I'm not just human!

"Perhaps he has a chance to break this time loop, although the real problem has not yet emerged."

Everyone turned to look at the whirlpool. Just then, the illiterate pirate arrived at a stone altar with the villagers.

The stone altar was extremely simple, with a circular pit in the center that was bottomless and as dark as an abyss.

It gives you the feeling that even if you threw a huge rock in, you wouldn't hear an echo for hours.

Around the circular pit were stones of varying sizes, each engraved with images of monsters or gods, all of which were dancing in a very eerie manner.

It was one thing for monsters to dance, but for gods to be dancing as well gave everyone on the ship a creepy, presumptuous feeling.

Fortunately, these deities were not any of the nine main gods, but rather some unknown subordinate gods or even external gods.

"Little Mike, it must have been a long time since you attended our village's ancestral worship ceremony, right?"

The old village chief turned around, smiled, patted the illiterate pirate on the shoulder, and continued:

"Come here, take a good look."

Although the illiterate pirate couldn't read, it was clear that he was quite shrewd.

He first cautiously scanned the surrounding villagers, and seeing that everyone's faces were beaming with joy and showed no signs of aggression, he felt relieved.

Even so, he only took small steps forward, not getting close to the bottomless pit, and hid behind one of the large rocks next to the pit.

He gripped the rocks with both hands, only half of his body showing, peering into the deep pit.

Just then, the old village chief quietly stepped back, and two villagers stepped forward, a resolute look flashing in their eyes, and suddenly rushed towards the illiterate pirate's back!

"careful!"

On the Red Porcupine, many pirates couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, even though they knew that the illiterate pirate couldn't hear them at all.

However, some people were not too worried, because the illiterate pirate had anticipated this move and that's why he deliberately hid behind the big rock.

Those huge rocks, each one looked like it weighed tens of tons. Surely he couldn't have been pushed down by just two villagers, rocks and all.

Even though these two villagers were both strong, grown men, they were still ordinary people, so how could they possibly push them?

The illiterate pirate suddenly felt a strong gust of wind coming from behind. He was about to turn around, but it was too late.

The two villagers gave him a push from behind, and the illiterate pirate's body passed right through the large rock several meters in diameter. He lost his footing and stumbled as he fell into the deep pit.

That big rock... somehow, it transformed from a normal rock into a phantom, into an illusion!

"what!!!!!!!!!"

Amidst the illiterate pirate's screams, he fell into the deep pit. The screams grew fainter and fainter, as if rising from the ground, sending chills down everyone's spines.

The old village chief sighed, his face filled with grief and self-reproach.

The other villagers also showed reluctance, but they still knelt down, raised their hands high, and worshipped the deep pit, chanting incantations as their voices merged together.

"Great ancestors!"

"Please accept the offerings from your descendants!"

"Give us your sacred objects, and let us gain freedom and happiness!"

The sound was mighty and grew louder and louder, like overlapping sound waves spreading out in layers.

Suddenly, a monstrous cry, as mournful as a broken violin, rose from the bottom of the pit, instantly drowning out the villagers' prayers.

The villagers all looked puzzled, wondering what had happened; their faces were filled with confusion.

Only the old village chief's expression suddenly changed. He immediately stood up, turned to look at the villagers who were still kneeling, waved his arms, and shouted:

"Run, run, run!"

Click!

Suddenly, a giant python covered in flames leaped out of the deep pit and bit down, tearing half of the old village chief's body off.

The remaining half of his body fell to the ground with a thud, blood seeping from his waist, instantly soaking the sand and dust on the yellow earth.

The other villagers were terrified. Some turned pale instantly, while others collapsed to the ground, their trousers quickly becoming wet and emitting a strong stench of urine.

Many more villagers turned and scrambled away, fleeing into the distance.

But it didn't work.

The giant fire serpent opened its mouth and inhaled, creating a hurricane-like force that swept across the entire area around the circular altar.

All the villagers were lifted off the ground, struggling as they were sucked into its gaping maw, screaming as they were swallowed whole.

Blood flowed down the corner of the fiery python's mouth, but before it hit the ground, it was dried by the high temperature and evaporated into blood-red steam.

Almost everyone on board the Red Porcupine was stunned.

Even Avalon, a genius in the field of mechanical secrets, paused for a second or two before a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.

Almost instantly, He had already given His opinion.

It was at this moment that everyone snapped out of their astonishment and turned to look at the young overlord, like students waiting for their teacher to answer their questions.

"The key to breaking this time loop lies in the 'sacred relic' that the villagers crave."

Avalon's soft voice rang out, as clear and crisp as the clinking of ice shards on a lake:

"Clearly, something strange happened in this village during this time loop, which led to the summoning of a terrifying monster, the giant fire serpent, during their ancestral worship ceremony, ultimately resulting in the complete annihilation of the village."

As He spoke these words, everyone could see from the vortex that the giant fire serpent was spewing out fiery breath, burning the houses in the village.

