CHAPTER 188: CHAPTER 146 SIFUS AND JACK

As Sifus spoke, a short-handled flag began to condense before him, roughly the length of a normal person’s arm. A rectangular flag, its tail edge slightly damaged, fluttered above the handle. The entire flag was blood-red, with hues resembling black iron, looking as if it had endured a long and arduous war. Two intertwined long swords were emblazoned upon it.

Aside from the slight damage, there seemed to be nothing particularly noteworthy about this flag. It looked utterly ordinary. Given the inherent nature of Treasures to conceal their power, if no one activated it, it could be tossed on the ground, and likely no one would even bother to pick it up.

"This is Jack, that bastard’s Treasure, the ’Bloody Team Banner.’ It can forcibly enhance the strength of others, with the boost calculated based on the person controlling the banner."

The name of this Treasure was quite plain, but its effect was exceptionally straightforward.

"Besides the one controlling the banner serving as captain," Sifus continued, "a vice-captain, twelve Squad Leaders, and sixty team members can be appointed. Depending on the strength of the person controlling the banner, the strength of the subordinate members will be enhanced accordingly.

"Most importantly, the banner can be used to establish military Rules. Those who violate these Rules will face various punishments, including death."

Upon hearing this, Alka suddenly understood. Indeed, it was exactly as he had imagined. He just never expected that the control preventing others from revealing secrets was achieved through a Treasure. Thinking carefully, indeed, only a Treasure could accomplish such a thing.

"From the name and the function of this Treasure, you should be able to see that it’s meant for group combat," Sifus explained. "When the so-called Squad Leaders and members act simultaneously, they receive comprehensive enhancements. The more people involved, the greater the enhancement.

"Jack, that scum, looks down on those pirate scumbags, so he hasn’t trained with them to coordinate. However, if he truly needed their cooperation, he certainly wouldn’t refuse. If the Holy Mother hadn’t Cursed him, he wouldn’t have become a pirate; being a pirate was forced upon him. He is equally disgusted by pirates, which makes it unlikely for him to fight alongside them under normal circumstances. So, even if they were to act together temporarily, their efforts would be riddled with mistakes, achieving only attribute enhancements. Because he despises those pirate scumbags, he’s too lazy to train their coordination and tactics."

Hearing this, Alka couldn’t help but inwardly scoff. Such false righteousness, truly disgusting. What’s the real difference between Jack and those pirates? Still, this situation certainly helped him.

"If you truly intend to go to the rendezvous," Sifus advised, "you must ensure the Church’s forces attack first. Draw the pirates’ attention away; don’t let them group together.

"When you fight him alone, his pride will definitely compel him to duel you one-on-one. But when you are truly on the verge of defeating him, he won’t hesitate to use the Treasure’s ultimate killing move. That will allow him to absorb strength from other team members, temporarily enhancing all his abilities. You must be extremely wary of this. And I will help you at that precise moment."

Afterward, Sifus continued to inform Alka about the abilities and deployment of the pirates serving as various team members. He also explained what orders he would issue beforehand to ensure these pirates would be separated.

Sifus, hidden within Jack’s body and contending with him for control, was the greatest hidden threat. Now that Alka had joined forces with Sifus and they had begun plotting, this threat would be infinitely amplified, poised to deal Jack a fatal blow.

An invisible net had already settled over Jack’s head.

Finally, Sifus had conveyed all the information he could recall to Alka. Looking at Alka before him, he said gently, "Alright, you should leave now, you little brat."

Alka looked at him. Then he said, "I want to know the full story of what happened back then—the entire course of events."

This wasn’t just something he wanted to know; it was also what the remnants of his memories and the lingering fragments of his past soul yearned to understand.

Sifus looked at him. Knowing what Alka meant, he nodded and did not refuse. "No problem."

With that, he waved his hand.

The surrounding environment underwent a drastic change. In an instant, they found themselves at the strait by Golden Wheat Island, the very place Alka had first discovered a Treasure. Alka gazed at the cave on the cliff and the branches beside it.

"I will show you the full picture of what happened then," Sifus said.

With that, Sifus waved his hand again, and the scene before them began to move. It was just like being there in person—this was the special feature of the Dream Realm.

At first, two shadows appeared. The shadows had no specific attire, no facial features, just humanoid silhouettes, allowing their genders to be distinguished. They also bore large marks. Since living beings couldn’t be created in the Dream Realm, human phantoms couldn’t be formed either. This was the only way to present them.

These two shadows were Sifus and his wife, respectively. Alka and the real Sifus watched the actions of these two phantoms from behind.

"’Are you sure it’s here? But there’s nothing here,’ the shadow marked as ’Sifus’ muttered, seemingly to himself.

"’Sifus, don’t be impatient. I’ve already seen it. Look there,’ the shadow marked as ’Lisha,’ Alka’s mother, said. This shadow then reached out and pointed to the cave above. Her observation was keen; she had possibly found this place long ago.

The Sifus shadow looked at the cave above and then at the surrounding environment. He then said to his wife’s shadow, "It’s too high up there. You wait down here; I’ll go up alone."