Chapter 133 - - 133 Seeking a Son with a Heavy Reward (To the Alliance Hierarch He Yibi, Unrecorded in the Annals of History)_1

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In such a chaotic world, happiness is clearly not a keyword that lends itself well to expansion.

Five days had passed, and Duge still had not advanced to his second skill, possessing only the "Don't hit a smiling person" ability.

Aside from making others feel better, that skill had no special effects; when he smiled, if someone intended to strike him, they would still do so.

Muddy Water Touch Fish had not advanced to a second skill either.

It must be said,

the skills derived from keywords really follow no discernible pattern.

...

Upon entering the town, everyone split up to carry out their tasks.

Chef William went to purchase food.

Piero, with a face full of reluctance, went to a tailor to order a new flag and emblem, and of course, to find a painter to rename the ship to that damned "Smiling Angel".

He complained all the way there, calling it a stupid name, and why not just change it to "Smiling Clownfish" instead!

...

Duge, accompanied by Barry and others, entered the only tavern in the town.

The tavern was always a place to gather the latest intelligence.

"Ryan, give us five barrels of beer and four roasted deer legs," Barry ordered without even looking up as soon as they entered, clearly a regular at this establishment.

Ryan, the tavern owner, appeared to be in his fifties and, seeing Barry and the others, directed his staff to fetch the drinks before jokingly taunting Barry, "Old guy, struck it rich, have you?"

Barry waved his hand dismissively, "Don't even mention it, we've been closed for business for over half a month. Without catching a big fish soon, I might not even afford your beer."

"I heard you went to search for the legendary Sea God Scepter, is that true?" Ryan asked as he wiped glasses, looking at Paul with a smile.

"That's right, but we've already abandoned that idea," Barry responded before Duge could speak, not wanting to reveal that his captain had lost his memory.

In his opinion, the deal with Selma was just too foolish.

Moreover, once word got out that Paul had become immortal, it would attract endless troubles for them.

"Smart decision," Ryan chuckled, "I heard that the routes to Herd Island are now swarming with pirates, everyone wants a piece of the action. Many can't even make it onto the island before getting killed. Bounty Hunters are also taking advantage of the chaos, making a fortune off the mayhem.

These few days, a new guy called 'Black Magic Hand' has risen; he alone took down five pirate crews the size of yours in a single day. He chopped up everyone into pieces, not sparing even the cooks. You're right not to go to Herd Island. Now's the time, with no other pirates intercepting merchant ships, you guys can make a killing..."

Black Magic Hand?

Duge's eyebrows twitched slightly. This guy couldn't possibly be a candidate, could he?

"That brutal?" Barry was taken aback, "And Mahamadu is just letting him slaughter pirates in his territory?"

"Mahamadu would love to catch him, but till now, no one has seen a shadow of him," Ryan said, "I only know he's called Black Magic Hand because he likes to arrange the chopped-up corpses into these words."

Fuck!

That confirms it!

This guy must definitely be a candidate; only a candidate would go to such lengths to make a name for themselves.

His keyword is either "slaughter" or "brutality".

In any simulation, such keywords are often the quickest to grow in the early stages.

And yet, in every scenario, there's always someone with such keywords, the slow killer paired with the first simulation, and that guy from the second simulation who came specifically to teach him a lesson with an awakened sense of slaughter. At that time, that guy was ranked eighth.

However, in the first two simulations, his attributes were pumped so high that those guys didn't even cause a ripple.

But this time, he had essentially been slacking for five days, while the killer had slaughtered the people on several ships.

Plus, the tavern owner's information must be outdated; who knows how many more people that guy has killed by now.

He would most likely lose if he encountered a killing spree.

Damn it!

“Ryan, any other news?” Duge asked.

Ryan looked at Duge, rubbed his hands together, smiled, but didn’t say a word.

Duge smiled, took out a Gold Coin from his pocket, and tossed it over.

