Chapter 312: Chapter 271: The Secret: The Root of the Blood Madness Disaster
Byron spread his palm, and with a dazzling flash of lightning, a very tall, shadowy figure slowly emerged from behind him.
It was a blurry-faced, stout old man, who was clearly blind in his right eye.
Atop his head sat a golden bull-horned helmet, his body was clad in shining silver armor, and he was accompanied by two hunting dogs and two Ravens on each side.
Anyone slightly familiar with the myths of the North Bay Folks would recognize this distinctive image as belonging to Woden—the god of prophecy, Authority, and the Mad Hunt!
Of course, this was only how the ancient myths described him.
Since the beginning of the Silver Era, the only god in the world has been The Shackled Creator; no one had seen that Wild Hunt King since.
The shadowy figure handed over to Byron a long spear that flickered with lightning. The spear instantly became solid in his grasp.
The shaft of the spear seemed to be made of some sort of golden wood, while the spearhead was a translucent blue crystal, with strings of Runes etched on each side—one meaning "hunt," and the other "tame."
Byron inexplicably felt that, among all the transcendent knowledge he had mastered, even though he had never learned Rune, he could still instantly understand their meaning.
Is this the mythological spear of the Mad Hunt god, Woden—Gungnir?
Only now did he have the time to check the information about his new ability.
"According to legend, Woden, the god of prophecy, Authority, and the Mad Hunt, wields the spear called Gungnir, also known as Kungnir.
In the apocalyptic War that ended the Mythological Era, it was with this weapon that the God struck the first blow.
The Ancient Bay Dwellers’ custom in battle, where commanders would hurl their spears at the enemy before engaging, descended from him.
When Woden threw his spear, it would emit a Radiance that lit up the skies, which people on earth called ’Lightning,’ while another term for it was ’meteor.’
According to ancient myths and epics, a vow made to this spear was sure to be fulfilled.
That is the origin of why mortals throughout the Old Continent today make wishes upon shooting stars, believing their dreams will certainly come true.
The spear’s Power is rather pure and strong—’it will definitely hit the target once thrown’!
It is a Divine Spear that never misses, capable of striking anything it aims for, before automatically returning to its owner’s hand."
"One side is the Tame Gun: to be used exclusively on non-Human creatures, entering into the Spiritual World upon hitting the target, where only by overpowering the quarry with one’s own will can one truly subdue it.
If the target forcefully breaks free or conquers in reverse, it could potentially cause mental harm.
The more you tame, the heavier the burden—please act within your limits."
Byron felt that with this tool at his disposal, his title as Sea Hunter was finally well earned.
He had been relying on a group of frail sharks that had never broken through their racial limits. With no protectors to his left or right, no sentries fore or aft, nor a yellow hound on his left and a grey falcon on his right—how could he truly claim the title of Hunter?
The combat power of the Barnacle Crabs was ordinary, and the contract sea snails couldn’t achieve any precise coordination. Their main role was still that of transport regiment leader.
But this Tame Gun was different.
With it, one could completely subdue true Sea Monster guards that were truly loyal and could coordinate silently, allowing the Golden Deer’s combat power to double!
"The other side is the Hunt Gun: the Hunter’s own, with no limitations on the hunt—it could be humanoid, Demon Monster, or large beings.
Injecting the Spiritual Radiance attained after ascending to the Third Order. The more injected, the stronger the Power will be. When the spearhead is fully lit, it will trigger a one hundred percent piercing effect that ignores defense!
Note: Other external Spiritual Material (Blood of Transformation, Souls, etc.) can also be injected to achieve the same level of Power."
Even Byron, the master himself, could not help but narrow his pupils at the description of "one hundred percent piercing."
It seemed to already possess the effects of a conceptual weapon to some extent.
Furthermore, this ability was merely from the skill granted by the title; one could hardly imagine how powerful a true Gungnir would be.
Without a doubt, if a mythical Divine Artifact like ’Sure-hit Spear, Gungnir’ from the Mythological Era still existed, it would undoubtedly be one of the most powerful Zero-Level Sacred Relics in the world.
