Chapter 1 Pandora's Choice

Pandora signed her name, then turned and said, "Alright, I've signed the contract. Can you release me now?"

Suren listened, unhurried.

Since he'd already offended her, he didn't mind keeping her bound a little longer.

He also picked up a pen, only then beginning to sign his own name.

However, he didn't sign immediately.

Suren was well aware that contracts had to be reciprocal.

In the field of alchemy, there's a fundamental concept: equivalent energy is required for stability.

The same applied to contracts.

Even with an equal contract, both parties had to be of relatively equal strength for it to be considered equal.

If the disparity in strength was too great, the contract was essentially worthless.

Especially when dealing with "false gods," beings whose very existence was on a higher plane than humans. A mere signature would render the contract a useless piece of paper.

But if he could think of using a contract to bind Pandora, how could he not have considered this?

Just then, Suren produced a beast-hide scroll, chanting an incantation: "In the name of the great God of Nature, Lord of the Forest of Wind and Rain, God of Poetry and Freedom, I invoke your sacred name, requesting you to witness an equitable contract..."

Since he didn't have the power himself, he'd simply have to ask a true god to act as a notary.

The "God of Nature's" level of divine law was beyond comparison to that of ordinary deities.

With such a witness, no one in this plane would be able to violate the contract.

This was a divine scroll he'd acquired from the Dalu tribe, a farewell gift from Yuta, and a highly precious item.

Using it here wasn't a waste.

After all, this Pandora was unique, not just an artificial human, but also a Tsukuyomi, with immeasurable potential.

At least in this plane, Suren didn't want to make her an enemy.

......

Listening to Suren chant the sacred names, Pandora's brow immediately furrowed.

Now practicing the Divine Path, she knew that those sacred names pointed to the laws controlled by that deity. This series of titles made her frown deepen.

"This guy isn't an alchemist; he's actually trying to invoke a response from a high-level deity?"

Pandora was greatly perplexed.

This behavior was as incomprehensible as Suren knowing she was Tsukuyomi, completely beyond her understanding.

Moreover, the laws of this plane were fragmented, and no gods existed.

The god's followers were all "abandoned people," making this action even more perplexing.

However, the confusion lasted only a moment before turning into shock!

"He actually got a response from a true high-level deity?!"

When Pandora felt that indescribable will descending, her expression changed drastically.

While she was a "god," she could only flaunt her superiority in this broken plane. In front of this true form, she was nothing.

No one knew better than she how terrifying the "God of Nature" responding to Suren was!

Pandora immediately understood what Suren was doing. This cunning fellow had actually summoned a true high-level deity as a witness?

Immediately, any luck she had hoped for vanished, replaced by a slight sigh. So be it.

Fortunately, that indescribable will only existed for a moment before disappearing.

Both Suren and Pandora felt a sense of relief.

After the god's will descended, a circle of golden, mysterious纹路 appeared on the contract scroll.

This was the mark of a third-party witness, left by a true god.

Seeing the contract completed, Suren also breathed a sigh of relief.

Only then did he retract all the threads binding Pandora. Then, he took out the storage ring, clothes, and belongings he had taken from her earlier, saying, "These are your things. However, the Yata no Kagami has already been given to someone else..."

Having taken someone's things, he naturally had to say something.

"Given to that little princess of the Kamufushi clan, right?"

Pandora stepped barefoot on the ground, no longer suspended, and felt her body incredibly light.

She stood there naked, moving her limbs. The threads hadn't left any marks on her body. Her jade-like body was flawless, displaying the word "perfect" from head to toe.

If there were outsiders here, seeing this breathtakingly beautiful body, they would definitely be unable to look away.

Unfortunately, the only other person present had his eyes closed.

Her tone was slightly contemptuous, but she didn't pursue the matter, saying, "Forget it. That thing is useless to me now. Giving it away is fine."

Now that she had seized the faith of the Yamagakure, becoming the "Great God Tsukuyomi," she was no longer limited by a single Shinto artifact.

The rustling sound of dressing came from her side. Suren heard it and assumed she was getting dressed.

There was no need for smart people to beat around the bush; it was best to say what they were thinking directly.

He thought for a moment and said, "As for the Death Novel, if possible, I'd like to keep it. I plan to use it as an advanced class material in the future."

