Pirate Kingship.

Chapter 657: Misfortunes never come singly: The Joker escapes prison, the Trade Priority Act
At the edge of the world, near the bottomless pit of Abaddon's cult.

The confrontation situation here still remains the same as when Byron left.

On one side is a bottomless pit that looks like a pitch-black eyeball.

In the middle is an orange-red soup of life that has gathered into a large lake. The Kraken's Touch is still wandering in it, and from time to time it has fierce battles with the monsters born from the soup of life.

The [Noah's Ark] in the lake, which was originally dilapidated and full of cracks, has been completely repaired with the arrival of the Mother of Monsters.

The overall structure is still the same as before, but the wooden hull has almost grown into a whole, all becoming part of the incarnation of the mother of monsters [Tree of Life].

However, from the kingdom of God inside the ship, there was a continuous sound of fierce fighting, and the entire soup of life was buzzing and vibrating.

On the other side of the Soup of Life, there is a fairy tale park in dark tones.

Circuses, float parades, fireworks displays, flying trapeze artists, castle explorations and all kinds of performances are performed day and night, regardless of whether there are spectators nearby.

Endless laughter filled the paradise, which seemed out of place with the gloomy atmosphere at the edge of the world.

But if someone passes by here and listens carefully, they will find that there is the most extreme madness hidden in this laughter, which is even more terrifying than the undead on the edge of the world combined.

What are blood plasma, rotting corpses, and ghosts? Every character in the park is precisely stepping on the uncanny valley of human beings. They are the materialized horror!
This is the tripartite balance that Byron inadvertently created, and it is also the cage built for the three demigods.

"Give it to me, give it to me, give me my treasure! The treasure belongs to the clown, ha ha ha ha."

Inside the Ark, the former "Puppet King" Louis has completely lost his original appearance and has become exactly like the Joker.

The pale face, the exaggerated lips and nose that were the color of dried blood, and the dirty colored curly hair would make any mortal feel a chill in his heart and endless fear rise from his bones at a glance.

boom! boom! boom! boom!
He waved his hand and scattered a large number of self-destructive dolls, blasting big holes in the surging sea of ​​tentacles and roots. The saber in his hand led him to plow a long gully and head straight for the increasingly abstract body of the Mother of Monsters.

To be more precise, it is the zero-level holy relic ring [Ring of the Nibelung] that Echidna is still wearing on her hand (Chapter 562).

This is also the key reason why the three old gods can stay here honestly.

The raw material of the ring is the magic gold at the bottom of the Rhine River. Whoever obtains this ring will rule the entire east coast where the Rhine River flows.

But before the benefits can be gained, the curse it carries takes effect first.

Everyone will chase after this ring crazily, and whoever gets it will be deserted by his friends and relatives, his country will collapse, and he will die a violent death.

At the end of the mythological era, this ring started with the dragon-slaying hero Siegfried, causing the deaths of countless heroes until it prompted the gods to join the war.

It is the direct trigger for Ragnarok at the end of the era.

In essence, it symbolizes "turbulence" and "chaos".

If the ultimate of the universe is chaos, then it is the catalyst and accelerator of chaos!

The old gods who personally participated in the Ragnarok War all know that the real [Ring of the Nibelung] was smashed into pieces by them in the war, and this one is obviously a fake.

However, the strong attraction is still hard to resist even for demigods, and the Mother of Monsters and the Life-threatening Clown fight to the death.

"Clown, stand down! Offending our Lord is a capital crime. Punishment!"

As a majestic female voice shouted, an invisible force descended and tried to restrain the clown's hands and feet.

At the same time, two blazing white holy lights behind her transformed into extremely sharp knight spears, falling in front of the clown incarnation, one on the left and one on the right.

A strong light that was corrosive to the cursed spirit exploded.

The three fifth-level legends joined forces and forced the incarnation of the Life-threatening Clown to retreat a step.

Then three figures stood in front of Him.

They were the two paladins from the Orthodox Church who died here in order to seize the [Noah's Ark]: [Holy Spear] Valette and [Holy Fist] Grover.

There is also the fifth-level legendary [Punishment Knight] Margaret I, the Queen of Eternal Night.

The latter looks at least 30 years younger and is not much older than her daughter Vanessa.

Apparently, after the body was dissolved, it was re-cultivated by the monster mother as a member of her clan.

However, although the three of them respectfully addressed Echidna as "My Lord" on the surface, the spiritual glow deep in their eyes was still struggling and resisting.

It seems that the old god has not been able to completely corrupt these three staunch fanatics.

They still retain their basic self and humanity, but have lost control of their bodies and supernatural powers.

No wonder Byron has always wanted to rescue Margaret I and the two paladins from here and put them in his own kingdom of God to assist in ascension.

