Pirate Kingship.

Chapter 629: Eating for free: Now that things have come to this, let’s eat first
Clang——!
Joan of Arc drew the long sword from her waist, and countless red flames turned into fire snakes that meandered towards the entire sky in the twilight. The blazing flames instantly illuminated the dim sky again.

Even the blood moon in the sky with the face of Lilith, which quietly cast its gaze on the Night Demon Camp, seemed eclipsed.

"what--!"

"Run!"

The low- and medium-sequence Night Demons around seemed to have returned to the sunlight. They couldn’t help but scream, covered their eyes, and smoke came out of their bodies. They turned into countless bats and fled in all directions.

Joan of Arc ignored them and strode towards the "Grand Duke of Thorns Vlad III" opposite her with sword in hand.

With every step he took, a charred footprint was left on the ground, and his aura and heat grew stronger.

That year, Joan of Arc was captured by the people of Hettings.

Byron's great uncle, Richard VII, who had become the King of Iris with the help of Joan of Arc, did not spend money to redeem this national hero who enjoyed great reputation in the country.

The Inquisition, which received instructions from the Lancastrian royal family, eventually sentenced her to immediate execution at the stake for heresy and witchcraft.

But when Joan of Arc was betrayed by everyone, she did not betray her beliefs.

The last words are still:
“I have nothing to fear except treason, for God is with me!

For irises, I am ready to die!"

This was her unswerving obsession until her death.

At the moment of death in the fire, the holy light, flames, and spiritual glow together forged Joan of Arc's unshakable obsession into her own magic, the [Holy Sword of Red Lotus].

When she was activated as a piece of knowledge, she became a physical object along with it.

This holy sword does not have any fancy effects. It is just as pure and firm as she is, and it can purify the blazing flame of all filth and enemies!
It is not an exaggeration to call it the strongest fire magic in the Old World.

After the Night Demon Noble flew away, the flames that illuminated half of the sky suddenly bloomed and transformed into countless scorching red lotuses that caused the air to begin to distort.

It transformed into bright red streaks in the sky and launched a fierce bombardment at Byron.

Bella, Selina and a group of servants behind Byron retreated far away when they saw the situation was not good, leaving the battlefield to the two false gods.

“The momentum is good, exactly as described in the legend.

Although both of them have activated knowledge, Lancelot is a minotaur who specializes in stealing other people's queens, while Joan of Arc is a selfless sun that illuminates others.

And the obsession is precisely the beloved Iris Kingdom.

As long as I can shoulder the righteousness of Iris and stand on the moral high ground, it will not be difficult to reach cooperation with such upright people.

I'm not as stingy as my great uncle. When the time comes, I will make you the Imperial Army Marshal!

I just hope that my cousin Louis XI can get himself in good shape sooner rather than later. If this delays my important matter, I will have no choice but to take you there myself."

Byron's mind was racing, but his actions were not slow at all.

A circle of blood light exploded on his body, transforming into countless illusory "vampire touches" with bared fangs and claws, waving in the air, and instantly absorbing most of the red lotus that was hitting him.

When the Night Devil was a fourth-level mythical creature, he was able to achieve immortality by relying on the immortal blood and panacea in his body.

However, unlike the fifth-order false gods, they also need constant replenishment of blood and energy from the outside world in order to maintain the stability of their own systems.

Vlad III's ladder to immortality is the [blood tax]. As long as the blood tax continues to flow, he will never die.

The power demonstrated to the outside world is “taxation”.

Add power to all of your attacks, take the enemy's spirit, moves, flesh and blood as a part of yourself, and even be able to repel the enemy's attacks on the spot.

It was a pity that what he encountered today was the most powerful magic of the fire attribute in the world. The vampire's touch had just extracted the opponent's hot spirituality and holy light when it burst into flames with a "bang".

If Byron hadn't cut it off in time, the fire would have continued to burn him.

This shows that there is a clear gap in power levels between Joan of Arc and Vlad III.

Byron knew this very well, but the time bought by the vampire's touch was more than enough for him.

The shadow under his feet suddenly turned scarlet and bloody, rapidly twisting and transforming into the appearance of a night demon tax collector, holding an account book in one hand and a blood bottle in the other.

