Chapter 159: The Strongest Sword and the Strongest Armor

  Just as Lex and Roger were about to leave the tavern after finishing their last drink, having talked about the Blackbeard Pirates being surrounded by a large fleet of Carthaginian naval vessels near Elan and Gath, the tavern door was suddenly pushed open with a loud bang.

  A large group of fully armed pirates walked in, causing the entire noisy tavern to fall silent instantly. Only a few extremely drunk guys were still there, hugging their wine barrels and talking nonsense. After the whole tavern fell silent, the creaking sound from the old wooden bed on the ceiling became exceptionally loud, apparently the busy people upstairs had no idea what was happening.

  "Hey, hey...... should I say you're a jinx or that you're just lucky? " Lex looked at a man clad in full armor, his wooden floor creaking as he walked in, and whispered to Roger, who looked bewildered: "To think that on your first visit to Sunken Bay, you'd run into not one but two big shots. This is the armored Kurad I was just telling you about, a genuine pirate of some renown."

  Kurade, the armor-clad, had roughly told Lex about it earlier. In legend, no one has ever seen Kurade's true face, as he always wears a thick suit of armor that makes it impossible to see his appearance. Even when sleeping or resting, he never takes off his armor, which is why he is called Armor Kurade.

  Kurade's pirate fleet had ten ships of all sizes, with six large enough to sail out and engage in naval battles. The special large crossbows loaded on the pirate ships could shoot down even some medium-sized sea monsters with a single shot, let alone those ships that didn't have any protection at all. Whenever they saw Kurade's skull flag wearing armor, their only choice was to surrender.

  The other four ships of Kurad's fleet were medium-sized supply ships, which normally dispersed to plunder in all directions and then gathered at a predetermined place at a certain time. They would replenish on the supply ship, put the looted goods on the supply ship, and then set off again to hunt for prey. The supply ship would return to Anas under the protection of one or two pirate ships to handle the loot.

  Under Kuraudo's command were nearly seven hundred pirates, and a considerable number of them were quite powerful. Even among the Seven Great Pirates, their strength could be ranked in the middle to upper echelons. Ordinary pirate crews didn't dare provoke them, as that would be equivalent to sending half of themselves into the mouths of sea monsters.

  With Kurade's arrival, the pirates in the tavern were momentarily stunned and then hastily got up to leave through another door. These usually careless pirates now even stood up from their chairs with caution, like noble ladies trying not to make any noise, so as not to attract the attention of the big shot who shouldn't be appearing in this tavern.

  "It seems to be looking for Blackbeard." After the people in the tavern ran away, Lex and Roger squeezed into the doorway with many pirates, peeking inside. The clever tavern owner brought several cups and a medium-sized wine barrel before running out, continuing to sell ale to these onlookers at a slightly higher price.

  "Have they had a falling out?" Roger pushed away a man who was hovering beside him, his tone as foul as the toilet. Lex heard Roger's words and laughed, saying: "How could pirates who have crossed swords at sea not have had a grudge? But since even Kuraudo has come in person, it must be something big. This black-bearded guy is really unlucky, he's already down on his luck and now he's got an enemy showing up at his doorstep, I wonder if he'll even make it out of the tavern alive."

  Kurade walked up to Blackbeard, looking at the man who was still drinking ale, and said in a muffled voice due to his armor's echo and obstruction: "Long time no see, Blackbeard. We shouldn't have any grudges between us originally. I don't know if you've gone senile or if you've gone mad from failure that you dare provoke me."

  "I've heard that your armor is quite sturdy." Blackbeard didn't explain his actions from earlier that day, when he went to the Kurad estate and couldn't find Kurad, causing a big commotion. He looked up at the majestic armor in front of him and said: "Not even the weapons of the God's Chosen Warriors can penetrate it, can you tell me if this is true?"

  "There is no weapon that can harm my armor." Kurado's voice had a hint of pride, but it was immediately followed by a surge of anger: "You came to my territory and smashed the place just to test the power of my armor? Well, today you'll get to experience its might."

  "The mysterious armor excavated from the ancient ruins of a sea island." Blackbeard stood up and opened his long coat, revealing a black long sword with gray mist at his waist. He said in a low voice: "Compared to the magic sword made by Solomon, the great alchemist of God, who will be more powerful? Or... are they of the same level of power?"

