"Oh no! Monsters are attacking!"
With a violent rocking motion, the passengers who had been leisurely on the deck instantly erupted into chaos.
Screams, shouts, and a cacophony of footsteps blended together.
Some people ran haphazardly into the cabin, while others crouched in a corner, trembling with fear.
The ship rammed violently again, the wooden hull creaking, and the sails on the mast flapping wildly in the wind.
"Everyone be careful!"
"Passengers, all return to the cabin!"
The adventurers quickly organized themselves, some drawing their swords, others raising their staffs, and lined up on the deck.
Under the captain's command, the sailors worked tirelessly to steady the rudder and adjust the sails.
On the sea, hordes of monsters are cutting through the waves and charging toward the ship.
Their fins protrude above the water, like rows of black blades slicing through the sea, leaving streaks of white water.
Judging from its size, it should be over ten meters long, which would be considered a behemoth on land. However, monsters in the sea are generally large, so its level is estimated to be between B and C.
These monsters weren't particularly strong, but there were just too many of them; they were a dark, dense mass, and a rough count revealed at least twenty or thirty of them.
Inside the cabin, the rocking of the ship nearly caused Nanahoshi to roll off the straw mat.
She steadied herself by holding onto the partition, and when she looked up, she saw that Luo Ge had already stood up and hung the Phoenix Elegant Dragon Sword at his waist.
"Huh? What are you going to do?" Nanahoshi asked, puzzled.
"Go and resolve some trouble."
Luo Ge glanced at her sideways, his tone flat, "Wait for me to come back."
Under the watchful eyes of the Nanahoshi, Luo Ge did not panic like the other passengers.
Instead, he calmly pushed open the cubicle door and walked out.
Several passengers running towards the bottom of the cabin brushed past him in the corridor. Some of them turned around and glanced at him with puzzled looks in their eyes.
Why is that boy walking out?
Luo Ge went up to the deck and immediately spotted the horde of monsters on the sea.
Those black dorsal fins appeared and disappeared amidst the waves, rapidly approaching the ship... a major battle seemed imminent.
The adventurers on the ship were already on high alert, with teams of seven or eight people spread out on both sides of the ship, ready to meet the monster's attack.
"Passenger, please return to your cabin. This is not a place for you!" An adventurer on guard duty suddenly noticed Luo Ge's arrival and warned him anxiously.
Luo Ge ignored all of this, not only not leaving, but also standing there under the astonished gazes of the adventurers.
He slowly walked to the very front of the deck.
Then, he did something that no one expected.
He leaped off the deck.
"Hello--!"
Before the screams of the adventurers beside him had even subsided, Luo Ge had already landed on the back of the monster closest to the ship.
The moment the Phoenix Elegant Dragon Sword was drawn, a silvery-white arc of light flashed in the sunlight.
The monster, which looked exactly like a shark, didn't even have time to hiss.
Pfft!
The head was then separated from the body, and bright red blood gushed out.
Without stopping, Luo Ge used the residual force of the sword strike to leap into the air, flipping and leaping down to the next monster.
Da da da!
On the open sea, he moved with almost effortless ease.
The sword flashed repeatedly, each strike precisely slicing through the demon's vitals, swift and clean, without a single superfluous movement.
He darted swiftly between the backs of those monsters, like a swallow darting through black waves.
Water splashed everywhere on the sea surface, the screams of monsters rose and fell, and blood quickly stained a large area of the sea red.
Harvesting non-stop...
In just a few minutes.
He slaughtered dozens of dangerous monsters, their corpses scattered and floating on the sea, rising and falling with the waves.
At that moment, everyone—from ordinary passengers peeking out from the hatch to seasoned adventurers, crew members, and sailors—was stunned.
A brief silence fell over the deck; not a sound could be heard.
"Amazing!"
Then someone clapped first, followed by a burst of jubilant cheers.
Passengers poured out of the hatches, sailors took off their hats and waved them, and even the captain leaned half his body out from beside the helm to look down.
