Pirate Kingship

Chapter 429 - 341: The First "Sell": Forced Separation, Drawing the Treasure Box

Chapter 429: Chapter 341: The First "Sell": Forced Separation, Drawing the Treasure Box

In the Transcendent’s Spirit Vision.

Amidst the murky Divine Light, a monstrous behemoth the size of a small hill, its chaotic and deformed dragon wings unfurled, perched atop the peak of the pyramid.

Each of its five heads was larger than a wheel and, like the decayed No. 1 Crystal Skull, half of its face was human, and the other half dragon.

The most powerful "Coiled Nose King" Teotihuacan and Great Shaman Calakmul each claimed the corresponding blue dragon head and the green dragon head as their own. In their eyes, there was a mix of lucidity and madness.

The Demon Dragon’s body was covered with disgusting, tumorous scales. The soul of every Dragon Lizard Warrior it devoured struggled and wailed within, their resistance growing lighter, as if being rapidly digested by the Demon Dragon.

"Dragon Aura, this is the true Dragon Aura! Even though it can still only be considered a kind of Lesser Dragon, it has clearly undergone some form of Black Sorcery purification, and the essence of Dragon Blood within it is extremely potent. Is Itzamna undergoing a Reversion to Ancestral Heritage?"

As direct descendants of the North Bay Folks, Violet and Byron both shared a common ancestor—the original "Bathed in Dragon Blood," "Blue Dragon King" Reinhardt. Unlike Byron’s father, Prince Edmund Lancaster of Solenberg, who went against tradition by marrying a mysterious woman of unknown origins, Violet’s parents were both of pure lineage. Both were descended from the Blue Dragon King, and the Blue Dragon Blood within her ran even richer than Byron’s. Even through the barrier of the Golden Law, she made an accurate judgment in an instant.

"The Class at least corresponds to a Fourth Order Hero of the Ladder of Glory. However, individuals vary—humans from humans, dragons from dragons, and dragons from humans. This creature’s massive size far surpasses that of any Fourth Order Hero; it’s a foe for an entire legion. Though still a Sub-dragon Species, its combat power is not much less than that of an adult Giant Dragon."

Even with the Golden Law between them, Violet felt uneasy at the sight of it, not to mention the Indigenous Coalition Forces right there on the scene.

"Increase the range of the artillery fire, and open fire again!"

The most powerful "Conqueror" Cortes, with a wave of his hand, ordered his men from the fierce Aztec Tiger Pirate Group to launch another salvo from their warships. Especially those part-time "Artillery Experts" supported by the Pioneer Guiding Colonial Trading Company, who invested all their efforts into enchanting the cannonballs. In an instant, they unleashed the strongest bombardment to date, with range and armor-piercing capabilities far surpassing ordinary cannons.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!...

Carbon-based creatures have their own inherent limitations; in this world, no mere flesh-and-blood being can withstand the focused fire of artillery.

"ROAR!"

The five-colored Demon Dragon violently flapped its Dragon Wings, summoning a fierce gale as it took to the skies. The sporadic cannonballs that hit its body did little harm. As its flesh squirmed, the broken scales were quickly restored to their original state. Even if those few cannonballs could penetrate its defenses, they were no more than scraping by, unless someone could manually guide them as Byron did.

"Surrender your treasure!" "Surrender your flesh!" "Surrender your women!" "All nations bow before me!" "ROAR, ROAR..."

Each of its ferocious heads howled, expressing its voracious desires. Simultaneously, the Demon Dragon opened its mouth wide and spewed out an intense breath at the crowd, causing the Indigenous Coalition Forces to scream for their parents and flee in panic.

"I’ll hold it off; everyone else attack from a distance, even a single bullet per person could drown it!" the "Conqueror" Cortes roared, raising his long sword and triggering his core ability as a Third Order Knight Commander, [Knight Commander].

HUMMM—!

A bright red circle of light exploded, instantly uniting his garrison soldiers, who had followed him into the heart of battle, into one entity. He himself transformed into a three-meter-tall weretiger form with a tail as strong as a whip, standing at the forefront of the formation. Wielding the [Supreme Art], he violently slashed with his sword. A streak of crimson sword light, like a War God’s blade, not only cleaved a white frosty breath vertically into two halves but also rebounded back and left a long gash on the Demon Dragon’s chest, drawing its attention firmly onto himself.

Effect of [Knight Commander]: "It can consolidate the strength of its knights; the more powerful and numerous they are, the better the effect. It can also bestow various aura abilities on its subordinates, allowing them to fight with a synergy where the whole is far greater than the sum of its parts."

Countless battles over the years had proven that humans, individually, were weak. Only by harnessing the power of the collective could they contend with the endless stream of monsters in this world. Cortes’s valor finally managed to salvage the crumbling morale of the coalition forces.

