Chapter 296

Chapter 296: Chapter 293: "Imperial Glory

A thumb-sized, transparent stone appeared in his hand.

Staring at the familiar-looking stone, Su Ming’an was stunned for a moment.

...He initially thought that the key prop for Perfect Pass would be something else; he hadn’t expected it to still be the Yate Stone—after all, he already possessed two large pieces.

Moreover, this Yate Stone looked much smaller than the two he owned and could only be used once.

However, his identity should be quite special... that’s why there were such large Yate Stones hidden under the wardrobe and the bed. For an ordinary player, this rewarded Yate Stone would already be very precious.

He placed the Yate Stone in his backpack and walked towards another door in the engine room.

"...Wait, where are you going!" Nailuo immediately called out to him from behind.

"Rin, what should we do now? The crew members have guts to spare—they actually want to seize the Empire’s hope... What exactly do they want, they can’t possibly wish to replace the nobles and trade with Maritime City, can they...?"

"Their goal, whether it’s for treasure or for power, is unimportant," Su Ming’an said as he walked.

He pushed the door open.

Outside the door was a pitch-black corridor, like a deep tunnel, where no light could be seen.

"Hey, where are you going? What exactly are you planning to do!" Nailuo didn’t get an answer and immediately tried to stop him.

"The cockpit is that way," Su Ming’an said. "During night navigation, the cockpit lights are off."

"Wait, are you going to..."

Before Nailuo could say anything more, Su Ming’an walked straight out, plunging into the darkness.

In the pitch-black night, waves tumultuously rolled outside the cockpit.

The middle-aged man at the helm rubbed his tired eyes.

He was Austin, the current Captain of the Yate Vessel, navigating the Empire’s hope and glory.

As the helmsman of this maritime pearl, he naturally did not come from common stock.

He was formerly a member of the Royal Knights of the Yate Empire, and although it was in name only, it signified that he was from a vastly different class than commoners.

When chosen to pilot the Yate Vessel, he sold all his personal wealth and devoted himself to helping the Empire build this ship that would sail towards the light, all for this one voyage filled with hope.

The ship was carrying nearly one-third of the Yate Empire’s Yate Stones, and it was headed for the legendary city of treasure, to exchange for precious jewels that could rejuvenate the empire...

As the helmsman of this great vessel, he was filled with confidence in this voyage.

Even when news of Soul Clan attacks on passengers at night came, it would not shake his trust in the Yate Vessel.

With three Soul Hunters aboard, they were certainly capable of quelling this chaos...

As he watched the storm raging outside, he observed the scene with some concern, only to be suddenly startled by the sound of the cabin door opening behind him.

Through the somewhat blurred mirror, he saw the first mate, Ya Wen, coming in, holding an oil lamp in his hand.

"Ya Wen?"

He called out softly, "Why did you bring the lamp inside? Take it out; it’s reflecting light."

Although the Yate Vessel relied on Resource Stones for power, making it less necessary for him to perform overly complex operations, the light still impacted his visibility, and he needed to keep an eye on the situation outside.

He asked Ya Wen to take out the lamp, but Ya Wen, who usually heeded his commands, ignored him and instead walked closer to him.

Through the reflection in the mirror, Austin began to see that in Ya Wen’s hand, along with a lamp, there seemed to be another reflecting object...

He looked carefully and finally saw the full shape of the object.

—It was a knife!

No sooner had he seen it clearly than the glint of the knife shone; Ya Wen, with knife in hand, chopped towards him without hesitation.

"Ya Wen!"

He cried out and tumbled from his seat as Ya Wen’s knife struck the control panel, sparking a shower of sparks.

"Ya Wen, what are you doing!" Austin could not believe that his trusted subordinate would suddenly attempt to kill him.

"Our plan has already begun, you old relic." A cold smile appeared on Ya Wen’s normally gentle face:

"...Keeping you here would eventually lead to discovery by you. Since Huo Gu’s insinuations are of no use to you—then it’s better for you to just die!"

With that, he slashed with his knife again.

Austin was unarmed and no match for Ya Wen; after several rolls, Ya Wen’s knife slashed into his flesh, splattering blood.

"Ya Wen—answer me!" Austin screamed: "—Why betray Yate! Betray the empire that birthed and nurtured you!"

"Why? Because of interests." Ya Wen sneered: "I’ve had enough of this rotten empire. Commoners will always be commoners, nobles will always be nobles; people are branded from birth until death. Even if you try hard to change and climb higher, it’s utterly impossible... How many years and hardships have I endured preparing for this voyage from my childhood? Just because of your title as a Royal Knight, you climbed above me, giving me no chance to show myself..." As he spoke, he flicked the blood from his knife onto the ground:

"But now, things are completely different... After killing you and driving away those cowardly nobles, we will have full control of this great vessel... When we have the remaining Yate Stones, whether we go to the Maritime City or some other place, we will enjoy supreme freedom—"

Austin looked at him, teeth chattering.

"You... should never covet what isn’t yours!" he shouted: "Abandoning your own kin, forsaking your faith, you are nothing but a pitiful group of traitors—"

"Say what you will, Austin." Ya Wen raised the knife high, its cold light flashing in his eyes:

"...We’ve come too far to turn back now. This great vessel is destined not to reach the legendary city of treasure with you aboard... And as for that rotten empire wanting treasures... dream on."

He shouted, and the knife in his hand was poised to fall.

"Creak—"

A soft sound.

The hatch behind him was slightly pushed open again.