[Mother of Creation Lilith] is the collection of all the negative forces in the world. The Night Demon has a unique advantage in learning shadow witchcraft.

Shadow pulled out the cork, and the blood that had been accumulating for who knows how long suddenly turned into a lake of blood at the harbor.

call out!call out!call out!call out!
Countless swords, spears, halberds, and sharp wooden stakes suddenly exploded in the blood and shot directly at Joan of Arc who was striding towards her.

The speed of these sharp weapons is so fast that it seems like thousands of powerful crossbows are shooting at the target, making a sharp and piercing whistle that makes one's scalp numb.

There were also many miserable figures who were already impaled on the points of spears, and they stretched out their arms and rushed towards Jeanne, wanting her to become like themselves.

——Anti-military magic [Thorn Punishment]!
Vlad III could use the collected blood tax at will and shape it into various weapons to cause penetrating wounds to enemies in a large area.

As long as he wanted, he could instantly suck the pierced enemy dry, and all the flesh, blood, soul, and supernatural power would become part of his own blood tax.

It would be difficult for others to kill him if he did not dry up the pool of blood tax he had accumulated.

The reason why Byron chose him as his alias among the fifth-level Night Demon pseudo-gods was because the abilities they possessed were the most similar.

However, facing the Thorn Execution, which was enough to wipe out a large group of heavy cavalry with one blow, Joan of Arc did not stop and charged forward like a silver-white galloping horse.

His breathing changed quietly, and he activated the Paladin's ultimate move [Silver Emblem], becoming one with the holy sword in his hand, and cut off all the spears and halberds that were coming at him like a hot knife cutting butter.

crackling
A raging fire broke out in the blood lake, with billowing black smoke and a strong burnt smell.

The hail of spears and spears did not pose any hindrance to her.

If [Grand Duke of Thorns] Vlad III was still here, at this point, he would have almost played all his cards, and would have had to face a one-sided beating next.

The female night demons who were watching the scene could not help but cover their eyes when they saw this scene, and dared not watch the tragic scene that followed.

Joan of Arc might not be able to hunt demons ruthlessly as she said, but she also had no good feelings towards the group of night demons. It was almost foreseeable that Vlad III would have his hands and feet cut off and his stomach disemboweled.

But Byron is not Vlad III!

The same sword can produce completely different effects in the hands of different people, and the same magic can also produce completely different effects in the hands of different people.

The foundation of the Night Devil's power [Blood of Transmutation] represents "change", and the Immortal Ladder, which symbolizes the essence of this power, is precisely on Byron.

With his realm that was almost condensed into the priesthood of [Change], just a thought was enough and the originally rigid and inflexible [Punishment with Thorns] underwent a drastic change in an instant.

When Joan of Arc was still forty meters away from Byron, her eyesight as a legend and a false god was enough to see clearly how many eyelashes the other person had, and the sword light could reach her in an instant.

The wind on the sea stopped, but everything in the blood lake began to flow rapidly.

The calm lake turned into a torrent, and the sharp blades of spears and halberds transformed from blood were swirling, with sharp energy rising into the sky, cutting the clouds passing through the battlefield into tiny pieces.

Byron, who had been standing still without moving a single step, moved for the first time. He put his hands into the blood lake under his feet and pulled them out suddenly.

call--!
The battlefield was suddenly filled with bloody turmoil.

Joan of Arc couldn't help but squint her eyes, and when she opened them again, a bloody axe that was forty meters long and thicker than the mainmast of a battleship was already in front of her.

A weapon of this size can be used to chop off the head of a sea monster, let alone kill a person.

"Don't think about it!"

The [Holy Red Lotus Sword] in Jeanne's hand burst into flames, and a small sun rose slowly on the island.

clang!
The island shook violently, swords and axes clashed, and a cross of light more dazzling than the sun exploded. For a moment, countless low- and middle-sequence clansmen were temporarily blinded.

However, this time, although Vlad III's power essence had not increased at all, the Crimson Lotus Holy Sword could no longer easily cut off the blade of the giant axe.

The giant axe was unscathed.

