Chapter 228: 4. Affiliated Races Sequence (Combined)
“Woof!”
In the morning, the Iceberg Queen was sailing through the vast ocean, closely pursuing a giant beast that was not far ahead, which emitted a sound like a massive air blower as it moved.
At the point of contact between the sea ghost and the water surface, as it continuously sucked in air from above the sea, a massive whirlpool formed on its back, swirling the agitated seawater, causing other small fish and shrimp below the surface to flee in fear from this terrifying scene.
“Ha, this guy has already begun to inhale; it looks like we can prepare to strike tomorrow.”
Since last night, this gigantic sea ghost, which had emerged on the surface of the sea, had expelled all the residual waste inside its body, and the area in front of the Iceberg Queen was as noisy as a moving sea volcano. However, this did not dampen the crew’s enthusiasm; they still ate and drank as usual and trained as needed in the morning.
This also marked that over the next two days, the sea ghost had entered the inhalation phase, which was the most physically demanding part for the sea ghost. When it filled its lungs and prepared to dive again, it would be the crew’s turn to move.
At this moment, the plump first officer Paz stood at the door of the captain’s quarters, keeping her eyes glued to the sea ghost ahead through her telescope. After confirming its current state, she turned back to Captain Alagina without looking.
But after this inquiry, Alagina responded with silence.
The sudden quietness prompted Paz to lower her telescope and look back at Alagina with some confusion.
“Captain?”
Behind her, in the cold and closed-off captain’s quarters, Alagina sat with a stern expression on her face, crossing her legs in her exclusive chair, casting a sidelong glance at a messenger machine on the table that was wrapped in magic.
The steam messenger machine was a typical product of the combination of magic and steam; its magical component was very similar to that of the messenger spells, but the difference was that it inscribed a broad-range magic that could designate multiple messenger targets simultaneously and had a high degree of safety, hence it was often used in military commands and maritime communication.
For example, every ship from the Nali Exploration Company that set sail would be equipped with this kind of announcement magical machine because there were no normal communication devices at sea; they relied either on signal flags or body language.
When ships from the same company needed to communicate, or when an emergency, disaster, or appeal for help arose, this magical machine would prove invaluable.
Pirates coming from the pirate port were also equipped with this kind of device, but they used it only to exchange bounty orders and task information. Whenever there was urgent news to be dispatched, they would use this gadget to send the message to every captain.
At this moment, Alagina was staring at the magical machine with a serious expression. As the runes on the device grew increasingly bright, the gears inside rapidly spun under the steam’s enveloping.
Paz entered the captain’s quarters, drawn in by the glowing device, and asked, “What major news has surfaced at sea? Let me see. Oh, Nali news is offering a bounty on her father; which big shot is on the run now? Or is it that five great pirates will soon emerge? Those guys at the pirate port were right; the ‘Four Great Pirates’ will eventually have a fifth.”
To ensure effective information delivery, when designing this device, two categories of title information would typically be affixed before transmitting news.
The first title was [Source of Information], literally indicating that the information came from Nali; the second was [Type of Information], explaining the nature of the news, which could be either news or bounty.
Alagina’s expression remained unchanged as she listened. The next moment, the machine spat out two documents filled with Nali script. The first document was from the pirate port, detailing news that all captains were to pay attention to:
“Godlin the Ninth of Nali has passed away. The newly crowned queen, Elizabeth, ascended to the throne on October 15th at Saint Nali, taking the title ‘Godlin the Tenth.'”
“At the same time, the situation in the Nali seas has become complex. The pirate port has instructed the bounty hall to cancel all bounty tasks near the Nali seas. However, completed tasks are exempted, and captains can still return to claim their bounties. The situation in the southern seas is fluid; all captains should pay attention to safety.”
Paz stood behind Alagina, reading the document alongside her. As she stroked her chin, she pondered,
“Ah, I didn’t expect Nali would have its first queen. Given their tradition of passing the throne only to males, the ascension of this queen must be quite extraordinary. The second prince’s rebellion, the eldest prince’s injury; everyone can guess that these events aren’t true.”
“The truth or falsehood of that is unimportant.”
