novelraw Chapter 512: The Secret of the Gods
Chapter 512: The Secret of the Gods
"Where do you want to get off? We are heading back into the sea, so we can't carry you for much longer."
At this moment, on the broad and calm sea, the shadow floating on the surface like a small island was precisely the companion of the Whale-people from the depths of the ocean floor, an Attendant Sea Beast.
However, neither Gou Wen nor Xuan Can really needed an Attendant Sea Beast to alleviate the pressure brought by their Curses, so this sea beast was probably borrowed from some other sleeping Whale-person.
Gou Wen looked at the sea ahead while turning his head to ask the passengers who had boarded later.
Hearing his words, the four Demi-humans sitting on the fleshy folds of the sea beast's skin all coincidentally looked at the human sleeping soundly on the ground.
That woman was sleeping without any care for her image, sprawled comfortably in a "spread-eagle" shape on the ground. Fanned by the gentle sea breeze and accompanied by the calls of some seagulls in the sky, she had unknowingly fallen fast asleep. Gou Wen had called out to her twice, but she showed no reaction at all. Xuan Can's expression was growing increasingly foul; Gou Wen could tell that his wife was eager to plunge back into the sea right this instant. She probably regretted letting this group board the beast in the first place.
Looking at the silent Demi-humans in front of him, who were all waiting for the sleeping human to speak, Gou Wen couldn't help but ask,
"How exactly... did you guys meet this... Ying Zheng, or whatever her name is? A human, a Brain Demon Race, a Lion-kin, a Wolfman Race, and a local Elephant-Man Species from Dragon Tail Island?"
The Brain Demon Race named Liruika sighed, raised her hand, and said,
"I can answer that. I've been with this person the longest... I used to be an interpreter for a large tribe on the Dragon Heart Continent. She was a human slave captured by that tribe. Then, the Patriarch rewarded me with all the slaves, including her. This person convinced me to leave with her to go out and see the world... Although I already didn't want to stay in that place, coming out with her is absolutely the worst decision I've ever made!""The other three were all met on Dragon Tail Island. The Lion-kin couldn't find a male Lion-kin in her tribe, so she was coaxed out with the promise of finding a husband. In the end, I see that the people she encounters most every day are women; she's practically becoming a lesbian. The Wolfman Race girl was a warrior from their tribe, and well, I don't know why she foolishly followed this person either."
The Wolfman Race girl snorted and replied testily,
"For gold, silver, and jewelry."
Liruika, the Brain Demon Race, couldn't be bothered with her. It seemed that without that human, the bond between them was pitifully weak.
"And then there's this most brainless Elephant-Man Species. He was originally the crown prince of an Elephant-Man tribe, but he ran away just because he didn't want to get married. What an idiot!"
The Elephant-Man Species roared and shouted angrily at the Brain Demon Race,
"I am now my father's pride! I told them in advance that a disaster might befall the south, urging them to leave quickly. I saved all my people!"
"Yeah right. Not a single one of them listened to you. Wasn't it only because we followed this person and attracted the Snake-people that they eagerly scrambled away!"
The Elephant-Man Species lowered his head, tugged at his trunk, and stopped talking.
Gou Wen, resting his chin on his hand, felt somewhat speechless. He could see that this group of people had basically been tricked into coming out by this human. But if that was all there was to it, they couldn't possibly have stayed by this human's side for so long, especially that Brain Demon Race. They had been out for a year; if she wanted to back out, she would have returned long ago.
"So, your next step is to listen to this... uh, Qin Shi Huang or Ying Zheng?"
"She isn't called that crap. She used to call herself Red Middle, and sometimes she's Auto-something... If you believe her, sooner or later, even your underwear will be scammed away."
"Then what is her real name?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"She hasn't said, and we're too lazy to askit's that simple. But in my experience, even if you ask, the answer you get will be an unreliable one, like 'Little Smarty.' It's fine, you can just call her 'Psychopath' or 'Pervert,' we don't care."
So after dawdling with her for so long, they didn't even know her real name?
"Aba, aba..."
The deeply sleeping human woman smacked her lips and comfortably rolled over on the sea beast's back before continuing to snore. That annoying appearance really made Xuan Can want to kick her off into the water.
Truth be told, this woman was really brave. To sleep so carelessly beside someone she had just stolen from, wasn't she afraid that Gou Wen and Xuan Can, the husband and wife, would murder her for her goods?
