Chapter 1 The Situation

　　Previously, Banks had left biological markers on the warships left by the mages in the Celestial God Plane, so the Dawn Mercenary Group had always had a general idea of the fleet's coordinates.

　　Now, the Dawn Mercenary Group had sailed all the way to the outskirts of the Ancient Dragon Kingdom ruins and discovered that the ships were only a few days' journey away.

　　Although it was unknown how those guys had come to such deep waters, the markers hadn't moved for a long time. Perhaps they had encountered some special situation, or perhaps the enemy had realized something and deliberately anchored to act as bait...

　　But in any case, Su Lun felt he had to confirm the situation first.

　　Anyway, they weren't far apart. He originally planned to get closer before going to scout for information.

　　Unexpectedly, Pandora, who had been stealing faith in the Silver Dragon Kingdom, sent a message saying she had obtained a very important clue.

　　......

　　One day, on an unnamed desert island that was not marked on any nautical chart.

　　The Eternal Night continued to sail at sea, while Su Lun alone teleported to the island following the coordinates left by Pandora.

　　The island had a large number of traces left by human activity.

　　According to Pandora, a fleet of more than 100,000 people had stopped here overnight last night to rest.

　　It was a funeral procession from the Silver Dragon Kingdom.

　　Su Lun also found it incredible.

　　Because this desert island already belonged to the vicinity of the Ancient Dragon Kingdom ruins. According to the markers on the nautical chart, it was even closer to the core area of the ruins than the Dawn Mercenary Group.

　　But how was this possible!

　　Su Lun knew better than anyone how many dangerous monsters the Dawn Mercenary Group had encountered along the way to get here.

　　An ordinary fleet simply wouldn't have the strength to withstand the risks.

　　Yet, the bizarre thing was that the funeral procession had not only arrived.

　　But it had also traveled smoothly all the way, arriving in this deep area without encountering any accidents?

　　Su Lun naturally didn't believe it.

　　But Pandora was now in that fleet, and she had witnessed the entire sailing process with her own eyes.

　　According to her observation, all indications were that there seemed to be a mysterious force behind the funeral procession protecting these people. And it was highly likely to be connected to the people of the Celestial God Plane.

　　That's why Su Lun came in person.

　　To prevent being discovered, Su Lun didn't teleport directly onto the ship.

　　After carefully observing the traces on the desert island, he teleported again to the next spatial coordinates left by Pandora.

　　After several teleports, he saw the fleet of hundreds of ships on the sea.

　　Su Lun frowned as he looked at the single-masted sailing ships called "Large Oar Warships" in the Dragon Kingdom waters.

　　These ships had a very shallow draft, and their main power was still sails and human-powered oars, making them unsuitable for long voyages. Even a slight storm could capsize the ship.

　　Yet, it was precisely such a ship that had sailed into the depths of the Dragon Kingdom ruins without sinking. It was simply a miracle.

　　Su Lun was afraid there were experts with perception skills on the ship, so he didn't dare get close to detect. He asked Pandora about the situation on the ship. She said he could teleport, so he teleported directly over.

　　The surrounding scenery changed, from the sea to a cramped, dark cabin.

　　Su Lun knew the space on the ship wasn't big, but it was only the moment he teleported that he realized how small it was.

　　….He had teleported following the spatial coordinates on Pandora's necklace. As soon as he arrived, the two of them were crammed together.

　　The space was like a corner of a warehouse, with goods piled up all around.

　　The space was originally just enough for one and a half people to stand, but now that Su Lun had arrived, the two could only stick together.

　　The embrace was warm and full of fragrance, the touch was delicate.

　　Looking again, there was a person wearing a cloak a foot away.

　　Su Lun looked up and saw Pandora's exquisite face.

　　She looked at Su Lun's expression, raised an eyebrow, and explained, "Don't look at me like that. It's already good enough to have such an independent space on this ship."

　　Su Lun listened to these words, and sensed it. It was true.

　　This single-masted ship, which could originally only hold three to five hundred people, now had more than a thousand people crammed into it.

　　Like Lu Ying's former slave ships, the cabins were densely packed with people like cargo.

　　As Pandora said, having such a place to stand, with a small window for ventilation, was already the best "single room" on the ship.

　　Not just this one, all the ships within the range of his perception were like this.

　　But compared to the crowding, Su Lun was even more puzzled as to why there were so many people?

