"Well, based on my observations, the two young masters only have the ability of a level 2 warrior. It is the other person that we should be wary of. He is at the peak of level 3." David Washer said.
"That is slightly troublesome. If we were to fight him, the ship might be destroyed. It would also put our children at risk." Stephen Miller said.
"Well, our target is the case containing the two Principled Jewellery. We must never alert them of our objective until the very end." David Washer said as he thought of an interesting idea.
"We can use the terrain of the Hipsink River to first weaken them before attacking the Scholarly man to retrieve our target." David Washer said as he pulled out a map of the Hipsink River from out of nowhere. Maps were generally classified information that no one was willing to divulge.
They were the accumulations of generations of predecessors who braved through all sorts of risks to sketch them. The map David Washer had pulled out happened to be drawn on an animal skin that looked tough enough to resist the humid atmosphere for decades without damage.
This map was the result of David Washer's exploits in the Hipsink River as a Pirate spanning over a decade. They included the routes and areas he had explored and also the information from the maps of other voyagers he had stolen.
Many routes were drawn on the map, with the environment inscribed in detail into the background. Many lines were drawn in red that connected the Toenil and Flinchear Kingdom. There were also special domains marked along the river with their characteristics mentioned in detail.
After a series of discussions, the duo planned for a route that would seriously weaken their passengers. They first planned to go through a special domain in the Hipsink river that was famed for its high death rate.
The Great Mud Swamp!
It was an area that was filled with a very high concentration of mud dissolved in the water that made it very difficult to travel through it. Any ship would become at least 10 times slower while travelling through this region. Moreover, the air was filled with certain toxic oxides that caused people intense nausea.
There was also a strange life form that infested the region. It was called the ratfish due to its face resembling that of a rat. It was a Dobin in length and had a pair of webbed claws. It was also rumoured to shoot out rocks from its mouth, with each projectile packing enough punch equivalent to that of a level 2 warrior.
After discussing their plan of action in detail, David came out of the Sealed Room while Stephen remained behind to train the kids.
In his usual routine, David climbed the mast and surveyed the area with his abilities before descending. He then beckoned for his subordinates to change the course towards the Great Mud Swamp. His subordinates were shocked for an instant before resuming their duties. They trusted the judgement of their captain because they had survived through numerous calamities only due to his foresight.
The course change was very marginal and moreover, the three passengers weren't experienced in travelling through water and hence failed to notice it.
In a certain cabin inside the ship that was lavishly decorated, two people were seated beside each other while the third stood behind them like a statue. Of the two seated people, one had a scholarly aura while the other had an androgynous face.
"Rupas, what do you think we should do after reaching Daffodil Delta? I don't think it is safe for us to stay anywhere in the Flinchear Kingdom." The person with the androgynous face said.
"Heluma, that is precisely the reason I planned our destination to Daffodil Delta. We can climb abroad a ship that is foreign to both our respective kingdoms. I already have a place in my mind. That kingdom is pretty weak as compared to ours and moreover, it is sparsely populated due to its limited resources. Even with our lacking strength, we could still lead comfortable lives there." The scholarly man, Rupas said.
"I hope that is the case." Heluma removed a scarf that covered her head and revealed her long purple hair. She then removed a pair of contact lenses from her eyes and revealed a set of purple irises. She then walked towards a corner of the room that was shielded from the sight of Rupas as she proceeded to undo her robe. After that, she removed the roll of bandages that were wrapped around her chest region.
The moment they were removed, Heluma heaved a sigh of comfort. Her chest region no longer felt constricted due to the bandages. She had done so to prevent people from recognising her obvious traits. Purple hair, purple eyes and the voluptuous pair on her chest were the traits of the Royal family of the Flinchear kingdom.
She then wore a piece of loose garments and walked out. Rupas too removed his disguise to reveal his pink hair and pink eyes. It was obvious from his appearance that he was a member of the Royal family of the Toenil Kingdom.
The guard still stood motionless behind them, not uttering a single syllable. She too was disguised as a man but she clearly didn't feel any discomfort in acting like one. She had a rugged face that sported a pair of brown eyes while her short black hair was tied into a bun beneath her helmet. She had a wide body frame rivalling that of a man's and her limbs were ripped like an ox. If she claimed herself as a man, no one would be able to refute her otherwise.
Her responsibility was to guard the two Royals from harm. Her master, Heluma Flinchear had saved her life once before so she vowed to devote her life to her.
