Strange Voyage: Summoning the Fourth Disaster.

Chapter 819 The Area Illuminated by the Lighthouse

While players are enthusiastically researching the new bloodline, another highlight of this update, the "Beacon of the Other Shore" feature in the Other Shore Fire Harbor, also brings players a brand new experience.

Near the already anchored island of exile, a large number of players have set off one after another, creating a bustling and lively scene with hundreds of boats racing against each other.

The "Lighthouse on the Other Shore" has been activated.

The current anchored area is "Exile Island," the lighthouse is illuminated, and the portal is open.

You have entered the area surrounding "Exile Island".

[Note that since the area illuminated by the lighthouse is not affected by the pull of the Other Shore Fire Harbor, the milestone candle function and guidance are unavailable. You can only return to Candlelight Island by using the light from the starting lighthouse and the Returning Candle Drops.]

Good luck, Captain on your voyage.

"Please, please, I really hope there are some high-level flames of faith of Gulad in the vicinity of the Island of Exile..."

A player with the ID "August Chang'an" was praying silently in his heart.

The inability to use the guidance and functions of the milestone candles is indeed a major challenge.

Fortunately, the ship's recovery function is still working, although it still requires wax oil.

But August Chang'an was not worried about this matter. Compared to that, he was more worried that this area near the island of exile did not have a high-level faith flame from the Gulad Empire.

After all, to obtain a high-level fire seed, one must first encounter and kill the hostile creatures of the Burning Spirit Ignition Point.

As for the Exile Island... as the dungeon that players explore from the very beginning, its average strength is around the level of Burning Fire.

Therefore, it is highly unlikely that any monsters of the Burning Spirit level will appear in its vicinity.

Furthermore, it must be from the Gulad Empire in the background story and be a Faith-based faction, one of the three starting families, which obviously has an extremely low probability.

After a prayer.

August Chang'an looked around. The once crowded sea area had become empty, and the other players' ships had disappeared, obviously having been assigned to other overlapping spaces.

This suddenly turned the lively atmosphere into a cold and even deathly silence.

The blood-red setting sun amplified the desolate autumn chill.

"Not even a single island?"

"Looks like we have to move forward..."

Faced with these depressing scenes, August Chang'an remained calm and made a judgment.

He was also a player who had been playing during the early days of Spirit Candle, so he was experienced and naturally wouldn't be affected by it.

After observing the ghost ship from its deck, August Chang'an reached out and touched the fire to transmit his thoughts, directing the ghost helmsman to move forward.

And so, on the vast, desolate sea, beside the blood-red sunset, the ghost ship, like a solitary traveler, cuts through the waves, urged on by time…

It must be said that most of the time, sea voyages are very boring.

Fortunately, it seems that the Spirit Candle took this into account, so it did not impose any restrictions on players chatting in these "illuminated areas".

This allows August Chang'an to still see players' comments on the Lingzhu public screen and chat with his game friends to ask about the situation.

In addition, he brought a fishing rod and some bait, since the ghost ship could also catch fish, so he wouldn't be too bored.

Time passed slowly, and several hours went by in the blink of an eye.

August Chang'an had no idea how far she had sailed. In any case, the lighthouse portal she had seen before was no longer visible at all, and even the sunset near the island of exile was now just a tiny bit hanging on the horizon.

"Something's wrong..."

After putting the small fish he had just caught into the fish basket, August Chang'an couldn't help but mutter to himself.

"We've been sailing for so long, and we haven't encountered a single monster? Have I missed some important areas in this region?"

He began to suspect that he might have gone the wrong way, since the Spirit Candle did not have a mini-map, and without the guidance of the Milestone Spirit Candle, there was no reference at all.

The vast ocean can make one lose their way.

"Forget it, even if we go the wrong way, we have to see the boundary first."

"No matter how large the area illuminated by this lighthouse is, it can't be without end, can it?"

After thinking for a moment, August Chang'an was about to continue forward when he seemed to suddenly remember something. He paused for a moment and then took an item out of his pocket.

"How could I forget this?"

【Carlos's Eyes (Legend)】

Besides dispelling illusions, the eyes of the legendary-quality Carlos can also provide guidance, though the target of that guidance is uncertain.

