At this moment, Gus saw Omnitrix Franklin lacked even the courage to turn and fight desperately, so he slapped him squarely on the shoulder.
However, inside, he was shaking his head at such an utterly inefficient assassination method:
"Before today’s operation, I specifically sought out Uncle Weber and got several Whale Bone Charms with different functions.
If it weren’t for the need to satisfy the pretentious and surprise requirements of the Promotion Ceremony, I would’ve just stabbed you in the kidneys with a dagger right now!
It seems I’ve been influenced by the Gladiator Sequence; I now prefer the simple, violent combat style of a Gunpowder Artist.
Explosions are an assassin’s romance."
Startled by the slap, Omnitrix Franklin, already a bundle of nerves, leaped straight up.
His Spirituality instantly flared, activating the charms he carried.
Mossy Tombstone Charm: Allows disguise as a Dead Spirit, granting immunity to damage from ghouls and ghosts.
Spirit Dancer Charm: Makes the body lighter, greatly increasing movement speed and agility.
The negative effect of both these Whale Bone Charms was that continuous use absolutely could not exceed five minutes. Otherwise, the flesh would begin to die, gradually turning one into a true Undead, and one might even be trapped by the charms themselves, with no hope of release.
A grayish-white mist erupted from the pirate scholar’s body. He instantly became as agile as a cat and whipped around, drawing his gun.
However, just as Gus, who had already stealthily moved behind him, was preparing to launch a surprise attack, he was stunned to find that Byron, who should have been leading the charge, had faltered at the critical moment.
Unfortunately, Byron was too preoccupied to pay him any mind by then.
As footsteps sounded from behind, an bone-chilling coldness rushed toward him. The moment he stepped within three meters, entering the detection range of the Sailing Logbook, the attack and the acquired intelligence simultaneously slammed into his brain.
With a Mountain Goat Steps, he suddenly leaped ten meters, yet he still heard a voice cackle eerily close to his ear, "GAGA, little bug, got you!"
From Gus’s perspective, he saw a ghastly pale, eerie figure with a blank face, devoid of features, clinging tightly to his captain’s back. The tip of its foot was tucked under his captain’s heel, as if they had grown together.
It was The Faceless One, whom Red Beard had forcibly summoned back to aid them!
Black Sorcery · Shadow’s Presence was considered forbidden knowledge widely circulated among pirates, even openly sold on the black market. A powerful warrior is tortured to death through extremely cruel means. Their leg bones are carved into a talisman, which can then imprison their soul, creating a Shadow’s Presence that constantly follows its owner. Even an ordinary person wearing the talisman can fully harness the warrior’s tremendous power.
Side effect: Besides a person’s preferences, habits, personality, and so on, gradually becoming more like that of the Shadow’s Presence, there was one particularly stringent taboo: never let the Shadow’s Presence learn your birthday!
Once this taboo was violated, it was no longer a matter of simply becoming more like it. Instead, on their next birthday, they will be devoured whole by the Shadow’s Presence! They are replaced by it, becoming an Evil Spirit that exists somewhere between a Spiritual Body and a Transcendent.
Many forms of forbidden knowledge, when out of control, led to similar consequences. The ’rules’ of the Silver Law and the ’chaos’ of forbidden knowledge will find a new equilibrium within them. This causes these Fallen Ones to kill according to certain rules, drawing Spirituality from the living to sustain their own existence.
The Shadow’s Presence of The Faceless One was clearly such a case. It was exploited by Red Beard, used to harvest the essence of the native Bayfolk, serving as the anchor for that ultimate killing blow.
Byron saw that the intelligence he had just spied upon only contained the simple name ’The Faceless One · Shadow’s Presence,’ with no detailed information. He immediately realized that the Shadow’s Presence’s rank was higher than his; this was clearly a trap deliberately set by the Privateering Alliance.
However, this kind of countermeasure from the enemy was well within his expectations! This sort of reverse hunt was bound to happen sooner or later. The reason they had committed a series of acts in quick succession over the past few days was precisely to gain a temporal advantage over the Privateering Alliance, to complete his plan of performing the ritual to concoct the Blood of Metamorphosis before the enemy could react.
