King of Blood

"One more thing, Captain, have you decided on your title?"

Anderson asked.

Joking aside, he knew in his heart how valuable the Card of Blasphemy was, and Gascoigne would not easily hand it over to him. He tried hard to control his restless heart, lest he become Lamb being Grazing instead of a first mate.

At least the formula for "Iron-Blooded Knight" is now available.

He tried to think positively.

"Title?"

"Yes, if you're going to be a pirate, you can't do without a resounding title."

Anderson said, "You're Demigod, the title of general doesn't do you justice. You're starting as a king of the seas. You'd better come up with a powerful name that will instill fear in others."

He was truly dedicated; after becoming a pirate, he immediately shifted his mindset, enthusiastically introducing Luther to the four kings: the King of Immortality, the Queen Mystic, the King of the Five Seas, and... well, their titles resound throughout the Five Seas; they all sound like powerful figures. Since we've openly defied the Royal Family, we can't afford to lose to them in this regard!

You forgot the King of the Black Throne.

Luther thought to himself, then nodded.

Indeed, as he said, it's time to give himself a title.

What should I name it?

He pondered for a moment, then looked down at his blood-red robe. "Let's keep it simple then, how about... the King of Blood?"

Since his codename had already been decided by the public as "[Blood Bishop]," he might as well stick with that image. The more he thought about it, the better he felt the name was, and in the end, he decided, "Let's call him King of Blood."

"King of Blood? What a great name, perfect for you, Captain!"

Anderson immediately praised him, though it was unclear whether it was genuine or just flattery because of the "Card of Blasphemy," "From today onwards, our pirate crew is subordinate to the King of Blood! Hmm... if it's the King of Blood, then the current ship's paint scheme isn't quite right. We need to change the sails to blood red, and as for the specific design..."

As he pondered, he excitedly ran out of the Captain's Cabin and began calling to the Sailor to find paint, seemingly intending to redesign the sails to match the pirate crew's name.

Not long after, the Captain's Cabin shook, presumably because it was turning to go to Oravi Island.

"Bang!"

With a loud crash, the Sailor on deck gasped as Anderson, who had just climbed onto the sail, collided with the comb rod. He was mostly unharmed and instead cursed the helmsman with a booming voice. The helmsman, a former naval officer, was not to be outdone and returned the curse in a hoarse voice.

"You bastard, do you want to kill me?!"

"You're the bastard! What kind of first mate climbs onto the sail like that!"

"Hahaha! Well said!"

The Sailor below continued to jeering and laugh rudely.

"I really enjoy messing around..."

Luther shook his head.

In this atmosphere, he had lost all interest in reading those Mythological Era classics. Medici wasn't cooperating either, shrinking into a corner and remaining silent. He took out his pocket watch and glanced at it; it was almost two o'clock. Today was Monday, and a new week of Tarot Club about to begin.

So he told others not to disturb him, and then closed the door to the Captain's Cabin's cabin.

Several days had passed since the battle on Toscarter Island, and he had not yet sorted out the spoils of that battle.

Luther pulled a peculiar object from his pocket.

This object was surrounded by Wall of Spirituality, about the size of a fist, and shaped like a heart, but covered with grayish-white wrinkles, like a brain. On each wrinkle were many strange symbols and patterns. These symbols and patterns overlapped and extended, connecting with the surrounding environment, as if communicating with some unseen world.

Spectator Pathway Sequence 4, the Beyonder Characteristic of the "Manipulator"!

This was the most valuable item Luther obtained after that battle, extracted from the dead [Gluttony].

Luther frowned as he looked at this Beyonder Characteristic.

At first, he tried to Grazing [Gluttony], but he sensed the danger involved. Something was secretly pushing him, making [Gluttony] come to him and become his Lamb —so not Grazing was the best choice.

Was something added to it?

Luther examined the "heart" carefully, but couldn't discern anything unusual.

He wondered if the mark would remain if it were made into Beyonder Item... He thought to himself as he retrieved the item with its Beyonder Characteristic.

As for other gains, they are insignificant in comparison.

Luther glanced down at the corner of the room. There were two boxes piled up there, filled with Coin, gold jewelry, cash, drafts, and the like. These had previously belonged to the chief affairs officer of Toscarter Island and the [Gluttony] merchant guild, but Luther had now taken them all. Half of them were given to Luther and scattered among Anderson locals, while the rest he hauled onto the ship.

As for the total price, he hasn't estimated it yet. He estimates it will be more than he has in cash.

"Hoo-"

A soft cushion was placed on top of the two boxes, Luna the black cat was comfortably lying on it, yawning. For some reason, she insisted on staying on these two boxes.

Luther looked away.

Besides visiting Oravi Island, what else is there to do?

First and foremost, the most important thing is the Acting of the "Black Knight".

How should this Pathway Acting? The name of the Potion simply matches the color with the profession. But if we connect it to the newly added Beyonder Ability, perhaps there will be clues.

Black is the black of Degeneration. A knight is one who protects and fights.

The Black Knight is someone who guards against Degeneration fights to spread it.

This is Luther's current basic understanding. In fact, he has made some basic attempts. For example, he corrupted the shadows of the pirates in the port, turning them into Degeneration ones. The Potion also responded accordingly, digesting some of it.

It's probably because the pirates are mostly ordinary people or Low Sequence, so the assimilation process isn't very noticeable. If he could Degeneration a king of the sea or several Pirate Admiral, the assimilation process might be greatly accelerated.

Pirate Admiral... Oh right, Lieutenant General Tracy with Vice Admiral of Ailment!

That guy seems to be part of the Demoness Sect. On the way to Oravi Island, maybe we could inquire about her whereabouts, kill her, and use her Grazing to find clues about the Demoness.

Those guys still owe me many lives.

Luther's expression turned slightly cold.

In addition, there is the key to the "Black Throne," and that Ghost Ship from the Solomon Empire is certainly more suitable as his Flagship; at this moment, the "Doe" is only temporary.

Luther continued to ponder this until nearly Three o'clock in the afternoon, when he summoned M, who created Virtual Personality for him, and he ascended onto the Above the Gray Fog.