Chapter 9: 9 A-Piao

Chapter 9: The Floater

The *Winter* docked brazenly at the mouth of the Griesmere River, the border between Bordeleaux and Mousillon.

On the Bordeleaux side of the estuary stood sheer cliffs, while the Mousillon side was a low-lying swamp. The difference in elevation between the two banks formed a towering, winding precipice.

The Touris Warning Lighthouse stood on the headland of the Bordeleaux side. As a lighthouse, it enjoyed the reputation of being one of the most reliable in the Old World, though no ships sailed here anymore. In truth, it was a temple to Verena, the Goddess of Wisdom, and its primary purpose was to monitor Mousillon. It was rumored that the temple’s priests could use the powerful magic granted by the Goddess of Wisdom to peer into the entire cursed Duchy of Mousillon. They refused to say what they were looking for, or what they would do if they found it. At the same time, the priests insisted that they could not personally enter Mousillon.

It was well known that the Fay Enchantress and even the Prophetesses of the Lady had visited the Touris Warning Lighthouse, though the purpose of these visits remained a mystery to this day. The priests here offered advice to those who came seeking help, and it was excellent advice at that. The temple sold many books, and anyone who purchased a book here was automatically granted an audience. The priests would sometimes offer advice proactively, especially suggestions for adventurers to venture into Mousillon. To summarize in two words: a landmark.

The people in the lighthouse temple surely saw the *Winter*, but they could only stare at each other. Druchii did not believe that the Prophetesses or the Fay Enchantress would be visiting at this very moment, only to smash a Comet of Cassandora onto the ship—there were no such coincidences. Besides, if a comet were to fall, there was still the magical mast to consider.

Since 1814 I.C., when the Duke of L'Anguille, who had long been at odds with Mousillon, killed the Duke of Merovech, most of the territory in northern Mousillon had been annexed by L'Anguille. Since then, Mousillon had been reduced to a place the size of a palm.

In the swamp, one could faintly see human-like yet ghostly figures; these were likely the diligent swamp-dwellers, professional snail-catchers and frog-hunters, whose work was both tedious and time-consuming. All creatures in the swamp legally belonged to the lord. Becoming a swamp-dweller required the tacit consent of the local nobility, and some nobles required long apprenticeships and oaths before one was permitted to hunt in the lord's swamp. Otherwise, the outcome was extremely miserable, treated as the crime of stealing the lord's property.

These swamp-dwellers had to be constantly aware of their surroundings while working. It was rumored that there was a giant worm in the swamp that could swallow a person in one gulp. Dead floaters that moved on their own drifted in the river from time to time, not to mention bandits and Beastmen.

The captured prey was then cleaned by "frog-wives." Frog-wives were not only experts at cleaning frogs and snails but also an important part of the social structure of Bretonnian villages.

On the deck, Druchii nobles Dackus, the three siblings of the Takaia family, and Dastan Cold-Eye were drinking afternoon wine in the sun. Phranes was already able to walk normally, though he couldn't train yet—one had to admit, the physique of an elf was truly strong.

Dackus wanted to eat trout from the Griesmere River, so the beastmasters brought out the Dark Pegasi to find some locals in the swamp and ask for some snails.

Edmond and the first mate were fishing with some crew members and soldiers, while others stood guard. A crew member had just had a stroke of luck and hooked a "floater." The floater tried to climb onto the ship to have a look around, only to be ruthlessly stabbed to death by a Dreadspear with a Sky-Piercer.

Fortunately, no one was possessed by Nat Pagle to fish up the Griesmere River's specialty: the Dragon Leech. It was a serpentine undead creature up to eight meters long and one meter wide, with skin that was soft, slippery, and rotting, and no bones in its body. Its mouth was full of teeth, which was extremely disgusting.

The five Druchii nobles were chatting about the customs of Bretonnia, from noble knights to truffle dogs, and then to the mausoleum of the Duke of Merovech.

