Chapter 1844: Soldier Crew
Lu Yin stared out at the Cosmic Sea as the waves rose and fell.
It was quite reasonable to think that someone had acquired Wu Tian’s inheritance, as why else would a mere Hunter have heard about Wu Tian"s name? Lu Yin had not known of the ancient powerhouse even after becoming the most powerful in his generation. He had only learned about the mysterious Ancient Progenitor in the Perennial World.
If someone had really obtained Wu Tian’s inheritance, then Lu Yin had no idea if it was a good or bad thing, regardless of whether the person was a friend or enemy.
There were reports of many other recent developments in addition to the appearance of Wu Tian’s inheritance. The most concerning report to Lu Yin was that the Wen family had suffered a bad blow. A powerhouse had emerged from one of Burial Garden’s gates in Erudite Flowzone, and the person had attacked the Wen family before leaving.
Lu Yin was not surprised. If even an Empyrean Imprinter like Mr. Lifeview had been tempted to enter Burial Garden, then it would not be surprising for another expert to enter. With Wu Tian’s inheritance revealed, it was possible that even Semi-Progenitors might be tempted to enter Burial Garden. No, it could even tempt Progenitors.
Even if both were Progenitors, there was still a difference between them. The legendary Ancient Progenitors were figures whom modern Progenitors could not compare to.
Burial Garden’s opening had created a situation where people could come into contact with legacies from ancient times, and anyone who obtained such an inheritance would definitely have a brilliant future.
In that case, what’s the Neohuman Alliance’s reaction to all this? Will they just sit back and allow things to continue as they are? Lu Yin rubbed his chin.
"We are still a long way away from Leon’s Armada, so if you’re bored, you can always fish, Alliance Leader Lu.” The first mate approached Lu Yin and offered a suggestion.
The man’s name was Hai Dalu, and he was the Arcadian Arrow Crew’s first mate.
Lu Yin nodded. "It has been quite boring. First Mate Hai, please tell me about the Soldier Crew."
"Soldier Crew? Do you have some interest in them, Alliance Leader Lu?" Hai Dalu was surprised by this request.
Lu Yin explained, "The Cosmic Sea used to have the Four Pirate Crews, but right now, only Leon’s Armada and the Soldier Crew still exist. Of course I’m interested in them."
He stood up and stretched. "It’s possible that Leon’s Armada will soon be able to unite the entire Cosmic Sea. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?"
Hai Dalu had no idea how to respond to that. Wonderful? It would naturally be wonderful for Leon’s Armada, as well as for Lu Yin and his Great Eastern Alliance, but it definitely would not be good for the various crews that had been surviving in the cracks.
"The Soldier Crew is a complete mystery, and we actually don’t know any more about them than the outside world. The Cosmic Sea is quite large, and even though there were the Four Pirate Crews, they each kept their own set territory, and those were the areas that they knew best. With the Longevity Brigade and the Ignition Crew now gone, Leon’s Armada has expanded their territory, but the Soldier Crew has not moved out of their original territory at all.
"They’re very odd. The Soldier Crew has never taken the initiative to antagonize anyone, but whenever anyone’s provoked them, it never ends well…" Hai Dalu explained.
Lu Yin quietly listened to Hai Dalu and stared off into the distance as he sank deep into thought.
During ZENITH, there had been a partic.i.p.ant from the Soldier Crew, and the man had had a very odd name: No. 0007. Even though the man had not been particularly powerful, he had possessed an incredibly firm will that had left a deep impression on Lu Yin.
Since they were called the Soldier Crew, were all of the crew members soldiers?
"If we"re lucky, we might actually be able to see the Soldier Crew on this trip," Hai Dalu said.
This surprised Lu Yin. "See the Soldier Crew? What do you mean?"
Hai Dalu accessed his gadget and brought up a star chart. “We’re actually not that far from the Soldier Crew’s territory right now. If you want to get to Leon’s Armada, we need to pa.s.s around a bit of the Soldier Crew’s territory. They patrol their region at all times, so if you’re lucky, we’ll run into them.”
Lu Yin stared at the map. "Why don"t you just go straight across their territory? It looks like it would save a lot of time and effort."
