novelraw Chapter 204-2: Unlocking a New Chapter, the Envoy of the Vermilion Empire (2)
Chapter 204-2: Unlocking a New Chapter, the Envoy of the Vermilion Empire (2)
[You have entered the Apocalyptic Chapter.]
[Chapter 63942575]
“I’m a man who’s seen the world. You think a giant string of numbers from this cursed game is going to scare me?”
Lin Xun brimming with confidence, set up a flag for himself…
[A powerful wandering soul awakens on a jostling small boat…]
[The dense overcast sky was just beginning to clear. A thin shaft of noon sunlight poured down from overhead. The sea breeze blowing against your face gradually shifted from clammy chill to a fishy heat that sapped all your strength.]
[The vast blue sea spread across your entire vision. The boat rose and fell with each wave.]
[There was no land in sight, only endless blue water stretching to the horizon.]
[Looking around, you saw that the boat’s mast had snapped off completely and, in the aftermath of a recent ocean storm, had been driven deep into the deck.]
[A canvas draped over the mast covered the only place on the boat where one could rest, that narrow cabin.][Do you wish to lift the canvas and enter the cabin?]
What kind of setup was this?
Waking up all alone in the middle of the sea?
Lin Xun suspected he might not be the only one on this boat, after all, how could such a vessel drift unmanned across the ocean? It wasn’t a ghost ship.
Although he never admitted it out loud to this cursed game, he always acted with caution.
[You have possessed the Shell of the Corrupted Earth Giant!]
[You ripped the canvas away in one motion and kicked the already half-rotten cabin door flying…]
“Damn it, Earth Giant’s hot temper really isn’t reliable.”
Before Lin Xun could finish complaining, the game text continued displaying.
[The cramped cabin was sparsely furnished, with a wooden table, wooden bed, and a few barrels.]
[What caught your eye most was the enormous book page floating in midair, and a corpse curled up in the corner.]
“With a Resting Page here, that solves things.”
Whenever you started a new chapter, the Resting Page at your spawn point was automatically set as your respawn location, so there was no need to touch it again.
[You stepped forward to inspect the corpse huddled in the corner…]
[Shell of the Fire-Worshipping Envoy of the Vermilion Empire: An envoy from the faraway and mighty nation of the Vermilion Empire in the West. It is unclear why he drifted thousands of miles to this place, but the terror frozen in his wide-open eyes makes it obvious he died of cardiac rupture brought on by fear. Compatibility: 137% (+55%)]
[Do you wish to possess this Shell?]
This was the standard starter Shell gifted by the cursed game, nothing to worry about.
But Lin Xun vaguely felt that the world background of this chapter seemed different from everything he’d experienced before.
[You have possessed the Shell of the Fire-Worshipping Envoy of the Vermilion Empire!]
Lin Xun silently waited, and sure enough, the cursed game’s narrative began scrolling again.
[Within the Shell lingered fragmented memories from the envoy’s life…]
[The mighty Vermilion Empire was on the verge of collapse in the God Wars, sliding toward ruin at a terrifying speed.]
[Perhaps even distant Sakura Falls had heard that the once-proud lion had grown sickly, emboldening them to stop paying tribute.]
[But even if the empire was crumbling, the dignity of the Vermilion Bloodline could not be defiled.]
[The decrepit emperor flew into a rage and ordered an envoy to cross the ocean to Sakura Falls.]
[Though the front lines were in crisis, the emperor still dispatched five thousand elite soldiers to accompany the envoy, because this diplomatic mission would likely become a bloody campaign.]
[But the envoy and the five thousand troops never returned, vanishing without a trace… Even the divine offspring who had usurped worship in the vassal states stopped responding to any summons.]
[The decrepit emperor sent more envoys and armies again and again, but never did a single man or ship come back.]
[…]
[As the newly appointed, and perhaps last, envoy, he was about to cross the ocean toward the vassal state of Sakura Falls.]
