Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 321 Shocking Change! Golden Edict, Allies Turn Against Each Other
The Tsushima Strait is often shrouded in eerie winds and ghostly fog.

At night, all sorts of strange things would spill out, sometimes forming layers of illusions that would cause passing ships to wander into and never return.

Only the old sea dogs of Wufengqi, who have occupied Pinghu Port for many years, can discern the shipping routes in the fog and come and go freely.

Just like now, even when facing a legendary warship and its invincible fleet, the Danyang simply turned around and disappeared into the seemingly identical fog.

Duke Medinaceli, on the other hand, was both highly skilled and daring. From rivers to the sea, there was nowhere they dared not go as long as they were aboard the "Angel of a Thousand Wings".

Moreover, this fleet commander always kept in mind what his primary objective was.

Once we capture that princess, a descendant of the Byzantine dynasty, Pinghu Port and the Donghai Kingdom will be unable to escape, and we can deal with them at our leisure.

He suddenly swung down the gilded swift sword in his hand.

"shoot!"

call out!call out!call out!
Golden, feather-like sails rose up, producing shimmering feathers that transformed into massive crossbow bolts comparable to ballistae, which were then fired furiously into the sky.

The light arrows pierced through the hazy, ghostly mist, leaving dazzling streaks of light in mid-air.

However, the accuracy of the light arrows was far from satisfactory.

It either narrowly missed the Danyang, or it pierced through insignificant parts without damaging critical structures like sails, cables, or rudder.

In the end, all the dozens of light arrows plunged into the water, embedding themselves in many dark, ancient shipwrecks on the seabed.

Even through the fog, the perception of a high-ranking duke, the Holy Sword Knight, was enough to see that there were at least twenty or thirty sunken ships stranded on either side of the waterway they had just passed.

Many large multi-story ships are equipped with batons, with one end of the stern submerged at the bottom of the water and the other end of the bow raised high on the surface of the water.

Pitch black, decaying, and deathly silent, it's like a series of tombstones erected for the souls lost in the sea, sending chills down your spine.

Upon closer inspection, one can see fleeting flashes of phosphorescent light within the hull that never extinguishes underwater, and the lingering stench of corpses that seems to have settled for hundreds of years seems to permeate the air.

And there seem to be many more of these things in the water ahead.

"Strange! How come we couldn't hit that level 5 ship and all the shots were accidentally fired at the sunken ship on the seabed?"

The Duke frowned. The [Holy Light Arrow] on the warship was one of the derivative abilities resulting from the combination of the holy relic and the warship.

Analogous to ordinary warships, it's like the small anti-personnel cannons they equip on the forecastle, stern, and bulwarks; analogous to the Heavenly Treasure Ship, it's like the Five Thunder God Machine Gun, belonging to the most ordinary basic attack ability.

But they have living figureheads, like winged angels, controlling them. Every arrow they shoot is like a sharpshooter's, so their accuracy can't be that bad.

At this moment, the sunken ship in the water acted like a magnet, attracting all those light arrows. This cannot be explained by mere luck.

The Holy Light Arrows, with their fastest firing rate, fired continuously. The two sides pursued and fled, quickly penetrating deep into the Tsushima Strait and approaching the core area filled with dense ghost fog and numerous sunken ships.

However, once they arrived at this point, the Danyang, a ship that didn't rely on speed as its main strength, was easily overtaken by the legendary warship.

The Angel of a Thousand Wings spread its feather-like sails, summoning a gale to accelerate the entire fleet, and surprisingly, it arrived ahead of them, blocking their path before they even got there.

"A useless struggle."

Duke Medinaceli raised his Swift Sword, and the feathers on the winged sails lit up one after another, while thousands of golden rays shot out simultaneously.

With such powerful bricks flying and so many arrows raining down at once, there's no way you could possibly dodge them all, right?
He has remained extremely cautious and restrained until now, refraining from using any truly powerful offensive means to avoid accidentally killing the Byzantine princess.

A living princess is priceless, but a dead one is worthless and might even get her killed.

Seeing this attack finally looking somewhat legitimate, Wang Cheng neither dodged nor evaded, and thought to himself:
"Well done!"

He formed a hand seal and whispered a command:
"Imperial Decree: Summon the great navigator Magellan to the altar!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than waves surged on the sea in front of him.

Before the eyes of the Invincible Fleet's crew, an adventure ship flying their Franco Empire's swallowtail flag suddenly crashed into the sea.

It was the Trinidad, the flagship of the Global Fleet and a national treasure, that activated its exclusive ability, "Global Voyage," and teleported to the Tsushima Strait.

Once again, he helped Wang Cheng block the attack of a powerful enemy.

Flowers! Flowers! Flowers! Flowers!
The powerful beam arrows turned the entire side of the Trinidad into a hedgehog.

"Squeak—!" (Again?)
As expected, just like when it was summoned to block Mao Haifeng last time, the "liver flower" that was integrated with the entire warship went berserk again.

Every plank, every cable, every blade, and every cannon on the entire warship was screaming angrily.

Countless branches and roots shot rapidly toward the [Winged Angel] on the opposite side.

Compared to before, its strength has increased significantly, and its size has also expanded considerably, resembling a primeval forest floating on the sea.

Moreover, unlike when it had just returned from the outside world and the name of the USS Trinidad had not yet spread, it is now famous all over the world and has a global influence.

His body naturally condensed an immense and boundless power of will.

As the first adventure ship to complete a circumnavigation of the globe, it was not a warship in nature and did not have exclusive combat capabilities, but the authority of "circumnavigation" was elevated once again.

Original ability: [If you can gather all five ships and reorganize the circumnavigation fleet, you can locate every node in the voyage, lead a huge ocean fleet back there, and easily establish a colonial empire!]
It can be used once a day.

