After mastering the resurrection technique, they begged me to extend their lives.

Chapter 81 Coral Sea

The ships docked at the pier were enormous.

They thought that as long as they could go to sea, that would be fine, but little fox had prepared a pirate ship with 24 sails. There were quite a few sailors, including a captain, a helmsman, a gunner, and a lookout—supposedly to be responsible for defending against pirates from other forces.

In addition to the large ship, four medium and small boats followed, carrying a number of thugs with red turbans around their heads, their eyes fierce, and their average level as high as LV35.

They were Edward's younger brother, used as escort fleet members and for clearing the way and observing the sea.

This scale far exceeded An Xiao's expectations.

"Welcome aboard the 'Azure Light Chaser'. I am Captain Kunka, and I will now introduce the configuration for this voyage."

"12 experienced sailors, 12 elite Edward Brotherhood sailors, one ocean voyage ship, 4 escort ships, fully equipped with shipboard cannons, and enough food to last for 3 months."

"...

"Oh right, you said you wanted to stop in the Radel Jungle to pick up some demi-humans to travel with you, right?"

Kunka, a man in his fifties wearing a dark red mask, approached An Xiao and her group after they boarded the ship and asked them questions.

"Yes."

Although she didn't know why the equipment for going to sea was so luxurious, which seemed like using a cannon to kill a mosquito, An Xiao didn't say much. She just looked at the three giant sails on the mainmast, saw the evil-repelling and wind-proof runes drawn on them, and nodded in response.

"What kind of demi-human is it? Some demi-humans are not suited for sailing, and some get seasick, especially on such a long route—"

I need to let you know about this in advance.

The old captain seemed quite responsible, but he never expected that An Xiao's answer would be—"Harp."

"You mean—those bandits from the Radel Jungle, the ones who have repeatedly robbed caravans, the ones long wanted by the Adventurers' Guild, are going to come sailing with us?"

"Yes."

An Xiao felt a little embarrassed.

He quickly added, "I can assure you that they will be absolutely obedient to me and will not interfere with your command of the ship."

"Absolute obedience?"

Such an explanation seemed rather unconvincing. A hint of hesitation flashed in Cuenca's eyes before he finally responded:

"Alright then, I'll go discuss it with my older brother."

"it is good."

An Xiao watched him turn and walk towards the cabin door.

Beside him, the little fox tugged at his sleeve and asked, "An Xiao, when did you get involved with those harpies? — Don't you know? The people of Stardust Harbor hate those female bandits the most. They have a nickname: female goblins — because they can't do anything but plunder and are completely unable to support themselves."

"Well--"

"By the way, are they also your creations?"

"A few are exceptions, the rest are not."

An Xiao revealed this with a sense of helplessness.

"Huh?!"

The little fox was unaware of his previous encounter in the forest and was about to ask him something, but seeing his unwilling expression, she stopped herself from speaking.

"Okay, then I won't ask anymore."

She chuckled and went to greet the half-skilled sailors on the ship, telling them to be polite to the people here later.

The sailors all knew Hoshimi, so they all nodded perfunctorily, indicating that they would.

An Xiao saw it all.

Not long after.

The captain indeed brought new feedback: "As long as they don't move around or fly around recklessly, and don't disturb us, Brother Edward is willing to give them a ride."

"it is good."

An Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at her team's lineup.

Sword Maiden, Princess, Hela, Vita, Little Raven, and more than ten eaglets that will be joining the team soon.

Regarding loyalty, there's really no need to guarantee anything.

Once they see the collars and rings on the harpies' necks, they'll probably understand why they're so certain.

Master-slave contracts are no joke.

"set sail--!"

Lots of money, lots of money —

Without any delay, Cuenca announced the start of the voyage.

An Xiao stood at the bow of the ship, observing the structure of the entire large vessel.

On the wide and sturdy deck, there were high-grade anti-slip textured wooden planks.

On both sides of the ship are fixed magic cannon mounts and emergency fishing nets.

The sailors and gunners were all ready, their faces solemn.

At this moment, the anchor is raised and the mast is hoisted.

"Brother An Xiao, the upper deck of our ship is a lounge specifically reserved for your people. It has a simple magical barrier to ensure privacy and security. The middle deck is a supply storage room and Brother Edward's rest room, and the lower deck is the sailors' area. Don't let those harpies go there."

At that moment, a kind-looking demi-human came over and gave a reminder.

"OK."

An Xiao glanced at the other person and realized that he seemed to be a stone-skinned person she had never seen before.

This humanoid creature, also known as the "Rockman," is extremely rare.

The other person said, "My name is Hogan, and I am Miss Hoshimi's bodyguard. I have come here on the orders of my master to accompany her. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Hogan said in a low voice.

In fact, he was quite surprised to see An Xiao again.