　　Moreover, many of the souls in his perception weren't strong. They should all be ordinary people. It seemed strange no matter how he looked at it that the Silver Dragon royal family had sent so many ordinary people here for a funeral.

　　Pandora seemed to see through his inner thoughts and said, "These people only know that they are here to bury the king. But I think it's not that simple..."

　　Su Lun listened thoughtfully.

　　The one being buried was naturally the former king of the Silver Dragon Kingdom, Gracie VIII.

　　Back then, in the suburbs of the royal capital, Akronza, the royal family members who escaped the battle between the two Gorgons were all petrified.

　　Then a prince ascended the throne as the new king, without even thinking about lifting the curse on the former king. He directly arranged for people to bury him, saying that a sea burial in the Ancient Dragon Kingdom was the greatest respect for the old king.

　　But did a funeral require 100,000 people?

　　And one that went so deep into such dangerous waters?

　　Also, what mysterious force was protecting these people to get here smoothly?

　　One question after another popped up, and Su Lun always felt that the formula was familiar.

　　At this time, Pandora roughly explained the situation and gave her conclusion: "I guess these people are being sent here as a 'sacrifice'."

　　"Sacrifice?"

　　Su Lun listened and fell into thought.

　　He had also thought of this, which was why it felt so familiar.

　　Once, when the Dawn Mercenary Group was adventuring in the Four Northern Countries, they encountered the same routine.

　　Back in the Roman Kingdom, the priests of the Agapanon Temple used treasure as bait to attract hundreds of thousands of adventurers to explore the sea. In the end, they discovered that they were being sacrificed to the pseudo-god Sea King in the Sea Ruins in exchange for good weather.

　　And this funeral procession looked exactly the same.

　　Some evil pseudo-gods needed sacrifices to gain power, while humans could reach some exchange conditions with the evil gods through sacrifices.

　　Thinking of this, the line of thinking behind the conspiracy gradually became clear.

　　......

　　Su Lun fell into thought.

　　Neither of them spoke.

　　They were squeezed into a narrow corner, and even their mutual breathing was clearly audible.

　　….They maintained this posture for a while, and Pandora seemed to feel uncomfortable, so she moved her body slightly.

　　With this movement, the two of them were closer together. Even through a layer of thin clothing, the graceful figure was clearly felt.

　　Su Lun clearly felt a large piece of warmth sticking to him, and then came back to his senses and glanced over.

　　But there was no strange color on Pandora's face.

　　Her beautiful eyes gleamed, and she continued, "When I was collecting faith before, I discovered that the current king of the Silver Dragon Kingdom has a close relationship with Garcia, the white-robed wizard you mentioned. He is likely also a believer of a certain god in the Celestial God Plane. This funeral sacrifice is likely being planned behind the scenes by those mages in the Celestial God Plane..."

　　Speaking of this, she paused and added, "These days, I have also discovered that the faith in the Silver Dragon Kingdom is very complex, with various pseudo-gods emerging endlessly. Among them, one that has become established is the 'Gray Mist Cult'. They believe in a pseudo-god called the 'Lord of Gray Mist', who can protect the harvest of fishermen and their safety at sea. And I have discovered believers of the Gray Mist Cult on the ship. When they prayed, a force of faith pointed to the depths of the sea in the direction we are sailing..."

　　"So that's how it is..."

　　Hearing this, Su Lun almost completely understood the ins and outs of the matter.

　　Now that the long-distance teleportation array on Rainbow Island was gone, those guys in the Celestial God Plane had no reinforcements. If they wanted to go deep into the Ancient Dragon Kingdom waters to find the [Well of Mimir], even if they had several 10,000-man mage corps, the possibility of them finding it alive was extremely low.

　　Therefore, they would definitely need some external force.

　　Just like their previous cooperation with the Gorgon, that was probably the external force they were using.

　　But the previous Gorgon was killed by Medusa "Helen", so they had to find another cooperation partner.

　　And a pseudo-god who could control the ocean was perfect.

　　It just so happened that the current royal family of the Silver Dragon Kingdom was a believer of the Celestial God, so it was easy to mobilize the people as sacrifices.

　　Hence, they had these tens of thousands of people sacrifice in the name of burying the former king.

　　Then they could reach an agreement with that pseudo-god in exchange for a smooth arrival in the deep sea?

　　After thinking about it, Su Lun came to the above conclusion.

　　Although all of this was just Pandora's speculation, judging from the current situation, the speculation was almost a fact.