Even Byron and Violet, heirs from the Direct Lineage of the Bayfolk, had no knowledge of the whereabouts of that treasure.
Like the original manuscript of the Pirate Code, it had long been lost to the world.
At this moment, Byron had his long spear in hand. He would hunt Sea Monsters, treasures, merchant ships... and also his enemies. He had become the very embodiment of a true Sea Hunter.
After understanding his new abilities, he did not hesitate any further and bellowed in a low voice,
"Hunt Gun!"
The Crystal Spearhead lit up alongside the Runes that represented "hunting," as did Byron’s eyes.
The azure Storm Spirit Light coursed rapidly into the Sure-Hit Spear along his palm.
His current Spirituality was approximately 11.2, which was not too strong even among those at the Third Order. He had already expended quite a bit on a Fleet-level Storm Blessing earlier. Now, he only injected about 5 points of Spirituality in a single attempt.
The Crystal Spearhead was thus lit by one-fifth.
Looking at this, if I want to activate the piercing effect with my own strength, I’d need to be at least at the pinnacle of a Fifth-order Legend, with a Spirituality of 25 points.
Let’s try one shot first; if it doesn’t work, then I’ll fill it with Power from the Mad Hunt Legion and Blood of Transformation.
"Miss, help me lock onto the target."
Although the Sure-Hit Spear is unfailing, it still requires the ability to sense the target to be truly effective. This could be through sight, Spirituality, or other means.
If there is no guidance capability, even the strongest Power is wasted.
"Understood."
Violet crisply complied, immediately stepping beside Byron and grasping his left hand, their Spiritual Radiances being released simultaneously.
CRACK!
Their bodies trembled slightly as if electrified, and then their two Spiritual Radiances seamlessly merged without any obstruction, achieving sensory sharing.
This was something that could only be achieved by those with a deep soul connection, willing to entrust their lives to one another.
The two of them were already experts at this.
The Storm Admiral had extraordinary sensitivity to wind and atmosphere, while the reserve Calamity Witch was unmatched in sensing water and tides.
When their senses fused into one and amplified each other, they extended far out.
In a mere moment, the vast Sky Sea system, amidst a downpour of rain, became transparent in one direction for their eyes alone.
The sea breeze howled, waves layered upon each other, and the thick rain clouds above let out a RUMBLING roar...
Whenever they wished, they could know many things: the height of the clouds, the speed of the wind, the height of the waves in meters. They could determine the number of raindrops falling onto the Golden Deer at any given moment, and the number of fish in the nearby sea.
Even the flow of the water and the synchronized direction of the Source Tides were as clear as patterns in the palm of their hand.
Byron couldn’t afford to enjoy this combined sensory experience for long.
He immediately used the Witch’s perception to lock onto the underwater location of the May Wind.
This octopus Warship’s underwater speed was only 10 knots, barely faster than a Human sprint. In such a short span of time, it couldn’t have gone far.
It was currently 120 meters away, about eight meters under the water, continuing to swim towards Gornaf Island.
Byron crouched halfway, assuming the standard javelin throwing Posture.
After a slight buildup of Power and a step on the deck, a gust of wind suddenly rose as he threw the Gungnir in his hand with great force.
WHOOSH—!
This long spear seemed to really become like the meteors and Lightning of myth, flashing by in front of the two of them.
The thick seawater that could reduce the lethality of cannonballs was nonexistent in front of this spear, providing no obstruction whatsoever.
In the blink of an eye, the Gungnir, having pierced the water, reached the rear side of the May Wind, roughly at the position where a normal ship’s Captain’s quarters would be.
Spinning at high speed, driven by Byron’s Spirituality, it turned the surrounding water into a sharp drill bit that then viciously pierced through!
The newly formed Barnacle armor shattered instantly, and the drill forcibly opened a broad passageway straight to the Captain’s quarters.
