Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 454 Mysterious Past
Xia Nan quite liked the atmosphere on the Blade of Vengeance.

In his view, for an adventurer's party to survive for a long time under dangerous and high-pressure conditions, while order and rules are important, good relationships among members are also essential.

A team can only go the distance if they know each other's personalities well enough that even if they have disagreements, they know that the other person would not betray them during a mission and they can still trust each other to carry on in battle.

Otherwise, given the high-risk, high-reward nature of the adventurer profession, even if the team itself is very strong and perseveres through each mission, it will eventually disintegrate from within.

Of course, these are just some of Xia Nan's superficial views on adventurer teams.

Having been in this world for less than two years, I don't have much experience.

They have no experience with a fixed team, and even when they occasionally cooperate with other adventurers due to the requirements of a mission, the fate of their teammates is often not good.

To some extent, it's a bit much for him to make such a summary, saying he "likes the team atmosphere."

Regardless, based on the brief exchange with the other two core members of Blade of Vengeance just now, and the information captured by his senses, he could roughly judge that he shouldn't have too much of a hard time in the team for the next three months, at least he wouldn't have any difficult teammates.

"Creak...creak..."

The leather boots made a dull, scraping sound as they stepped onto the deck.

Led by Druid Hein, Shanan and Alton were on their way to the captain's cabin.

The Blade of Vengeance was much larger than the speed-focused Flying Fish Barrel, and Hein took the opportunity to introduce Xia Nan to the cabins and various facilities on the deck.

As Xia Nan watched the druid in the gray-green linen shirt leading the way and explaining the functions of the cabin, his mind raced.

Three days ago, when he heard the words "Twin Oceans" from the other party's mouth, Xia Nan felt an extremely subtle emotion.

First, because of the scalpel he found on the "Bloody Nose Rat," he locked onto the Twin Oceans, which he suspected had a secret realm; then, Edson gave him an extra request for the same destination when he traded the [Tidal Lure Rod]; and finally, even the "Blade of Vengeance" adventure team that he had just joined was about to head there.

In Xia Nan's view, this could hardly be simply called a coincidence. It was as if an invisible hand was guiding him to the sea area called "Twin Oceans" in a very natural and reasonable way.

This left Xia Nan with a subtle, unsettling feeling.

And frankly, if he really wanted to rebel, he could have stopped everything that was happening and just stayed in Suckerfish Bay.

He is also able to bear the price that comes with all of this.

But... what good does that do?

Xia Nan had no reason to abandon this clue that suggested the existence of a secret realm, nor could he simply give up on participating in the "Moonlit Feast" and finding the key to the [Dream Corridor].

He could find countless reasons to continue, but only one reason to give up, and there was absolutely no reason to choose the latter.

All he could do was say a proper goodbye to Alton three months later and temporarily distance himself from the potential attention of the goddess behind him.

However, from another perspective, when he tossed the "coin of fate" high in the air on that rainy day, perhaps he had already entered the vision of those great beings.

This is not necessarily a good thing, nor is it only a bad thing.

Just like the adventurer's profession as he understood it, danger and opportunity coexisted.

To some extent, the fact that I was able to grow from a low-level adventurer who could only kill goblins with fear to my current level of strength in less than two years is mainly due to talent and hard work, but a little bit of opportunity when necessary is also a very important part of it.

As she pondered this, Hein, who was leading the way, stopped in front of a door.

"Knock knock knock".

"Come in."

The door was opened from the outside, and the captain's cabin of the Blade of Vengeance came into view before Xia Nan.

The first thing you smell is a strong tobacco odor, and even the air is filled with a faint white smoke.

Xia Nan, who was standing in front of the door, inhaled several puffs of secondhand smoke.

Fortunately, his physical condition is far superior to that of ordinary people. At most, he finds the smoke pungent, but even if he inhales it for a long time, it will not have any negative effects on his body.

Hein, who was already used to it, simply waved her hand in front of her nose twice to disperse some of the white smoke, and called out to the house:
"Captain, I've brought the man to you."

After receiving a response, he turned and left.

Before leaving, he patted Xia Nan's arm, indicating that he would come to find him on the deck after the meeting, and continue to introduce the ship's layout to them.

Hmm... perhaps she didn't notice, but when she patted Xia Nan's shoulder, she used her left hand, which caused the silver and black bracelet on her wrist to shrink a few times, and a faint hissing sound of dissatisfaction could be heard coming from deep inside her sleeve.

The captain's cabin is not large; you can walk through the entire space in just a few dozen steps.

The pale white smoke from burning tobacco drifted leisurely in the air, and at this moment it was being stirred up by the airflow caused by the opening and closing of the door.
The room was quiet. Apart from the footsteps of Hein gradually receding outside the door, the only sounds were the faint noise from the dock in the distance and the crisp sound of pointed leather boots hitting the floor.

Lorraine, the captain of the "Blade of Vengeance" adventure team, sat on the leather sofa directly opposite the door. Her long legs, still crossed under her tight riding breeches, were crossed over each other, just as Xia Nan had when they first met.

The table in front of him was wide and messy.

In the very center, occupying the largest area, is an open sheepskin nautical chart, covered with routes and complex symbols of unknown meaning; to the right lies a tin cup containing cold tea; to the left is an ashtray made of seashells, filled with more than a dozen cigarette butts.