After all, he had already witnessed An Xiao being captured by the harpy leader Saroo Windcutter and taken to his lair, where he faced the lustful gazes of more than sixty harpies. It was no exaggeration to say that he had a slim chance of survival.

Now, not only has he emerged unharmed, but even the harpies have become his people and want to accompany him.

This is something Hogan cannot understand.

When I went to Brother Edward for help, he politely declined.

The reason is that the Brotherhood is also unable to effectively manage the harpy settlement, and even if assassins are sent to infiltrate the stronghold now, it may already be too late; An Xiao will undoubtedly be completely wiped out.

Therefore, the Brotherhood did not take any action.

Hogan felt that he owed An Xiao a favor.

I feel very guilty for not being able to help.

"Young man An Xiao, regarding the route, it will take them at least 7 days and at most half a month. It depends on the wind and waves they encounter after entering the open sea, so it's hard to say exactly."

"Is the error really that big?" An Xiao asked in surprise.

"Yes, sometimes there are sea monsters, and sometimes we encounter pirates."

Hogan clicked his tongue and said, "For example, last time, I heard that they had just set sail when they were surrounded by a bunch of colorful things in the coral reefs. It seems that they had to hand over all their food and equipment to escape."

"What are those colorful things?"

An Xiao became curious.

My first thought was that it was some kind of aquatic monster, like an octopus monster or something.

However, Hogan's words caused his expression to freeze on the spot—

"They are fish-men."

'

""

"I don't know what's going on lately, but large numbers of merfolk are migrating from the Swamp Kingdom towards our area—"

Hogan murmured, "Originally, the Honduran Swamp Kingdom was their territory, but recently I've seen not only murloc warriors coming, but also murloc prophets, murloc warlocks, and murloc high priests—"

It looked to me like the whole family was moving.

Moreover, according to scouts, the murlocs were so numerous they practically covered the entire shallows. Even the goblins of Stardust Harbor couldn't handle them all.

Hogan sighed helplessly and shook his head repeatedly.

But at this point, An Xiao had completely lost interest in listening.

His attention was focused on only one thing: "Wasn't Mr. Edward here last time?"

Hogan thought for a moment and replied, "Yes, last time only a small team went out, so they were ambushed."

However, the merman prophet named "Ink Tide" seemed quite reasonable. He understood Common Tongue and claimed that his tribe was not the bloodthirsty type, even saying that he could make trade with his good friends in Stardust Harbor.

"

'

.

An Xiao's face was gloomy.

He silently gazed at the surrounding sea.

The large ship moves forward.

It has already left the port.

The sails on the mast fluttered loudly.

All the sailors remained at their posts, doing their jobs like machines.

An Xiao squinted, gazing at the horizon and watching the direction the fleet was heading.

"Brother, what's wrong? Are you alright?"

On the Creation Channel, a sensitive person named Ai Li sent a message of concern.

Hino and Vita also joined the channel, while Hela was lying under the parasol with Xiao An in her arms, enjoying the sea breeze and the sea view, unaware of anything unusual.

"Um."

An Xiao paused for a moment, then immediately started a group chat in the Creation Channel:

If I remember correctly, the direction of the Radel Jungle doesn't seem to be the direction we're currently heading.

The women: [?!]

I told them I'd go to the jungle to pick up Nivea and the others first, and the captain agreed, but now we're heading in the wrong direction.

An Xiao remained calm and tried hard to recall the intelligence information she had at hand.

About Edward—

[A former defector from Imperial Intelligence Bureau 8, a member of the leadership, possessing considerable personal strength (level 46), but with no hope of promotion, he fled the Empire with a large number of secret documents and treasures. After wandering through several locations, he finally settled in Stardust Harbor, where he built up and expanded his power.]

"Edward changed his name many times and never showed his true face."

But one thing is certain: he had a great fondness for making ill-gotten gains. He would consider doing anything to get rich, whether it was murder or arson.

"There's another clue here, concerning the merman prophet 'Ink Tide'."

In the original setting materials, this group was a force that was eliminated by the Honduran Swamp Kingdom.

Because the fishmen have an extremely high reproductive rate, like locusts, the resources of the swamp kingdom newly established by the snake people are severely depleted, making further development impossible.

After consulting with the lizardmen, the snake witch allied with the lizard pharaoh and launched a large-scale war, driving out all the fishmen, leaving them homeless.

The tribes of the Ink Tide are one such force.

As luck would have it, Mo Chao, as a merfolk prophet, and his faction, revered the "ancestral totem of humanity" —

In other words, they rely on sacrificial rituals to pray to the "Fishman God" and in return receive some mysterious "race-wide buffs".

So now the question is...

"The captain gathered us on the deck and assigned four elite thugs to monitor us in an X-shape on both sides. The course was reversed, and we sped off at full speed toward some unknown place."

"If I'm not mistaken, our destination is probably not Endedes."

"It's actually the 'coral shoals' where the merfolk reside."