Pillars of Ita

After getting rid of the Empire's pursuit, the Seven Seas Traveler took two days and one night to cross the turbulent sea area, and successfully arrived at the waters off Zhili three days later. From there, heading south, it could smoothly reach the Hill of Giant Trees.

But if they chose another more ancient route, the westerly winds on the empty sea would carry them to Cape St. Hughes, which was also the purpose of the Seven Seas Traveler's voyage.

The afterglow of the setting sun reflected at the junction of the sea and the sky, immersing the wood on the side into a warm wine red color. The wood texture was rough and clearly visible, with one or two scratches occasionally on it - those were traces left by shrapnel. However, the Seven Seas Traveler had just experienced a major battle, and other places needed to be reinforced, so no one cared about the wear and tear on these small details.

The evening breeze was intoxicating. Fang He asked Catherine about the rumors about St. Hugh's, the distribution of pirates, customs, ports and anchorages. Under the side of the ship, the sky and sea returned to its original deep, rose-red color, which was somewhat intoxicating.

Shesta was standing next to Sylvie. The maid was using a plumb bob to record the changes in the ocean currents. The ship's officer nodded from time to time, holding a feather pen in her slender hand, and wrote down the numbers one by one in the notebook.

After confirming that they were completely out of the dark sea full of reefs, everyone's tense nerves finally relaxed. "Incredible, we actually escaped from there," Tianlan sat on the deck, staring at the purple-gold sea in a daze, and couldn't help muttering to himself, "If I were to choose again now, I would rather face the Imperials." Parker said shrilly, "If we had faced the Imperials, we would have been buried in the sea."

The poet lady was choked for a moment. Although she knew she was wrong, she still insisted, "We almost died at the bottom of the sea." "Almost meant death." The Paparar people also responded sharply.

The voices of the two people circled on the deck, like a pair of crows circling on the mast, making a lot of noise. Miss Nightingale sighed when she saw it. Such a scene was commonplace on the Seven Seas Traveler, as if it were an everyday occurrence.

She is used to it.

The two-day and one-night voyage was indeed not easy. The danger of the turbulent area was just as Catherine said. The turbulence was just a "small trouble". The real danger was often hidden under the reefs and whirlpools.

Catherine told them that there were "ruins" left by the battle between two dragon knights. A war that took place in the Golden Year destroyed an island there. Most of the broken floating island sank under the sea of ​​clouds, and the remaining part formed the wonder they saw -

Floating on the clouds were black, glassy rocks as big as mountains, as if they had been melted. Most of the sharp rocks were hidden under the clouds, waiting for the turbulent current to bring the sailboat to their doorstep and smash it to pieces.

There were countless rocks like this floating on the empty sea, some as small as cinnabar and pebbles. When they floated above the clouds, they hit the sides of the ship, making a ping-pong sound, which made the people under the cabin tense. After a voyage, everyone was exhausted both physically and mentally.

But Elisa had never seen similar scenes anywhere else, including the icy sea cut by glaciers and covered with reefs on the coast of the Wand. The broken continental margin formed the most dangerous waterway in Korin-Ishurian.

But it's not as good as here -

What the female pirate said might be true. Only a dragon knight could create such great power. She reached out and picked up a piece of stone from the rubble. The glassy rock was covered with fine pores, like igneous rock.

Such a scene appeared in her mind involuntarily.

A pillar of fire that reached the sky and the earth descended from the clouds and hit the huge floating island. The high temperature of hundreds of millions of degrees melted through the center of the island, and the turbulent elemental power tore the entire island into two.

Lava gushed out from under the cracks, poured into the empty sea, and cooled to form its current shape. These rocks of various sizes are the blood flowing from the earth, and are the last traces of the floating island's existence on this empty sea.

The power of destruction completely distorted the laws here. The raging wind element formed turbulence under the Sea of ​​​​Aether, like the ghosts of dead elements, resurrected from nowhere, forming a hidden undercurrent that struck without warning.

