A Midnight Surprise Delivery, but Sadly, It Delivered Heads
The Sea Fish) sailed smoothly on the vast sea.
Xiao Wu was still very excited.
She had been squatting at the bow of the ship all morning, counting the types of marine Soul Beast she had seen on her fingers.
From this morning until now.
At least five strange creatures she couldn't name were added to her list.
One of the completely transparent, bell-shaped jellyfish was named "Jelly Monster" by her.
She insisted on scooping it up and taking a bite, but Lin Qingmo decisively stopped her.
As usual, Zhu Zhuqing sat silently on the side of the ship's railing, wiping her claws.
But the slight curve at the corner of her mouth betrayed her feelings.
Although the girl didn't say it, the novelty of her first time at sea was clearly stirring within her.
Bai Chenxiang finally overcame her seasickness, but she was still a bit listless.
Leaning against the cabin door frame, enjoying the Sea Breeze, he finally regained some color in his face.
Ning Rongrong brought out a complete tea set from the cabin and announced that she would be holding a tea party at sea.
Dugu Yan retorted, "Do you think this is a pleasure boat cruise on a lake?"
As for Dugu Yan herself, she was leaning over the side of the boat, looking at her reflection in the sea.
"This seawater is clearer than my bronze mirror."
She sighed, her emerald green hair swaying gently in the Sea Breeze.
Ye Lingling remained in the corner of the cabin, her medical notes spread out on her lap.
The humid environment at sea affects the storage of medicinal herbs, so she needs to recalculate the shelf life of each medicine.
Her earnestness made Lin Qingmo take another look at her.
Having a reliable healer in the team makes all the difference in confidence when raiding.
After being assigned a room, Hu Liena went into the cabin alone, closed the door, and sat cross-legged to meditate.
They said they needed to adjust their condition and prepare for the God Trial on Sea God Island.
In reality, she didn't want to associate with Xiao Wu and the others who were clearly somewhat averse to her.
The deck became quiet for a while.
Lin Qingmo stood by the railing at the stern of the ship, the Sea Breeze making his black hair fly up and down.
He neither looked at the sea nor at the sky.
Instead, he squinted, gazing at the sea behind the Sea Fish, where the waves were being churned up by the ship's stern.
A blurry gray shadow loomed on the horizon, appearing and disappearing in the thin mist.
A ship.
It's been several days since I left the port.
The ship maintained a distance that was neither too close nor too far from the Sea Fish.
Footsteps came from behind.
Liu Erlong walked to Lin Qingmo's side and stood beside him.
The Sea Breeze lifted her fiery red high ponytail, making it look like a cluster of flames burning on a mast.
She followed Lin Qingmo's gaze to the mist behind her, her narrow eyes narrowing.
"You noticed it too?" she asked.
"Also?" Lin Qingmo tilted his head slightly.
"Yesterday at noon, the ship's course intersected with that of the Sea Fish '."
"But just as the two ships closed to about three nautical miles, it deliberately widened the distance again."
Liu Erlong crossed his arms, his tone as calm as if he were reporting military intelligence.
"Normally, merchant ships wouldn't do that."
"If we're going the same way, we'll travel together; if we're going different, we'll go our separate ways. How can we be so close one minute and distant the next?"
How long did you stare at it?
"From the moment it appeared."
A sharp, razor-sharp smile curved Liu Erlong's lips.
"The sea routes are fixed. From Vast Sea City eastward through this area, the only options are Sea God Island and a few small fishing villages."
"The combined population of those fishing villages isn't even as large as a single ward in Heaven Dou City. There's no need to send a ship specifically to follow us."
She paused, her tone becoming more certain.
"The other party probably has ill intentions."
Lin Qingmo nodded, his gaze returning to the mist.
"When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it."
"We're still en route; they shouldn't make a move."
"But once we enter the deep sea area, when no other merchant ships are passing by, that's a different story."
Liu Erlong patted his shoulder, the pressure neither too light nor too heavy. "Tell the others."
"Good."
Night fell.
The sea at night presents a completely different face from that during the day.
During the day, it is a vibrant, lively azure blue.
At night, it transforms into an endless, dark abyss, silent and profound, as if brewing something unseen.
Starlight spilled onto the calm sea, shattering into countless silvery scales.
The Sea Fish lowered its sails and moved slowly forward at a minimum speed.
All the lights on the ship were extinguished, leaving only a faint lamp at the bow, casting a small, warm yellow glow in the darkness.
It's too quiet.
It was so quiet that you could hear every ripple as the boat cut across the water.
It was so quiet that you could hear the girls breathing evenly inside the cabin.
In this deep-sea region, even Sea Soul Beast seem to have vanished.
Then, something broke the silence.
A dull, mechanical roar was rapidly approaching from behind.
Immediately afterwards, a series of dull thuds echoed from the outside of the ship.
That was the dull thud of the grappling hook hitting the wood, followed by the creaking of the taut rope and the sound of hurried footsteps.
"Charge! All of you, charge!"
A rough, hoarse voice boomed through the night sky.
A dozen dark figures used ropes to vault over the ship's side and landed heavily on the deck of the Sea Fish.
Each person was dressed in waterproof, dark leather armor, with scimitars, Short Blade, and daggers hanging at their waists, the blades stained with some kind of dark green grime.
The leader was a burly man, nearly two meters tall, with a ferocious sea serpent tattooed on his body.
The burly man reeked of a foul stench, a mixture of cheap beer and blood.
"Search! Take everything valuable!"
The burly man grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.
"If the woman is good-looking, we'll include her too—"
He hadn't finished speaking.
The cabin door creaked open.
Lin Qingmo walked out from inside, his steps neither hurried nor slow.
Behind him, Xiao Wu, Dugu Yan, Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, Ye Lingling, Bai Chenxiang, and Hu Liena walked out one after another.
Seven pairs of eyes shone brightly in the starlight, showing not fear, but only a keen interest in observing.
"This is the person you were talking about who's been targeting us?"
Dugu Yan tilted her head.
Her emerald green eyes swept over the scene before her from top to bottom, her expression like that of someone picking out vegetables at a market.
"It doesn't look very good."
Ning Rongrong crossed her arms, and the phantom image of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda appeared and disappeared behind her.
Hu Liena didn't even bother to activate her Martial Soul.
It merely lazily raised its eyelids to sense its surroundings, then let out a disdainful snort from its nose.
"Just a bunch of trash below level 40."
"The one leading the group is Spirit King, who recently broke through to the next level and whose aura is still unstable."
Liu Erlong walked over from the other side and added a precise assessment.
On the deck, the group of guys who had just climbed aboard seemed frozen in place.
The burly man's expression was particularly interesting.
From a smug grin of certainty, to a lewd smirk upon seeing a group of young girls, to utter shock upon hearing the other party casually recount his strength.
Her facial expression management was a disaster.
"We've been discovered?!" someone exclaimed.
"Boss, they seem to be—"
"Shut up!"
Haider interrupted his subordinate sharply, cold sweat already beading on his forehead.
He is the Spirit King.
Although he had only recently broken through and his realm was not yet stable, he was still Spirit King.
Among the merchant ships in the Sea Region near Vast Sea City, the Spirit King could roam freely with impunity.
After all, merchant ships are mostly filled with ordinary people.
But his strength was immediately seen through by the red-haired woman leaning against the mast.
He didn't even sense any fluctuations in the other party's Soul Power.
This means that the opponent's strength may far surpass that of oneself!