The axe blade made of blood was flowing and humming all the time, and before it could be burned by the hot sword in Joan of Arc's hand, it had already been replenished in advance.

At this time, Joan of Arc's opponent was not a mere battle axe, but the "blood tax" accumulated by Vlad III throughout his life.

The girl's white jade-like eyebrows twitched slightly, the sword blade flipped, and with a stealth move, she penetrated the sword edge and deflected the axe blade.

A red lotus exploded under his feet, and he was about to use the momentum to rush towards Byron with his foot on the thick axe handle.

But Byron smiled bravely, with a kind of free and heroic look on his face that was completely different from his feminine appearance.

“Running water will not become rancid, and door hinges that are constantly turning will not be damaged by termites.

Miss Jeanne, please try my improved [Blood Fighting Method]!"

The forty-meter-long giant axe turned into invisible and intangible blood light, suddenly shrank ten times, and stirred up a bloody wind. It was lifted above Byron's head as he spread a pair of bat wings and leaped towards him like lightning, and then suddenly expanded again.

“Hah, chop—!”

The axe blade, which was bigger than a house, was about to strike Jeanne's face. Before the blade reached her, the strong wind blew her golden braids backwards.

"How could a young Night Demon Pseudo-God who is not well-known have such strength? The realm of 'All Things Return to One' should be more than 5%."

This scene was beyond Joan of Arc's expectations, and she had to be extremely alert and careful in dealing with it.

The battle has now reached a point where both sides are fighting back and forth, and has actually lost its original intention of "killing the monkey to scare the chickens" cleanly and neatly.

But the pride of the [Paladin] would not allow her to give up and make peace with a night demon that she hated so much.

But the strength shown by Byron is really formidable.

clang!clang!clang!
Two afterimages flashed, so fast that mortals could not catch them, and only loud rumbling sounds were heard coming from the open space.

The blood in Byron's hand turned into a weapon, sometimes an axe, sometimes a spear, sometimes a sword, which could be big or small, short or long, soft or hard, flexible or hard.
Although the [Red Lotus Holy Sword] was extremely hot and powerful, and was not afraid of the opponent's ever-changing tactics breaking through the defense circle, it was still unable to defeat the opponent in a short period of time.

Joan of Arc finally looked at the other person straight in the eye for the first time.

He has short silver hair, red pupils with a hint of evil purple, a slender figure, and a pair of black bat wings behind him that blend into the night like a cloak, adding a touch of mysterious charm to him.

Even though he has a feminine face, he becomes exceptionally tall and majestic with his strength.

This caused a group of middle-sequence female night demons, succubi, and followers led by Bella and Selina in the distance to all scream for him.

Byron has now personally proved a famous saying: "Fashion value" is also part of strength!

Further away, the other three fifth-level false gods on the island were also watching the battle silently.

Standing at the very edge is the lower-ranking clan member [Ghoul Lord] Hannibal. He is naturally inferior to other night demons and has no right to comment on a night demon duke.

In the middle is the [Iron-Blooded Knight] Gangro, with a head full of withered white hair and wearing heavy blood-red armor. His face is weathered and his body exudes a strong smell of rust, which is actually the smell of dried blood.

One can tell at first glance that he is a butcher who kills people without mercy.

The last one, [Corrupted Blood Stigma] Macavian, looks like a melancholy black-haired prince.

But apart from the face, all the exposed skin on his body is covered with black tattoos, and you can hear bursts of wailing at one glance.

[Iron Knight] Gangro held a serrated guillotine in his hand, with a look of surprise on his face:
"We haven't seen each other for just a few decades, but Vlad III has made such great progress?

He is only over 200 years old, but he can fight for so long with a saint blessed by the Mother Goddess herself. Could he be a rare genius in the tribe?"

[Corrupted Blood Stigma] Macavian had a sinister look in his eyes. He didn't respond, but he was secretly wondering:

“The absolute strength is still about what it looks like, but the technique of applying it is very subtle.

I originally wanted to wait until this guy suffered a loss before picking the fruits, but now I need to carefully evaluate the gains and losses of this action.

If I piss this guy off, I'm afraid I won't be able to handle him."

Soon, the battle on the beach came to a stalemate.

