I Forged the Myth of the Ancient Overlords
Chapter 331 - 331 330. Sneaking a Bite_1

Chapter 331: 330. Sneaking a Bite_1 Chapter 331: 330. Sneaking a Bite_1 Five days later.

The fleet docked at a harbor.

The island was named Daffodil Island, famed for the daffodils that bloomed across it, but Lu Ban had no chance to disembark and view the legendary, exceedingly beautiful daffodil fields.

Following this harbor, the fleet would embark on a voyage of about ten days before they might encounter a new port, so they needed to replenish water and food here, making thorough preparations.

At the same time, Sakura Island’s Island Magistrate’s Escort Ship would bid them farewell here and return to their home island.

The stopover was brief, and while supplies were being loaded, Shobu and Lu Ban boarded the flagship.

For the next ten days, they would live on the flagship, responsible for guiding the voyage.

“Don’t talk too much, I don’t want to see Lady Priestess clutching a live fish and gnawing on it directly when we disembark,”

Shobu, carrying her oversized sword, reminded Lu Ban.

In these five days, Lu Ban had not only tried the red-fleshed fish, but also sampled raw meat from unsightly shells and tentacles from soft-bodied creatures covered in them.

It turned out that the sailors were also looking forward to the catches Laika would bring back from fishing in the water every night.

“It’s strange to me that you don’t eat raw food,”

Lu Ban never expected that one day he, a foreigner, would tell these people from He Dao that seafood could be eaten raw.

“However, I can understand, if there were plants like mustard or wasabi, combined with soy sauce…”

He thought, perhaps it was because this world lacked such seasonings that went well with seafood, but before, on Song Island, although those things might not have been real food, Lu Ban remembered having seen something like sashimi.

Maybe that was a delicacy only literary scholars and distinguished guests could enjoy.

“Lady Priestess, we are about to undertake a very long voyage, and I hope you can give us ample trust,”

said Shobu to Amber once more in the captain’s cabin as the journey recommenced.

“I trust you,”

Amber nodded.

“You have made a Word Spirit oath to protect me to He Dao, haven’t you?”

The indifferent demeanor about her grew a tad heavier, more aloof than the girl who petted Laika’s belly under the moonlight which Lu Ban had seen before.

“Indeed,”

Shobu answered.

“Therefore, I hope you can trust me completely, Lady Priestess, because in certain situations, I might take actions that, to you, might seem harmful, but rest assured, they’re only to protect you,”

“What kind of situations are you referring to?”

Amber frowned slightly.

“I don’t know, but you surely are aware that there are those who do not want you to reach He Dao successfully, and the next part of our route is the most dangerous,”

Shobu shook her head.

“I trust you,”

Amber glanced at Lu Ban.

“You can always trust me,”

Lu Ban added.

Lady Priestess Amber’s eyes twitched slightly, and Lu Ban didn’t know whether she was suppressing a smile or found it unworthy of mention.

Leaving the captain’s cabin, Lu Ban was curious.

“Boss, do you already have some intelligence?”

Boss was the nickname the mercenaries had for Shobu; even though she was more than a head shorter than Lu Ban, the aura she exuded was genuinely formidable.

At least, she had definitely killed someone with her own hands.

“This journey is no simple matter; just now at the dock, several of the dockworkers were clearly unsuited for heavy labor, obviously not real workers but spies gathering intelligence, and it’s possible that some have already infiltrated the ships.”

“Even the sailors on this ship might have been bribed. Only the Island Magistrate’s men are truly protecting Lady Priestess. Now that they’ve left, certain individuals may become restless.”

“Don’t think it’s impossible. The adversaries Lady Priestess now faces aren’t mere political opponents, but the current ruling nobles.”

“If the situation turns sour, we could find ourselves being framed. They’ll disguise themselves as pirates and mercenaries to collude from the inside and outside, assassinating Lady Priestess,”

Shobu said, laying out the situation simply.

“If that’s the case, why do we accept this assignment?”

Lu Ban posed the question.

It was as if the whole world wanted Amber dead, yet Shobu still took on the task, and even at the last possible moment to flee, she chose not to leave.

“Because I believe we can win,”

Shobu smiled.

“If we win, then we will have the full support of Lady Priestess. We won’t have to drift at sea anymore and can have our own estate and land on the island. For this reason, I think it’s worth the gamble.”

Truth be told, Lu Ban didn’t quite understand this.

Setting aside his own motives for the mission, if Lu Ban were truly a mercenary, faced with this job, he probably wouldn’t have taken it rashly.

It was too dangerous.

Even with a successful mission, the promised rewards might not materialize, and to Lu Ban, they didn’t seem worth risking his life for.

Shobu’s words seemed more like a reason given to Lu Ban.

It sounded plausible, but didn’t really hold up.

At least, Lu Ban was certain she wasn’t a Chosen by Gods infiltrator.

Laika had told him as much.

Back on Pohnpei Island in his original world, Lu Ban could see through the disguises of invaders, but he wasn’t sure if he could penetrate the disguises of other Chosen by Divine Beings in the Foreign Domain.

At least for now, he hadn’t seen any Mermen, Bandaged People, or Four-eyed Kids.

Night fell.

Lu Ban did not engage in another late-night barbecue on the ship.

He snuck in a meal alone.

“The fish here seem a bit leaner, probably not much to eat around here, I guess,”

Lu Ban muttered as he tossed the fish head to Laika and took a few bites for himself.

Under the moonlight, the sea shimmered. After leaving Daffodil Island, a thick sea mist arose.

This mist gave Lu Ban a bit of PTSD, but thankfully, it was just ordinary sea fog, carrying a damp, briny scent that could make those unaccustomed feel sick.

Lu Ban could only eat more heartily.

Midway through his meal, Lu Ban thought he saw a figure.

He tossed the remainder of the fish to Laika, wiped his hands, stood up, and followed the silhouette.

The individual appeared to be one of Amber’s guards, moving towards the depths of the ship’s cabin with a certain stiffness in his motion.

Lu Ban kept his distance, following the man, using the vision provided by True Sight to track him.

Below deck, the storeroom held food and water. If someone planned to poison supplies, this would be the prime location.

Lu Ban saw the figure swaying unsteadily, like a drunk, into the depths of the storeroom.

In this seldom-visited place, Lu Ban noticed a bright red Array drawn on the dry wooden floor, surrounded by tiny inscriptions similar to the talismans he had seen on He Dao.

All of a sudden, the guard collapsed onto the floor with a thump, pulling out a Divine Idol from within his clothes.

Lu Ban saw that the idol was grotesque and corpulent, with a gaping mouth on its belly, emitting a repulsive aura.

The moment he extracted the idol, Lu Ban also caught a whiff of something foul.

The guard placed the idol at the center of the Array.

Then he started to pray.

*

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