Chapter 49: The Usefulness of Legend Degree
2015-02-04
Author: Floating Tower (诸生浮屠)
Angry Scale Island.
This is a large island connecting the Southern Coast to the Eastern Sea Route. Because the desert road has been cut off by a powerful force, trade between the East and West began to shift to maritime transportation. This is the territory of one of the three Pirate Kings, Asrold. Although he possesses a powerful pirate force, his focus is not on trade with the Southern Coast and Overseas Islands; rather, he is more concerned with transoceanic trade between the Eastern World and the Western World. While the slave trade, black market, and smuggling are lucrative channels, the truly valuable trades for this Pirate King are spices, silk, and tea.
It has been mentioned before that spices of equal weight can be exchanged for equal weight in gold.
Divided into eastern and western continental shelf plates by the desert region, the noble class and wealthy merchants in the entire southern and western regions have an astonishing demand for these luxury goods. Due to the vast wealth gap between social classes, nobles often possess wealth thousands to tens of thousands of times that of the civilians, having accumulated enormous fortunes from taxes, estates, trade, and mines. In terms of living needs, these nobles, in pursuit of a luxurious lifestyle, expend large amounts of financial resources on these expensive luxury items.
Among them, wizards are also large consumers of spices; they prepare special incense to help with meditation and enhance their concentration, which is used to comprehend and master more difficult spells.
Soren is merely a half-baked wizard; professional witches like Gloria often carry calming spices with them.
Asrold’s wealth has been accumulated from this trade route.
………………
At this moment.
Asrold, whose profile clearly shows Naga traits yet retains a human exterior, stands on a warship, looking at a masked subordinate in front of him and says solemnly, “Is there any news from Taro Port?”
The masked figure slightly bows and replies, “The rise of that Throat Cutter has been very rapid; all the pirates near Shipwreck Bay have been subdued by him. Having killed the Swamp King, his reputation seems to have even reached the West Coast. Recently, he led a large group of pirates to Taro Port, forcing the Naga Priestess to come out and personally welcome him. His reputation in Taro Port is now at its peak!”
”We are afraid that he will soon replace the Swamp King.”
Asrold’s expression darkened upon hearing this, and he gazed thoughtfully in a certain direction over the sea.
The masked figure hesitated for a moment and spoke quietly, “Lord Asrold! Should we take the opportunity to eliminate him now? Otherwise, if his power continues to grow, it will likely become a significant trouble for us.”
Asrold shook his head and said solemnly, “It is not yet time.”
”Since he can directly kill the Swamp King, his strength is undoubtedly not weak. Moreover, he possesses the aura of the Ocean Goddess’ favor; attacking him directly would be tantamount to inciting infighting within the Ocean Church. There are still divisions within the Naga tribe, and it is not yet time for a direct confrontation. We must watch for movements from the Naga royal family; if they can succeed, eliminating this Throat Cutter would be a piece of cake!”
The masked figure nodded gently and suggested, “What if we send someone to assassinate him? It may not be beneficial to our plans to just watch him grow.”
Assassination?
Asrold chuckled softly and replied, “He is a close-to-legendary Wanderer, and there are not many who can assassinate him along the Southern Coast. He might be hiding some of his strength; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to kill the Swamp King.”
The masked figure looked around and then cautiously approached and whispered, “I heard that a mysterious organization has emerged within the continent, seemingly called the ‘Unity of All Things’. Among them are many experts in assassination; if we can afford the price, perhaps we could enlist the help of a legendary assassin.”
Asrold fell silent upon hearing this.
His expression showed a hint of pain, for the price of hiring a legendary assassin is not small, but after thinking for a moment, he nodded and said, “Send someone to contact them. If we can hire a legendary assassin to make a move, that would be ideal, but remember not to reveal our identity. The wealth brought back from Demon Island is still substantial; it should be enough to satisfy that greedy lot.”
The masked figure nodded, “Understood. I will arrange it right away.”
Asrold smiled slightly, his expression seeming a bit cruel, and whispered, “If we can assassinate him this way, it might reduce a lot of trouble.”
”Damn Naga Priestess!”
”If it weren’t for her sabotage, things wouldn’t be so troublesome.”
………………
Taro Port.
Soren walks side by side with the Naga Priestess towards the Ocean Temple.
The gazes of the surrounding crowd towards him couldn’t help but show a hint of awe and caution, as these shrewd individuals could see that he was forcing the Naga Priestess to lower her head and compromise. To force the leading priest of the Ocean Temple to back down shows a level of power that greatly shocks them.
