novelraw Chapter 911: On the Way
Chapter 911: On the Way
The Andrea sailed across the deep, calm sea.
The shattered Lennon Archipelago was their next destination. The mutilated body of the Ancient God was located somewhere on one of the islands.
"Your Highness, Deep God, can you catch some shrimp from the sea?"
On the spacious deck, everyone gathered around Lu Li, who was cleaning the seafood.
Several large, gutted fish lay to the side while Ophelia skewered them by the grill.
With the cultists from the Church of Shadows on their trail, finding fresh food had become a necessity. Compared to canned goods, the contaminated seafood was more nourishing and held a greater significance for them: it was a meal prepared by Lu Li himself.
"My divine power should not be used for catching fish or shrimp," the Deep God whispered.
"But I really want to taste shrimp," Prusius said pleadingly, looking up at the Deep God.
"I've never even seen one..."
The Deep God silently approached the ship's rail. His indistinct power swirled for a moment, lifting a mass of seawater shrouded in shadow.He returned to the center of the deck with the water and splashed it onto an empty spot.
The seawater soaked the deck, revealing the form of a giant shrimp the size of a lamb, lying motionless.
"Just like in the book!" Prusius exclaimed, though its ferocious carapace and gray-brown spots didn't quite match the description.
He stared at the giant shrimp, which seemed dead, and couldn't resist inching closer.
The still shrimp suddenly raised its claws and snatched at the human face sniffing near it. Lu Li grabbed Prusius by the leg, yanking him back from the brink of being torn to shreds.
"It's alive!"
Prusius was terrified.
Lu Li observed the giant shrimp and suddenly asked the Deep God:
"Did you find this one on purpose?"
"There are many of them at the bottom of the sea..."
After a brief moment of thought, Lu Li ordered the Andrea to leave the area at full speed.
"What's wrong?" Ophelia asked.
"This shrimp is either food farmed by some tribe or a servant of one."
As if in response to Lu Li's analysis, the water in the Andrea's lingering wake began to churn before vanishing as they moved away from the area.
"As long as I am here... they would not dare to act recklessly," the Deep God declared, his majesty showing for a moment.
Everyone subconsciously ignored him.
A guilty Prusius apologized, but couldn't help asking:
"So... can we eat it?"
"That depends on the level of contamination," Lu Li said, continuing to clean the fish caught from the Andrea.
Out of the water, its slender limbs couldn't support the giant shrimp's weight, and only its claws could barely move.
"Have you eaten one before?" Prusius asked Lu Li, then Ophelia, and finally, the Deep God.
"I... don't remember."
Whether it was His birth or His ascension to a Great Old One, these were all distant memories for Him.
"Maybe we can try it? Great Deep God, do you have a way to get rid of its contamination?"
Prusius looked at the Deep God hopefully.
The seawater silently condensed, enveloping the giant shrimp. After a brief pause, it slowly rose, separating from the now lifeless, spot-free carapace of the shrimp.
The dark seawater was cast over the side of the large ship, and He whispered coldly:
"...The contamination has been removed by Me."
"Whoa... Your Highness, Deep God, if you were in Vinnelag, you'd be an outstanding Trader!" Prusius praised loudly.
By easily removing contamination from food, the Deep God would surely be a welcome guest among the aristocrats!
"He is... an Ancient God," Ophelia said as she took the giant shrimp, skewered it on a branch brought from the twisted forest, and placed it on the grill.
"Vinnelag... what is that?" the Deep God asked.
"One of the two remaining human cities. The other is Midnight," Prusius said with a hint of melancholy.
"Only two...?"
"Yeah... After all, anomalies have been invading our world for twenty-four years," Prusius said, a little dejected.
The atmosphere grew somber over the heavy topic, only brightening again when the food was ready.
Night fell, shrouded in fog. Inside the warm and brightly lit captain's cabin, everyone enjoyed a hearty dinner.
The giant shrimp's shell had turned an appetizing light red, its white meat steaming fragrantly. There was also grilled fish and a rich meat broth made from canned stew. The aroma lingered in the captain's cabin all through the night.
They still had a six-day journey ahead to reach the shattered Lennon Archipelago.
Although the journey was long and monotonous, with nothing to see but the sea and the distant horizon, at least they didn't have to worry about their safety.
Prusius was always talking to the Deep God, but sometimes his naive questions truly stumped the deity.
"Do gods need to eat and defecate?"
"I hope you will ask more... significant questions," the Deep God replied. Regardless of the answer, such a question was blasphemy and a humiliation for a deity.
"You mean profound ones? Let me think..." Prusius asked again:
"What's it like to be a god?"
The question still wasn't profound, but it was much better than the last one. The Deep God, recalling what few memories he had, said:
"To see cultists as a source of power and as power itself, to alter their thoughts, driving them to fanatical devotion..."
"That sounds awful..."
Prusius tucked his tail between his legs.
The Deep God paused for a moment before adding:
"There are also many benevolent gods. They command their followers to strictly adhere to commandments, to not harm living creatures on the earth. Some of them were once worshipped by humans."
"Are all human gods real?" Prusius exclaimed.
"I do not know... At the beginning of this era, I was plunged into a long slumber by a conspiracy..."
"Have you recovered your memories of the World's Shadow and the clouds?" Lu Li asked at that moment.
"I have not... I do not know if it would be good for your weak body," the Deep God whispered seriously:
"Human, are you sure you do not wish to become My servant? Like the Mother of the Swamp, I can ensure My will does not influence your thoughts, and you would retain your human body..."
"But not right now, correct?"
This time, Lu Li did not refuse.
"Yes... when I have recovered My strength..."
After several more days at sea, they were very close to the shattered Lennon Archipelago.
"I thought... you... would give... that woman... a gift," Ophelia said when they spotted a lone island on the distant horizon.
By 'that woman,' she meant the Mother of the Swamp.
"I did," Lu Li replied.
"You mean... telling her... the location... of Sea Gaze Cliff...?"
Lu Li didn't answer, his gaze fixed on the silhouette at the edge of the leaden sea.
Approaching the Lennon Archipelago didn't mean the end of their voyage. Their destination, the southeastern corner, was still two days away.
Avoiding the creatures on the island and the reefs, the Andrea skirted the edge of the Lennon Archipelago and reached the destination the Deep God had sensed: an island shrouded in fog, with towering silhouettes and mountains.
The Andrea moored at the edge of the shallows. Everyone went out on deck, waiting for the Deep God to take them ashore.
"What's wrong?"
Prusius raised his head, asking the Deep God, who was staring deep into the island.
"Nothing..."
The Deep God controlled the seawater to lift everyone and set them down on a coarse, sandy beach on the island's shore.