Although he still couldn't understand some of the information contained in the Novel, he felt that it should have a high degree of compatibility. After all, his current Colony had a "Small Void Realm." If it became a Large Void Realm, or even a plane... wouldn't that be a complete world? This "creating world" idea had been written into the novel by Fujiwara Hayato, and there were many things he could learn from it.

Hearing this, Pandora sneered, "Heh. You certainly don't hold back."

But she seemed indifferent, since that thing could only be used once, and it couldn't be used to scheme against a high-level class holder a second time.

Suren assumed she was agreeing and thought shamelessly: She's a captive; it's only right to take some spoils of war.

He then asked, "By the way, can you still use the Death Novel to seal high-level classes now?"

Listening to these increasingly excessive words, Pandora said with dissatisfaction, "No! That ability can only be used in Yamagakure, in the most densely populated places of faith. Here, the price I pay would be too great."

Saying this, before Suren could continue, she said directly, "Give me a room. Don't bother me, and I don't want to see anyone else. I promised to take action once. You better think carefully before calling me!"

"..."

Suren heard her finish dressing and then opened his eyes.

He immediately saw that exquisitely perfect face.

Heh, it was beautiful, but that arrogant and haughty expression made her seem like an ancestral figure.

But, after all, she was a "god."

Suren had been curious about how she became Tsukuyomi. Looking at this attitude, it was already good that she hadn't turned hostile.

Forget it... he'd ask later.

Although they couldn't be considered friends, they weren't enemies either.

A cooperative relationship was fine. He could take advantage of her without feeling guilty.

Suren thought.

.......

Suren left the "Sealed Room."

The two people guarding the door saw him come out. Chitose's hand was on the hilt of her sword, and Dr. Banks was surrounded by wisps of black smoke, immediately showing a look of great apprehension.

"It's alright."

Suren shook his head, making a prearranged coded gesture.

Seeing this, Chitose and Dr. Banks breathed a collective sigh of relief, their expressions easing.

Both of them knew Suren's personality well. If he treated something so cautiously, the matter inside must have been incredibly dangerous.

Chitose and Dr. Banks naturally sensed that there was another person inside. However, because the barrier completely isolated the energy fluctuations inside, they didn't know what had happened.

Now that everything was fine, Chitose asked, "Did you settle that woman?"

Listening to this wording, Suren felt her reference was unclear and replied truthfully, "A contract has been signed. She won't cause us any trouble."

Saying this, he looked back and raised an eyebrow, "But she doesn't want to bother with us either."

"Heh."

Chitose rolled her eyes, an indifferent expression on her face.

She didn't want to bother with that woman either.

However, she was more curious about how Suren had managed it. After all, that was "the most beautiful woman in the world," forcibly taken. How had she willingly signed a contract without turning hostile?

She asked, "By the way, what did you do to that woman that made her not want to kill you? Tsk tsk... I thought there would be a fierce battle."

"This..."

Suren showed a difficult-to-explain expression. Recalling what had just happened, the process was complicated and couldn't be explained in a few words, "Let's go to the deck. I'll tell you slowly."

He felt that Pandora's willingness to sign the contract was partly due to circumstances.

It also seemed to be because of his teacher, Sereia.

Chitose was also very interested, hooking her arm around Suren's shoulder, and the two went to the deck. When Suren told her that Pandora was the "Great God Tsukuyomi," her expression was also very interesting...

......

There was one more person on the ship.

But other than Suren and a few others, no one knew.

Pandora had never shown her face in front of everyone. She could say a few words to Suren, who had a contract with her, but it didn't mean that a "god" was interested in communicating with other humans.

The days of sailing returned to calm.

They followed the markers on the submarine, heading north.

The Frost Moon Princess Skadi, as Suren had guessed, had really gone to the sea near the Roman Kingdom.

Everything was according to plan.

Tani's reputation as a "cursed unlucky fellow" was well-deserved. As the ship sailed north on the sea, they encountered extreme weather with storms and waves several times.

Some people might not encounter so many in their entire lives of normal sailing.

But they encountered them in a matter of days.

Fortunately, Tani's perception of storm weather was very keen, and he could always turn danger into safety.

Apart from the crew being a little seasick and the ship being slightly damaged, there wasn't much impact.

