"King of the North Sea" Oleg is indeed the strongest pirate in the North Sea, and his fleet also has the power to crush almost any force in the North Sea.
But he actually has no right to rule over the various large and small forces in Beihai, especially the four countries of Beizhou.
Rights are far less important to pirates than wealth, and everyone is in peace. After all, pirates also need to survive. No matter how strong the tree is, it cannot destroy the land for it to grow. Many pirates recruited by the North Sea Fleet also
They are the people of the Four Kingdoms.
But now that Oleg suddenly became the "king", the situation has changed somewhat.
Seeing this "tax collection" move, Su Lun guessed that Oleg probably wanted to start declaring sovereignty and taste the taste of a real lord.
So the purpose of collecting taxes this time is not to plunder wealth.
Compared with any territory of Lu Ying, the four countries of Beizhou are representative of poverty and desolation. The income from taxation is not as real as robbing merchant ships.
At least for now...
Moreover, this time Su Lun's Ninth Fleet not only brought artillery, but also a large amount of property.
No matter how much tax you collect, more gifts will be given.
It is roughly equivalent to a gift from a superior country to a vassal territory, or a gift from a king to a small lord of the territory.
This is also what Oleg is testing.
If the collection goes well, just collect some money in return for some gifts; if it doesn't go well, use force to intimidate.
Once the four countries pay taxes, they recognize the status of a vassal territory, and Oleg is the true King of the North Sea.
This relationship will continue to be close, and in a few years, Oleg will be able to completely control this sea area.
However, this process is not easy.
There are a large number of remnants of the gods in the four countries of Beizhou, and they have their own belief in gods. Just like the Shanyin Kingdom, their lordship has been granted by God for countless years. Now, if outsiders suddenly want to become lords, they will not be able to do so for a while.
So easy to accept.
Su Lun has recently learned a lot about the customs and customs of the four countries, so he knows that this tax trip may not go smoothly.
So I have always been very vigilant.
It takes several days to sail from Pirate City to Shanyin Country. There are a large number of islands in that sea area. On Lu Ying's chart, they are also called Tallinn Islands.
The days of sailing are very boring. As long as there is no bad weather, the pirates' job is to play cards, fish and brag.
Su Lun made an excuse that he had spent all his money in the Golden City, and spent the past few days in a daze in the cabin instead of fooling around with the pirates in the gun room.
In fact, I am digesting the knowledge of [neuro-mechanical drawings].
Even if he didn't see the drawings, as soon as Su Lun closed his eyes, the contents of the various drawings he had written down before would densely appear in his mind. He first deduced various possibilities in his mind, and then recorded them in his notebook. Occasionally, when no one was around, he would
I took out my half-finished silver arm and tried out some new ideas, and my life was very leisurely.
Because he was always on the lookout for something going wrong, Su Lun also kept the death bird with him whenever he channeled it.
It’s not surprising that pirates would keep some monkeys, parrots, hamsters and other small animals on their ships. In addition to passing the loneliness of sailing, they are also used as early warnings. In many cases, animals’ perception is better than that of humans, such as bad weather and certain dangers.
More.
This day.
The fifth day of the voyage.
Just when Su Lun was "sleeping" in the cabin as usual, the black crow next to him suddenly screamed.
"Gah~"
Su Lun's ears moved slightly and he suddenly opened his eyes.
He gently stroked the black crow and fed him two drops of liquefied necromantic energy, while looking through the cannon port to the sea outside.
Now that he is familiar with the black crow, Su Lun can understand some of its thoughts more accurately.
This cry is a warning of danger in the surrounding area, but it is not too fatal.
"Did something appear on the sea?"
Su Lun thought of something, got up and walked out of the artillery cabin.
Sharp and a few gunners were playing cards at the door. Seeing Su Lun rarely leaving the warehouse, he smiled and said hello: "Hey, brother Johnny, are you awake today?"
Su Lun shrugged, rubbing his eyes as if sleepily, "Yes, let's go to the deck to get some fresh air."
He didn't pay much attention and walked onto the deck.
At this time, a slight dispute was heard on the deck.
