Chapter 442 Fortune Descends

Having already obtained the Horned Shark Gang's core address from Hera at the Three-Legged Sea Dog, Xia Nan's group executed their plan flawlessly.

With the Baron's guards assisting them, the thugs in the Saltwater District weren't blind enough to provoke official law enforcers from the Governor's Mansion.

They encountered no resistance along the way. After leaving the Baron Mansion, they rushed to the Horned Shark Gang's stronghold as fast as possible.

The guards even cordoned off the entrances and exits of the nearby streets and alleys.

As for the result... it was exactly as Xia Nan had predicted:

Deserted and empty.

It looked as though they had prepared to evacuate long ago. The stronghold was stripped clean; not a single copper coin was left behind.

By the time Xia Nan and the others arrived, the two-story building was a complete mess. They couldn't find anything useful, let alone clues pointing to the Horned Shark Gang's current whereabouts.

"But at least this further proves the gang is suspicious."

If they had just randomly kidnapped a passerby, a gang with Class Holders like the Horned Shark Gang would never have caused such a massive stir, acting so decisively as to abandon their own lair.

Such behavior was absolutely abnormal!

It was impossible not to connect the Horned Shark Gang's unusual actions to the disappearance of Baron Farrow's daughter the day before.

Xia Nan stood among the scattered debris. Walking slowly, his attention highly focused, he spread his Perception to carefully search for anything suspicious.

As a Druid, Hein also possessed a decent Perception attribute. With the help of Ayin on her wrist, girl and snake navigated through the piles of clutter in the room.

The twin Warriors following her seemed to know they lacked expertise in this area, keeping their mouths shut and peacefully acting as guards. One trailed behind Hein to handle any emergencies, while the other stood quietly at the door, taking sole charge of keeping watch outside.

Time slipped by quietly. After thirty minutes, Xia Nan and Hein had scoured the entire building—falling just short of digging up the foundation to check—yet their gains were meager.

Staring at a rusty blade dug out from a corner, his gaze swept over its Attribute Panel floating in the void. Seeing nothing unusual, he casually tossed it back into the pile of trash on the floor.

Xia Nan turned to look at Hein on the other side of the room. She happened to glance over at the same time, and their eyes met.

The Druid shrugged.

"Looks like we won't find any useful clues here," Hein said helplessly, her tone tinged with disappointment.

"I remember there are tracking spells, right?" His dark eyes shifted slightly, lingering on the [Practice Staff] at the Druid's waist. "Do you know any?"

"They exist, sure..." Hein's expression grew hesitant. She lowered her head and glanced at the garbage on the floor again. "But they have certain activation requirements."

She was a Spellcaster, yes, but that didn't mean she had mastered every spell of her corresponding level in this world.

For one thing, as a Druid of the Coral Society, her spell list was inherently restricted to a relatively narrow scope. She faced limitations on learning and memorizing spells, making her far less flexible than a proper mage.

For another, reality was not a game.

It wasn't as if your Class Level would just increase with a "ding" and a skill tree would inexplicably pop up in front of you to choose from at will.

Aside from the few "innate spells" granted by their school or bloodline, Spellcasters who wanted to expand their spell lists truly had to stay up late and work hard. They had to memorize texts book by book, engrave the spell models into their minds, remember the mental energy pathways for each spell, and familiarize themselves thoroughly with the necessary casting materials and incantations.

Often, even for the most basic [Light] spell, Spellcasters had to spend many days and nights conducting targeted research just to push its brightness, duration, and range to an ideal level.

And as long as someone was human—or rather, any intelligent creature—their energy was ultimately limited.

Even if a treasure trove containing all the spells in the world were placed in front of them, very few would have the time to delve fully into it.

After all, to some extent, tempering mental energy to raise one's Class Level offered a much higher return on investment than blindly expanding one's spell list at lower tiers.

The terrifying power of a 3rd Circle [Fireball] was something no variety of Zero Circle Cantrips could ever match.

Furthermore, spellbooks were expensive on the Aifala Continent. Even if you specifically wanted to learn a certain spell, you might not necessarily find a reliable spell model for it.

