Chapter 174 The Rocks Pirates
Shanks stared at the sun in the sky, speechless for a long time.
Shanks only took a deep breath and looked at Vale beside him for a moment, after his eyes became dry from the bright light and the sound of a new cycle of change came from afar. He then looked away.
Violet was quite satisfied with the effect of the dwarf star, and could even convince herself that the consumption of nine purple gems for the [Starcaller's Staff] was well worth it.
Violet: "It's simply a great tool for exploring dark environments. It will make assembling the marble sculpture much easier later."
Shanks was quite used to Violet's way of speaking, like she was hoeing the ground with a golden pickaxe: "How long can this star exist?"
"Four days."
hiss--
Shanks gasped. He knew that on some isolated islands with little contact with the outside world, the local residents had never heard of Devil Fruits and would treat any Devil Fruit users they occasionally encountered as gods or demons.
Throughout Shanks' adventures, he has witnessed countless people who, even knowing it was the power of a Devil Fruit, were still awestruck by its extraordinary strength when it displayed its might.
To put it simply, the members of the Knights of God that Shanks knows all possess demonic, immortal abilities.
But... people always have an instinctive sense of awe for the earth beneath their feet and the starry sky above their heads, and even the Four Emperors are not immune to this. As Shanks watched a star, a burning star, being summoned by Violet with a gentle wave of her staff, a legend from the high seas suddenly came to mind.
Nika the Sun God!
That was a legend long believed by slaves and giants, appearing in their oral myths as a liberating warrior.
Because of Captain Roger's surrender, Shanks developed a desire to uncover the truth of this world. In addition, having already brought the giant island of Elbaf under his control, Shanks himself had a fairly comprehensive understanding of the legendary figure, Nika the Sun God.
He knew that the prototype of the sun god Nika was a battle form of Joy Boy, a liberation fighter from 800 years ago, and that Joy Boy's form came from the power awakened by a special Devil Fruit he ate.
Because of Joey Boy's great contributions to freeing slaves and saving the giants, his image was solidified as the sun god Nika, and the legend between the giants and the slaves has been passed down from generation to generation.
This legend is even reflected in the festivals of the giants. Every year at the winter solstice, they commemorate the death and rebirth of the sun by fasting and abstaining from water for twelve days.
However... the information I got from my giant friend is that Nika, the sun god, is a savior who loves to dance, while Violet is an old farmer who loves to farm.
If Violet truly possesses Nika's legacy, then Shanks can only say that the mythological characterization of Attack on Titan is ridiculously flawed.
Shanks' thoughts wandered for a moment before he quickly brought his attention back. After all, after so many years of collecting various information, Shanks had already formed his own judgment about Nika the Sun God and even the Devil Fruit that Joy Boy had eaten.
The possibility that Violet would be the other party is extremely slim.
"Go and see those murals and runes."
Val nodded and walked with Shanks toward the nearest fragment of a mural. Perhaps due to the cold, damp underground environment and lack of sunlight, the murals, though hundreds of years old, still retained some of their different colors and general lines.
"Hmm... this seems to be telling a story?"
With difficulty, Violet deciphered the mural's contents: "A very ancient civilization encountered a disaster, suffered a heavy blow, and famine and darkness descended from that time?"
Shanks stared at the patterns on the mural, as if trying to memorize all the colors and lines.
"There are three more pieces..."
"The demons appeared, and blackness, or rather darkness, swept through the entire ancient civilization, engulfing everyone."
"Those who failed to escape underwent some kind of mutation, like a snake shedding its skin or a shrimp peeling its shell, as if some new creature was born from the old body."
"A strangely shaped moon was born from the darkness. The moon shattered, and moonlight shone out from the cracks in a cyclical and ever-changing manner, causing the world to experience the phases of the moon. Under the moonlight, surrounded and watched by a crowd, someone carried a ball of darkness to the underworld..."
After looking at the four murals, Violet tilted her head in confusion, wondering whether they were a true depiction of history or just an ancient story from imagination.
However, in the last mural, the entrance to the underground world that the person went to looks a lot like a cave entrance. Could it be that he or she came here? But what is that black thing he or she is holding in his or her hands? Nightmare fuel?
With their doubts, Val and Shanks walked towards the runestones whose material was reminiscent of a hazy moonlight, only to find to their dismay that the writing on them was not any of the languages they recognized, not even the language used in historical texts.
This caused Valerie, who had been hoping to make a copy of it and bring it to Robin for interpretation, to show a disappointed expression.
“It seems that this is all that is worth exploring.” Under the light emitted by the dwarf star, Val confirmed that she and Shanks had thoroughly examined the core of this ancient ruin.
"It's time for the jigsaw puzzle."
Violet looked toward the very center, at a square area defined by a marble floor. Above the square area was a slightly damaged and collapsed marble base, the thickness and size of which testified to what enormous thing had once stood there.
Violet took all the marble fragments out of her backpack and divided them into four groups according to their different excavation locations.
The intricate patterns on the [mysterious marble sculptures] became the best clues for the puzzle. Val and Shanks squatted there, comparing the broken pieces with the patterns, and piece by piece put them back together on the base.
"The last piece..."