"Captain Hanz, this sea area is the outlet of the Fei River, and there are monsters. Do not let urine and urine enter the sea, otherwise there may be big trouble. We must sacrifice the animals quickly."
"Hey, Yongxiu, isn't it just a poop into the sea? What's the big deal? Monsters? Haha, just some strange sea monsters, don't make such a fuss. I have been at sea for so many years, and I have seen giant monsters in the deep sea.
Yes, are you still afraid of some little monsters?"
""
The thin man in linen clothes was our guide this time, his name was Matsunaga Hide, and he was from Yamagakure.
At this moment, he was anxiously trying to dissuade a bearded man in captain's uniform.
The bearded man is naturally Su Lun's current squad leader "Teabeard" Hanz.
This guy had previously received the advanced potion for colonization given by Oleg and successfully advanced to the fifth level. In the past two days, he showed off his newly realized spatial displacement ability everywhere on the ship.
Su Lun sensed spatial fluctuations more than once.
In layman's terms, this guy's strength has skyrocketed and he is "floating".
Yongxiu was still persuading, but Hanz looked impatient: "Okay, okay, stop talking nonsense! If there really is a monster, just pick it up and take a look. I haven't eaten monster meat yet."
To ordinary fishermen who have never seen the world, some big fish weighing more than 1,800 kilograms are just incredible monsters. But to high-level professionals, they are usually a ration that can be killed with one punch. Hanz is now
For fifth-level professionals, it is true that most of the sea monsters have nothing to do with him, and it is not entirely unreasonable to say this.
But Su Lun in the distance frowned slightly.
The black crow will issue an early warning, which means that there is really something going on nearby.
Su Lun had seen descriptions of "monsters" in various ghosts and ghosts from the Mountain Hidden Kingdom, but he had never seen one before.
He is also somewhat interested in seeing what a monster is.
The fleet was probably still a few nautical miles away from docking, and looking around, one could already see vague mountain shadows in the distance.
The sun had just set and a light mist was floating on the sea.
Jiuxiu was still at the bow of the boat, with a look of fear on his face and his mouth muttering something in prayer.
At this moment, suddenly, a red light like an orange light lit up on the sea.
The observer on the mast noticed something unusual and shouted: "Captain, at ten o'clock, there seems to be a ball of fire on the sea!"
Su Lun guessed that there would be a problem and did not get out of the cabin. Naturally, he also saw the erratic flame and his eyes shrank slightly.
The sight of the omniscient eye allowed him to see the flame clearly. It was strange that there was nothing around, but the flame was floating on the sea. It was said to be a will-o'-the-wisp, but the color was a normal orange-red.
Most of the pirates did not take the dispute seriously. After all, the legend of monsters in Shanyin Country has been circulating for a long time, but not many people have actually seen it. Most of them are spread by rumors.
Now, a ball of fire of unknown origin suddenly appeared on the sea, and everyone on the deck looked curiously at the flames in the distance.
Jiuxiu recognized what seemed to be something, and pointed at the sea with a look of fear, "Then that is [Shiranui]!"
Su Lun was not surprised when he heard this word. The identified name was also this.
He had read about "Shiranui" in the classics, one of the hundred ghosts in the legend of Shanyin Kingdom. The usual explanation is that mortals offended the gods, and the nameless anger descended.
In this moment, more and more flames floated on the sea surface.
When I looked closely, I could see the illusion of burning buildings and ships again. The fire was getting stronger and stronger, and in an instant it turned into a sea of ​​fire.
The vanguard fleet consisted of four divisions and four ships. The pirates who heard the noise ran to the deck to see what the legendary "monster" looked like.
It looked like something really happened, so "Teabeard" Hantz didn't care and sent some people on an assault boat to check the situation first.
Not long after, a message came back from the communicator: "Captain, those flames are just illusions, not real."
Hearing this, everyone on the deck breathed a sigh of relief.
"Ha ha"
Hanz also sneered: "This is just a damn mirage, what kind of monster! The fleet is moving normally!"
Because they had to enter the river from the mouth of the river, there was no option to take a detour, so the fleet continued to move forward.