Alagina shook her head as she regarded the news, providing her evaluation,
“The key factor in Elizabeth becoming queen is that she has gained the trust of the majority. For the people of Nali, whether Prince Dexter was truly killed by Lunsis or framed to his death by Elizabeth is irrelevant; the crux of Elizabeth’s victory lies in the fact that the public trusts her more than they trust Dexter and others.”
“And for the other high-ranking nobles, this notion is even more absurd. Anyone can understand that Elizabeth is the victor of the struggle. Once the game is set, there is no going back; what they can do is consider how to protect their existing cake or think about how to grab a larger portion.”
Paz nodded in agreement upon hearing this, yet as she glanced at Alagina sitting in her seat, she suddenly felt a sense of regret.
If only that vassal king had treated her and her father better back then, Alagina would have certainly made a suitable heir.
Well, but then again, one could never tell.
After all, as Alagina’s teacher, Paz knew best that Alagina did not harbor lofty ambitions; even this current setup was already considered good enough.
Beneath that letter, there was a long list of new policies “determined” by Elizabeth and the New Party, mostly aimed at reforming various past ailments, including the reallocation of administrative districts in Saint Nali and the protection of local agricultural products, but these were not Alagina’s concerns.
She set down the news she held, revealing another message beneath it, but this document was not from the pirate port. The complex golden pattern embossed on it indicated that this document was issued directly from the Golden Palace of Nali.
“Let me see this one. Bounty. Bounty on Fisher Benavides! Bounty amount… ten million Nali?! Is this a mistake? That’s two hundred fifty thousand more than what we have; is that guy a precious gem in Elizabeth’s hands? So valuable?”
Alagina did not respond; her gaze was fixed on the portrait of Fisher Benavides printed below the bounty notice, which stated beneath the portrait:
“Fisher Benavides has taken hostage the esteemed Princess Isabel Godlin. Anyone who can bring them back alive to Nali will not only receive the entire bounty but also be exceptionally granted a title of nobility by the Golden Palace.”
Just after Alagina finished reading this bounty order, an intense chill spread from her hand, wrapping around the bounty order. When the ice solidified completely and then shattered the next second, the paper encased within had vanished without a trace.
“…”
“Ah, this is quite the hassle.”
Paz quickly realized something and walked back to the door of the captain’s quarters, gazing down at the situation on the lower deck from the corridor.
Since this morning, Isabel had been training with the crew, but that girl was far too frail; she barely managed a few laps before she started vomiting.
Now she was leaning over the railing, violently throwing up into the sea, while the other crew members were watching, shouting “one, two, three” as if cheering her on. It was quite a lively scene.
“If that girl really is Princess Isabel, then having her on the ship is like carrying a ticking bomb, and it might explode at any moment.”
“Fisher never thought of dragging us down; he originally just wanted us to take them to a place ashore. But there’s no need to worry too much; since she’s boarded our ship, she is no longer a princess of Nali, and no one knows she is on our ship.”
Alagina approached Paz, gazing at the blonde girl. It was clear that both she and Paz had discovered the girl’s true identity.
Paz’s comment was really just in jest, showing no fear towards Nali. After all, they were not like the others; they were pirates who could come and go freely without supervision. They had been chased by their former employer, the Kingdom of Sardinia, for so many years without being caught.
Once they entered the Eastern Seas, not to mention Nali, even if several of them banded together, it wouldn’t make a difference.
“Just to be sure, I should check if she has any magical items on her, to avoid being tracked down by the Nali people.”
Alagina nodded in agreement but suddenly remembered something, glancing across the deck but not spotting the person she was looking for.
“Where’s Fisher?”
Paz, who had been rubbing the back of her head, also looked around with confusion.
“Uh? Wasn’t he just over there? Where did he run off to?”
Upon hearing this, Alagina instinctively looked up at the mast, only to find that Aoxi was also missing from sight.
“Run!”
And on the deck a few minutes earlier, Fisher was leaning against the shadow of the mast, enjoying the coolness alone.
Emhart had been taken away by Kalma and the others, probably busy in some cabin below deck, feeding mice or something.
However, to be precise, Fisher wasn’t resting; he had come to keep an eye on Isabel as she participated in the crew’s training.
The sun was quite fierce today, and Isabel’s frail skin was directly exposed to it, combined with the heavy training load; before long, she was drenched in sweat and gasping for breath.