The wounds on Byron's body caused by Joan of Arc will be healed immediately by [Blood Tax].

Joan of Arc, on the other hand, did not have the support of the Guards of the Ladder of Glory sequence. The more she fought, the greater her consumption became, and she subconsciously used the scarlet aura given to her by Lilith.

Byron was able to keenly sense the changes in the other person at the first moment.

The pure, flawless, harmonious holy light was slightly tinged with scarlet, and human nature seemed to shift slightly as a result.

"Tsk tsk, I understand. No wonder Lilith wanted to throw Jeanne, who was so important to her, directly into the Night Demon's lair without worrying about anything happening. So this is what she was thinking."

The only thing that the old gods cannot touch is the "self" in people's hearts.

Lilith's control over Jeanne is much weaker than that of other members of the Familiar.

Previously, Lilith had only used forbidden knowledge to control her "animal side" and turned her into her own follower, but Jeanne's [Rudder] was still in her own hands.

But once the power of the Blood Angels is mobilized, eternal corruption will begin.

The more the human nature is mobilized, the more it deviates. When it deviates to the extreme, it degenerates into a "Blood Angel" and completely becomes an incarnation of Lilith.

Not to mention someone else's courtship, even if she was asked to take off all her clothes and become the "protagonist" of an aristocratic masquerade ball, she would absolutely not be able to resist.

Byron's knowledge was far greater than that of Joan of Arc, who died at the age of 19, and he saw things more clearly:

“Both Joan of Arc and the night demons on the island have been Lilith’s tools since the beginning. One is a knife and the other is a whetstone.

I have accumulated hundreds of Storm Angels who practice "Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven" in my kingdom of God, and no one understands the clan better than me.

As long as Lilith wanted, she could see through the thoughts of those night demon followers.

It can even interfere secretly, making a night demon think that the thought that suddenly pops up in his mind is his true thought.

Therefore, this courtship scene that was deliberately intended to disgust Joan of Arc was most likely the work of Lilith.

Vlad III may not have been unaffected by the influence of the Mother of Creation.

If no one helps her in this situation, Joan of Arc will probably end up like Lancelot.”

Byron felt a little sad about the fate of these two Silver Continent activated knowledge:
“The great achievements of historical figures have a huge impact on the world.

The activated knowledge thus created is naturally endowed with a certain unique quality and status, and can meet certain very demanding ritual requirements.

In some cases, it is simply the perfect tool.

[Knight of Lake Light] Lancelot had his [Sword of Devouring Kingship] taken away by the Jackal God, and used it to backstab his own God-King.

[Saint] Joan of Arc was also used by Lilith, preparing to steal the Creator's home.

I don’t know if there are any other unlucky ones among the famous activated knowledge that was born in the past thousand years that fell into the hands of the old gods and were treated as consumables.”

When this thought came to his mind, Byron sneezed for no apparent reason, as if someone was talking about him.

The distracting thoughts only flashed through his mind for a moment. He felt that his brilliance was enough for now, and it would be a bit too ostentatious if he continued.

The scarlet rapier in his hand was lifted as if it were heavy, as if a spear or halberd collided with the Red Lotus Holy Sword to gain momentum, and with a flap of the wide bat wings behind him, he floated back and returned to the starting point.

He lifted the [Thorn Punishment] that had consumed a lot of energy, and gave Jeanne an "evil smile":
"Ms. Jeanne is worthy of being the favored one of the Mother Goddess. I admit defeat."

Everyone could see that "Grand Duke Vlad III of the Thorns" was indeed at a disadvantage, but his elegance and fashion were no different from winning the fight.

Many of the female night demons and succubi who were watching the fight were born sluts. Most of them blushed and subconsciously squeezed their legs together.

Joan of Arc had not yet noticed anything unusual about herself, but she knew that it would be difficult to kill Vlad III if she continued fighting. She just looked at him deeply, put the sword back into the sheath with an expressionless face, and turned away.

Led by the servants on the island, we went to another villa next to Byron to rest.

Byron was just about to go find the three false god colleagues to find out the internal information of the Night Demon.

