Pillars of Ita

The orange light pierced through the mist, cutting a slanted wedge of light in the iron-gray night sky, illuminating the forest of masts, the cables intertwined like a net, and the half-drooped sails drooping, soaked by the mist into a blue-gray color like a corpse.

"We are going to set sail in such a thick fog?"

Olivia wore a black mesh glove on one hand, leaving the other hand bare. She looked like a nun in her black dress, standing in the mist.

The girl gently placed her ungloved hand on the side of the ship, stood at the side of the Seven Seas Storm, looked at the scene, and asked.

“Fog is a unique feature of the Bay Area, but it will dissipate once the sun comes up.”

"Ed is still as knowledgeable as he was then."

Fang He almost spit out a mouthful of water. "Miss Olivia, please stop flattering me. This is just common knowledge."

Olivia smiled and didn't refute.

But Fang He remembered that before setting off, Hilde personally compiled for them information about the humanities, customs and taboos of the Gulf region, as well as the changes in waterways over the past thirty years.

On the day of sailing, the ship's officer held his hand and said nothing more than a smile to him, "Go early and come back early."

It's because there is nothing else in her heart, only the starry sky remains.

"Among those twinkling stars, there is only a place for you," she said to him with a smile, "That is our common ideal, so I will wait for you."

Those gentle love words can hardly fail to touch the deepest and softest part of one's heart.

When Fang He thought of the Seven Seas Traveler and the girl, he couldn't help but feel eager to go home. Although the journey had not yet begun, he was already thinking about when he could return.

It is no wonder that the greatest adventurers are afraid of gentle harbors. Once they have a place to stop, they lose the courage to set sail again.

Fortunately, Sylvie had always been traveling side by side with him. They had a common goal, and she had never asked him to stop.

Olivia 'noticed' that the other person was distracted, and she couldn't help but think of the rumor and smiled slightly.

Bundles of cables were piled up at the dock, with frost-like salt grains on the surface of the hemp ropes. The sweat beads rolling down the workers' backs accumulated into salt pits on the deck. They were delivering boxes of hemp to another ship at the end of the pier.

The outline of the ship in the fog trembled with the creaking of the capstan. Daryl spat in that direction and brought the greatsword in his hand down on the hoop of the tar barrel, splashing spots of red light.

The hilt of the sword in her hand just blocked the mainmast of the ship - the tidal board nailed to the middle of the mast was missing a corner, and the exposed wood stumps stood out like canine teeth, and the bronze bell hanging under the board swayed with the waves.

"Dalyl, do you recognize that ship?" Luo Hao had been paying attention to the ship at the end of the pier. The reason was that it was the only ship ready to sail today except for the Seven Seas Storm.

The Gulf Alliance blockaded Qianzhu Port, which meant that the ship had obtained permission to leave the port just like them, but the people in the alliance did not tell them about this.

Before Daryl could answer, Olivia at the side spoke first: "That is the ship of the Pivotal Flame Oath Court, and there are clergy of the Oath Court on it."

"Rotao's ship?" Luo Hao had already seen the gilded tin frame of the bow statue in the mist, with one of the three holy statues of the Qionghui Oath on it, confirming Olivia's statement.

Olivia nodded slightly. "These ships are part of the Oath Court fleet, responsible for maintaining the hemp and silk trade from the Gulf to Lotao. They are partners of the alliance, and Thousand Pillar Port will not make things difficult for them."

Luo Hao had heard of Lotao's trade fleet, which sounded a bit like the silver fleet in past history.

The Pillars of the Stars and Mirrodium control vast wealth, and these fleets are responsible for transporting the supplies needed by the Court of the Oath from various continents to Lothal.

"That's just pus and blood flowing." Taliel said coldly.

Luo Hao looked at his companions with some surprise. Although Daryl usually acted indifferent, he rarely spoke ill of him. This was the first time he saw him like this. "Do you have a grudge against them?"

"Not really," Miss Catman shook her head, "but every wilderness dweller who fled from Lotao has been persecuted by them. I am the Chosen One, and they don't bother to provoke me. I just left that place because I couldn't stand it any more."