Because the more devout the believers, the better the effect.

A fanatic of the legendary class is enough to match hundreds of ordinary devout believers of the lower sequence.

Flutter.
As the three people appeared, a large group of half-human, half-bird monsters rose from the Tree of Life in the core area of ​​the Kingdom of God.

They have human bodies, bird heads, bird claws, and two pairs of colorful bird wings. In their claws, each of them holds a few blood-red javelins made from thorns.

They were divided into two teams, each forming a battle formation behind the two paladins, [Holy Spear] and [Holy Fist], and blessing the two knights with their own spirituality in a collective manner.

Moreover, when they looked at the two paladins, there was a hint of ardent admiration in their eyes, and it was obvious that there was a story behind them.

"Oh! Almighty Lord, please forgive my sins, forgive my mistakes, and let me be free as soon as possible."

"Such blasphemy should not exist in the world."

The two controlled paladins looked eager to fight, but they kept sighing in their hearts.

It’s because these new followers named [Birds of Paradise] are the offspring of them and the Mother of Monsters!
Byron had luckily escaped the fate of becoming a stud, but the other two were not so lucky.

What's even more tragic is that what Echidna prepared for Byron, the father of monsters, was a beautiful female body. No matter what the finished product looked like, at least the mother body was not disgusting.

What was prepared for the two of them was a meal of insects that had been transformed from the [Tree of Life] and were as plump, white and wriggling as queen ants and queen bees.

It can be said that they lack quality but make up for it with quantity. By massing the troops in the shortest possible time, these half-human, half-beast birds of paradise who can only call "big brother" and "dad" were born.

The two paladins who refused to surrender before their death suffered from severe psychological trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder.

But their bodies were controlled and they had no power to resist.

"Is this the price we pay for going against the Holy Spirit's Favored Ones and the Ten Thousand Winged Angels? Is this the Lord's punishment for us?"

“Perhaps in this era, the Holy Spirit is indeed the true Messiah.”

Their faith in the Creator remained unshaken.

But among the three objects of faith, namely, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, I involuntarily began to slide from the Son to the Holy Spirit little by little.

"Get out of the way, mortals! Don't get in the way of the clown!"

The only thing the Joker had eyes for was the ring in Echidna's hand.

A pair of illusory hands shot out puppet threads above their heads, and the nearby tentacles and followers turned against them and blocked the three people.

There was a sound of a spring being tightened in his body, and he was about to unleash full power and kill the Mother of Monsters in one breath.

Even though He had never succeeded in all these days, He still persevered.

At this moment, a voice as cold and eerie as a corpse sounded in the Kingdom of God, chanting the epic of the Ring of the Nibelung:

".The curse of the ring will cause the wearer to die, it will not bring joy or luck.

Whoever masters it will be full of worries, and whoever does not master it will be filled with jealousy.

Everyone is greedy for it, but no one can take advantage of it."

In the chaos of the battle, the two paladins and the Queen of Eternal Night saw the strange intruder at the first moment.

He was wearing a black robe and a somewhat exaggerated wide-brimmed hat on his head. His hair was messy, and there was no flesh on his body, only terrifying white bones.

Countless souls swarmed out from his teeth and bones, helping him tear apart the ubiquitous roots and tentacles.

The man walked all the way to the crowd without any harm.

Do not underestimate the intelligence system of the church, the most powerful force in the material world.

The two paladins' pupils shrank at the same time when they saw this figure, and their hearts were shocked:

"Is this the incarnation of the main god of Voodoo, the Eel King Samadi, the Gatekeeper Father Legba?
How could He return to the material world?

No, this is a fifth-level priesthood incarnation!"

In the Voodoo system, [Papa Legba] is the medium connecting humans and the main god Samedi, and the top [gatekeeper] among all the Loa gods.

In any Voodoo sacrificial ceremony, one must first worship Father Legba, and after the sacrifice is over, the god must be worshipped again.

Because no matter which Loa god you communicate with, you must first praise the Supreme God [The Eel King Samedi], and then call on Father Legba to open the door between the human world and the spiritual world.

Only after this can we ask Father Legba, who is knowledgeable in spiritual language, to invite the messenger or Loa to come.

If the wizard forgets to invite Him, the séance will never be successful.

Therefore, it can be said that Papa Legba holds the key between the two worlds and controls the door to the spiritual world.

As a god of death in essence, it is easy for Him to open the gate between the material world and the edge of the world.

After chanting the epic, the incarnation of the priesthood of [Gatekeeper] was not affected by the [Ring of the Nibelung] and walked straight towards the Joker.

“I came as agreed.

Mr. Clown, forget about the fake ring, it's time for us to go."

The effect of [Ring of the Nibelung] is not impossible to remove.

