129: Epic set! Relics of the Ghost Captain!
The three consecutive server-wide announcements exploded in the ears of every player in the Huaxia Region like a clap of thunder.
Players, who were still reeling from the news that the "Poison God" had annihilated the joint fleet of the three major guilds, were struck dizzy by an even heavier blow before they could process the first piece of information.
"First Kill... Level 55 Sea Lord? Did I hear that correctly?"
"The Shadowless Hall has only been out at sea for a few days, right? Less than a week, tops? And they already took down the Lord of the new map?"
"The Sea of Oblivion... it sounds like one of those infernal maps. How exactly did they manage that?"
"The most ridiculous part is that the announcement specifically named the guild led by player 'Lin Mo,' not just the 'Shadowless Hall'! What does that imply? It means the system judged the biggest contributor to this First Kill was the Poison God himself!"
"Nonsense! Who else did you think it was? Was it those five thousand elites standing around cheering?"
"I hereby declare that starting today, the Poison God is my only idol! No arguments accepted!"
On the forums, the discussion heat surrounding Lin Mo and the Shadowless Hall reached an unprecedented peak. Countless posts sprang up like mushrooms after rain—analyses, speculations, and sycophantic praise—everything imaginable was there.
However, Lin Mo, the man at the center of the storm, was completely absorbed in the generous rewards of the First Kill and had no time to spare for the external clamor.
As the Wailer disintegrated, a large area of loot, shimmering with various colors, burst onto the sea surface. The light from three items was the most dazzling: one shone with the orange light of the legendary grade, and the other two emitted a brilliant epic-grade purple glow.
"Quick, go salvage them!" Iron Wall's face was flushed with excitement as he personally led men onto small boats and rushed toward the loot.
Soon, all the spoils were salvaged and presented before Lin Mo.
Everyone's gaze was fixed intently on the three most brightly shining pieces of equipment.
Lin Mo first picked up the item radiating legendary light. It was an ancient and ornate captain's hat, with a deep blue gem embedded in the brim, seemingly holding a profound, starry sky.
[Ghost Captain's Tricorne (legendary grade · Fragment 1/3)]
Slot: Head
Attributes: ???
Special Effects: ???
Set Effect (3/3): [Summon of the Phantom Fleet]
Description: A relic of the former Overlord of the Seven Seas, "Captain Curse" Barbossa. It seems to be searching for its other components. Only by collecting all three relics can its true power be awakened.
"A legendary grade set component!" Summer Rain exclaimed in surprise.
legendary grade equipment was already rare, but a legendary grade set only existed in legends! Although it was only one-third of a fragment, its value was incalculable.
"Barbossa... I seem to have seen that name in some documentation somewhere." Lin Mo rubbed the tricorne, deep in thought. He vaguely felt that this piece of equipment might be linked to a hidden history.
He carefully placed the tricorne into his backpack and turned his attention to the other two epic-grade pieces of equipment.
They were a pitch-black leather armor and a pair of battle boots of the same color. The style of the two items was extremely similar, both engraved with complex and eerie demonic patterns, emitting a faint soul aura.
[Grievous Spirit's Embrace (Epic Grade)]
Slot: Upper Body
Type: Leather Armor
Defense: +850
Attributes: Agility +250, Stamina +200, Spirit +150
Special Effect 1: [Soul Immunity]: Duration of received mental and soul-type negative effects is reduced by 50%.
Special Effect 2: [Grievous Spirit Power]: Each time a unit is killed, a portion of its remnant soul is absorbed, providing the wearer with one stack of "Grievous Spirit Power." Each stack increases Movement Speed by 1% and Attack Speed by 1%, stacking up to 20 times, lasting 1 minute.
Required Level: 55
[Soul Treading Boots (Epic Grade)]
Slot: Feet
Type: Leather Armor
Defense: +600
Attributes: Agility +280, Stamina +180
Special Effect 1: [Phantom Stride]: Active skill. When activated, enter a brief ethereal state, allowing passage through units and obstacles, and granting immunity to all physical damage for 3 seconds. Cooldown: 5 minutes.
