With the red moon hanging high in the sky, Klein walked over to Donna and Denton and squatted down beside them.
Krivis's female companion, Cecil, visibly breathed a sigh of relief, picked up her rifle from the deck, bent low, and quickly walked in another direction, still about ten meters away from the pepper-sprinkled pig and cow offal.
"Uncle, is it starting...?" Donna, a girl with playful freckles, suddenly became a little nervous, but her face was full of curiosity and anticipation.
Klein raised his left index finger and put it to his lips, signaling the two underage children to be quiet.
At times like these, he couldn't help but thank Roselle. It was thanks to the efforts of this transmigrator predecessor that some of his habitual gestures became the common body language of the Northern Continent, preventing misunderstandings.
I heard that in the early Fifth Era, the gesture of "don't speak" was an insult in Loen, but in some parts of the Southern Continent, it meant "kiss me"... Klein's thoughts wandered for a moment.
Donna and Denton dared not speak again, squatting there quietly, watching intently as Krivis made his preparations for battle.
The former adventurer picked up a boom and threw the silken thread with a piece of pig or cow offal over the ship's side.
With a splash, the bait hit the water.
Krivis calmly scattered the remaining entrails, took his weapon, and retreated step by step, hiding in the shadows opposite Cecil. The two of them formed an angle of about 60 degrees with the line connecting them to the ship's gunwale with the boom.
Leaning against his bayonet and other weapons, he raised his rifle and tested the feel of aiming.
The deck fell completely silent, save for the roar of the Steam and the sound of waves crashing against the ship.
As time ticked by, Donna and Denton couldn't help but change from squatting to sitting, leaning against the wooden planks of the cabin to relieve the numbness in their legs.
Just then, they saw the boom on the ship's side dip slightly.
The muffled friction sound rose rapidly upwards, getting closer and closer, and suddenly, a figure leaped onto the deck.
It was a Monster bathed in crimson Moonlight, its entire body covered in dark green scales, and flowing with bluish-green slime.
It doesn't resemble humans much; it's like a giant fish with strong limbs and obvious webbed feet.
This Merfolk was over 1.9 meters tall, with bulging eyes, long gills on his cheeks, and an appearance like a monster from legend. Donna covered her mouth to prevent herself from instinctively screaming.
At the same time, she also covered her brother Denton's mouth.
"Good awareness..." Klein chuckled inwardly, carefully examining the Merfolk.
Unlike the out-of-control " Sailor " he had encountered before, real Merfolk don't have human heads; they are pure Monster.
The Merfolk looked around warily before squatting down, picking up the scattered pig and cow entrails from the ground, and quickly stuffing them into his mouth, making a distinct chewing sound.
Its predominantly white eyes gradually lost their sparkle, as if it had fallen into a dream.
Not very intelligent... Klein shook his head and gave his assessment.
Bang!
Krivis pulled the trigger, and a bullet flew from the rifle, instantly striking the Merfolk in the chest and abdomen, shattering scales and splattering flesh and blood.
"Wow!" The Merfolk cried out like a child, bracing himself with both hands as he lunged at Krivis in the shadows, as fast as a Steam train.
At that moment, Cecil, in another position, also opened fire.
Bang!
A rifle bullet struck the Merfolk in the side, scattering debris and causing the tall figure to stagger.
The Merfolk ate the peppercorns became visibly sluggish; it stood there, unsure which direction's enemies to deal with first.
This gave Krivis and Cecil the opportunity to load their weapons at their leisure.
They aimed again and pulled the trigger, one in front and one behind.
Bang! Bang!
Two blood flowers bloomed one after another, and the pain restored clarity to the Merfolk's eyes.
It dodged and pounced, avoiding subsequent shots, and approached Krivis as if it were unharmed.
Krivis calmly put down his rifle and picked up the triangular bayonet leaning against him.
Instead of dodging, he advanced, leaping forward and rolling to the side of the Merfolk, his triangular spike piercing the broken scales on the prey's side ribs with deadly precision.
The Merfolk suddenly spun around, creating a gust of wind that flung the three-edged spike along with Krivis away, causing the former adventurer to crash onto the deck with a thud.
The Merfolk shook its head, seemingly feeling a strong sense of discomfort. It stopped attacking Krivis and Cecil, and strode towards the ship's side, attempting to leap into the sea.
Bang!
Cecil's bullet struck it again, creating a bloody flower, but it still didn't incapacitate it.
With two quick steps, the Merfolk reached the right spot, bent his knees, and was about to jump.
However, its body went limp and it failed to generate enough force, so it jumped too short and landed on the inside of the ship's side.
Bang!
The Merfolk, enduring the rifle fire, tried to climb over the ship's side.
Seeing that it was about to escape, Klein took out his revolver.
Just then, a loud bang came from another direction!
The Merfolk's left eye immediately turned into a blood-red hole, through which one could vaguely see a pale, gelatinous substance wriggling.
It was not dead yet; it lay prone in the cabin, struggling to crawl and try to stand up again.
A few seconds later, the poison took effect, and it convulsed and died completely.
Klein looked in the direction of the sound and saw a middle-aged man emerge from the shadows on the other side, leading to the cabin.