"I thought you were the Chosen One from Division Two."

Luo Hao just remembered that Daryl had never told anyone about his origins. He was taciturn and mysterious, like an aboriginal.

She had a sister, which they only found out after they arrived in Heimvor.

He wanted to ask Daryl if he came to the Hill of Giant Trees to seek refuge with his sister, but the cat lady seemed to have noticed his thoughts and gave him a cold look, which made Luo Hao dare not ask.

"Remember the blood magic we discussed?" Taliel said, "That kind of magic used specifically for punishment was invented by them."

"That kind of magic was first used on blasphemers, and later on to fight against dissidents. It drains blood from people and turns them into puppets. They look like living people on the outside, but they are actually just zombies."

"Anyone who opposes them will be punished in this way. They control these dissidents by controlling the 'Blood Lord', and gradually the Oath Court will only have one voice."

"Sounds like a vampire."

“They are vampires,” said Daryl. “Either join them or leave Lothal. Almost all the wild folk you see in the Hill of the Giant Trees are like this.”

"The Chosen Ones are a little better. Some of them don't mind the actions of the Oath Court, while others stay away from it. The Fourth Division has the least relationship with the indigenous people."

"Because the wilderness is so large, they established their own territory in the uninhabited area in the western part of the continent. They have close ties with the Mir Luo Temple and are out of the control of the Oath Court."

Luo Hao looked at the cat lady. From her tone, she did not have a favorable impression of the Guild Alliance in Division Four, and it seemed that she had a bad relationship with the Chosen Ones.

Maybe that's why she's here.

However, the fourth zone was in chaos, and he had heard about it a long time ago. There was no actual ruler in the wilderness, and the various parties on the continent only believed in one spiritual holy land.

Pillar of the Stars.

Humans established the Court of the Central Flame, the lion people established the White Covenant, and the winged people established the Temple of the Firmament. The outside world calls them the Three Holy Statues, while the administrator of the Pillar of Stars, the Temple of Mirro has always remained neutral.

The Knights of the Ancient Training are the guardians of the Pillar of the Stars and are a subordinate armed force of the Temple of Mirro. It is for this reason that the position of the Son of God inherited by Fang He becomes so important.

Speaking of which, when the clergy of the Pivot Flame Oath Court saw him, they had to bow their heads and obey his orders. However, Fang He did not intend to deal with these people.

As Daryl said, the rumors about them... weren't very good.

But Daryl wasn’t done with the story.

The inheritance of blood-based magic was later cut off due to an incident, a tragedy that shocked the entire Court of Oaths.

After the tragedy, Mir Luo Temple changed its neutral attitude and ordered the Knights of the Ancient Order to intervene in the dispute, but the final result was unknown.

They didn't even catch the murderer, but the Oath Chamber kept silent about it. Finally, the Temple of Mirro ordered the Pivotal Flame Oath Chamber not to use blood-related spells anymore.

From then on, similar powers became taboo.

Fang He learned this "story" from the big cat man. To this day, it still has enemies in the Court of Oaths. The big cat man's own sister died under the blood source spell.

It was just a victim of another struggle. It was lured away from the Oath Court, and when it returned, it found that its sister had already turned into a cold corpse.

Became a 'stranger' who was like a stranger to me.

It was so furious that it ended its sister's suffering with its own hands, and went on a killing spree in the Court of Oaths, executing many enemies - and most of those enemies were high-ranking officials of the Court of Oaths at the time.

Finally, it escaped from Lotao and came to the Hill of the Giant Tree. It was Miss Atila who took it in and changed its appearance to become the guardian of the sacred tree.

"The Knights of the Ancient Training did not pursue me."

"I owed that Grand Master a favor, even though he was still very young at that time."

Red answered calmly, holding his pipe.

"Have you avenged yourself, Mr. Reed?"

"My enemies are not completely wiped out." The big cat man shook his head, "I can't kill every one of them so many times, there will always be a few who slip through the net."

"Who is the culprit?" Fang He asked.

The big cat man turned his pipe over, shook the ashes over the side of the boat, and then shook his head gently again.

When it mentioned this incident, its tone was calm, as if it had not witnessed the bloody incident personally and had long forgotten the hatred.