Flames filled the sky, and black smoke billowed everywhere, turning the once peaceful and tranquil village into a hellish scene.

Prince Justinian pondered:

"You mean, as long as Xia Fa eliminates the monster for the villagers, obtains the sacred relic, and brings them so-called 'freedom and happiness,' this time loop can be broken?"

Avalon nodded slightly:

"That should be the case, but the real difficulty lies in the fact that Xia Fa's power of the secret contract will also be imprisoned, making him completely unable to deal with that monster. As a result, how to obtain that sacred object has become the biggest problem."

After thinking for a moment, the young overlord immediately added:

"Moreover, in this time-looping ghost realm, once you're dead, you're dead. Only the villagers can be resurrected with each time time is reset. In other words, under normal circumstances, Xia Fa only has one chance, provided that he is not pushed down by those villagers."

Everyone immediately thought of the illiterate pirate who was pushed off the cliff. He had been very cautious, even standing behind a several-ton boulder to avoid being pushed off.

But who could have known that the large rock would suddenly turn into an illusion, allowing the villagers to succeed?

"These villagers are quite something. They even pushed Telslit down to offer sacrifices to their ancestors, and then they pretended to shed a few crocodile tears and put on a show of grief. Especially that old village chief, damn it!"

The captain of the Red Pufferfish suddenly cursed, gritting his teeth.

Regardless of the circumstances, those two pirates were his men, and now they are both dead.

Avalon, however, seemed oblivious to or completely unconcerned about the Red Pork Belly Captain's anger, shaking his head and saying:

"No, their grief is real. They truly considered Telslitt one of the villagers. However, when they had to sacrifice someone, they chose to sacrifice Telslitt, who had been away from the village for many years and had just returned from the big city."

The captain of the red porcupine boat was startled:

"Do you know Telslit?"

Avalon looked at him with some strangeness:

"Isn't it the name you just mentioned?"

Just as the captain of the Red Pufferfish was about to say something more, a ripple appeared in the whirlpool, and the village, which had been burned to the ground, was reset.

Thatched houses rose from the ground, and wisps of smoke rose from their chimneys, creating a peaceful and tranquil scene just like before.

The blood on the yellow earth had disappeared, the blackened rocks around the pit had returned to their original state, and the pit itself looked empty. The giant fire python had vanished, leaving only a bottomless abyss.

On the yellow earth at the village entrance, Xia Fa's figure slowly emerged.

Perhaps because the village has entered the time loop for the third time, the body of the original hot-tempered pirate has completely disappeared, leaving only a pile of yellow earth in its place.

As soon as Xia Fa appeared, he looked deep in thought, clearly having just witnessed the two pirates' ordeal and was racking his brains for a solution.

On board the Red Porcupine, everyone was completely on edge.

After all, of the three chosen to break the time loop, only Xia Fa remained.

If Xia Fa also fails, everyone will be trapped in this time-looping ghost realm, and can only pray that a ship will arrive on this rarely traveled route within the next day.

Moreover, the people on the arriving ship will have to decipher the new time loop—even within the same time loop-type ghost realm, each time loop is different.

Otherwise, they would be trapped just like them and this group of traveling whales.

Imagine being trapped for endless years until you die of old age, or being trapped in a time loop until you become a dazed and confused person, or even completely out of control and turn into a monster... Even Prince Justinian couldn't help but shudder.

Just then, the villagers poured out of their houses again, carrying farm tools such as sickles, shovels, and pitchforks.

Among the villagers, a burly man with a dark face and a thick beard shouted, and the crowd immediately surrounded Xia Fa.

The people on the ship finally recognized that this dark-faced, bearded man was one of the two who had pushed the illiterate pirate into the pit!

The other man was bald, with a hooked nose and triangular eyes. He had a rather sinister expression and looked like the kind of idle person in the village who liked to bully the weak.

The old village chief stepped forward from the crowd, a kind smile on his face, and stood before Xia Fa.

"Where are you from, young man?"

Having learned from the mistakes of the two pirates, Xia Fa certainly knew how to answer; not only did he know, but he also learned to answer first.

He scratched his head, revealing a shy expression of nervousness as if he were returning home, and said with his head down:

"I...I'm Old Mike's son. You even held me when I was little, village chief, have you forgotten?"

Upon hearing this, the villagers not only lowered their guard and vigilance, but also gathered around him to look him over, marveling at him.

"He really is Mike's son, he looks so much like Mike!"

"Little Mike, I'm your Aunt Linda, do you remember me?"

"Finally back. It must be tough living in the big city, right?"

The villagers all started to care about Xiafa, and judging from their expressions, they really treated Xiafa like a little Mike.

The old village chief smiled and patted him on the shoulder:

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. The village will always be your home. Come on, today is the day of the ancestral worship ceremony."

Xia Fa smiled innocently and answered loudly:

"Yes, Chief!"