　　Pandora saw that he had also figured it out, and said, "There is also a group of mysterious people on the flagship. I suspect they are mages from the Celestial God Plane. I didn't try to probe them in order not to startle the snake."

　　The reason she came along was naturally because she was thinking about the faith power of the "Lord of Gray Mist".

　　She didn't avoid her purpose and directly said, "So I plan to make a move during the sacrifice to steal the faith of that pseudo-god. But after coming here, I discovered that this sea area is connected to the Hell Plane, and the ancient legacy of divine power is very strong, which is a great benefit to me. It is also of great benefit to other existences. And that pseudo-god has condensed a pseudo-godhead here and may have some special abilities. So, I may need your help."

　　"Yes."

　　Hearing this, Su Lun nodded without hesitation.

　　Pandora was now a backbone force of the Dawn Mercenary Group. If she needed help, he would naturally not refuse.

　　….Moreover, Pandora was now very strong. If she became even stronger, the Dawn Mercenary Group would have more confidence in the upcoming all-out war.

　　......

　　Su Lun automatically connected the clues in his mind and thought Pandora's plan was good.

　　If he could kill that pseudo-god, it would also directly ruin the Celestial God Plane's treasure hunt plan.

　　After thinking about it, he asked, "When do you think the sacrifice will be?"

　　Pandora replied, "It should be soon. I sense that the divine power of that pseudo-god is getting stronger and stronger in the nearby waters. At most, it will be another two or three days' journey before we reach the target area."

　　Su Lun nodded when he heard this, "Yes."

　　Two or three days was acceptable. If he didn't expose himself now, he could catch the pseudo-god off guard when the time came.

　　The two discussed some details and roughly finalized the plan.

　　However, Su Lun looked at the cramped environment. Was he going to stay here for two days?

　　Their corner was already considered good. Outside, the cabins with a height of more than two meters were divided into three layers. Everyone was curled up on the floor, densely packed together like wooden barrels, and couldn't even stand up straight.

　　Pandora saw that his expression was slightly different. She didn't mind at all. Instead, a sly look appeared on her exquisite face, and she joked, "Yo, you don't seem very comfortable?"

　　"..."

　　Su Lun rolled his eyes when he heard this.

　　He knew that Pandora's words were definitely not the kind of teasing between men and women, but purely to find some fun.

　　Perhaps it was because she had been the aloof Moon God for too long in front of outsiders. Now that she finally had someone to talk to normally, she didn't need to maintain the majesty of a god. Her words also became more casual.

　　As far as Su Lun knew, it seemed that she only had him and Mr. Mirror as normal communication partners. Thinking about it this way, being a god was still very boring.

　　Perhaps there was also a bit of retaliatory fun from when she was captured by Su Lun?

　　In short, Su Lun wouldn't take it seriously.

　　But in the current situation, the two of them were squeezed into this narrow space, and there was bound to be a lot of physical contact.

　　But Pandora had to stay here to sense the situation of that evil god, and Su Lun couldn't take her into his small void realm.

　　And he himself had to stay on the ship to deal with any possible changes.

　　It seemed that the two of them could only maintain this situation of being in the same room.

　　Pandora probably felt that after two academic studies of the alchemical body, her body had no privacy to speak of for Su Lun, so she had always been very generous. The attitude was roughly: If you want to look, look. If you want to touch, please do so.

　　She could even tease him with great interest from time to time to pass the boring time at sea.

　　Su Lun didn't think much of it at first, and even found it a little fun, but he couldn't resist that evil-tasting Shinto charm technique. (The Moon God also controls the desire between the sexes, which is also one of her Shinto cultivation secret techniques.)

　　In the end, he was at a disadvantage and defeated.

　　Su Lun then tried to cut open some of the goods with silk threads, which expanded the space and allowed the two of them to stand and sit.

　　Just like that, two days passed.

　　......

　　Su Lun was used to the Eternal Night, that kind of super-large sailing warship. Suddenly, switching to this kind of single-masted small boat was still a little uncomfortable.

　　On the Eternal Night, even if there were waves, the cabin was relatively stable.

　　….But on a small boat, if there was a wave, it felt like the sky was falling.

　　But precisely because of this shallow draft, a sailboat that looked like it should have sunk a hundred times in this sea area had sailed smoothly all the way.

　t encountered any bad storms, and even the larger sea beasts deliberately avoided it.

　　Su Lun gradually realized that Pandora was right. That "Lord of Gray Mist" really had some means.

