Chapter 253: The Journey of the Viscount's Second Son (2)

The eastern sky had just turned a pale, fish-belly white. Puddles still clung to the wooden deck of the Sea Wolf as it cut through the waves. Edie Campbell rested his hands on the waist-high railing, eyes narrowed as he breathed in the damp air and savored the sea breeze.

Edie let out a long breath.

The weather at sea was fickle. A sudden squall of heavy rain and fierce waves the night before had given everyone on board a taste of the ocean's foul temper. The violently pitching ship had left many vomiting profusely.

That included Edie's merchant friend. Poor Milne had thrown up until he lost all his strength, and he was now lying in a hammock like a dead dog.

As a Level 7 Mid-Tier Warrior, Edie possessed a body far stronger than an ordinary person's. The turbulence from the wind and waves hadn't affected him much, but the horrific stench of vomit had made the young noble miserable. That was why he had come up to the deck so early in the morning.

Edie wasn't the only one. Many passengers couldn't stomach the stench and had gotten up early for some fresh air on deck.

Rising even earlier than the passengers were the sailors of the Sea Wolf. They—or rather, these creatures—were hoisting the sails and mopping the wooden deck under the loud commands of the murloc first mate.

The dense oak deck was coated with a layer of resin, making it highly waterproof. Since the accumulated water couldn't seep through, it had to be mopped up manually.

"Hey, mister. Please step aside."

The common tongue, spoken with a strange accent, reached Edie's ears. He turned and saw a Black-Scaled Fishman standing behind him with a rag. This was one of the ship's crew members.

Edie smiled and nodded at the fishman, moving to a spot that had already been cleaned. After their brief interactions yesterday, Edie could no longer view these monsters from the Overseas Archipelago as ordinary beasts.

Other than their appearance, these monsters from the Overseas Archipelago were no different from humans.

Edie wasn't alone in this. Most of the passengers on board felt the same way.

In fact, Edie felt that the monsters on this ship were superior to most of the commoners back in Red River City. It was hard to put into words, but he found these creatures to be full of vigor, tackling their tasks with boundless enthusiasm.

Even though Nordhill was a tremendously powerful plane with a highly developed magical civilization, its precious resources were monopolized by the ruling class, represented by the nobility. Commoners never got to enjoy the conveniences brought by magic. They lived lives akin to those in medieval Europe, where spiritual numbness had become the norm.

Yet these supposedly savage and backward monsters all maintained an excellent mental outlook. This surprised Edie greatly and piqued his curiosity.

"Hey, fishman, can we chat for a bit?"

The busy Black-Scaled Fishman kept his hands moving but turned his head to look at the human who had asked.

"Of course, guest from afar. Also, my name is Kem Darktide."

"Hello, Kem. Could you tell me a little about your homeland?"

When traveling to an unfamiliar place in search of opportunities, one had to understand the environment first. The most effective, and cheapest, way to do that was to ask a local.

At the mention of his homeland, Kem paused his work and spoke with pride.

"My home is on Raging Tide Island. That's the territory of our Dark Tide Clan. That's right, territory! It was a reward bestowed upon our Dark Tide Clan by the master of the archipelago—His Excellency the White Dragon Lord. You might not know this, but our Dark Tide Clan was among the very first murlocs to follow His Excellency the White Dragon Lord..."

Edie patiently listened to the fishman recount the glorious history of the Dark Tide Clan, but what he wanted to know most wasn't history, but the current state of the Overseas Archipelago.

"The Dark Tide Clan truly is remarkable. Since Raging Tide Island was bestowed by His Excellency the White Dragon Lord, does the Dark Tide Clan have any special privileges?"

Kem was delighted by the human's compliment.

"Privileges? Of course! We only have to turn over seventy percent of the tax revenue from Raging Tide Island to White Castle. The remaining thirty percent is kept by the Dark Tide Clan to be used wherever it's needed, like repairing the hatching pools, or building a few more schools..."

Edie was shocked to hear the word "schools."

"Schools?! The Dark Tide Clan builds schools?"

"Of course! About fifty years ago, His Excellency the White Dragon Lord personally issued a decree: every settlement must have a school, and every underage murloc must attend school to study until they master basic literacy and general knowledge of the archipelago."

Kem shrugged at the dumbfounded human.

