NOVEL NEXT Chapter 165 - 165 Whalebone
165 Whalebone
A sea breeze with a hint of salt filled the sails slightly. Occasionally, the flapping wind would drown out the sound of the seawater constantly crashing into the hull. Every time this happened, the sailors on the ship would nervously climb up the mast and search for dark clouds and storms that might appear in the sky from high above.
Although the crew was almost certain that the violent storm that had wreaked havoc on the sea route to the Ava State had stopped in the past month or so, the cautious habits they had developed over the years couldn’t be changed in a day or two. They wouldn’t let go of any signs of a storm along the way.
This made William, who often secretly released Storm spells at the stern to propel the ship, feel a little embarrassed. This was because the gust that had appeared for no reason in the past few days had exhausted the few sailors in charge of monitoring potential storms.
At the stern, William, who was wearing a long black robe and had an iron plate hanging on his chest, pretended to look into the distance with a carved armrest.
This disguise was actually very stupid because there was nothing other than the sea in sight. The sky was also cloudless. If it weren’t for the occasional fish leaping out of the sea, this scene would give one the illusion that the ship had stopped in place and wasn’t moving at all.
!!
“I heard that faeries are the same as elves. Their original hometown was also in Ava State where it was once enveloped in an ethereal mist. It wasn’t until the Phoenix the elven ancestors rode fell from the sky that they obtained their form in Currere. Only then did they come to the Vic Continent,” William retracted his gaze and looked at the bored-looking faerie sitting on the railing.
Liz turned her head and looked at William with her golden eyes. She said as if she was throwing a tantrum, “But I was just born less than two months ago. To me, the Blackwater Swamp is my hometown.”
William heard the resentment in the other party’s words and said apologetically, “Sorry, but you’re necessary for this trip.”
Seeing no reaction from the other party, William paused and said, “Moreover, Cass needs to be in charge of the security of the Stranger Lighthouse. He can’t come over together.”
“This has nothing to do with whether that idiot can come or not!” Liz defended herself almost reflexively.
The effect was outstanding. This child was too easy to understand…
William held back his laughter and nodded. Then, he dispelled the Storm spell he was casting.
The further away he was from the Blackwater Swamp, the weaker the magic power he could utilize. A few days ago, he could maintain the gust for most of the day, but it was very difficult for him to do so in just half an hour.
However, at the very least, he could let the sailors on duty rest for a while.
William looked back at the sailor carefully climbing down the mast and thought.
It had been five days since he boarded the smuggling ship called the Whalebone, and a week had passed since the farce-like palace coup.
Although William had always been concerned about the inexplicable banishment of the Demon General named Erosion, since he had verified the feasibility of combining Mirror Shadow and the response terminal to create a clone, he could finally focus on dealing with Ava State.
Although William’s main body was still guarding the Viper Scar, his Mirror Shadow clone boarded this smuggling ship as an Elementium Silver vendor and headed to Ava State.
Due to the storms wreaking havoc on the Shattered Sea all year round, very few people were willing to do business between the Vic Continent and the Ava State. However, this also meant that people who dared to do this business could obtain unimaginable wealth. After all, High Elf crafts were popular everywhere.
Ever since the Wandering Battle, all contact between the Vic Continent and Ava State had almost been lost. As the newborn High Elves on the continent lost the blessing of the Phoenix Holy Fire, they gradually underwent elemental mutations. Their descendants lost their skills in less than a generation or two.
It was even harder to find a High Elf craftsman in the empire than a Divine Realm magic chanter, but the nobles had an extremely strong demand for High Elf crafts. This caused a very small number of adventurers who were willing to risk their lives to fight the storm to enter the storm and take on this high-risk and rewarding profession.
“If I were you, I would probably wait a few months. Perhaps Her Majesty Erin would have already signed a trade agreement with Ava State by then. There’s no need for me to take such a huge risk and go over personally…”
A firm voice sounded behind William. A tall old man with cracked skin from years of exposure to the sun slowly walked over. He had weathered lead-silver hair, and his collar and cuffs were covered in dried white salt. The part below his right knee was replaced by a white whalebone prosthetic, making him limp as he walked. His hard whalebone struck the deck in a rhythmic clack.
This ship was named the Whalebone because of his prosthetic limb.
Seeing William turn his head, the old man asked, “Young man, how should I address you?”
William didn’t think of a fake name to hide his identity, but when he saw the whalebone prosthetic limb, he suddenly had an idea.
“Call me Ishmael, Captain Hobbs. In addition, I’m from the Blackwater Swamp. Even if Ava State and the empire sign a trade agreement in the future, it has nothing to do with us.”
William replied and continued, “Moreover, it’s still unknown if Her Majesty can conquer the Ava State.”
The captain named Hobbs smiled. He walked to William’s side and stood beside him. He also placed his hand on the railing and looked into the distance. Then, he slowly said, “Ishmael, I just came from Swan Port half a month ago. It’s probably difficult for you to imagine how big an army is gathered there. I’ve been to Ava State a few times. Other than Moonlaw City, I’ve been to all seven city-states. To be honest, even if the number of those pointy-ears triples, they won’t be a match. Moreover, this time…”
As he spoke, he looked at the iron plate coarsely engraved with the acute-angled horn symbol on William’s chest and said, “The Eighth Holy Spirit is with the Empire.”
Captain Hobbs was referring to the Eighth Church’s explanation of the reason for the Holy Spirit’s manifestation. It had been made a holy canon that was constantly preached in every church.
As it wasn’t long since the storm on the Shattered Sea stopped, this theory was quickly accepted by the public, causing public support for the Ava State expedition to soar.
“The Eighth Holy Spirit almost died at the bottom of the sea 800 years ago,” William shrugged and reminded him.
William’s words made the other party fall silent for a long time. After a long time, Captain Hobbs said, “I saw you wearing this and imagined that you were a pious Eighth Holy Spirit believer.”
William replied, “That depends on how you interpret piousness.”
In a sense, William could be considered the most pious Eighth Holy Spirit believer in the world.
The captain waved his hand and said, “I didn’t think of it early. How could a pious believer of the Holy Spirit go to a pagan land to sell important strategic supplies before the war broke out? This isn’t just treason, but also heretical behavior… However, considering that you’re from the Blackwater Province, this is understandable.”
William was about to cook up something when Captain Hobbs suddenly revealed a shark-like smile and said, “But this is actually quite good. Bullsh*t empire, bullsh*t Church… Back then, I couldn’t stand the pirates on the Damon Continent on the White Sea, so I chose to risk doing business on the Shattered Sea. In the end, the empire and those bastards from the Church didn’t collect any less docking taxes than those pirates. Now that the storm has stopped, there’s no risk on the shipping route. It probably won’t be long before they start attacking merchant ships like us and do the business themselves.”
“If the Eighth Holy Spirit knew better, this storm would have continued… However, there’s nothing we can do about it. The Holy Spirit is from the Riel family after all.”
William waited for the other party to stop complaining before saying slowly, “I think that the storm stopping might be the Eighth Holy Spirit’s wish to use the Ava State to teach his so-called descendants an unforgettable lesson.”
As he spoke, he kept looking at the few black dots that had appeared at the intersection of the sea and sky.
Before Captain Hobbs could react, a noisy bell suddenly sounded at the bow.
A sailor climbed up the mast agilely as if there were hooks on his feet. After taking out a monocular and observing the distance for a while, he shouted at the captain, “There’s a warship in the southeast! A warship with the empire’s Dragon Sword flag!”