The boatman was clearly well acquainted with the conditions of this Black Market waterway, also aware of the methods of those who lay in ambush in the dark.
Every move he made, he certainly did not intend to give his targets any chance of survival.
Thus, the "thirty seconds" he mentioned to Leonard Churchill was not an attempt to intimidate, but rather, after passing through this stretch of water, they were entering the enemy's ambush perimeter.
By then, even if they wanted to leave, it would be too late.
Leonard Churchill listened but still made no declaration.
The Ashen Mist Relic Portrait had come into his possession, and he had no intention of just handing it over to someone whose origins were mysterious.
Moreover, the boatman's motives were enigmatic, his words not entirely factual.
Leonard Churchill was not so easily trusting.