However, Fang He remembered that he had seen another side of the other party in Yidus - the anger and hatred flashing in those cold eyes, and it was obvious that he had never forgotten the innocent and tragic death of his sister.

"The Knights... don't seem to want you to return to Lotao."

"I won't go back either," the big cat man grinned. "I know what you're worried about, Ed. I won't leave the Seven Seas Traveler. But if they dare to show up outside of Lotao..."

"I will help you get revenge, Mr. Reid."

"No," Red shook his head, "That's my business, Ed."

"But I am the leader of the Seven Seas Brigade, and you are also my member, Mr. Reid."

The big cat man couldn't help but laugh when he heard this.

Therefore, after realizing that the blood magic had reappeared in the world, Fang He immediately contacted Silver Wind Port through the communication between the two worlds and informed the big cat people of the matter.

He heard that the other party had already set out from Silver Wind Harbor and was on the way to the Gulf Alliance.

"Blood magic was a thing of thirty years ago," said Daryl. "I didn't experience that era, but without the torture, the Pivot is still the same Pivot, and it has even become worse."

Fang He was in deep thought. It was unknown when blood magic emerged, but it obviously could not have been earlier than three or four centuries before Ser Gios lived.

So did blood magic originate in the Gulf and influence the Pivot of Flame, or was it the other way around? What is the reason for the "curse" that keeps appearing in Thousand Pillars Harbor?

Is it related to the bloodborne spell, or is it related to the curse of the illusory adventurer Ser Gios?

He and Alyssa checked the documents in the Gulf region to see if there were any descriptions of blood magic in history, but this project was obviously not something that could be completed in a day or two.

What's more, they have other missions to go out to sea.

Fang He also asked Olivia about this matter, but she didn't know much about the relevant matters. Blood magic had been extinct in Rotao for thirty years, let alone in the Gulf region.

"Ms. Alessa?"

"I'm here," Alessa replied impatiently. "I know what you want to ask, but I can't tell you. I'm just telling you the relevant history. I don't pay attention to the trivial tricks of mortals."

Fang He couldn't help but sigh.

But just as he expected, the mist quickly dissipated before the sun rose.

The ship of the Central Flame Oath Court also weighed anchor at dawn and left the port about an hour earlier than them. From beginning to end, the other party seemed to have not noticed them.

Or perhaps they noticed it, but the clergy above didn't care much about a local ship. Rotao was a theocracy, and the Holy Mountain of Light and the Pillar of Stars were powerful.

The Wilderness People's fleet is not worried about the existence of a third opponent in this sea area except the Imperials and the Corins.

If they were on the Sea of ​​Clouds, they might still have to worry about the whereabouts of their old enemies, but in the West Sea of ​​Giant Tree Hill, pirates of all sizes dared not to touch the tiger's beard lightly.

The trade fleet of the Oath Court is like a convoy of ships traveling back and forth on the sea, and is one of the ways for the people of Lotao to show off their military power.

Fang He looked at the shadow of the boat going away and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The matter of blood magic and curse always made him a little suspicious, and he happened to see the ship of the Court of the Oath of the Flame here, which made it hard for him not to make associations.

Fortunately, it seems that I was just overthinking.

There is no connection between the two. After all, the fleets of the Court of Oaths are everywhere in the Gulf region, so it doesn't seem strange to see them.

He didn't want the situation to become more complicated.

"Brother Ed," Tianlan leaned out from the bottom cabin, "The inspection is complete."

She didn't know where she went, and her face and nose were all covered with dust.

It happened to be her and May's turn to be on duty that day——

Miss Knight was taking Ian and others to check the situation under the freeboard. Parasitic organisms such as sea barnacles seemed to have accumulated to a level that was enough to affect the life of the ship.

She quickly sent back a message saying everything was fine.

"The Storm is an old ship," Catherine reminded him again and again, "We must conduct a thorough inspection before going out to sea, especially since we are going into a turbulent zone this time."

"So is the repair work on the bottom of the boat completed?"

Ian nodded quickly and reported: "The workers scraped off the old glue a few days ago and repainted the planks with a waterproof glue mixed with tar and animal hair."