The new ability includes: [As the flagship, it can forcibly summon the other four warships to descend and reorganize the fleet!]
Furthermore, it allows for the free establishment of lighthouse anchor points, without being limited to the original circumnavigation route.

Note: Unfortunately, the captain's word doesn't count; only by conquering that living liver flower can one truly gain control of the ship. Standing atop the high mainmast, Magellan removed his triangular captain's hat and gave Wang Cheng a graceful bow.
"My king, including the previous times I helped you and the times I picked the liver flowers, not counting this time, I only owe you three last wishes."

Since Wang Cheng realized that without the powerful strength of a high-ranking heroic spirit and a top-ranking living ghost god, it would be absolutely impossible to subdue this national treasure-level holy relic.

Therefore, Wang Cheng chose to control indirectly through Magellan.

The captain had promised Wang Cheng that if he could redeem the souls of the 52 crew members, including himself, from the Liver Flower, he could grant Wang Cheng's ten wishes without having to fight the demonic plant's feeding desires.

By now, almost all the crew members of the Trinidad have regained their freedom; he is the last one still hanging on the vines.

This is because once Magellan is liberated, he will lose his position as captain and his final ability to intervene in the ship's affairs.

What he promised Wang Cheng will become a promise from Louis XVI—an empty promise!
Wang Cheng thought to himself:

'We must capture the Trinidad before Magellan's ten promises are exhausted!'

This ship was practically made for ocean colonization, capable of easily connecting the Spice Islands with any major colonial empire; its value far exceeds what can be described in terms of combat power.

It all depends on how accurate Elizabeth's intelligence is, whether today's plan goes smoothly, and whether we can seize this opportunity to take down the ship as well.

Only after hearing Magellan reconcile the accounts did Wang Cheng withdraw his lingering gaze from the liver flower, nod solemnly to him, and say:

"Captain, rest assured, a man of his word is a man of his word!"

If things go well, you may be free today.

"Uh"

Magellan has been wandering the East China Sea recently and is no longer the adventurous captain who knew nothing about Eastern culture.

Listening to Wang Cheng's promise, I felt that there was something strange about it, and I wondered if he had found the Imperial Seal of China.

When he heard people talk about "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", he knew that people who found the imperial seal liked to talk like this.

Stab it--!
At this moment, the wind belts surrounding the Angel of a Thousand Wings suddenly transformed into sharp blades, slicing the liver flower vines to pieces.

Even though the roots broke, they continued to wriggle like snakes, trying to squeeze into every gap in the legendary warship's defenses.

The massive hull of the Trinidad also crashed into the Angel of a Thousand Wings, determined to devour the livers of everyone on board.

Duke Medinacel realized, through the ship's name engraved on the stern gallery, that the ship that had appeared out of nowhere and attacked him was actually the circumnavigation fleet sent by his own empire.

He was even the one who saw Magellan off on behalf of the king when Magellan set sail.

After the initial shock came a twisted, furious laugh:

"Prince Jinghai, is this your trump card that allows you to confront the Frankish Empire?"

Ignorance is bliss! You actually dare to think you can use Franz Joseph's warships to defy the will of the Franz Joseph King?
Don't you know that this fleet is essentially the property of the Habsburg royal family?
I want to thank you for your stupidity.

The expeditionary force's "Hell's Gate Project" was originally intended to recover these five relic warships and the raw materials for manufacturing the red potion.

Since you've offered it to me willingly, I'll gladly accept it.

He then pulled out a document bearing his seal from his robes and shouted:
"Magellan, come and see what this is?"

After unfolding, it projects golden light in mid-air, manifesting as Franconian script:
"I, by the grace of God, ruler of Castile, Leon, Aragon, Sicily, Naples, and Burgundy; lord of the Habsburgs, Flanders, and Tyrol; Count of Barcelona; and ruler of numerous lands and islands."

Behind a string of titles longer than those of the most powerful creature on Earth in the seventh century was a document authorizing Magellan.

"With the Trinidad as the flagship, along with the San Antonio, Consecutive, Victoria, and Santiago, and 265 crew members, the voyage around the world began."
The fleet's assets belong to the Habsburg royal family, and you also receive 10% of the adventure rewards!

The aura of a second-rank living ghost or deity suddenly descended.

Golden chains shot out from the edict and quickly wrapped around the entire Trinidad.

In the Holy Roman Empire, which was under the control of the Habsburg dynasty for hundreds of years, the patron saint was "Holy Emperor Henry," also known as "Patriarchal Holy Emperor."

The earthly miracles he created gave rise to the theological profession of King Philip II of France—the Knight of the Crown.

Within the empire are approximately 390 entities of various types, including duchies, marquises, religious noble territories, free states, free cities, and knightly territories.

One must have at least a "prince" title to be eligible for this profession.

The core principle is the monarch's authority [rewards and punishments].

Although Philip II is only thirty-five years old this year, he is already a powerful [Crown Knight] with a high-ranking position equivalent to the second rank.

Analogous to the exclusive power of the Eight Divine Powers, the Golden Edict is sufficient to ensure that no one can disobey the edicts issued by the Habsburg royal family.

With the original edict and the coat of arms stamped on it by Philip II, even if the five ocean-going adventure ships sailed to the ends of the earth, they would not be able to escape his grasp.

However, even the sovereign cannot directly reach those thousands of miles away, so Philip II certainly could not possibly reclaim these royal assets with a single thought.

Only by sending an envoy with a golden seal and imperial edict can the retrieval be completed.

Of course, although the ship belonged to the Habsburgs, the "liver flower" was an adventure prize, and only 10% belonged to the royal family.

The two forces on the ship began fighting each other, becoming paralyzed on the spot and unable to help either side.

(End of this chapter)