"Of course, the teachers at these primary schools can only teach basic knowledge. Beyond those, some schools also teach advanced subjects like magic and martial arts. Those higher academies aren't places just any ordinary murloc can enter; it requires a certain amount of talent, and money."

"But His Excellency the White Dragon Lord is incredibly merciful. He provides loans for us ordinary murlocs. We just have to pay them back after graduation. And if we achieve excellent grades and join one of White Castle's official institutions, the debt is completely forgiven."

"I'm currently working hard to save money to pay off my debt. Oh, I forgot to mention, I'm a Tier 2 Warrior."

With that, Kem demonstrated his Qi. Edie looked at the faint energy in the fishman's hands and nodded. He hadn't expected this unassuming creature to be a professional.

Edie shot a quick glance at the fishman's spindly limbs. Being a Warrior was a profession that relied on physical strength, and murlocs had frail bodies. He estimated that this fishman's actual combat power was probably on par with an ordinary human veteran.

Of course, it would be an entirely different story if they were in the water.

"Could you tell me more about the academy system in the Overseas Archipelago? I'm extremely curious."

"Our schools here are divided into ordinary schools and magic-martial academies. The ordinary schools only teach general knowledge. The magic-martial academies are split into three levels: primary, intermediate, and high."

"Primary magic-martial academies are the most common; there are at least a thousand of them. There are only fifty-six intermediate magic-martial academies, and just five high magic-martial academies."

"In addition to those, there are also special academies, like the alchemy academies dedicated to training alchemical talents, military academies that supply personnel for the White Castle army, and the most powerful of them all, the Holy Dragon Academy. But the Holy Dragon Academy is only open to absolute geniuses and the descendants of those who have made immense contributions to White Castle."

Kem's tone was full of reverence for the Holy Dragon Academy, while Edie was staggered by the revelation.

Even in the Horn Kingdom, a kingdom with thousands of years of history, there were no more than thirty academies capable of teaching magic and martial arts. Yet the Overseas Archipelago had...

The fishman smiled at the stunned Edie. This wasn't the first human to be so thoroughly shocked that they questioned their entire existence. He turned back and continued his work.

It wasn't long before Edie snapped out of his daze. Seeing the fishman already busy working again, he swallowed hard.

The Overseas Archipelago, which he had imagined to be a savage wasteland, was actually more developed than the ancient Horn Kingdom.

Edie finally understood why he saw such great vitality in these monsters. The level of development in the Overseas Archipelago was in no way inferior to those powerful nations in the South.

It was a pity that he and the others were so ill-informed they still thought this was a barbaric land. Edie laughed mockingly at himself while feeling even more excited about his journey. He went on to gather information from others...

Over an hour later, Edie noticed a few fishmen gathered at the bow of the ship, including Kem Darktide. They were chattering away in the murloc language, discussing something.

Then, under the curious gazes of the passengers, several fishmen dragged a massive fishing net and dove straight off the ship into the ocean.

Everyone flocked to the railing to watch. The wind and waves were mild at the moment. The fishmen dragged the open net underwater until they disappeared from sight. At the same time, the ship slowed down.

A dark, burly man marveled aloud.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. This sure is convenient. If they want to eat fish, they just drag a net into the sea to get some."

A junior Mage wearing robes rolled his eyes.

"It's not as easy as you think. The ocean is no less dangerous than a forest. Didn't you see the harpoons on their backs? Just like human hunters heading into the woods, they're risking their lives to hunt."

A gnoll sailor chimed in smugly.

"You're both wrong. It isn't easy for murlocs to fish in the sea, but they don't have to risk their lives either."

Seeing everyone's attention shift to him, the gnoll began explaining this novel fishing method.

"I say it isn't easy because the hardest part of this method is locating the schools of fish, and other predators frequently appear around those schools."

"But I say it isn't hard because the murloc armies regularly clear out highly dangerous Transcendent creatures in the ocean. Most of the time, our brave murloc sailors won't run into overly troublesome predators. If all goes well, we'll have fresh seafood for lunch today."

"So that's how it is..."

It suddenly dawned on everyone.

Over an hour later, the fishmen returned with their spoils—a net full of thrashing sea fish.

Amidst the cheers of the passengers, the sailors worked together to haul the net onto the ship, and the fish flopped wildly across the deck.

Edie had sharp eyes. He immediately spotted two sea fish bearing silver stripes among the catch, and his pupils shrank.

