the "lackey" in front of him sternly, "Where’s Jerry? Why are you alone?"

He clearly remembered hearing two sets of footsteps before turning his head, and then there was only one left. Wasn’t that even more horrifying?

No sooner had he spoken than a somewhat ethereal voice sounded from behind him:

"First Mate, were you looking for me?"

But this voice was definitely not his subordinate Jerry’s.

"Ah—! It’s you messing around? Die!!!"

His mood fluctuated like a roller coaster and finally crumbled completely. Cyclops drew his sword abruptly.

The gleam of the sword flashed through the night like lightning, cutting a bright arc towards what was behind him.

Even without turning around, his strike was as precise as if he had eyes on the back of his head, directly targeting the head of the one making the noise.

In fact, ordinary people need to break a stereotype.

The "one-eyed" pirates with eye patches on pirate ships aren’t actually blind!

The reason for wearing an eye patch is because there are no shady places at sea, and it is often very bright, while the interior of the cabin is dark and cramped.

During a raid or battle, if one suddenly goes from the deck to the cabin, the inability of the eyes to quickly adjust to the change in light can lead to being ambushed and losing one’s life.

With an eye patch, however, it’s a different story.

When transitioning between environments, pirates simply need to shift the eye patch to the other side, exposing the eye that has already adjusted to the dark, allowing them to instantly switch to combat mode.

This is why "Blind Fighting Expert" is a key ability for a Pirate to have!

Not only does it allow them to adapt to the environment, it also helps pirates fight night battles in dimly lit conditions, catching the crew of merchant ships completely off guard.

However, Cyclops, having lost his calm, overlooked a very serious problem.

Who said that the assailant from the Mad Hunt... was alone?

Just as Cyclops unsheathed his sword and struck backward, leaving his chest wide open, the "subordinate" standing in front of him also suddenly drew his sword.

CLANG!

He stepped forward and thrust.

It was the most powerful but also the easiest to evade of the three basic attack stances: slashing, thrusting, and cutting.

But at that moment, Cyclops had no chance to dodge or escape.

The cold light of the Bastard Sword, condensed to a fine line, froze the bewildered face of Cyclops and pierced through his heart and lungs in an instant!

Byron’s swordsmanship was already exceptional, and with the passive ability "Swordsmanship Mastery" from the "Storm Knight," it had improved even further.

With a successful hit, Byron immediately withdrew his sword and stepped back.

Gus, who had been distracting attention behind Cyclops, let out a strange cry, easily avoiding the blade that had lost its aim.

He then moved swiftly forward, plunging his dagger deep into the back of the pirate’s head.

A successful follow-up blow!

Cyclops didn’t even realize what was happening. It was a trap that had been meticulously designed.

His face blank, he fell to the ground with a THUMP.

Byron waited until he saw that the man’s history had come to a complete end through the "Sailing Logbook" before calling Gus over.

"This is the sixth Attendant. With this, I’ve gathered all the ingredients I need for the brewing ritual. How is your promotion ceremony coming along?"

It was obvious that Byron was the recently famed "Mad Hunt" in Iron Anchor Bay!

And "Mad Hunt" was inherently a group of hunters.

While hunting down privateer pirates, he never acted alone, always accompanied by Gus, who was about to be initiated as a "Phantom Blade."

Byron was now a pirate captain who had managed to pull together a team based on his dreams, no longer a lone ranger.

Why fight alone when there were henchmen available?

Accepting Gus, a local with an extensive network, was a decision Byron considered one of his most astute.

Whether it was intelligence support, silence charms, or his own abilities, all were beyond reproach.

"Spiritual awakening and prerequisite knowledge are not a problem. It’s just that, probably because my natural presence is too low, the chain of ’Ritual: The Serial Murders of Phantom Blade’ must continue. If we’re targeting only First Order Servants, six in a chain clearly isn’t enough. Probably at eight in a chain, or at most ten, I can seize enough presence to re-anchor to the ’Silver Law’," Gus said, frustratedly scratching his head.

The "Phantom Blade" to which he was about to be promoted was indeed an advanced profession for assassins; even with Byron’s help in weakening the target to a critical state before Gus delivered the final blow, the ritual was exceedingly difficult.

The core ability of "Phantom Blade" at the Second Order Professional Rank was the "Phantom Blade."

It could control illusions of sight, sound, and perception... eventually manipulating presence.

Imagine a firearm out of thin air, imbue it with presence, and it could actually kill people.

Imagine having any number of phantom limbs, and you could easily wield swords with them...

The promotion ritual "The Serial Murders of Phantom Blade" was all about creating illusions, like performing magic while killing someone, so they died in utter confusion.

Only by doing so could part of the victim’s presence be snatched away while they were killed.

Not only would this strengthen oneself, but even if the victim’s body was left in the street, no one would be able to discover it.

Byron’s "Cognitive Revision" was also sufficient to allow him to act as a versatile, weird assassin.

Even though the limit of his disguises was only at his own level, under the protection of the "Storm Sigil Ring" he was hardly likely to be spotted by "Spirit Vision."

What had just happened was a result of the two of them cooperating to achieve a ghastly effect.

Upon hearing three footsteps, Byron moved behind Cyclops. By the time there were two, he had already dealt with one subordinate, with Gus dragging the body away.

By the count of one, he had dealt with the last lackey.

When it was back to two footsteps, both of them were hanging behind Cyclops, setting up for a deadly ambush!

Of course, achieving this strange effect also could not have been done without the help of the Iron Anchor Bay specialty, the "Whalebone Charm · Silence."

It’s said that the series of whalebone charms were the exclusive forbidden knowledge of the North Sea Pirate King "Whale Hunter," with only the Direct Lineage members of Iron Anchor Bay having the privilege to learn it.

Without the proper channels, one couldn’t get their hands on the "Silence Charm," a banned item specifically used for nefarious purposes.

Without waiting for Byron’s orders, the money-grubbing Gus had already thoroughly looted Cyclops of all his valuables.

Even the leather jacket, brass buttons, eyepatch, and even a bank deposit slip hidden in the shoe insole, reeking of stinky salty fish, were not missed.

These weren’t just money; they were Gus’s freedom and dignity. They definitely couldn’t just be left lying on the ground!

Byron also took another look through Cyclops’ history, merging it with the histories of other fallen souls beneath his sword.

"On the last day of October, all the members of the Hightins Privateering Alliance’s pirate ship had assembled. Today, the first day of November, one of the councilmen from the Captains’ Parliament has gathered all the privateer captains with voting rights. A big move is imminent."

"Secret: The Navy Department’s Conspiracy," Historical Influence 20, went from an 18% Decryption Rate to 35% instantly.

It’s confirmed. These guys are in cahoots inside and out. Are they finally beginning to make their move?

Byron shook his head, deciding he would do the most pressing task first.

He motioned for Gus to stand aside and keep watch.

Using Cyclops’ still-fluid blood, he drew on the ground a ritual array with a hexagram at its core, interwoven with numerous Runes.

Muttering the incantation:

"Blood is power, blood is life, blood is the origin, blood is everything...

With the blood of the lamb on my heart, cleanse me, so I may be whiter than snow...

With the blood of the enemy on my hands, strengthen me, so I may be stronger than a bear..."

This was the very ritual for brewing the "Blood of Metamorphosis": the "Holy Grail of Blood"!