Kede, sporting two dark circles under his eyes, shook his head vigorously. "No, they were all dead islands. My crew suffered significant losses. How about you?"

  Charles raised his empty left sleeve. "The island I explored wasn’t any better."

  Frustrated, Kede turned his gaze back to the sea chart on the table. "That leaves only these few islands. There must be a ladder to the Land of Light or an island where the 'King' replenishes resources."

  Lily jumped onto the map, playfully stomping on the furthest island chain. "Mr. Charles, do you think they might have a really big ship that doesn’t need supplies to reach those islands?"

  Kede pushed Lily aside irritably. "What do you know? That's impossible! Look at the distance here and here. No steamship from the Sea can make such a long journey. Even the Royal Giant can’t do it; they definitely have supply points."

  Soothing the pouting Lily, Charles handed Kede a pen. "Enough of that. Let’s choose islands again. You go first, as usual."

  Kede crossed out the two previously circled islands and drew two new ones, then handed the pen back to Charles.

  "What about this island?" Charles pointed to one he hadn’t marked before.

  "That island is suspicious; my ship hasn’t returned. Let’s focus on the easier islands for now."

  After thinking for a moment, Charles circled the unmarked island with the pen.

  Kede was taken aback; he hadn’t expected Charles to choose that island. A smile crept onto his wrinkled face. "Alright, I admire Captain Charles's courage."

  "Danger and reward are relative; the most dangerous places are often where the clues lie."

  "Then it’s settled. Depart as soon as you can, and don’t die again."

  Just as Kede was about to leave, Charles stopped him, this time with Richard’s intervention. "Wait, old man, do you have any relics left? Share some with me."

  The upcoming islands would only get more dangerous, and the stronger his crew became, the higher their survival rate on the islands. With a sheep nearby, why not shear it?

  "I don’t have any. My crew needs relics too. If I give you mine, what will they use?"

  "Doesn’t the Church of Light have any methods to enhance strength besides relics?" Richard pressed, indifferent to the means as long as they could grow stronger.

  Kede hesitated, seemingly weighing his options.

  Richard leaned in with a cheeky grin, placing his hand on Kede's shoulder. "Come on, at this point, you still want to keep secrets? Don’t forget, we’re all in the same boat now. My strength increases benefits everyone!"

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  Kede shook his head. "That’s not the reason. The Church of Light does have ways for an ordinary person to enhance their strength, but there’s a prerequisite: you must be a believer. If you’re not, undergoing the ritual could lead to being consumed by the Sacred Fire."

  Richard wasn’t quite ready to give up. "Isn’t there any other way?"

  After a moment of silence, Kede replied, "Your crew is made up of ordinary people; they haven’t used any other strength-enhancing items, right?"

  "No."

  "Alright, I remember I have a batch of items that might be useful for you. I’ll go get them."

  A smug smile spread across Richard's face as he thought to Charles, "How’s that? I’m really good at shearing sheep. A deal like this is a steal!"

  Soon, Charles saw Kede return with the items: a batch of wriggling, egg yolk-like substances in bottles.

  "This batch is from the Church, purchased from Sodom’s auction. If ordinary people consume it, they can enhance their physique. I lied and said the cargo ship was lost to keep this batch hidden. I intended to sell it for supplies for future exploration, but now it’s yours."

  "Are there any side effects?" Charles asked cautiously.

  "It’s not a relic; how could there be side effects? If you don’t believe me, you can ask others. Many have eaten this at sea."

  With such a good opportunity, Charles quickly called all the crew members back, and everyone, including Lily's rat, got a taste.

  "Whoa! Whoa!" Dep, with excitement, raised his fists and waved them in the air, creating a slight gust of wind.

  The other crew members also tested their enhanced bodies.

  After trying a few times, Krona looked up at Charles in surprise. "Captain, this stuff really works! You should try it too."

  Charles clenched his fists and struck the air. "Smack!" The sound he created was different from the others, and as he swung his fists, he even began to see a faint afterimage. He felt a slight warmth emanating from his fists.

  With the enhancement from 096 and Kede's items, his strength had increased another level.

  "Not bad, barely at tier three," Kede assessed from the side.

  "What determines the combat personnel's levels on the warship?"

  "It’s not about what determines it; it’s just a rough standard among members of warships in the Sea. The fastest way to increase your tier is to defeat someone of a higher tier."

  "What tier is the 'King' of Sodom?" Charles immediately thought of that rotund figure, the strongest enemy he had faced.

  Kede shook his head. "Hard to say. Generally, his strength is tier four, but he became the 'King' through other means."

  Other means? Was he referring to that little girl or that seemingly indestructible ability? If the physical strength of the 'King' is tier four, does that mean I’ve defeated him, and my strength is now tier four?

  With that thought, Charles felt a surge of interest. He had previously focused only on exploration, but he hadn’t paid much attention to the battle system in the Sea.

  "Who is the strongest person at sea right now?"

  "The governor of Cat Island in the East Sea, Julio. His strength is tier fifteen; it’s said he alone can defeat a fleet of over a thousand men."

  Upon hearing this, a question flashed through Charles's mind. "If he’s that powerful, why doesn’t he explore islands?"

  Kede looked at Charles with an odd expression. "Why explore? Julio already possesses the largest island in the Sea. Why would he risk his life, and when it comes to exploring unknown islands, he might not be able to match you or me."

  Charles quickly recalled the islands he had explored and realized that this was indeed the case. Strength, while powerful among humans, didn’t necessarily confer advantages against the various bizarre entities in the sea.

  "Don’t pay attention to those fools; they are ignorant mortals. No matter how strong they are, they are merely lowly creatures driven by desire. Only by finding the Land of Light and entering the Kingdom of the God of Light can humanity attain eternal happiness and peace."