Strange Voyage: Summoning the Fourth Disaster.

Chapter 820 Uprooting the Spine as a Pillar, the Oath of Gulad
He couldn't help but sigh.

The Spirit Candle is very realistic in every aspect, including these texts.

The passionate words above, imbued with hope for the future, seemed to give soul to the corpse of the Goulart soldier before them.

But because of the law, he had to stop writing and put away his letters, just like his life, which was cruelly hung on the sharp spikes of a reef and ended abruptly...

However, after a moment of sadness, August Chang'an began to examine the other dropped items.

There's nothing particularly noteworthy about that crude, rusty straight sword; the description on it merely hints at the plight of this group of Gulad soldiers.

However, this sacrificial coral cup reveals some important information.

【Offering Coral Cup】

[Type: Collectible]

[Note: Offering cups made of coral are often used by the Coral Dwarf tribe as sacred objects to be worshipped in accordance with inviolable legends, and may also serve as a kind of marker.]

Dwarfs? Sacrificial rituals? Marks?
Like most players in the game, August Chang'an, upon hearing these words and combining them with the information she had previously learned from the Gulad Decree, had already basically deduced a vague little story in her mind.

However, to learn the full story, we definitely need to go to the heart of this region.

With that in mind, August Chang'an searched carefully again before boarding the ghost ship and turning it around to head in the direction Carlos's eyes had pointed.

Sure enough, not long after, Chang'an saw new developments in August.

Suddenly, a huge coral island appeared in his sight.

This looks like the "Coral Atoll" mentioned in the laws of Goradil.

This gave August Chang'an a thrill, and after making preparations, she quickly approached the island.

They hadn't been sailing for very long.

In August, Chang'an saw some strange, colorful things floating on the sea, which didn't look very big.

Upon closer inspection, he suddenly realized that this must be the "Coral Dwarf" mentioned in the sacrificial coral cup.

They are also the original inhabitants of this "coral atoll".

With their short stature and coral-like features, the name "Coral Dwarfs" is indeed very fitting for this race.

However, these coral dwarves floating on the sea had clearly been dead for quite some time, and it was unknown what caused their deaths.

It appears that a very serious disaster has occurred in Coral Atoll.

Was it the so-called "enslaved class" that killed them?

In August, Chang'an became suspicious and, after landing, put away the ghost ship.

Then he saw many coral dwarves dead on the beach and reefs. Strangely, although they were long dead, they had no wounds on their bodies and looked as if they were just sleeping.

"Some kind of mental attack?"

"Are they reinforcements from the Gulad Empire?"

In August, Chang'an had a guess in his heart and was basically certain of this.

However, he didn't think the Gulad Empire was cruel or anything like that.

After all, your coral atoll not only rebelled, but also cruelly hung Goulard's soldiers and governors on the spikes of the reef...

This is no ordinary troublemaker; we must take strong measures.

With that in mind, August Chang'an continued on his way.

This time, he finally met a living Coral Dwarf.

The other person was crouching beside a rock, hugging their legs, trembling, and looking dazed; they seemed to be somewhat terrified.

However, the information panel did indicate that this dwarf was already a living corpse.

After pondering for a moment, August Chang'an picked up Hughes' straight sword and approached the living corpse.

Then he saw the dwarf pause for a moment, let out a hoarse scream of terror, and stagger away in fear.

This surprised August Chang'an.

Many players have observed that the undead creatures within the Spirit Candle usually don't run away and have a strong desire to attack.

However, there are exceptions; some timid zombies will not attack unless provoked, but such cases are rare.

Another type is that some zombies had a particular fear of a certain type of thing during their lifetime, and it has even become ingrained in their instincts.

Judging from the other party's reaction just now, August Chang'an thinks it's the latter.

"Is he afraid of my fiery form as a law enforcement officer?"

At this moment, he was dressed as a law enforcement officer of the Gulad Empire, wearing a black monk's robe with white trim and a gold headband, with the Gulad Empire's insignia on his chest.

Although this equipment was no longer up to par with his strength, he had deliberately changed into it.

After all, considering the possible situation on Coral Atoll, such attire should prevent attacks from the Gulad Empire.

Many players have already verified this, so August Chang'an naturally used it as well.

Thinking about this, August Chang'an felt more and more that the Gulad Empire must have already attacked and carried out a bloody suppression.

