Pirate Phantom

Chapter 130: Meeting the God

How important was Felia to Maria? From one point of view, Maria could have died for her. The willingness to sacrifice her own life said everything about the girl’s place in her heart.

They had finally moved into their new home, ready to begin a quiet, ordinary life. Yet before the dust had even settled, a group of Radiant Church clerics appeared, announcing that they would be taking Felia away. For Lady Maria, that was nothing less than a slap to the face. Even if she had alway...

Chapter 129: The New Home

The house carried a sense of quiet, lived-in warmth.

In the entryway stood a polished coat rack and a holder for canes, a thoughtful touch that spoke of gentle domestic order. The living room opened wide and bright, its redwood furniture lined with care and harmony. At the center stood a stone fireplace, perfectly placed. When winter came, one could almost see the fire lighting up the room, the family gathered close, reading or resting with quiet contentment while snow fell beyon...

Chapter 128: Family

A house in the Upper District was hardly an extravagant demand for a wealthy merchant.
In the Fractured, a single Gold could persuade even a god.

This was not sarcasm or jest. Ever since the sudden fall of the Sun Pantheon, the gods of the Fractured had chosen another path entirely. They no longer relied on the First Flame or any divine source. The true gods who refused to wait for death had taken up the mantle of administering domains themselves.

And money—yes, that t...

Chapter 127: Business

Among the nobles, for those who rose through trade or invention tended to care more about etiquette than the old families who had inherited their titles. It was pretty hard to tell if that came from urgency or insecurity, but something about these new nobles always seemed excessive, as if their polish hid a hollow space inside.

Yes, that was it. Something missing.

Harvett, his expression is sharp and energetic behind a pair of round spectacles, leaned lightly on his gold h...

Chapter 126: The Closed-Door Conference

The Ironwall Veil System came online.

Victory belonged to humanity.

The invisible barrier that forbade every form of prying rose in silence, folding the meeting hall within its pale, shimmering light.

“Since the activation of the Fractured Shield Project,” said the representative from the UN region, “the rate of Chaos corruption has fallen by ninety-nine percent compared with previous years. Almost all manifestations of Chaos have vanished like fading illusions....

Chapter 125: Fractured Shield

“My wife is truly wonderful!”

“You’re calling her your wife without even knowing her name?”

“Are you insane? Is every woman your wife?”

“You’re the insane one! How could she not be my wife?”

In the video comment section, the most frequent shouts were variations of “speed it up.” The general populace of the CN region had a particular fondness for silver-haired young women, their tastes having been refined and sharpened by countless artificial vir...

Chapter 124: The Forum Erupts

Tyr’s short review post hit the Fractured forum like a thunderclap. Within minutes, the entire board boiled over. Countless players who never got a beta slot crawled out from their long dormancy to join the noise.

One user called Hesitation Is Defeat wrote, “Wait, this game’s that punishing? Can someone post a guide already? I don’t want to suffer as a newbie!”

Another with the username Ten Pull Guarantee, I Represent the Unlucky asked, “So, uh...

Chapter 123: End of the Beta

When Maria stepped out of the Clocktower, a sudden dizziness washed over her without warning.

She leaned against the cold stone wall, steadying herself until her breath evened. Under the sunlight, her scarlet eyes darkened like stirred blood. In that color hid the quiet pulse of hunger and rage. Her heart thudded hard against her ribs, as if reminding her that she should claim more blood, draw deeper from the vein of power that called her name.

During the incident of the Lo...

Chapter 122: Transaction Complete

When Maria saw Archbishop Mark again, her usually serene expression flickered with a trace of surprise.

The sight before her made her doubt her own eyes.

The man who had always seemed full of spirit and sharp thought now sat slumped in a wooden chair like an ordinary old man, his entire being exuding the quiet rot of decay. The deathly stillness that seeped from him made Maria wonder whether he had already lost the will to live.

“You’ve come…”

The Archbi...

Chapter 121: The Joy of Talking Big

“…Take your sister, for example. Her skin’s fair, but pale in that refined way. Her face and bearing show good upbringing. Graceful figure, well-proportioned curves. She’s sixteen and still growing—if she develops a bit more, her chest will be fuller, her hips rounder, and then… heh, heh, heh!”
Gehrman looked every bit the lecherous old wolf as he rambled about his beautiful apprentice. After years of wandering the continent, he’d seen every kind of woman and believe...

Chapter 120: Gehrman’s Appreciation

The Radiant Lord, who had always ignored the false nun Maria, once again remained silent. It seemed he had long grown used to the audacity of Miss Maria.