Facing their current situation, Hein might be a Spellcaster, but in reality, she didn't necessarily know more than Xia Nan did.

"I think... perhaps we can ask the nearby residents about the situation. We might find something," Hein suggested.

Hein's expression looked a bit embarrassed. As if to alleviate the awkwardness, she deliberately raised her right hand and wiped nonexistent sweat from her forehead.

Xia Nan naturally had no objections to the Druid's proposal.

At the same time, his sharp Perception caught a flash of purple and blue at her right cuff when she raised her hand.

"Is that your fleet's tattoo?" Xia Nan asked casually as he signaled the twin Warrior guarding nearby, walking toward the building's exit alongside Hein.

The same tattoo also appeared on the side of the twin Warriors' necks.

Xia Nan had originally assumed it held no special meaning, but seeing that Hein had one too sparked his interest.

Hein froze for a moment, but quickly realized what he meant.

Showing no intent to hide it, she instead revealed a deep sense of pride as she rolled up her sleeve, showing Xia Nan the specific pattern of the tattoo:

Two crossed, dripping bloody scimitars.

"The 'Blade of Vengeance'—that's our fleet's flag!"

At the mention of her team's name, Hein's voice grew a bit louder.

"So every Adventurer in your team has this tattoo?"

"Of course!" Hein waved her arm at Xia Nan. "Or rather, only official members have the right to bear the team's flag on their bodies."

Xia Nan remained noncommittal.

He respected the local customs of this world and completely understood the maritime culture of the Druid's fleet.

But if it were him, unless the team had truly done a lot for him and earned his absolute loyalty, he would never put such a mark on his body.

For one thing, tattoos were incredibly troublesome to remove—they would stay on the skin practically until death. If his mindset changed in the future and he regretted it, he wouldn't be able to wash it off, so it was better not to get one in the first place.

For another, it stemmed from a certain infatuation with his own perfect body. He had painstakingly honed it into its current state through rigorous training; how could he let some inexplicable pattern obstruct the smooth, aesthetically powerful lines of his muscles?

In comparison, the name "Blade of Vengeance" that Hein mentioned drew far more of Xia Nan's attention.

Every day he lived in Barracuda Bay, he earnestly caught up on his studies, urgently gathering all sorts of intelligence about the coastal town.

Naturally, he had heard of the Blade of Vengeance adventuring party.

He had heard it was a fairly famous adventure fleet in the bay, tempered through years of experience.

Its overall strength was far greater than the Flying Fish Oil Barrel. Over the years, it had grown into a mid-sized team with considerable fame across the entire Southern Archipelagos.

Anyone who had spent a few years at Wave-Breaking Wharf would definitely have heard its name.

Of course, Xia Nan had only briefly glanced at the name of this adventure fleet while brushing up on the relevant factions of the Southern Archipelagos. He had casually committed it to memory, leaving an impression without digging any deeper, so he didn't know its exact membership composition.

Now, suddenly hearing this familiar name from Hein, he was inevitably a little surprised.

"So when you went back to the tavern earlier, you went to report to your captain?"

"Yeah!" Hein nodded. "The captain was the one who offered to let me bring Ryan and Gordon along."

She sure was trusting.

Given the scarcity and importance of Spellcasters in a conventional Adventurer party, if Xia Nan were her captain, even if he didn't follow her personally, he would have at least called back the teammates enjoying themselves at the casino and wine tables to protect her.

After all, they had known each other for less than a day. Hein didn't discuss much about her own team with Xia Nan; after a brief chat, she quickly changed the subject.

The twin Warriors continued to follow silently in tow. The group left the Horned Shark Gang's stronghold, planning to ask the ordinary civilians living nearby about their target.

Unexpectedly, just as they stepped out of the small building and were still deep within Winding Alley...

An inexplicable clamor suddenly drifted out from an inconspicuous house by the side of the road.

Perhaps it was an unlicensed establishment known only to locals. This roadside shop had no sign hanging outside; from the exterior, it looked no different from an ordinary civilian house.