Because it is a one-time holy relic, under normal circumstances, once it is snatched from the body of the Mother of Monsters, it will disappear and will not trigger a protracted war between gods.

But [The Gatekeeper]'s way of rescuing the clown is even more clever.

She pulled out a transparent jewelry box from her bosom and waved it in front of the clown. The latter shivered and suddenly came to consciousness.

The jewelry box contained an ordinary metal particle the size of a grain of rice, with half a broken rune on it.

It is exactly the same as a part of the ring on the hand of the Mother of Monsters.

It is part of the true Nibelung Ring.

After the Ring of the Nibelung was shattered in the War of the Gods, many old gods grabbed the fragments of this level zero holy relic. Samadi, the Eel King, was one of them.

The fragment is so small that even if you know its epic value, it is of little use, but it is not a problem to use the real thing to resist the attraction of the fake one.

They looked at each other and turned into two rays of divine light that shot out of Noah's Ark one after the other.

Echidna did not stop it, but instead retreated her defense line to prevent the Kraken's Touch from attacking.

After putting on the [Ring of the Nibelung], you will gradually be controlled by desire and animality.

The incarnation, whose sanity has just recovered to the critical point, is equivalent to being hit by the aura of madness after putting it on, and will indiscriminately kill all beings who may covet the ring.

But as long as no one comes to snatch His ring, He can live in peace and quiet until the end of time.

Because the Mother of Monsters has obtained the "most precious" thing in the world.

The two demigods fell into a dark fairytale paradise.

The clown regained consciousness and opened his mouth, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth, to express his dissatisfaction to the [Gatekeeper].

"Samadi, you are much later than the time we agreed on.

Like a real clown I was fooled for months by that damn Byron Lancaster.

The Joker is very unhappy.”

The latter waved his hand indifferently:

“Haha, Mr. Clown really has no conscience.

Lucifer and I just lost a priesthood incarnation each on the East Coast.

If I wasn't a [Death God], I would have accumulated enough 'variables' to recover my sanity earlier. After such a serious injury, I would have to continue recuperating for several years.

I can immediately assign one of the most important incarnations of the priesthood to come and rescue you, and I should be rewarded with flowers and applause.

Oh, and you need to offer me cigars."

Samedi looked at the Joker, a demigod born in the Silver Age, and thought that he was a rare treasure. Thoughts surged in his mind:
'Why are most of us old guys from the old times friendly with you?

Isn’t it because you, a sixth-order cursed spirit born from human negative emotions, are of great use to all the old gods?

Although I lost a [Funeral] avatar this time, others suffered greater losses than me.

Those who go all in like [Mother of Monsters] are real fools.

The funniest thing is that in the end no one won, and the two 'Pillars of Helox' leading to the end of the world returned to the hands of humans.

This makes us realize that human beings are still powerful, and [Alaya] is still pushing the collective subconscious of human beings to reject us with all their strength, and even interferes with the fate of us old gods.

But as long as there is [The Clown], the most hated living target in the collective subconscious of mankind.

We old gods can hide like candles in the sun and will never be targeted at will again.

I can get back the priesthood I lost at any time.

So, the one who laughs last laughs best.'

Obviously, each of the old gods is the elite of an era, and each has his own plans.

Even [Zombie Eel King Samedi] and [Arrogant Morning Star Lucifer] who suffered a crushing defeat in the battle for the Pillar of Searocks are no exception.

But no one can say for sure who will have the last laugh in the end.

[The Clown] also knew that he still needed these old gods now, so he did not continue to worry about the time of rescue, and asked:
“When are we leaving here?

After hundreds of years in such a boring place like the edge of the world, the clown can't wait to meet my little cuties. "

The Eel King showed a creepy smile on his skull face and pointed his finger bone at the top of his head:

“Wait a moment.

I know there is a fool up there who wants to become the most powerful by devouring the gods. He is self-righteously planning his promotion and wants to rise from a mortal to the strongest demigod in one step.

We don't have to do anything, he will automatically bring the anchor of the material world to us.

The Festival of the Dead at the end of the year would be a perfect day.

At that time, it will only take three steps to get out of the cage. I will open the door, you walk out of the cage, and then I will close the door.

The plan was perfect.”

"Less than two months? Great, the Joker can still wait."

[The Hilarious Clown] smiled from ear to ear and turned his head to look in a certain direction at the edge of the world.

"You've escaped from the Joker twice, but the Joker won't give you a third chance.

The most important thing now is to leave this cage smoothly, and it would be best if there are no unnecessary complications in the process.

But on the day I leave, I will definitely give you a big surprise! Byron Lancaster! "

The place where He was silently gazing was exactly the station of Edward Lancaster's "United Pharmaceutical Company" on the edge of the world.

