Pirate Kingship-Chapter 37 - 36 Captain Byron! (Please Follow)

"AAAAAH..."

Crouched stealthily below the window, Byron, who rushed into the second floor in a single stride with "Mountain Goat Steps," couldn’t help but dig his little finger into his ear.

"So noisy."

The screams emitted by "Magic Mirror" West as the cow dung entered his mouth were even more piercing than when he was stabbed at the root of his thigh. To this extreme germaphobe, cow dung was probably already a high-level psychic attack.

Despicable, utterly despicable!

West had fallen to the ground, on the verge of vomiting out his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and gallbladder. Before he could recover, "Eight Fingers," who had volunteered to launch the cow dung attack, brandished a boarding axe. Leading two sailors, he rushed forward and hacked West into a bloody pulp.

While chopping, he cursed, "Bastard, still trying to bully us honest folk!"

The entries for the privateer captain "Magic Mirror" West in the "Sailing Logbook" gradually faded.

His history was over!

From beginning to end, Byron hadn’t even had a chance to make a move.

Clearly, the counterattack against West wasn’t carried out by Byron alone, but by a small, well-equipped group from next door who were already utterly convinced by him and acting in concert.

As Byron completed his promotion, the perceptive ability of "Echoes of History" also improved in sync.

Previously, he could only easily see through ordinary things; now, he could see through Transcendents of the same tier.

"Magic Mirror" West and "Bloody Eye" Salman, both severely injured with greatly diminished Spirituality, had long since fallen from the Second Order Professional Rank.

Naturally, Byron saw everything clearly.

He had formulated a quick tactic: after personally taking down the lookouts, like the one nicknamed Spider Monkey, he effortlessly eliminated this Transcendent.

"Collect the spoils of war, clean up, and let’s retreat quickly!"

Byron stepped forward and stripped West, the Transcendent, of everything, clean as a whistle, even taking his valuable head.

The young pirates behind him complained that "Eight Fingers" had minced the body too finely, while they used a mill’s large dustpan to sweep the Corpse into a waterproof leather bag.

In the end, the entire mill was cleaned spotlessly; not even a single footprint remained.

Both parties in the Battle were outsiders. The mill owner suffered no property damage, no casualties, and there was no murder scene. Would they report to the enforcement team just because the mill was too clean? That would be utterly ridiculous.

All the corpses of the "White Crystal’s" crew were neatly tossed into the sea in one go.

The Man-Eater Sharks in the sea, now fully under Byron’s command, would help dispose of the bodies without a trace.

According to "Magic Mirror" West, everyone who knew of Byron’s whereabouts had died here, so there was no need to worry about the remaining crew of the "White Crystal" coming after them.

That also saved Byron the trouble of "neatly" hunting them down himself.

After everyone returned to the secluded courtyard of the Rosemary Inn, they busied themselves until the wee hours disposing of the corpses of Salman and those Marines.

As expected, "Cognitive Revision" and Byron’s recent behavior had firmly imprinted the idea of him being a "good person" in the minds of the small group.

They were already extremely fearful of and dissatisfied with Salman; no one cared why his body had sword wounds and bullet marks.

While the others worked, Byron had already sorted the spoils looted from "Magic Mirror" West.

Unfortunately, the forbidden knowledge for killing through mirrors, "Magic Mirror Divination," wasn’t on him.

Of course, even if it had been, Byron wouldn’t dare learn such a... skill, one so easily defeated by cow dung.

The seemingly inconspicuous ox horn cup, however, was a huge surprise.

It was a Miracle!

He immediately consumed his Spirituality to interpret it using "Echoes of History."

[Miracle: Warrior’s Cup

An ancient Artisan crafted this Bayfolk-style drinking horn from a yak’s horn.

Effects: 1. Its volume is far greater than it appears. It can categorize and hold vast amounts of liquids, but only liquids.

2. It can separate or combine the various components within a liquid.

Deciphered Inscription: Spring Flow Inscription]

In the hands of ancient Bay Citizens Pirates, the "Warrior’s Cup" could replace a distiller, concentrating ordinary ale into strong spirits.

In the hands of "Magic Mirror" West, it became a tool for purifying water, capable of turning seawater poured into it into freshwater.

To Navigators with sound judgment, the ability to purify water is indeed far more important than concentrating fine wine.

"Although this ’Warrior’s Cup’ is not a combat-type Miracle, it holds strategic significance for a ship, drastically extending its long-voyage endurance. Without food, we can catch fish or gather seaweed, but without freshwater, we’d all be doomed. Moreover, I’m about to conduct a ritual and concoct various Blood Brews, so this saves me the trouble of carrying many bottles and jars."

