Chapter 290: Chapter 254: Unexpected Development, The Governor’s Downfall
Flesh is fragile!
As biological weapons, those blood and flesh giants, no matter how strong, couldn’t compete with iron projectiles accelerated to hundreds of meters per second.
A series of "Manual Transmission Guided Bombs" traced perfect arcs across the sky, hitting the massive blood and flesh giants with pinpoint accuracy.
BANG!
The effect was even more brutal than a human body being hacked with a serrated butcher’s knife. Their entire upper bodies were instantly flattened, bursting into large clouds of foul-smelling blood mist.
Blood and entrails scattered all over the place.
Even with the protection of cursed gold coins, it would be impossible to reassemble them for a while after being shattered like this. Not to mention that many gold coins were blown away by the bombs.
The Governor’s personal guard, when struck, were blown apart on the spot. Whether they hid the gold coins in their mouths or intestines made no difference.
Only a very few spiritually sensitive Transcendents could predict the bombs’ trajectories and desperately evade to narrowly save their lives.
A volley of fire tore the "wish" granted by the Faustian Pact for Velazquez to shreds.
While the Storm Elves moonlighted as both gunners and projectiles, they began to loudly "HEAVE-HO!" as they reloaded.
Byron swung his long spear. "Governor, you are surrounded. Surrender now," he said.
A dark, cold snort came through the dissipating blood mist, "HMPH! Wrong, it’s you who are surrounded!"
Velazquez realized that even the Faustian Pact, comparable to a basic Wishing Machine, wasn’t omnipotent. He finally gave up his illusions and revealed his ace in the hole once more.
A card painted in gold flew out.
A vast, illusory scale materialized in the air.
Just as Byron braced himself for this unknown power, he saw the scale bypass him and fall over... Violet.
The Sailing Logbook also read the ability of this scale.
"Dominion Scale. Rule: Based on secular status, it forcibly determines allegiance between parties. The one of higher status gains complete dominion over the one of lower status, entitled to issue three absolute commands (excluding suicide), effective for one day."
Immediately, Byron’s face twisted in bemusement.
At the beginning of their encounter, he had noticed something off about Herman, the Quasi-Sword Saint who should have belonged to the Church’s hunt squad. Perhaps the Church had some deal with the Kingdom of Castile, which had always supported the Traditional Faction. But Herman’s enthusiasm in protecting Velazquez was a bit too fervent, more than what would be expected of a Death Soldier.
The root of it lay in this Dominion Scale.
However, the target you chose for this domination is a bit...
Under the illusory Dominion Scale, Velazquez laughed triumphantly, "HAHAHA! The Dominion Scale I borrowed from the Church is a loyal supporter of Authority, granting those of higher secular status dominion over those with less.
"You think my target would be you, the commander?
"Do you take me for a deaf and blind idiot?
"Could it be that until now, I haven’t realized that both you and that skeleton beside you are capable of wielding the storm... Storm Knights?
"You two are no pirates but from the Storm Knight Order of the Kingdom of Hightens!"
As the blood mist in front of him gradually cleared, Velazquez’s confident and complacent expression emerged, his hands clasped behind his back.
"I have the best intelligence agents of the Bantaan Archipelago at my disposal. Many secrets thought safe at sea are laid bare before my eyes.
"After the Red Rose was wiped out, most surviving members of the Storm Knight Order were offspring of Great Nobles under the Lancaster Party. The eldest sons mostly served as Law Mages, and many of the younger sons joined the Storm Knights.
"I know that after you Lancaster Party diehards were chased out of the Kingdom of Hightens by the York Party, a considerable number of you fled to Iris colonial territories. Plus, there’s the infamous [Chameleon] Jacqueline beside you—she’s the granddaughter of King Charles VII of Iris, the [Victory King].
"With basic reasoning, the truth is easy to deduce.
"The answer can only be... the lowly Sea Hunter died at your hands long ago. Beneath the facade of the Sea Hunter, another person must be lurking!
