We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 166 Loot Acquired – [Diamond Starship] (Incomplete)

Meanwhile, Rul transformed into the Flame Demon.

The other villagers on the boat also began to develop red and black patterns on their bodies, from which flames emerged and flowed out like water.

In an instant.

They transformed from seemingly normal ordinary people into demons from hell!
These villagers survived on the extremely harsh environment of "Ice Island" not because of luck.

A special bloodline flows within them, which is also the source of their power.

It is with the help of this bloodline power that the villagers of Ice Island are able to fight against the huge and ferocious sea beasts of this place.

As for the being they refer to as the "Holy Lord," his full name is the [Netherfire Holy Lord].

Its true form is a real fire demon!

Faced with the Black Swan's all-out attack, Ruhr and the others had no choice but to unleash their trump card and fight to the death.

have to say.

Judging from their appearance and imposing presence alone, the dozens of "Flame Demons" on the deck are quite intimidating.

The intense heat from the exploding flames caused the air to distort slightly.

Their scarlet eyes, red and black markings, and sharp horns growing from their heads made them look exceptionally ferocious and terrifying.

The auras of many villagers continued to rise, exceeding the strength of ordinary second-tier secret cultivators.

Among them, the strongest is naturally the village chief, Ruhr.

His degree of atavism is the highest, and the energy level of the secret power in his body has even reached the third level!
But at this moment.

The Black Swan is approaching the Diamond Princess at an extremely fast speed.

This distance is easily traversed by most secret travelers.

boom!
With a roar from the steam core, a petite figure leaped from the deck of the Black Swan and landed abruptly in front of the villagers.

This is the same girl dressed as a boy who had entered the village earlier.

His delicate features and unique temperament left a deep impression on the villagers.

To be honest, among the people who entered the village, it was "her" beauty that was the most coveted.

However, her appearance at this time was quite different from before.

Two enormous steam-powered gauntlets were visible on Fei Ya's fists.

White steam billowed continuously from this bizarre and intricate steel structure, hissing and roaring like a wild beast, exuding a raw and violent beauty.

A golden-red glow flowed across Fei Ya's eyes, appearing majestic and sacred.

These villagers, who had been "transformed into flame demons," were even afraid to look him in the eye.

Along with Feia, a tall knight also appeared, rising into the air.

Even through that armor, the villagers could feel the sharp, hawk-like gaze cast down from above.

It was as if... they were being treated like prey!
The mere appearance of these two crew members caused the villagers' hard-won morale to falter once again.

But this is not over yet!
Suddenly, a melodious and beautiful song drifted from the sea.

The singing seemed to come from near and far, possessing a magical, mysterious power.

Interspersed with the gentle sound of ocean waves, it seemed to echo directly in my mind.

The villagers felt that the surrounding air was gradually becoming more humid, and the power of the sea was churning in the air.

This kind of singing might not have any impact under normal circumstances.

However, for them who are currently burning fiercely, it is equivalent to a group debuff, making them feel uncomfortable all over and significantly limiting their strength.

Someone looked up at the deck of the Black Swan and soon saw...

The singing voice came from that white-haired, red-eyed girl who gave off an instinctive sense of foreboding.

Don't forget, after Joey advances to the second tier, he also gains a hidden class—

【Wang Yang the Singer】!
At this moment, she was using the unique ability of this secret path profession.

Upon seeing the crew members appear one after another, Ruhr on deck was both surprised and furious.

To be honest, he initially thought the three people Xia En brought to the island were just pretty faces with no substance, but now that they had fought, he realized that each of them possessed unique skills and was no ordinary person.

Despite his shock and anger, Ruhr did not stop moving at all.

He took a deep breath.

A scorching power surged through his body like magma.

Immediately afterwards, he opened his mouth wide, and a huge fireball roared out, heading straight for Feiya, who was closest to him on the deck.

A terrifying pale purple flame spread outwards from the fireball in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, it expanded to a radius of three meters, threatening to swallow Feiya whole.

But the next moment.

A tall, straight figure suddenly appeared in front of the fireball and threw a punch without flinching!
Upon seeing this, Ruhr was not surprised but delighted.

The fireballs he spewed were no ordinary flames, but rather gifts from the Great Flame Demon, the Lord of Netherfire.

