Chapter 570: Directions from Dead Sea scroll
Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation
Upon arrival at Tortuga, Shawen directed the ship towards the most reputable shipyard, before starting to conduct a restructuring for The Dingyuan.
Sheyan wasn’t stingy with his wealth and continued to invest heartily; improving the ship’s speed once again. After the frame of the ship was altered slightly, the ultimate outcome was that the negative speed decline effect had fallen to 20%.
At this point, they encountered a hurdle. They could only continue decreasing the speed decline effect if the Baladine Bloodsail absorbed spirits of hunted tier-6 or higher legendary creatures. There would no longer be any quantitative alternatives.
At present, there was still a week plus to the deadline of their mission.
Frankly speaking, the fate of whether they could escape from the Black Pearl’s pursuit remained an unknown fact to Sheyan. Ultimately, the Black Pearl was still the symbol of the caribbean sea. Moreover, it was an accursed ship. He had to be cautious, he had no choice but to be cautious.
Following this, the trio attempted to search out side missions in hopes of prolonging their stay, but to no avail.
Under such helplessness, Sheyan could only retrieve the blood item he previously acquired from using the Ruby Card – the ‘Dead Sea Scroll’. Fiddling with it as he contemplated while hesitating, he wondered, "perhaps the mission it carries would offer us an additional sliver of time?"
(TN: He acquired this back in v7ch132)
Besides, it had a rarity of being the sole exclusive of its kind in any nightmare realm. An item that would only appear once at the same time! (ED:To clarify, there’s only one of this item in every nightmare realm)
After repeatedly pondering over and over again, Sheyan finally made his resolve.
Anyway, the current Dingyuan had matured to such an indomitable scope and was truly exceptionally close to becoming a legendary warship. Most importantly, it was considered as a portion of his battle capabilities. Regardless of hunting creatures or accomplishing the mission, his rewards wouldn’t be discounted due to his crew or ship. This was the wondrous treatment of the Pirates of the Caribbean world.
According to the description of the ‘Dead Sea Scroll’, the mission difficulty would rise in relation to the difficulty of the world they entered, while also factoring in changes of difficulty along the way. Right now, the present mission difficulty the trio was facing had been lifted to between ‘B+’ to ‘A’. Nevertheless, the world difficulty the trio entered with was relatively low.
Moreover, determining the mission difficulty was something that would change with the overall trend. If the trio could not even handle this mission in this world, even if their battle capabilities improves in the future, they would similarly be incapable of dealing with it.
Thinking in that perspective, Sheyan then produced the ‘Dead Sea Scroll’ resolutely in his hand.
Under the faint incandescent light of candlelights, this mystical scroll flickered with blood radiance. The texture of its papyrus material offered a satiny like sensation towards his fingertips, as though he was touching warm blood itself. A rusty old smell assailed his nostrils; a smell accumulated by the vestiges of time.
Sheyan hesitated once again before he finally activated it.
His nightmare imprint consecutively transmitted the notification.
[ Warning: This remnant page drafted with papyrus paper from the era of 4,000 BCE possesses an extremely furtive force. Once you activate this remnant page, you will encounter tremendous untold dangers! Do you wish to proceed? ]
Sheyan had already made his resolve. There was no longer a need for hesitation. The notifications then rolled out.
[ Warning: The rarity of the ultimate treasure will be randomized based on the circumstances of this world! Your profits may not be proportional to your invested effort! ]
Nonetheless, Sheyan prudently selected to activate.
Within a split second, this archaic remnant started to emit an atmospheric glow; traces of hazy speckles of water appeared on its surface, as though it was drawing in the energies of the ocean. Consecutively, the water droplets rapidly dried into dust, but the hidden blood radiance of the ‘Dead Sea Scroll’ flooded out in response; shooting straight towards the candle flames before Sheyan.
In that instance, the radiance suddenly diminished. The flames of the candle swiftly distorted as wax dripped onto the tabletop, as though the candle was crying.
Then, fiery tongues swiftly meandered around the table before its blaze formed into sentences.
[ An ultimate mystery, isolated from most, is concealed in this very world. This mystery can be described to be the starting point of other planar worlds! If you can uncover this, you will obtain an insanely terrifying power! As compared to other powers in the realm, this power is absolutely not inferior! ]
[ They key to unsealing this mystery lies in the master of the previous Turtuga port, within the body of the depraved Little Lord Fokke ]
[ Seek out this mystery from his body! You have a week to accomplish this deed. After this period, Little Lord Fokke will once again bury this mystery in a place only he knows ]
[ As the hidden object behind this mystery is too substantial, there will not be any penalty incurred ]
The ‘Dead Sea Scroll’ didn’t offer a single mission to Sheyan, but instead, it was merely a jumbled mess of information. Although it explicitly mentioned there would be no penalty, but because of that very reason, Sheyan could perceive it contained a grim and immense danger!