Suddenly, their room shook with an intense vibration that rattled their insides. It was then followed by a sound akin to rain hitting the walls; the only difference being the sounds that were many times louder. There was also a faint stench that permeated through their surroundings and gave them a mild sensation of wanting to vomit.
"Palnita, inquire the Captain of the ship about this phenomenon. Travelling through the Hipsink River is always fraught with danger. Ask him if he needs our help." Heluma Flinchear said as she covered her nose with a piece of cloth.
The guard Palnita nodded and rushed out of the room and appeared on the deck in an instant. She displayed the prowess of a level 3 warrior and immediately located David Washer amid the chaos on the deck.
"Ah, don't worry. We have just entered the Great Mud Swamp so such a phenomenon is quite normal. We have methods to traverse through here so this place is actually quite safe despite how it might look. You can also inspect our surroundings if it helps to relieve your worries. Please convey my apologies to the young masters for disturbing their sleep." David Washer said before Palnita could utter a word.
She took a look at their surroundings and noticed many rat heads peek out of the muddy brown waters and shoot small rocks at the ship. The runes engraved into the hull of the ship came to life and deflected the rock projectiles back into the muddy waters, claiming the lives of countless Ratfish.
She also saw how the other sailors were cheering as they launched one attack after the other on the Ratfishes and fishing their corpses out of the water. Once they were brought to the deck, the sailors dissected their bodies and stored only their meat and their Beast Cores before dumping the rest into the river.
On seeing that they had the entire situation under control, Palnita had just taken a step towards their cabin when she felt her head spin while a sense of nausea assaulted her nerves. Her legs gave out under her as she vomited out a mouthful of blood on the deck.
David Washer saw her actions when he suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. The air in the Great Mud Swamp only gave rise to a feeling of nausea. It would never make someone vomit unless they had frail bodies. Moreover, Palnita had vomited out a mouthful of blood.
"What happened? Did a previous ailment of yours flare up?" David Washer hurriedly supported Palnita as he carried her towards the cabin where the two young masters stayed.
'This is different from my expectations. Even children would feel fine here after taking some time to adjust to the atmosphere. I only planned to weaken them after travelling through 5-6 such domains but this is somewhat worrying.' David frowned.
"Please, I am fine," Palnita said when they neared the cabin and detached herself from David's support. She gave him a cursory thanks and entered the cabin alone. Her young masters weren't disguised at present so having David enter would blow their cover away. It would also lead to unwanted troubles that they just didn't want to face.
As Palnita closed the cabin door behind her, she saw the figures of her two young masters lying on the floor while vomiting out copious amounts of blood. A shrill scream involuntarily escaped from her as she rushed towards the duo and propped their bodies up.
She saw Heluma Flinchear lying unconscious while Rupas Toenil struggled to lift his hand, barely retaining his consciousness. A faint light flashed on his ring as numerous items appeared in his surroundings. They ranged from medicine vials, clothes, weapons, energy fruits, and even Jewellery.
The moment he heard a shrill scream, his heard lurched in fright as he hurriedly entered the room and saw the two figures lying on the floor. The moment he saw their appearance, the hairs on his skin stood up in alarm.
'What are two Royals doing in my ship? Have I invariably gotten myself involved in their inner conflict?' David Washer thought as slid a ring on his forefinger and activated it.
A few Ticks later, Stephen rushed towards him and witnessed the situation. He despaired when he caught sight of the two Royals lying motionless amid a small pool of blood while Palnita hurriedly searched for something through the items strewn across the floor.
The two made eye contact with one another as they resolved themselves to their deaths. Their hopes of surviving had been brought to zero the moment they involved themselves in the conflict of the Royals. There had been many precedents like this so it didn't take much for the duo to connect the dots.
'If we are going to lose our lives anyway, we should at least make sure to pave a future for our children.' The duo thought as they pounced towards the three people who could barely stand straight.
…
Inserting her hand into the Ash Grey Sand with great efforts, Sarah activated her ability again. A few granules of the Ash Grey Sand was sent away by the force generated by her ability. She then retreated towards the surface and fished out a fruit from her pocket and swallowed it.
A few Ticks later, when she felt the energy in her body filling up, Sarah once again swam to the river bed and held the stalk of grass. As she tried to pull it, it refused to budge. Knowing that it wouldn't be so easy to retrieve a treasure, Sarah placed her hands on the Ash Grey Sand lying beside the stem of the stalk of grass and activated her ability.
Divine Might!