The explosive boom at the docks instantly drew the attention of everyone near the port.
Byron, who was in the Rosemary Inn and heard the disturbance, used "Mountain Goat Steps" to leap onto the roof in one bound.
He gazed into the distance towards the docks.
Last night, upon returning to the inn, he had immediately given Bruh the "Blueblood Spring"—concocted with Transcendent-level Blood of Metamorphosis—to drink.
He then stayed by his side, watching as the heavy wounds on the Guardian Knight’s body, and even the ruined features of his face, rapidly healed.
However, before Bruh could fully awaken, Byron was first greeted by this earth-shattering explosion.
Is that where the Privateering Alliance’s anchorages are? Which privateer captain suffered a bomb attack? That’s really... well done!
Realizing that this was a fire at the enemy’s "house," Byron suddenly found the monstrous and fierce flames, brandishing their claws and teeth, somewhat charming, and clapped for them right there on the spot.
He didn’t forget to take out his Warrior’s Cup and pour himself a drink of Blood Brew: Rattlesnake.
In an instant, his field of vision changed; the night was filled with many orange-yellow patches that were previously hard to detect. He had activated his "thermal vision"!
After formally conducting the "Ritual of the Holy Grail of Blood," he had finally reached the complete state of his current Class.
His methods were greatly enhanced, and his ability to impersonate various identities rose accordingly.
Although he lacked the core ability "Dietary Supplementation" of a Second Order Gourmet, meaning he couldn’t replenish specific deficiencies by eating corresponding food, he could achieve a similar effect by drinking a variety of Blood Brews.
For example, mixing buffalo blood with tequila for a "Matador"; dog blood with gin for "Hound’s Nose"; snake blood with whiskey for a "Rattlesnake"; or grasshopper juice with vodka for a "Flying Grasshopper" to gain incredible leaping power. All of these had a similarly wondrous effect to "Dietary Supplementation."
With the aid of "thermal vision," the scene of the explosion became clearer.
Although Byron couldn’t locate the attacker, the first person he instinctively thought of was the "Gunpowder Artist" he had encountered the previous night.
Such a violent and direct style was hard for others to imitate.
At this moment, even though broken planks, body parts, and stones torn apart by the scorching airstream were falling from the sky like rain, the attacker’s onslaught continued.
In the seawater near the damaged pier, dozens of fiery red fins sliced through the water, converging from all directions toward the center of the initial explosion.
Whenever they touched anything but water, they would present the world with a blinding and violent explosion.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!...
For a while, it was even more dazzling than the combined cannon fire of a warship.
This was actually a special gunpowder formula known as "Flame’s Kiss."
As an alchemical product in the hands of an Artisan, its power was unremarkable.
But if ingested by various animals, it would react uniquely with their flesh and blood, turning them into terrifying incendiaries or explosives.
With just a simple transcendent ability to guide these animals, they became remote-controlled bombs. This was also one of the most brutal and direct assassination methods!
Following the school of fish, on the other side of the pier connected to the land, a massive swarm of red rats surged forward like a tide.
Fearlessly flinging themselves into the fray, they added even more spectacular color to the grand fireworks display.
The brilliant light illuminated half of the pitch-black sky, making it as bright as day.
Byron, watching, couldn’t help but applaud as he admired, This is the splendor belonging to the Supernatural World, full of surprises and the unexpected. Just the Gunpowder Artist alone, with proper preparation, can unleash firepower rivaling that of a warship’s broadside. Not to mention Mid-Sequences Transcendents, even High Sequence Supernatural Beings wouldn’t dare to face a warship’s combined fire head-on. Times have changed. No wonder the Sea Power Countries are so confident that great ships and large cannons will dominate these mysterious and bizarre seas. I really want one! If only such a Transcendent could become a crew member of my Golden Deer.
Of course, just thinking about it was impossible. Even if Guardian Knight Bruch fully recovered, their entire ship combined couldn’t beat that one person.
But the slight regret did not dampen Byron’s good mood. The enemy of my enemy is my friend; while not absolute, the odds of them becoming friends are much greater than with strangers.
Unfortunately, before he could continue to revel in their misfortune, the epicenter of the explosion underwent a new change.