One mistake could result in the ship being destroyed and people dying.

"Such scenes can be found everywhere in the Second World," Mia walked up, looked at the stone in her hand, and said, "That world was shaped by wonders and great power. It is far more dangerous than here. The Turbid Realm was once an ancient battlefield. If you are not prepared, I don't recommend you go there."

Alisa turned around and looked at her, "Does Miss Mia feel dangerous too?"

“The abilities of dragon knights also vary. As long as they reach the gold level, they can be called dragon knights. But compared to the two dragon knights who have fought here, they and I are far inferior.” Mia shook her head, but in her heart she couldn’t help but think of everything that happened at Covenant Mountain.

Although she had the help of some power, she could indeed be said to have flattened that place. It should have fallen apart by now, and the scene left behind would not be much better than here, right?

"But Miss Mia knew the captain earlier than any of us. You should know that with Ed's character, he will take us there no matter what." Elisa looked at Mia. The wolf girl had a temperament that matched her. She was calm and mysterious. Her silver eyes seemed to be able to accommodate everything. At the beginning, Fang He fell into this dream uncontrollably. Miss Nightingale herself almost lost her mind. She blinked her eyes to come back to her senses and gave her a strange look.

Miya looked at Fang He who was talking to Catherine and nodded slightly.

……

"The Seven Seas Traveler was badly damaged, especially the few shots that penetrated the lower deck. Although the holes were repaired by Tracis and Miss Lark with magical white oak, they are only superficial," Fang He said to Catherine. "The elemental structure and the Guy generator can only be repaired after we reach the port. Before that, we can only maintain our current slow pace."

"That's nothing," Catherine answered him. "It will only take you more than half a month to reach Lufflin at this leisurely pace. Anyway, you had the foresight to resupply in Quimana, so there is nothing missing on the ship."

"I'm not worried about that," Fang He shook his head. "I plan to find a port to dock first, but the nearest port is also in the Gray Whale Islands, which is actually close to the outer edge of Saint Hugh's. I want to hear you talk about that free land, Ms. Catherine."

"My news is not free."

"I have agreed to cooperate with you," Fang He sighed, "Ms. Catherine."

Catherine smiled and told him: "Cooperation is only a prerequisite, but you still have to pay me. So, I will give you a discount for the first time, and you pay me one silver coin."

She stretched out her hand. Fang He was slightly startled, thinking that the other party was just making fun of him. He was a little surprised, so he reached into his pocket, took out a silver coin and handed it to the other party.

But Catherine took the silver coin, looked it up and down, handed it back, shook her head and put it in front of him. "That's not what I want," she replied, "So, let me teach you the first lesson. Pirates like gold and gems, and they will trade with these things, but in Saint Hugh's territory, there is only one kind of currency in circulation, which we call pirate money, or cursed silver coins."

Fang He was stunned. He had indeed heard of this legend. There was a kind of currency circulating among pirates that was only used among themselves. It was called cursed money, but people generally believed that it was just a legend.

After all, the pirates have no jurisdiction over each other, and the so-called pirate king is only the overlord of one side. The pirates in the empty sea are not willing to submit to each other, so how could they recognize a common currency?

The pirates of Ataria are not known for their credibility.

"Cursed money?" he asked.

"Yes, I feel strange?" Catherine replied, "In fact, we don't know where this coin comes from, but pirates regard it as very important. It is even more precious than gold, jade and emeralds. After all, you can use it to buy everything in Saint Hugh's - human lives, ships that pirates regard as treasures, and even holy objects and artifacts."

She took out a silver coin and placed it in front of Fang He - it looked like just an ordinary coin, the silver on the surface was even a little black due to oxidation, the casting process was rough, and there was a strange triangle engraved on the coin surface.

It was really hard for Fang He to connect the legendary cursed money with this crude coin. It looked like a private imitation made by a small workshop, the kind of private money that would be rejected by larger cities.

