Achieving Nothing, I Can Only Be the Pirate King-Chapter 618 - 367: The Deprived Flame

The crowd, now full, settled down, and Sage finally had the chance to look at the town.

The buildings in the town were all made of stone, and they resembled pointy mushrooms as a whole.

Even though it was stone, the fire still burned, blackening most of the houses.

Moreover...

Seeing the scattered irregularly charred stones on the street, Sage snorted, "It looks like there was an explosion."

Among those buildings, some of the mushroom-shaped roofs had holes blasted through them, and some were entirely blown off, though there were no casualties visible for the time being.

It seemed like everyone in the town had gathered at the entrance.

"How could there be an explosion..."

The man from the West Sea named Becky paused, suddenly grasped his fist, a fierce look appearing on his face, "Did Grace appear?!"

"It’s definitely that bastard!"

Someone in the crowd shouted, "Only he has the power to control toxic fire and explosions. We evacuated when the fire started, and then the explosion happened. It must be him!"

"That guy..."

Becky gritted his teeth tightly, "Why? Why is he still doing this now? Haven’t his mistakes been enough? That so-called chef, that big fraud!"

"Excuse me..."

At this moment, Marika walked out from the ruins, holding strange roots and plants resembling weeds.

She opened her constantly smiling eyes, her gaze marked with rare seriousness and a touch of puzzlement:

"I didn’t see any tools for using fire; even the iron pot is unusable, it’s been left for so long now."

These people don’t seem like lazy ones.

Even if they are lazy, people would think of ways to get food when they’re starving.

There are strange people who would rather starve than eat unpalatable food, but these people aren’t like that.

Because the Soldier’s Food Pill tastes really bad, yet they’ve eaten it.

So, the reason isn’t laziness or eccentricity.

And the things in her hands...

"Are you using this to stave off hunger?" Marika hesitated a little.

Feeling Sage’s gaze upon her, she thought for a moment and said:

"How should I put it, every family has these things, with bite and chew marks on them. You ate them, right?"

She looked at those people, including Becky, and they all nodded.

"Master Marika, this was indeed what we used to stave off hunger before. We had no choice; the hunger was unbearable," said Becky.

"Sage, these things aren’t inedible, just extremely hard..."

Marika shook the gnawed roots in her hand, "I just crushed a little and tasted it; it’s very hard to swallow, not something teeth can chew through. Digestion is also difficult, but it does leave a feeling of fullness."

"Eventually, these things will digest, but over time without nutrients, it only makes people weaker."

As she spoke, she picked up the plant resembling wild grass: "It should be some kind of vegetable, with some water and salt, likely plants unique to the Deep Sea region islands. They’re edible, but the salt content has already killed the nutrients. Long-term consumption is toxic."

Even for her, making a dish from these things is challenging, let alone for these people.

"However, if boiled in water, the roots can be softened, and the leaves can be roasted to evaporate the toxic substances, turning into food similar to salty dried seaweed."

"Like this, though it has little nutrition, it’s barely edible..."

Marika slowly said to Becky, "But here’s the problem: I found no traces of fire use, not even a fire source. Can you tell me why you aren’t using fire?"

"We..."

Becky pursed his lips and said, "Master Sage, Master Marika, we knew how to prepare this food, but the people of the Cloud Mountain Kingdom no longer allow the use of any fire source, and we can’t find any fire either..."

Located in a basin island near the Calm Belt, the Cloud Mountain Kingdom is part of the deep-sea region.

The so-called ocean is just water covering the land; due to the continental shelf, the nearshore is close to the continent, while further away lies the deep sea, and how deep it is... no one knows to this day.

Apart from these basic common places, the fantastic sea also has more things that defy common sense.

Not a small island, the Cloud Mountain Kingdom has no land around it. It resembles a pillar from the sea floor, connecting to the unfathomable ocean depths.

The island’s poor soil should bring resignation, surrounded further by a lack of fish resources. Deep-sea fish rarely swim up, but on occasion, a fierce Sea King might reach the surface.

Nonetheless, the poor soil did not make them surrender. They are called the country of chefs and gourmets for this very reason, becoming known for discovering any edible food here, using spices, and mastering superior culinary skills.

But three years ago, the old King died, and a new King, Ferngard, took the throne, changing everything.