"Since you had nearly Third Order strength during the time of defeat, you must be a former Marquis, or an heir to a Duke?
"Knowing the risk, how could I make such a basic mistake? But just by slightly altering the target, victory is assured!"
These words left Jacqueline utterly stunned, and she blurted out, "How could you possibly know about our Iris’s plan?"
This man truly was a veteran politician, deeply familiar with all the ins and outs of conspiracy and intrigue. If not for a tiny unexpected hitch, his conjecture would have been one hundred percent accurate. Indeed, the Iris Royal Family and the Lancaster Party rebels, sensing a valuable opportunity, had originally planned exactly that: to kill "Byron Tudor," take over his influence, plant their own people, and then wait for the right moment to act.
This was also the most logical deduction, most consistent with how others would perceive things. The class system in this world was rigidly stratified. A nobody from a humble background like the Sea Hunter could never accomplish anything significant. But it would make perfect sense if a powerful faction with a well-known reputation was acting under his guise.
But the key point was they hadn’t yet made their move!
Velazquez, seeing Jacqueline’s shocked reaction, felt a smug satisfaction in his own deductive prowess. "That Artisan, you fire at him..."
But at the next moment, he suddenly realized something was amiss.
"Wait, what’s going on?"
To his horror, he saw the Dominion Scale above his head tilt towards the girl opposite him. This meant her importance outweighed his.
Velazquez’s face turned ashen, and he waved his hands in vain. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
"I am the Governor of the Castilian royal colony of Havana! My ancestors were among the first pirate colonizers of the Bantaan Archipelago!
"Among the nobility of the Old Continent, aside from the dregs of the Lancaster Party, who else would come to this godforsaken place?
"And a woman at that?
"According to intelligence, aside from a suspected Third Order Mithril Dragon, the Lancaster Party has no other distinguished female members.
"A mere woman! Who dares claim to be more noble than I?!"
Violet stood there, playing with her hair without moving a muscle.
Violet, the Pirate Warlord and Bay Citizen Princess who ruled all Traditional Faction North Bay Folks in Iron Anchor Bay and most pirates within the North Sea, was naturally wanted by the Church. Wanted posters and portraits were scattered like leaves across the sea. But after she had interrogated Blue Hair Barbarossa Halding, she had reverted to her scholarly, bookish demeanor.
Beyond her beauty, there was nothing else notable about her.
For Velazquez, a seasoned politician hungering for supreme power, it was inconceivable. Based on his understanding of common sense, how could he possibly imagine that someone from the highest echelons of nobility would willingly relinquish their power? Why would they travel such a vast distance to this godforsaken place, filled with criminals, bankrupts, and pirates, just to work for a bunch of outcasts? What was she after? What in the world was she after?!
No one answered Velazquez’s question.
A pair of golden scales’ phantoms emerged silently in his eyes; he had been successfully dominated by Violet.
"Mr. Velazquez, please hand over all the pawn tickets on you and the abilities you’ve swindled from others to me."
The latter obediently handed over the hundreds of cards in his possession, including the one granting the last use of the Dominion Scale.
The most valuable among them were undoubtedly the Dominion Scale and the Shadow Magic of a Third-order Great Wizard!
These abilities could all be bought and sold. Bestowing them upon a subordinate would make it easy to gain a Third Order combatant. Of course, this required a sufficiently strong Anchor to bear that power.
Herman, under an indirect command, also stopped resisting and was shackled by Guardian Knight Bruh with a Law-Breaking Stone.
Because of the unexpected turn with the Dominion Scale, Byron and his companions were spared a major battle. The final enemies were all captured.
Skeleton Knight Andrew, who had died in a previous expedition, asked as if in a dream, "Does this mean Silvergold Island and all the gold and jewels on it now belong to us?"
As if in answer to his question.
"CHIRP! CHIRP!..."
A loud chorus of cicada song burst forth from the World Rift, instantly spreading across the entire island.
The feeding time of Greed Worm Mammon had arrived!