Chapter 196 Win or Lose
“Joseph is considered a Thirsty One in Phase Five of the Flesh Path. He possesses extremely powerful physical abilities and regeneration, his body is practically indestructible. Even if he were dismembered and thrown into lava, he could recover at an unimaginable speed. Furthermore, he can manipulate flesh detached from his own, turning it into weapons or causing it to multiply into flesh monsters, much like that giant hand currently holding up the ship.”
With her informational advantage, Li Wen calmly explained to Moria.
Her meaning was clear: Remington, in Phase Four, would have absolutely no chance of defeating Joseph in Phase Five, especially since Joseph was a Transcendent of the Flesh Path, known for his potent physical vitality.
To this, Moria stated directly: “Mr. Remington will not lose.”
Li Wen didn’t know the source of his confidence, but currently, Remington was being held by the neck in Joseph’s single hand like livestock. It was indeed difficult to imagine how he could retaliate.
Perhaps Joseph thought the same. A smile played on his lips, but he made no further move, as if anticipating Remington’s next choice. The captain’s pupils contracted sharply. He could feel the immense power emanating from Joseph’s palm, enough to crush his neck. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, dripping down his chin onto the deck, each drop like the extinguishing of his life flame. However, there was no hint of retreat in his eyes; instead, they burned with an even fiercer flame.
“Actually, the ‘Oath of the Black Tide’ is not only decided by death. If one party kneels and swears eternal submission to the other, the duel can also be considered concluded,” Joseph said with a mad laugh, almost explicitly hinting.
“You think you’ve won like this, Joseph?” Remington rasped, his voice weak but carrying an undeniable firmness, “I, Remington, have sailed the seas for decades, what storms haven’t I seen? You think you can make me submit this way? Dream on!”
Joseph merely sneered, increasing the force in his hand. Remington’s face instantly turned red, but he gritted his teeth and persisted.
“Is that so? Then I’ll see how long you can last.” He grinned malevolently, the flesh on his hand beginning to writhe and transform into sharp bone spurs, slowly piercing into Remington’s body.
With every inch they penetrated, Remington’s pain intensified, yet his gaze grew more resolute. He knew he couldn’t fall like this; there were so many people on the ship, and he couldn’t let them suffer utter destruction due to his failure.
Facing Remington, who still refused to yield in such a predicament, Joseph lost interest in playing. With a slight exertion, the captain’s neck snapped with a crunch. Thick, warm liquid splattered, falling onto Joseph’s face.
But it wasn’t blood.
Remington’s “corpse” dropped onto the deck, only to immediately dissolve into a pool of liquid.
The pirate extended his slender tongue and licked lightly.
—Indeed, it was seawater.
He suddenly tilted his head back. In his blind spot, Captain Remington, wielding a saber in both hands, used his full body’s strength and the downward momentum to stab the saber into Joseph’s eye. But it wasn’t enough. Joseph didn’t even need to reach out; he simply closed his eyes, trapping the blade, preventing it from being pushed in any further.
This was the effect the captain desired. He let out a roar, broke the saber, and used the brief moment of Joseph’s closed eyes to unleash a force-filled slash, aiming straight for the vital point.
The broken blade flashed like a crescent moon in the air. The hum of the vibrating blade drowned out the roar of the sea breeze. As it descended, the main mast let out a deathly groan. The rotten ropes snapped first, and the sailcloth billowed like a pale dome under the sudden wind pressure. Remington’s taut arms tore through his leather bracers. The blade, imbued with rage and defiance, compressed the air into visible ripples.
The violent turbulence kicked up by the blade left countless tiny wounds on Joseph, and the blood that emerged was immediately torn into flying red mist by the wind pressure. But Joseph remained expressionless. He simply extended his hand, gently grasping the broken blade before it could strike him.
At that moment, all sharpness and chaos dissipated. The storm ceased. All the captain’s defiance and rage were like futile attempts by gnats to shake a great tree in his eyes; how laughable.
“What other tricks do you have?”
Joseph remained unmoved. All the force from Remington’s blow was absorbed by his body and canceled out, something only a Phase Five Transcendent of the Flesh Path could accomplish. It was obviously unrealistic for the captain to try and bypass him to destroy the entire mast with a momentary burst of strength.
Remington remained silent. He opened his mouth and spat out a gust of wind, obscuring Joseph’s vision. Seizing this opportunity, he abandoned the saber and took out a strangely shaped conch from his pocket.
The power of “Leader of the Raging Tides” could only be effective within the sea. Restricted by the duel’s rules, Remington couldn’t leave the ship and thus couldn’t come into contact with the sea. But this did not mean the sea couldn’t reach him.
