The ground trembled slightly, causing the sand on the beach to shake continuously.
Soon, a figure nearly three meters tall appeared from the edge of the primeval forest on the island.
It was entirely grayish-white, seemingly composed of a single giant rock, with a pitted face, lacking distinct organs like eyes, mouth, and ears.
"A stone giant. Its core is the main ingredient for a Sequence 5 Guardian potion. It possesses extremely high defense," Cattleya whispered, providing information about the monster.
Although Klein and Anderson had no knowledge of this monster, it did not prevent them from staring at it with serious expressions.
Cattleya turned her body, took a few steps closer to the Future, half-raised her right hand, and magnified her voice, shouting:
"Aim!"
Upon receiving Cattleya's command, the pirates on duty immediately adjusted the aiming of dozens of cannons on the port side, directing them all towards the heavily approaching stone giant.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Shells flew out, and around the stone giant, dust instantly rose, obscuring the surrounding area. Amidst the swirling flames, fragments splattered, as if capable of destroying everything.
Thud, thud, the tall grayish-white figure rushed out of the smoke-filled area. The previous round of cannon fire had only dislodged some of the surface stones.
Anderson looked at this scene with a click of his tongue, saying with a hint of mockery:
"This defense is too strong, isn't it? If it were those Guardians from the Giant pathway, would they be completely unharmed after this round of cannon fire?"
"No wonder the official forces in the Gargas Archipelago don't even have a stationed demigod. Beyonders below demigod level would find it difficult to even break through the defenses of those big guys."
Leyton, who was sitting on the beach chair, stood up. He made a grasping motion in mid-air with his right hand, and in a moment, a spear of ancient design materialized, burning with clusters and specks of blood-red light from its tip to its hilt.
The dark-red spear flew out the moment it solidified, leaving a slowly dissipating streaking light in the air, piercing directly through the stone giant's core.
The dark-red spear left a bowl-sized hole in the stone giant's core, instantly penetrating its body and falling into the primeval forest behind it.
Boom!
A huge explosion sounded, stirring up mud and debris, and dark-red flames erupted, incinerating all the stirred-up dust and trees.
All of this happened in an instant. The stone giant's body seemed to have not reacted yet, continuing to move its steps forward.
As soon as it lowered its right leg, its body toppled down, causing a slight tremor on the ground. Its heavy body stiffened in place, and cracking sounds continuously came from within its body. In a few seconds, a three-meter-tall stone giant collapsed into a pile of rubble.
Anderson turned his head in surprise and looked at Leyton, saying, "You can also see its weak point?"
"A Mystery Pryer's eyes are more effective," Leyton replied in an unhurried tone.
Klein looked at the stone giant that had fallen and turned into rubble, as well as the exaggerated crater left in the exploded primeval forest behind it, his mouth twitching slightly. It felt like using a cannon to kill a mosquito; this stone giant died quite honorably.
"So, since it was so easy to deal with this stone giant, what was that previous round of cannon fire for?"
Anderson spoke as he approached the stone giant's corpse.
"This isn't a True monster; there's no gain," Leyton explained calmly why he didn't deal with the monster at the very beginning.
Anderson's steps towards the monster's corpse suddenly stopped. He stared unblinkingly at the rubble in front of him, watching them disappear at a visible speed.
As expected of someone plagued by bad luck, even the monsters he attracts are fake, leaving no gain at all. Klein couldn't help but complain inwardly, giving up the idea of using the unlucky Anderson as bait to attract monsters for hunting.
Attracting such fake monsters was a complete waste of effort.
Anderson slumped back with his shoulders drooping, muttering incessantly:
"The biggest problem in this sea area is this: not every monster can provide wealth; it might just be a wasted effort."
"That's why the Spectator pathway is the most annoying," Leyton sighed softly, then lay back down on the beach chair formed by starlight.
"Why Spectator? Are these fake monsters related to the Spectator pathway?"
Anderson, making himself at home, moved closer and sat cross-legged on the beach beside Leyton.
Leyton glanced sideways at Anderson, who was close to him, and said in a calm voice:
"So why didn't you focus on your studies back then? If you had enough wilderness survival knowledge, you wouldn't have triggered the power left by Ouroboros on the murals, and you wouldn't be unaware of the abilities possessed by the deity of the Spectator pathway."
Anderson's mouth twitched as he lowered his head, then sighed and changed the subject:
"Those beings you just mentioned who control partial authority over fate, how can I gain their help? Offer faith? Or offer my soul?"
Klein looked at Anderson with a complex expression. The Goddess certainly wouldn't bother with a temporary convert like you, Ouroboros and Will Auceptin are still in a stalemate, so they probably don't have the time or inclination to bother with you. As for The Fool, sorry, I'm just a Sequence 6 Faceless, and Mr. Fool can't do anything. Only Amon might respond to prayers out of curiosity; he doesn't ask for much, just everything you have.
Perhaps Klein's gaze was too obvious; Anderson looked back suspiciously. He felt that this person, whose name he didn't know, looked at him with some pity.