Yet this time, Maria had sobered somewhat.

After returning to Torrent City, she decided she would visit the Radiant Church sometime soon. In the past, she had never done so out of sincerity, but today she had truly invoked the name of the Lord. To avoid getting struck by lightning out of nowhere one day, Maria thought it...

Chapter 119: The Mad Trial

What is a god?

If Maria von Cainhurst were to judge, the divinity she envisioned most closely resembled the Great Ones. No reason was needed, just as the sky was blue, the water clear, and the trees full of green. The gods, too, should simply be.

That was what she called a true god.

Without realizing it herself, a seed had taken root deep in Maria’s heart, a seed of arrogant ambition. Perhaps it was the lingering influence of a higher being’s power. Maria had yet to full...

Chapter 118: The Eldritch

There is nothing a single elven volley cannot solve. If there is, then send another.

As a race, the elves’ mastery of both archery and art surpasses humankind by several eras. One could even say, without exaggeration, that if not for the birth of firearms, humanity would never have surpassed the elves in long-range or even beyond-visual-range warfare. They simply do not belong to the same age.

The daemon of Khorne was blown apart by a heavy explosive arrow, reduced to f...

Chapter 117: Those Who Stand Against Me Are but Rotting Bones

To be regarded as kin by a Daemon of Khorne is no blessing — it means you carry the stench of bloodlust.

From the moment of their birth, what these creatures first learn is not language nor faith, but how to slaughter their own kind. They feed on carnage, craving the favor of the Skull Lord. Under the dominion of that mindless hunger for slaughter, the wars waged by the armies of Khorne require no justification at all.

Within Maria’s blood sleeps a feral beast.

It...

Chapter 116: The Offering

In the words of the greenskins: “I reckon red-skinned daemons are just a bunch of things especially made for WAAAGH!”

This Khorne daemon, ignoring the burning backlash of the First Flame that might have annihilated its projection entirely, now strode forward with its jagged fanged battle-axe once its stone-like body had fully solidified. Its scarlet flesh radiated a cruel sense of ritualistic sanctity as it chanted praises to the Blood God.

“Hound of the Blo...

Chapter 115: Blood Sacrifice to the Blood God

The crushing pressure suddenly lightened, but Maria felt no joy.

Because this was not weakness. It was the Forbidden Lord of Cinder deliberately drawing back most of his power, compressing it into his limbs and bones—like a steam-constrained reactor driven at full capacity. The force within him made Maria think of a volcano suppressed to its limit.

And once it erupted—mountains would shatter.

As sparks flared from the Forbidden Lord’s mouth, Lady Maria swept her longsw...

Chapter 114: Familiar

The instant the gunshot rang out, the Black Coat froze mid-dodge!

An invisible hammer seemed to slam into his body, wrenching him violently sideways. The blazing heat carried by the Farron Greatsword struck him without mercy, swatting him through the air! This was no artful maneuver, just pure brute force that tore him from the ground and hurled him skyward.

“Roar!!”

A thunderous war cry shook the battlefield as the Forbidden Lord of Cinder swept his blood-red pup...

Chapter 113: The Sudden Gunshot

The Lord of Cinder’s strength was undeniable.

To inherit the First Flame, there had to be a minimum requirement of power. Of course, the criteria were a bit unusual—it didn’t always equate to sheer combat ability. According to the records of the Radiant Sun faith, history had seen Lords of Cinder who were more scholar-like, excelling in theory rather than battle.

The Forbidden Lord of Cinder, however, was a more peculiar case.

He was exiled, merely one among the many o...

Chapter 112: The Might of the Lord of Cinder

The Boiling-Water Spiders—nicknamed “Nightmare Robots” by the players.

They were one of the Steam Church’s early bugged war machines. Their means of attack, aside from brutally sharp metallic limbs, included the inhumane method of ejecting superheated steam above 200 degrees directly from their iron bodies.

Because their appearance bore a strong resemblance to a “Nightmare Robot” unit from another game, players began calling them by that name.

Some bored...

Chapter 111: Duel

Player ID: Li Sanguang

This wasn’t his true ID in Fractured, but rather a nickname given to him by the gaming community. Once, on the Chinese servers of a certain virtual biohazard MMO, he had been a top-tier player—known for wielding an officially borderline-cheat infinite RPG launcher and greeting everything he met with explosives. “Kill it all, loot it all, rob it all.” With that signature style, Li Sanguang had carved out his reputation. But when he entered Fractured, he imm...

