Chapter 463 - Chapter 463: Players Behind the Scenes? Once Again, The Ghost Ship (2)
Chapter 463: Players Behind the Scenes? Once Again, The Ghost Ship (2)
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
To his astonishment, they used numerous sailboats and even rowing fishing boats to transport large quantities of building materials such as wood and bricks from various islands, embarking on a massive construction project.
In just less than half a day, the open land was dug into numerous foundation pits that resembled burial grounds. After just one day, the houses, although not large, had already taken shape, much better than the previous slums.
In addition, the players who took on the task of exterminating sea beasts were plundering the islands, eagerly attacking the sea beasts on sight, and going on a killing spree.
The indigenous people of the City Hall said that they only needed the heads of the sea beasts as evidence; they didn’t want anything else. In other words, besides gaining contribution points by defeating sea beasts, they could also obtain sea beast corpses as food.
Unexpectedly, the indigenous people who occupied the Starshine Islands were really quite conscientious!
They were much better than the bunch of idiots in the Starshine City Council from before!
Xhakas, Kieran, Herman?
Even so, Xhakas was truly frightened by their enthusiasm.
One could imagine a group of Glory Lords wearing strange equipment, working day and night with their respective subjects and troops.
The noise on the construction site never stopped, and the clanging sounds echoed throughout Starshine City all day long.
This level of efficiency was astonishing.
Through the hard work of a substantial labor force, along with round-the-clock overtime to speed up the construction, the initial set of ten residential houses was completed by the third day since the commission was initiated.
When that player finished the task, they would receive 20 contribution points, which could be used to exchange for twenty gold coins at the City Hall. In addition, their names and contribution points would appear on the leaderboard displayed at the entrance.
Everyone was ecstatic.
Wow, they could actually make this much money!?
One contribution point could be exchanged for twenty gold coins, which was equivalent to the food for hundreds of subjects for a month, and they had only worked for a few days.
What a lucrative opportunity!
However, the contribution points leaderboard was the key!
If they could obtain a special title, that would be impressive, turning them into top-notch players in no time!
While players were fighting hard to earn more contribution points, Ji Chen had already set off to return to the New Moon Islands with all the precious resources.
With Sonia and the Coral Palace army in place, he wasn’t too worried about enemies or sea beasts attacking, nor was he concerned about any ulterior motives from Xhakas and the others.
Or maybe he deliberately sent Sonia over to suppress the Starshine Islands.
Ji Chen stood atop the Tyrant Azure Dragon, leading the army in a swift march. Although their speed was already faster than ordinary ships, the long journey still required quite some time.
If it were an ordinary day, there shouldn’t be any issue, but if they encountered a powerful enemy invasion during this several-day journey, it would become the biggest obstacle, and they might get attacked and defeated.
Looking at the vast sea before him, with no end in sight, he suddenly sighed. If only the ocean had something like highways on land, he could travel quickly between the two places.
Or perhaps if there were a way to open a spatial gate, traveling between the two locations would be a matter of moments.
But no matter which faction it was, opening a spatial gate was an extremely challenging task that required a massive amount of resources, let alone maintaining a spatial gate for an extended period.
He still had a long way to go.
Just as Ji Chen was contemplating these matters, a sudden mist began to rise before him, enveloping them all in a white expanse. Visibility was reduced to less than two hundred meters, and the surroundings became incredibly calm, with only the faint sound of water as their bodies swayed.
In this mist, not only was their vision obscured, but it seemed that even their voices were suppressed.
Benbo suddenly exclaimed, “My Lord, this is the same mist I encountered back then!”
Ji Chen’s expression turned stiff, and he became vigilant.
“Stay alert, be prepared for battle at any moment.”
During their previous return from the Northern Continent, Benbo and the Dragonblood Legion had split into two groups, with Benbo leading the Dragonblood Legion to investigate the Mystic Realm Gate in the Great Luminescent Sea. On their way back, they encountered the mist and a mysterious pirate ship.
And now, it seemed that the mist had targeted them once again.
In this world, there were many things that ordinary people couldn’t comprehend, and in the vast ocean, there were countless strange and abnormal phenomena.
