Pirate Kingship

"Set sail. Bruh will take the spoils and head to Teyman Island ahead of us to establish our foothold; we'll divide the loot later."

"The Golden Deer will return with me to meet up with the Long-range Fleet."

"Remember, we have never left the Long-range Fleet, nor have we ever come here!"

"Aye, Captain!"

Byron ordered the crew, whose eyes sparkled and faces beamed with smiles, to set sail immediately.

He then entered the captain's cabin alone, closed the door, and created a layer of spiritual barrier before reopening the incessantly squabbling pouch.

At the bottom of the pouch, besides the Crystal Skull that had just been tossed in, there also lay a whalebone talisman.

Carved on the bone talisman was a tombstone with the name Franklin Joshua inscribed on it, along with the tag [Omnitrix].

Beneath the name was an epitaph: "Privacy, tell me your secrets!"

This was precisely the [Mossy Tombstone] Byron had acquired in Iron Anchor Bay.

"Effect: Human Nature completely vanishes, retaining only the knowledge of a Naturalist and a strong desire to pry. You may ask it one question, but you must also truthfully answer one of its questions. If you answer, it might broadcast your secret to those around you through spiritual transmission or by invading their dreams. If you cannot answer, you will be subjected to a First Rank instant-death curse; a failed save results in immediate death. If left unattended, after some time, once it has killed enough people, it is highly likely to transform into a new [Cursed Object]."

The noises just now were the heated exchange between the Crystal Skull and the [Mossy Tombstone].

Back when Byron was in Iron Anchor Bay, he had been using the [Mossy Tombstone] to freely exploit the Privateering Alliance's insider information and secrets.

Leveraging the curse immunity of the [Storm Sigil Ring], he continually refused to answer the kinds of questions that could socially ruin a person if spoken carelessly.

The [Omnitrix], unable to feast on the souls of the living, failed to meet the conditions for the birth of a [Cursed Object], thus gradually weakening over time.

Byron originally thought it would "die" soon and revert to an ordinary object.

Unexpectedly, upon inspecting it now, the Supernatural Aura of the [Mossy Tombstone] had greatly intensified.

"Enough, can you just shut up?"

The more active Crystal Skull, driven by its higher "Beastliness," "primal self," and driving force, was clearly getting frantic.

But Franklin responded calmly, "The answer is no. As long as someone asks me a question, I must respond. Now it's my turn to ask. Do skulls have genders? What is your gender – male, female, or perhaps the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th... 100th kind?"

"Shut up! How dare you Profane the great Corn God, Yum Kax! You are courting death!"

The Crystal Skull opened its mouth to bite him but lacked the strength to even make a dent in the bone.

Deprived of worshippers coveting its magical abilities, it had virtually no combat power.

"Incorrect answer. Please accept the instant-death judgment."

A cold Divine Light flashed briefly from the [Mossy Tombstone].

Of course, the curse from the small talisman couldn't kill the Crystal Skull or the Nature Spirit residing within it.

However, Byron clearly saw soul fragments being stripped from the Crystal Skull and falling onto the talisman.

For this [Cursed Object], which had likely been subjected to Blood Sacrifices for a lengthy duration, these fragments were insignificant, less than a drop in the ocean.

But for the starving [Mossy Tombstone], they were unprecedented nourishment.

Watching the Divine Light continue to strengthen, on the verge of forming a new Third-Rate [Cursed Object] corresponding to a Low Sequence Transcendent, Byron pondered thoughtfully.

Interesting, they both seem to share some commonality, utilizing 'knowledge' as the medium to exert their extraordinary effects. It's just that the Crystal Skull bestows 'abundance' as a reward after obtaining knowledge-rich brain matter, while the [Mossy Tombstone] resorts to a curse as punishment when it doesn't receive satisfactory knowledge.

He silenced their bickering and took both objects out of the pouch.

Setting the talisman aside, he willingly consumed some of his own Spirituality to activate the Crystal Skull's [Echoes of History].

The next moment, the first thing to be read out was the account of that unattainable relic spoken of by the [Famine Hunter]:

"The gods used yellow and white corn dough to create the flesh and blood of the new people and forged their character. Then, they fashioned skeletons from reeds, placed them within the flesh and blood, and imbued them with vibrant energy..."

Every [Holy Relic] bears a unique piece of human history, having exerted great influence over specific regions or domains.

To activate such a treasure, one does not simply use simple adjudicating inscriptions like those on man-made Miracles.

Instead, one must chant its history, bringing that segment of history back to life.

Having diligently examined it twice, Byron realized:

I see. This account sounds like it has been distorted into mythology, but with a little interpretation, it's quite understandable. In Taya People's mythology, the thirteen deities (Nature Spirits) dwelling in the Crystal Skull are one with their ancestors. The Emperors are descendants of the gods; they are 'Demigods.' In fact, Crystal Skull Number Three comes from a Taya civilization ancestor named Yum Kax. In life, he taught his people agricultural knowledge, specifically how to plant corn. After his death, his skull constantly received Blood Sacrifices and eventually became a Nature Spirit dwelling within the Crystal Skull, possessing Authority over life, prosperity, and fertility. In essence, it was a type of Black Sorcery akin to a Life Box. Perhaps in the Taya civilization, he was considered a figure similar to Shennong, the legendary deity of agriculture. However, because its subjective consciousness merged with all the offerings, though called a god, it was no longer the original individual.

