Chapter 57 - Chapter 57 Janice's discovery

Fire takes advantage of the wind! He stopped suddenly, and his eyes burst into a fiery light. He had always ignored the oldest and most effective method of naval warfare to defeat the strong. In the vast history of the previous life, those miracles of naval battles that have gone down in history all used fire as a blade to burn down strong enemies. "Luo Luo," Liu Qian's voice was filled with a sudden excitement: "If we choose to have a favorable wind, completely empty those merchant ships with heavy drafts to reduce weight, leaving only the necessary helmsmen, and then pile up the cabin with highly flammable kindling, such as hay and grease-soaked rags... Even things like tung oil bought in Spearhandle Village." Let these 'fireships' go down the wind and go straight to the dense fleet array of Salado, and once they crash into the enemy formation, they will ignite the fire... The wind helps the fire, and the fire borrows the power of the wind, what kind of scene will it be? " Rollo and Howl's eyes lit up instantly, as if they had seen the purgatory-like scene. Hal licked his chapped lips, his voice with the characteristic harshness of a pirate: "Burn them to the brim, those big ships of Reese, the sails, the cables, the tarred hulls, all the best firewood, once they burn, no one can save them, but ..." He changed his mind, bringing with him realistic experience at sea: "To maximize the power of the fireships, they must be led to a waterway or bay that cannot be easily dispersed and difficult to turn, so that they can huddle together and collide with each other, and no one can escape." " Liu Qian had the most confident smile on his face since the start of the war, and his eyes swept over Rollo and Howl: "Isn't this what you 'old sailors' who have been crisscrossing the Stone Steps Islands for many years are best at? Where is the natural rattrap cage, where can Salado and his Reese helpers be unable to fly? " He patted Rollo on the shoulder, and then looked at Hal: "Gather all the leaders who are familiar with this sea, immediately, we will choose a burial place that Salado will never forget." " In the following time, a stone chamber in the fortress that was temporarily used as a war room was brightly lit. The rough charts were spread on a huge wooden table, and Liu Qian, Rollo, Hal, and several old pirate leaders who were most familiar with the nearby reefs, currents, and narrow waterways gathered together and discussed fiercely. Charcoal drew complex routes and markings on the charts, and alternative locations were proposed and rejected. In the end, a name full of risks and opportunities was repeatedly confirmed - Bone Eater Gorge. It was a narrow channel surrounded by several interlaced volcanic islands and reefs, with fast currents and dense reefs, only a few ships at the entrance, but a relatively open "pocket" inside. As long as Sarado's main force can be introduced into the mouth of the gorge, and then the retreat is blocked with fireships to ignite the fire of hell... The balance of victory has the possibility of being pryed. Specific tactical details are constantly polished. The number of fireships, camouflage, timing of ignition, ships covering, and ambush positions guarded by the dragon spirit. Every link is crucial. When the preliminary plan was finalized, a faint morning light was shining out of the window. Early the next morning, Liu Qian did not continue to supervise the battle on Split Palate Island. He entrusted the heavy responsibility of repairing ships, modifying fireships, training sailors, and monitoring the gray gallows to the calm and reliable Rollo and Howl, who was familiar with pirate combat. Liu Qian took Jelena and boarded a brisk long rowing boat back to the Torture Abyss. After capturing Split Palate Island, he did not transfer core personnel and important supplies. The Split Palate Fortress was certainly more spacious and comfortable, with better living conditions and fortifications, but the labyrinthine natural sea caverns, steep landing sites, and absolute secrecy of the Torture Abyss were still a safer fortress in Liu Qian's mind. More importantly, there were treasures that could not be lost. Dragon eggs, ghost weeds, huge black stones, and precious texts brought from the ruins of Valyria. Janice had been staying there, studying the cultivation methods of the ghost grass and the obscure books day and night. He hurried back this time because he had received an urgent message from Janice through the Dragon Spirit Guard. Research on the black stone made a shocking discovery. The longship broke through the blue sea, bypassed the intertwined reefs, and the eerie and steep cliffs of the familiar Torture Abyss appeared in front of them. As soon as they landed, Liu Qian and Jelena hurried through the heavily guarded cavern passage to the huge sea cavern that Janice had transformed into a laboratory. The cave was dimly lit, with only a few whale oil lamps emitting a steady yellowish-white halo. The air was filled with the saltiness of seawater, the bitterness of plant juice, and the smell of a mixture of parchment and stale ink. Janice