"You’re still half a beat too slow!"
Byron felt a coldness that seemed to freeze his very blood creeping up from his heels, control over his body slipping away bit by bit. There was no doubt that if this chill reached his brain, his entire body would become a puppet manipulated by the Shadow’s Presence, just like that "mother" earlier.
This was the greatest difference between the Second Order Professional Rank and the First Rank Squire Level: one already possessed active core transcendent abilities, while the other only had three passive Talents. The disparity in combat power was naturally vast.
But after cultivating the Holy Grail of Blood, Byron was a completely different man.
As he recited the Warrior’s Cup’s decisive inscription, "Spring Flow Inscription!"
A stream of fiery red liquid, carrying a strong scent of alcohol, immediately shot out from the Cow Horn Cup and into his mouth.
As Byron’s eyes suddenly turned blood-red, he inhaled and exhaled. Scalding breath billowed with each respiration, instantly erupting into a raging inferno!
Just one mouthful of Blood Brew actually simulated the effects of elemental Black Sorcery.
—Blood Brew: Volcanic Eruption!
Ingredients: Blood of Metamorphosis 15ml, 96° Water of Life 20ml, Blue Curacao Liqueur 30ml, fresh orange juice 15ml, 3 drops of Devil’s Pepper oil.
Also concocted was Blood Brew: Frost Marguerite.
Ingredients: Blood of Metamorphosis 15ml, tequila 30ml, white citrus sweet liqueur 15ml, Slime Juice 30ml.
It was also because the abilities granted by the Silver Law were simply too un-fantastical. Once he had the means, Byron couldn’t resist trying out this kind of flashy ’special effect’ first. And it was precisely this flamboyance, representing extremely potent offensive power, that proved remarkably effective against Spiritual Bodies.
Byron twisted his head and spewed a torrent at the Shadow’s Presence clinging tightly to his back.
A jet of crimson flame, streaked with orange-yellow, shot out, striking the Shadow’s Presence directly in the face.
It hadn’t expected that the Mad Hunt, renowned for its assassination arts, would have such a trick up its sleeve. Caught completely off guard, it took the full brunt of the blow.
Amidst a piercing shriek, the Shadow’s Presence’s possession was forcefully interrupted. It was sent flying backward as if struck by a colossal hammer.
Some powerful forms of forbidden knowledge, having broken through Sequence limitations, could entirely substitute for the core abilities usually possessed only by those at the Second Order Professional Rank. And the Blood Brew also allowed Byron, to some extent, to slightly narrow the gap between himself and Second Order Transcendents.
"AH—! I’m going to eat you alive!"
The Shadow’s Presence, furious and ashamed, scrambled up from the ground, having just extinguished the flames on its body. Just then, it suddenly heard Omnitrix Franklin, who was serving as bait behind it, let out a muffled groan, struck in the back by a sword, and fall dead.
However, the one who killed the First Rank Naturalist wasn’t Gus.
"My lord reigns supreme; before my death, none shall transgress!"
The Shadow’s Presence’s eyes widened as a gleaming black boot landed before it. Then, a towering, iron-like figure slowly emerged from the darkness, his face masked, clad in leather armor, and wielding a glistening Bastard Sword. He exuded an unshakable aura, like a reef.
It was Byron’s Guardian Knight, Iron Wall Bruh!
Clearly, to guard against unforeseen accidents during the hunt, Byron had prepared far more than one contingency.
When Oath Knights fight to protect their king, lord, or honor, besides receiving a combat power bonus, they can also share some of their lord’s Talents or unique transcendent abilities (Chapter 43). Bruh joined the Mad Hunt’s ranks with no difficulty.
The Shadow’s Presence instinctively took a step back.
"Wait! Why did no one tell me the Mad Hunt actually had three members???"
Looking at the three figures slowly encircling it, it suddenly realized that the original script of ’the oriole stalking from behind’ had somehow turned into ’catching a turtle in a jar’—and the worst part was, it was the turtle!