But such guidance is much better than August Chang'an wandering around aimlessly like a headless fly.

After the flames of war were ignited, August Chang'an quickly obtained a vague direction: to his left front.

Seeing this, he did not hesitate to instruct the ghost helmsman to adjust the course and head in the indicated direction.

Nearly two and a half hours have passed.

In August, new discoveries were finally made in Chang'an.

"quack--"

At the top of the ghost ship's mast, above a telescope-like object, a white seagull's head suddenly emitted a short cry.

This immediately invigorated August Chang'an, who was lying on the deck. She sprang to her feet, grabbed a rope, and was lifted up.

[Seagull's Vision: Place a scouting mirror with a seagull's head at the top of your ship's mast to warn of distant enemies.]

Although this component consumed nearly 500 units of wax oil in August, it seems to be working very well now. Before he could even see anything, this thing gave him a warning.

In August, Chang'an touched the seagull's head to stop it from crying out, then squinted one eye and looked down at the binoculars.

The binoculars had already locked their gaze on the unusual object.

Therefore, he spotted the group of sharp, pointed reefs at a glance.

What's truly horrifying is that the top of each of the sharp reef spikes had a corpse pierced through its buttocks, cruelly hanging it on top.

Judging from their clothing and appearance, they all appear to be soldiers of the Gulad Empire.

There seemed to be some law knights, one of whom was even a law executioner whom August Chang'an was very familiar with.

"What the hell?"

After seeing the situation clearly, August Chang'an felt a chill run down her spine.

He hadn't held out much hope for the situation in this sea area. After all, Spirit Candle had always been very realistic in classifying the strength of monsters in dungeons, so he could accept that the monsters in the Illuminated Sea near Exile Island weren't strong.

In fact, his initial plan was just to see if there was any intelligence related to the Gulad Empire; praying was just for fun.

But now... things seem to be getting really serious.

The executioners of the law are top-tier combatants, even in the imperial city-state of Aisamud.

But now, in this desolate, remote place, a law enforcement officer and a group of Gulad soldiers were cruelly hung on the spikes of a reef...

This only indicates that the events here occurred at least at the level of Feng Huo.

After the initial shock, August Chang'an quickly perked up and excitedly stroked the bird's head.

"Well done, Seagull Watcher!"

In August, Chang'an leaped down and instructed the ghost helmsman to steer cautiously, slowly approaching the sea area.

He certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to charge headlong in that direction; what if the thing that killed these Gulad soldiers was in the sea? At the same time, he was also prepared for battle.

【Radiant Body - Chang'an in August】

[Rank: Burning Spirit]

【Level: 78】

[War: Law Enforcement Executioner (Intermediate Rank)]

[Sacred Flame: ①Sacred Flame. ②Fierce Flame of Prayer.]

[Ability Values: (Affected by the effects of "Radiant Body" and "Inner Amulet," the values ​​may increase or decrease accordingly.)]

Strength: 258 (Base attribute 86)

Constitution: 240 (Base attribute 80)

Agility: 165 (Base attribute 55)

[Spirit: 72 (Base attribute 24)]

[Faith: 300 (Base Attribute 100)]

[Talent: Inner Amulet, Codex of Laws.]

[Abilities: Evasion, wax block regeneration, parrying...]

[Skills: Guardian's Gallows, Guardian's Flame Strike, Decapitation Decree, Power Spell, Decree Weapon...]

[Heart Amulet (Torch): Moderately increases Faith recovery and Prayer power, and allows for three free Prayer uses after Faith is depleted.]

[Explanation: You firmly believe you are protected by God, and although there is nothing to prove it, you remain steadfast and devout. Then, at the moment of exhaustion, a miracle occurs.]

It's clear that August Chang'an is a player who specializes in the Faith Warrior class.

Although he is also a Burning Spirit, there is still a significant gap between him and the top Prison Players. Not only has his level not reached the top level of Burning Spirit, but he also definitely does not have the talent brought by the Blood of Long Sleep.

But a radiant body is definitely a must.

After all, the difference in combat power between players with the Shattered Body and those without this effect is too great, and it is basically the threshold for the current "prison players" of Candlefire Island.