But he saw a red bat flying from the sea and landing in front of him, transforming into a female succubus, and said to him respectfully:
"Your Excellency, the Mother Goddess has asked you to come and serve. Please follow me."

The crowd that had not yet dispersed turned their heads to look at the sea. They saw that a huge whale oil warship had appeared in the harbor at some point in time.

Everyone knows that it is the strongest battleship built by the Night Demon clan with the strength of the entire clan [Legendary Battleship Twilight Cathedral].

Now it has naturally become the flagship of Lilith's divine incarnation.

Obviously, Lilith arrived early without notifying the Night Demon on the island, and most likely saw the entire process of the fight between the two.

Byron was about to follow Vlad III's instinct and agree, but suddenly realized that the other party's words were wrong, and his steps faltered:
"Wait, what does 'serve' mean?!"

The island of the legendary battleship Twilight Cathedral is a black spire church.

Byron sighed quietly in his heart as he followed the servants in.

No matter what this "service" meant, as "Grand Duke Vlad III of the Thorns", he had no room for refusal.

But Byron is not afraid. His greatest confidence is his strength that can rival the incarnation of the priesthood or even defeat it. No matter what emergencies he encounters, he has enough room for error.

Follow the succubus to the main hall of the church.

Before the heavy mahogany door in front of him was opened, Byron could already hear the sound of gurgling water and the sweet scent of a beautiful virgin's blood.

When the door opens, the first thing that comes into view is a huge white porcelain bathtub that can accommodate seven or eight people bathing together.

At this time, the bathtub was not filled with water, but fresh blood that was so red that it was dazzling.

A noble lady who was as charming as poison was bathing in blood with her white body exposed openly, and one of her straight, white, porcelain-like legs was swinging on the edge of the bathtub.

She is clearly a beauty who is a million times more attractive than the succubus Therese.

If Lilith had not been recognized by the collective subconscious, perhaps she would have lost the title of "the most beautiful woman in the world".

There was also a table next to the bathtub, on which were placed two treasures emitting a blood-red glow.

With a quick glance at the logbook, he could see their details clearly.

[Level 0 Holy Relic: Bone Harp]:
"If blood gets on the bone-forged harp, the sound will become like the creaking sound of human bones rubbing against each other.

Anyone who hears this sound will feel weak all over, and then all the bones will fall out of the body and turn into bone armor to protect the owner of the bone harp and resist all kinds of harm.

The owner of the bone harp can also manipulate bones to fight."

[Level 0 Relic: Poison Bottle]:
“Has the ability to transform people into monsters.

As long as blood is dripped into the bottle, the blood will become alienated in the bottle. Drinking the alienated blood in the bottle can cause humans, animals or vampires to mutate and turn into terrifying and violent monsters.

At the expense of sanity, one's own abilities increase dramatically."

Byron understood immediately.

The vampires have the famous Thirteen Sacred Artifacts, which are a total of thirteen powerful artifacts that reach at least the demigod level when complete.

His intelligence officer, the fifth-level succubus Therese, has a broken [Blood Cup] in her hand.

The [Bone Harp] and [Poison Bottle] in front of you are two of them, and they are also incomplete versions.

Before Byron, who was calmly approaching the bathtub and bowing, could hear a lazy female voice:

"Vlad III?
My child, choose one for yourself. This is my reward for you."

In an instant.

Byron clearly felt that his passive item [Sit-ups, easy food] was activated again.

It can make a person be surrounded by "rich women" in various senses throughout his life, and he will never be trapped by gigolos. He may even be so "hard" that even if he doesn't want to eat, rich women will chase him and feed him!
Byron was silent for a moment:

".You want me to surrender now? Am I, Byron Lancaster, the kind of person who can be easily bribed by a mere zero-level holy relic?"

He looked up again at the two incomplete relics and Lilith in the bathtub.

Sure enough, I made up my mind:

"That's it for now, let's eat first."

Then, imitating Vlad III's memory, he knelt on one knee and expressed his gratitude to Lilith:
“The Mother Goddess’s kindness is yet to be fulfilled, and I swear to be loyal to my Lord until death.

Even if I, Vlad III, am torn to pieces and melted into slag, I will still wipe out all your enemies for you!"

(End of this chapter)