The adventurers looked at each other, their faces filled with shock.
They could handle these monsters too, but even if all of them combined, they could never do it as cleanly and decisively as Luo Ge.
The entire process was almost entirely effortless.
Many women tried to approach and strike up a conversation.
Some people asked his name, some asked where he was an adventurer from, and some even wanted to buy him a drink.
Luo Ge politely declined each offer with a smile, simply nodding slightly before turning and calmly leaving the deck to walk towards the cabin.
A hint of awe crept into the gazes of the crowd as they looked at his retreating figure, and some began to secretly speculate about Luo Ge's identity.
Among the dense crowd, three people were also standing on the deck, who had witnessed everything that had just happened.
They were the search and rescue team consisting of Elinalise, Talhand, and Roxy.
Although he is also an adventurer, and a seasoned one at that.
But this time, heading to the Demon Continent... they didn't board the ship as commissioned guards, but were also among the many passengers.
"This is such a headache... It was that brat, I never expected..." Elinalise couldn't help but mutter a curse under her breath.
"Hey, Elinalise... do you know him?" Standing next to Elinalise, her teammate Talhand asked curiously.
"Tch, who knows that kind of guy?" Elinalise curled her lip and looked away.
Roxy, who was standing to the side, didn't say anything, but just kept staring in the direction where the boy's back had disappeared.
In that instant, her heart skipped a beat for some unknown reason.
I was almost stunned.
That figure, that graceful movement among the monsters, gave her a strange sense of familiarity.
Memories of the Buena Village and that little boy kept flashing through her mind.
Standing in the courtyard where a gentle breeze blows and leaves sway in the air, a disciple, holding a wooden sword, diligently follows her as she learns magic, though his mind occasionally wanders.
The memories gradually became clearer.
That face, those slightly narrowed eyes, that sly smile...
However, Roxy quickly showed a deflated and disappointed expression. She bit her lip and shook her head.
Hmm!
How could it be him?
That child is already dead.
She died in the upper jaw of the Red Dragon, at the young age of five. Although she didn't witness it firsthand, how could Paul's family lie about something like this?
Even Roxy found her own fleeting thought absurd and laughable.
" Roxy, what's wrong? Speaking of which... you've seemed a bit distracted just now." Elinalise was the first to notice Roxy's unusual behavior. She leaned closer, her tone full of slyness.
"By the way, Roxy... have you become interested in that little brat from earlier?"
" Elinalise..."
Roxy quickly lowered her head, her voice a little tight. "Um, I didn't, don't talk nonsense... I... I was just thinking about some memories from the past."
"Remember?"
"It seems to be a precious memory for Roxy."
Elinalise tilted her head, a meaningful smile playing on her lips.
"Eh?... Could it be Roxy, your first love?"
"First love?"
Roxy abruptly raised her head and hurriedly retorted, "How could that be?! I... I was just thinking of my disciple."
" Roxy's disciple?"
"I remember... wait, isn't that Paul's child? Right, could it be Rudeus??"
No, it wasn't him.
Roxy shook her head, her voice softening, "He's another disciple of mine... his name is Luo Ge."
She murmured softly.
His fingers unconsciously reached into his robes and touched the doll he always kept close to his body.
It was a palm-sized doll, sculpted in the shape of a child, with delicate features and a slightly upturned mouth.
It was a souvenir that Rudeus sent her when she was King of Shirone, saying it was made in the likeness of Luo Ge.
Roxy had always carried it with her, glancing down at the doll in her palm.
In a daze... Roxy couldn't help but look up at the azure sea, her heart filled with regret.
If Luo Ge were still alive, the child would be all grown up by now, wouldn't he?
He was so smart, so talented, so amazing... even he, as his teacher, felt inferior to him.
If he could grow up, he would surely have become a great swordsman by now, wouldn't he?
That child's dream.
Roxy still clearly remembers that day, when the child spoke earnestly about his dream, "Teacher, someday I... want to become the world's strongest swordsman."