Chapter 160 Channel
By the time they set sail for Port Morris, the temperature had begun to rise. The route was seeing an increasing number of ships, large and small, flying various flags. There were fishing boats, merchant ships, and even the vast vessels owned by the nobility. The professor even spotted a massive ship belonging to the royal family of Ferros, the Far North nation. Its bow was meticulously carved to resemble the frost dragon "White Nightmare," and at first glance, it truly looked like a frost dragon roaring and snarling amidst the waves.
The last time I rushed to Port Morris was during hurricane season, and there were fewer ships on the channel. This time it was a feast for the eyes.
To avoid attracting attention, their boat was rudimentary, likely just enough to cross the ocean if they were lucky enough. It also flew the flag of the Silver Iris Freemen. Fortunately, they were escorted by a wind deity and a water warrior. Perhaps the deep-sea monsters and marauding pirates had sensed the threat, but the journey was surprisingly smooth.
The only unpleasant thing was that when they were about to enter the port, they were violently overtaken by a large merchant ship. If Maxine, who was in charge of the helm, had not turned in time, their small wooden boat would have been almost smashed to pieces.
"A merchant ship from the Alan Tribe of the Grey Alliance." Maxine carefully examined the flag on the stern, which depicted a monster with a lion's head, an eagle's body, and a snake's tail. She had grown up observing passing ships in the Kasa Strait, and identifying flags and their signals was as easy as breathing.
The red-haired girl couldn't help but frown. "They just suffered a great loss in Barando City, and they still dare to act so arrogantly in the waters of the Silver Iris Empire?"
"Port Morris is a free port. As long as sufficient taxes are paid, it will enjoy special exemptions even in wartime." Ole sneered, his face particularly gloomy. "Who can stop 'merchants' from coming here to do business?"
——Whether it is normal business in the open or shameful "business" in secret.
The violent shaking caused by the sudden turn did not have any effect on the three protagonists, but caused the professor who was writing a letter in the cabin to stagger from one side to the other. Fortunately, he was cushioned by a soft breeze, but his luggage fell directly to the ground.
Suddenly hearing the clanging sound, Marshilin and Ole looked at each other, and then saw someone quickly leave the deck and enter the cabin.
"What's going on?" Maxine looked at her blond friend's back in confusion, while Ole rolled his eyes.
"I'm afraid someone will fall to their death." He answered simply.
Suddenly realizing that His Majesty seemed to be an ordinary person, Mashilin was silent for a moment: "Ordinary people...are they so fragile?"
She'd been away from ordinary people for so long, and with her incredible natural strength, she had a rather vague concept of the "normal vulnerability." Although she knew she couldn't control her strength well enough, and therefore was extremely cautious when interacting with ordinary people—it seemed that she should have been even more careful with that person?
Ole: “…”
He stared at the red-haired girl for a long time. A kind of extremely familiar speechless choking made him vaguely recall the "good times" they had together in the past.
The assassin leader took a deep breath with a headache. "...No, I was mocking them, not saying that the tyrant would really die from this fall—well, it seems possible? For example, if he accidentally hit the back of his head or something..."
As he spoke, he began to hesitate.
"But why are you mocking them?" Marcyline stared at him suspiciously.
“…”
Ole was silent for a moment, then turned his head away as if in surrender: "Forget it, just pretend I didn't say anything."
"You are hiding something from me." But the red-haired girl still insisted on grabbing him: "If you want to learn Azuka's bad habits, at least learn them in a more realistic way. Pretending doesn't suit you. You look like I have a little secret."
...I knew I couldn't hide it from her.
"Good girl, don't ask me. I really can't tell you unless you want to see me get beaten." Ole begged for mercy, and skillfully deflected the blame: "You can ask Azuka directly in private, note that it is private, as long as you can find out——"
He suddenly interrupted her, and when Marshilin turned her head, she happened to see the emperor's face. Her body subconsciously tensed, her muscles ready to explode, but only gradually relaxed when she realized he was now on her side.
The other party probably saw it, but his smoky gray eyes just passed her by without any fluctuation, and turned to walk to the side of the ship, carefully looking at the arrogant large merchant ship of the Alan tribe.
...This stress reaction will probably take a long time to disappear, Mashilin thought with a wry smile. She could only hope that His Majesty did not have the habit of patting people on the back, otherwise she was really worried that she would lose control.
Her blond friend walked up to the other person, spoke softly to him in a gentle manner, and very naturally reached out to help him tidy up his robe that was blown messily by the sea breeze. His blue eyes were like the shimmering sea surface in the sunlight, incredibly gentle and focused.