"Berk?" Ya Wen tilted his head slightly, aware that some special class sailors were following him, coming to take over the massive ship: "You wait outside for a bit, I’ll deal with this old guy and then come out..."

"Swoosh—!"

The gleam of a cold sword blade, at that moment, passed by his neck.

The black-haired young man, who was carrying a kerosene lamp and dressed in the garb of a Viscount, held his sword and looked at him.

A strong scent of blood suddenly rushed in from outside the door, splattered blood still visible on the young man’s sword.

"You..."

Ya Wen’s head flew off.

At this moment, he didn’t even realize his own death; the only thought in his mind was.

Why was there a stranger here!?

He remembered clearly that some special class sailors were following him, about to join him in taking over this beautiful Maritime Jewel, and they were about to sail towards a bright future...

Why was there a stranger behind him...

Blood flew, head fell to the ground.

"Gurgle..."

The cabin spilled, and the head made a rolling sound.

Ya Wen’s headless body fell to the ground, landing right on top of Austin.

Looking at the severed and terrifying corpse before him, Austin fought the urge to vomit, pushed Ya Wen off, and got up to confront the sword-wielding young man.

In the slightly swaying cabin, he steadied himself on the ship’s walls, watching the man standing before him with nerves on edge.

In the dim light of the lamp, he suddenly felt the person in front of him looked familiar.

"You are..." Austin blinked, reconfirming: "The passenger from the fourth floor... Lord Viscount?"

He had a strong memory for faces, and he remembered the appearances of passengers from the third floor and above; this down-on-his-luck noble who had boarded the ship in search of treasure was also someone he remembered.

But wasn’t this a man unfit for both pen and sword? How, how could he have come here, in the middle of the night...?

"Captain?" Su Ming’an glanced at Austin, who was trembling in the corner: "It seems you’re not with that group of sailors."

"I, of course, am not!" Austin said: "I would never betray the great Empire! —— Lord Viscount, even if you and Ya Wen and others forced me, I would not compromise. This airship will definitely safely reach the destination of this Airship City voyage..."

"That’s good to hear," Su Ming’an interrupted his solemn declaration.

He walked over to the control panel, noticing the unexpectedly simplistic setup. There were only a few buttons, three railings, and a Resource Stone glimmering beside them.

"You can pilot this ship alone, can’t you?" he asked.

Austin was startled, apparently not expecting the bloodstained man to ask him questions so calmly.

"Can... can." He swallowed, explaining: "The piloting of the Yate Vessel is not complex, mainly driven by the Resource Stone; I can pilot it alone."

Su Ming’an turned: "Is the learning method difficult?"

"Not difficult, it’s in the manual right beside it, but without practice, it’s still hard to control... and you need the coordination of a lookout..." Austin answered.

He dared not delay his response.

That blood-stained blade was swinging in front of his eyes; he did not dare to hesitate.

Su Ming’an listened to his words and picked up the small booklet beside him.

The moment his gaze met the pages of the book, the system prompt began to load.

Looking at this system prompt, Su Ming’an knew he had made the right move.

Indeed, as long as he took over control of the cockpit, he could take control of the massive ship.

He stared at the booklet in his hands, watching the system progress slowly load...

Meanwhile, Austin, shaking all over, watched Su Ming’an earnestly studying and couldn’t help but speak up: "Excuse me, Lord Viscount, Lord Viscount?"

Su Ming’an interrupted his studies and looked at him sideways.

Meeting Su Ming’an’s gaze, Austin, with trepidation, said: "Lord Viscount, it’s evident you despise the wicked; thank you for killing those traitors. But you can leave the piloting to me now. You have more important things to do, like reporting this absurd event to the Grand Duke on the sixth floor immediately..."

Su Ming’an continued to look at him.

"Lord Viscount, this matter is quite appalling, with crew members attempting to seize control of this jewel of a ship and steal the Empire’s treasures..." Austin, meeting his gaze, grew more and more impassioned: "Lord Viscount, you must report this situation truthfully to the Grand Duke, we can’t allow such nefarious and perverse acts to go unpunished..."

As he said this, he suddenly heard footsteps again.

Then, a black-haired young man walked in, wearing a strange outfit and holding a bloodstained staff.

He, too, was covered in a thick scent of blood.

Su Ming’an turned and handed the booklet to Ming:

"This thing, you should be able to learn it, too. It could serve as a backup plan. I saw a map of Maritime City next to us, and with the system’s assistance, you should be able to successfully navigate this ship..."

"I can, you can rest assured and leave this task to me, I’ll make every effort to learn," Ming returned with a warm smile, taking the booklet from his hand: "You don’t need to worry about my situation; you can go and take care of what you want to do."

"Hmm, I now have a good hypothesis, this matter can’t be so simple, it may involve even more nobility, including those Soul Hunters; I also need to deal with that..."

As they conversed, Austin listened with growing horror.

Austin’s smile froze on his face, a sneaking suspicion forming in his heart.

When the Viscount had heroically come at night, decisively killing the rebels, he thought a savior had arrived.

But now it seemed...

Was it possible that the dangerous people were also right in front of him?

"Lord Viscount." He swallowed, feeling increasingly unsafe: "What do you mean... Surely you don’t lack the Imperial Glory of the Yate Empire? Don’t you want those rebels brought to justice...?"

Su Ming’an’s speech cut off; he did not further engage with the captain.

Instead, Ming turned around and smiled at the captain.

"I’m sorry to tell you, captain," he said: "What we plan to do is far more outrageous than that bunch of ’traitorous fellows.’

This Maritime Jewel of Yate, the Imperial Glory...

Its owner, might have already changed."