"So, the final point of breakthrough is the divinity of the so-called crown-level treasure, which you must ultimately obtain."
These were the last words Alka heard from the Fourfold God.
Now Alka only had one crown-level treasure left to master.
Honestly, mastering this art was a long shot.
In fact, aside from the Mother of God's Treasury, he had never seen any other crown-level treasures.
He also didn't understand the functions of treasures at this level.
But the Fourfold God spoke.
"Don't think such a treasure possesses some kind of destructive power. In fact, it represents a kind of essence."
"It instantly unifies your other abilities."
"You say that although these five treasures of mine are built around Hidden Secret, the fact that they work together demonstrates their compatibility."
Do I just need one suitable Crown-level treasure to connect these seemingly unrelated things?
"Actually, they're connected to Hidden Secret not because they actually have any synergy or connection with it.
Simply because Hidden Secret is the most vulnerable to their secrets. And I also frequently used Hidden Destruction to spy on these secrets, essentially seeing through them."
The Four-Fourth God said this with a smile.
So, the final blame can still be placed on him.
"The last three towers remain, and we've completed our collection."
"Shouldn't there be four towers?"
Now the two of them stood on the deck, talking.
Pororo suddenly leaped out of the water onto the deck.
"Tower 12 is the first Tower of Trials we've encountered." "It's just connected to the trail leading back to the World Scar, so it's right along the way," Sofia explained.
Tower 11 is in a direct line with the World Scar, and the Isle of Trials, which they first visited, is on that line, so it's along the way.
Besides, they were all too familiar with this Tower of Trials.
"So there won't be any problems," Jason said with a smile, approaching at some point.
The Voice of Dawn continued on its way.
...
Time flew by.
It seemed like an eternity had passed since they reached Tower 8.
"Is Trial Tower 9 in the area of this signpost island?" Alka asked.
"This island is outside the signpost's range. We'll just pass by this time," Sofia said.
While they were conversing, a ship slowly approached from the distant sea.
The ship was shrouded in thick smoke.
Seeing this, Alka squinted and looked around.
Soon, at maximum range, he could clearly see the ship.
"It's an armored ship of the Church of the Holy Machine," Alka said.
"Who attacked the Church of the Holy Machine?"
This situation quickly attracted the attention of everyone on the ship, and the others returned to the ship from the small world.
After all, it was a ship of the Church of the Holy Machine, so they naturally adjusted their course slightly and headed towards it.
"Three ships are chasing the battleship. The unusual markings could indicate the presence of some force or cult," Jason said from the observation room.
"I'll go take a look," Alka said.
It's too far. If the battleship sinks by the time they get there, it would be terrible.
The ship's current condition is not very good.
As he spoke, Alka drew a circle, and a mirror appeared in front of him.
Passing through the mirror, Alka found herself directly on the ship.
"Quick, quick, reload the shells!"
"People, the cabin is leaking, fix it!"
"Splat!"
A shell fell.
It landed right on the deck, creating a large hole. The subsequent explosion tore the hole apart, causing even more damage inside.
"Fire!"
The people on the ship were still resisting.
"Who are you?" a man standing nearby shouted at Alka, confronted by the sudden appearance. Then, without thinking, he grabbed a pistol and fired at Alka.
"The bullet landed right in Alka's hand."
"Don't worry, my friend. I'm here to help you."
"Alka has already confirmed that this ship does indeed belong to the Church of the Holy Machine, and that the people on board are indeed members of the Church."
"As she said this, Alka emitted a faint holy light.
The crew, who had been watching him warily, sighed with relief, as this was clearly the power of the Holy Mother.
"I don't know who you are, but thank you for coming. We are under siege by three ships."
"These are ships belonging to the Rebel Organization."
"Rebels?" Alka didn't press the issue further.
"After all, now is not the time."
"He looked at the three ships behind him.
"He narrowed his eyes cautiously. There were no powerful enemies on board." The strongest was probably the captain of a medium-sized ship, whose strength was somewhere around level four.
The strongest member of the battleship's crew also had this level.
It seems that this ship was not designed specifically for war, but rather for escorting merchant ships and could also carry some cargo.
Therefore, even the ship the cannon, which split rocks, wasn't very effective.
That's why he was pursued and attacked by these three ships.
"Should I get rid of them or destroy them?" Alka asked the captain standing nearby, his face darkening, his body covered in blood.