Dackus slumped in his chair, eyes half-closed, legs crossed, chin resting on his left hand, while his right hand spun his flintlock pistol, looking extremely comfortable. He told a few Bretonnian jokes, making the four nobles laugh heartily—though it was hard to tell if they were actually funny or just being polite.

Rian revealed his desire to go on an adventure, but was ruthlessly rejected by Dackus. Who the hell knew where that mausoleum, crowdfunded by those knightly lords, was located? And Merovech was lying inside waiting to see the light of day again; Dackus had no interest in that armor or the Black Lily rune sword. A side quest? It didn't exist. Having completed his KPI, he just wanted to waste time. Besides, they couldn't stay here too long; the Bretonnian navy wasn't just sitting around doing nothing.

Sailing was boring, especially when just staring at each other without doing any work. Aside from Alissa, who could still chat remotely with her little sisters using a crystal ball, Dackus practiced combat skills and archery every day. He decided to add three skills to his repertoire: cooking, painting, and playing a musical instrument. Originally there were four, including Go, but Druchii society really wasn't suited for that—there were no opponents, and if they were too close, they would just find ways to cheat.

The ship's kitchen was very advanced; the entire cabin was made of Hag Graef's black marble, allowing for open flames and a bread oven. The fish were killed by the crew; Dackus, who had no strength to truss a chicken, truly lacked the courage to kill a living creature.

Dackus used the limited ingredients to make Bretonnian-style snails au gratin and pan-fried trout. After finishing, he sent some to Edmond and the first mate. The four nobles praised it after eating, but Dackus felt it was just average. Cooking, after all—as long as everyone was happy eating it.

After eating, Dackus exercised on the deck for a while before going back to sleep.

The ship was in urgent need of fresh water; there wasn't much left, and it had been sitting for so long that it had grown green fuzz. Now, when Dackus was thirsty, he drank wine. The Druchii constitution didn't need things like oranges, and there was no such fruit in the plantations of Clar Karond.

However, Dackus didn't want to land in the exile land of Mousillon. Who would dare drink the water here? Besides, the knightly lords here had all sorts of strange things, such as Bat-wolves, Blood Knights, Black Knights, and Strigoi. It was thankless work—catching a bunch of zombies to take back? Naggaroth didn't have bicycles for them to ride, and they didn't need electricity.

Bretonnian peasants, led by a Bat-wolf lord, heroically resisting Druchii pirates. Such a difficult thing to imagine, Dackus didn't dare to think about it.

The ship continued to sail north. After L'Anguille annexed Mousillon, it became the duchy with the longest coastline. The coast within the territory was rugged and uneven, with many small islands. The near-shore currents were tricky for outsiders, but the locals could easily predict them, and these islands had better harbors than the mainland coast. Most of the coastal villages in L'Anguille were actually located offshore, scattered across the islands. Some village peasants would even lure ships onto the reefs and then plunder the wrecks.

Further north, the Duchy of L'Anguille had a short coastline, and the coastal terrain was rugged. In most coastal areas, towering cliffs plunged straight into the sea, with reefs standing in the water. The currents along the shore were also exceptionally dangerous; even with skilled pilots, ships often capsized.

Dastan Cold-Eye told Dackus that this was almost becoming industrialized; some Druchii captains had even become strategic partners with the local knightly lords.

Druchii captains specifically brought people to their partners, allowing those "Blackblades" or unwanted heirs to die gloriously in battle, and the knightly lords would reap the honor. In addition, the knightly lords would regularly send unlucky souls to Naggaroth as commodities to experience the local customs—very hospitable.

"Blackblades" were the illegitimate children of Druchii society; for example, Hag Graef's Valahar, or Malus Darkblade, the sixth son of Luerhan the Fallen Blade, were such examples.

Snakes have snake paths, and rats have rat paths. Dackus was left dumbfounded, his worldview shattered.

It was truly absurd to the extreme; it was beyond absurd.

(End of chapter)