It's not even worth re-melting.

He had never seen the triangle on the coin before, and had never heard of which god it was the holy emblem of, nor did it look like the symbol of any organization.

If Catherine hadn't shown it to him and then carefully put it away, hiding it as a treasure, he would have thought that the female pirate was making fun of him. "Actually, when I proposed it to you, there was a third possibility. If you have enough pirate money, you can take it to the free port to seek help. There are pirates who are willing to cooperate with you."

She glanced at Fang He, "But I guess you didn't."

"Will the pirates recognize it?" Fang He asked. He did not believe that such a currency would be inherently credible unless it was gold, other precious metals or valuable jewelry, and there was someone behind it to guarantee its value.

Where does its credibility come from?

Freeport is a place without rules. There is no king who can rule everything. Rodrigo in the past and Barosa now are both like this. They are just the overlords of the sky and sea, with a great reputation. But this does not mean that they can command other pirates.

To put it bluntly, the pirates' transactions were based on who had the stronger fist and the louder voice. They had established a set of customary rules in Saint-Hugh's, but those rules were also based on the law of the jungle and merely maintained the most basic order.

It sounds unlikely that this set of rules would allow the pirates to implement a monetary policy.

"Because the Holy Mystic Society approves it," said Catherine.

"The Holy Secret Society?" Fang He asked. It sounded like the name of an organization, but there were secret societies like this all over Ataria, and it was impossible for him to know all of them.

"It is an organization established among the brotherhoods. You and your companions are not walking in the gray area, so it is normal that you have not heard of it," Catherine told him. "The Holy Secret Society originated in Lotao and later spread to Giant Tree Hill. It is very famous among the pirates of Saint Xuan."

"Very famous, why?"

"The reason is these cursed silver coins," Catherine replied. "The Holy Secret Society recognizes the value of the cursed silver coins and recycles them. Moreover, the Holy Secret Society only trades with pirates and will only recycle this kind of coins from pirates they recognize. That's why it is called pirate money—"

"I don't quite understand," Fang Yu was confused. "Assuming that this kind of silver coin is really valuable to them, why do they only trade with pirates? Doesn't it mean that this kind of money flowing back from other people has no value to them?"

Catherine thought for a moment and said, "Actually, you are not the only one who has this question. However, the legend is related to the patron saint of pirates. There is only one temple of a god in the free port of Saint Hugh's. Do you know which god it is?"

Fang Plover shook his head.

Catherine looked at the sea, where the sunlight on the clouds formed golden rays of light, like shimmering waves. "Sailors believe that once they set foot on the open sea, it is like handing their fate over to the hands of the saints. Among the saints of Orin, there happens to be such a god who controls fate."

"The girl of destiny, Elaine?" Fang He asked.

"Elaine?" Catherine shook her head. "We don't know the name of that lady. We only know that she is the most mysterious of all the saints in Orin. Even her name is rarely known to the outside world."

Fang He was slightly stunned. Elaine was one of the eleven gods of the Orin pantheon, so how could even her name be hidden? He suddenly thought of a possibility and couldn't help but be stunned.

Catherine continued, "The history of the cursed silver coin among the Saint Hughian pirates is even longer than that of my grandfather. The pirates passed it on by word of mouth because it carries the power of fate, and the Holy Secret Society may be the believers of the goddess."

Although the reason is unknown, the girl of destiny, Elaine, is indeed the only goddess among the eleven gods who does not have a public temple.

This is different from the twin goddesses of Aimaya. The Shadow in the Forest is originally just a secondary god.

But the Holy Mysteries are followers of the Goddess of Fate?

Fang He was vaguely confused.

"But this is just your guess," he asked, "There is such an organization that issues currency among pirates and only trades with pirates. Have you never doubted it?"

