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The island beneath their feet was surprisingly soft, yielding with a faint springiness, as though they were stepping on the breath of some enormous beast.
The figure in the lead turned his head, sweeping his gaze across the deck.
"People who come from the seas below usually take this for the afterlife."
His eyes beneath his helmet were appraising as he spoke. "They either kneel and pray or draw their blades."
The man at the edge of the deck merely shook his head. "People only fear what they can't see clearly."
His voice was calm. "I know what you eat and drink, and I know why this place floats in the sky.
"Since I understand, I won't do anything stupid."
"You'd better not."
The Sky Island Warriors' Leader withdrew his gaze.
They were not a bloodthirsty people, but if anyone greedy tried to plunder this place, he would not mind letting them experience a fall from a tremendous height.
Land gradually drew closer.
It was a mudflat formed from solidified, milky-white clouds, with several children chasing one another across it.
Farther away, adults wielded tools, cutting blocks of cloud into neat squares-raw materials for building houses.
The entire town lay bathed in the languid afternoon light. Cooking smoke rose from a few rooftops, and it looked as peaceful as any ordinary settlement.
The enormous crayfish gently set the ship down at the shore.
The man on deck made a simple gesture behind him.
"Let's go take a look."
He lifted the anchor-a lump of iron heavy enough to make an ordinary person's arms tremble-and casually tossed it toward Cloud Beach.
The anchor's point easily sank into the milky-white ground, making only a faint, muffled sound.
Beside him, the warrior leader's eye twitched.
Four figures leaped over the ship's rail.