Although not as flammable as the flames that cause them to burn to death, even a tiny bit of the flame will instantly spread throughout the body of an ordinary creature.

It can even burn the soul!
The fact that the other party dared to so recklessly touch his flames was undoubtedly courting death.

boom!
At that moment, a terrifying gust of wind suddenly swept out.

The huge, pale purple fireball was broken like a fragile balloon, and the scattered flames were blown away by the gale, whistling and dissipating in all directions.

Xia En's figure emerged from it.

However, some flames did remain on his arm.

But before Ruhr could even show a look of joy, something unbelievable happened.

Suddenly, dark red patterns lit up on Xia En's body.

The chaotic patterns resembled gaping maws, rapidly tearing at the remaining purple flames and constantly chewing and devouring them.

It only took a short while.

The flames vanished completely, while the dark red magic patterns deepened, their brightness shifting as if they were breathing.

Ruhr even discerned greed and lingering desire in the changes of these patterns.

As if to say——

"Not enough, I want more!"

"……How can it be?"

Ruhr's red eyes widened, and he sensed a familiar aura from the magical runes.

"The scent of embers... Why do you possess the power of the [Fire Stealer]?"

Hearing this, Xia En was somewhat surprised.

This village chief, who is suspected to be a descendant of the Balrog, can actually recognize [Ember Power]?
Moreover, who is the "Fire Stealer"?
Of course, what intrigued Xia En even more was this dubious and dilapidated "Diamond Star".

But with the battle still raging, Shane naturally wouldn't be distracted by too much thought. Instead, he strode forward and charged straight at Ruhr.

After the ship was upgraded again, his attributes experienced another surge.

Especially the [Sturdy] attribute, which corresponds to "Defense" and "Constitution".

An invisible force flowed beneath his skin, and even without the presence of the [Chaos Runes], Ruhr's flames found it extremely difficult to break through his defenses.

Once the close-quarters combat began, Ruhr immediately felt an immense and terrifying pressure.

Even after transforming into a Flame Demon, the village chief's size and strength increased dramatically.

However, compared to Xia En's overall strength of 1.75, he was like a child who had not yet grown up, facing a strong and powerful man.

With almost every attack, Ruhr felt a dull ache in his muscles and even the bones beneath his skin.

Each attack felt like hitting a solid iron block, the shock nearly making him vomit blood.

"What is this guy's body made of?"

"Why is it so hard?"

Ruhr grew increasingly alarmed as the battle progressed.

Not only his physical abilities, but even the Flame Demon Fire, which he had placed so much hope in, couldn't cause Xia En the slightest harm. In fact, the more they fought, the clearer the dark red patterns on the man's body became, as if he was constantly drawing power from Xia En's body.

Ruhr also noticed—

Up until now, the opponent has not gone all out, but is holding back some trump cards, waiting for him to make the first move.

While the two were entangled.

Faye, Anne, and Joey are all using their own methods to eliminate the villagers who are resisting on the ship.

In fact, before the Black Swan got close, Shane could have used the ship's cannons to launch a devastating attack on them.

The main reason they didn't do that is because of this ship, the Diamond Star!
Although it was vastly different from the ghost ship that Shane knew, Shane naturally regarded it as his spoils of war since he had encountered it by chance.

Therefore, they couldn't bear to leave new scars on its already battered body with artillery fire.

That's why they chose to end the battle by boarding maneuvers.

To be fair.

The villagers of Ice Island are not weak.

The power of the Flame Demon and their fierce nature have made them the apex predators on this island.

The problem is that this icy island is far too remote and far too underdeveloped.

Not to mention the most advanced steam technology used by Faia, even An's ancient treasure armor was far beyond their comprehension.

Not to mention the unique secret abilities of Joey and the others.

If they were pirates from the Seven Seas, even if they hadn't personally witnessed this unique ability, they would at least have heard of similar skills and legends, and would know some ways to deal with it.

These villagers are truly native to the area and have been isolated from the outside world for decades.

Even the weapons they had, crafted by the village's best artisans, were just ordinary swords and knives. How could they possibly fight against Fei Ya and the others?
At this moment, their battle with the crew of the Black Swan felt like a clash between the era of cold weapons and the era of firearms.

In less than five minutes.

