Chapter 163 - - 163 Wise Men Spread Rumors_1

—————✧✧✧✧—————

Laurent Swann was the King of the North Sea, and having operated in the North Sea for many years, his influence was extensive and deeply rooted, with many people dependent on him for a living.

Therefore,

even though Duge seized his Ocean Horn and killed him by surprise, he did not truly subdue Laurent Swann’s North Sea fleet.

It was like when a boss went out, and a little thug stabbed him unexpectedly and took the weapon he was carrying. The thug held up the boss’s weapon and declared to everyone that from now on, he was the boss.

Then, the underlings of the boss all scrambled to submit to him—that was completely unrealistic.

Even though the Sea Beast Enke temporarily intimidated the followers who accompanied Laurent Swann, the pirates still had their own thoughts and plans.

Relying on a Sea Beast like Enke was not enough to become the King of the North Sea.

Paul was too young, and he couldn’t get the numerous pirates to trust him.

It was not a problem that he let Antonio go.

After all, he had just killed Laurent Swann and needed time to integrate the fleet of the King of the North Sea; continuing the conflict with Antonio would not be wise.

But the mistake lay in the fact that Paul should not have proclaimed his intention to ally with the navy to attack Mahamadu before he had truly won over the territory of the King of the North Sea…

It seemed impulsive and extremely naive.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t cooperate with the navy.

The King of the Four Seas had often cooperated with the royal navy for the sake of profit, but all these were done privately.

Paul, by displaying it openly, was setting himself against all pirates and violating a major taboo among them.

Moreover,

when Laurent Swann’s subordinates heard from the pirates of Herd Island,

that Paul had created a pink pirate flag, forcing the crew to wear pink skirts and dance during battles, and adding suffixes related to sea fish to their names, they felt even less secure.

A monarch of a doomed nation would do something like that…

…

Duge, of course, knew what the pirates were thinking, but he didn’t care; after all, this was a simulation, and no matter how well he managed, nothing would remain.

Having skills was enough.

In dealing with Laurent Swann’s subordinates, Duge clearly lacked patience.

Riding the Sea Beast Enke, he went around once, and everyone’s name ended up with a suffix related to sea fish.

The Sea Beast Enke carried a lot of clouts.

Duge tirelessly and pleasantly high-fived with each person whose name had been changed.

That meant, the crew of each ship lined up and each stretched out a hand, and he rushed past them at swift speed, high-fiving everyone.

With a hundred ships, even if there were one hundred and fifty people on each, it didn’t take long to go through them all.

In the eyes of most people, Duge seemed like a madman, but he enjoyed it.

After all, touching a fish added to his strength, and every little bit counted, as meager as it might be.

Among the more than ten thousand people, there were bound to be examinees hidden.

Duge couldn’t be bothered to differentiate them.

When they could no longer hide, those individuals would naturally come forward.

The previous two simulations had already proven those lurking examinees, most of whom didn’t achieve much, and moreover, they had become his possessions, unknowingly influenced by him.

After being touched by Duge, Laurent Swann’s followers still plotted in secret, but none took the initiative to leave.

Duge’s speed during the high-fiving had been too fast; they recognized Paul’s superhuman strength, and seeing the Sea Beast circling close by, they decided to observe a bit longer.

…

In the following days, Duge did not leave Herd Island but sent out spies to spread information far and wide.

“Paul Wolfs has slain Laurent Swann, controlled the Sea Beast Enke, defeated Antonio, and averted the crisis of Herd Island.”

“Paul Wolfs has crowned himself the King of the North Sea and is soon to set out for Mahamadu to avenge the witch He Ya.”

“Finding the Sea God Scepter requires the golden Compass, finding the Compass requires the Destiny Sea Map.”

“Mahamadu possesses a fragment of the Destiny Sea Map.”

“Admiral Mikaro holds a portion of the Destiny Sea Map.”

“The Sea Demon Selma offers a substantial reward for bearing her child…”

“King of the South Sea Safra Kaniel is suspected to be under the control of a ghost…”

“Paul Wolfs has posted a reward; a fragment of the Destiny Sea Map can be exchanged for 200,000 Gold Coins on Herd Island.”

“The Fish Era is approaching, it is said that adding a sea fish suffix to one’s name can increase one’s luck…”

“King of the South Sea Safra is offering a reward; a piece of the Destiny Sea Map can be exchanged for 300,000 Gold Coins on Phoenix Tail Island…”

“King of the Western Sea Jon Ludi is offering a bounty; a piece of the Destiny Sea Map can be exchanged for 310,000 Gold Coins on Wanghai Island…”

“King of the East Sea Mahamadu is offering a reward; a fragment of the Destiny Sea Map can be exchanged for 350,000 Gold Coins on Xiushan Island…”

“Amy Swan announced her succession as the King of the North Sea, calling for the return of her old subordinates who had ventured to Herd Island, gathering pirates to join the North Sea, and declaring her intent to avenge Laurent Swann,”

“Amy Swan issued a bounty, one Destiny Sea Map could be exchanged for 300,000 Gold Coins on Green Island.”