[No one paid any mind to his departure. Everyone was too busy trying to survive the gods’ war. If not for the fact that the previous envoy had been his own father… he would not have cared either.]
[The empire’s forces had long been depleted by the God Wars, so this time, no army would accompany him. Only he and a small boat remained.]
[Perhaps the emperor himself no longer had any real hope for this pilgrimage…]
[In the end, the envoy still picked up the ceremonial scepter the decrepit emperor had bestowed. He did not do it out of loyalty to the emperor’s stubborn pride, nor to uphold the last dignity of a dying empire. He only wished to search for the father lost in a foreign land.]
[The broken memories ended here…]
Lin Xun blinked.
“That’s it?”
As a ‘veteran’ Apostle, Lin Xun knew how important it was to dig out key information from the details the cursed game provided.
So, his first priority was to analyze…
It wasn’t surprising that the envoy had crossed the ocean from the collapsing Vermilion Empire and died alone at sea.
What was surprising was how an army of such formidable soldiers could vanish without a trace.
Whether they were still alive…
And if dead, whether they had died in the ocean or on some foreign shore.
If it was the former, Lin Xun might also encounter the same desperate situation that had annihilated millions of troops.
He carefully read through the text, trying to find key clues.
The most striking was the prefix in the envoy’s title, Fire-Worshipping. This seemed connected to the Vermilion Bloodline mentioned in the envoy’s memories.
“So, the deity worshipped by the Vermilion Empire must be related to fire.”
Lin Xun quickly uncovered a second crucial detail: the Vermilion Empire was in the midst of the God Wars, and according to the memories, Sakura Falls had a divine offspring who had seized incense offerings.
Judging from the tone of those memories, the divine offspring should have been aligned with the Vermilion Empire.
It was only for some unknown reason that they no longer responded to the decrepit emperor’s summons.
The last clue was the ceremonial scepter granted by the decrepit emperor, the credential for the envoy’s mission.
He immediately opened the Shell Panel to check.
[Shell: Fire-Worshipping Envoy of the Vermilion Empire]
[True Name: Li Mu]
[Compatibility: 137% (+55%) Compatibility exceeds the critical threshold, Shell quality increased!]
[Shell Quality: Fine]
[Shell Level: 57 (+22)]
[Shell Equipment: Envoy’s Formal Garments (Fine): The formal dress of an envoy of the Vermilion Empire. Decorated with a Tail-Spreading Paradise Flycatcher in flight. However, the garment appears not to have been washed for a long time, is stained with stubborn filth, and gives off a peculiar odor.]
[Shell Equipment: Vermilion Ceremonial Scepter (Special Equipment): A rod-shaped scepter crafted from brocade bamboo, adorned at the top with ornaments made of fire ox tail hairs and scarlet phoenix plumes.]
[When using this equipment, you will have a certain chance to draw the attention of unknown deities.]
[Shell Skill: Basic Nautical Knowledge (Common+): Nautical knowledge learned over a short period of time, allowing you to operate a single-mast boat. If you plan to cross the sea with just this skill, you’d better first ask yourself whether your life is sturdy enough.]
“This Shell is pretty trash…”
Lin Xun scrolled down through the Shell attributes, lamenting that this cursed game never gave him a truly powerful Shell, when he suddenly spotted the ceremonial scepter he’d been looking for.
When he read the effect of this special equipment, he didn’t hesitate for a second and hastily unequipped the Vermilion Ceremonial Scepter!
“Damn, that was close!”
Taking sides before understanding the situation was without question an extremely foolish act.
Still, the special equipment definitely contained important information.
The decrepit emperor of the Vermilion Empire had sent an envoy to the vassal state of Sakura Falls and gave him a scepter capable of drawing the attention of deities. The purpose must have gone far beyond simply demanding tribute or paying respects…
[You braced yourself against the corner of the wall and stood up, looking around the cramped, dilapidated cabin with a sigh.]
[Do you wish to search the cabin for anything useful?]