"Ah damned. Uncovering this mystery from Little Lord Fokke’s body, isn’t it akin to acquiring his dropped key? This level of difficulty…...."
Sheyan couldn't refrain himself from smiling wryly. This was the first time he had utterly zero confidence in something. The only thing going for him now was that he was in possession of the ‘Diary of Morgan Fokke’. Prior to this, he had already devised certain plans on how to deal with that redoubtable Little Lord Fokke. Hence, he wasn’t totally caught unprepared.
"This time, I can only hope lady luck stands by us..."
After sitting in his captain’s cabin for half a night planning a list of arrangements, he then called for the core members of his ship. Drooping his head down slightly, his eyes was combusting with passionate fury.
"Make preparations for replenishments and prepare to set off. This time, we shall commit an extravagant deed! Are ye afraid?"
The pirates roared clamorously like a pack of crazy wolves. Some were urgently trying to exhibit themselves as they boomed loudly.
"Cap’n, me fears the task be too puny!"
**********************************
Four days later. Sheyan and his crew were gliding through a greyish plain of sea.
Indeed, a greyish plain of sea.
They were enshrouded in hazy grey mist. The skies were grey, casting a grey shade onto the seas. Waves were smashed into splashes as they crashed into the unrivalled solidity of the ship. The froth of bubbles carried a trace of grey within. Even the eyeballs of the pirates were filled with a dense but light layer of grey mist.
In such an environment, an irascible depression subconsciously formed in their hearts.
Indeed, this was the Isla de Muerta of the Black Pearl pirates! Hailed as the phantom sea isle.
It is said that the phantom sea isle was an island that moved on its own, and was also known as the Island of the Dead. This also implied the island was the gathering of the deceased, where only dead sailors would come ashore here.
In spite of that, it held another accolation – A treasure island!
The reserves of hidden treasures and those stored by the accursed pirates of the Black Pearl were beyond imaginations. The quantities could equate to forging an island of gold and silver.
The proximity of the phantom sea isles was permeated with vile weather conditions, submerged reefs, maelstroms, and diabolical creatures. All malevolent abominations that voyaging sailors were absolutely unwilling to encounter!
It is said that to navigate to the phantom sea isles, the most reliable tool was Jack Sparrow’s compass that would never point north. That compass would never point north, but would point towards the direction of this treasure island.
Of course, for the present Captain Barbossa of the Black Pearl, the navigating pathway within this hazy world was already engraved through his plentiful experience here. With his undying body, every nook and corner of this place was clear to him; because if he couldn’t return to his own island, it would be as far fetched as a person who couldn’t find his own home.
Right now, yet another individual was daring enough to challenge this territory.
That was the captain of the Dingyuan, Sheyan.
Previously through dealing with the gypsy’s Jiejie with the Ocean eggs, he managed to acquire the coordinates of the Isla de Muerta through her laborious divination. The coordinates alone was more than sufficient for Sheyan!
Even though science and technology were seemingly non-existent in this primitive world. Magic and his personal knowledge from later generations could be integrated together. Therefore, Sheyan still possessed the means to navigate and challenge this deadly island!
"Submerged reefs right ahead!! Hurry lower the sails, bring a spring upon’er!"
A pirate who had just assumed his post shouted urgently. He invested so much in this flustered shout, that even the jam bread in his mouth dropped out. Probable feeling the weight of emotions induced by the greyish mist, that lookout was brandishing his arms as though his buttocks were on fire.
Still, several resting pirates remained composed as they swung their heads and calmly asked.
"Ho? Submerged reefs?"
That pirate immediately grabbed their collars and sleeves as his eyes bulged with ferocity. Then, he shook them and admonished urgently.
"I’m talkin’ bout rocks beneath! Submerged rocks!!! That be a cluster of wolf fang rocks! Are yer bunch of shark’s bait not havin’ ears?"
His so called cluster of wolf fang rocks, was actually narrow but incredibly acute black reefs. Tougher than a chain of coral reefs, they were labelled with the term ‘wolf fangs’. Such submerged reefs would submerged 1-2 metres beneath the sea surface, and were exceedingly hard to discover even in a sunny and cloudless weather. What more the current low visibility of the phantom sea isles?
Once a ship fails to discover these and subsequently fails to evade, even the collision of a 7-masted massive ship would be in danger! Those submerged reefs could easily rip open an unmendable gash at the bottom of the ship. It was no wonder that pirate was exuberating such abnormal panic.