XIII. Through Thick and Thin

Rein's saliva flowed freely, and he couldn't help but reach for the gemstone.

Bang!

Morison's large hand pressed down on the two stones, the halo around the gemstone instantly vanished, and he was also slightly lost, but quickly recovered, calmly saying, "We can only look at it for now."

Everyone present was shocked, as the jewels from the vault were nothing compared to this, a truly invaluable divine object. There was no need to verify its authenticity; one glance was enough to completely captivate the soul.

These two stones were authentic, celestial objects mounted on the Overlord Crown from ancient times.

"Damn, how much could this sell for?"

Rein was dumbfounded, looking at Swan who was drunkenly sprawled out, possessing such a huge audacity to steal this object.

"You're really brain-dead," said Shadi, regaining his composure, "This is a priceless treasure."

The rest inhaled sharply; wouldn't the Thief Guild chase them to the ends of the earth, to a cruel paradise?

Liszt said, "Honestly speaking, these two stones can't be sold. No one dares to accept them, knowing they belong to the Thief Guild. No one on the black market of the Western Continent dares to buy it. If someone with godly wealth and unreasonable courage offered a sky-high price, it's one thing; if not, they can only be kept for another purpose. And what Swan stole includes something else that absolutely cannot be revealed, a rare object indeed."

"There's something even heavier?"

Wolman felt like he was dreaming; was this not the most impressive yet?

"Damn..."

Mika originally thought that Black Sail had reached its limit; just stabilize and sail steadily for a few more years, earn life savings and retire in luxury, and then it would be time to lay low. He thought that when the political landscape of the Western Continent was reconfigured, and the uproar settled, the fugitives like him would no longer be pursued and could finally live peacefully. But he realized they were sinking deeper and now there was no turning back.

Archer began to weep at the sight of the gemstone.

"Don't cry yet. You might not understand the value of this object, but I still need to briefly explain,"

Fen then opened the bag slightly, revealing just a corner of an unknown dark material, the Black Stele. Due to the oppressive aura of the object, he bled black blood from his nose. Fen chanted a spell, and a grey thick fog that couldn't be dissipated appeared in his palm, winding and enveloping the Black Stele, partially isolating its aura.

Yet, even so, it was as if thousands of ferocious spirits were trapped inside, howling. The oil lamps in the room flickered erratically, a bone-chilling cold from a vast emptiness crept up their backs, accompanied by an invisible gale swirling stealthily.

Not just Fen, but others were also affected to varying degrees—clutching at their foreheads, supporting their heads, a moment of disorientation, with sharp, piercing train-whistle-like noises assaulting their ears, causing dizziness and blurred vision.

Shadi supported himself against the wall, unable to even keep his eyes open.

Wolman scratched at his skin, trying to stay alert.

The condition of the others was even more severe.

Captain Liszt was also enduring, the entity residing in his left hand became unstable, urging Fen to quickly put it away.

Yet when Liszt shouted out, his voice seemed erased, leaving complete silence in the room, with not a hint of sound, only a silent, rampant scream from a distant netherworld.

However, the bag had only been opened for two or three seconds.

Fen quickly tied up the bag filled with Sealing Demon Stones, made a tight knot with a rope, and wiped off his nosebleed.

Those present hadn't even recovered yet, barely catching a glimpse of what was inside the bag, only seeing a corner of pitch darkness.

As the aura vanished, the netherworld whispers swept past their ears, dissipating like a dream, and they suddenly snapped back to reality, panting heavily.

Fen explained, "This thing, I've only seen it in a banned book section of the Pedan National Library, in an old illustrated manual called 'Ancient Era Curse Device Compendium.' Because it was featured on the most climactic pages, the impression was deep. This is a fragment of the Netherworld Stele, rumored that once fully assembled, it can open the Gate of Netherworld, commanding countless resentful souls and various demons from this world, invincible in attack and undefeatable in battle, dominating the Western Continent wouldn't be an exaggeration. As for more descriptions, there are none recorded; it's one of the most dominating devices from a lost history, a King's Device indeed."