Hearing this, the captain frowned, then sighed and said, "Isolate them, if possible."
Hearing this, Alka raised an eyebrow.
Interesting.
He then waved lightly toward the three ships visible in the distance.
A strong wind suddenly blew.
Going against the wind, the speed of the three sailing ships immediately slowed. The current below began to rapidly lift the battleships forward.
It was as if the waves were splitting down the middle.
One side was rapidly pushing them back, while the other was pushing them forward, blocking the enemy's progress.
Waves and a strong wind pushed the three ships back, as if they were being driven backwards.
For a moment, the scene became very interesting.
The three ships were quickly pushed out of sight; the entire process was incredibly fast.
Watching this scene, the captain glanced with some surprise at Alka, who sat next to him.
This movement alone was enough to prove Alka's strength.
To accomplish such a feat, Alka must not be an unknown person.
He looked closely at Alka.
Then his expression grew even more surprised.
"Are you, Master Alka?"
Alka nodded.
After all, judging by the distance, they were almost at the marker islands surrounding their destination.
They had already entered the Connected Sea region, so it was only natural that they would be recognized.
Not to mention that they were members of the Holy Machine Church.
"Thank you for your support."
Under Alka's command, their ship quickly arrived at the Voice of Dawn.
Simon was the first to jump aboard.
He surveyed the dilapidated vessel and waved. Six square iron blocks of varying sizes began to swirl around his hand.
The blocks swirled and spun.
The various iron materials melted, turning into repair material, quickly repairing the damaged areas of the ship.
It was like assembling an armored ship. It was truly magical.
"Impressive!" the captain exclaimed, watching the scene unfold. It must be the treasure's power. It was mainly the combination methods, as if they were very familiar with armored ships. Alka looked at him and asked, "If you don't mind, could you tell me what's going on here?" The captain nodded.
The nearest landmark island was Haimen Island. Landmark Island and the surrounding islands are under the influence of the people of Kanshi Island. However, several years ago, some people persecuted and oppressed by the people of Kanshi Island formed a resistance organization and are now at war with the people of Kanshi Island. We... can be considered victims. Although the resistance organization as a whole doesn't harbor any particular hostility toward us, some within it believe that the Holy Machine Church is also part of the group persecuting them.
"War?" Alka asked involuntarily.
Seeing this scene, his first thought was of the God of War. This was his usual tactic.
Alka had received this information from intelligence before he could see the whole story.
However, the church member standing before him clearly didn't know much, so he couldn't get much information from him.
But it was quite clear that this was the work of the God of War.
Faced with such a struggle between secular forces, the Holy Machine Church did not intervene.
Or rather, even if they wanted to intervene now, they wouldn't have the strength or resources.
After all, the Church of the Four Gods is currently focusing all its attention and energy on healing the world's wounds and solving various other problems.
"This is mainly because our ship is carrying some resources that need to be collected and sent to the World Scar.
On the other hand, the rebels lack such resources, so naturally, some are taking risks."
He looked at Alka and the others and said, "If you all want to go to Sea Gate Island, my advice is don't go."
Currently, chaos reigns there, a strict quarantine is in effect, and all resources are limited.
It's better to proceed directly to your destination."
Hearing the captain's reminder, Alka nodded.
He probably understood what he meant.
Without waiting for Alka to ask, the captain pulled out a map and handed it to her.
It was a map of a nearby island chain, with Trial Island marked in the distance. It was outside the chain, but the direction was correct.
"Is the church in a bad situation right now? Here?" Simon asked from the side.
He seemed quite concerned about the issue.
Hearing this, the captain shook his head.
Fortunately, although Signpost Island is part of Sea Gate, the church's seat isn't there. Frankly, the royal family of Kanku Island is quite unpleasant.
However, the island where the church is located has become a neutral zone and has hosted many refugees, so resources there are likely to be scarce.
So, if you go there, it will be difficult to get along.
"There must be supplies."
After chatting for a while and learning about the situation in the surrounding waters, they parted ways.
The cargo carried by this armored vessel was intended for the delivery of resources to other seas.
Alka and his companions were to pass through the middle of the crossing.
After just a few days of sailing, they saw the wreckage of ships drifting nearby and out at sea.
"Looks like the war here is pretty intense," Jason muttered, unsure what to think.
Alka nodded.
Indeed.
Shortly after he finished speaking, they saw in the distance what looked like another naval battle.
Two fleets were engaged, firing cannonballs at each other.
