We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 113 Arrival in the Steam City—[The Rusty Ruins!]

"A fairly good little talent."

"It's not very useful at the moment, but once the talent quality is improved, the effect should be quite remarkable."

After reading "The Majesty of the Bronze Dragon," Shane analyzed to himself.

Then, he opened the crew panel of the String Song.

Crew Member: String Song Maya (Already Bound)

Race: Bronze Dragon

Rank: One

[Talents: The majesty of a bronze dragon; resistance to contamination; keen senses; extensive knowledge...]

[Skills: Taunt; Melee; Dragon Language Magic...]

[Description: A newly hatched dragon believes it will eventually possess the power to overthrow the world.]

However, times have changed, and even the powerful ancient dragon colonies have perished.

As the last bronze dragon in the world, it was destined to one day face reality.

"That bronze crown, long since rusted, can only be reborn through the tempering of blood and fire."

"……Um?"

Xia En looked at the contents of the panel with a strange expression.

He discovered that the String Song did not have a [Secret Path Profession] field; instead, it had a [Rank] field.

This may indicate that the growth path of a Bronze Dragon is a different advancement path from that of other classes in the Mystic Path.

Think about it carefully.

The ranks of those who follow secret paths are actually determined by human beings, or rather, by mortals.

For those beings who are born sacred, they are born at a higher level, so how could they know what the concepts of first-order and second-order are?
As for the talent and skills of the stringed instrument...

The attributes of "learned" and "resistant to pollution" are quite normal and are mostly racial abilities.

But what exactly is this "provocation"?

So your ability to dance in minefields is considered a skill, huh?
You must attack the minion with the taunt ability?
Another thing that caught Xia En's attention was the text in the description.

"A bronze crown?"

Is this a metaphor?

"Moreover, a race as powerful as the Bronze Dragons has only one remaining: String Song?"

This kind of thing is actually quite unbelievable.

Even humans and vampires were able to survive the great flood through various means, so there's no reason why the more powerful ancient dragons would become extinct as a result.

unless……

There are other reasons that led to the demise of the ancient dragons!

Thinking again about the "mute" curse in the elven bloodline, Shane vaguely glimpsed a few unclear remnants from the mists of history.

As for the "bronze crown" theory, Xia En only thought about it casually before giving it no further thought.

By now, he has gotten somewhat used to the "Riddler" description that occasionally pops up on the panel.

The weather is clear tonight, and the stars are exceptionally bright.

Xia En held the nautical chart, comparing it with the course and route, and thought to himself.

"If nothing unexpected happens, at this speed, we should be able to reach the sea area where the [Rusty Ruins] is located in another three days."

……

……

Perhaps the law of conservation of luck came into play.

Having already weathered one storm, the Black Swan encountered few obstacles and reached its destination.

Of course, we also encountered a small accident along the way.

For example, encountering a pirate ship, bumping into a few mutated sea monsters, or catching some weird things while fishing.

But for Xia En now, none of this is a big problem.

They ate the sea monsters they bumped into as barbecue.

The strange trophies caught by the fish were piled up deep in the ship's hold as souvenirs, and with the keel and cannons watching over them, they obviously dared not cause any trouble.

As for that pirate ship?
Upon seeing the Black Swan, instead of attacking it, it turned and ran without hesitation!

After all, with Shane and Faia together, the bounty on the Black Swan has already reached 500 gold dragon coins!
And how could ordinary pirates dare to provoke them?

No matter how good the money is, you need to be alive to get it!

This left Xia En feeling rather regretful, as he felt he had missed out on a way to make money.

Meanwhile, the Black Swan was heading towards the Rusty Wasteland.

Xia En could also clearly feel that the concentration of secret energy contained in the seawater had increased, and the strength of the sea beasts in the seawater had also become stronger.

The reason is not hard to guess.

Previously, the sea areas where Duke Island, Silvermoon Island, and even Coral City were located were essentially considered "nearshore." In this world, "nearshore" doesn't refer to distance from the mainland—this place doesn't even have a complete continent, so how can it be considered near or far?
The term "near" here refers to proximity in the time dimension.

That is, the sea areas that were submerged later and appeared later.

Even if sea levels rise rapidly, cities and continents will be submerged in a certain order, with more inland cities obviously being swallowed by the sea later.

The sea area where the Rusty Ruins are located has begun to enter the "open sea" territory.

In the open ocean, the water is much deeper than in the near sea.

The concentration of mystical energy within the water increases with depth, naturally giving rise to more terrifying and powerful mutated sea beasts, and possibly even indescribable, enormous sea monsters.

For small ships and sailors, the open sea was an absolute no-go zone!

At this moment.

On the deck, Shane looked around.

On the gently rippling sea, there were metal spires that looked like black swords.

Some of them are far apart, while others are close together.

Like solemn and silent tombstones, they silently watch over every visiting ship.

Seeing this, Xia En was certain that he had arrived at the former steam city—the Rusty Ruins!

"Is this the legendary Dark Forest of Steles?"

Faia stood beside Shane, gazing in amazement at the spire on the sea.

The fact that these spires can still pierce the surface of the sea, given its depth, speaks volumes about their towering height.

It's hard to imagine how people from previous civilizations managed to build these steel spires.

"It is indeed spectacular."

"No wonder some followers of the Steam Church say that this place is a miracle of the God of Steam and Steel."

"However... most ships would be on edge just sailing on this sea, wouldn't they?"

Upon hearing Fei Ya's words, Joey nodded.

"It is said that every year, countless salvage ships are pierced by spires in the Rusty City."

It is obvious that, in addition to these towers that pierce the sea, there are a considerable number of spires hidden underwater.

If a passing ship is not careful, it will be pierced by the spire and sink.

Even Shane, while sailing here, couldn't help but slow down the speed of the Black Swan and proceed cautiously.

"Hmph, the captain who sinks here is nothing but a small fry."

The young dragon, Xiange, flapped its wings twice and arrogantly declared, "You don't even deserve to be my servant!"

Xia En glanced at it silently.

Xuan Ge's body trembled slightly, and he quickly said, "Ahem, of course, my captain is not that kind of lowlife!"

"How could a mere dark forest of steles possibly stump Captain Xia En?"

"but……"

Xian Ge changed the subject, a thoughtful glint in her eyes: "Those spires don't seem to be just decorative structures?"

Upon hearing this, Xia En's heart stirred slightly.

In the few days we've spent together, this bronze dragon is a bit arrogant, but its eyesight is indeed far beyond that of ordinary people, and it has an exceptionally keen perception of secret power.

However, even if these black spires are strange, Shane will not change his plans.

He first dropped the anchor to secure the Black Swan in place, preventing it from colliding with the black spire while drifting.

Then, several crew members were left on standby on the ship.

This is, after all, the first exploration of the [Rusty Ruins], so it's best to let the projected body go and scout ahead first.

Soon, Shane returned to the captain's cabin.

Open the panel.

"Begin submersible flight!"

……

……

My vision was plunged into a brief but familiar darkness.

The feeling of falling kept coming.

However, this time it was different from the previous underwater mission.

As it descended, a low, muffled rumble reached Xia En's ears.

He was familiar with the voice; it was the whisper of the steam core.

But at this moment, the sounds seemed too dense and too noisy, as if they were screaming in pain, chanting a lament that ordinary people could not understand.

Then, Xia En opened his eyes.

A magnificent steel city came into view.

(End of this chapter)