Marcyline was silent for a moment. The strange premonition she'd been feeling along the way, coupled with Orel's evasiveness, suddenly gave her a bizarre thought that startled her. The red-haired girl turned around and, while the two men weren't paying attention, desperately winked at Orel—but he feigned ignorance and casually sauntered to the side of the boat, using Azuka's figure to block her view.
Mashilin: “…”
A bastard who deserves a beating.
"The flag of the Alan tribe, with its surrounding coin patterns, represents a merchant presence. This ship must belong to the royal family." The professor looked up, carefully examining the vessel that had completely ruined his half-written letter. He narrowed his eyes. "King Charon of the Alan tribe has two princes, of whom the younger one, Hadi, is the most favored. He is a student of Saint Talon. It's highly likely that both of them are on this merchant ship."
"How did you know?" Azuka asked gently.
The professor's expression was impassive. "The waterline isn't deep enough, and going out to sea costs money; the larger the ship, the more expensive it is. Given the Alan tribe's economic situation, airlifting is unlikely—if the cargo isn't substantial, why send such an extravagant merchant ship? The most likely scenario is that the passengers are of high status, or perhaps have ulterior motives."
"Furthermore, wouldn't a merchant truly committed to business rush into port?" he said coldly, seeming quite dissatisfied with the other party's behavior. "They're terrified of any problems with their cargo and want it to be as stable as possible. They wouldn't take such a risk just to save time. It seems the little prince is in a very bad mood. Perhaps he had an argument with someone, perhaps his father?"
Azuka looked at his old enemy with a smile. He seemed to be quite proud and honored.
Aurel and Maxine were shocked, especially Maxine, who was witnessing the Great Demon King's power for the first time. The professor glanced at them and added coldly, "As for why Talon is on this ship, Aurel Asaqi should be able to explain it."
Ole, suddenly called out, was stunned for a moment. Facing the others' gazes, he remained silent for a moment before reluctantly admitting, "There is indeed a dark saint on board. I can vaguely sense a resonance of our ideas—but don't worry, that fellow seems to have been injured in his origin, and can't easily detect me."
——But how did an ordinary person like him figure it out?
The guy didn't intend to explain, but just gave a disgusted look that said, "That's what I said." Maxine clapped her hands, not understanding why. "That's amazing!"
Seeing everyone turned to look at her, the red-haired girl froze for a moment, and her hands gradually stopped: "Uh, shouldn't I say that?"
The tyrant, however, remained calm. He nodded gracefully at Orel's constipated expression, "Thank you for the compliment."
However, the atmosphere on the merchant ship of the Alan tribe of the Gray Alliance was far from being so "harmonious".
After talking to King Charon through the crystal ball, the little prince Hardy became furious. He smashed the crystal ball, kicked away the servants who tried to dissuade him, and stormed straight to the control panel on the second floor.
Seeing his teacher standing next to the captain, frowning at the long line of ships in front of him, he angrily pushed the captain away and steered the boat towards a small boat that was about to sail normally - but was narrowly avoided by the other party.
He's lucky, the little prince thought maliciously, damn the Silver Iris man,
"Hadi," Talon whispered to his student, "Don't cause trouble in Port Morris."
"Teacher, I'm so angry!" Hardy felt his chest heaving violently. "How many years have those damned Silver Iris people trapped us in the Gray Wasteland? I finally got a chance to fight back, but the old man just told me to endure it again and again—"
Everyone around lowered their heads and dared not breathe, so as not to attract the attention of the cruel and bloodthirsty little prince.
"Hadi." Talon's voice dropped. His features were surprisingly ordinary, his face pale and gloomy. He looked like an ordinary middle-aged man in poor health. But the little prince, Hadi, seemed to think highly of him, even treating him with more respect than the "old man" he was referring to.
"Don't forget why we're here," he warned sternly. "If you continue to act recklessly like this, I'll go alone and you can stay on the boat."
As he spoke, he began to cough violently, and a little blood actually flowed from the corner of his mouth. Having just become a Saint, he forcibly used the forbidden spell twice, and the last one was torn to pieces. Talon's essence was ultimately damaged.
The little prince, Hadi, quickly supported him and softened his attitude: "Teacher, I am just speaking up for you."
"Who could have predicted the Silver Iris people's utter luck that the city of Balando would suddenly appear—" He suddenly realized that his words were quite disrespectful to the gods. After barely swallowing the last syllable, he turned to angrily cursing, "And then my idiotic elder brother took advantage of the situation and said it was all your fault, tricking this old man into becoming paranoid..."
"That's enough, Hadi." Talon interrupted him, and glanced at the shivering crew members and slaves around him with an extremely gloomy expression - these people had heard words they shouldn't have heard, and were already dead.
If possible, he really didn't want to commit more sins of killing... Unfortunately, the god he believed in was the god of night and death.
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Savior: Look, my cat (spoiled)
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