From sailboats to star destroyers (Source: Web)

Chapter 57 The Secret Treasure of the Seven Seas

"I really didn't expect that a group of ordinary pirates could get their hands on something like this."

Miao Meng held the black pearl between his fingers and looked at the sun in the sky, trying to see what was inside by the refraction of the sunlight.

"Captain, you seem to have misunderstood something. This is actually quite ordinary, because it's a story from hundreds of years ago."

As for the great treasure, it's already common knowledge: it's the divine artifact of the Kingdom of Wiftia—the Holy Lance Srid, and a suit of armor called the Silver Armor of the Mystic Sea.

Finally, the Black Earl briefly explained the myth represented by this black pearl, although it is now history.

The sea god, Lord of the Waves, Oric, worshipped in West Limit City as a port city, is actually the chief god of the Kingdom of Wiftia, located in the southern part of the Kingdom of Senist.

In the distant past, six great gods joined forces to resist the ancient people who worshipped the evil god Apocalypse. The weapons they wielded were known as divine artifacts.

The origin of the artifact is unknown, but many people suspect that it is a deeper application of soul weapon technology, meaning it should have originated from the Elf Kingdom.

After the war with the Gut people ended, the six gods passed down their bloodlines and established the six ancient kingdoms on the continent of Galtilan.

However, not all of the artifacts they possessed circulated within their respective countries; some were lost abroad, while others were broken in battle.

Holy Lance Sred was lost in battle on the Nodior Islands, which is now the location of the Pirate Kingdom.

That holy lance possessed terrifying divine power, capable of commanding the sea to create storms and waves, making it an irresistible artifact for all those who lived at sea.

Therefore, for decades or even centuries after the end of the War of the Gods, countless people sailed the seas in search of this divine artifact.

As more people lived at sea, various powerful forces naturally emerged, including navies from major powers and, of course, reckless pirates.

The seven strongest pirates were known as the Pirate Kings. While some of them may have risen from humble beginnings to become powerful figures, most of them were backed by powerful nations and supported by their connections.

However, those who searched for the artifact at sea ultimately came up empty-handed, because the holy spear had been hiding from the seamen until one day it suddenly appeared in the Kingdom of Wiftia.

Feeling tricked, the pirate kings launched a massive attack on the Kingdom of Wiftia. However, faced with the divine artifact, they did not last long before scattering and fleeing.

The black pearl that Miao Meng has now obtained was a token of a pirate king at the time, and similar items include the purple jade fan and the stealth dart.

Of course, in the long course of evolution, in addition to their high value, these tokens have also become symbols of certain schools of thought, and one can learn the corresponding profession through these tokens in certain places.

After listening to Count Black's story, Miao Meng became even more interested in the instance and planned to go and check it out once the shipyard was almost finished.

After all, no matter what, this token represents the ability to access the divine artifact, even though it is a divine artifact from hundreds of years ago.

"That's good. The village has taken care of it, right? Just hang them on that pole. Don't leave them hanging for too long, or they'll look disgusting."

Miao Meng put the black pearl into his backpack, then casually asked about the pirates.

"Don't worry, I have some experience in preserving corpses, so they won't decompose quickly even in the summer."

The symbol of the pirate kingdom is the Skull of the Raider, which is also a requirement for becoming a Dread Knight—a special material used in witchcraft to preserve corpses.

When the Black Earl spoke of this, even though he only had some fragmented memories left, he was still quite excited. This was arguably the pirates' forte.

"Forget it, I don't want to hear this. Their pirate ship, which's only a dozen meters long, they probably didn't damage it too badly, right?"

"It has some minor damage, but it only needs some repairs to be put back into use."

After exchanging a few more words, the two decided on the fate of the nearby fishing village. The original welfare benefits of the Gute people would be further reduced, and taxes would increase significantly. This was the price they had to pay.

Although Miao Meng initially felt sympathy for these fishermen, it no longer prevented him from hardening his heart to punish them.

Meanwhile, the fishing village, having endured a fierce battle, had also cleaned up the mess. Those who had lost loved ones, needless to say, wore sorrowful expressions.

Those who didn't believe they had colluded with the pirates didn't look any better either; their eyes held a resentment that wasn't directed at the distant manor, but rather at the pirates' families.

The villagers' resentment was not due to bullying the weak and fearing the strong, but rather because their collusion with pirates had resulted in collective punishment and harm to their interests.

For the Gut people, death is nothing. They have the blood of evil gods flowing through their veins, and their lifespan is inherently short. The stronger a person is, the shorter their lifespan will be.

Therefore, while alive, they only seize the day and enjoy life to the fullest, never thinking about what will happen after death.

The pirates' families, who were being stared at with strange looks by the villagers, did not stay in the village for long either; they could no longer stay there.

So the funeral that should have been held was not held. After packing up their belongings, they left Baisha Bay under the cover of night.

Normally, people like them who have left their villages should board their small boats to seek refuge with the pirates. However, their fishing boats were destroyed in the afternoon's battle, and now they have no choice but to walk.

Unable to sail out to sea, they could only take their belongings and try to travel through mountains and valleys to another place where pirates gathered to borrow a boat.

However, the other families had already made preparations, and not far after these pirate families went out, they suddenly rushed out and robbed them of everything.

Meanwhile, the guards who had been following silently throughout quietly put away their weapons and returned to report to Count Black.

Although Miao Meng knew very little about this, the Black Earl was different; he knew exactly what kind of actions these Gute people were capable of.

Therefore, he had arranged his guards well in advance, and even if these Gut fishermen did not clean up their own mess, he would have his guards help them.

During the day, the Black Earl had the pirates and fishermen report on each other, but the effect was not obvious, so he used a psychological warfare tactic and imposed collective punishment.

Those who were reported were dealt with by erecting several more wooden stakes near the mast, based on Miao Meng's previous statement, and nailing these pirates and their collaborators to the mast.

They then left a team behind to secretly watch the village, waiting for these people to slip up so they could all be executed.

However, these Guterres were a bit more ruthless than the Black Earl had imagined. Before he could even make a move, they took matters into their own hands and cleaned up their own mess, even taking care of the corpses.

Although they simply threw the body into the sea because of its proximity to the ocean, it was still a way of destroying the evidence.