At this moment, she was no longer wearing that long white dress but had changed into a spare short-sleeved shirt and long pants of the crew, trailing behind the long line, running laps and exercising on the deck.
But her stamina was far too weak; just running one lap caused her to fall behind by half, and in no time, the large group had passed her back multiple times.
Feeling the cool breeze against her sweaty back as others passed by, and facing their somewhat mocking glances, Isabel took a deep breath in frustration, clutched her abdomen, and tried to chase after the group ahead.
Fisher didn’t continue to watch Isabel struggle to keep up; he had his own matters to tend to.
Leaning in the shadows, he looked up at Aoxi, who was still perched on top of the mast, then pulled out his Handbook for Sub-Humans.
That’s right; he intended to first bind and study this Northern Cangbird species.
He had done quite a bit of research on the Northern Cangbird species prior to meeting Aoxi. He was not sure if he could reach the 20% reward threshold, but at the very least, he wanted to give it a try. He was also curious about what tags the Cangbird species had and if they could be combined.
With that settled in mind, Fisher grasped the Handbook for Sub-Humans, which only he could see, and walked a short distance toward the mast.
He was unsure if he could successfully establish a contract from a distance of a mast’s height away from Aoxi, and if not, he would have to find a way to get her to come down.
Fortunately, the signal reception range of the Handbook for Sub-Humans was noticeably better than the magical broadcasting machine in Lady Martha’s house. Her rickety machine had nearly become covered in magic, necessitating Fisher to frequently disassemble and re-engrave it multiple times. Often, he still had to climb to the roof to hear its sound.
The issue was that the steam component was broken, not the magic rune itself. Fisher wasn’t adept at repairing steam components, and Martha was unwilling to spend money on a steam craftsman for repairs; she felt that as long as it still worked, it was fine.
As soon as Fisher had just pulled out the Handbook for Sub-Humans on the deck, it erupted with two beams of golden light. The ancient yellow scroll began flipping rapidly on its own without wind. Soon, two brand new virtual interfaces appeared behind the Whale Folk, waiting for Fisher’s confirmation:
[Northern Cangbird Species], [Mouse Folk]
And below the Cangbird species, there were several lines of different virtual texts:
[Please select a research subject, available subjects: 0/1]
[Aoxi, adult female Northern Cangbird species]
Well, it could be bound, that would be good.
To prevent the crew from noticing any signs caused by binding the research subject later, he took one last glance at Isabel, who was still running, and then returned to his room, where he selected to bind the Cangbird species Aoxi.
At the moment this thought surfaced, a twisting golden light surged from the pages of the Handbook, spreading from the top of the book until it enveloped Fisher’s body before stopping.
As the golden light spread, intense pain surged through Fisher’s body again. This pain didn’t diminish regardless of how much he trained; it hurt as it always did. Fortunately, after going through this several times, Fisher had become somewhat accustomed to it, and he could even glance at the recorded content on the pages while enduring the pain.
Lines of fantastical golden text quickly expanded in the new column, adding all the knowledge Fisher had about the Cangbird species into his mind.
[Cangbird Species]
[Northern Species], [Beast Species], [Sky Species], [Snow Mountain Affiliated Race]
Snow Mountain Affiliated Race?
As each shiny tag appeared within Fisher’s line of sight, he curiously looked at the meaning of the last tag that popped up. As he focused his awareness, the Handbook for Sub-Humans provided an explanation with illusory text:
[Snow Mountain Affiliated Race: They were the most loyal followers of the Frost and Snow Phoenix, vowing with their clan’s lives to defend the dignity of the snow mountains and fate.]
[Special Sequence — Affiliated Race Sequence: This is an honor granted to the races that once loyally followed the royal family. Unlocking any affiliated race in the sequence grants clues for research into other affiliated races.]
[Snow Mountain Affiliated Race Sequence Races: Cangbird Species, Slime Species, Snow Fox Tribe, Cloud Cat Species, Troll Race, Moon Rabbit Tribe]
Fisher raised an eyebrow, beginning to grasp what the Handbook meant by the [Affiliated Race Sequence].
He remembered that he had previously unlocked a tag labeled [Royal Selection], and under each of those royal races was a unique [Affiliated Race Sequence], symbolizing the many subhuman races that had once followed them.