Just as Gou Wen was feeling a headache over how to handle this, an erratic sound of flapping wings abruptly fluttered over from the sky behind them. A gust of sea wind mixed with an icy chill rushed against Gou Wen's back, making him pause slightly.
He turned his head to look, only to suddenly see the pale, panting Nekelia 'plop' down from mid-air onto the very edge of the sea beast. She seemed utterly exhausted from flying; as soon as she landed on the beast's back, she lay motionless like a salted fish.
"Nekelia!"
Gou Wen hurriedly smacked his head in shock.
Oh no! It was only at this moment, hearing the sound the phoenix made, that he suddenly remembered there was also the Phoenix Race Nekelia in their group. And it seemed she had also been fleeing with them just now. Yet along the way, both Mikhail and Gou Wen had completely forgotten about her existence, as if she were a transparent person.
"Nekelia?"
Xuan Can furrowed her brows. She looked at the phoenix, sizing the female up and down.
Gou Wen quickly explained to Xuan Can, giving her a brief rundown of this Phoenix Race girl who had run out from the Tree Continent.
"You guys went to the Tree Continent too?"
"Ah, yes... Although I went once before we headed to the Sanctuary, I went again another time after that."
"What were you doing at the Tree Continent?"
"Uh, experimenting with poison?"
Xuan Can raised an eyebrow. Before she could ask any further, Gou Wen rushed over to Nekelia and asked with concern,
"Nekelia, oh my God, I am so sorry. I forgot about you. How are you doing?"
Nekelia's entire body trembled involuntarily. After a short pause, she raised her headher face was pale, yet she remained expressionless. In an extremely weak voice, she said,
"I was always... following behind you... but it seemed none of you noticed me... Earlier, when I called out to you from behind... you didn't hear me... I just followed you all the way... I almost... couldn't fly anymore..."
With that, she buried her face against the ground again, lying motionless like a corpse, seemingly exhausted beyond measure.
Gou Wen smiled wryly, then said,
"I'm sorry. Get some rest."
"..."
Nekelia didn't reply, simply maintaining her previous posture.
Gou Wen smiled wryly and turned to look at his wife. He sat down and began discussing how they should drop off the passengers currently on board.
Even though this human hadn't woken up yet, her companions didn't seem to care where they were dropped off. If worst comes to worst, they could just leave them at the edge of the Dragon Heart Continent.
"Once we drop them off, we'll go home?"
"Ah... about that..."
"We might have to wait a little longer. As for those friends of mine, we got separated. With such a huge incident occurring on Dragon Tail Island, neither the Sanctuary nor the Tree Continent will let this go easily. To be honest, in all the time I've lived, this is my first time seeing several Demigods join forces. The consequences of this incident are very severe, and the responsibilities are heavy. We don't have to worry about ourselves, but the safety of the others..."
"...So why not go back and ask that guy? He might know some information."
"That guy" still referred to the Chief God, Ramastia.
"That's right! How could I have forgotten about this? Although the Chief God cannot interfere with the world, He does possess a lot of knowledge. It's just a pity that His voice cannot be heard over the sea right now... Honey, you need to mend your relationship with the Chief God. Weren't you able to hear Him when you were out at sea before?"
"Heh... So, after dropping these five off at the Dragon Heart Continent, you will obediently go home with me."
"As you command, my dear wife."
Just as he finished speaking, an ice-cold hand patted his shoulder from behind.
Gou Wen blankly turned his head, surprised to find Nekelia staring at him with an expressionless face again. Her silent expression seemed to ask, 'If you guys return to the sea, what am I going to do?'
Oh God, how had he forgotten about this girl again?!
Even though she had only just boarded?
Was his memory really that poor?
No, that's not right...
Or was Nekelia's innate presence really just that low?
But back when he and Fisher were at the Tree Continent, they had found her to be stunning and dazzlingthat was a judgment based on Fisher's standards, at least.
"I'm sorry, Nekelia... Don't worry, once we drop them off, I will take you home as well."
But completely Unexpected by Gou Wen, after hearing this sentence, she remained silent for a moment and then shook her head.
"I... cannot go back yet."
"Cannot... wait, what do you mean?"
"...Literally what I said. I still have an unfinished task. This was the command my mother gave me when I left."
