Chapter 20: Chapter 20

“Just to be sure, what’s the chance that the information is wrong?”

“It seems there is none.”

Listening to Evan’s words, Alon thought,

‘…Why did Ladan suddenly become a pirate?’

The reason Alon sent Ladan to the port city of Raxas was partly due to his unique talent for tracking, but also because he belonged to the Sea God Clan.

In the game’s setting, the Sea God Clan was extremely rare, with only a few individuals on the entire continent.

Although they looked similar to humans, their true identity was difficult to discern at first glance.

However, Alon, who had played through the game multiple times and delved into the lore, knew that Ladan was part of this clan, which is why he recommended the treasure hunter profession to him.

As a member of the Sea God Clan, Ladan could breathe underwater, and with his tracking ability, Alon figured that if he could retrieve submerged relics, he would easily make money.

On top of that, the nature of a treasure hunter meant that once you struck gold, you could live a comfortable life, so Alon even gifted Ladan a relic specialized for tracking.

But now, Ladan had become a pirate.

Not just any pirate—one of the great pirates of the Seven Archipelagos.

“He’s now a bigger figure than the Count of Palatio ever was…”

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“Indeed,” Evan agreed.

The pirates of the Seven Archipelagos were technically more like lords ruling over their respective islands, each of which could be considered a small domain.

Moreover, their naval combat prowess was so formidable that even the Empire, known for its military might, couldn’t look down on them.

The captains who ruled the archipelagos were superhumans, comparable to sword masters or the barbarian tribes, surpassing the limits of ordinary men.

Even more concerning was that the current captains were said to be far stronger than their predecessors.

As Alon considered all this, a question arose in his mind.

‘How on earth did Ladan manage to kill one of these superhumans?’

Ladan’s talents lay not in combat, so this mystery puzzled him. However, Alon soon arrived at a possible explanation.

‘If Ladan had recovered some of the prime relics from the old era, it might make sense.’

There were many ancient relics hidden beneath the waters near Raxas, and some of them were extremely powerful.

Alon himself had spent three days grinding through the treasure hunter mini-game just to retrieve one of these relics from the Raxas seabed.

Though he eventually grew tired of the mini-game and never touched it again, the relic he obtained had been worth the effort.

So, if Ladan had used a powerful relic to defeat a captain and take their place, that would be somewhat understandable.

Alon pressed his left hand against his eyes for a moment but soon regained his composure.

In truth, he had anticipated the possibility of something like this happening as he unleashed other sins into the world.

He knew the world wasn’t easy enough for everything to go exactly as planned.

Still, it left a bitter taste in his mouth, and he let out a quiet sigh.

***

It was summer.

Beyond the sea of Raxas, a vast maritime city and the de facto heart of the Duchy of Corkia, lie seven archipelagos.

These seven islands, known as the Seven Archipelagos to the people, were originally ruled by the first pirate, now remembered as the Pirate King, ‘Kaldean T. Braven.’

However, after Kaldean’s untimely death due to heart disease, the Seven Archipelagos were divided among seven rulers, each ruling their own island, passing their reign down through the generations.

This region has since become known as the pirate haven of the Seven Archipelagos.

Ladan, who killed the pirate Alcryde Markney, the former captain of the largest island and holder of the title of “The Slayer,” granted by the Emperor’s blessing through sacrifice, became the captain of the first island.

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With a low sigh, Ladan looked down at the island.

Despite being called a pirate town, the first island was quite well-structured.

Numerous houses were scattered across the ground, surrounded by cliffs that circled the massive island, and the homes built upon these cliffs made the island look like a giant fortress.

However, what filled Ladan’s mind wasn’t the island’s scenery, but thoughts of the “Great Moon.”

‘What exactly is the Great Moon?’ he wondered.

Ladan had never deeply thought about the Great Moon before.

Not because he held any deep loyalty to it, but because he simply had no particular interest in it.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t grateful, though.

He was fully aware of his circumstances.

If not for the Great Moon, he would have been captured by the slave traders and subjected to biological experiments, leading to his inevitable death.

Moreover, without the Great Moon, he wouldn’t have met Yutia, who helped him unlock his abilities and become what he is today.

Still, despite all of this, Ladan felt only gratitude toward the Great Moon, and he obeyed his commands not out of loyalty but rather because of Yutia.

For him, the phrase “Everything is for the Great Moon” was simply following Yutia’s orders.