This special sequence tag, due to their connections, enabled clues about other races to be retrieved by unlocking one. If that were the case, the process of unlocking the Affiliated Race Sequence would be remarkably similar to a chain reaction; unlocking one would greatly reduce the difficulty of unlocking the next.
Fisher felt a surge of relief upon receiving this good news, as the intense pain in his body seemed to ease a bit. At this moment, a reasonable association came to mind regarding the apocalypse prophecy recorded in the Handbook.
Based on the previous progress, he had already confirmed two of the four great doomsayers: Raphael of the Dragon Race and Jasmine of the Whale Folk, both of which belonged to the Royal Selection category.
Then excluding the already known sorceress of the tagged sequences, was there a possibility that the last doomsayer, the [God of the Sky], was the [Phoenix Race] among the Royal Selections?
If so, once he unlocked all the affiliated races belonging to the Phoenix Race, it was highly likely that clues leading to the Phoenix Race would emerge. After all, Emhart said that Phoenixes had not appeared in the world for a long time; they were not even sure if they had gone extinct.
However, Fisher couldn’t guarantee that one day a cynical, wrathful killing Phoenix wouldn’t pop out from a stone. Having some insurance or clues pointing towards it was definitely more prudent than having none.
With these thoughts, he slowly propped his sweat-drenched body up and examined his previous research progress on the Cangbird species.
[Cangbird Species Biological Research Progress: 17%]
[Cangbird Species Societal Research Progress: 3%]
Hmm, this progress was still within Fisher’s expectations; he might even say it was pleasantly surprising.
Even though Fisher had read Little Jack’s papers, research into subhuman species was still just beginning. No, it could be said that it was an entirely new discipline where only Fisher himself was involved.
The content from one or two papers he had previously seen barely qualified as an understanding of this subhuman race; he might not even have been more familiar with the Cangbird species than the local populace in the Northern Region who saw them daily.
However, just 3% more, and he could claim the next stage of the biological research reward. That was a pleasant surprise; with some further effort, he sought to research the Cangbird species quickly and obtain the reward.
The current problem was that this Cangbird Aoxi spent nearly all her time perched atop the mast, leaving Fisher with no opportunity. Would he really have to ask Alagina to call her down for his research?
Well, that sounded a bit strange – the kind of strange that even those other than Emhart would find odd.
What if he went to Emhart to gain knowledge instead?
He should know a lot about the Cangbird species. If he could learn more about subhumans from him, would his research progress increase?
That seemed worth trying.
With that in mind, Fisher rubbed his shoulders, put away the open Handbook for Sub-Humans into his pocket, and prepared to head out to find Sir Book, who was outside playing with Kalma and the others, to test his hypothesis.
“Coocoo… coocoo.”
As soon as Fisher pushed open the door, he immediately spotted Aoxi, the Cangbird species, walking toward him from the direction of the adjacent room, dressed in heavy robes.
At this moment, her body was still completely veiled by that cloak, but the shape of her arms was clearly outlined. In the bend of her arm, the parrot named Steel Knife nestled quietly in her embrace.
Aoxi seemed not to expect to see Fisher in the room; she had just returned from the restroom and was surprised to bump into him upon exiting.
When she saw Fisher, her footsteps abruptly halted, and both she and the parrot turned to look at him. Beneath her short white hair, her large, bright eyes seemed to testify to the Cangbird species’ excellent vision.
“Aoxi, second officer.”
After a brief pause, Fisher greeted her, but just like Alagina, her expression did not show any obvious changes upon hearing his words.
Or rather, if there was any change, her expression was obscured by the cloak covering half her face.
What Fisher didn’t expect was that the next moment, she suddenly lifted the parrot Steel Knife in her hands, pointing it at Fisher.
Still puzzled as to what she was doing, the Steel Knife parrot tilted its head and squawked at him, “Silly. Silly.”
“…”
The atmosphere fell into silence; Aoxi’s expression remained unchanged, but the hidden hands beneath the cloak suddenly tightened around the Steel Knife, causing it to flinch slightly, after which she turned to look at Fisher again.
This time, the colorful parrot changed its words and said, “Hello. Hello.”
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(End of this chapter)