As Byron tried to chant the history of Skull Number Three, the true abilities of the treasure revealed themselves before his eyes.

HUMMM—!

The blood-red glow in the Crystal Skull's eye sockets instantly transformed into a vibrant, corn-like yellow-green, erupting outwards.

Above Byron's head, it converged into a "[Corn Emblem]," symbolizing abundance.

Then it spread out violently, and the spiritual barrier was utterly incapable of stopping it.

Starting from the captain's cabin, the oak planks forming the ship's hull seemed to come alive, regaining a hint of green.

The oak constituting the Golden Deer seemed on the verge of fusing, even sprouting branches and leaves.

The Crystal Skull suddenly communicated to Byron its desire to absorb various agricultural knowledge from his brain.

In this state of full power activation, knowledge absorption was harmless.

As long as Byron agreed, it could turn the Golden Deer into a living oak forest!

"I refuse!"

The greenery filling the captain's cabin withdrew at once, and the Crystal Skull returned to its original appearance.

Soon after, the entry about it in the Sailing Logbook was updated:

"[Second-Class Holy Relic · Thirteen Crystal Skulls Number Three]

It contains all the agricultural knowledge of the Taya civilization.

This includes three precious techniques for artificially cultivating Spices: the perforation method, the burning method, and the stimulation of infection by the true scarlet fungus. This fungus encourages the spice trees to secrete oils that combine with their wood, leading to the final formation of real Spices after a long period of settling.

Skull Number Three symbolizes the Corn God, a Nature Spirit. Its ability, [Land of Abundance], can accelerate the growth of crops and all plants within a certain area.

By chanting its history and offering agricultural knowledge as a sacrifice, one can receive its blessing of abundance.

Spices that others take at least three, five, or even eight years to harvest using artificial cultivation methods, it can produce in just one year, or even a few months or weeks.

Note: A single Crystal Skull is a [Second-Class Holy Relic], its influence limited to a single city or region, much like the [Pied Piper's Shepherd Flute].

However, if someone manages to collect all thirteen, they will enhance one another, reaching the level of a [Zero Tier Holy Relic]!

Please, Captain, persevere and strive to collect all thirteen skulls soon to become the successor of the Taya civilization."

Byron compared the information from the logbook with the memories of his three Undead Attendants and finally, thoroughly understood the treasure's value.

What it actually needs is only knowledge it has not yet mastered; blood sacrifices and brain matter are merely carriers of knowledge. Its refusal to consume the natives isn't out of kindness, but simply because their minds no longer hold any new agricultural knowledge. Furthermore, knowledge transfer can be achieved through far gentler methods, such as reciting its history or using 'converters' like the [Mossy Tombstone]. Moreover, this skull's utility extends far beyond Spices alone—it possesses another strategic-level application...

Byron stroked the oak desk nearest to the skull and the fresh shoot that had sprouted from it, his heart pounding with immense surprise.

Excitedly, he paced back and forth in the captain's cabin.

Using this treasure, the [Mandate of Heaven] it embodied was simple: farm.

But Byron didn't mind at all. He was supposed to farm upon arriving at the Tayman Archipelago anyway, and he planned to do it on a grand scale, leaving not a patch of land idle.

And he wouldn't just plant spice trees, but also...oak and teak!

Spices represented wealth and Extraordinary Power.

Oak and teak, on the other hand, signified an endless supply of shipbuilding materials—enough for a fleet capable of determining the maritime destiny of a great nation for centuries!

Professions from the [Ladder of Glory] had far less ability to interfere with the Material World than forbidden knowledge.

Even a farmer with [Hunt Famine] would find that not even sacrificing an entire legion of farmers could achieve mass production on the scale of mature trees.

If a grand fleet were lost, it could take a century to replenish.

In contrast, this single Crystal Skull, though not of very high rank, undoubtedly possessed strategic-level abilities due to the Nature Spirit within it holding corresponding Authority!

With this goose that lays golden eggs, not only the 7,000 pounds from the York family's support but even the freshly plundered fifty thousand pounds instantly lost their appeal in Byron's eyes.

I might not be up to par with other things, but when it comes to farming? Humph, we hail from a pure-blooded agricultural civilization—one that, upon taking its first steps into the starry sea, immediately wondered if crops could be grown on the Moon! And now the Bantaan Archipelago is still in the slash-and-burn stage of agriculture. The Old Continent isn't much better. To this day, its people haven't realized the value of livestock manure, allowing those precious resources to turn their cities into giant cesspools. They can only continue practicing the fallow system, unable to implement continuous cropping, thereby completely wasting valuable agricultural productivity. Those fools! Even if I gave up on rebellion and instead organized people to collect manure in the Old Continent, I could still make a fortune!

Now, Byron was eager to share this good news with his sister and... General Newman.

That's right. He wouldn't just plant trees himself; he also wanted to bring the highly respected Newman Family in on it!

Trust me, keeping it all for myself is definitely not my style.