Violet placed the last piece of marble into the back of the throne, then she and Shanks took two steps back simultaneously, bringing into view the marble sculptures that had inexplicably been scattered across the territory of the Four Emperors, but had ultimately been brought back to this underground world.
On the beautiful marble floor, there appeared a magnificent circular stage-like base. In the center of the base was a huge throne, surrounded by Doric columns as tall as a person, entwined with thorns and roses. At the very top of the columns, the columns were enlarged to form a circular tray, on which thick books were open.
An altar containing a broken moon, a twisted longsword, and strangely shaped floating objects was placed on the left side of the throne, while an altar containing berries, corn, and large pieces of meat was placed on the right side of the throne.
“On a full moon night, these marble sculptures should undergo a magical transformation.”
Shanks looked at Vale in disbelief and repeated, "A full moon night?"
If he remembered correctly, when they descended into the underground caves from Alabasta, it was only during the new moon, and the full moon was still a full ten days away.
"Don't worry, we don't need to wait."
Violet immediately pulled out the "Grimoire of the Moon," and after reading it, she sacrificed her sanity to forcibly change the current moon phase of the entire world to a full moon!
Shanks, trapped in the underground world, couldn't see the changing phases of the moon outside, but after Val finished reading, he keenly sensed that the area surrounding the ancient ruins had become even more dangerous.
The cracks, which normally cycled through calm, warning, and riot periods, suddenly skipped the warning period and went straight into the riot period. During this riot period, the red light emanating from the cracks became even brighter and more intense.
The number of shadow creatures that descended with the red light doubled, so much so that Shanks couldn't help but wonder if, if they had unfortunately chosen to explore on a full moon night, even with his speed, it would have been difficult to completely evade those shadow creatures!
That's really multiple layers of defense.
Without that [ancient map], they would have been unable to find their way in the upper crypts, in that complex and winding underground space, among the diverse crypt creatures; without those magical dishes that could restore sanity, and tents that could replenish life and spirit, even the Four Emperors would have had their last shred of sanity consumed by those shadow creatures.
Even if they manage to resolve these two major problems in advance, there is still a huge trap waiting for them.
The reason is that these marble statues located at the core of the ancient ruins will only change on the night of the full moon. People who know this will definitely choose to explore this place before or after the full moon, and then they will run into the rampaging shadow creatures outside!
After quickly realizing just how many deadly dangers this place held, Shanks couldn't help but feel grateful that although Violet seemed carefree on the surface, she was always well-prepared for such adventures and was the most reliable partner.
This made Shanks secretly rub his hands together, feeling a bit tempted to drag Violet along to some interesting adventures he knew of.
Clatter, clatter...
Just as Shanks was pondering which mysterious island or treasure location he should take Val to, the marble statues that he and Val had personally assembled suddenly began to vibrate.
A chilling wind swept past their ankles, circling around the marble statues.
Clatter, clatter...
More cracks began to appear on the solid marble surfaces. The once pure marble material was now reduced to a thin layer, which crumbled away with the vibrations.
The magnificent circular stage at the bottom has been transformed into a brightly colored wooden structure, with two rows of gleaming gold rivets evenly distributed on it, and dark red velvet fabric hanging on both sides, folded into beautiful layers.
The throne at the very center of the stage transformed into a pitch-black shape, like a pattern drawn in the air by a child with a black charcoal pencil. Its material and state were somewhat like a shadow sword, existing between reality and illusion.
The books supported by pillars at the four corners of the stage were also completely restored, and in the surrounding flowing wind, the corner of the pages was blown and made a rustling sound.
The items on the altars on either side of the throne have been restored to their original state. On the left are blue moonstones, shadow swords, and nightmare fuel, while on the right are fresh berries, corn, and large pieces of meat.
[Prerequisites have been met]
[The "Historical Feast" event is now live]
Enjoy the game!
Violet heard a woman's sigh, but before she could look in the direction of the sound, she saw a shadowy black hand rise from the ground and grab at Violet and Shanks. The two experienced fighters jumped up at the same time to dodge the attack.
As Violet searched for a landing spot and pondered who had made that sigh, her vision suddenly blurred during her descent.
Violet landed on a soft sandy beach. Instead of the mysterious ancient ruins underground, she was surrounded by a golden sandy beach and the azure sea in the distance.
Splash—
The sea washes over the beach with a rhythmic and powerful sound.
"It's the latest newspaper! My God, it has a picture of Lady Shakyauk! No wonder she's the most beautiful woman in the world; even a blurry silhouette is so captivating!"
"Damn it, the world's most beautiful woman is clearly Lady Gloriosa of the Rocks Pirates!"
"It's Lord Shakyauk!"
"It's Lady Gloriosa!"
Standing beside Valerie, Shanks, who was cautiously pressing down on Griffin, looked bewildered.
He turned to look at the two guys arguing over newspapers and unconsciously repeated what he had said.
"The Rocks Pirates?"
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Author's Note: Thankfully, the author finished the Beehive Island storyline before I got to this part of the plot, otherwise it would have been too embarrassing if I had found the plot didn't match up halfway through [doge emoji].
But I really didn't expect that Rocks, you're actually a pure lover, tsk tsk [doge emoji]
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