It wasn’t until it reached its true target in the Captain’s quarters that it finally stopped. It clashed with a crab pincer that abruptly rose up, sending dazzling blue sparks flying.
It also finally allowed Byron and Violet to see the true face of the Tier 4 Hero Adventurer Balboa after his fall.
How ugly.
He still retained a Human shape, wearing a Castilian Captain’s uniform with a Captain’s hat on his head.
But his body had also grown many gray-white Barnacles, one hand had turned into a sea anemone, and the other into an iron-colored crab pincer.
His lower half had transformed into a clump of sticky, dark-purple octopus tentacles, looking exactly like a humanoid octopus.
Surprisingly, Violet discovered that the thoughts coming from Byron’s senses were completely different from her own; they seemed to be...
Want to eat, yummy, love to eat?
She thought she must have been mistaken.
And what was even more chilling,
Behind Balboa’s head sprouted a cord resembling an umbilical nerve bundle. It extended into the deck below, apparently connecting with another core of the flesh-and-blood Warship.
While he controlled the Warship, he also shared his own transcendent ability of infinite Evolution with it.
Even they both suspected, with the octopus’ three hearts and nine brains, which one between the ship and the man was truly his real body.
It was during that instant of seeing the Infinite Evolver,
The ink on the Sailing Logbook blurred, revealing a new Hidden: "The Source of the Raging Blood Plague, Historical Influence 38, Decryption Rate 21%".
The Decryption Rate of the Rebirth Prophecy also progressed from 33% to 35%.
Influence 38? That’s at least a whole Continent-level range of influence.
This Adventurer causes more trouble than I do.
The octopus Warship is just a minor issue; clearly, there is a bigger fish behind this.
This was a Hidden whose influence ranked second in the current Sailing Logbook’s list, just below the Rebirth Prophecy.
It was higher than the influence of "The Shadow Behind the Red and White Rose War".
In fact, with a bit of thought, this appeared normal. As long as this mystery was solved, it would mean unveiling the first veil of the New Continent.
It had a monumental significance for the entire Great Nautical Age.
As Byron’s thoughts raced, this Sure-Hit Spear finally ran out of Power in the struggle against the crab pincer, and with a flash, it returned to his hand.
Although it didn’t kill with one blow, the effect has surpassed expectations.
As the information displayed on the Sailing Logbook stated, as long as one’s Perception could lock onto the opponent’s location, it would hit with one hundred percent certainty. It would even automatically target the enemy’s vitals.
The opponent could only parry forcefully, unable to dodge or evade. Even if they fled to the ends of the earth, the spear would relentlessly pursue them, its Power undiminished.
But with only five points of Spirituality fueling the Hunt Gun, its destructive power was roughly equivalent to a close-range volley from a 32-pound cannon.
If a normal Human dared to block this spear with their body, they would unquestionably die on the spot.
But for monsters like the May Wind capable of infinite Evolution, it was slightly underwhelming.
Unless one continued to supply fuel, it would not achieve a decisive effect.
Thereupon, Byron unhesitatingly burned dozens of Undead Servants from the Mad Hunt Legion and half of the accumulated Blood of Transformation collected from those coral people.
He relit half of Gungnir’s Crystal Spearhead, nearly the full Spirituality of a Third Order at peak state.
Another earth-shattering throw ensued.
A thunderbolt struck the open sea. It was as if the Thunder God had hurled a spear of divine punishment from the clouds, slicing down once more through the hole opened the first time.
But this time, its target was no longer Balboa, but the floor beneath his feet.
BOOM—!
It was as if a high explosive had detonated, flipping over the Hero Adventurer who had set up a defensive Posture on the spot.
The lower gun deck, along with a giant heart covered with Barnacles on the surface and pulsating underneath the deck, burst open.
Countless bright blue blood was splattered across the flesh-and-blood cabins.
The octopus Warship finally suffered a critical hit. It was no longer able to land on the island to retaliate against the remnants. It sank mournfully, plummeting straight into the dark seafloor thousands of meters deep.
The wailing sounds lingered long in their ears.