Speaking of this, Gou Wen suddenly recalled that when they had left the Tree Continent, Nekelia actually did have a chance to return. But when they asked her, she only mumbled something about 'destiny's guidance'...
Moreover, her bizarrely low presence also roused Gou Wen's suspicions.
He was even certain that if she left his line of sight, he would quickly forget her existence again, unless she initiated a conversation with him...
"What exactly is going on? Can you tell me?"
Keeping her previous expression, Nekelia pursed her lips, her peripheral vision constantly flickering toward the group of people behind them. Gou Wen understood her meaning, so he cast a glance at Xuan Can.
Xuan Can didn't move an inch, but all the sounds around them seemed to drift awaythe crashing waves, the howling wind, the murmurs of conversation. Amidst the complete silence, it felt as though only the three of them were the source of any sound.
"Alright, now only the three of us can hear. This is my wife, you can trust her as much as you trust me. This is an application of her Curse. Don't underestimate this function; when this Curse is used, even the voice of the Chief God can be blocked out."
'This application is way too bizarre...'
Nekelia thought to herself.
But looking at the two in front of her, Nekelia was silent for a moment before she finally opened her mouth to speak.
"When I left, my mother gave me something. She said that my leaving the tribe this time was crucial for the Phoenix Race, so she needed me to complete my mission before returning to the tribe. There were many dangers along this journey, but that thing my mother gave me seemed to have kept me safe. The specific method is... it seems that none of you can notice me? Even Death and Destiny are the same."
Gou Wen and Xuan Can exchanged a glance, their eyes full of surprise.
Gou Wen had already personally experienced people failing to notice her earlier, but even he hadn't expected that even Death and Destiny wouldn't be able to spot her?
"Are you saying..."
"Yes. That Transferred Person from before, Margaret, had fully mastered the Loom of Fate. She had also merged with the Authority of Death to sacrifice all the lives in the Ideal State. She naturally had some level of foreknowledge of future events, easily seeing through all of Fisher's attacks. If it hadn't been for the Loom being unable to perceive fellow Transferred Person Tang Ze, it might have really been a bit dangerous at that time..."
As Nekelia recalled the earlier events, she explained to the two of them expressionlessly,
"But it seemed that she didn't notice me at all. Even though she noticed you who were outside, as well as those Mythical Species. It was the same with the Thread of Death laterit completely treated me as if I didn't exist. I was very confused. Sometimes, I even felt like I had been peeled away from the world and ceased to exist. But when I reached out to snatch her World Tree Teardrop, I grabbed it solidly."
Gou Wen frowned. This weird power truly exceeded his imagination. However, if the Phoenix Race possessed such terrifying power, why were they willing to cower in that place and submit to the oppression of the Elves?
"Are your Phoenix Race... that amazing?"
"It's not our Phoenix Race. That thing isn't ours, nor is it my mother's..."
At this point, a visible change finally surfaced on Nekelia's expressionless face. She glanced around; even though she was currently enclosed by Xuan Can's Curse, she still felt unsafe, as if terrified someone would overhear.
"My... In the past, my mother made a transaction with some hidden entity. I'm not clear on the specifics of the transaction, but in short, that entity should be very powerful. Because after that, my mother secretly entered the Mythic Rank, yet no one ever found out. Even Lord Wu and Lord Tong didn't notice when they came. The thing my mother gave me came from that hidden entity."
"Right before I left, my mother placed that thing on me and told me that although this journey would be dangerous, that thing would help me tide over the difficulties. Moreover, this trip is very important to the Phoenix Race. This is the final part of the transaction. She was powerless to complete it, so she needed me to help her. Before the task is completed, I absolutely cannot return to our homeland, otherwise, it will bring about utter annihilation."
Gou Wen narrowed his eyes, murmuring simultaneously with Xuan Can,
"A new Chaos..."
Nekelia pursed her lips, cautiously glancing at the two of them, and hurriedly asked,
"Is it... that thing from... the Ideal State earlier?"
Gou Wen shook his head and said,
"No... not that. Well, actually, powers that come from outside our world are all broadly termed 'Chaos' because they are incompatible with the operating rules of our world. But accurately speaking, they are all distinct entities. The power on you is different from what those Transferred Persons have. Your thing is... um, gentler? Although the Chaos on those Transferred Persons was quite gentle before it erupted as well."