"After it dried, we used whale blubber to soak linen wool to patch the gaps again. As for the barnacles, we have already cleaned them out. It should be no problem for them to sustain one or two long voyages."

Catherine carefully checked every preparation, even replacing the granite fragments used for ballast in the bottom hold.

The second layer was stacked with clay jars filled with pickled herrings. Storm No. 7 was different from the Traveler. There were forty or fifty people on board, and preparing drinking water was a huge project.

They sealed the mouth of the jar with wax, embedded it with straw for ventilation, and placed a layer of pine needles between the layers of the jar to prevent shock, ensuring that everything was foolproof.

Before setting sail, boxes were painted with chalk to prevent mildew, and fresh water was stored in double-walled wooden barrels, just in case. There were even some livestock raised on the second deck, using volcanic ash to absorb their excrement.

These are common jobs on the Sky Sea, but not so common on the Seven Seas Traveler. Catherine managed everything in an orderly manner, and Fang He also learned a lot.

After confirming that everything was correct, Fang He nodded to the others and gave the final order:

"Notify Luo Yu and ask the engine room to prepare for sailing."

Then Box led the members of the Second Regiment to lower the sails and rang the bronze bell on the mast. The port also responded with the bell. Led by a pilot ship, the Seven Seas Storm began to slowly sail away from the Thousand Pillars Port.

After leaving Perahvan, the ship turned southwest and sailed into a chain of coastal islands. The locals called this nameless archipelago Volaticus.

It is actually a kind of aerial sea creature under the class of floating chondrocysts. This class can be regarded as one of the new classifications of aerial sea creatures. It also belongs to the category of pneumatocysts and is a whale-like creature under the order of floating cloud rays.

In essence, it is a huge sea beast that migrates in turbulent zones.

Their appearance is somewhat like a flat whale with a manta ray, and they have a filter-feeding system like baleen whales, feeding on plankton and air-cavity organisms in the empty sea. In the era when the sons of the bay still worshipped storms and raging waves, the sea dwellers living here made a living by hunting these giant beasts. Their wrist whiskers, luminous scales, and cyclone spores can all be used in alchemy, so they are enthusiastically sought after by the outside world.

Wind element crystals will even condense on the body of an old Volaticus whale. Every time such a giant beast is hunted, it means a huge harvest for fishermen.

However, today, it is rare to see this huge sea beast in the north of the Candlelight Sea, and sailors now consider it a blessing to see this giant beast.

They have now stopped fishing for this floating giant whale and are more likely to use its image in the shape of ship figureheads - the people of the Gulf believe that this behemoth once witnessed the prosperity of the region.

Therefore, today, they regard it as their patron saint.

In the long years that followed, lighthouses stood one after another along the long coastline, and numerous ports and cities were built along the bay, forming another star-like link.

This link now extends deep into the Far South, and it is through this link that humans reach the door to the new world.

The wind from the sky and sea blew Olivia's long hair and eyelashes, causing them to tremble slightly. She "gazed" at the junction of the sky and the sea with a peaceful expression.

She turned around and asked, "It is said that there are also such human ports deep in the turbulent zone."

Fang He nodded slightly. Humans had indeed established transit points, ports and anchorages deep in the turbulent zone, but they only went beyond the continental bridge.

Once on the waterway of the continental bridge, the river basins there no longer allow humans to establish bases. The sky and the sea are full of twists and turns and dangers, and humans can rarely gain a foothold in those places.

He introduced:

"The rules on the Continental Bridge are very different from those in other places. It is also the most dangerous section of the route to the New World. Generally speaking, it requires someone with Silver Rank or above to be in charge in order to minimize the risk."

"But even so, shipwrecks often occur on the way to the Gate of the World, which is why the ticket to the New World is so expensive."

"I see." The girl seemed quite interested in this knowledge.

Just like when they were in Kapka, the two of them often had long conversations. Fang He liked to exchange some opinions with her about the sky and the ether, but generally speaking -

The girl just listened quietly.

However, most of those conversations were long and boring, and he usually talked incessantly about his ideals and goals.

