The God of Jesters
Chapter 660 - 10.03.2 You got a traitor.

Chapter 660: 10.03.2 You got a traitor.

There were no Legends nearby. If there had been, my senses would have detected them from far off, and they would have felt me through their domain. But fate was at my side. The world wished to help me on my journey, and the companions it gave me were a bunch of wonderful little mercenaries.

One of them was actually pretty special, an ability I hadn’t seen before, which attracted me to him. The other part was the little interest Malidi showed in the leader of this group, a sign of promise and potential.

Not to mention, the current state of the world was too chaotic for me to run around alone. There were too many legends and even totems flying over the seas, even the horrific one from what I can only assume is a Daemon from the Radiant Order. If that being detects me, it’s game over.

This means I need a cover, someone to hide behind as they look for potential hunts on their end. And even then, I would need protection before I could recover my strength and the one to help me was right in front of me.

People that appeared to have some strength to support my dreams.

As for the kids and friends of mine? They have suffered enough, it’s better to leave them alone for now while I make a few new friends. This might be a good way to find some new faces and stories.

Which is why I appeared close to the boat. Invisible to the majority of the sea-faring creatures or beings, but to my eyes and in the world of dreams, I could feel their existence, the passive dreaming effect always leaves a visage in that world, making it easier for me to detect their position.

As for the Realm of Gods, now that is not something I was built for, the most I would use it for is keeping an eye on powerful individuals, otherwise, even if I had the capability to establish myself in it, I would still chose to keep myself out of it.

So with that in mind, I made a small motion, a simple spark that would go undetected in the senses of these Master ranked Mercenaries, but for their leader, this spark was enough to enthrall their leader. The Grandmaster had some bizarre fascination with blood.

And it happened.

I saw his figure appearing from the boat, flying over it, and appearing a bit tired. Their previous actions might taken a toll on his body, it’s not easy to extract blood from a total of six legends while being so lowly, mind you, he didn’t even have a domain of his own, and if not for the support of Malidi, he would have died with a simple thought by those six.

Even then, he had drained them of their blood and then dragged the boat by hand away from the radius of the domain, or what he could expect the size to be. And showing his monstrous endurance from these actions alone.

But he was not a legend, just a mere Grandmaster, there was a limit to his abilities which he had reached. Probably why his face showed a hint of panic that he hid instantly the moment his eyes fell on the patch of red in the sea barely visible in the night.

And then he spoke in sound only I was capable of hearing, just to prevent panic among his crews. Or that might be the false information he might be giving to me because I can sense movements, the crew were already arming themselves and ready to fight with the canons in toe. Such efficiency, no wonder they dared to come so deep into the enemy territory and pull the stunts like before.

As for what he said. "I wonder who you are?" There was no fear in his voice, it was probably my way of calling him out that caused him to put down his guard, not a threat in his eyes, though the preparations on the side were nothing more than insurance in case something odd did happen outside of his control.

A learned fella, a proper one for the job.

So I surfaced carrying the face of a fish covered in scales that made him put his guard up. "A merman." They were creatures considered legends to some, but to others, they were one of the major nightmares one had the misfortune of coming across on the seas, and barely anyone survives such ordeals.

They were also one of the reasons why the merchants and even pirates used their respective paths, not daring to venture far off from them.

Which they were obviously not on. So the appearance of a merman would be certain doom.

"Not, one if you are thinking about it, I am just a mere shapeshifter that took this form to travel into the seas," I spoke, my body turning to that of a dwarf again, smaller, stouter, and funnily enough, hard to swim. "Well, as you can see," I said, trying to maintain my body above the sea. "I have some job for... you... can I please come above board?" It might be funny to some, but be in my place, trying to swim in water with such small limbs. There is a reason the majority of dwarves carry hatred for the seas. With few exceptions, most dwarves are pretty bad at swimming.

This is not due to the lack of effort, it’s just how our body is built.

"There are still some of your kind alive?" the man spoke, his eyes looking at my figure, finding my strength of Master a bit of a lie. "You really think I would allow you on the ship?" At those words, swords floated around the man, all aimed at my supple small body. "Tracking us this far, appearing at random and making up words. Your intentions are unclear and I don’t have intentions to entertain your excuses or even proposition that you send my way."

"So die." They were on enemy waters and not too long ago, the man had done something criminal, it would be odd if he were to listen to a random guy like me who appeared right after they went to take some rest. The timing of it all felt off to him. Not to mention, my strength of Master didn’t seem genuine, as no way in hell I would be able to track them for so long or keep up with the pace of this man when he was pushing the ship.

Not to mention the worst part about it all. This shapeshifter spoke their language. And he spoke in such a natural tone as if he was a native. Which he obviously was not from the looks of it.

There were just too many suspicious points to talk about, though the man barely had any interest in my well-being who I served, or even what I wanted out of him, all he wished to do at this point was kill me and get rid of any potential danger.

Correct choice for someone in his place, but I can’t let that happen. "Your second in command just sent a random message to someone not too long ago... I know it, I was watching from the side." No excuses, no play on words, I just spoke the truth I had found and let this man judge on his own.

And lo and behold, my words did cause the eyebrows of this gentleman to grow as he looked towards the boat and spoke. "Kokad, does what he say is true?" Those blades were aimed at my body, but the attention of this gentleman turned to his second in command who slowly walked out of the cabin with his usual soft face and spoke. "I am not aware of what he is speaking of, but if you find me suspicious I am ready to sign a contract to prove my innocence." the man spoke in a simple and direct way that would generally completely destroy my case.

Just look at that face, it carried fear as well as reverence for his boss, and with claims to sign a contract over my blame, it was easy to see who was lying. Which was me.

But you folks know I was not lying, there hadn’t been a lie in my words before, because only through proper truth can you control the people and not the lies.

"It’s obvious who is the liar here." The man spoke, turning to me ready to kill the random strange that intruded upon the safety of his crew. But I had a few more words. "I didn’t say he sent a complete message... what I saw him doing was crushing some clay talisman in his hand, checking the seas from the two kilometers away, the original place it happened, your mystic would be able to detect it if she looks hard enough."

"Or it’s you who broke it and is blaming my men for it?" There is no way a team captain would be swayed by the words of a rando like me, wouldn’t it mean he had no trust in his teammates? If that was the case, how can they perform properly in the field knowing that their captain can abandon them at a moment’s notice?

So many struggles, and so many things to look after before making a decision. Hah, this is why I love smart people, they always make things so troublesome. Which is why I said with a simple smile. "The potion your second in command gave you, that was done by his hand wasn’t it?"