He wasn’t afraid of powerful enemies because they could be seen and defeated through continuous growth. But things of the unknown were unsettling.
If it had targeted Benbo last time, could it be targeting him this time?
Ji Chen’s expression became extremely solemn. Within this white mist, he seemed to have lost his sense of direction, and even his spiritual power was compressed within a two-hundred-meter radius.
This was astonishing because, with the dual bonuses of the Tidal Dominator profession and the territory talent of the Crown of the Ocean, he had never lost his sense of direction at sea.
This indicated that this was not a common occurrence.
Before they could travel much further, a massive black shadow suddenly appeared in the depths of the white mist.
Squinting his eyes, Ji Chen looked closely.
It was a colossal ship, no less impressive in size than the New Moon, slowly advancing through the dense white mist.
Just as Benbo had described, the ship’s exterior was extremely dilapidated. Tattered sails hung from towering masts, and the source of propulsion was lost. One of the mast’s poles was even snapped in half, with one end wedged into the ship’s side. The ship’s hull was maintained for who knows how long, with large, dark holes scattered around, some of them almost at the waterline.
However, even with such a dilapidated ship, it could still navigate the sea smoothly, making one wonder if it was powered by nuclear energy.
The ghost ship came to a stable halt about a hundred meters away from them, as if in a standoff, and no one made a move.
After a long while, Ji Chen attempted to maneuver around it.
But every time he moved, whether to the left or the right, the ghost ship adjusted its position to keep its bow pointed directly at him. Yet, it didn’t close the distance, as if teasing him, neither approaching nor departing.
???
What do you mean by this?
As time passed, both sides remained motionless.
Just as Ji Chen was considering whether to initiate an attack, a voice that seemed to come from beyond the heavens suddenly echoed softly from the ship.
“…this is your mission…growth…”
“…blessing…consumption…”
“…time is running out…they will return soon…”
The voice was unlike that of any creature, and it was even impossible to discern its gender. It spoke intermittently, with only a few words audible.
Before he could think much about it, the ghost ship suddenly retreated and quietly disappeared into the white mist.
Subsequently, the white mist seemed to lose its source, gradually thinning and dissipating. The sound of the rolling sea once again filled their ears, and sunlight poured down from the sky.
However, Ji Chen’s face was filled with confusion. What was that all about?
“Did you hear what it was saying?” he asked the others.
“It? Who is it?” Alice asked in confusion.
Ji Chen’s expression darkened, and he suddenly felt that something was amiss. He spoke in a low voice, “Didn’t you hear a voice coming from the ship?!”
“We didn’t hear any voice,” Alice said, a hint of surprise flashing across her face as she shook her head. The other heroes also looked puzzled and shook their heads, indicating that they hadn’t heard anything.
Seeing this, Ji Chen furrowed his brow deeply. Could it be that only he could hear the voice? That would be quite strange.
At this moment, he had a thousand questions in his mind but no answers.
But he knew that this was no ordinary occurrence; otherwise, the ghost ship wouldn’t have sought them out, as if trying to convey something to him.
“Blessing…”
Could this be related to the military talent tree cheat?
“They… could it be something about to manifest?”
“My mission…” It was utterly perplexing.
After pondering for a long time, Ji Chen rubbed his temples, feeling a headache coming on. Although he desperately wanted to understand what was going on, he lacked crucial information and couldn’t derive any useful conclusions.
At this point, he couldn’t help but grumble at the dilapidated ghost ship. Couldn’t it have said a few more words?
He could only temporarily bury these questions in his heart.
Ji Chen’s brow gradually relaxed, and he said in a deep voice, “Let’s continue on our journey.”
With that command, the halted army once again set off, speeding towards the direction of the Crown of the Ocean.
Time gradually passed.
After nearly ten days of travel, they finally returned to the New Moon Islands.
It was evident that Wilus and the others hadn’t slackened in their efforts to rebuild the territory in Ji Chen’s absence.
Now, at a glance, most of the structures in the Crown of the Ocean had been rebuilt, and there were even some new additions, giving it a fresh and rejuvenated appearance..