Pirate Kingship-Chapter 595 - 429: Fortress of Darkness, Habsburg (6200 words combined)

Apart from Byron and Teris—two Night Demons, each with their own agenda—who faintly realized something was unusual about this "Sacred Lake Coronation Ceremony," the other genuine princes and their guards were completely unaware. They remained wholeheartedly devoted to this ceremony that determined not only their own fates but the fate of the entire nation.

Atahualpa was no exception. With a grand wave of his hand, he declared, "Let's go! With the support of Their Majesties, the Sun Crown will definitely be mine this time!"

After effortlessly defeating nine Third-Order Molten Giants, he realized the seventy percent of his brothers who had accepted his bribes wouldn't be an obstacle. Immediately elated, he lit up the Sun Badge and led Byron and Violet to charge toward the second challenge. His confidence soaring, he vowed boastfully to be the first to reach the end.

As for the other squads still struggling with the first challenge, if any prince perished, the Sun Badge could not be activated, and they would have to stay put until the ceremony was over. Therefore, protecting their own prince was always of utmost importance. The elimination of a prince meant the elimination of the entire team.

By the evening of the first day, when the three of them stepped into the third challenge together, the noble council announced that the number of princes still able to continue in the "Trial of Ascension" had fallen by half. Included in that number were the two kills they had contributed. And the amount of "blood of political enemies" infused into the Crimson Holy Grail was, without surprise, still only the expected one-third.

But Byron was not in a hurry. He had the crown of the Sacred Golden Empire, and his foundation was strong enough. Even if he only harvested a third of what he originally expected, he was confident that as long as he could eliminate any one of the four princes, he could brew a cup of Blood of Immortality on the spot.

The three of them, having just passed the second challenge, all looked a bit disheveled. Especially Atahualpa. He wrung out his still-dripping clothes and let out a deep sigh. "We really weren't so lucky this time. Two consecutive challenges were secret realms never recorded in history.

"The water-attributed Cyclops and their controlled sea beasts are really not friendly to us Descendants of the Sun God.

"Lucky for me the Empress was here. Otherwise, I would have been in real trouble."

A trial that once troubled the first-generation direct lineage Divine Son of Inti, the Sun God and founder of the nation, was just as perilous for their descendants today. Yet, the first two trials alone had brought down half the princes, an alarmingly high casualty rate. If the first challenge, the "Trial of the Lake Siren Gibaro," could be attributed to their negligence and lack of resources, the second, the "Trial of the Cyclops," was purely a matter of strength, with no room for tricks. At least four same-rank Cyclops and their cultivated beasts had to be slain to collect the Sun Badge, which was divided evenly into four parts.

Thanks to Violet, the Witch on their team who dared to fight in the water, they managed to complete the trial and catch up with the first-echelon teams, making up for the time lost twice due to the Succubus Attendant.

The High Priest officiating the ceremony routinely announced the name of this trial to everyone, but only the name: "Third Challenge: The Trial of the Fortress of Darkness." This was yet another obscure secret realm that no predecessor had ever encountered.

After stepping out of the stone gate, Byron immediately sent out two Ravens to scout the secret realm of the third challenge. He soon discovered that this island was much smaller than the previous two. Its main feature was a solitary, ancient stone fortress, and their arrival point was a corner within the fortress's eastern wall. No immediate danger was found nearby. The only oddity was that while the exterior of the stone fortress was lush with vegetation, the inside was barren—not a single blade of grass, fallen leaf, or even an insect could be seen.

Byron and Violet were both well-adapted to sea battles and possessed demon-like physiques, so their stamina was still high; they could go several days without sleep if necessary. Previously, when the young couple indulged their passions, staying up all night was common for them.

Atahualpa, however, had swallowed several mouthfuls of seawater during the second challenge and was somewhat drained. Byron turned to ask his opinion: "Shall we rest here for a bit?"

The latter thought for a moment and, not wanting to feign strength, agreed. "That sounds good. Although the trials are randomly chosen from fifty-two trial islands—three to five of them—none of the trial-takers know if it will ultimately be three, four, or five.

"It's just like how our founding ancestor, His Majesty Manco Capac, never knew how many more hardships awaited or how much longer it would take to find the prophesied site for building the city.

"We've passed two consecutive challenges and fought several bloody battles; it's necessary to recuperate."

By now, Byron, through the Ravens' eyes, had also spotted the others in the first echelon. All three Governors were there, along with an additional seven or eight Third-Order teams that were both lucky and strong. Realizing their group had indeed caught up with the other Fourth-Order Sons of the Sun and the first-echelon team that included Succubus Teris, he decided against lighting a fire that would expose their location. Instead, he deployed the National Border Lock to conceal their presence and took out pre-prepared glass jars of canned beef and rum, sharing them with Violet and Atahualpa.

It had been less than a month since they left the Bantaan Archipelago. The supplies brought from their main base were still relatively fresh and all crafted by Alfred, the Third-Order Gourmet. Their provisions were far superior to those of ordinary long-voyage sailors.

The closer it got to this moment, the more Byron looked forward to obtaining Earthly Heaven, the personal logistical base he could carry with him.