Special Effect 2: [Silent Walk]: Greatly reduces the sound produced while moving.
Required Level: 55
When Lin Mo held both pieces of equipment simultaneously, a new system prompt popped up.
[System Prompt: Two "Phantom Walker" set components detected. Do you wish to activate the set attributes?]
"It's a set too!" Iron Wall's eyes went wide.
Lin Mo chose "Yes" without hesitation.
["Phantom Walker" Set (2/4) Activation Effect]
[2-Piece Set Effect]: All your attacks gain 15% bonus Soul Damage. This damage ignores a portion of the target's Defense and Resistance.
"Hiss..."
Upon seeing this set effect, all the Rogue and Assassin players present couldn't help but gasp in cold air.
15% bonus Soul Damage! This was simply a divine skill! Especially when dealing with high-Defense, high-Resistance Bosses, the damage increase provided by this effect was unimaginable.
"Guild Leader, these... these two pieces of equipment..." The guild's chief Rogue, "Ghost Shadow," looked eagerly at Lin Mo, his Adam's apple bobbing, unable to speak coherently.
This set of equipment was the highly coveted, dream-come-true endgame gear for Assassin-type classes like theirs!
Lin Mo smiled. He glanced at his own equipment slots. Although he also wore leather armor, the style of this set was clearly geared towards frontal combat and reaping, while his own combat style focused more on sustained poison damage and domain control.
"These two pieces of equipment will be placed in the guild warehouse and opened for bidding," Lin Mo decided. "All Assassin and Rogue-class members can participate, using their Guild Contribution Points to exchange for them. The two members with the highest Contribution Points will get one item each."
As soon as this decision was announced, everyone was stunned.
"Guild Leader, this is an epic-grade set! Aren't you going to use it yourself?" Ghost Shadow asked anxiously.
"That's right, Guild Leader, this is what you deserve!"
The crowd agreed one after another. In their view, since Lin Mo had instantly killed the Boss, these two pieces of equipment naturally belonged to him.
Lin Mo shook his head and said calmly, "Me being strong alone is not true strength. The entire Shadowless Hall becoming strong is true strength. What I need are teammates who can keep up with my pace, not a group of spectators who can only cheer from behind."
His words were impactful, deeply imprinted in the heart of every guild member.
For a moment, the deck fell silent. The look in everyone's eyes when they gazed at Lin Mo changed. It was a look of genuine adoration, gratitude, and fanaticism.
"I... I understand!" Ghost Shadow took a deep breath and bowed deeply to Lin Mo. "Guild Leader, rest assured, we will never let you down!"
"Right! We will definitely work hard and keep up with the Guild Leader's pace!"
"Shadowless Hall is awesome! Guild Leader is awesome!"
The morale in the guild channel reached an unprecedented peak at this moment. Lin Mo's selflessness and vision had completely won over this group of unruly elite players.
After dealing with the spoils, the thick fog shrouding the sea area began to gradually dissipate along with the dissolution of the Wailer.
The fleet's visibility finally widened.
Just then, the player in the watchtower exclaimed again.
"Guild Leader! Look quickly! What is that!"
Following the direction he pointed, everyone looked out and saw a majestic island, surrounded by lightning and storms, quietly suspended between the sea and the sky, several nautical miles directly ahead of the fleet.
The silhouette of that island was identical to the Lost Temple depicted on the [oracle compass]!
Floating around the island were many broken, small-mountain-like floating stones. On the largest of these floating stones, everyone vaguely saw the outline of a structure.
Was it a... lighthouse?
An ancient lighthouse emitting a faint glow, seemingly guiding the ships' direction.
"We've arrived." Lin Mo looked at the island in the storm, his eyes sharpening.
He knew that the real test was only just beginning.