Hai Dalu showed a dry smile. "The Soldier Crew has a rule that no outsiders are allowed to enter their territory and that all trespa.s.sers will be killed. This led to fights with the Ignition Crew and Leon’s Armada in the past, and it even completely wiped out some smaller crews. We don’t dare to step foot into their territory."
"Just how strong is the Soldier Crew?"
"That’s not something that we would know, Alliance Leader Lu. You can ask Highsage Leon, as his armada’s fought the Soldier Crew once before, so he should be able to answer that question."
Lu Yin"s eyes flickered. There was no way that the Soldier Crew was in any way weak if they had managed to maintain their status as one of the Four Pirate Crews even after fighting against Leon’s Armada. At the very least, they had a powerhouse who was on par with Leon. Lu Yin still could not handle powerhouses at that level.
It was also possible that Hai Dalu was worried that Lu Yin would try to force the Arcadian Arrow Crew to pa.s.s through the Soldier Crew’s territory. So, he quickly said, "Alliance Leader Lu, the Soldier Crew is very perceptive, and they’ll discover everyone who enters their territory. No one’s ever managed to slip through with luck."
"Don"t worry, I won"t force you to go there," Lu Yin said.
Hai Dalu let out a sigh of relief.
"So, your Arcadian Arrow Crew has been active in this particular area because you’re worried about running into people from Leon’s Armada." Lu Yin suddenly remembered something.
Hai Dalu"s expression changed, but he just shrugged and nodded. "If we can’t handle something, we’ll just avoid it. The strong eat the weak, so we can only stay away from them."
Lu Yin did not have much to say. After he finished unifying the Innerverse, his next goal was to go straight to the Neoverse. He felt comfortable leaving the Cosmic Sea to Leon’s Armada, and he did not have much interest in finding out what Leon’s Armada was planning to do.
The weather changed yet again, and suddenly, there was purple lightning shooting across the sky.
Every member of the Arcadian Arrow Crew hid within the cabins and stared up at the sky in horror.
"Alliance Leader Lu, you should come in and avoid the weather. The purple lightning is very powerful."
Lu Yin did not refuse, and he entered the ship. He looked up at the sky, and his pupils transformed into runes as the purple lightning swept by.
Purple lightning filled the sky, and he saw its a.s.sociated runes, but this lightning was not overly powerful; it could only compare to an attack from an Enlighter with a power level of about 400,000. Still, this was an unapproachable power to most of the Arcadian Arrow Crew’s members.
There was a boom as a bolt of purple lightning struck the sea and electricity coursed through the sea water. Many people shuddered as the lightning pa.s.sed by the Arcadian Arrow Crew’s ship, and a powerful fear filled some eyes. However, most of the crew members remained calm, as they had survived even more terrifying situations in the Cosmic Sea.
Lu Yin stared off into the distance without moving. When he had checked the runes of the purple lightning in the sky, he had inadvertently seen an impressive number of runes off in the distance. Those runes were moving closer and closer, and Lu Yin soon saw a huge, ancient warship moving towards them. It looked like a ghost ship as it was entirely black with a hull that was worn, scratched all over, and stained with dried blood from past battles.
As the warship approached, a chill swept over the Arcadian Arrow Crew that far surpa.s.sed what they had felt from the purple lightning.
"Sol- Soldier- Soldier Crew- It’s the Soldier Crew!" someone shouted in horror.
The captain snapped back, "What are you panicking for? Shut up!"
The purple lightning illuminated the nearby region of the Cosmic Sea as the Arcadian Arrow Crew watched the enormous warship slowly draw closer. Its approach made them feel like they were about to be consumed by an evil spirit, and many people grew pale as their eyes nervously darted about.
Hai Dalu stared intently at the approaching warship, and then he glanced over at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin stood up and walked out of the ship, his eyes never leaving the approaching warship.
The Soldier Crew’s warship was hundreds of times larger than the Arcadian Arrow Crew’s, and it almost looked as though they were approaching an island.