"Bring up the Field Cannons and the Siege Crossbows! Counterattack, counterattack!"

"[Triple Volley], fire, saturate the attack!"

Large groups of natives with muskets formed into staggered rows, some capable of [Triple Volley], others merely ensuring they did not hit their own people. But like rain, the blistering hail of musket balls still poured out onto the Demon Dragon. If enough mosquitoes and ants can devour a person, what about bullets?

At the same time, a series of halos exploded amongst the crowd. The accompanying Shamanic Wizards beat their Sacred Drums and sang Ritualistic Songs, bestowing various buffs: "Inspire," "Strength of the Savage Bear," "Grace of the Cat," "Eagle’s Vision,"... Some even directly summoned their Ancestors and Guardian Spirits to descend; and with at least a dozen city-states involved, the Guardian Spirits were naturally wondrous and diverse. Near the Great Pyramid, the battlefield was suddenly teeming with monsters. Wind whipped sand and dust as the sky darkened.

「 」

Far away in Torrent Fortress, Byron, looking at this "pseudo-dragon," contemplated more:

"The Heavenly God Itzamna was once a Shamanic Wizard and Emperor of the Taya Empire. He created the path of the Dragon Lizard Warriors that subjugated the islands because he inherited the ’Crown of the Giant Dragon’ knowledge from the ’Hundred-Headed Dragon Mother, Tiamat.’ As the first of those Dragon Lizard Warriors, he may have attained a Rank similar to mine as the Prince of Night Demons. Yet without sufficient Anchoring, the seeds of disaster were slowly sown. Consider his use of the Thirteen Crystal Skulls to unite the Empire, which ultimately failed and led to its collapse. Or consider today’s events: the "Coiled Nose King" Teotihuacan and Itzamna, now a Guardian Spirit, suddenly turning corrupt. There must be reasons behind all this."

"Byron had reason to suspect that the ’Hundred-Headed Dragon Mother, Tiamat,’ who had sunk into the annals of history, was the Chief God of the Giant Dragons of the Old Continent. Now, she too had become but a corpse submerged in the sea. All origins might well lie with this Old God!"

"Furthermore, there was a principle: the farther from the Old Continent and the more World Rifts, the more chaotic the Source Tides became. Based on this, he had a strong premonition that the New Continent opposite him was definitely not home to just one ’Slumbering God Kraken’ in Luanyun City. It had very likely become a paradise of rampant activity for many of the Old Gods’ Kin."

"A good eight out of ten chances involved that ’Hundred-Headed Dragon Mother, Tiamat.’ If the ’Book of the Beast Kinship’ has a ’first volume,’ then there must be a ’second volume.’ Perhaps upon reaching the New Continent, he might witness an entirely different Transcendent System."

Watching the casualties among the allied forces hunting the Demon Dragon within the city-states gradually increase, some believers had already begun quietly calling upon the ’Father of Healing.’ Not wanting to see these devout followers suffer too greatly, Byron decided to intervene slightly and called out to Violet beside him, "Miss."

She, intuitively in sync, grasped his hand and leaped forward; the ’Abyss’ Curse Seal on the instep of her right foot burst forth, a circle of pale blue water rings exploding in mid-air. When the two reappeared, they had arrived above the vast river outside Tayapan City, holding hands as they slowly levitated.

Byron turned his palm over, and a gleaming golden piece of paper appeared in it. Printed on it was the company name: "Pioneer Guiding Colonial Trading Company"; Year Established: Silver Era 1471; Total Shares: One Million... It was the ’Sacred Relic: The First Stock Certificate’ obtained after the establishment of the stock market!

Looking at the unruly Demon Dragon, which clearly held a portion of his own "shares," Byron casually flicked the stock certificate, smirked, and said, "Now, I demand to sell my shares, force a division, and completely liquidate!" He reached out and made a fierce grab towards his foe.

Instantly activating the Sacred Relic’s ability "Sell Out": "Upon parting ways, one may demand dividend settlement, creating a Mystic Coffer that forcibly extracts wealth, knowledge, power, and treasures from the organization to offset the dividends. The greater the share ownership, the higher the value of the extracted items!"

Some offer timely aid in dire straits, others add splendor to glory, but Byron, at this moment, was kicking a man when he was down—and stomping on him with ten thousand feet for good measure. In the stock market, panic selling could trigger a plunge in stock prices, or even cause an immediate collapse. But in reality, especially when the ’listed entity’ faces a fierce battle, the consequences aren’t just collapse—it’s a matter of life and death!

"But what has this got to do with me? I’m a shareholder. I just want my money. Hand it over!"