Chapter 296: Treading the Seas

Sabastine said, “The sword wielded by the Golden Ram Herolf, known as Treading the Seas, is renowned across the Seven Seas.”

“This magical rapier has only one attribute: controlling seawater!”

“The higher the transcendent rank of the wielder, the greater the amount of seawater they can control.”

“With Herolf’s transcendent rank, a single thrust of this sword carries the force of several giant whales. Even among the Saint rank, few can withstand such power.”

“We’ve faced him several times. With Treading the Seas in his hand and the support of his ancient magical warship, he could even hold his own in a one-against-three battle. However, when using another alchemical warship, his advantage diminishes significantly.”

“Such a unique power exists?”

Charlot was greatly intrigued. He activated Blood Glory and swung Treading the Seas. As expected, he felt an immense surge of seawater, as if millions of tons were flooding forth, their force as immovable as a mountain. However, he quickly noticed that the magical rapier rejected Blood Glory. When he switched to Stardust Battle Energy, the weapon still didn’t respond. Charlot then tried Bloodflame Aura, but again, there was no effect. Disappointment welled in his heart.

The attributes of transcendent weapons must align with their users to unleash their full power. Clearly, Treading the Seas was best suited to ocean-based combat energy, which was incompatible with the vampiric powers Charlot had cultivated.

He turned to Menielman and asked, “Senior, do you need a weapon?”

Menielman replied calmly, “I already have Dark Moon, which is on par with Treading the Seas in quality.”

Sabastine chuckled and said, “No need to ask me. I’m not particularly skilled in swordsmanship. Besides, I’m short on funds right now and wouldn’t consider buying a high-grade transcendent weapon that I can’t make full use of.”

In truth, Sabastine omitted a key detail: Menielman had recently raided her hideout, and her entire fortune had been confiscated by this so-called “First Rose of the Empire.” Sabastine was not merely short on funds—she was arguably the poorest Saint rank contender in history.

Being someone who valued her pride, Sabastine would never admit to such a predicament. Nor did she expect Charlot to gift the weapon outright; she knew their relationship wasn’t that close.

Charlot didn’t bother asking High Priest Auguslatin if he wanted it. The High Priest, having recently come into a large fortune, could undoubtedly afford to buy the magical rapier. However, Auguslatin didn’t practice the knightly arts and rarely engaged in melee combat, so the weapon would be wasted in his hands, serving only as a collectible.

If it was going to be a collector’s item, Charlot figured he might as well keep it himself. He wasn’t strapped for cash, and while a high-grade magical rapier was expensive, he could afford to leave it idle.

Charlot’s modern sensibilities told him the team needed to secure Saint Michael Island as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary delays. Keeping Treading the Seas for himself was wasteful—it would be better to hand it to a Saint rank ally who could maximize its combat value.

He was well aware that Menielman didn’t need it; the fact that she owned Dark Moon was no secret. Charlot wasn’t trying to curry favor with her or barter for a better deal.

Menielman had once mentioned that Tumisan could help resolve the Agmirlas crisis. But wouldn’t it be better to have someone seek his help rather than the other way around?

Charlot hadn’t expected Sabastine to interject with a sly remark, which served as the perfect setup. Tumisan, itching with anticipation, immediately declared, “Treading the Seas matches my Bloodfire Combat Energy perfectly!”

Charlot mused aloud, “Actually, I’ve also cultivated Bloodfire Combat Energy.”

“When I was undercover in Saint Michael City, I couldn’t reveal my true identity. Out of sheer boredom, I trained in Bloodfire Combat Energy, and I’ve since advanced to the first transcendent rank.”

Tumisan took a deep breath and said, “I’m willing to trade something for it.”

Charlot smiled faintly, remaining silent. Tumisan continued, “Agmirlas’s sinister power grants control over certain labyrinth forces but comes with significant risks. Ultimately, it sends those who wield it straight into Agmirlas’s clutches.”

“I once explored the New Continent and was fascinated by Agmirlas’s power. During my journey, I visited over a dozen Saint rank experts and uncovered a secret.”

“If one can breach the labyrinth’s fourth layer, they can break free from the trap Agmirlas has set, escaping His control to truly master the labyrinth’s power.”

“I have a scroll of Agmirlas’s Labyrinth. Its original owner is long deceased, and you can use it to forcibly breach the labyrinth’s limits!”

Charlot was thrilled but kept his expression neutral. “I see. But I already have a scroll. A ‘friend’ gave me one as a gift.” He feigned a casual demeanor, as if such a “friend” truly existed.

Tumisan gritted his teeth and said, “Two scrolls! One is sixteen pages, and the other is nine pages—both are incredibly rare treasures. On the New Continent, a single scroll rivals the value of a high-grade magical rapier.”

Charlot recalled how, at the Duchess of Mesu’s auction, a painting depicting the true visage of an overseas evil god was purchased by Yanmills for 507 écus. That ancient painting contained forty-six pages of Agmirlas’s Labyrinth.

The value of a high-grade transcendent weapon was at least ten times higher. When Sean Connor of the Blue Magpie Workshop offered the Red Viper and Blue Viper for sale, their combined price was 16,000 écus. Though the final deal included a baron’s blood core and 5,500 écus, the total value exceeded one billion in modern currency.

Clearly, two scrolls of Agmirlas’s Labyrinth weren’t worth a high-grade magical rapier.

Yet Charlot trusted Tumisan wasn’t trying to swindle him. The probability of such deceit was low, indicating one thing: on the New Continent, the value of Agmirlas’s Labyrinth scrolls far exceeded that of ancient paintings depicting evil gods.

Charlot shook his head but then had a sudden idea. “Do you have any paintings of Agmirlas’s true visage?”

Tumisan replied, “I do—over a dozen. But they aren’t valuable.”

“An ancient painting of a labyrinth god typically converts into just one or two pages of Agmirlas’s Labyrinth.”

Charlot decisively said, “Include those paintings.”

Tumisan agreed easily. He had once attempted to bridge the Old and New Continents by establishing a labyrinth network for convenient travel, but the endeavor failed. To date, no one had succeeded. He had since lost interest in the project.

Transforming a city into a labyrinth required extraordinarily stringent conditions, including complete control over the city. Even a Saint rank expert couldn’t achieve such a feat casually.

Even if a city were conquered and labyrinthized, the effect would fade without the master’s frequent presence. If others took over, the labyrinthization would vanish entirely...

In short, maintaining a labyrinth was incredibly challenging.

Charlot remained unaware of these difficulties because, from the start, he had never faced such issues.

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