Grand Voyage : Surviving on a Ghost Ship-Chapter 215 - Penance? No… The Oath of the Forsaken!

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Yang Yi dodged the relentless assault of the vines, trying several times to close in on the forest sprite, but every attempt was forced back by the dense, writhing tangle.

“This won’t do…”

Maintaining high-speed movement and continuous leaps was draining him fast. Even with his enhanced physique, he couldn’t keep this up forever.

In other words, he wasn’t equipped to fight a battle of attrition against an entire forest. He had to end it quickly.

Suna’s situation wasn’t much better.

She’d taken refuge inside the ship, relying on the Nightmare Star’s hull to withstand the onslaught of branches and vines. But the ship’s durability was finite, and the numbers were dropping fast. Once it hit zero, the hull would be torn apart by the forest.

Yang Yi’s movements suddenly grew sharper. In a burst of speed, he once again lunged toward the forest sprite.

Yet the closer he got, the more vicious the vines became, not only faster and more agile, but also multiplying in number!

A storm of vines forced him back once more.

“Damn it!”

He leapt away, gritting his teeth. Another failed attempt.

The problem was his head, to protect it, he had to constantly dodge the vines, making his movements hesitant and inefficient.

‘If only I didn't have a head…’

A dangerous, absurd thought flickered and vanished.

Yang Yi quickly reviewed his options.

He could drink an elixir to restore his mana, then cast Limb Enhancement on one leg for a burst of speed, but that would make one leg longer and stronger than the other, throwing off his balance.

He could also set the forest ablaze, but with Suna still inside it… he immediately dismissed that idea.

That left only one choice, put on the helmet.

With it, he could charge through the vines without hesitation, closing in on the green-skinned creature by force. As for the side effects… he’d find out soon enough.

Yang Yi surged forwards again, his left hand loosening slightly as if reaching for something.

…

Meanwhile, the forest sprite was also planning.

“I must restrict his movements, trap him, then capture him.”

Although it commanded the entire forest, it hadn’t fully merged its consciousness with it.

Spreading its mind evenly across would be too risky, as its sense of self could dilute and dissolve into the forest’s immense mass.

So it had always kept only a small portion of awareness extended into the forest, letting it act autonomously while it stayed hidden, watching from above.

But to catch the leaping, elusive human, it had to take a risk, it needed to extend more of its consciousness outwards.

The forest sprite’s eyes opened, inside its sockets were not eyeballs but wriggling twigs, pushing outwards like feelers.

It fixed its gaze in Yang Yi’s direction and clenched its fist from afar.

Yang Yi, in mid-leap, had just used a trunk for momentum, vaulting high towards the sprite, and a wave of vines surged to meet him, far greater in number than before, converging from every direction until they sealed him inside a massive sphere, a living cage of vines with no gaps and no escape.

“Got you at last!”

The sprite’s clenched hand tightened, and the spherical prison began to contract, the vines writhing, coiling tighter and tighter.

Something was wrong.

When the sprite’s mind was fully synchronised with the forest, it could sense everything inside the vine sphere, and what it felt wasn’t flesh or blood, but solid metal, cold and unyielding. Even the head was metallic.

And… it was glowing.

The sprite could feel the light emanating from within.

….

Inside the vine sphere, Yang Yi had put on the Helm of the Penitent’s Armour.

With the vines closing in, he didn’t hesitate. He drew out the helmet, placed it on his head, and at once, iron spikes drove into his skull, his eye sockets, piercing bone and sinking deep into his brain.

For an instant, his body froze, a wave of icy numbness and crawling pain swept through his mind. Then the vines enveloped him completely.

【Full Penitent’s Armour Equipped, Vow of Atonement Activated. Strength +3, Agility +2, Perception +3, Can exceed mortal limits, Stamina rapidly regenerates, Mana cost for Light-type spells reduced by 2.

While alive and the armor remains intact, your movements cannot be restrained.

However, You cannot remove this armour by yourself. Under the Vow of Atonement, you may not speak, not eat, not lie down, or sit, not sleep, and must obey the orders of the Radiant Church. You are bound to fight for the Church of Radiance until death. Upon death, you shall be redeemed.】

The spherical pattern on the chest of the Penitent’s Armour began to glow, radiating a warm light. The brightness spread outwards from the sphere, following the intricate engravings that traced across the armor’s surface.

Even though the armour was caked with grime and dried blood, under the illumination it seemed pure and sacred, as if washed clean by divine light.

The droplets of blood that had seeped from Yang Yi’s body vanished, drawn into the armour’s glowing lines, converted into light.

Yang Yi didn’t move immediately because something felt wrong with his body.

Then, the armour itself began to change.

The once-luminous spherical emblem was soon stained by a spreading layer of black corrosion, which crawled outwards, engulfing the rest. Black flakes began to peel away from the surface, giving it a blasphemous, defiled appearance.

【The Soul of the Oathbreaker has invaded your mind, attempting to seize control of your body. Sanity -30, and it will continue to drop (−1 per second; high Spirit stat increases resistance). When Sanity reaches 0, you will lose control of your body, and your consciousness will be replaced. All Light-type spells, vows, and auras you use will have corrupted effects.】

“You have learned the secret.

You have betrayed your faith.Rebellion is now your only truth.”

A flood of alien emotions surged into Yang Yi’s consciousness, making even his own body feel foreign.

‘So that’s why this lost Penitent’s Armour had sought someone to wear it…’

It wasn’t for salvation, it wanted to possess a host.

Hatred and destruction welled up within him, a wild urge to defile the light itself. The Vow of Atonement twisted into something new. The empowering effects remained, but all its restrictions were gone.

【Vow of Atonement (Forsaken). Strength +3, Agility +2, Perception +3. Stamina rapidly regenerates. Mana cost for Light-type spells −2. While alive or the armour remains intact, your actions cannot be restrained. You cannot remove this armour.】

‘You have abandoned your oath.

You will no longer heed the Radiant Church.Eat when you wish. Sleep when you wish.Mock the light, you love to go against it.

I am not wrong.’

“What… what’s happening?”

The forest sprite felt a surge of dread, as if the thing it had trapped in its grasp was no longer a man, but a harbinger of calamity.

The light it had sensed before… was gone.

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