Everyone sat on deck, feeling the sea breeze, watching the seabirds, savoring fine-aged wine, smoking ancient tobacco from Habernas Island, and chatting happily. They quickly developed a deep friendship. However, the three representatives of the Seven Mountains Power were no simple characters. Even though they had developed enough personal rapport, they had yet to make any indication of collaborating with Lanard or fully obeying his command in battle.
Today, Lanard had specially dived into the sea to hunt a giant king octopus. His employed military "cook chief" personally heated a metal plate with charcoal on the uppermost deck of the warship. The softest section of octopus tentacle was cut into thin slices, quickly seared on the hotplate till it sizzled just right, then sprinkled with various spices and served on a platter.