The captain blew the conch. Instantly, the sky and ocean seemed to reverse. The conch summoned a colossal wave that crashed towards the ship as if the sky itself were falling. Such a wave, once it struck, would likely shatter the entire ship in an instant.
Joseph’s expression changed. He never expected Remington to resort to such a “mutual destruction” tactic. The man was simply mad. Even if destroying the entire ship would grant him victory in the duel, how could such a method threaten him, a Phase Five Thirsty One?
But when the wave, as vast as the horizon, descended and passed over Joseph’s head, he suddenly realized it was an illusion; it was fake!
The next moment, with a dizzying spin, Joseph found himself lying on the deck, surrounded by splintered wood fragments and the wreckage of the main mast.
“I won, Joseph,” Captain Remington walked towards him slowly, his steps steady and powerful, “according to your words.”
He had used the illusion conjured by the conch to deceive both himself and Joseph. Then, while Joseph was distracted, he utilized the “Leader of the Raging Tides” ability triggered by the false wave, unleashing an incredibly powerful strike that sent Joseph flying. The cost was also severe; the main mast was permanently destroyed.
“No, Remington. Victory and defeat have always been decided by me.”
Joseph stood up again, his face somber. He snapped his fingers lightly.
Then, countless flesh vines erupted from Remington’s body, tightly entangling him and beginning to grow, feeding on his flesh. These were parasites that Joseph had implanted in Remington from the very beginning.
“From the start, I never intended to let you go,” Joseph grinned, but there was no mirth in his eyes. “After all, I am a pirate. Scumbags like us don’t talk about following rules.”
Chapter 197 Broken Blade
The flesh vines grew wildly within Remington. The captain’s pupils contracted, his face contorted in pain, yet he remained silent.
More people gradually emerged from the ship’s cabin, drawn by the commotion when the ship was lifted by the flesh monster’s hand. Among them were Princess Victoria, crew members, and passengers, as well as Fu Qingyan and others.
Except for Victoria, everyone else was startled by the ship’s current state and Captain Remington, whose body was torn and riddled with flesh vines.
Most of these were ordinary people. They had never witnessed a battle between Transcendent beings, let alone conceived of their existence. Seeing such a scene now, they were naturally terrified and bewildered. Some of the more timid passengers collapsed to the ground, weeping loudly.
“Quiet!”
Joseph roared without warning. His hoarse, sharp voice whipped up a gale, tearing through both the sails and the ropes, and silencing everyone on the deck.
“Alright, Remington, Captain. Since you lost, according to our prior agreement, before I kill you, I will crush these ants one by one. Be grateful for my magnanimity!” Joseph shook his head and burst into wild laughter, the flesh on his face twitching as he extended several tendril-like appendages.
If this guy continued to act so erratically, everyone on the ship would likely meet their end. Players like her could resurrect after death, but most of the others were living beings; death meant finality.
Li Wen tugged at her cloak, gripping her dagger, ready for battle. Remington had been introduced by Selwin. Perhaps he had a way to contact him remotely. If he was being clever, he likely would have done so when he confirmed Joseph’s disguise as a Navy officer to board the ship.
So, the only thing left to do was stall for time. The only ones on board capable of fighting were likely herself and Moria. The lives on this ship rested in their hands.
At that moment, Moria slowly stepped forward, the hem of his priestly robes unmoving in the salty sea breeze. He calmly gazed at Joseph amidst the wreckage of the main mast, his eyes deep and placid, as if able to penetrate Joseph’s frantic and cunning gaze and reach the depths of his soul.
“Given that you didn’t immediately attack the others on the ship,” the young priest’s voice was as light as if discussing the weather, yet it instilled a sense of reassurance, “I will give you an opportunity.”
This statement caused Joseph to pause. He tilted his head, his bloodshot pupils spinning wildly, as if still pondering the meaning of Moria’s words.
After a long while, while others dared not even breathe loudly, Joseph finally looked at Moria, staring intently at the priest.
“You’re talking about an opportunity? Heh… haha!” Joseph burst into laughter, his eyes filled with disdain. “What opportunity can you, a damned lapdog of the Holy See, give me? Don’t tell me you’re trying to make me submit to the Holy See’s tyranny? You idiots with your heads full of doctrine can only do something like this.”
Moria shook his head, his tone still calm. “I am not asking you to submit to me, or to bow to anyone. I am merely saying that if you can withstand one sword strike from me, I will let you go and allow you to leave.”
The deck fell silent abruptly. Joseph’s facial muscles twitched, and he erupted into a fit of frenzied laughter, “With your…” His laughter abruptly ceased, his face contorted into a ferocious scowl, “I will rip out your bones one by one and make wind chimes! I will torture you to death, then turn you into a flesh puppet, and command you to slaughter those lapdogs of Glor!”