The middle-aged man was wearing a dark red thick coat, loose white trousers, and a boat-shaped hat, a standard feature of the era.
He carried an outdated, iron-colored handgun in his hand, its thick, dark muzzle emitting white smoke.
Klein had heard the waiter introduce him to the man before, and knew that he was the captain of the White Agate, Elland Kag.
Elland, with noticeable wrinkles around his eyes, forehead, and mouth, approached Krivis and smiled slightly:
"As a captain, I must ensure that no accidents occur."
Please forgive me for watching from the sidelines.
Krivis had already stood up, showing no outward emotion.
This is your boat.
"As is customary, you have the right to share the loot."
Elland glanced at Klein and the others, and said with a smile:
"The next replenishment of water and food will be in two days. You'll have to figure out how to preserve the Merfolk's corpses yourselves."
"How about this, sell it to me at a lower price, and the difference will be the compensation I'm entitled to."
"That's the best way." Krivis and Cecil exchanged glances and agreed to Elland's request. "For just 130 pounds, the whole thing is yours."
The extraordinary materials from the Merfolk's body are worth between 150 and 200 pounds on the market. Considering the other parts with Spirituality properties, 130 pounds is indeed very cheap... However, this is all the Krivis and his group can do. This is Elland's ship, with a large group of armed Sailor and crew helping him. If the negotiations break down, he can sink everyone present into the sea in a matter of minutes... Of course, that is, if I don't get involved... Hmm, it's clear that Krivis and Cecil are not Beyonder, at least not in the fields of combat and shooting. Elland, on the Beyonder, is a bit suspicious... Klein stood up and listened to the transaction.
"No, you seem to have misunderstood something. I'm not threatening you. 150 pounds is a fair price." Elland Kag called over a Sailor and gave him the key to the safe.
"You are ' Fair Elland '?" Cecil seemed to only then recall the other's nickname at sea.
Elland chuckled and said:
"Yes."
At this moment, Donna and Denton, who were stunned by the fierce battle and the living Monster, jumped up and ran over to the Merfolk's body with a mixture of excitement and fear.
"It, it's really dead?" Donna kicked the Merfolk's body with her toe, then jumped away as if afraid that it would be resurrected, hiding behind her younger brother.
"It's Monster!" Denton gasped, his eyes widening.
"There are many Monster at sea. Actually, they shouldn't be called Merfolk. Apart from having four limbs and being able to stand, they have nothing in common with humans. I prefer to call them Fish Monster," Elland said with a gentle smile.
He immediately squatted down, took out a small knife, and cut open the Merfolk's cheek below his eyes, revealing the fair and tender flesh stained with a little red.
"The most delicious part of Merfolk is best eaten raw." Elland carefully sliced off a piece and handed it to Donna. "You remind me of my daughter. Sadly, she's grown up and has her own family now."
"I... I dare not eat it..." Donna, looking at the thin slice of meat poking at her with the tip of the dagger.
"Haha, who wants to give it a try?" Elland laughed and looked around.
After confirming that his Spirituality intuition had given no indication, Klein nodded:
I'm very curious.
Elland immediately handed him the dagger:
"Try it. On land, even nobles might not have the chance to eat it."
"This isn't Merfolk, it's Fish Monster, you could think of it as a mutated fish."
He was trying to dispel the siblings' fear.
Klein wanted to ask if they had any condiments like mustard or soy sauce, but seeing that the other person didn't mention them, he hesitated to ask, afraid of appearing ignorant.
He took the dagger, bit down on the blood-stained piece of tender flesh, and swallowed it.
It was a melt-in-your-mouth sensation; the blood had a very faint fishy smell, with just the right amount of saltiness, perfectly complementing the fresh and sweet taste of the meat.
Klein chewed a couple of times and found the fish to be more tender and delicious than he had ever seen before.
"Fantastic!" He gave a thumbs up without hesitation.
Donna watched the whole process with curiosity, and suddenly became very interested in the fleshy cheeks under the Merfolk's eyes.
This overwhelmed her fear and nausea, so she suggested giving it a try.
Elland granted her request, smiling as he watched her close her eyes, her face contorted in a grimace, and bite down on the piece of meat.
Donna's expression gradually relaxed, and she quickly opened her eyes, excitedly praising:
"An indescribable deliciousness!"
Inspired by her, Denton, Cecil, and others shared the already limited amount of flesh under their eyes, eating with a mixture of satisfaction and dissatisfaction—satisfied with the taste but dissatisfied with the portion size.
Seeing that Elland had eaten the last piece, Krivis pointed to the Merfolk's body and said:
"The meat on the ribs is suitable for deep-frying, the belly meat is grilled, and the other parts are hard to eat."
"That's exactly what I was thinking," Elland chuckled. "I'll have the chef prepare it immediately. Enjoying delicious food and fine wine together on a night like this, and sharing tales of the sea, would be a truly delightful experience."
I was really looking forward to it... But why did this supposed to be a hunting trip turn into a food exchange...? Klein swallowed hard.
P. S.: Two chapters finished today, please vote with monthly tickets and recommendations!