That’s why, when the Great Moon first issued a direct command, Ladan felt resistant.

Like the former Seolrang, he too thought that going to Raxas had no real meaning.

Ladan had too many targets for revenge.

He needed revenge against the “black ones” who slaughtered his entire clan on an unknown, nameless island where they had lived in peace.

He also needed revenge on the cursed hunter who, after he barely escaped the black ones and reached the continent, took advantage of his weakened state, killed his parents, and sold him into slavery.

To Ladan, becoming a treasure hunter held no meaning, and the gifts from the Great Moon didn’t seem to align with the vengeance he had sworn to enact.

At least, until he learned that the captains of the Seven Archipelagos were the ones who killed his parents.

The reason Ladan realized this truth was simple.

All of the current captains of the Seven Archipelagos wielded the power of the Sea God Clan.

Though it was publicly known that they received the Emperor’s blessing through sacrifice, the truth was that they offered parts of their own bodies in a sacred ritual to receive power from the sea god “Claiod,” whom they worshipped.

As soon as Ladan realized this, he raced madly to the center of Raxas’ plaza.

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There, he found the old, torn, and now completely irrelevant wanted posters of the Seven Archipelagos pirates.

At that moment, Ladan was absolutely certain.

The current captains of the Seven Archipelagos were the very people who had killed his parents when he was a child.

They had gained their power by using his parents’ bodies.

The moment he realized this, he felt an overwhelming surge of rage, joy, and confusion all at once.

Even though Ladan had never shared his story after being rescued by the Blue Moon, it seemed as if the Great Moon had orchestrated everything from the very beginning.

As if fulfilling a promise, he had given him the opportunity for revenge.

However, just because the opportunity for revenge had come, it didn’t mean it could be executed immediately.

Objectively speaking, Ladan was currently no match for the captains who wielded the power of Claiod.

Though he was strong, his strength wasn’t enough to defeat those who had reached the realm of superhumans.

As he began contemplating, it didn’t take long for Ladan to realize that the answer lay in the gift bestowed upon him by the Great Moon.

The gift, known as the Goggles of Amrita, had the ability to illuminate countless relics buried under the sea, making them easier to find.

After discovering that some of these relics could compensate for his lack of power compared to the captains of the Seven Archipelagos, Ladan realized that everything had been planned from the start.

At the same time, he understood the true intention of the Great Moon.

‘Revenge and domination over the Seven Archipelagos.’

The moment he understood this, the Great Moon became more than just a small entity he was grateful to.

Not only had it laid out everything before Ladan, but he had also given him the strength to seek revenge.

From start to finish, everything had been planned.

“For the Great Moon,” Ladan muttered unconsciously.

These words had once been meaningless to him, just a simple phrase without any real significance.

But now, “For the Great Moon” no longer felt hollow.

Now, when those words left his mouth, they carried true meaning.

“For the Great Moon.”

Only then did they hold the significance of loyalty.

***

About three months had passed since the news of the fifth son becoming a Somali pirate had reached him.

As the unbearably hot summer began to fade, and the leaves in the forest started turning red, Alon boarded a carriage.

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He was on his way to the grand church held every two years at the Duke Rotegre’s estate.

‘I’d rather skip this if I could…’

While his body was moving in the carriage, Alon’s mind was filled with reluctance.

The shadowy reputation of the Count Palatio family had long since faded due to years of inactivity, but what replaced it was mockery, which bothered him.

Nevertheless, the reason he went through with it was because all nobles of Asteria were bound by the rule to attend the grand church every two years.

There was a strange rule that required attendance once every two cycles unless there was an exceptional reason not to.

Thus, Alon found himself in the carriage on his way to the grand church, soon to be joined by two other nobles.

This was a planned arrangement, as mercenaries or bandits often targeted nobles during the grand church season, so traveling in larger groups was safer.

As nobles, they had enough guards to avoid trouble, but even getting into a fight could cost valuable manpower, so they increased their numbers from the start to avoid any incidents.

Through this understanding, Alon naturally traveled with two families from the east, and the day passed without any issues.

…The problem, however, came that night.

“Count Palatio, isn’t it a bit much to have only one guard… Is it a financial issue?”

“If you’re short on funds, I could offer you some help.”

“Ah… It seems you’ve inherited your title in a rush, and now your finances are in trouble.”

Alon stared in disbelief at the two nobles who had gone out of their way to openly mock him.