Beyond this surprise, Byron searched through the remaining items but found nothing else of value.

Only a letter, torn in half and soaked in blood, found in a ripped pocket, caught his attention.

It contained a very brief sentence written in black ink:

"Enter Iron Anchor Bay in the guise of a pirate before the end of October and await further instructions."

Although there was no seal on the paper indicating the issuer of the command, Byron, without even invoking "Echoes of History," recognized at a glance that this letter came from the Navy Department of the Kingdom of Hightens!

The paper was ordinary, but the lampblack used to make the ink was produced by burning scrap leather and sled dog... dog feces. It had a unique, faint smell that ordinary people wouldn’t notice.

Byron knew this very well. After all, his father, Prince Sorrenberg, had personally approved the Navy Department’s purchase of this batch of ink. Err, well, the ink workshop was actually their family’s business. It had only been half a month since the regime change; the old stock couldn’t possibly have been used up yet.

Sure enough, the next moment, a new prompt appeared on the "Sailing Logbook":

[You have discovered a new Hidden event: Conspiracy of the Navy Department (York Family), Historical Influence 20, Decryption Rate 5%!]

An influence level of [10-20] represented an impact spanning from a single city to an entire region. Here, it referred to the entirety of Iron Anchor Bay, or even the whole North Sea Region.

Moreover, this Hidden event wasn’t listed separately; it appeared under "Hidden event: The Shadow of the Red and White Rose War," becoming a component of the former, a sub-secret. This indicated a significant connection, possibly even a sequential relationship, between them!

This also meant that if Byron could unravel this sub-secret, he would not only significantly increase the Decryption Rate of the main Hidden event but also immediately receive a Spirituality reward and a new "Entry."

"A storm is brewing! Everyone knows pirates aren’t just private armed forces roaming the seas, pillaging and plundering; they are also pawns in the geopolitical games and conflicts among major Ocean powers. The rise and fall of piracy are invariably shrouded in the vast shadow of regional geopolitics! The changing tides of the Red and White Rose War and the very survival of pirates in Iron Anchor Bay, and indeed the entire North Sea Region, clearly have some internal connection I’m unaware of. I thought I could rely on Iron Anchor Bay to develop peacefully for a while. But now it seems I must quickly build my own armed forces and assess whether to advance or retreat based on the situation."

In fact, for a moment, Byron had contemplated using "Cognitive Revision" to take over West’s readily available "White Crystal Ship."

But he lacked not only West’s witchcraft but also his memories; daring to infiltrate the ranks of privateer captains would expose him in minutes.

He didn’t mind joining the York Party and staging another backstabbing, but the identity he chose had to be considered very carefully.

Pushing down the tumultuous thoughts, he looked up again and was surprised to find that the dozen or so crew members who had finished their tasks had all gathered before him.

At the forefront were the carpenter Hans and his son, the blood-soaked "Eight Fingers," and the trainee Navigators, Thomas and Parry, who had run a pike through "Magic Mirror" West’s vital spot.

Byron could name every man behind them.

They hadn’t drunk the "Blood of Transformation" concocted by Salman, unlike the Marines who fanatically pursued Extraordinary Power.

And, fortunately, they had escaped the massacre by the mirror Demon Spirits.

Meanwhile, Byron, as the acting sailing master, had naturally become the highest-ranking pirate officer on the "Man-Eating Shark."

At this moment, a dozen pairs of earnest eyes stared at Byron, whose strength, knowledge, prestige, and character were all indisputably superior.

Following Captain Salman’s assassination, they urgently needed to address the most pressing issue...

"Captain Byron!"

The fervent "Eight Fingers" suddenly raised his hand and shouted.

Immediately, without any suspense and with no lingering sentiment for Salman, everyone shouted in unison:

"Captain Byron!"

"Byron! Byron!..."

Led by the foremost supporter, "Eight Fingers," and seconded by Little Hans, the remaining crew members unanimously elected Byron as the new Captain of the "Man-Eating Shark"!

Old Hans also solemnly placed the "Pirate’s Ten Commandments," retrieved from Salman’s cabin, into Byron’s hands.

The symbol of supreme authority on the pirate ship was thus completely transferred.

With this, Byron finally gained a new title in addition to "The Fugitive" and "The Last Lancaster"—Pirate Captain!

Updat𝓮d from freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.co(m)