Ryan caught it nimbly and pocketed it casually, whistled, and beamed, “Little Paul is getting more and more generous.”

At that moment.

The young bartender served everyone their beers.

Ryan, carrying a plate of sliced ham, walked out from behind the bar, set the plate down in front of Duge, pulled over a chair, sat down beside everyone, and lowered his voice, “I heard that Vice Admiral Antonio will deploy the navy to block the Herd Island sea route in three days—shutting the door to beat the dog, to completely annihilate the pirates inside.”

Barry was stunned, according to their speed of sailing, they would enter the Herd Island sea route in two days; this information couldn’t have come at a better time.

Ryan smiled and winked at them, “You’re not planning to go to Herd Island anyway, right?”

He paused, “Then this information isn’t worth a Gold Coin. Here’s another freebie, Admiral Camilo plans to form a new corps called the Bayonet Corps. It is said that the Bayonet plan will recruit only elites, who will disguise themselves as pirates and infiltrate the pirate groups from within, disintegrating them from the inside.”

“How did you come by such a secret plan?” Barry asked.

“I naturally have my channels of information,” Ryan said, smiling mysteriously.

“Ryan, I also have some news to share with you; I wonder if you’re interested?” Duge looked at Ryan and suddenly said.

“What news?” asked Ryan.

“To counteract Admiral Camilo’s Bayonet plan, Mahamadu decided to initiate an operation called Spearhead, to select outstanding pirates and send them into the navy to transmit intelligence outward,” Duge whispered, equally mysterious.

Isn’t it just an undercover operation?

As if nobody else knows how to play that game!

Duge was still harboring thoughts of Muddy Water Touch Fish, he now wished he had been the one to spread the news about the Sea God Scepter; if he had stirred these waters, imagine how high his attributes could soar if he fished in these muddied waters!

Barry’s brow twitched heavily, and he gave his captain a strange look.

“Really?” Ryan looked at Duge skeptically, “The Bayonet plan was decided only the night before last; Mahamadu shouldn’t be able to respond so quickly, plus, there’s no way you could have contacted Mahamadu given the direction you came from.”

“I heard it from the Sea Demon Selma,” Duge said earnestly.

“Sea Demon Selma?” Ryan’s eyes widened in shock, “You met Sea Demon Selma?”

“Ryan, keep it down,” Duge chided, “I traded for a powerful force from Selma.”

As he spoke.

He reached out and flexed the corner of the sturdy oak table.

A piece of the table corner was broken off as easily as if it were a block of tofu.

Ryan knew what Paul was like before; staring at the oak table now missing a piece, he was clearly stunned and took a while to come to his senses, “What did you give in return?”

“Ryan, that’s my secret,” Duge said with a smile, “If you give me back the Gold Coin, I can tell you another piece of information that’s even more important.”

The mention of the Sea Demon Selma left Ryan spellbound, and he reluctantly took out the Gold Coin Duge had just given him, “Little Paul, your news had better be worth this price, or you’ll never again taste Old Ryan’s gin.”

“Selma is at the end of her life, and she intends to find an excellent pirate to inherit her lineage,” Duge’s voice became even lower, “It is said that the man who can impregnate her will get all the treasures she has collected over the years.”

Pfft!

Barry spewed out the mouthful of beer he had just taken.

Ryan’s face turned red all at once, “Paul, that joke isn’t funny at all.”

“Have you seen Selma, or have I?” Duge looked at Ryan, speaking earnestly, “Even the Sea God can fall, let alone a Sea Demon? What Selma bears will be herself – that’s the Sea Demon’s inheritance. I saw it in a book on her table; could it be false?”

Seemingly recalling something, he leaned in closer to Ryan and warned seriously, “Ryan, you can tell others about Selma’s generous reward for a child, but you cannot reveal her weakness and the secret of her inheritance. Otherwise, if I’m pursued by Selma and become a ghost, I won’t let you off…”

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