"Generally speaking, the entities that are the sources of power known as Chaos occupy ranks even higher than True Gods. And they are significantly more powerful than ordinary True Gods. Nekelia, dealing with these entities requires extreme caution. You must keep this warning in mind because judging by how we kept forgetting you previously, it's possible that right after our conversation today, we might be affected by the power on you again and completely forget you."
Nekelia grew tense. Only now did she realize what kind of being her mother had made a transaction with. Though the fact that nothing had gone wrong for so long suggested that this hidden entity was unlike previously known Chaos, she couldn't afford to gamble. She absolutely had to understand more.
"Do gods also have varying degrees of strength?"
"Of course. Otherwise, why would Lord Ramastia be called the 'Chief God'? Unlike other gods, He possesses two Authorities. One of them is 'Life,' and the other one we don't know either. But He has told us that an 'Authority' is an inherent 'property' rather than a 'singularity'; which is why other forms of life can exist outside of our world."
"Does having more Authorities make a god stronger? How... how can I ascertain what Authorities the entity my mother made a deal with has? And how can I be sure if He is friendly?"
Gou Wen smiled helplessly, spread his hands, and said,
"Probably, the more Authorities they have, the stronger they are. We don't know either. As for how to be sure... The answer is, unless He is as friendly as Lord Ramastia and personally tells you how many Authorities He possesses, the only way to possibly be certain is to witness the god's true form with your own eyes. But trust me, you won't get the chance to see them, nor would you absolutely want to."
"The true forms of gods harbor secrets. Beings below the Demigod rank will be cursed upon seeing the main body of a god. You should know that this is how Pandora got blinded. Her creator, the Chain of Heaven, seems to spend all their time alongside the True God Ouyun, guarding the Boundary of Matter..."
"As for how to determine if they are friendly, that's even more impossible. We aren't entirely omniscient regarding our own world, let alone those gods from beyond. If we really had to say, it all depends on one's luck. If you are lucky enough, He is probably friendly. If your luck is bad, well..."
Nekelia remained expressionless, keeping her head low as she pondered something. For some reason, Gou Wen felt that she was somewhat helpless and crestfallen.
This was hardly surprising. Back then, when he and his people had suddenly heard Ramastia's voice, they had been scared half to death. And that was the mother of this world, the greatest creatorbasically their own parent. Now, the entity perched on Nekelia's shoulder was completely unknown. It was impossible not to feel terror toward the unknown.
Gou Wen smiled faintly. Changing the subject, he asked her,
"What about that thing? What does it look like? Could you let us see it? Maybe there'll be some clues... Also, what exactly is the task your mother assigned you?"
Nekelia looked at him blankly, shaking her head.
"I haven't seen that thing either. When my mother gave it to me, she only said that it was on my body, but I've never discovered it. The mission my mother spoke of was that, when it is discovered by someone else and leaves me, I would be able to return to the Tree Continent."
"Ah?"
Gou Wen carefully scrutinized the Nekelia before him from head to toe, as if attempting to see through every inch of her to spot the supposedly concealed 'thing'.
But before he could even start, Xuan Can, who was beside him, punched him. Only after knocking him down did she cross her arms, look at Nekelia, and say,
"I didn't find anything on you. It's probably hiding, just like you were earlier."
"...I see. I understand. In that case, please drop me off at the Dragon Heart Continent for now. When it leaves me, I will return to my homeland on my own."
"Even so..."
Gou Wen sat up while clutching his head, appearing similarly distressed. This favor was a bit difficult to grant, and the main issue was that it was hard to put on hold. The moment they parted ways with Nekelia, he might blink and forget about her, let alone offer any help...
Just as Gou Wen, Xuan Can, and Nekelia were buried in deep thought, a pair of hands suddenly slipped past Nekelia's wings, hugged her from behind, and grabbed onto her chest...
"Woah, so big!"
"!"
Nekelia's pupils shrank as she hurriedly flapped her wings. The impact slammed the person hugging her from behind squarely away. With an "Ouch!," the person tumbled wildly across the sea beast's back like a spinning top, until her head hit the stony dorsal fin protruding from the beast's back with a "thud".
"Hiss... that hurts... Hehehe, but it was worth it... They are really so soft... What kind of Demi-human are you, why haven't I seen you before?"
The woman with long black hair wiped her bleeding nose, then sat on the ground with a goofy grin. The eyes completely obscured beneath her bangs seemed to sparkle with light, scaring the daylights out of Nekelia.
