CHAPTER 481: CHAPTER 370: THE THREE LAWS OF THE SHIP SPIRIT_2

Only the awakening of the Ship Spirit was left, and it would become a true Legendary Warship.

Before being promoted to the Fifth Order, Mordent Gray had always ranked high on Castilia’s list of most wanted dangerous individuals. It was only a few years ago, after his successful promotion to the Fifth Order, that he became even more dangerous and more insane, and was thus removed from the most wanted list. Yet, he continued to do as he pleased. When it came to stealing ships, as long as the sailors ran fast enough, he would not take lives. The mere loss of property was not worth any Kingdom deploying a Kingdom’s Guardian-level figure to besiege a Fifth-Order Transcendent of the same rank. Indeed, the reputation of the ’Sailboat Fanatic’ became increasingly renowned.

But Byron also knew that even though many questioned Mordent’s morals and integrity, no one doubted his strength. He had unique and powerful [Strange Arts] that any Transcendent would obtain after reaching the Fifth Order on the path of the Ladder of Glory. The titular ability of [Sailboat Collector] should not be taken lightly either, as outsiders conjectured that the more sailboats he collected, the stronger his own power would grow. Just by hurling out the hundreds of warships he had collected, he could form an army by himself! Although he did not have a Kingly Title, his combat power was not much different.

As it stood, even without a clear understanding of the substance of the cooperation between the two Fifth-Order individuals, the form alone indicated that they must have reached a united front.

After sharing the intelligence he had obtained with Violet, Byron also breathed a small sigh of relief,

"Having the [Sailboat Collector] join the colonizers’ side is not necessarily a bad thing for us.

"In the intelligence provided by the Goddess Freya, the Deep Dive Church relies on the traps constituted by the two great old Secret Realms, just waiting for the Pirate King’s fleet to fall into the net unwittingly.

"Neither party is our friend. One consists of traitors and thieves among the Bayfolk; the other, lunatics coveting our [Legendary Warship] and the great Big Whale Hunting Ground.

"However, if the colonizers’ side is too weak, we would still have to fight desperately.

"Now the battle seems to be one where both sides have an equal shot, and we can be more flexible in our approach.

"By the way, Miss, isn’t the [Legendary Warship·Bayfolk Dragonhead Ship] considered a legacy treasure of Iron Anchor Bay? Don’t you have any kind of Key or something to counteract it?"

Byron looked up at the silver-haired beauty bathed in the light of the Whale Oil Lamp.

Today, the Bay Citizen Princess wore a light blue lady’s dress with white lace trims, a tortoiseshell pair of glasses on her delicate nose bridge, her silver hair neatly tied into a ponytail, leaving only a playful strand at the front of her forehead. While listening to the story of the madman earlier, she had uncharacteristically sat directly on the desk in front of Byron. Her petite and cute exterior, combined with her unrestrained and magnanimous spirit, gave off a unique charm distinct to her. As she swayed her jade-white and delicate legs, the tips of her semi-transparent Crystal High Heels flickered with a pair of golden butterfly wings. This made it difficult to tell which light source was brighter in the captain’s room, illuminated by Whale Oil Lamps, causing Byron to become instinctively somewhat distracted.

Upon hearing his words, the girl shook her head and analyzed for him from the professional perspective of a Third-Order peak Grand Artificer,

"Every Legendary Warship has a living ’Ship Spirit,’ and stealing a ship is no easier than stealing a person. What specific catastrophe occurred at Iron Anchor Bay hundreds of years ago is now impossible to know, but those people at the time certainly held the Warship Key. Moreover, the family ancestors passed away, leaving the throne vacant without a timely selection of a successor to carry out the transfer of command ritual for the Legendary Warship. That’s what allowed the exiles to exploit the secondary authority and the control key. If they had pursued the matter immediately, there might have been hope, but after hundreds of years, even if I boarded the ship as the legitimate successor, it’s not certain whether the Ship Spirit would recognize me."

Seeing a hint of disappointment on Byron’s face, the girl twirled a lock of her hair and changed the subject,

"But to say that there is no way to intervene is not entirely true either. Because every ’Ship Spirit’ born of humans must strictly adhere to the immutable three great precepts of the [Silver Code]:

"First: do no harm to the master, nor allow the master to be harmed due to inaction;

"Second: obey the master’s commands unless these commands conflict with the first precept;

"Third: protect one’s own existence without violating the first and second precepts.