Catherine looked at him and said, "I know what you mean, but I think it's unlikely because you don't understand the value of the cursed coins. This kind of silver coin is divided into three levels. Like the one I have in my hand, I can exchange ten of the same coins for a large ship in the hands of the Holy Secret Society."

She went on: "Do you know what a ship means to pirates?"

Fang Plover shook his head.

"It means all possibilities," Catherine said. "Sometimes, like now, a ship means a chance for me to make a comeback and not be imprisoned. As long as you have the cursed silver coins, the Holy Mystery Society will take whatever you want."

She looked at Fang He, her emerald eyes flashing with a burning gaze, "They have never refused a deal before. Do you think they need to do this again?"

Fang He was somewhat shocked when he heard this. He had never thought that there was such secret knowledge among pirates. Before passing through the star gate, he even thought that he had understood this world well enough, but he did not expect that what he had seen was just the tip of the iceberg.

As Catherine said, all he saw was the information related to the alliance that was on the surface, and he knew very little about the things in the gray area.

Fortunately, it seems that Minmier has found a reliable guide for them.

"So this kind of silver coin is very important to you," Fang Yu said, "Then why doesn't Ms. Catherine trade directly with the Holy Secret Society?"

Catherine paused for a moment: "...This has nothing to do with you."

Seeing Fang He looking at her suspiciously, she sighed and confessed, "Well, actually I don't have that much money. Do you really think that cursed silver coins are so easy to get? I haven't saved much over the years. This is my last trump card."

"So you want to charge me a silver coin for a piece of information?" Fang He asked.

The female pirate blushed slightly. "It was just a joke. Besides, I'm giving you the information for free, little guy. Don't be ungrateful."

"So what are the other two levels of Cursed Silver like?"

"The one I have is a second-level one," Catherine said, eager to change the subject. "The first-level one has no face value and is much cheaper. As for the third-level one, I have never seen one. It is said to be priceless and can be used to exchange for a real artifact from the Holy Mystic Society."

  Does the Holy Secret Society still have a divine weapon?

However, Fang He thought about it and realized that if the Holy Secret Society was really Elaine's followers, it would not be a big deal. The Seven Seas Traveler's current need had nothing to do with any artifacts, so he did not raise this question unnecessarily.

"In fact, there are many different rumors about cursed silver coins. For example, when you collect a certain number of cursed silver coins, you can even use them to make a wish, and the goddess of fate will fulfill your wish," Catherine said. "Of course, these are just illusory rumors. No one has ever realized it."

"So the Holy Secret Society has a base in Freeport?"

"Yes," Catherine nodded. "Freeport is different from what many people imagine. Although it is a free place, it actually has its own rules, called the Pirate Code. The earliest pirate code was established by the pirate prince Francis Kidd, who is the most legendary pirate king in the history of the Sky Sea. Today's Gray Whale Islands are named after his fleet."

Fang He had actually heard of the code. After all, he had learned about the life of Rodrigo de Anris in detail. Later, the code was improved by the gray-haired pirate king William, Rodrigo himself, and gradually became the general rules of Saint Hugh.

Sanctuary is not the stronghold of a certain pirate force or the Corrin-Ishulian Blood Shark Pirates. In fact, many famous pirates have been active there, including Rodrigo and Bluebeard, the pirate king of Silver Chain Island.

Many pirates gathered here, and they could live in peace in the free port because of this set of common rules.

"The patron saint of pirates is the goddess of fate," Catherine said, "but in fact, the Holy Mystery Society did not build a temple belonging to this lady in the Freeport. On the contrary, Saint Xuan actually only has a temple for one god."

"I know that," Fang He replied, "Business lady Roman."

Ms. Roman will not protect the pirates. After all, she believes in fair and just transactions, the spirit of contract, and business skills. It's just that Saint Hughes wants to establish a set of universal rules so that the pirates can live in peace there.

And for this reason, the temple of the goddess of commerce was built, which can be regarded as a unique wonder of Saint Xuan.

...(End of chapter)