She had run into a lunatic!
But the Gou Wen and Xuan Can behind her exchanged an astonished glance. Because right now, the voices of the Demi-human species behind them still hadn't reached them, nor was there the slightest sound from the nearby ocean waves and sea breeze.
They were still enveloped in Xuan Can's "Curse," which logically meant they shouldn't be hearing any sounds. Yet this Transferred Person...
"You are?"
"Hello, hello. Let me introduce myself. I am a lesbian. I'm a shy and timid girl who has lived an ordinary life until today. After seeing you, my heart involuntarily started beating faster. This might be the feeling of falling in love, leaving me enchanted. Anyway, although it might be a little presumptuous, I wonder if you could take off your clothes and let me study them for a... Mff-mmph!"
Before this human could finish her sentence, the expressionless Nekelia reached out a hand and shoved this humanwho was puckering her lips and constantly trying to get closeraway from her.
"You... you stay away from me..."
Nekelia was a Fourteenth-Tier entity after all. Even though this human woman possessed immense strength, it still fell short in comparison. So she easily pushed this human woman away to sit on the ground.
After doing so, Nekelia hurriedly covered her chest and backed away out several steps, looking at this human woman with utter vigilance, as if this person were more terrifying than Chaos and Death.
The woman clutched her head and gasped before muttering,
"Ah, Big Sister, you hit so hard. But that's good, I'm not sleepy at all anymore... Hey, Big Sister, wait a minute..."
Just as the human woman rubbed her head, looked up, and carefully scrutinized Nekelia, she suddenly froze.
After scanning Nekelia from head to toe, she pointed a finger at Nekelia and said,
"Big Sister, didn't you notice? You have a huge tentacle on you..."
"Tentacle?"
Everyone was momentarily stunned. They thought this guy was acting crazy again. But the woman stood up and approached Nekelia while stating with extreme certainty,
"Ah, a very weird-looking tentacle. It's golden, and it even has some... uh, what are these, eyes or bubbles? It's wrapped right around your neck and head. Didn't you notice? I'll show it to you..."
The human woman frantically reached out her hand. Nekelia didn't dare to move an inch, allowing the human woman to reach her hand out toward her neck.
But just as the fingers drew near, in the eyes of the human woman, the bizarre tentacle entwined around Nekelia's neck suddenly opened up dense clusters of eyes shimmering with profound golden light akin to a starry sky.
The eyes appraised the human woman before them, and then subsequently revealed an extremely satisfied gaze. The next moment, it "smack!" uncoiled from Nekelia's neck and pounced straight onto the person in front of it.
"Ahhh! What is this?! Ahhh! So gross! Help! Ahhh! Don't come any closer! Back! Back! Back! Ahhh!"
In the eyes of the others, the human woman suddenly collapsed onto the ground. She rolled around on the ground ceaselessly, seemingly bursting with astonishing vitality as she tumbled wildly across the sea beast's back.
Gou Wen and Xuan Can stared blankly at this eccentric clown rolling around on the ground. Completely unable to see anything, they had no idea what had happened and could only hastily look at Nekelia beside them.
They saw her formerly expressionless face was now completely frozen. In the next moment, much like a pane of glass, an increasing number of cracks began to appear across her visage.
Her expression little by little grew vivid, and a scorching teardrop slid from the rim of her eye.
In this moment, her body seemed ten thousand times lighter, as if a tremendous burden had been cast off. In this moment, she seemed to have reverted back to being the dazzlingly radiant eldest sister of the Phoenix Race back in their settlement, no longer forgotten or ignored by others.
But perhaps none of this was important. The truly important thing was that she could finally return home.
"I-I can return to the Tree Continent!"
"Ah, that's great,"
Gou Wen said with a faint smile.
Xuan Can silently withdrew the curse she had laid down beside them. Though the other Demi-humans still didn't understand what had happened here, they seemed to notice for the first time that an incredibly beautiful Demi-human was present. So, they couldn't help but gaze at the tearful Nekelia, whose face resembled a pear blossom bathed in rain.
Everything felt so beautiful, like the perfectly-placed period at the end of a story.
Oh, but at this instant, everyone seemed to have tacitly ignored the human woman who was constantly rolling, sniveling, and struggling on the ground. Perhaps even if they knew, no one would bother with her?