So he continued onward, taking in the sights of the Coral Atoll.

"Coral Atoll" is an island that lives up to its name, with most of its land consisting of sandy beaches, reefs, and coral reefs, with very little soil, and it forms a ring shape.

And there's more than one "ring".

August Chang'an stood on the inner edge of the coral ring island, looking at yet another coral ring opposite, and thought to herself.

There are many corpses of the Coral Dwarfs.

Strangely, even after walking for a long time, August Chang'an still did not see any other dead Hu dwarves or the corpses of soldiers from the Gulad Empire.

This is a bit strange.

Could it be that the Gulad Empire sent an extremely powerful force to suppress them?

August Chang'an muttered to himself, summoning the ghost ship again, preparing to head to the next coral ring.

But at that moment, as the seawater trembled violently, an invisible wave suddenly distorted the air and blew towards August Chang'an.

hum-

The newly summoned ghost ships were all tilted by the violent shockwave.

August Chang'an cursed inwardly and quickly activated his battle arsenal, managing to hold off the attack.

After a while, the strange fluctuations finally subsided.

"Is this strange fluctuation coming from the center of the island? And is it also the cause of death for these coral dwarves?"

In August, Chang'an looked around and saw that many of the dwarf zombies behind him had already died.

Driven by curiosity, he quickly steered the boat toward the center.

Before long, he encountered some surviving coral zombies, who were basically preserved in their appearance before death. As long as he approached them without disturbing them, he could hear their whispers.

"This is Lord Hu's punishment..."

"As expected, how could we slaves possibly be like the nobles..."

"Lord Hu is so angry... It's terrifying..."

"I hope Lord Hu will spare my child..."

These dwarfs were either kneeling or staring blankly with numb expressions, murmuring their last thoughts before death.

In August, Chang'an listened to each of their stories, then replaced them with wax and picked up the fallen pieces.

During this process, the strange fluctuations returned, seemingly periodic, and their power intensified due to August Chang'an's approach. "Lord Hu..."

August Chang'an stroked his chin. There was nothing noteworthy on these Hu dwarf undead. It seemed that not every undead left behind text like the Gurad soldiers.

Take advantage of this lull in the fluctuations.

In August, Chang'an made a decisive move and began to travel quickly, hoping to reach the center of the Coral Atoll before the next wave arrived.

However, it must be said that this coral atoll is quite large; otherwise, the Gulad Empire probably wouldn't have bothered to rule it.

Therefore, the next wave of strong fluctuations still fell on August Chang'an.

This time, it wasn't so easy for him to get through it; he had to catch his breath for a while.

However, he also discovered something along the way.

That is, these dwarfs clearly distinguish social classes by color.

The largest group consists of the outermost yellowish-brown coral dwarves, followed by other mixed colors such as green, which are in smaller numbers. As for the area near the center, it is inhabited by red coral dwarves and golden coral dwarves.

They were also quite strong, and the words they spoke were different from those of the surrounding dwarves.

"The Lord of the Coral is angry with us..."

"It's all the fault of those damned Gulad people, insisting on elevating the status of those lowly people..."

"The only purpose of these foolish, unruly people and slaves is to obediently serve as sacrifices..."

"No power can rival the Lord of the Coral..."

"You won't succeed..."

"We are all born because of Lord Hu..."

"Use the lives of these lowly people to secure the victory of our Lord..."

Although these dwarven undead did not drop any text or similar items, their murmurs and soliloquies at this moment were enough to suggest otherwise.

In August, Chang'an had also learned some of the details of what had happened.

It seems that things are not as he guessed; at least the Gulad Empire has not yet carried out a brutal crackdown here.

These red-gold dwarves are the "enslaved class" in the laws of the Gurad Empire.

After the Gulad Empire arrived at Coral Atoll, it naturally took control of the island. However, the Gulad Empire seemed to find the cruel rule of these red-gold coral dwarves unbearable, so it slightly elevated the status of some of the lower-ranking coral dwarves.

But clearly, this greatly displeased the former enslaved class, the Red Gold Coral Dwarves.

So they plotted a rebellion, deceived the soldiers and administrators of the Gulad Empire, and it wasn't hard to tell from the mutterings of some of the Hu dwarves that... the enslaved Hu dwarves did it too.