One day he will leave the first world and go to the second world to establish immortal achievements like the great adventurers of history.

And now he was on his way, and the girl had almost achieved her goal.

"What about Olivia?" he asked at that time, "What is your ideal?"

"I want to return to the White Tree Society and inherit my parents' wishes to become a maze designer," Olivia replied with a smile. "When I was very young, I was always fascinated by the crystal structure at the center of the maze. I wondered how such a perfect thing could exist in this world."

"Perfect?"

"Yes, it is very beautiful," the girl winked at him, though her eyes were empty, "There is no chance here, but when there is a chance, I will let you see it."

To this day, Fang He still doesn't know much about mazes. Perhaps the crystal tower of Bai Shu Society is an example, but he only dabbled in it.

Generally speaking, ordinary people don't have the opportunity to come into contact with the maze barriers used in large cities and ports.

Because of the different ways of learning, it was difficult for him to find someone who could communicate with him at that time, but the girl was an exception. Until she finished her studies and left Kapka.

Not long after that, he left Kapka and later joined Dawnstar.

After that, it was another different journey.

Olivia was 'gazing' at the edge of the sea and sky. A rocky island was floating past her sight. In the empty sea near the edge of the land, there were many bare rocky islands like this.

There is no life on it, and even no vegetation can grow. When the energy of the Guy Crystal is exhausted, they will slowly sink into the empty sea and disappear without a trace.

However, when the wind element layer changes, these rocky islands will occasionally be pushed out of the sea, allowing them to see the light of day again, just like the island groups that appeared when the Abyssal Slate appeared.

These islands along the coastline change day by day and rarely follow a fixed pattern, so their names are not marked on the maps and they are simply called reef belts.

"Ed," Olivia suddenly said softly, "Do you think that one day our world will sink under the sea of ​​clouds?"

"I heard that all countries are studying ways to fight against disasters. If the arrival of the evil star is inevitable, how can we save as many people as possible?"

Fang He was slightly stunned after hearing this.

It was not surprising that Olivia knew about the coming of the disaster. She was a visiting scholar of the White Tree Society and had experienced the Gray Disaster firsthand, so it was normal for her to know the inside story.

But he always felt that there was something else behind the girl's words——

Thinking of the commission given to him by the military, Fang He couldn't help but feel a little confused. Could it be that Olivia knew something about the Osu people's plan?

He couldn't help but look at the other person.

But Olivia seemed unable to sense his gaze and just stared blankly ahead.

To be honest, when Fang He saw her again this time, he felt that the girl had changed a lot. Although she seemed quiet and gentle when she was in Kapka, she was much more cheerful than now.

But now she seems to have a lot on her mind.

Moreover, he always felt that Olivia was actually approaching him intentionally, and he was no longer the ignorant boy he used to be. Thinking of what Miss Nightingale said, he couldn't help but think of many things.

Did Olivia come here for the White Tree Society?

Is her goal really the Fountain of Youth?

But he couldn't talk to her about the military mission, so he changed the subject subtly and talked about the pirates in this empty sea - this island chain was a hotbed of pirates in the Gulf region.

According to historical records, this is the place where pirates appear most frequently.

However, Catherine knew her colleagues and deliberately led the Seven Seas Storm to avoid the most dangerous areas, so the day was calm.

Olivia seemed to be aware of his intention, but she just smiled and did not refute him. She just continued with his topic.

The girl is still as considerate as she was back then.

For the next three days, the Seven Seas Storm continued to sail southward along the island chain. They could advance about 120 miles along the coast every day and soon arrived at the edge of the Nibom Province.

It is the southernmost of the three cities of the Gulf Alliance. The city is not built in the bay, but it has an affiliated port, which is the limit of the Gulf Alliance's control.

Going further south, we will enter the turbulent zone.

They agreed to meet up with the big cat people here. A day ago, Red had arrived at Nimber-Cetus by ship and brought a surprise:

Miss Atila came with him after she finished her work at the temple.

However, what made Fang He feel a little uneasy was that the maid also came with them. He knew that Elisa had written a letter to Silver Wind Harbor, the content of which he did not know.