"Our Iron Anchor Bay Direct Lineage possesses an unshakable grip on the deepest level of authority within the Ship Spirit—a status unalterable by any known means. It might be implausible to command it directly, but being exempt from attack by that Legendary Warship shouldn’t pose much of a problem."

The Lancaster Family doesn’t possess a Legendary Warship. Currently, the most promising candidate to ascend as a ’Ship Spirit’ is Byron’s own father, Prince Sorrenberg.

Upon hearing this intelligence, Byron’s eyes flickered. Those Three Great Laws of the Ship Spirit could come into play in unexpected ways, he thought. Moreover, the ’Theseus Ship Spirit Ritual’ in the hands of the [Sailboat Collector] is also of significant value; it’s much more compatible with Edmund Lancaster than the ’Book of the Dead’. The situation is still unclear, though. I’ll wait until I see the warship with my own eyes before adapting my approach.

Then he picked up a stack of documents scavenged from Black Tide Town and continued to inquire, "What about the whale oil technology? Have you discovered anything that can be transformed into immediate combat strength in a short period of time?"

Violet perked up at the mention of that, her sapphire-like eyes sparkling,

"Mei’s Leviathan Whale Oil, rich in Source Material, being a type of Blood and Flesh Tissue, is highly compatible with Flame’s Kiss. With just a trace of whale oil, the potency of [Blood and Fire Sing As One] can be at least tripled compared to ordinary flesh! Furthermore, a small amount of Flame’s Kiss can catalyze an explosion, effectively reducing the cost a great deal. The downside is its extreme instability. It must be mixed and used on the spot, not prepared in advance. But once deployed, it will give the enemy a nasty surprise."

The most critical components of the whale oil technology are likely some primitive Whale Oil Power Furnaces. But what Violet loved most was the whale oil itself, perfect for use as an explosive. She had spent the entire day tirelessly tinkering with the substance and had already achieved some preliminary results.

Byron, in his contentment, silently moved the ’Artificial Whale Oil Project’ higher on his agenda. With ’Bloodline Pilgrimage’ within me, transforming myself into a right whale on the spot wouldn’t be an issue, he mused. If I don’t attempt to industrialize whale oil extraction, it’d be an insult to this forbidden knowledge. There would be no need to devise plans or ask who the enemy is; I’d only need to know where they are, and then simply toss [Blood and Fire Sing As One] at them.

「Outside the captain’s cabin.」

[Navigator] Delia was accompanying ’dear sister’ Jacqueline in her vocal practice. A Singer’s Third-Order promotion ceremony required the creation of a catchy song that achieved a certain level of popularity. The song Byron had given her had already been published across the Law Network before their departure, allowing Transcendents of the Hall Sequence to learn and sing it. They had ample confidence in that song, believing that with time it would ferment properly.

In the words of the livestock manager and warehouse keeper, the octopus-man Little Eight, "Though the lyrics sound like a love song, it’s completely different from the love songs of the past. The first time I heard this song, I was feeding the cow. The cow stopped chewing the moment it heard the song, and I stopped handing out grass. We locked eyes for a few seconds. From its gaze, I could tell it wanted to ride me into battle against Little Snail for three hundred rounds."

It wouldn’t be long before the song reached its virality threshold, enabling Jacqueline to ascend on the spot and, as its creator, exhibit a formidable power that others could not match.

In addition, before leaving, the Goddess Freya casually assisted the [Honest Man] Eight Fingers and the Phantom Blade Gus. She did this by deceiving two Third-Order individuals left behind in the nearby Deep Dive Church town. She helped each of them complete their final promotion ceremony.

After the battle at Black Tide Town, The Golden Deer’s combat strength was once again comprehensively elevated. This further bolstered their confidence for interfering in the conflict among the Fifth-Order individuals.

Recalling the Goddess Freya, Byron felt an impulse. His senses instantly synched with this new [Wild Hunt Servant], and he saw everything she perceived. The view from inside that [Dragonhead Warship] appeared before him as well.