Lynn surveyed the crew awaiting his orders and spoke with composed assurance.
"Given the circumstances, please continue to exert yourselves. We are not truly safe until we have completely departed from this sea."
Under Lynn's guidance, the sailors, having momentarily quelled their excitement, returned to their posts. However, unlike before, their faces were now devoid of anxiety as they faced the boundless foggy sea.
"I never imagined in my lifetime that I would escape the Eye of Death twice," Laud remarked with a sense of nostalgia.
"Was it the assistance of that great sorcerer last time?" Lynn inquired with curiosity, having guessed from Laud's mention of the Frozen Whirlpool that he had likely faced such dangers more than once.
Laud nodded and recounted his past experience with a touch of sentimentality.
This had occurred over a decade ago when he was still an ordinary pirate, living a life of plunder and bloodshed on the seas.
Since their operations were close to the Fog Sea, they did not have to worry about Imperial fleet pursuit. They could simply hide within the mist; as long as they remained on the periphery and did not venture too deeply, it was unlikely they would lose their way back.
One day, however, their pirate band encountered a large ship emerging from the Fog Sea…
Initially, they thought it was a cargo ship that had mistakenly entered the mist and had miraculously found its way back. Overconfident in their numbers, they targeted the vessel for plunder, only to find themselves crashing headlong into an iron wall.
The attack was not led by Herlam himself, but by two of his official sorcerers. Even so, their entire pirate band of hundreds was obliterated, and Laud had his right leg shattered by a fireball's residual force.
Had they not wished to interrogate him, he would have perished long ago.
Yet, it was through this opportunity that his fate was irrevocably altered, and he became the representative of the great sorcerer Herlam in Harbor Town…
Hearing this, Lynn cast a curious glance at Laud, wondering what exactly he had done to escape from captivity and earn the favor of such a prominent sorcerer.
He had witnessed the old fox's unscrupulousness firsthand; while not entirely devoid of integrity, it was certainly limited. If it were up to him, he would not place such trust in someone like that.
Was there some compromising information involved?
Though pondering this, Lynn did not interrupt Laud's tale.
"After arranging affairs in Harbor Town, I was fortunate enough to accompany Master Herlam to the Sorcerer's Domain. It was during the sea voyage that we encountered the great whirlpool," Laud reminisced.
Of course, the Eye of Death encountered then was not as fearsome as this one; its coverage was only about a kilometer, and Herlam's method of handling it was straightforward—he froze the entire whirlpool!
Nevertheless, this was astonishing to Lynn, revealing that the great sorcerer's power was far greater than he had imagined.
"By the way, our destination for this voyage is Master Herlam's domain—Eiyetta Harbor!" Laud added.
Lynn nodded, realizing he would soon have to deal with this great sorcerer.
Yet, he remained uncertain about how to face Herlam's potential reproach…
As they conversed, the sailboat had completely exited the whirlpool's range, and the sailors erupted in cheers.
Despite the severe losses incurred while passing through the Eye of Death, Laud generously allowed everyone to indulge in feasting and celebration that night!
However, life at sea was undeniably monotonous. The so-called celebration merely involved everyone gathering, drinking beer from a keg, boasting about past heroics, and occasionally fishing.
Perhaps their luck had turned, as the following days passed without any further mishaps. The entire sea remained blanketed in white fog, and if it weren't for following the compass, Lynn might have thought they had never moved from their original position.
This was the terror of the Fog Sea—great sorcerers like Herlam could become utterly lost here, despite their ability to handle whirlpools, if they could not find their way.
During the sea voyage, Lynn kept himself occupied. Besides his usual magical practice, he frequently sought information about the Sorcerer's Domain from Jonny and quickly gained a general understanding of this sorcerer's sanctuary.
The external attitudes towards the Sorcerer's Domain were broadly divided into two factions.
One was the conservative, insular faction, which represented the majority of sorcerers in the domain. They completely ignored the outside world, focusing solely on their magical studies in their own territories. They even regarded those under the Church's control as foolish.
Sorcerers pursued the mysteries of the world through magic, seeking truths rather than engaging in the power struggles and territorial disputes common among kings and nobles. With the domain's rich deposits of magical minerals and the blockade of the Fog Sea, the Church couldn't penetrate their defenses, and leaving was equally difficult. Thus, they preferred to develop various magical theories and crush their enemies in the future.
The other faction, represented by the great sorcerer Herlam, advocated for projecting sorcery's power to the outside world. They argued that although the Sorcerer's Domain was a vast island, it could not be self-sufficient in many scarce resources, and its small population required a continual influx of fresh blood from outside.
However, this approach carried significant risks—the more they interacted with the outside world, the greater the danger. The current power reserves of the Sorcerer's Domain were insufficient to contend with the Church. Should their location be completely exposed, it could invite catastrophic consequences, which was why most sorcerers leaned towards conservatism.
Notably, their mentor, Koru, was a member of the progressive faction and belonged to the school founded by the great sorcerer Herlam…
"So, the dissemination of information between the Sorcerer's Domain and the outside world is quite challenging?" Lynn inquired thoughtfully.
"Probably," Jonny nodded. During the past four years, she had only visited the Sorcerer's Domain once, and most of her knowledge came from Koru's teachings.
"If that is the case…" Lynn gazed contemplatively out of the porthole, seemingly trying to peer through the dense fog to catch a glimpse of the Sorcerer's Domain rising from the depths of the ocean.
He had already formulated a plan on how to address the potential reprimands from the great sorcerer.