　　At least, it could prevent those high-level sea beasts and distorted monsters from approaching, which must require matching abilities.

　　It would definitely be tricky.

　　On the evening of the third day, the sunlight outside the window dimmed.

　　Su Lun and Pandora were hiding in the corner of the cabin, meditating.

　　Outside the window, thick fog had filled the air, and the fleet had stopped.

　　Su Lun opened his eyes and glanced at the black fog outside the window.

　　This was already the edge of the central area of the Ancient Dragon Kingdom ruins. He estimated the distance. The volcano connected to the Hell Plane in the legend was no more than half a month's journey to the east.

　　The air was already thick with the air of hell, and the people on the ship already had slight signs of distortion. If they waited a few more days, most of these people would probably turn into monsters.

　　Su Lun didn't know what he thought of, and his brow furrowed slightly.

　　The closer he got to this sea area, the more he felt that something was wrong.

　　But he didn't know where the source of that wrong feeling was.

　　He looked at Crow Da Ye, who was dozing off on his shoulder. After obtaining the fragment of the Necromancer Plane a few days ago, Crow Da Ye had been eating well recently. It was full all day long, its fur was particularly bright, and it looked like it was about to advance.

　　It was very quiet, and the dark clouds in Su Lun's heart dissipated a little.

　　Just when his thoughts were flying, suddenly, the sound of "哗啦啦" water came from outside.

　　It was as if someone had poured a lot of things into the sea.

　　And the fleet didn't seem to be resting and anchoring normally like the previous two days. Instead, they were gradually gathering together.

　　Su Lun thought, "Is the sacrifice about to begin?"

　　Pandora, who was next to him, also opened her eyes, sensed something, and said, "The power of faith outside is gathering. That guy should be appearing soon."

　　When she said this, her face was very serious, and she seemed to be gradually entering a divine state.

　　Su Lun's expression also became solemn when he heard this.

　　There would probably be a fierce battle in a while.

　　He notified the Eternal Night and said that if they needed support, he would go there to call for people at any time.

　　Moreover, he always felt that this sacrifice would be related to the Dawn Mercenary Group in the dark.

　　......

　　At this time, shouts also came from the deck.

　　"Get some people to move His Majesty the King's burial goods to the deck!"

　　"Hurry up! Get moving!"

　　"..."

　　With this shout, everyone on the ship where Su Lun and the others were also busy moving the goods up and dumping them into the sea.

　　Many people still thought these were burial goods for the royal family, but they didn't know that these were sacrifices to the evil god.

　　Boxes of goods were moved away, and those people didn't seem to see Su Lun and the others in the corner at all. They were busy with their own things.

　　Su Lun and Pandora were waiting for the opportunity.

　　However, as he waited, Su Lun let out a soft sigh: "Eh... Those two siblings are also on the ship?"

　　Because the hundred or so ships in the fleet were far apart before, he didn't notice them. Now that they were all gathered together, he noticed two familiar souls on another ship.

　　….It wasn't anyone else, but Bennett and his sister Isabel from the Miracle Legion.

　　Su Lun had a good impression of these two siblings.

　　In fact, they even had some affection for each other.

　　Not just the two siblings, but almost everyone from the Miracle Legion was also in the fleet.

　　"Were they also used as sacrifices?"

　　After thinking about it, Su Lun understood.

　　The Miracle Legion was loyal to the former king and firmly opposed to the Celestial God Plane faith.

　　Now that the new king had ascended the throne, it was only natural that they were sent to bury him as sacrifices.

　　Because of some affection, Su Lun planned to inform them.

　t, the people of the Miracle Legion were not weak in combat. The hundreds of them gathered together were also a force to be reckoned with.

　　Thinking of this, he said to Pandora beside him, "I'll go over there for a while."

　　Pandora nodded and didn't say anything.

　　At this moment, her body was overflowing with divine power, and her eyes were like two red moons, looking extremely strange.

　　She had already become the "Moon God".

　　......

　　Su Lun sensed a direction, and with a teleport, appeared in the cabin of another ship.

　　This was the flagship, which was much larger than the one he had been on before. There were many independent cabins for senior knights.

　　When Su Lun teleported over, Bennett was on the deck, telling people to dump the burial goods into the sea.

　　Only his sister Isabel was in the cabin, looking worried, as if thinking about something.