A bone-chillingly fierce blast of air erupted from the center of the now white-hot flames, forcefully pushing away the blazing inferno that seemed to boil even the seawater.
Then, immediately afterward, a charred, almost skeletal body, with many parts missing, stepped out, exposing itself to all onlookers.
Half the port resounded with sharp intakes of breath.
Even Byron couldn’t help but wear a look of horror. Blasted by heavy bombardment and burned to this ghostly state, yet still not dead?!
The events that followed overturned everyone’s understanding of reality.
Under the gaze of countless eyes, the charred body regenerated at a speed akin to time flowing backward.
Burnt bones mended anew, while muscles, fascia, organs, and blood regrew upon them.
In just a mere dozen or so breaths, the scorched cadaver had turned back into a living person, with even his clothing restored to its original state.
Yet in Byron’s "thermal vision," there wasn’t a hint of a living person’s warmth on him; his body temperature was even lower than the surrounding environment.
This was a middle-aged pirate, nearly two hundred centimeters tall, in his early forties, with a large red beard.
Quite coincidentally, almost everyone present, including Byron—the newcomer who had only been at Iron Anchor Bay for a short time—recognized him.
He was Red Beard Edward, a veteran member of the Council of Captains and currently the leading candidate for Pirate Warlord!
A top-tier wanted criminal in multiple countries, with a bounty of 58,000 pounds!
A notorious murdering fiend, he once committed the brutal act of raiding a coastal town and slaughtering over a thousand people, leaving no survivors.
Compared to him, Bloody Eye Salman wasn’t even fit to carry his shoes.
And at this very moment, an ambush no one had anticipated revealed another aspect of his terrifying power to everyone present, beyond his already infamous brutality.
The tens of thousands of pirates who witnessed this were all filled with fear. An image of invincibility was deeply etched in the hearts of every pirate there. Who would want to be an enemy of a monster that couldn’t be killed even by such horrific firepower? And who could possibly stand against him?
Perhaps realizing the futility of their assault, the attacker, the Gunpowder Artist, promptly ceased hostilities and made no further moves.
"What kind of power is this? Even those legendary Curse Spirits that can never be killed are nothing compared to this, right?"
"Forbidden knowledge! This must be some kind of incredibly powerful forbidden knowledge!"
But the audacious pirates around were abuzz with excitement, discussing Red Beard Edward’s abilities.
And amidst the myriad expressions of awe and reverence, a few brazen and greedy glances could be discerned.
Having been made to perform such a "frank display" and reveal his trump card, Red Beard was exceedingly irritated.
Yet he had no idea who the attacker was or where they were hiding.
With his rage having no outlet, he could only grit his teeth in silent fury. Damn the attacker! There’s nobody in this world who can kill me! No matter who you are, once I catch you, I will sacrifice you alive to my Soul-hiding Casket. I’ll make it so you can neither live nor die!
Obviously, Red Beard Edward indeed possessed some powerful forbidden knowledge.
Black Sorcery: Soul-hiding Casket:
Arrange the ritual, sacrifice ten lives, and then remove your own heart to place inside an ebony casket.
Then, hide the casket somewhere no one can find it.
This grants the user an extremely terrifying form of immortality to a certain degree. The body has no vital points and is completely immune to physical damage.
As long as the heart in the casket remains intact, the person won’t truly die, not even if they’re chopped to pieces or their bones are ground to ash.
Apart from the body becoming as cold as a corpse, there are no significant side effects.
However, it has a time limit; a sacrificial ritual must be held annually. Once started, it absolutely cannot be stopped, and the number of sacrifices increases each year. This starts with two people in the first year, then four in the second, eight in the third, sixteen in the fourth, thirty-two in the fifth, and so on.
By the tenth year, 1,024 people would be needed—enough to require slaughtering an entire small town.
Anyone who dares to practice such sinister Black Sorcery will, within a few years, inevitably become a true mass-murdering fiend, completely beyond their own control. This was why Red Beard Edward, in order to collect sacrifices, never left any survivors when plundering at sea.
When he reboarded his ship, the Goddess of Vengeance, he faced a group of privateer captains with varied expressions and ordered with a grim face, "Gentlemen, no need to worry. Everything is under my control. Gather your crews. The time has come to achieve great things."