Normally, Shesta would never leave Sylvie's side, but her arrival always made him smell something bad. Did Alisa say something behind his back?

But I haven't seen Miss Nightingale these days.

Because the female goat raised on the ship to provide dairy products unexpectedly became pregnant, this matter became the girls' top priority, of course, this was initiated by Tianlan.

Luo Hao thought that it was not realistic to induce labor on the ship, not to mention that a pregnant goat might not be able to be kept alive, and the baby might not be guaranteed to survive after giving birth. Moreover, in Ataria, goats are domesticated from blue sheep, and the pregnancy period is as long as five months. Everyone on the ship has their own duties, so how can they take care of a goat in this time?

But he was severely reprimanded by Tianlan, "In the future, the Seven Seas Traveler will also domesticate livestock. If you don't observe and accumulate experience now, how will you get this opportunity in the future?"

Luo Hao asked: "What about your Arrow-tailed Hawk?"

Then they were driven out by a group of ladies. More than half of the Arrow-tailed Hawks died in the air battle with Elpahin, and the last one disappeared when the Seven Seas Traveler was traveling through space.

He is just talking about things that are not related to the topic.

But not only the girls, Ian and his friends were also curious about this. After all, none of them had lived on the sea for a long time, and it was very novel for them to domesticate livestock on a ship, not to mention welcoming the birth of a future new life on the ship.

Finally, even Olivia joined in, and she finally integrated into the life on the ship. However, Miss Nightingale still had some complaints about this, thinking it was just a disguise.

She hadn't seen anyone these days because she had been monitoring him.

Earlier in the day, Box had pulled up a long-tailed mackerel from the sky, a winged flying fish that has long been considered a symbol of good luck in the sky.

Although Fang Plovers is skeptical about these legends, flying fish are rare in the empty sea, which may at least indicate that their reunion at the port of Nimbel-Cetus will be smooth.

Near noon, they saw a group of rare Volaticus whales on the starboard side of the Seven Seas Storm. These sea monsters, which had almost long been extinct in this sea area, alarmed everyone on the ship.

Everyone ran to the deck to see the wonder, and these gentle, flat giant whales revealed the honeycomb-like air cavity structure under their wings and greeted them from afar with their glowing scales.

Even Olivia couldn't help but use her crystal to capture this spectacle. "Ed, this might be a good sign."

"uncertain."

Fang He shook his head and looked at the dark clouds in the sky.

Volaticus whales are migratory creatures in the turbulent layer. Generally speaking, they will only fly from the lower layer of the sea of ​​clouds to the upper layer when there are drastic changes in the wind element layer.

In the past, the people of the Gulf viewed them as symbols of luck, partly because their appearance would bring storms, and Narsu's Mother of Storms was the patron saint of the Gulf in the past.

But these behemoths had not appeared in the Gulf for so long that people had forgotten their cultural significance. The port of Nimbel-Cetus was very close to a turbulent zone, and the appearance of the Volaticus whales was likely to herald a storm.

This made him think of the great storm in which Sergios was said to have disappeared.

The barometer in the core cabin on the lower deck also confirmed this. A rare and huge storm was brewing from the south of the Gulf region, which meant that they might have to stay in the port of Nimber-Cetus.

By evening, their luck had completely left them, as news came from the watchtower that there was an imperial fleet nearby.

"The Imperial Fleet?"

Luo Hao received the message from the observation tower and couldn't help cursing inwardly. He brought the message to Fang He, who asked in return, "What type of ship?"

"Small boat," Ian's voice came through the communication crystal, "Captain, this is a fifth-class cruiser, probably Storm-class, and there's an even smaller boat next to it."

"But they are guarding ahead of our route."

"Raise your weapons," Fang He's face was as gloomy as water, "get ready for battle."

The appearance of the Oshus alarmed everyone, even Olivia came to the conference room. "Maybe I can talk to them, Ed," she said, "The Star and Moon Council has an agreement with the Empire, and they cannot attack the research ship."

"We are not a research vessel," Fang He shook his head. The Imperials had deployed in front of their route with great fanfare, so they must have known their identities long ago and would not have let them get away with it so easily.