The crew members didn't take it seriously. They looked at the sea of ​​​​fire in front of them with smiles and pointed.
In the crowd, Su Lun was leaning on the fence, holding a black umbrella tied with cloth strips in his hand, and muttered in a fine voice: "It is indeed a spirit. Legend has it that [Shiranui] can burn unclean things,
How on earth will it burn?”
Perception, some special spirits appeared in this sea of ​​fire.
This also confirmed Su Lun's previous guess that if monsters are intelligent, they must also be spiritual.
However, these spirits are very strange, and feel completely different from human souls. They are cold, strange, and have an ethereal feeling, like the feeling of the will of the gods that Su Lun has seen twice.
This is also good news.
At least many of the hundreds of ghosts recorded in "Fairy Story" he watched have "supernatural abilities." If they can be sensed, the level of danger will be greatly reduced.
The fleet continued to move forward, and then broke into the mirage-like sea of ​​fire.
It was like breaking into a field of light and shadow, without any danger.
Those flames were burning around me, but there was no feeling of heat at all. If I reached out and touched them, they would pass through them.
Everyone felt relieved and thought this was really a "mirage".
Only Matsuhisa Nagahide was still prostrate on the bow of the boat, trembling and praying.
He seemed to be crazy with fright, and kept talking: "Old people say that if you really encounter a monster, you must be in awe. Pray sincerely, and the monster will forgive you."
He looks very much like an ignorant person who has never experienced the world.
Hearing this, all the pirates laughed.
"It's just a mirage. I really thought it was a monster. It seems that the legends of Shanyin Country are not necessarily true."
"It's normal. They are just country people who have never seen the world. It's not like we have been floating on the sea all year round and have seen everything."
"Tsk, tsk, that guy is already scared to death."
""
Su Lun listened to the words in his ears and said nothing.
His eyes narrowed slightly, and the sea of ​​fire was reflected in the waves.
The spiritual pressure was getting stronger and stronger, and he knew that something big was going to happen.
Sure enough, when all four boats sailed into the sea of ​​fire and everyone was still laughing at the guide's ignorance, suddenly!
A scream suddenly sounded.
"ah!"
Everyone turned around and saw a guy standing there on the deck with dull eyes.
Someone was startled and yelled: "Dudden, what the hell are you yelling about?"
But as soon as he said these words, Duden looked at him with a look of horror on his face, stretched out his hands to pinch his neck, looking extremely painful, and unable to speak.
Seeing this strange scene, everyone realized that something was wrong.
"Teabeard" Hands walked over and shouted angrily: "Hey, what's wrong with you kid?"
He was just about to reach out and pat Duden's shoulder, but at this moment, Duden's skin quickly turned yellow to the naked eye, and then turned black. When he looked at it again, his whole body was ignited with a raging fire. Immediately, the air was filled with smoke.
A strong smell of meat
In just a few seconds, everyone watched a living person burn into a puddle of ashes before their eyes.
For a moment, no one spoke on the deck, and you could hear a pin drop.
And this seems to be just the beginning.
At the same time, similar burning incidents began to occur on the other three ships, and screams occurred one after another.
"ah"
"ah"
"ah"
""
Invisible enemies will arouse more fear in people's hearts.
There were nearly a thousand pirates on four ships, and no one understood what was happening. They could only watch helplessly as the people around them suddenly caught fire, and then burned to a crisp.
He didn't even have time to cast any dispersing or healing spells, and he would be taken away by the [Shiranui] one by one.
Fear quickly filled the eyes, and the huge deck was filled with howls. Not long after, the frightened pirates' strange screams also sounded continuously, and the entire fleet instantly fell into chaos.
Although "Teabeard" Hantz has a fifth-level strength, there are also many third-level and fourth-level professionals, but they are completely helpless.
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On the panicked deck, some people put out fires, some fetched water, and some put on armor in a panic
In the darkness, there was a pair of calm eyes, watching all this indifferently.
Su Lun has roughly seen some of the roots of this [Shiranui].
Monsters are no different from other creatures. They also follow the law of conservation of energy.