Yet Xia Nan could hear the lively voices inside, as well as the distinct noise of numerous dice violently rattling against wooden cups.

—A small casino.

What gave him a strange sense of déjà vu was the faint undertone of commotion and restlessness mingling with the noise.

His Perception kicked in. Almost on intuition, he stopped in his tracks and stood still.

"What's wrong?" Hein turned back in confusion, the twin Warriors also looking at him with bewildered expressions.

Xia Nan didn't answer immediately; instead, he inexplicably began to count down in his mind:

'Three, two, one...'

"Creak."

The casino door was abruptly pushed open from the inside.

A white feather on a soft pointed hat swayed gently in the wind, and a pair of small, high-top leather boots embroidered with four-leaf clovers stepped out one after the other.

A short Halfling, beaming with a bright smile, stepped lightly out the door, tossing a copper coin up and down in his hand.

The moment he looked up, the first person he spotted was the young, black-haired Adventurer across the street.

His smile grew even more enthusiastic. He stood on his tiptoes, waving his hand, and called out loudly, "Xia Nan! Over here, Xia Nan!"

"..."

Xia Nan had intended not to drag the little guy into a dispute that had absolutely nothing to do with him. However, if they happened to run into each other on the street and he just turned and ran without even saying hello, it would seem far too exaggerated and deliberate. That was why he had stopped when he noticed the commotion.

And when Alton familiarly struck up a conversation with Hein and the twin Warriors, before asking Xia Nan about their purpose for being there...

Xia Nan naturally couldn't brush him off or lie.

Thus, the subsequent turn of events was obvious.

Upon learning that Xia Nan and the others were searching for Baron Farrow's missing daughter, Alton eagerly volunteered to join the mission, even though it had nothing to do with him.

Very few would reject a Halfling's harmless enthusiasm, especially when they were favored by the Goddess of Luck.

"So, do you know any tracking skills? Similar to the one the Half-Elf in the Silver Claw Osprey squad used back on Cliff Rock Island?" Xia Nan asked the little guy, harboring a shred of hope.

"I don't!" Alton answered in a high-pitched voice. Before anyone could respond, he dragged out the last syllable as if keeping them in suspense, "But..."

The Halfling grinned, tossing the copper coin in his hand.

"The Lady is very satisfied with my Sacrificial Ritual over the past few days."

"You mean..." Because the title "Tymora's Brow" was so famous in Barracuda Bay, combined with the commotion in the casino and Alton's identity as a Halfling, Hein could roughly guess that the "Lady" he respectfully referred to was the Goddess of Luck.

Hearing him say this, she instantly perked up.

"What do we need to do? Do we need to prepare offerings? Or go in and gamble a few rounds?" she pressed urgently.

In response, Alton only answered with three words: "I don't know!"

"Uh... you don't know?"

"I just don't know." Alton's attention was suddenly drawn to a seagull flying overhead. He tilted his head back, tracking the soaring bird across the street. "Just let nature take its course!"

Hein didn't understand, nor did she know how to respond. She could only look at Xia Nan in bewilderment, hoping he could help explain the "Zen" in his little friend's words.

However, as soon as she turned her head, she realized that Xia Nan was staring intently at the coin flipping in the Halfling's hand... No, his gaze wasn't focused on the coin, but rather further back...

Hein subconsciously followed Xia Nan's line of sight.

She suddenly froze.

"That's..."

Entering her vision was a familiar figure she had seen earlier that day.

A tall street thug with his right hand wrapped in bandages was walking out of the casino, sighing heavily. His dispirited appearance made it look as if he had lost his entire life savings.

It was one of the two underlings who had been following behind the "Bloody-Nosed Rat" Jerry earlier!

Hein felt her heart skip a beat, as if an unseen hand had quietly pushed the mission forward.

"Smack."

The coin fell lightly into the Halfling's palm. He closed his fingers, gripping it tightly.

"How about it, did you find a clue?" Alton asked the two of them, still wearing that grinning expression.