That night, Byron and Catherine took a bath together, changed into the same silver silk pajamas, and returned to the Flower Mountain Paradise in the Kingdom of God to rest.

The kingdom of God not only has a beautiful environment, but is also absolutely safe.

As competition for the position of captain of the material world intensifies, even if Byron has confidence in himself, there is no guarantee that he will not encounter a second or third assassination attempt before he actually sits in that position.

So it’s better not to cause trouble for yourself.

In a cozy tree hole that was renovated to look like a bedroom, Catherine leaned against the head of the bed and put her pair of crystal white feet on Byron's thighs.

Byron took the small bottle and helped her apply ruby-red nail polish one by one.

If this happened to the ugliest princess Amita, she would faint from happiness on the spot, but Catherine had long been accustomed to it.

Byron has always been the bag boy in front of her since he was a child, and both of them think it is natural to serve their sister.

Even if Byron became the [Human Emperor], [Winged Angel], or [Holy Spirit], nothing would change at all.

His sister Catherine was his fundamental anchor as a human being, not a bloodthirsty creature.

Or the type who, no matter how high he stands, I dare to grab him and beat him up, and he instinctively dares not fight back.

Even Hathaway, her mother who has been absent since childhood, cannot replace Catherine.

It just so happened that Violet had been busy with the dreadnought fleet's affairs during this period, and she had been eating, sleeping, and resting in the Golden Mist Palace. There were only the two of them left here.

It was like returning to childhood, chatting about random things.

"Sister, another month has passed. The grain on Yucatan should be ripe again, right? It's still too expensive to buy a standard bread with five copper fuls.

It will drop below two fuls before winter."

"Don't worry, the food has already been shipped from the International Port yesterday.

This batch of whale oil was also shipped out on the last day of the window period in early September, and both sides should arrive in Kingston together."

The grain embargo imposed by the Remit merchants of the Kingdom of the Netherlands on the North Sea Empire has lasted for more than a month, but the effect has not been significant.

Although the North Sea Empire is still in the stage of preparing for war and gathering strength, it is far from the point of asking others to do the hard work while it eats the food.

But there is no need to worry about food sources.

Catherine has already collected the priesthoods of [Finance], [Agriculture], and [Harvest].

The biggest joke of this era is that the goddess of agriculture and harvest will starve to death!
The sea of ​​source means almost infinite extraordinary energy. The whale oil of the Leviathan whale can come from there, and other energy sources can naturally come from there.

The more active the source tides, the stronger the effects of this series of priesthoods.

In the Holy Golden Empire, there is the [Golden Toilet] that makes compost to enhance soil fertility and can even generate black soil, there is also the [Corn God] who is an expert in increasing yields, and the [Curved Plow] that is a fully automatic ox and horse.

After receiving the news, officials of the Holy Golden Empire planned production in advance, and two months was enough to produce several batches of emergency food.

Originally, they could have transported the food back through the Kingdom of God without anyone noticing.

But now is the critical moment of the ascension of the Kingdom of God. Nothing is more important than the promotion to demigod, and of course the less power consumed, the better.

Fortunately, they still have the third ability of [Full-time Key] [There are many horses in the book]:
“Summoning a fleet of wagons with large interior space is absolutely a good way to transport stolen goods, loot, and bulk cargo.

They can be used for large-scale long-distance transportation. Mountains, rivers, deserts, and seas cannot stop them. "

With this function, it is not difficult to play the role of "Sea Coachman" on behalf of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The shipping cost is much lower than that of large-scale sailing ships.

Solved a worry.

Byron also helped his sister apply nail polish, and she put on rose-red lipstick on herself. The candlelight was dim, and the atmosphere was just right.

The girl whispered in her brother's ear:

"Byron, do you want to eat my sister's lipstick first, or my sister's lipstick?"

The two were just about to continue laying eggs and working hard to expand the size of the Lancaster family.

The intelligence system built by the Skinning Church suddenly received urgent intelligence:
“Your Majesty, Queen Isabella I of the Pyrenees and Emperor Frederick III of the Holy Silver Empire have just jointly signed the Trade Priority Act.

From now on, tariffs on the North Sea Empire, the Holy Golden Empire and overseas colonies will increase to 60%!

The Kingdom of the Netherlands and its allies in the Orthodox camp enjoy zero tariffs."

The two men frowned immediately.

This tactic of closing the country to the outside world, which hurt the enemy by 800 and hurt itself by 1,000, was equivalent to a blow to the weak spot of the North Sea Empire's industrial product dumping and semi-god rituals.

And misfortunes never come alone.

Just half an hour later, news came from the First Circulation Belt in the South that a convoy was attacked at sea.

The North Sea Empire's commerce-breaking fleet hadn't even shown its might yet, but someone else had already started a commerce-breaking war? !
(End of this chapter)