In the eyes of an alchemist, all events can be explained as the phenomenon of energy fluctuations. Even if they have never seen any kind of living thing, such as the "spontaneous fire" in front of them, it is just that the energy is released in different ways and expressed in different ways.
With this cognitive foundation, many mysterious imaginations can see through phenomena to see the essence.
Su Lun had carefully read many introductions to monsters before coming here. Looking at the scene of spontaneous combustion of a human body, he also analyzed the reason: "Is it a method similar to parasitic fire? It should be to use people's fear to spread and make the human body's own energy chaotic to fuel combustion.
Therefore, it cannot be burned out in a short period of time, so how does this fire change from a 'mirage' to a real thing?"
Fear accelerates the energy chaos of the human body, and a spark will ignite it. This is why there is no time to treat spontaneous combustion when it starts.
In just this moment, dozens of people were burned to death on the four boats, but Su Lun didn't panic at all.
Because he knew very well that this monster could do nothing to him.
Usually, the weaker the strength, the more fearful of the unknown, and the greater the impact.
If you observe carefully, you will find that they are all first-order pirates, and they are the kind with very weak soul fire.
With energy fluctuations of that level, it is still far from burning Su Lun to death.
There is a general way to deal with ghosts, ghosts, ghosts and other existences. That is, if you are not afraid, the impact of the other party will be minimized.
This method is not difficult to say, but it is not easy to do it either.
It is difficult for ordinary people to control their emotions, especially when they are afraid of mass spread.
But for Su Lun, it’s routine
Su Lun saw [Shiranui] for the first time, which was regarded as seeing the monster of Shanyin Country.
After a while, "Teabeard" Hanz finally reacted and shouted: "Don't panic, everyone! This monster is similar to a ghost. As long as you control your fear, it can't do anything to us!"
As a veteran pirate, he naturally guessed some of the roots of this fire.
However, just as these words were spoken, bad news struck again.
The people in the bottom warehouse sent a message through the communicator: "Captain, it's bad, something is digging into our ship!"
As soon as he said these words, the hull of the ship suddenly trembled violently, and there were even signs of capsizing.
The atmosphere of fear that had eased slightly became intense again.
On the deck, there were panicked footsteps everywhere.
"Captain, I saw it! A sea monster like a water monkey. Those things are very powerful. They want to sink our ship!"
"What is that thing?!"
"Lord Hands, that is also a monster, it is a [kappa]!"
"Damn it, Stoya, take the water ghost team down and have a look! Musketeers, artillerymen, shoot into the water!"
"Yes, Captain!"
""
The four ships were in chaos.
Su Lun was the gunner, so whether he was in the water or Yang Fan, it was not his turn.
Along with other gunners, he also put on the individual artillery issued before, and occasionally fired a shot at the fast-swimming figure under the sea. [Kappa] is a monster of the physics department, and it also has an entity, so it is much easier to deal with.
, firearms can do very good damage. However, this kind of monster is very fast in the water, and its claws are sharp and can break armor. It can easily penetrate the hull of a wooden sea ship. Even if the pirates react quickly, the four ships
Two ships were punctured in a very short period of time. The hulls of the other two ships were also more or less damaged and were slowly taking on water and sinking.
Fortunately, it's not far from the shore here, and the pirates who fell into the water can still swim to the shore.
Su Lun also fell into the water, and the cold water was densely packed with human heads. He blended in with the crowd and quietly swam to the shore.
At the dock, two to three hundred people from four squadrons of pirates were dead before they even landed.
The atmosphere was very solemn.
Fortunately, with the military communicator provided by Marfa, several division captains reported the situation to the captain of the Ninth Fleet, "Admiral Gluttony" Paion, but the response they received was to keep moving forward!
Only then did most people realize that the vanguard's mission this time was not that easy.
But after receiving the order, they could only continue moving forward as planned.
Now that there is no boat, they can't travel by water and can only walk.
The cold wind was howling and the temperature at night was extremely low, making it impractical to set up camp.
Fortunately, the guide Matsunagahide is familiar with the road here and knows that there is a village not far away.
Chapter completed!