A tyrant, since taking office, he has been gathering the kingdom’s renowned chefs to fill his Royal Palace, going so far as to hold a chef competition to have famous chefs from all over the nation participate, selecting the top one hundred to serve in the palace.

And then he issued a decree, prohibiting any chefs in the Cloud Mountain Kingdom, and driving out the remaining chefs. Those who refused to leave would be killed.

The nation of chefs began its decline from this moment.

The people were furious, believing the King had ruined the Cloud Mountain Kingdom, leading it to decline.

They soon realized they were still too conservative.

Two years ago, Ferngard ordered that even commoners were not allowed to cook privately; otherwise, they would be treated as illegal chefs. If one wanted to cook, they had to pay a hefty cooking tax for the privilege.

Although this was a significant burden, for the sake of eating, everyone grudgingly paid and cursed Ferngard privately as inhuman.

Then they discovered that even these words were premature.

A year ago, Ferngard announced a fire ban, confiscating the right to kindle a fire from everyone under his rule!

Fire sources, flints, wood... all combustible items were forbidden. To use flames, one had to pay a burning tax and purchase overpriced wood from him.

As the Deep Sea Basin Islands, the Cloud Mountain Kingdom was so barren it lacked trees. The wood used before the kingdom’s decline was brought in by foreign merchants.

Now that it has declined, no one comes anymore, and rare wood only appears within the Royal Palace.

Flints, fire sources, wood all cost money, and using flames cost money, cooking cost money... even when buying ingredients, even homegrown ones, a fee had to be paid.

Finally, Ferngard claimed the flames for himself, forbidding any use of tools to kindle fire or the appearance of flints and fire sources within the kingdom!

The initial greatness of humanity began with fire. Without flames, people led a primitive life, consuming raw meat and blood.

Off to sea they went, starving others stayed behind, all seeking a way to survive.

Amidst this disaster, a terrifying legend emerged within the kingdom.

Someone under the guise of using unnatural fire led people to cook. Initially, people were happy that someone could bypass the King’s decree, and they could start fires again.

But soon they realized something was wrong. The flames were indeed flames, but the gas emitted was poisonous. Aside from contaminating the food, those cooking near the flames inhaled the gas, causing not a small disaster as many were poisoned.

The culprit, Grace, escaped, and continued to use such flames elsewhere, escalating from simple poisoning to poisoning with explosions, turning him into a terrifying legend within the kingdom.

Throughout the entire country, only Grace could wield fire. So wherever there was fire and explosions, Grace must have been there!

"He’s as despicable as the King!"

Becky clenched her fists tightly: "We’re already struggling, and he deceives us, using poisonous flame to bring us pain. Though we’re all commoners, he takes pleasure in deceiving us!"

"Becky..."

A familiar person beside him patted his shoulder, shaking his head, "Let it go, it’s in the past. No one blames you."

"No! I won’t forgive myself! Now that I’ve become a Pirate, I have the power to avenge! I’ll make that guy pay!" Becky declared loudly.

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly felt a chill. Looking over, he saw Sage watching him, then beckoning, "Come over."

"Master..."

Becky approached, and Sage only then realized this guy was far taller than expected, standing at two meters thirty-four, surpassing his own height of one meter ninety.

Usually bending over and acting meek, making him easy to overlook.

On closer inspection...

"How old are you?" Sage asked.

"Master, I’m fourteen." Becky replied.

"I didn’t expect that..."

Sage chuckled, "You seem not bad... keep it up."

He hadn’t paid much attention before, but after seeing the situation here, he suddenly realized that those who became Pirates here had considerable courage and commendable resolve.

Moreover, this Becky guy was faintly the leader among the newcomers from the West Sea.

With some training, he could become a decent subordinate.

"But I don’t feel like standing here listening to you talk now. Take care of these people, and then guide me to the Royal Palace."

Sage was uninterested in any complex conflicts, now intent on taking everyone in this country away.

Nobles, with their entitlement to legal rule, also fostered a lack of opposition, making people submissive.

To resolve such matters, Sage had his way.

Just kill them.

Eliminate them first, and the nation becomes leaderless, and so do the people living here.

But before that, he really wanted to meet that King.

Ruling like this... he must be wealthy, right?