Although he was also a little curious, how did the Imperials know that the Seven Seas Storm was here?

Catherine chose those unknown routes, which were secrets known to few among pirates. This was entirely due to the fact that her father was a pirate king.

Although she did not gain anything from her father, she inherited his political legacy and became the co-leader of the Silver Chain Island Pirates. She learned all this knowledge since then.

Moreover, she had learned many secrets when she was trained in the Corrin-Ishurian Navy.

Even if the Blood Shark Pirates told the Empire about the secret route that only pirates knew, they might not know the route chosen by the Seven Seas Storm.

But now is not the time to discuss this. Ataria has thousands of spells, and maybe the imperial people have asked an astrologer for help.

However, the Seven Seas Storm was ready to fight. The Empire was acting strangely. When they approached to about an inch of space, the Empire actually signaled them with lantern language:

"Dear Mr. Dragon Alchemist, we mean no harm to you."

"What do they mean?"

Fang He was a little confused. The imperial people said they wanted to send someone on board for detailed discussions. Although the Storm-class ship was only a level five ship, it was a battleship, and the Seven Seas Storm was an armed pirate ship converted from a merchant ship.

Theoretically, the Imperials had to distance themselves from them and cooperate with the frigate next to them to stay away from the battle, which was a bit troublesome for them. After all, they were not on the Seven Seas Traveler at the moment.

But the other party actually came up to me on his own initiative?

Is there a dragon knight on the other ship?

But Fang He immediately denied this guess. If there were really dragon knights on those two boats, the other party would not have to do such a thing. Isn't the distance in the air just one step away for the dragon knight?

Fang He hesitated for a while, and finally agreed to the Empire's request. The situation couldn't possibly get worse anyway, so he might as well see what the Empire was up to.

So when the frigate approached to a distance of two or three hundred meters, a small boat was lowered from it, and then the small boat brought over the other party's first mate, a magician, and the captain and commander.

Fang He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw this configuration. It seemed that the Empire was indeed not playing any tricks, but what was the other party's purpose?

The Oshu envoy boarded the ship, and the magician immediately opened a soundproof shield, leaving only Fang He and a few others inside the shield. Then the captain, who looked quite old, spoke:

"Mr. Ed, although the Empire was once your enemy, it also acknowledges your performance during the Gray Plague. After all, our goal is to fight against the Final Plague."

"So please put away your hostility for now. We don't want to stop you from going to Nimber-Cetus Port. We just want to confirm one thing."

"Confirm one thing?"

Fang He was a little surprised. If the imperial fleet was not in this sea area to intercept them, then what was it for?

He couldn't help but think of what the Gulf Alliance reminded him. In fact, he was already prepared to notify the squadron at Stargate Port, but it seemed that the situation had changed.

"Yes," the Osu first mate nodded, "Dear Captain, we know that you are sailing south from Thousand Pillars Harbor. We would like to ask if you have encountered any ships from other empires during this journey."

The Imperials are looking for someone.

Fang He immediately realized this and feared that a sailboat had gone missing from the Empire, with some important person on board.

But he shook his head. They had indeed not encountered any imperial ships along the way south along Volaticus. Not to mention imperial ships, in fact, this was the first time they had encountered any other ships.

The older captain turned around, and the wizard beside him nodded to him immediately. Fang He actually knew that there was a realm of honesty in the light curtain held up by the wizard.

He was a Book Knight, and he realized from the beginning that this matter was not simple, but he did not object. After all, he had nothing to hide about this matter.

The captain then turned around and saluted him. "Thank you very much. We have confirmed that everything is correct. Sorry for wasting your time. We will immediately clear the channel for you to pass."

"Then, please excuse me."

Fang He also returned the greeting.

He sent the Oshuites away and returned to the meeting room. It was obvious that the others already knew the result of the negotiations.

"The Empire is looking for someone?" Alice couldn't help but ask, "What's going on?"

Fang He shook his head and looked at Olivia on the side, feeling that the other party might know some inside information.

But Olivia avoided his gaze and pretended not to 'see' this scene. She just sat in her seat and pretended to listen.

...(End of chapter)