After his thoughts churned for a while, Anderson returned to his cheerful demeanor, his gaze lingering on Leyton and Klein for a moment before saying:
"How do I address you?"
"Al Tines."
"Gehrman Sparrow."
Leyton and Klein successively gave fake names in a calm tone.
Anderson was startled at first, but quickly returned to normal. He turned to Leyton and said with a smile:
"I've heard of you, hmm, mainly from the Church of the Lord of Storms's wanted list. Rumor has it on the sea that you have a good relationship with Vice Admiral Iceberg? Edwina and I were classmates before."
Klein watched Anderson trying to strike up a conversation with Leyton, various thoughts floating through his mind:
Classmate of Vice Admiral Iceberg, although he didn't join the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, from Al's tone, he still maintains contact with the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom. Speaking of which, could he have been eliminated because he failed an exam? That's very Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, judging people by their intelligence.
Cattleya also turned her gaze to Anderson. A secret agent of the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom on the sea? Perhaps many treasure hunters are connected to the Church of the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, hunters pursuing treasure and scholars pursuing knowledge.
Ignoring Klein and Cattleya's scrutinizing gazes, Anderson chuckled and turned to Klein, saying:
"Gehrman Sparrow, a bounty hunter who has recently risen on the sea. In just a few months, he has hunted down many pirates, including some powerful great pirates. The most legendary feat is almost hunting down Vice Admiral Ailment, earning him the title of the craziest hunter!"
"If it weren't for the continuous natural disasters in the Rorsted Archipelago, I would have planned to go find you for a drink, but unfortunately, the Church of the Lord of Storms has almost driven away all the pirates there."
"We've met now," Klein nodded, responding in a calm voice.
The few of them chatted briefly, then rested on the beach, where Leyton had partially blocked the sunlight with starlight.
Until the pirates' relaxation time ended, the Future quickly set sail again, heading deeper into this ocean.
Anderson, as a hunter, roamed around the ship and quickly blended in with the pirates on the Future.
Leyton leaned against the ship's railing, his gaze sweeping over Anderson, who was sitting in the shadows of the cabin drinking with a few pirates. The corners of his mouth curved slightly. As expected of the unlucky Anderson, he directly chose the liquor that Frank had spiked.
Klein, who had been observing the situation on the deck and looking for traces of mermaids, walked closer. Seeing that there was no one else around, he no longer maintained his Gehrman Sparrow persona.
Anyway, my Faceless potion has already been digested. When I don't need to act, I can detach from the role, which is more beneficial for my mental state.
As thoughts floated, Klein leaned one hand on the ship's railing, and with a strong leap of his toes, sat side by side with Leyton on the railing. He asked with some concern in his voice:
"Is there something wrong with your state? Ever since we encountered that golden chariot last time, you've become much colder. Although you usually don't show much change, in the eyes of a Faceless, these are very obvious abnormalities."
Leyton chuckled and nodded, then shook his head, saying:
"Borrowing high-level power that doesn't belong to oneself will inevitably be influenced by the power's owner. It's not too significant an influence; I just need to slowly adjust my psychological state, and I'll recover in less than two months."
As he spoke, he extended his right hand forward, taking out a playing card from the shadow behind him. He gently tapped the card twice with his right index finger, and a faint blue stardust fell, causing some ineffable changes to the card instantly.
Leyton handed the card to Klein, saying:
"You can take a look, or go to the Gray Fog and play a dress-up game."
"Dress-up game? Am I a character you're leveling in your game inventory?" Klein complained as he reached out and took the card.
His first glance noticed the ancient Feysac words in the upper right corner of the card: Sequence 0: Hermit.
The front of the card depicted an elderly Roselle with white hair and beard, wearing a tattered robe, holding a lantern in one hand and a staff in the other.
Klein examined the card in his hand and couldn't help but exclaim:
"After seeing the black emperor card, and then the hermit card, I suddenly feel like the Emperor has fallen on hard times."
Leyton twitched the corner of his mouth, then said thoughtfully:
"If I use this card to create a paper figurine clone, wouldn't The Fool gain a Lantern Angel by his side?"
"Lantern Angel?" Klein tilted his head slightly, thought for a moment, then said, "Can using this card to leverage the power of the Gray Fog clear away the bad luck from the unlucky Anderson?"
Leyton shook his head slightly:
"No, the authority of fate in the Hermit pathway is mainly reflected in areas like observation and foresight, and does not possess the ability to directly interfere with fate. If you had the Error or The Fool card, you could use the corresponding High-Sequence abilities of those pathways through mystical connections to solve Anderson's problem of being plagued by bad luck."
"Then which existence do you plan to have Anderson seek to resolve his problem?" Klein asked with some curiosity.
No sooner had the words fallen than the originally sunny midday instantly darkened. A deep, tranquil night enveloped the entire sea area.
The Future was also instantly covered in a layer of starlight, illuminating the passages to various places, and Cattleya's voice spread throughout the ship:
"Everyone, return to your rooms immediately, or find a corner and enter a state of sleep."