Zheng——

In August, Chang'an drew Hughes' straight sword from his waist, muttering to himself as he gently stroked the blade with his left hand, which was wrapped in the executioner's cloth.

Prayer and the weapon of law!

Increase weapon attack range and resilience!
The black and gold power of prayer spread from his chest to his palms and then to the sword.

Before long, the power of prayer remained on the Hughes straight sword in his hand, making the blade even sharper and imbued with a layer of sword energy.

After doing this.

August Chang'an leaped off the deck and landed beneath the ghost ship, observing the surrounding seabed environment.

However, he was clearly overthinking it.

Neither he, in the middle of the ocean, nor the seagull-shaped binoculars on the mast of the ghost ship detected any trace of hostile creatures.

So he quickly returned to the ghost ship and had the ghost helmsman stop near the rocky spikes.

But Chang'an remained very cautious in August.

After interacting with the [Great Tombstone] on the ghost ship, five ghost swordsmen and five ghost archers appeared on the deck and began to stand guard nearby at his command, ready to provide him with support at any time.

Then he cast some buffs and potions on himself before cautiously and slowly approaching the cluster of sharp reefs.

There was no other way; he did this not because he had nothing better to do, but because of the painful lessons he had learned in the past.

Of course, every player in the Spirit Candle Prison has a painful past, but that doesn't stop them from moving forward.

"These sharp rocks are definitely not naturally formed, nor are they the result of any magic or prayer..."

"Otherwise, once they lose their strength, they definitely won't be able to hold on, and the corpses on top have clearly been dead for a long time..."

"Below is a raised seabed... and the spiky reefs look like they were artificially designed and fixed there..."

A stench of rotting and decay filled the air. August Chang'an analyzed what she was seeing, trying to glean potential intelligence from it.

Then, while swimming, he collected the debris that had fallen from the body.

Unfortunately, these sharp reefs are man-made, so they are not on the shore.

He could fly, but that would waste the power of the Flame Offering, which is completely unnecessary.

Although there was some corpse oil or something in the sea, it wasn't unbearable for the prison players who had swum in cesspools.

"Ho..."

Some of the corpses of the Gulad soldiers turned into undead, struggling and emitting low growls.

Judging from the degree of decomposition and the shape of the corpses, it is not difficult to see that these Gulad soldiers were not placed there at the same time.

In August, Chang'an took action and sent them to rest in peace one by one.

[Acquired: The Laws of Gula]

[Acquired: The Laws of Gula]

[Acquired: "Soldier's Expectations"]

[Acquired: Rusty Straight Sword (Crude)]

[Acquired: Sacrifice Coral Cup]

After collecting all the loot, August Chang'an climbed onto the ghost ship and began to examine each item carefully with a frown.

First, there is information from the two [Church of Gula].

[The resistance forces within the Coral Atoll have been eliminated... You are hereby ordered to lead a small team immediately to garrison the island and assist the governor in enforcing the law.]

This is from the first law.

It is clear that the Gulad Empire has conquered another island on its empire's frontier and set about ruling it.

The enslaved class on Coral Atoll has rioted, and the investigation team has disappeared. Executioner Baron Bradley is now ordered to obtain the Anchor Decree and the power to control the Guardian Beast from the Armory to suppress the rebellion…

This is the content of the second decree, which also reveals some of the specific events that the Gulad Empire's forces encountered here.

The Coral Atoll riots broke out, and the investigation team sent by the Gruad Empire has disappeared without a trace. Therefore, the executioner was ordered to set out.

But it was clear that the investigation team and the executioner had both been impaled on the spikes of the reef by that unknown enemy...

"There's even a Wei Lu behemoth?" August Chang'an frowned slightly. He looked around but couldn't see any trace of the behemoth.

Left with no other option, he could only continue examining other texts.

【The Soldier's Expectations】

[Type: Letter]

[Content: Mom, I passed the test and became a reserve knight! I'm sending you my salary. You and my sister should eat well in the city-state. Don't worry about me; the Empire provides very good benefits...]

[Note: A letter home, unfinished by a new recruit of the Gulad Empire, was never sent.]

After reading it, August Chang'an silently put it away.

(End of this chapter)