As a result, many villagers were killed or injured.

After seeing that Gray had also been captured by Faia, the village chief Ruhr finally sighed and gave up resisting.

……

……

It didn't take long.

The remaining seven or eight villagers were all tightly bound with ropes that had anti-magic properties.

But the first question Xia En asked wasn't why Ruhr had betrayed him, nor the origin of the Flame Demon bloodline, but rather...

"What's the name of this ship? Where did you get it from?"

Ruhr was slightly taken aback.

In his view, the Black Swan was far more powerful than this wrecked ship, so why was he so interested in it?

But as a prisoner, he could only answer honestly.

"This is a ship passed down from our ancestors, named the Diamond Star."

"It is said that my great-great-grandfather found it in an iceberg that drifted ashore at sea."

Upon hearing this, Xia En's heart skipped a beat.

He was right; this ship was indeed the Diamond Star!
But the question is, how can there be two ships with the same name and almost identical appearance?

Moreover, the Diamond Star he had seen before was a genuine ghost ship.

The ship in question, though larger, with higher gun hulls and more powerful cannons, can only be described as "ordinary" from any angle.

There was none of the awe-inspiring feeling I had when I first saw it.

"Oh, right, the ship's spirit..."

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Xia En. He touched the mast beside him and activated his talent [Communicating with the Ship's Soul], silently chanting in his mind.

"senior?"

"Are you there?"

Do you recognize me?

Unfortunately, these tentative inquiries all seemed to sink without a trace, receiving no response whatsoever.

Then, Xia En asked himself in his heart.

"Little Black, can you sense the soul of this ship?"

【No. 】

Xiao Hei's voice also held a hint of doubt: "This ship looks a lot like Sister Xingchen, but it also seems a little different. It's like... an empty shell?"

Xiao Hei's idea coincided with Xia En's.

In his perception, this ship was not simply devoid of a ship spirit, but rather lacked even that nascent, dormant consciousness.

Its interior is like a pure white sheet of paper, without any color staining it.

"Wait, it's an empty shell..."

Xia En seemed to be deep in thought.

He suddenly realized why this situation seemed somewhat familiar.

In fact, he had encountered such ships more than once during the promotion ceremony.

That is……

Above the Secret Sea, the Black Swan was projected and replicated!
Almost identical appearance, an empty shell without a soul... Doesn't all this information match up?
Why would such a projected ship appear in the real world?
Why did the Diamond Star become a ghost ship?
The doubts in Xia En's mind did not decrease, but rather increased.

Just then, Joey's surprised voice came from inside the cabin.

"Captain, come quick!"

While subduing these prisoners, Shane also sent Joey and Faia to explore the depths of the Diamond Star.

Now, it seems that Joey has made a discovery.

Xia En first walked up to Ruhr and knocked the old man unconscious. Then he had Ann guard the deck while he followed the direction of the sound and walked into the depths of the cabin.

He had only gone down two decks when he realized that something was wrong with the structure.

The surrounding cabins and corridors appeared exceptionally spacious, with surprisingly large gaps between the walls.

Looking around at the room, the wooden planks were very thin, and the floor was warped to some extent.

It gives people the feeling of...

During the copying and pasting process, some information was lost, leading to inaccurate results.

The internal structure of the entire ship has an indescribable awkwardness, to the point that it makes people instinctively uncomfortable.

Not long after.

In the cabin, Shane met Faye, who had also heard Joey's voice.

"The interior of this ship is very strange..."

Fia murmured, "It doesn't look like a ship that was manufactured normally."

Xia En nodded: "I think so too."

"Speaking of which, don't you feel that there's some kind of special power here?"

Fei Ya pondered for a moment: "There is a bit of it, and the deeper we go, the stronger this mysterious power becomes."

The two exchanged a glance, quickened their pace, and walked deeper into the dimly lit cabin.

As they descended a sloping, downward staircase, they reached the spot where Joey had made the sound and couldn't help but catch their breath.

Here, a dark yet clear seawater is accumulating at the bottom of the ship's cabin.

Faint starlight rises from the depths of the sea, creating an atmosphere reminiscent of the starry sky.

Xia En would never admit his mistake.

This is……

Seawater from the [Secret Sea]!

(End of this chapter)