　　When she saw that there was another person in the room, she turned around suddenly and drew the dagger from her waist. Her figure disappeared on the spot.

　　Su Lun felt the sharp blade on his neck, easily blocked it with two fingers, and said, "It's me. Su Lun."

　　He knew that Isabel was a good assassin and didn't plan to make a sound, so he directly imprisoned her whole body.

　　Isabel heard this voice and looked again, and was surprised, "Mr. Su Lun?"

　　She never expected to meet the overseas expert she had met once before here.

　　Su Lun saw her tense muscles relax and let her go.

　　Isabel asked again, "Mr. Su Lun, why are you here?"

　　Su Lun glanced at her and asked, "What are you doing here?"

　　Hearing this, a look of sorrow flashed between Isabel's brows, and she said truthfully, "We are here to bury His Majesty the King."

　　Su Lun keenly caught the change in her expression. Obviously, she also realized that things were not that simple, and asked again, "Do you know who is on the other flagship in this fleet?"

　　Isabel didn't know why he would ask this, but she truthfully said, "I don't know. I heard they are burial wizards."

　　Su Lun heard her say this and was sure that Bennett and the others were completely unaware of the situation.

　　There was no time to lose. He said bluntly, "You and the people on the ship may have been used as sacrifices. This is a sea sacrifice. The people on the other flagship may not be wizards, but mages from the Celestial God Plane."

　　Hearing this, Isabel's expression changed drastically.

　　Her eyes turned, and she muttered to herself in shock, "I was wondering why the royal family would arrange so many people to come. No wonder..."

　　Su Lun didn't mean to explain much and directly said, "Call your brother down. I have something to tell him. Be careful not to be discovered."

　　….“Yes!”

　　Isabel heard this, thought seriously for a moment, and nodded.

　　Although she felt that she was not familiar with the person in front of her, her brother always said that he was trustworthy.

　　Such a big thing, she couldn't make up her mind, so she ran to the deck.

　　Not long after, Bennett walked into the cabin with a puzzled expression.

　　Seeing Su Lun here, he was also surprised.

　　But when Su Lun explained the ins and outs of the matter, Bennett was also greatly shocked.

　　He had observed before that there were many doubts in this funeral trip. Now that he heard this, what didn't he understand?

　　He was indeed loyal to the Gracie royal family, but not to the current king!

　　Now that he, his family, and a group of brothers from the Miracle Legion had been used as sacrifices, how could he remain silent?

　　But at this moment, the sacrifices had been thrown into the sea, and the sacrifice had begun.

　　Without warning, the ship shook violently.

　　Outside the window, the fog had turned as black as ink, and an indescribable evil will quietly descended.

　　Su Lun looked at it, his pupils shrunk slightly, and said softly, "That evil god is here."

　　Bennett and his sister's expressions changed at the same time, and they tightened their grip on the weapons in their hands.

　　......

　　Just as this pseudo-god mixed in the fog descended, Pandora also notified in the communicator, "You can make a move!"

　　Su Lun listened, and the warlock seal was instantly pinched, and the whole person had disappeared into the cabin.

　　He didn't go directly to find the trouble of that outer god, but teleported to the other flagship.

　　He had already captured the positions of those mages. As soon as he teleported into the cabin, he saw two seventh-order mages leading a magic team chanting spells in front of a huge magic array.

　　As soon as Su Lun's field was released, he raised his knife and dropped it without hesitation. Before the team in front of him could even react, they had already been separated from their bodies.

　　With his current strength, it was as easy as flipping his hand to kill a magic team!

　　However, his purpose was not these few mages. Disrupting the sacrifice was just the beginning.

　　The plan was for Su Lun to make a move first, and then wait for the pseudo-god to expose his methods before Pandora would sneak attack and steal his faith power!

　　Sure enough, just as Su Lun destroyed the sacrificial array, the will in the black fog suddenly showed irritability and anger, and attacked the ship where Su Lun was.

　　At the same time, a distant and terrifying voice came from his ears: "Stupid humans, you dare to offend a great god!"

　　These words echoed in his mind, and there was also a kind of faith pressure that seemed to make people worship him.

　　"Humph!"

　　Su Lun snorted coldly, his expression stern.

　　The shadow of the god of death rose behind him, instantly dispelling the negative state of that shock.

　　A pseudo-god, did he really think he was a god?

　　With his current strength, Su Lun was not afraid of any pseudo-god!

　　.

　　Mang Hou reminds you: Remember to collect it after reading