Before he finished speaking, his expression eerily softened, as if he had become another person. He then spoke with a playful smile, “However… I have also long wanted to test the abilities of the Holy See. It is said that you are Glor’s most loyal and strongest servants, those closest to the light. Then come, let me see just how capable Glor’s lapdogs are!”
By the end, he almost spat out the words, gritting his teeth, with a sinister growl.
Moria ignored the man’s mad ramblings. He simply bent down and picked up the broken blade. Although Joseph’s naval identity was a pretense, the weapon in his hand was indeed a standard Royal Navy officer’s saber, uniformly forged by highly skilled dwarven blacksmiths and enchanted by Archmages, possessing both sharpness and durability. Even after the fierce battle between the two Transcendent beings, Joseph and Remington, apart from being intentionally broken by Remington, it showed no other significant signs of damage.
However, it could only go so far, Moria thought.
The broken blade glowed faintly in his hand. The light, initially soft like the dawn, instantly became blinding. Li Wen had to squint her eyes. She saw the light from the entire sea area collapsing towards the broken blade. The shadows on the deck distorted at a visible speed, as if all the light in the world had been drawn to this point.
“I will serve Your glory on earth,” he murmured softly.
The next moment, darkness enveloped the sea area, with only the broken blade in Moria’s hand emitting a brilliant, utterly pure radiance.
Joseph’s eyes suddenly widened, his smile frozen on his face. His crimson pupils contracted violently, his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, and his previous arrogant demeanor vanished. As Moria slowly raised the broken blade, the infamous pirate staggered back half a step, the rotten planks beneath his feet groaning under the unbearable weight.
He would die… he would absolutely die! Even if Roberts and all his subordinates were here, they would have no chance of withstanding this strike!
“No…” Joseph’s voice trembled with unprecedented fear. He suddenly tore open his chest, his bloody palm reaching into his abdomen and forcibly ripping out the Twin-tailed Mermaid statue. The scales on the statue shone with an eerie blue light under the strong illumination, and he used it as a shield before him.
The broken blade descended.
There was no earth-shattering sound, no dazzling display of light and shadow. Li Wen only saw an arc of pure light sweep through the air, and Joseph’s body was suddenly split in two along the centerline. His astonished expression remained frozen on his face, but the statue in his hand had turned into falling blue powder, carried away by the sea breeze and scattered among the waves.
The two halves of his body slowly slid down, the cut as smooth as a mirror. No blood gushed out because all the flesh and blood had been vaporized the moment it came into contact with the blade of light. It was only when the “corpse” hit the deck that everyone heard a long, drawn-out hum, as if originating from an extremely distant point—like the vibration of some ancient existence finally reaching the mortal realm.
Moria released his fingers. The broken blade had vaporized in the extreme heat and light. Only the hilt fell onto the deck with a crisp sound.
The flesh monster hand holding up the “Adventurer” began to rot slowly, no longer able to support the massive merchant ship. Amidst violent shaking and splashing waves, the ship once again made contact with the sea surface. The waves were unpredictable, but everyone felt a sense of relief.
The flesh vines that had pierced Remington also vanished. The captain was covered in injuries, but thankfully, they were not life-threatening for a Phase Four Transcendent.
“He’s… dead?” the captain wiped the blood from his lips, sounding disbelieving.
Moria simply shook his head slightly. “He ran away.” His gaze swept afar, spotting a Kingdom Navy warship in the far distance. At this moment, that warship was shedding its steel exterior, revealing its rotten, decaying interior. A black skull flag fluttered proudly in the strong wind before slowly disappearing into the thick fog.
“That’s Roberts’ warship—the ‘Mist Devourer.’ But I heard it was sunk by the Xiderians thirty years ago, reduced to insignificant debris threatening the endless sea.”
Captain Remington also saw the ship disappearing into the fog, and his expression immediately turned extremely grim.
“They wouldn’t dare linger here. Calming down the others can only be entrusted to you, Captain,” Moria said. After receiving the captain’s reply of “Absolutely no problem,” he turned and walked towards the ship’s cabin.
Li Wen also quietly followed him in. She knew that this young priest was affected by an unknown curse, preventing him from using Glor’s divine abilities and powers. Could it be that the curse had been lifted?
Before she could ask, Moria swayed and leaned back, coincidentally caught by her. The timing was so opportune that Li Wen almost thought he had done it on purpose.
But looking at the pale-faced Eldest Son of the Holy See lying in her arms with his eyes closed, she could only sigh helplessly.
“Only a crazy lunatic like Joseph Vilburad, who is both manic and cowardly, would be scared away by your bluff. If even one person onboard was stubborn enough to not believe you, you would have been the one to die.”