  "Magic sword!" Kurad exclaimed in disbelief, seeing the long sword at Blackbeard's waist. His subordinates around him were also shocked and whispered to each other: "No wonder Hill hadn't appeared in Treasure Bay all this time, had she been killed by Blackbeard? This time... it's really getting a bit dangerous."

  "Wow, what explosive news! Lex exclaimed, taking a deep breath: "The fallen Blackbeard not only killed the demon sword Shilna, but now he's also challenging the armored Kurad. Is he trying to become the Pirate King? If he succeeds this time, there will be only five of the Seven Great Pirates left."

  Mystic Sword, with an extraordinary prefix added to it, truly explains the extraordinariness of this weapon. Once in the hands of the great pirate Shill, and now hanging from Blackbeard's waist, the Mystic Sword is said to have been created by the ancient alchemist Solomon. This sword has sealed away the souls of 72 powerful evil demons, rendering any armor useless against it, as if they were made of soft mud.

  And the sword itself has a powerful ability to absorb life and souls, any living thing it cuts will be reduced to ashes, the extracted soul will satisfy the demon sword's own thirst, and that vitality will also be used to repair the user's injured body, allowing the sword holder to fight continuously.

  But since it is a magic sword, what it represents is not just powerful strength. Anyone who uses this magic sword will gain power in an instant, and at the same time, a powerful curse will be imposed on its user. Every creature that uses it will not have any good end, and after death, their soul will also be swallowed by the magic sword. It will slowly affect the holder's body, making his strength constantly stronger and more bizarre, until he completely becomes a monster controlled by the sword, triggering a crazy killing spree and eventually exhausting his life to become a withered bone.

  Originally a relatively normal human, Shina became abnormally ugly after using the magic sword and her actions became increasingly strange and brutal. If Blackbeard hadn't taken the magic sword from her hand, she would have destroyed her own pirate fleet with her own hands even if no one else had destroyed it.

  The power represented by the magic sword is abnormally strong, which is also the reason why everyone was shocked that Blackbeard could take out the magic sword. Even if other members of the Seven Great Pirates wanted to take away Shilna's sword, it wouldn't be so easy to resolve. What method did Blackbeard use to get his hands on this sword?

  "Hmph! Do you think I'll be intimidated just because you have the Demon Sword in hand?" Kurado shouted, swinging his left arm at Blackbeard's head. The sharp spikes on his armored arm were Kurado's killing move. He didn't use the long sword at his waist; he knew that any ordinary iron wouldn't be a match for the Demon Sword, and only his armor was his reliance.

  The black sword blade collided with Kulard's armor, emitting an abnormally bright spark that made everyone unable to open their eyes. However, the flash did not stop Blackbeard, and after stopping Kulard's attack, he quickly swung his magic sword at a speed that was invisible to the naked eye, making the silver-white armor sparkle with sparks. The first confrontation between the strongest sword among pirates and the strongest armor, what would be the outcome?

  Whether it was Kurade's subordinates in the tavern or the numerous pirates who had snuck out of the tavern, everyone wanted to know what the final outcome would be. Just then, the ear-piercing sound of clashing steel stopped, and Blackbeard, who had swung hundreds of swords in an instant, stood still with his sword in hand, breathing slightly heavily.

  "I've said it before...". Kulrad, unscathed, looked at the black-bearded man with contempt in his words: "No weapon can harm my armor! Even the so-called strongest magic sword is nothing but a scratch on the surface of my armor. Now, Blackbeard, you can rest easy and die!"

  Kurade's fist swung towards the somewhat exhausted Blackbeard, but he dodged it with a swift movement and created some distance between himself and Kurade. Blackbeard looked at Kurade and said, "You're indeed the strongest armor, wanting to defeat that demon beast - this is exactly the power I need. So... hand over your armor."

  A swarm of tiny black insects crawled out from the body of Blackbeard, making their way across the wooden floorboards towards Kurade, who was clad in armor. In his frantic struggles, they burrowed into his armor. There is no such thing as absolute defense; even the hardest armor has gaps, and while a longsword may not be able to pierce it, these tiny black insects were an exception.

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