“Amy Swan was seeking information on Selma, with a reward of 500 Gold Coins for any useful tip…”

“Admiral Mikaro announced the cancellation of the bounty on Paul Wolfs,”

“The Dufei family has retracted the bounty on Paul Wolfs,”

“The royal navy has issued a bounty, one Destiny Sea Map could be exchanged for 300,000 Gold Coins at Silver Mountain Port,”

…

Slowly waiting for the news to ferment, there’s none faster than actively spreading rumors.

In the days following the spread of the incident at Herd Island, a barrage of explosive news flew everywhere - some stirred up by Duge, some by others.

The pirate circle was livelier than ever before, crazier even than when the news to find the Sea God Scepter was spread.

After all.

The Sea God Scepter is too ethereal, and any pirate with a bit of self-awareness wouldn’t bother looking for it. With that effort, it would be better to honestly rob a few merchant ships!

Even if one stumbled upon it by sheer luck, it wasn’t certain they could keep it.

But the Destiny Sea Map was different.

One Destiny Sea Map meant at least 300,000 Gold Coins - how many years could they plunder for that amount?

The most crucial aspect was Selma’s hefty reward for a child.

This was the accumulation of Selma’s lifetime wealth - just find her, fire one shot, and the fortune would be in hand.

This deal was the dream every man longed for in their sleep.

No one didn’t want to give it a try.

…

Sea Beast Enke, Selma, the Fish Era, examinee, keyword, skills, attributes…

On a board hung up, densely packed with writing, an arrow was drawn from each term, all pointing towards the central name - Paul Wolfs.

The grey-haired Admiral Mikaro pointed his map stick towards the word “examinee”: “This is the core of the problem.”

Upon saying this,

he turned his head back to look at the several generals in the conference room, “A few days ago, the marshal captured a special person from the navy. He incited a group of 50 navy members to desert, and he succeeded. He escaped to a remote small town, killed the town’s governor, and declared the town’s taxes abolished…

After the Intelligence Department apprehended him, they obtained the same information from his lips.

Examinees are a group of people who don’t belong to this world. They have acquired the right to exist here by parasitism, and each of them has a keyword item. Through the keyword, they can grow very quickly.”

The individual previously captured by the Intelligence Department had a keyword called ‘Freedom’. To catch him, we lost more than sixty navy members.

Clearly, they pose a far greater threat than pirates.

The information revealed by Black Magic Hand before his death also proved this point, so, I suspect this Paul Wolfs has already been possessed by an examinee. We will discuss his keyword later.

Today, I have called you here for one main purpose: to administer a test within the navy, a test about healing power, to find the hidden examinees within our forces, and then to eliminate them. We must ensure the purity of the royal navy, starting from the top brass…"

As soon as he finished speaking,

everyone suddenly felt a heaviness in their bodies.

And then,

several steel rings shot out of their chairs, restraining everyone to their seats.

The conference room’s door opened.

More than a dozen soldiers with long guns charged into the conference room, standing behind Admiral Mikaro, their rifles aimed at everyone’s heads.

Facing the astonished crowd, Admiral Mikaro smiled faintly, “Don’t worry, I have just activated the Ring of Gravity. The Ring of Gravity will make your movements ten times more difficult than usual. This is an unavoidable precaution, and I hope you all don’t mind. If the verification shows you’re not examinees, naturally, you’ll all be let go.”

Antonio’s brow twitched significantly, and his hands hidden under the table clutched together tightly.

As he watched the surgeon approach the first general with a scalpel, Antonio tried to lift his arm, found it unbearably heavy, and then, gritting his teeth, made a decision: “Admiral Mikaro, there’s no need to check, I am a possessed examinee. My keyword is ‘command’ >-”

Crash!

All guns were directly aimed at Antonio.

The other generals strained to turn their heads, looking at Antonio with disbelief.

“Don’t be rash,” a fine sheen of sweat formed on Antonio’s forehead as he looked at Admiral Mikaro, forcing out an ugly smile, “Admiral Mikaro, the presence of examinees isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Once the Sea God Scepter appears, all of us will leave and will no longer pose a greater threat to the world. On the contrary, if used properly, an examinee’s abilities can easily eradicate the pirates of the entire world. Paul is a good example…”

He had no other choice.

If his attributes were low, not using the keyword to heal might have kept it secret.

But ‘command’ fit Antonio’s identity too perfectly, and he had just led a great battle, causing a shock that reverberated across the world, now ranking third in the simulation arena, with very high attributes. The natural healing rate was already faster than others, which would be immediately exposed with just one test; impossible to hide.

Who would have known about the Ring of Gravity, reducing movement speed tenfold?

Without it,

he would’ve already surged forth, holding Admiral Mikaro hostage and seizing power.

✦ ✧ ✦ ✧ ✦