Soren needs reputation!
He needs a higher reputation; only then can it facilitate his access to the routes of the Overseas Islands.
”The Fall of the Pirate King [Legendary Battle]: In early December of the New Moon Era, your rapid rise attracted the attention of the Swamp King, who intended to eliminate you, this threat, first and use your blood to appease the ancient Abyss Demon lord [Dagon]. However, what no one expected was that, without support from any reinforcements, you led the pirates and shark men to kill the Swamp King. You gained immense fame in this battle; even stories of you began to circulate in nearby waters. [Legend Degree +5]”
This is the legend degree gained from killing the Swamp King.
But this is merely the beginning; after forcing the Naga Priestess to compromise, Soren even received another legend degree prompt.
”The Compromise of the Ocean Priestess [Popular Rumor]: In early December of the New Moon Era, bolstered by your great victory, you gathered a pirate army to Taro Port, forcing the leading priest of the Ocean Temple to compromise. The Swamp King’s corpse and warship shocked those on this island, and your reputation began to penetrate this chaotic area. The Naga Priestess personally welcomed your arrival, which greatly increased your reputation and you will have more influence in the nearby waters. [Legend Degree +2]”
Indeed!
Soren’s judgment was not wrong; combat is not the only way to gain legend degree.
His action of forcing the Naga Priestess to compromise today earned him 2 points of legend degree, almost equivalent to a legendary-level battle.
Soren’s current legend degree is already 21 points!
Do not underestimate this 21 points of legend degree; he was able to gather so many pirates in such a short span of time precisely because he possesses a considerable amount of legend degree. His fame has spread throughout the entire Southern Coast region, and even other cities along the coast know of his rise, which is why so many pirates came to pledge allegiance. As a high-level professionist, merely having strength without reputation is insufficient; if people do not even know who you are, how could they easily pledge themselves to you?
The legend degree is the highest form of reputation.
Ocean Temple.
Soren entered alongside the Naga Priestess, leaving others outside.
As soon as he entered, Soren glanced at the other party and said solemnly, “Who is supporting Asrold? I do not believe that a pirate king would dare defy the orders of the Ocean Temple! He cannot possibly lack supporters behind him!”
The Naga Priestess had a somewhat unsightly expression but still replied, “He is a pirate king supported by the Naga royal family; due to their support, I often cannot command him.”
Naga royal family?
Soren slightly furrowed his brows and said seriously, “How can that be? Merely supported by the Naga royal family? How dare he defy the orders of the Ocean Temple? Does he not fear the wrath of the Ocean Goddess?”
”Unless they intend to…”
Soren seemed to think of something; a few vague memories suddenly flashed through his mind, and his expression became somewhat grim.
These guys have some boldness!
They can’t think that because the Ocean Goddess is gradually less responsive to the prayers of her believers, they have an opportunity to bring out that monster, right?
This is just the precursor to the Saint’s Cataclysm.
The Ocean Goddess’ divine power has been weakened, causing her to abandon some weaker believers and only respond to more significant prayers.
Do they think this is an opportunity to overthrow the Ocean Goddess?
A suggestion of suspicion flashed across the Naga Priestess’s face; she seemed surprised that Soren knew even this hidden matter, yet she had no intention of bringing it up, as this is taboo, seldom mentioned even within the Ocean Church. She merely looked at Soren and said solemnly, “We must find a way to eliminate him! With you and I joining forces, we can surely eliminate this fellow!…”
Soren gently shook his head and said, “It is not the right time yet.”
”After all, he is one of the three Pirate Kings, and if he has the support of the Naga royal family, our chances of success are not high at all.”
”Unless you can mobilize the Ocean Goddess’s power!”
The Naga Priestess fell silent.
The Ocean Goddess has already fallen into slumber; if she could mobilize the Ocean Goddess’s power, she would not need Soren’s assistance, and Asrold would certainly dare not easily defy her orders.
The Saint’s Cataclysm has already begun to brew!
In the following year or more, the divine responsiveness to prayers would become increasingly rare, many priests would gradually lose their ability to perform divine techniques, and quite a number of low-level priests would completely lose their divine techniques.
This situation would not improve until the gods descend, responding to prayers in their saint form.
Strictly speaking.
This is indeed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
………………
Meanwhile.
In a certain place in the Overseas Islands, a group of migrating Drow are also engaging in an important discussion. (To be continued ~^~)