Moreover, after experiencing the storms, Tani seemed to have gradually gained some insights into his unknown talent. He could sense the storms earlier and earlier, and he was becoming more and more composed in dealing with them.

Even Tani felt that he seemed to have a feeling that he could actively induce storms.

Gu Jue If he could actively control the storms, that ability would be absolutely heaven-defying. At sea, he alone would be worth countless fleets.

Able to hear the voices of sea beasts, and able to induce storms...

Suren still didn't know what his talent was called.

Since ancient times, there have been many human talents, with common ones being recorded. But there are also many rare awakened talents that are little known, such as many of the "S-class."

Few people awaken them, and they gradually cease to be passed down.

But often those very rare talents have some miraculous abilities.

Suren felt that Tani was likely the son of the Pirate King Sam, so he might have inherited some of his father's special abilities.

After all, to reach the top in this cruel supernormal world, his talent must not be bad.

.......

With the Black Sam's World Navigation Chart and Tani, a top navigator, on board, Suren and the others were like having satellite positioning, able to know the precise coordinates of their current location in the sea.

They sailed all the way, also improving the map along the way.

In the following days, Suren didn't leave the cabin again.

The modification of more than forty Mechanical Octopi was no small task, and it would probably take him half a month.

The members of the Dawn Troupe were still carefree, happily engaging in various strange competitions all day long.

Oh, and now there was another major activity.

That was to catch "big guys" in the sea to improve their diet.

In the past, they would avoid those fierce deep-sea monsters. Because those big guys could easily overturn and smash the ship.

But now, with Tani's perception, they could confirm the location of the sea monsters in advance.

Moreover, the most important thing was that Chitose was already a "Sword Saint." Rakshasa women were born with a talent for battle, and no one on the ship could beat her. Chitose was also idle all day long.

Apart from practicing her sword, she could only find opponents in the sea.

Now, hunting giant beasts had become the most lively activity for the Dawn Troupe.

They could have a big battle, and the cursed materials could be sold for money. Everyone was very enthusiastic about participating.

Especially since they could eat their fill.

After all, the amount of supplies carried by the ship was limited, and space equipment couldn't all be used to store food, nor could it store much. But the three giant brothers and the sumo wrestlers had a large appetite. Before, they were limited, and they always felt they weren't full. Moreover, the higher the class, the greater the need for food calories, and the more they fought, the more they consumed, resulting in a large food gap.

Now there was no such worry. If they fought a sea beast bigger than the ship, everyone could always eat their fill.

Then, after eating their fill, they continued to fight and hunt sea beasts.

This sea had given countless delicious foods and treasures.

......

After sailing for several more days, they had arrived near the Roman Kingdom.

That was also a theocratic country, producing "heroes" and top "gladiators."

This day, in the cabin.

Suren was tinkering with the Mechanical Octopi.

After these days of hard work, he had basically modified those dozens of Mechanical Octopi into the "pLus" version.

As for Pandora, Suren naturally cared for her every day.

After all, this was the "golden thigh" that would be encountered again in the future when they met the submarine, and the person who would ultimately determine how much they would harvest.

Suren didn't want some estrangement to affect his plan.

After chatting more, their relationship wasn't too good, but it wasn't always a cold face.

Although most of the topics were about his teacher, Sereia.

Everything was developing in a good direction.

But just then, a special communicator suddenly made a "buzzing" sound.

"Oh... we've connected?"

Suren made a soft sound and looked over.

This communicator was a Luyang military encrypted communicator, previously left to him by Alec Barrett, the commander of the Holy Judgment Legion, to facilitate communication.

But the communicator had a limited range. After leaving Pirate City and going to Yamagakure, there was no further contact.

So much time had passed, Suren thought they had been wiped out.

After all, he hadn't heard of them surrendering to Oleg, the King of the North Sea, so it would be difficult for them to survive in this sea without supplies.

He thought the Living Silver was lost, but he didn't expect to connect now?

.......

At the same time, hundreds of nautical miles away.

Three pirate ships were chasing a modified Luyang sailing warship.

The main flag on the three pirate ships was the mace flag of the North Sea Fleet, but the squadron flag pattern was not any of the seventeen fleets under Oleg's command.

It was a skull and starry sky background flag, like a pirate ship traveling in the void.

