Chapter 1039 - 976: How Much Is a Hydra Soul Worth?

Rock, whom I’d only met once, died just like that. He was the first NPC in the game to recognize Da Fei and try to recruit him into the pirate faction. Listening to Catherine’s sobs, Da Fei felt heavier, with none of the usual satisfaction from completing a task.

At this moment, Hailong’s voice came from the door: "Warrior, let’s discuss the matter of the legion souls in General Skira’s Seal now. As for this lady, I think it’s good to let her have some quiet time with her father. We will arrange a funeral according to human customs."

Da Fei sighed deeply and patted Catherine’s shoulder: "We’ll go out first."

Catherine wiped away her tears and stood up: "Cremation, right now. I want to carry my father’s ashes with me at all times."

Hailong: "As you wish."

A few Naga attendants came in, covered Rock’s body with a white cloth, and carried it away. Da Fei and his group, accompanied by Hailong, arrived at the bottom level of a flames-filled foundry hall.

Hailong sighed: "This is our blacksmith workshop, and the cremation can only be improvised here. I ask the lady for her understanding."

Catherine shook her head: "No, I’m very sorry for the trouble. After all, pirate and sailor funerals are usually simple sea burials."

Hailong sighed: "No need to be polite, madam. With a hero of your father’s caliber, no funeral specification would be too much."

At this moment, Catherine suddenly asked: "By the way, was my father eligible to join the Dark Tide?"

Hailong was taken aback and then sighed: "Of course he was."

Catherine asked again: "Can I join the Dark Tide?"

This statement shocked Da Fei: "Catherine, you want to...?"

Catherine smiled bitterly: "After all, I’m originally a pirate, an enemy of the Alliance, so I have far fewer concerns than the Captain! Moreover, the Dark Tide Lord is so hospitable, we ought to show some response, right?"

Da Fei was stunned! So that’s why these two suddenly had so much to say, it’s another triggered plot! Can a vice hero join? If the vice hero joins, will it affect me? Even if a player hires an undead hero from an enemy country, once hired, they’re no longer an enemy. By that logic, if Catherine as a vice hero joins this "evil cult" that everyone shuns, it shouldn’t impact the player, right?

Thinking of this, Da Fei excitedly asked: "Manager, can she join your organization?"

Hailong shook his head and sighed: "I’m sorry, the lady doesn’t meet the criteria. To join the Dark Tide Organization, one must be an independent hero, and the lady is a vice hero, which is not allowed."

As expected, vice heroes have no rights!

Catherine blandly responded: "I see."

I see!? Da Fei’s heart twinged! These words carry profound meaning, indicating her intentions that when she becomes the leader and self-sufficient, she will leave my team and join the Dark Tide.

But that’s perfectly fine! Leaving my team isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Like Tachiusu and Tamilia, they’re not my vice heroes, but with high enough rapport, they can assist in battlefields unrelated to them, like the Divine Punishment City. The bond between me and Catherine is as deep as the sky and sea!

Moreover, vice heroes cannot hire more heroes, but independent heroes can. For instance, Tachiusu seems to have hired eight vice heroes to guard the Mercury Mine in the Elf Kingdom’s tavern, a huge lineup!

Imagine Catherine becoming the Pirate Queen. If I want to punish someone, with just a word, she’d summon a group of pirate hero underlings to help without personally getting involved!

Thinking of such a future, Da Fei’s conflicted heart suddenly became excited: "Catherine, rest assured, I will always support you!"

Catherine nodded: "Thank you, Captain!"

"No need to be polite with me."

Meanwhile, Rock’s bones had turned to ashes in the furnace, and the worker took a bottle of ashes and handed it to Catherine, thus completing Rock’s simple funeral.

Da Fei exhaled deeply: "Manager, now it’s time for me to return the legion souls."

Hailong nodded: "Alright, this way, Warrior!"

The group returned to the fountain hall where they met the Dark Tide Lord. At this moment, the hall around the fountain was filled with hundreds of Naga Mages, startling Da Fei!

Hailong gestured to Selvia, who held the magic wand: "Would the lady please walk to the center of the fountain with the array?"

Da Fei was astonished: "Walk?"

Hailong laughed: "Yes, you won’t sink into the water. This is a Naga-exclusive spell for walking on water, and of course, we also have an auxiliary Diving Magic. Our mastery over water is unrivaled!"

My goodness, they won’t miss any chance to promote the superiority of the Dark Tide!

There’s nothing more to say, Selvia followed the words, stepping onto the water surface, and indeed didn’t sink! Then she walked to the center of the pool. The entire ceremony began!

——System Prompt: The Dark Tide Temple Priest Group will extract the soul from the Sea Soul Staff through a ritual. Please select the soul you wish to extract!

Wow! This setup is good, otherwise, if the system messes up and extracts my Hydra Soul, I’d be inconsolable!

At this moment, Hailong was stunned: "Warrior, you actually have the soul of such a God-level creature like a Hydra in your General Seal?"

My goodness! Even you noticed it, huh? Showing wealth is truly troublesome. Da Fei shook his head and sighed: "Sorry for making a fool of myself, sir."

Hailong’s six arms gestured frantically: "I’m not laughing! I want to ask if the warrior is willing to sell this soul? As for price, just name it, warrior!"

Da Fei’s heart trembled! Gosh, this Hydra is truly a treasure trove! When in the Nether Sea, Samael told me the Hydra’s remains could make even the Necromancer Dragon go crazy, and now seeing the Hydra soul has clearly unsettled this manager as well!

But this is my treasured artifact, how can I sell it? However, if I don’t sell, what do I keep it for? To build a Ghost Ship? I reckon no ship can match this God-level soul! Building a ship would mostly be a loss! Unless it’s a legendary ship like the British Royal Ark that can supposedly fly, but with the Hydra’s soul attributes, flying is absolutely out of the question, so it would still be a loss.

Moreover, the game’s rule is that good items should be sold early to profit early and benefit from the snowball effect. Just letting it lie dormant in the staff obviously isn’t the way to go.

Not to mention, there’s always the risk of the Sea Soul Staff getting destroyed in battle, so offloading an item early to reduce risk is not a bad idea.

While Da Fei was weighing these thoughts, Hailong quickly suggested: "Warrior, you just acquired an extra Dark Tide Hand without suitable equipment, right? How about we let you choose two Divine Artifacts?"

Choose Divine Artifacts! Da Fei spit out a mouthful of saliva! Are they seriously intending to buy it at this rate?

Suddenly, Da Fei remembered another purpose for this trip, to acquire 1,000 units of Sea God’s Tribute for Leviathan! Alright, might as well check the price first. But this is a huge transaction, must stay calm! Calm down! (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit qidian.com and vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)