The room fell silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Fen tossed both bags to Liszt, signaling that these two items now belonged to the entire Black Sail Pirates, the price being that everyone had to withstand the relentless pursuit of the Thief Guild on behalf of Swan.

"I told you, there were three pieces of good news. We have a big job done, got the privateer license, and the new rules are nailed down—no one can run now. What are we waiting for? Pop the champagne!"

Liszt, seeing the completely befuddled crowd, hurriedly tried to liven up the atmosphere.

"No...," Shadi hadn't come back to his senses yet, "The Netherworld Stele?"

"The Netherworld Stele! The Netherworld Stele! The Netherworld Stele!"

Rein frantically repeated, though unclear of its significance, he was profoundly shaken.

Liszt, a streak of frustration across his forehead, responded, "Yes, the Netherworld Stele, at least according to that crappy book Fen read."

"Now, no one can leave the ship without us having to kill them."

Wolman said so, his eyes harboring deeply buried madness, thinking he was destined to rot following Liszt for life, but reclaiming the Southern Wetlands was not impossible.

Ox still had a stern expression, lost in thought.

Mika had long accepted his fate in exile, muttering, "After all, the worst thing is to die on the streets."

"Come on, it's just a broken Thief Guild and a broken stele, I'm hungry, let's eat."

Morison spoke with conviction.

Fen saw that the situation had somewhat stabilized and let down his guard, relieved that no one had died, at least not yet.

"Mika, go see if Swan is dead. He seems to have stopped breathing."

Shadi said.

Mika hurried over, checked the pulse, and found it still lively, "He's fine. I'll just go down to the pharmacy and get some sobering herbal soup."

"I'll go with you."

Ox said calmly.

"You don't trust me?"

Mika, speechless, vaguely guessed what Ox was thinking — that he might try to slip away.

"It's always good to be cautious." Ox turned to the others and said, "Swan has submitted his Oath of Loyalty, so the rules on this ship have never been broken until now. Since the Captain has issued new orders, they are ironclad. If there's any screw-up later, don't blame me for turning on you. If anyone's planning to flee or sell information, you'll pay with your life."

Ox made his stance clear from the start.

"Come on, it's just a broken Thief Guild and a broken stele," Liszt echoed Morison's words, adding, "We are so united, embodying friendship, effort, and victory - a fiery Dream Team full of honor and knightly spirit. The rules are in place—don't keep bringing them up, or I'll accuse you of demoralizing. As the Captain, I declare that since Ox can't speak auspiciously, his role as Alcohol Commander is revoked tonight, and I'll take over. Auspicious words! Tonight, we party, and speak auspiciously!"

Ox: "…"

Liszt raised his glass, starting a classic Scottish drinking joke session, and led by Rein, the crew began to get rowdy.

"We are pirates, pests."

"Ugh..."

"The richest pests of pirates!"

"Oh!!!"

"Recently doing tasks for noble masters."

"Ugh..."

"Directly earned five hundred Golden Dragons!"

"Oh!!!"

"Swan just came onboard and didn't submit his Oath of Loyalty."

"Ugh..."

"Has been holding back for two months!"

"Oh!!!"

"The Thief Guild wants to kill me."

When Liszt said these words, no one echoed him; indeed, this was the imminent danger they faced.

"I'll go directly and take refuge with Beima Xiaochaijin!"

"Oooh!!! Dun dun dun dun!"

"Return my soul, return, Thief Guild leader Diaz comes from all sides."

"Hey, we haven't toasted to Lord Guan yet, everyone toast to Lord Guan."

"May Lord Guan exterminate the entire cursed Thief Guild."

"That's not a blessing, that's a Curse Killing; are you looking for a way to kill Diaz?"

"I got a zero score in the game of finding Diaz's relatives, you should try it too."

Then, the navigation room burst into exuberant drinking, dancing wildly, playing outdated jokes, nearly turning into Madman mode on forums, everyone channeling Archer and Rein, with only Fen keeping it together.

"Hopeless."

Ox shook his head and went with Mika to get the sobering soup for Swan.