Purple lightning continued to fall from the sky, and it lit up the deck of the Soldier Crew’s warship. There was a group of cold-faced cultivators standing there, all of them wielding weapons as they stared at Lu Yin. There looked to be thousands of people, and all of them faced the purple thunder without flinching or blinking their stern eyes.
A cold aura spread out despite the continuous blasts of purple lightning.
There was a dull thud. It was from the thousands of members of the Soldier Crew slamming their weapons down as one. There was only a single sound, as all the weapons had struck the deck at the same time.
Lu Yin observed the Soldier Crew with great interest as the two ships approached each other before pa.s.sing by.
"Lu Yin of the Great Eastern Alliance asks to meet with the commander of the Soldier Crew!" Lu Yin called out. His voice became a powerful blast that swept across the members of the Soldier Crew.
However, the crew remained completely silent as the warship moved away. Lu Yin was completely ignored.
Lu Yin arched a brow.
Just as the Soldier Crew’s warship left, the weather suddenly improved, and the sky turned clear. It looked as though the dark sky filled with purple lightning had never even existed. In the sea below, colorful fish were swimming about, creating beautiful ripples in the sea.
Lu Yin looked back up at the horizon, but the ma.s.sive warship was already gone.
After the Soldier Crew’s warship left, every single member of the Arcadian Arrow Crew let out a sigh of relief.
The captain quickly exited the cabin and looked out at the Cosmic Sea. “Luckily, we didn’t move into their territory, or else we would have been finished.”
He looked up and saw that Lu Yin was still staring at the horizon. The captain quickly spoke up, as he was afraid Lu Yin was about to do something. “Alliance Leader Lu, that’s how the Soldier Crew is always like. They never allow anyone to visit or even communicate with outsiders."
"Then how do they recruit people?" Lu Yin was quite curious, as the thousands of people on the deck had not been powerful cultivators, and none of them could have too long of a life expectancy. It was not possible that they had all been sealed in stone like Xin Nü, as it would be pointless to seal such people.
The captain had no idea how to answer Lu Yin’s question, and he simply said, “If you want to visit the Soldier Crew, you should first meet up with Highsage Leon and talk to him about it. He should know a bit more about the Soldier Crew."
…
Several days pa.s.sed after the encounter with the Soldier Crew, and Lu Yin continued to watch the Cosmic Sea’s ever-shifting weather patterns.
He once saw a large mountain rise up from the sea bed, only to explode into shards. This was actually also considered a shift in the Cosmic Sea’s astral phenomenon.
"We’re not too far from Leon’s Armada’s territory now," Hai Dalu said. He had become rather familiar with Lu Yin during this trip as the captain did not want to interact with Lu Yin and the rest of the crew members were scared of the youth. That left only the first mate to speak with Lu Yin.
"Hey, where"s the island?" Hai Dalu asked, looking rather startled as he stared at the horizon with a frown on his face.
Lu Yin asked, "What island?"
"There used to be an island here that was known as Breakwater Island. Where’d it go?" Hai Dalu said before quickly leaving to find the captain.
They had originally planned to dock at the island and restock their supplies.
"It must have sunk. Change course. The closest island now should be Lofty Lotus Island. We’ll restock there," the captain quickly decided. The battleship instantly altered course.
Lu Yin stared down at the sea bed. He saw people there, and more than just one.
"It’s actually pretty normal for islands in the Cosmic Sea to sink. Depending on the size of the island, people will dive to the sea bed to scavenge for any valuables." Hai Dalu looked at the sea bed with bright eyes. "We used to enjoy diving and searching for treasure, but it’s too hard to find anything worthwhile, and it’s basically a waste of time.”
Shortly after the battleship left, a fierce fight broke out in the sea where the island had once stood. Hai Dalu was surprised by the commotion. "It looks like they found something pretty good."
Lu Yin looked back and saw several people far away engaged in a fierce fight atop the sea. Suddenly his expression changed, and he disappeared.
Hai Dalu was taken aback, and he looked back at the fight. What could be worth Lu Yin’s interest?
There were several people fighting above the sea. One tightly clenched something in a hand while trying to escape. However, after breaking free once, he was quickly surrounded. "You can"t hang onto that, so just hand it over."
"Treasures belong to those who find them! You’re just robbing me!"