With both hands, she propped up against the slimy tentacle constantly drawing closer, but she was utterly powerless to stop its steady advance.
If past sins truly received retribution, this was perhaps her time.
"Ahhh! Don't come near me! Blergh! So gross! I don't want tentacles! Back! Back! I want Demi-human girls! Wahhh! Let go of me!"
And it was during this process that no one noticed how the aura this human woman emanated was becoming increasingly bizarre.
That tentacle quickly vanished completely. Unlike the way it had coiled around Nekelia, this tentacle seemed exceptionally fond of this human woman, swiftly sinking into her body such that even if she regretted it and wanted to pull it out, she couldn't.
"Good riddance!"
"Hahaha, you finally got yours!"
"I'm dying from laughter."
"Boss lady, how are you holding up?"
All of her companions walked over with beaming smiles to laugh at her, observing her tearless misery on the ground. It was as if seeing her humiliated brought joy to others. She resentfully patted the ground and snapped at the companions beside her,
"Just you wait! You won't meet a good end!"
Even though he appeared unaffected on the surface, Gou Wen kept the scene over there completely within his peripheral vision.
He quickly realized that this human woman was very likely an exceptionally special person. Otherwise, she wouldn't have discovered that bizarre thing on Nekelia, nor would her condition be unlike Nekelia's immediately upon its extraction.
He walked over to the human woman who lay on the ground, having nothing left to live for. After leaning down, he asked her,
"Hey, tell us exactly what we should call you."
"What's the matter, harboring a secret crush, bro?"
The woman was in unbearable pain just a second ago, yet upon seeing Gou Wen walk over the next second, she shifted slightly on her side and said with a beaming smile.
Only now did Gou Wen recall her companion's assessment of her: bisexual.
His wife's murderous glare from behind felt almost tangible, sweeping over his back. He heaved a sigh and continued with an exceptionally flat tone,
"Are you crazy? What you said earlier makes sense. That thing can be completely considered as a medical fee for you. Now that I saved you, you traded it. But I also saved a few of your companions, so don't you owe me?"
The woman's expression subtly froze before she closed her eyes and played dead. Waving her hand, she said,
"Ah, then just throw them all off. Who asked them to make fun of me just now?"
"You bastard!"
The nearby Liruika wanted to lunge out and punch her, but in the next second, the woman sat up with a grin, seeming wholly unconcerned about being ensnared by that bizarre tentacle.
This human woman truly had a massive heart.
"Alright, alright. In that case, I owe you four favors. I'll pay you back later... Right, what perfect timing. To commemorate this event, how about we become sworn siblings?"
"...Why do you want to become sworn siblings?"
The nearby Liruika snorted coldly and spoke,
"Because after becoming sworn siblings, you won't need to return the favors."
Upon being exposed, the woman flashed a cheeky grin, extended her hand toward Gou Wen, and said,
"Regardless, we know each other starting today. Nice to meet you, Gou Wen."
With his wife still behind him, Gou Wen didn't dare shake hands. Thus, he nodded and replied through gritted teeth,
"Nice to meet you, Demi-Human Girl Con."
Unexpectedly, she corrected Gou Wen with extreme seriousness,
"Firstly, I am not a Demi-Human Girl Con. Secondly, if you can't shake hands, can you have your wife do it instead? I actually quite want to hold her hand again, if you don't mind. Hehe."
"Son of a b*tch! Stop right there! See if I don't beat you to death!"
Hearing this, Gou Wen flared up in rage. He shot up from the ground and prepared to give her a beating, only for her to turn around and flee, acting entirely like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.
Off in the distance, Xuan Can stood with her arms crossed, watching the uninhibited human woman ahead and the furiously enraged Gou Wen chasing relentlessly after her. For some reason, Xuan Can, who had always possessed a strong possessiveness toward her husband, felt completely unbothered at this moment.
She didn't find this woman threatening; she merely judged her as being somewhat unhinged.
Of course, perhaps if she were perfectly sane, she wouldn't have been able to spot that bizarre tentacle.
Sighing, she sat down on the sea beast's head and patted its crown to signal it toward the Dragon Heart Continent.
The clamor from behind continued to echo. Facing the ocean wind, the corners of Xuan Can's lips gradually curled upward, issuing a final helpless evaluation.
"A bunch of psychopaths..."