Chapter 110: Praise the Machine God

Beyond the dense forest, at a devastated gathering point.

When an anomaly erupted deep within the trees and countless startled birds rose into the sky, the dangerous, icy face of the Black Coat—a title reserved for high-ranking officers of the Military Intelligence Department—suddenly lit up with excitement. That inhuman roar—ancient and furious—had proclaimed itself to the entire world.

The Lord of Cinder had truly awakened…

This particular Black Coat cas...

Chapter 109: Let Them Fight

The dagger pierced into her shoulder, tearing through and leaving a gaping wound. For Miss Maria, such an injury was not severe, but it was enough to put her into peril.

Even the Forbidden Lord of Cinder must have felt a brief flicker of surprise.

In his plan, once he easily brushed aside this woman’s weapon, his off-hand blade would sink into her head like a knife into fruit, taking her life in an instant. Yet this woman, carrying that peculiar power, reacted decisivel...

Chapter 108: Shield Parry

At this moment, no sound was more beautiful than the ringing of the bell.

The Forbidden Lord of Cinder, who had only pushed open the coffin lid and thrown out a greatsword, still lingered within the smoke and dust, his figure unclear, flickering like a ghost.

Amid the solemn, ancient tolling of the bell, it seemed as if everything had been brought under control.

The Presiding Priest held an aged yellow scroll in his hands. The special bell’s toll that echoed through...

Chapter 107: The Bell

The gap of the stone coffin was pitch black, with nothing emerging from within, yet one could feel a gaze tinged with anger peering outward.

Rage. Killing intent.

The emotion carried by that gaze was direct and unrestrained, as though it was his pride and honor itself. At the instant this ferocious killing intent blanketed them, everyone’s movements froze stiff under the sheer impact of that signal. It was the half-awakened probing of the Forbidden Lord of Cinder, enough ...

Chapter 106: Awakening

Outside the Destruction Gathering Point, beneath the mask, Hedda’s scholarly features twisted with a touch of nausea.

This game was far too realistic…

When her superior ordered the eradication of this gathering point, Hedda had followed the command without hesitation. But the moment she acted, she realized this was nothing more than a one-sided massacre. That black-coated agent from Military Intelligence looked like a demon crawling straight out of hell—cold, calculat...

Chapter 105: High-Quality Life

Deep within the dense forest, at the forbidden seal—
Here lay entombed the exiled sacred being from Lordran, the forbidden Lord of Cinder. His name had long been forgotten, and his past glory unknown.

Those who disturbed the Lord of Cinder’s slumber came one after another, including the trio who had finished resting and were now setting out.

Passing through the seal’s protective barrier, Maria felt as though she were moving through a thick water curtain. The air ...

Chapter 104: The Gathering Point

For various reasons, scattered across the worthless jungle wastelands were unrecorded human gathering points.

These gathering points generally had no Extraordinary guardians. As long as their scale did not exceed a certain limit, the local lords turned a blind eye. Caravans or mercenaries traveling in the wilds would sometimes stop by such places to resupply. If the environment was not too harsh, life in these gathering points could even carry a touch of utopian peace.

Bu...

Chapter 103: Departure

Time slipped by, and two days had already passed. During those calm and easy days, Maria spent most of her time staying close by her younger sister’s side.

The tender affection that overflowed from her was like honey, drowning Felia completely.

If Maria of Seth was like a crimson rose veiled in frost, then all the warmth left in her cold life after the tragedy had been poured into her only remaining kin. In some ways, Maria loved Felia more than herself, and the womaniz...

Chapter 102: Inheriting the Legacy

Luminous Cathedral, Resupply.

There was comfort—immense comfort—in having a vast organization at her back. Broken gear, used-up scrolls, other consumables—returning to base meant full resupply. For now, she was effectively riding along in the war-chariot of the Radiant Church of the Sun. Naturally, Miss Maria wasn’t about to be shy.

And she truly did need a proper resupply.

But “proper resupply” was complicated. Ever since awakening the bloodline of the ...

Chapter 101: FLAG

In traditional virtual MMORPGs, to make the game more engaging, the developers sometimes set up overlapping quests between two seemingly unrelated questlines.

When quests overlapped, players on both chains could either choose cooperation or confrontation. Typically, veteran players judged by circumstances. Overlap quests usually came with much higher difficulty, as conflicts grew fiercer and more unpredictable.

“…So, any good suggestions?”

Luminous Cathedral.<...