On the deck, a group of people was piled up there, looking at the fleeing warship in front with mocking expressions on their faces.

Once chased by the Luyang Navy all over the world, now it was the turn of the elite troops like the Holy Judgment Legion to run around.

The pirates laughed and occasionally fired a few cannons, causing waves of water on the sea.

This was Dorosel Castillo, the deputy fleet commander of the newly formed 18th squadron of the North Sea Fleet, the Void Fleet, a sixth-tier class holder!

After chasing for two days without being able to take it down, the pirates had lost their patience.

"Hey, boss, I said, why are we chasing them for two days and two nights? What's the point? A one-armed Barrett's strength is not as good as before. If you take action, wouldn't it be easy? After all, you have successfully integrated the extremely rare high-level space Dark Gold Colony Void Ghost Hand, and no one below the seventh tier is your opponent!"

"The legion commander trained by the Luyang Royal Family is not that simple. I am sure I can kill that Barrett. But you underestimate him too much. Although his combat power has dropped after losing his arm, if he really fights desperately, he can drag half the lives of our ships with him, do you believe it?"

"So strong?"

"Otherwise? That guy is deliberately showing weakness, waiting for us to rush up so they have a chance to fight to the death. Dragging it out like this, exhausting their supplies and slowly killing them is the best choice. Don't worry."

"Boss is wise!"

"Boss is mighty!"

"Hahaha... Boss's calculations are unparalleled!"

"You guys, don't think about problems with the old ideas anymore. Now that Oleg has become king, we are no longer pirates, but the royal family's special guard regiment. Although those Luyang guys caused us a lot of trouble before, such military talents are also very scarce. His Majesty said that we must be regularized in the future, and we must start with the fleet reform..."

"But, will there be any problems if we continue to chase like this?"

"What problems can there be? No one dares to help the people the North Sea Fleet wants."

"Hmph! Even if someone comes, they are looking for death. Our Void Fleet has never shown its face in front of the world. Now that we are out of the mountains, we must let the entire North Sea... no, the entire Luyang know how powerful we are!"

"..."

A group of pirates revelled on the deck.

They had more or less integrated several Void Colonies and space-related advanced materials, and their combat power was not comparable to ordinary pirates.

......

On the dilapidated warship.

Barrett looked at the three pirate ships not far behind, his face very ugly.

"Commander, those pirates are not fooled and have no intention of fighting head-on. It seems they plan to exhaust us to death."

"The potions and fresh water are not enough. The injuries of the brothers who were injured before are deteriorating. If we don't find a way to replenish supplies, we... we may be in trouble."

"Commander, should we rush over and fight those dirty pirates?"

"..."

Hearing this, Barrett remained silent, but his fists were clenched as if to squeeze out water.

Now their Holy Judgment Legion was indeed in a desperate situation.

Although they still had the power to fight, they would be exhausted to death without supplies.

Should they be incorporated by the pirates?

Although they were no longer Royal Knights, they would not surrender to the enemy in order to survive.

This group of despicable pirates in the North Sea had always been enemies of Luyang. Now that they had established a country, they were even more enemies of the camp.

They had no honor, no status, but their integrity was still there.

Although professional soldiers were not afraid of death, Barrett was still heartbroken to see this group of brothers who had fought for the empire dying tragically one by one due to lack of medical care.

Barrett fell into unprecedented confusion.

Ever since the Luyang Royal Family announced the abolition of the Legion's designation with the "treason" charge, he felt that he and this group of brothers who had once sacrificed their lives for the empire seemed to be abandoned by this world.

They had no identity, did not know where to go, and no one took them in...

Wandering aimlessly at sea.

Before, they heard that a group of Holy Regiment members in the imperial capital had been secretly bought by slave traders and sent to Roman as gladiators.

They wanted to save that group of brothers.

It turned out to be a trick.

But knowing it was a trick, they had to come.

Now they were forced into a desperate situation.

Barrett's thoughts were still spinning, and he recalled his life.

He had fought for the empire, made great achievements, but did not expect to fall into such a situation.

But suddenly, someone reported.

"Commander! Someone is contacting us with encrypted communications!"

"Who?"

"He said he was the person who traded Living Silver with you last time!"

Hearing this, Barrett's face flickered slightly.

He thought of the young man named Suren.