Chapter 91. Kord's Return
With dark circles under his eyes, Kord shook his head vigorously and lamented, "No...They were all dead islands. I lost many of my men; what about you?"
Charles lifted his empty left sleeve in response. "The island I explored wasn't a resupply point either."
Exasperated, Kord's gaze shifted back to the nautical chart spread across the table. "Then, we are only left with these few islands. One of them surely houses the stairway to the Land of Light or an island that 'King' uses to replenish his supplies."
Standing by the side, Lily hopped on the chart and stomped her tiny feet on the furthest chain of islands. "Mr. Charles, do you think they might have a really, really huge ship, and they don't need to resupply before reaching these islands?"
Having a short fuse, Kord shoved Lily aside. "What would a mouse know? That's impossible."
He pointed at two islands that were far apart from each other.
"Look at the distance between these two islands. There's no existing steamship in our world capable of making such a long voyage. Not even the Royal Titans can travel this far. They must have a resupply point."
Lily's fur bristled noticeably in response to the way Kord treated her. After settling Lily's agitation, Charles passed a pen to Kord. "Enough of this talk. Let's choose our islands again. Same rules as before; you go first."
Kord drew crosses over the two islands that he had previously circled before he drew circles over another two new islands. He then returned the pen to Charles.
"Then what about this island?" Charles pointed at one of the islands that Kord had circled out in the previous round without a cross.
"There's something amiss about that island. My ship never came back. Let's leave these tough nuts for later and explore the easier islands first," Kord said.
Charles thought for a brief moment before he drew another circle on the uncrossed island.
Kord was stunned. He hadn't expected Charles would choose this island. Then, a smile surfaced on his wrinkled face. "Great, I admire Captain Charles' courage."
"Rewards are proportional to the risks involved. Moreover, places that are more dangerous are often more likely to contain valuable clues."
"It's decided then. Set off as soon as possible, and try not to die again."
With that, Kord stood up, wanting to leave. However, he was stopped by Charles, or rather, Richard.
"Wait, old man, do you have any more relics? Share some with me."
The islands they were set to explore would only become increasingly perilous. The more powerful his crew, the better their odds of survival on an island. If there was a sheep ready for shearing right beside him, why shouldn't he take advantage of it?
"I don't. My crew needs relics, too. If I gave them to you, what would they use?" Kord replied.
"Then do you Divine Light followers have any other ways to enhance one's strength apart from using relics?" Richard didn't really care about the method as long as it could improve their strength.
A look of hesitation appeared on Kord's face. Something seemed to be weighing down on his mind.
Richard leaned in with a playful smile and slung his right hand over Kord's shoulders.
"Come on~ You’re still holding back at this point? Don't forget that we're all in this together now. Increasing my strength is beneficial for both of us~"
Kord shook his head. "It's not because of that. The Divine Light Order does have a way to enhance a common person's strength. But there's a prerequisite: they must be a follower of the Sun God.
”If they undergo the ceremony as a non-believer, they would be consumed by the sacred fire."
Richard's persistence remained undeterred. "Is there really no other way?"
Kord fell into silence for a brief moment before he spoke again. "Your crew are all ordinary people, right? They haven't used anything else to enhance their strength, have they?"
"No," Richard confirmed.
"Alright, I remember having something on hand that might be useful to you and your crew. I'll bring it over to you."
A smug smile appeared on Richard's visage as he pridefully gloated to Charles in his head. "See that, bro? I know how to shear the sheep, don't I? If you don't take advantage of a situation, you're a loser~"
Before long, Charles caught sight of what Kord had fetched—a collection of bottles, each containing something that looked like a squirming egg yolk.
"Our order managed to bid this at the Sottom Auctions. Eating it would enhance an ordinary human's constitution. I lied that a cargo ship had gone missing and kept these for myself. My original plan was to sell them to get funding for future explorations. They are yours now."
"Are there any side effects?" Charles was slightly wary.
"They are not relics, so why would there be any side effects? If you don't believe me, you can ask around. Many seafarers have consumed this before."
Grabbing the great opportunity, Charles immediately instructed the mice to gather the Narwhale's crew. Each of them consumed the substance in the bottles. Even Lily and her mice managed to get a portion of it.
"Huff~! Huff huff~" With excitement shining in his eyes, Dipp raised his fists and swung them through the air. A noticeable wind could be felt.
Besides him, the other crew members tested their enhanced physiques. After experimenting around a few times, Conor turned to Charles with surprise and exclaimed, "Captain, this stuff really works! You should try it out, too."
Charles clenched his fist and struck the air.
Whoosh!
The sound generated from Charles' punch was different from the others. When he swung his fist, faint afterimages trailed before. Charles could even feel a slight heat gathering at his knuckles.
With the physical enhancements from 096 and the empowerment from the substance Kord gave, the overall strength of the Narwhale had risen by another level.
"Not bad. Merely hitting the Level 3 bar," Kord judged from the side.
"What determines the battle levels of a warship's crew?" Charles asked.
"It's not determined by anything specific. Rather, it's just a general standard among the various warships in the Subterranean Sea. If you want to advance in level, the fastest way is to kill someone of a higher level."
"What's the level of Sottom's 'King'?" Charles questioned immediately as the image of the corpulent figure emerged in his mind. He was the most powerful enemy Charles had faced to date.
Kord shook his head. "Hard to say. Under normal circumstances, his physical strength is at Level 4. However, he attained his status as 'King' by relying on other things."
Other things? Could it be referring to that little girl or his seeming immortality? If 'King's' physical ability is classified as Level 4, and I've defeated him once, does that place me at Level 4 as well? Charles wondered to himself.
The warship power ranking had intrigued Charles. Previously, he had only been concerned about exploration ships and hadn't paid much attention to the warship hierarchical system in the Subterranean Sea.
"Who is the strongest individual at sea now?" Charles asked.
"Governor Julio of the Cat Island in the Eastern Seas. His strength is rated to be Level 15. Rumors have been circulating that he alone can defeat a fleet of thousands."
Hearing Kord's reply, a question emerged in Charles' mind. He raised it up as well. "If he's so powerful, why isn't he exploring the islands?"
Kord looked at Charles' question with a strange twinkle in his eyes. "Why would he need to explore? Julio already possesses the largest island in the Subterranean Sea. Why would he court death? Besides, in terms of island exploration, he might be of a lower level than you and me."
Charles' thoughts quickly flashed to the different islands he had explored.
Indeed, as per Kord's words, physical strength was merely a relative advantage when measured against other humans.
In the face of the sea's enigmatic and bizarre creatures, mere physical power might not confer much of an edge.
"Don't concern yourself with those misguided fools. They are all ignorant mortals, driven by their desires like lowly creatures despite the meager strength they possess. Only by finding the Land of Light and stepping into the divine kingdom of the Sun God can we—humans—attain eternal serenity and bliss," Kord asserted.
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