Against this backdrop, Alka and his crew made a slight detour and headed straight ahead.
After that,
This scene repeated itself around them from time to time.
Even as they passed some islands, they saw traces of the war spreading across them.
To avoid unnecessary complications, Alka and his crew decided not to stop in this connecting sea area.
They didn't want to get bogged down in this quagmire.
They planned to sail straight through it.
"Another ship like that! I really want to try."
A sailor on the rebel ship couldn't help but exclaim as he heard the strange sound of dawn in the distance.
The man standing next to him, apparently the ship's captain, looked at him. "If you want to die, don't take us with you."
"Ha-ha, I was just kidding, don't take it seriously. But it really does piss me off, doesn't it?"
They did their best not to disturb these ships, which looked completely different.
Seeing these brightly colored ships at sea, one could confidently assume they were the vessels of some powerful group.
They might encounter some powerful figures, and if they accidentally angered them and sank them, it would be more trouble than it's worth.
For the same reason, no one attacked Alka and his crew as they passed through the center of the battlefield.
After all, one only had to look at Alka and his crew's ship to know they weren't good people.
"These people are quite intelligent," Huanglu said with a smile.
He thought they'd be attacked as they passed through the battlefield.
In fact, no one fired a shot.
"After all, no one wants to provoke the enemy without reason, right?"
"That's true."
"But this God of War... he's quite resourceful."
How could the teachings of the Four Gods influence such a war?
After all, the only rage a God of War can evoke is the wrath of those who have truly been wronged.
Nameless rage alone isn't enough to spark a war, especially one that doesn't take their own lives into account.
If such a war breaks out, it indicates problems within the local government.
In this situation, the teachings of the Four Gods are fundamentally flawed, and their rule is to avoid interfering in mundane disputes except in special circumstances.
While they know that the primary focus now must be on protecting the world's scars from demons,
They have neither the power nor the justification to persuade either side to temporarily cease the dispute.
And now that the rebellion has begun, how can the conflict be stopped?
Some of those overly enraged might even turn their anger against the Church, influencing its support for the World Scars.
Alka and his companions advanced at full speed.
Crossing the connecting islands did not take long.
Soon, they spotted the towering black silhouette of Trial Island.
Watching from afar.
"Are there people on the island? And so many ships around? Is something wrong?"
Jason couldn't help but ask, looking into the distance.
Besides the prominent armored ships on distant Sinepost Island, there were also regular vessels. They had seen emblems on them many times before.
It was the symbol of a local resistance group.
They were now on Trial Island, and this didn't seem like a good sign.
"Accelerate, get closer."
As Alka spoke, the Voice of Dawn began to accelerate frantically.
Soon they arrived in the area of Trial Island.
The ships seemed to be trying to organize some kind of defense, but Alka waved his hand, and the sea froze, freezing the bottoms of the ships.
Then he blocked their cannons, which shook the rocks.
The doll girls quickly rushed to their ship and quickly grabbed the remaining personnel.
A look towards the island.
At that moment, some members of the Church of the Holy Machine were organizing a defense.
They discovered the buildings surrounding the Tower of Trials.
Meanwhile, the rebel organization representatives went on the offensive.
"You hypocrites! This was once our home! Now we're simply reclaiming it!"
"We can't give you this place. It's the oracle of our god, and it must not be desecrated!"
Both sides were on edge.
However, they seemed to be holding back, relying on defensive lines and not engaging in actual combat.
"I'll go first."
Seeing the situation, Alka turned and said, "Zate."
His figure vanished, instantly appearing in the center of the confrontation.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the center, causing both sides to almost open fire.
But upon seeing Alka's figure,
The leader of the Holy Machine Church breathed a sigh of relief.
"Master Alka, you're finally here."
But just as he finished speaking,
Someone suddenly fired from the rebel side.
Hearing the shot, all the rebels immediately pulled their triggers. The already slightly tense atmosphere instantly reached a fever pitch.
"Wait! Who told you to shoot? Wait!"
Even the rebel leader was shocked by this and hurriedly shouted.
However, the sound of gunfire was instantly drowned out by the roar of gunfire.
The confrontation was already tense, and tensions were high on both sides, especially among the rebels.
Many of them had no professional training whatsoever.
Faced with such a situation...
Alka, although somewhat surprised, simply waved his hand lightly.
A wall of mirrors appeared next to him.
All the bullets were stopped.
None of this affected him.