Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 768: Forest

Dark purple tree trunks extended upward from beneath the ink-green seawater, intertwining above the ship. A turtleshell ship the size of half a soccer field slowly sailed through the forest of purple trees.

The turtle shell covered in moss opened slowly, and several Haikor sailors nervously looked at the eerie scene around them. It was deathly silent. Aside from the sound of waves, there were no other noises.

"Boss, have you been here before? Will we really reach our destination by going through this place? I can't see any creatures in the water. Maybe there's something dangerous inside?" Shindy asked. He looked quite fearful as he stared at the boatswain next to him.

"This is the territory of our gods. What are you so worried about? This route opened just a month ago, so it's quite new, but this is my third time using this route, and there hasn't been any danger. This place isn't dangerous at all."

The boatswain's eyes revealed a hint of contempt for Shindy.

Shindy was diligent and hardworking, but he was quite timid. He was always asking about this and that out of fear. The boatswain decided to kick Shindy out of the ship upon their return.

What was he doing sailing when he was so timid? The boatswain found it so absurd that he couldn't quite believe Shindy's decision to even go out at sea.

A new route? Are they delivering goods to a new location rather than the usual? Charles thought.

"Stop looking around. What's there to see around here? You guys go to the hold and bring the goods up to the deck. We'll be arriving soon."

As soon as they reached the cargo hold, Charles finally saw the "goods." They were a group of terrified humans. They were crammed into cages, looking disheveled and filthy. The majority of them were adults, with no elderly or children. It seemed that this batch of "goods" had been carefully selected.

Charles had no idea what the Foundation was going to do with these outsiders, but he was certain about one thing—these people had a horrible end ahead of them.

Amidst the shouts and wailing of the terrified people, five-meter-long poles were inserted into the cage from up above. Shindy squatted down, placed the pole on his shoulder, and carried the cage toward the hatch with another Haikor.

There were many "goods" in the cargo hold. The sailors carried cages nonstop for thirty minutes before they finally managed to move all the "goods" on the deck up above.

As soon as they finished their work, their destination finally appeared in their eyes.

Their destination was an island woven from purple tree trunks.

The deep purple trunks not only covered the sea surface but also created a giant circular net that surrounded the entire island. The forest of purple that Charles and the others had seen not too long ago had obviously come from here.

The forest-like island didn't have any natural light; the flashing red dots on the net bathed the entire island with a hazy, flickering red glow.

Charles had seen those red dots on the surface world. The majority of them were placed on the highest point of tall buildings, and they were being used as navigational lights to prevent airplanes from crashing into buildings at night.

The ship docked slowly at a pier woven from black tree trunks. As soon as the ship came to a halt, the crew instantly became tense, including the boatswain.

Elizabeth's grandfather had told Charles that the Foundation had never really told the Haikor Tribe the purpose of these islands. Thus, the inner islands became synonymous with the words "mysterious" and "dangerous" for the Haikors.

Draped in colorful stripes of cloth, a priest slowly walked out of the ship and walked down the pier toward a small alley under the watchful gazes of the crew.

Several hours later, the priest had yet to return. Just as the others were getting a bit impatient, the priest finally returned, saying, "The gods have learned of our arrival. Put the goods on the pier, and we can go back."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at that. Everyone present, including the captain, began moving the "goods." They didn't want to stay here for even a moment longer.

The entire crew was mobilized, so they made quick work of the job.

In no time, the "goods" were finally on the pier.

Soon, the vines on the ground writhed and wrapped around the cages. Then, the vines dragged the cages away amidst the terrified screams of the humans within them.

"Weigh anchor! We're going back!" the captain commanded.

Everyone on the ship immediately rushed to their own posts.

The huge turtleshell ship had just barely left the pier when the cook's terrified voice echoed throughout the cabin, astonishing the crew. "Boss! Bad news! Our fresh water has been contaminated!"

Fresh water was of vital importance on a ship.

People would die of thirst after just three days without water, and even the giant Haikors were no exception.

Of course, the contamination of the fresh water was Shindy's handiwork in response to Charles' instruction.

They weren't going to let this ship return so easily, and they would never go back until they had achieved their goal.

The bald captain gathered the crew on the deck of the turtleshell ship and swept his gaze across them with an uncertain look. The people before him had spent many days and nights sailing with him, so his gaze eventually landed on the new sailors.

The captain's gaze swept over the faces of Shindy and the other new sailors. "You better not be thinking that you're going to be fine by hiding among us. Force my hand, and I'll throw all of you into the sea, the innocent be damned!"

The new sailors were terrified. They immediately competed with each other, expressing their loyalty to the captain. They all claimed that they weren't a traitor.

Shindy was the most earnest among the new sailors.

However, the captain knew that they had to prioritize fresh water before anything else. Without fresh water, they would all die even if they managed to find the traitor and kill them.

The captain snorted coldly at the new sailors. Then, he turned and walked toward the priest. "Priest, is there fresh water on this island of the gods? Can you ask them for some fresh water on our behalf?"

The priest seemed to have been put between a rock and a hard place, and it showed on his face, but he eventually nodded and said, "All right, I'll go and ask for some fresh water. Come with me."

The captain nodded and was about to go follow the priest when he stopped and looked at the new sailors.

"Wait, I want to bring them along, too," the captain said. The remaining crew members then attracted his attention, and he added, "No, I want everyone to come with us."

The captain was afraid that there was more than one traitor among them. If he were to leave some of the crew on the ship and his ship ended up missing upon his return from obtaining some fresh water, the joke would be on him.

The entire crew disembarked and followed the priest with anxious looks as they headed into the depths of the purple forest.

The path wasn't that difficult, but everyone's breathing became lighter and lighter as they walked deeper into the forest. They were all afraid of disturbing some existence.

Finally, they stopped in front of a living wall.

The priest crouched and revealed a purple leaf in his hand.

A small pure white flower looking like a lotus was behind the purple leaf, and it was a beautiful flower.

Just as everyone was entranced by the white flower, it suddenly moved, retracting its stem and opening its bud. The bud then made a beeline for the priest's right eye, attaching itself to it.

Everyone was startled by the sudden turn of events, but the priest remained calm.

Soon, the flower retracted, and its pure white color faded away. It eventually became a sky-blue flower.

The priest sounded deeply respectful as he said, "Sir Attendant of the Gods, our ship's fresh water has been contaminated. May we ask for some fresh water from the island?"