was sitting at a rough stone table with her back to the entrance, reading intently an ancient book thick enough to be used as a shield in the light. Her signature long bright silver hair was simply tied back at the back, and a few strands of disobedient hair fell down her white neck and ears, glowing softly in the light. Her expression was quiet and serious, her violet eyes moving quickly across the pages, and her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow on her cheeks. That focus and wisdom made her look particularly moving in this cold cave. As if sensing a familiar breath, Janice raised her head. When she saw Liu Qian's tall figure appear at the entrance of the cave, her eyes instantly burst out with an undisguised light of joy, as if a light was lit in a dark cave. "My lord." She put down the book in her hand and quickly greeted her, with a hint of imperceptible excitement in her voice: "It's great to see you return safely again, the war on the Split Palate Island..." Liu Qian showed a gentle smile and waved his hand: "It went smoother than expected, and I gained a lot, so I delayed for a little longer." " He walked to the stone table, his eyes falling on the monumental book that Janice had just put down. The cover of the book was some kind of unknown black leather, the edges were badly worn, and the spine was embroidered with intricate, seemingly flowing runes with faded gold thread, exuding an indescribable aura of antiquity and mystery. "This is your new discovery?" "Yes, my lord." Janice carefully picked up the heavy book, as if holding a rare treasure, and solemnly handed it to Liu Qian. "Please look here, and here..." She turned the pages and pointed to several passages written in crimson ink, next to her dense notes in Juanxiu's handwriting. "According to this "Valyrian Secret Source Examination", in ancient times before the establishment of the Valyrian Free Fortress, the ancestors of Valyrian held a powerful and forbidden blood magic ritual." Liu Qian took the book and felt unusually heavy and cold when he started it. He stared at the passage pointed out by Janice. The text was an ancient Higher Valyrian language, with difficult grammar, unfamiliar vocabulary, full of symbols and metaphors, and he could only barely recognize it. Janice explained softly, with a researcher's unique excitement: "The book describes this ritual as a sacrifice to the stars in the sky in order to obtain some kind of power beyond the ordinary... Eventually, the stars will descend on the mortal world..." "The stars are coming?!" Liu Qian's heart shook violently, and these words exploded in his mind like thunder. He instantly remembered the woman who roared excitedly in the port of Valantis. According to Dr. Malwyn, the woman was the priest of the Star Cult. If the blood wizards of Tria were not lying, then the ancestors of the Valyrians, the emperors of the Dawn Kingdom named after the color of their eyes, were the executors of this forbidden ritual. So, what was the power of their sacrificial prayers? What did "the stars descend"? Was it some kind of powerful force, or was it a ... catastrophic phenomenon? Liu Qian's fingers unconsciously rubbed the cold and rough pages of the book, his heart surging, and countless conjectures and questions collided violently in his mind. Is Valyria's doomsday catastrophe related to this crazy ritual of pursuing the "arrival of the stars"? Janice was keenly aware of Liu Qian's shock, and she continued to elaborate on her findings, her voice trembling with a hint of excitement: "My lord, the key to the book does not stop there, launching this large-scale blood magic ritual requires extremely huge magic as a drive, and the book clearly points out that this magic power is not generated out of thin air, but through a special way, to inject magic into the core of the ritual, that is, this black stone, which means..." Her purple eyes shone with wisdom, and she looked at the huge black stone standing quietly in the depths of the cave: "This black stone, it itself is a magic vessel with incredible capacity. " Liu Qian followed her gaze, and the huge black stone looked even more unfathomable in the dim light, and the natural runes on the surface seemed to be breathing silently. Janice took a deep breath and said the core inference: "What's even more amazing is that the book also mentions that this special black stone has a powerful 'purifying' and 'purifying' properties, which can absorb the violent chaos and even cursed magical energy in the environment, just like the turbulence of blood magic that has gone out of control due to the doomsday catastrophe that floods the ruins of Valyria, and 'purify' it into pure and stable magic that can be safely absorbed and used by magicians. Any impurity, whether it is a curse or a violent form of energy, can be transformed into a pure source of magical power by it. In fact, this black stone has been placed in Valyria for thousands of years, and the magic contained in it is likely to be beyond imagination, but we cannot obtain it at the moment. " Liu Qian's heart seemed to have been hit by a heavy hammer, and it jumped violently.