I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 528 The Lively Scene on Casarina Island
Just as the Storm, dragging its battered hull and laden with spoils and prisoners, quietly disappeared into the night-shrouded sea, heading back towards Bagnia.

Far to the west, in another sea area bordering the elven territory, the outpost colony of the Macon Alliance... Casarina Island, however, was experiencing a completely different night, filled with sliminess and a fishy stench.

……

Even as winter approaches, the nights on Casarina Island still carry a lingering, pungent smell of snakes.

Sentinel Haske leaned against the rough wooden railing of the watchtower, using his flintlock pistol as a crutch, struggling against his heavy eyelids.

The sea breeze tonight was unusually salty and fishy, ​​making the small, scabbed wounds on his face itchy and uncomfortable.

The moon wasn't even in the center of the night sky yet when Haske started to feel sleepy, his eyelids drooping.

It's not his fault; he didn't get any sleep during the day.

The snake people on the island are really annoying. Even though winter is approaching and the mercenaries from the Kingdom of Bagnia are terrifying, they still don't want to die out completely or simply leave Casarina Island and the nearby islands.

Sure enough, during the day today, a small group of snake people suddenly jumped out from the dock and killed several sailors from the Macon Union who had just arrived on the island.

This enraged the officer in charge of dock security, putting the entire Casarina dock on high alert. In particular, the lower-ranking soldiers were put to the test, with everyone mobilized to deal with the snake people.

Haske yawned, blinked hard at his dry eyes, then rubbed them, his gaze habitually sweeping over the small patch of sea below, barely illuminated by the tower lights.

The seawater, tinged with a dark, inky blue at the edges of the lights, gently lapped against the wooden pier pillars and rocks.

Everything seemed normal.

No.

Haske paused, his eyes narrowing slightly as he stared intently at the water where the light met the darkness.

Something's... not right.

Having grown up by the sea, Haske is all too familiar with it; the waves there seem unusually dense.

It didn't resemble the undulations of natural ocean waves; instead, it looked as if countless tiny, slippery things were churning underwater. Moreover, the water was a deeper color than it had been not long ago, with an ominous, oily sheen.

Are they a school of fish?
Impossible. After the snake-man attack, there were hardly any decent fish to be seen in the surrounding waters.

Is it an illusion of light and shadow?

He shook his head vigorously and looked again.

This time, he saw it much more clearly. In the instant the light flickered, he caught a glimpse of a long, thin shadow, flashing like a ghost underwater. The outline of that shadow... was definitely not any known marine creature!

Then, more ripples spread out quietly in a way that defied common sense, as if a large number of long, thin objects were crawling silently and swiftly toward the dock, clinging to the seabed.

A chill instantly shot from the soles of Haske's feet to the top of his head, and all his drowsiness was dispelled by this icy fear!

It wasn't just a small group of snake people causing trouble... this scale...

Haske gasped for breath, his chest burning with extreme terror. Then, almost instinctively, he turned and lunged at the rusty alarm bell hanging in the center of the watchtower, and rang it with all his might.

"Dang...dang...dang..."

The sharp, loud chimes instantly shattered the false tranquility of Casarina Island.

Almost at the same time the bell rang, the water surface that Haske had been staring at suddenly burst open, and countless fish-like bodies covered with slippery scales and withered, thin bodies broke out of the water.

Armed with rusty but deadly harpoons and bone knives, they pounced on the nearby docks and moored ships like demons from the abyss.

……

The game's realism might frustrate some newcomers, but it's incredibly enjoyable for many veteran players. Olaf, for example, found the game incredibly fun, especially after reaching a certain reputation level and finding a game mod developed by a kind developer offline. Once that mod was integrated into the game, he discovered his lever was working.

Although using it once will deduct a certain amount of reputation points, isn't this the moment we've been saving up reputation points for so long?

Just like now, he occupied the most spacious corner of the tavern, one hand gripping a large wooden mug that could hold a pint of ale, tilting his head back and gulping down cheap rum, while the other arm was around the most beautiful and voluptuous waitress in the local tavern, his hand reaching deep into her skirt to dig water from the abyss.

The maid also cried out, her voice wanton. She pretended to be dissatisfied, but her struggling movements were no different from flirting, and her thighs spread wider and wider as she swayed.

The water was flowing gurglingly.

When Olaf finished the last sip of his drink, he was so thirsty he could practically tear his pants open and leap out to charge into battle.

However, just as Olaf was getting impatient and, not caring that they were in a tavern, stood up to take off his pants...

"Dang...dang...dang..."

The urgent, sharp, and extremely penetrating alarm bells tore through the murky air in the tavern without warning, like three red-hot iron hooks piercing Olaf's eardrums and extinguishing the fire in his crotch.

"Holy shit!!!"

He roared, startling the maid in his arms, who screamed and tumbled off the bench, overturning the beer barrel and spilling beer all over the floor.

The entire tavern fell silent instantly, with only the clanging of the bells still echoing overhead.

The irritable Nordic player's neck swelled to a purplish-red color at a visible speed, and the veins on his forehead throbbed like a cable snapping.

"Who the hell dares to ruin my plans?!"

He kicked the table over, scattering wooden cups, dice, and candlesticks everywhere.

Before the sailors nearby could even move aside, he shoved them, stool and all, into the corner with his large, fan-like hand.

"My reputation, and the Abyss Exploration Easter Egg I just unlocked!!!"

He roared, spitting as he spewed saliva onto the ceiling.

The next second, a large hand reached into his lower back and pulled out a short-handled battle axe with double blades with a clang... The axe blade was still covered with bloodstains left from when he was cutting snakes earlier that day, and it gleamed with a foul, eerie light in the candlelight.

"Fine, fine, you want to fight, huh? I'll chop you down tonight until your own mothers won't recognize you!"

Olaf, too lazy to even button his shirt, angrily bared his hairy chest and kicked open the tavern door. The door frame slammed against the wall with a loud bang, making the "Pirate's Delight" sign creak and shake.

The night wind, carrying the salty smell of fish and the sound of alarm bells, rushed in, making his disheveled beard look like a burning flag.

From the direction of the dock, flames soared into the sky, turning the sea surface blood red. The screams, the whistling of harpoons cutting through the air, and the crisp sound of planks being split all blended into a bloodthirsty welcoming symphony.

Olaf spat the axe handle into his palm, swung it around once, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and in his large, bell-like eyes, the two balls of anger were completely replaced by a warlike excitement.

"You little bastards, your grandpa Olaf is here!!!"

Before the roar had even faded, Olaf had already transformed into a ferocious bear in human skin, charging wildly down the stone path.

Wherever it went, vendors' stalls were blown away, chicken coops were kicked open, and feathers and dust mixed together to form a violent trail.

Only in the tavern behind him remained, the half-naked waitress leaning against the window, watching his departing figure, licking her lips in a state of shock.

"...This madman is really making me sweat."

(End of this chapter)