This left August Chang'an somewhat puzzled.

The Gulad Empire elevated the status of these lower-ranking Coral Dwarves, while the Red Coral Dwarves regarded them as lowly people and waste. So why would the lower-ranking Coral Dwarves help the Red Coral Dwarves?

Could it be because they think Gulad is easy to bully?

August Chang'an shrugged, not understanding.

However, after that, the Gulad Empire clearly sent people again, and this time, it should be to deal with the "Hu Lord" mentioned by the Hu Dwarves.

Judging from the current situation, the two seem to be at war.

Thinking of this, August Chang'an seemed to have thought of something, her eyes lit up, and she quickly ran towards the center of the coral atoll.

Perhaps it was precisely because of the riots.

Compared to the dwarfs on the outskirts.

These inner-circle dwarves seemed even more afraid of August Chang'an's attire as a law enforcement officer.

Some Red Coral Dwarves were cursing the Gulad Empire and the lower-class Coral Dwarves one minute, and the next minute, when they saw August Chang'an, the "Executioner of Laws," passing by, they were so frightened that they knelt down and begged for mercy.

However, Chang'an in August clearly didn't have time to pay attention to them.

“The executioner is already hanging on the spikes of the reef. Gulad wouldn’t be foolish enough to send another executioner to behead someone.”

"So, the strength of these Gulads who were sent here must be..."

As he muttered to himself, another powerful shock came.

At this time, August Chang'an had arrived at the center of Coral Atoll, which was surrounded by a deep black sea with reefs and corals.

At this moment, the sea surface was violently trembling and the waves were surging. A giant sea serpent with wing fins and its body covered with hard bumps was struggling, constantly vibrating its wing fins and emitting hiss. The powerful waves were coming from this.

At its neck, a black-gold power firmly bound it and gradually spread throughout its body.

[Hu Zhu (Seriously Injured)]

[Rank: Furnace]

【Level: 85】

[War: Lord of the Coral]

[Power of Fire (Saint Fire Aspect): ?]

[Talent: Coral Vomit (The coral master periodically vomits, transforming itself into a life-giving coral.)]

[Skill: The Lord's Wrath, Harvesting Ocean Currents...]

[Note: A legendary life form dwelling in the deep sea, its legend has been passed down since the birth of the Coral Dwarfs... "We were born of the Coral Lord" is a phrase most often uttered by the elders.]

Upon seeing this, August Chang'an's eyelids twitched.

No wonder those strange fluctuations were so destructive; it turns out this "Lord of the Coral" not only truly exists, but its strength has also reached the level of a "Blazing Furnace"...

Judging from this guy's talent and description, some of what the Hu dwarf said earlier seems to be true.

The race of "Hu Dwarves" originated from the vomit of "Hu Lord".

The roars and screams of the Huzhu (a mythical creature) as it struggled also confirmed this.

“These lowly lives were created by me, they are the crops I planted, and I reap their lives. This is a gift I was born with, what does it have to do with you, Gulad! Why should I obey your laws!”

"You are the invaders!"

"Why did you have to pull out your spine and fight me to the death? You wouldn't survive that!"

"Damn it! That damned madman, Gulad!!!"

Remove the spine?

In August, Chang'an was startled. Upon closer inspection, she saw a blood-soaked figure kneeling on the sea, the blood staining large swaths of water red.

Before him was a massive spine radiating black and gold light, from which the powerful force binding the Lord of the Sea originated.

【Oath of Gulad - Hagram (Near Death)】

[Rank: Burning Spirit]

【Level: 74】

[War: The Oath of Gulad]

[Saint Fire Aspect: Oath of Selflessness (A vow to dedicate one's life before the law is difficult to suppress. When the power of the Sacred Fire is consumed, one briefly enters the "Oath" state)]

[Talent: Oath Codex (The Oath of Gulad grants the right to interpret the law, and in some cases, it is not necessary to be bound by the law, thus possessing the ability to distinguish between "law-abiding" and "law-betraying" enemies)]

[Skills: Uprooting the spine to form a pillar, burning away all rebellious laws, decree of beheading...]

[Note: Those at the top of the Gulad Empire are both the oath-takers and the oath itself, wielding the power to interpret the oath code... The code itself is not flawed, but it requires constant revision.]

(End of this chapter)