"Good heavens! Silverthread Fish!"

The Silverthread Fish was a precious type of sea fish. They weren't large, growing to a maximum of two chi, but they moved like lightning through the water and possessed an incredibly delicious flavor. They lived about five hundred meters below the surface, making them extremely difficult for human fishermen to catch. However, if one was caught, the fisherman wouldn't have to worry about money for years.

Even in a coastal port city like Victoria Harbour, a Silverthread Fish could sell for five gold coins a pound. In inland cities of the Horn Kingdom, the price would be twenty times higher because the fish had to be kept in freezing seawater near zero degrees, making transportation a nightmare.

Edie briskly headed to the cabin to share the news with his merchant friend lying in the hammock.

Hearing this, Milne's exhausted body was instantly flooded with boundless energy. He leapt out of the hammock in sheer excitement and dashed toward the door. His speed was so impressive it put Edie, a genuine Mid-Tier Warrior, to shame.

The two pushed their way through the crowd just in time to see the fishmen taking the Silverthread Fish out and placing them in a bucket floating with ice cubes.

A flash of disappointment crossed Milne's eyes. Clearly, these fishmen knew the value of their catch. The idea of scoring a cheap bargain was out of the question.

Edie wasn't surprised in the slightest; after all, the schools in the Overseas Archipelago weren't built for nothing. He had only wanted to breathe a little life into his friend.

At noon, sure enough, several extra delicacies were served on the ship—fresh, delicious seafood.

Eating the fresh seafood, Milne grew excited again. Coming to the Overseas Archipelago was definitely the right choice. This place was full of opportunities; as long as he could establish a stable supply channel, he would make a fortune.

The two friends immediately exchanged ideas. Edie planned to form his own adventuring party to search for precious herbs and gems, and to hunt Transcendent creatures, while Milne intended to find a local partner to buy ships and build his own merchant fleet.

Both felt their futures were brimming with hope.

Suddenly, a shout of alarm rang out on the deck.

"A demonic creature!!!"

The expressions of the two inside the cabin changed drastically. Ever since the demonic disaster a few years ago, merely mentioning demonic creatures was enough to make people on the continent pale in fear.

Then, noisy discussions broke out on the deck. Yet in those voices, Edie couldn't detect a single trace of fear, nor did anyone flee back into the cabin. The two friends felt deeply puzzled.

They stepped out of the cabin, found an empty spot on the deck, and laid eyes on the scene everyone was watching.

On the surface of the sea not far from the ship, a massive turtle was carrying a demonic shark covered in blood-red patterns on its back. The shark wasn't overly large, and it was dead. Around the giant turtle swam a group of fishmen.

These fishmen were well-equipped, wielding spears designed for dealing with large creatures. The sharp glints off the spearheads sent shivers down the spine. Edie even spotted a fishman Mage holding a staff.

It seemed this was White Castle's maritime patrol squad.

During the gnoll captain's boasting, Edie had learned about the existence of White Castle's maritime patrol squads. These teams, composed of elite fishmen, were responsible for patrolling the waters of the Overseas Archipelago and hunting down High Tier Transcendent creatures and demonic beasts to ensure the archipelago's safety.

After opening the shipping routes from major ports to the Overseas Archipelago, the intensity of these patrols had increased several times over.

In the distance, a fishman from the maritime patrol squad noticed the passengers on the ship. He climbed onto the shark's corpse and waved enthusiastically at everyone, and the crowd waved back with equal warmth.

...

Two days later, in the afternoon.

Edie and Milne stood at the bow of the Sea Wolf, excitedly gazing at the massive island—or rather, the small continent—on the horizon: Kumlinge.

The emerging city at the mouth of the Snowpaint River—Snowsurge City—was the final destination of the Sea Wolf, and it was where they would be staying.

As they drew closer to Snowsurge City, the color of the seawater beneath the ship grew lighter and lighter, shifting from its original azure blue to a transparent, colorless clarity.

Looking at the neat rows of white houses in Snowsurge City, everyone on the Sea Wolf felt a surge of excitement.

Clang, clang, clang!

The bell for disembarkation rang out. Already fully prepared, Edie and Milne, carrying their bundles, were the first to sprint onto the newly built pier, which still smelled faintly of fresh oak.

Under the fiery red sunset and amidst the cries of seagulls, the two youths, carrying their dreams, ran toward the city of hope.