"You're here?"

"sit down."

With a cigarette that had just been lit held between her left index and middle fingers, Lorraine's reddish-brown eyes were fixed on the sea chart in front of her as she greeted him without looking up.

Pulling Alton, who had been curiously looking around the room since entering the captain's cabin, Xia Nan sat down opposite Lorraine.

"Have you met everyone?"

After a moment's thought, Xia Nan realized that the other party was probably referring to the spotted cat and the burly man named "Aken," and nodded slightly.

"I ran into him on the way here and greeted him."

"What's your impression?"

The image of the spotted cat-man's inward-curling, fluffy tail and Arken's body covered in flashy tattoos unconsciously flashed through Xia Nan's mind. She paused, carefully considering her words before replying:
"Uh... they all seem pretty real."

"Hehe." Clearly understanding Xia Nan's meaning, Lorraine chuckled, tapped her cigarette ash with her left hand, and glanced up at the black-haired youth in front of her. "Strictly speaking, none of them are bad people to be a member of the 'Blade of Vengeance' team."

“Once you get to know them, even Sasha is quite easy to get along with. There’s basically no need for any taboos on a daily basis.” “If you feel offended, just say so. They’ll take it to heart. Or you can come directly to me, and I’ll take care of them for you.”

"Also..." Lorraine paused slightly, her gaze sweeping over the twin swords Xia Nan had placed beside him as he sat down, "Haine should have already told you the details of this mission. Don't worry, it's just a normal mission, and we don't need to travel far. If we're careful, there shouldn't be any danger."

"There are still more than three months until the holiday, so let's treat this as a period of adjustment."

They were all experienced adventurers, and although they might not be able to coordinate very precisely due to their limited understanding of their teammates' specific abilities and fighting styles, Xia Nan and his companions still knew the most basic teamwork and cooperation.

Needless to say, Alden simply stayed near Hein, who was also in the back row, and played a couple of tunes on his lute to buff his teammates, thus fulfilling his role.

As for Xia Nan... there's no need to disrupt the original formation of the Blade of Vengeance. He can use his speed and mobility to weave and move around during battle, making him a very suitable "free agent."

He had discussed this with Haiyin a few days ago, and she said it was no problem.

Their destination, as mentioned before, is a sea area known as the "Twin Oceans".

It's not too far from Suyu Bay; if all goes smoothly, it takes about seven days to get there one way.

The specific destination of the Blade of Vengeance's voyage is the "Twin Canyons," located at the very heart of the Twin Oceans.

The islanders living there seem to be in some trouble and need adventurers to investigate and help them.

"Haine should have already arranged your rooms. She can take you there in a bit."

"If anything happens on the ship, you can come to the captain's cabin to find me."

"There's nothing else I've called you here for, mainly to give you a general overview of the upcoming voyage."

"Is there anything else? If not, I won't keep you any longer."

Just as they were setting sail, Captain Lorraine looked extremely busy, even speaking faster than when she first met Xia Nan.

Hearing what the other party said, Xia Nan originally wanted to take his leave and go down to the deck to find the druid.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, she subconsciously glanced at Alton, who was sitting next to her, head held high, studying the painting on the wall with a curious expression, but saw that he didn't react.

Then he turned his head back to look at Lorraine.

"I met someone when I went to Cliff Island to do a mission a while ago, and I'm quite interested in him."

"Ederson, do you know him?"

Xia Nan's interest in the Twin Oceans stemmed from his discovery of exotic items originating from there.

Edson and Lorraine both learned about the information on the black market in Barracuda Bay, which sparked their interest.

The former said he suspected there was ancient treasure there, while the latter just thought he'd stop by to check it out during his mission.

Edson's claim about the treasure might be theoretically sound, but Xia Nan, who was sitting right across from him, could clearly sense that the other was lying.

As for Lorraine... if she really just stopped by "on the way" during the mission, her actions of ending the crew's vacation so early and rushing off after only a week in Barracuda Bay are far too suspicious.

Xia Nan even took advantage of the few days of preparation to inquire at various taverns in Suckerfish Bay and found that Twin Oceans was not popular among adventurers at all, and did not seem to be a sign of any treasure appearing.

In this situation, it's hard not to wonder why Lorraine and Edson, two people who seem to have nothing in common, would develop an unusual interest in the same area.

Xia Nan had previously asked Edson if he knew Lorraine, and he had given a negative answer, which Edson also noticed was somewhat reserved in his response.

Since he had the opportunity today, he asked Lorraine one more question before saying goodbye.

Surprisingly, it actually yielded some results.

The moment the name "Ederson" left her lips, Lorraine, who had been sitting on the sofa studying the nautical chart, was jolted.

She subconsciously raised her head, looked at Xia Nan with a stiff expression, and seemed to be thinking something as her eyes darted around.

The atmosphere on the field froze for a moment.

After a long while, accompanied by a strangely long breath, Lorraine raised her left hand and took a deep drag on her cigarette.

No longer consciously controlling her breathing, the professional's exaggerated lung capacity allowed her to smoke out the cigarette, which was originally more than half full, in just one puff, leaving only a cigarette butt.

He casually crushed the ashtray into a seashell, and pale white smoke flowed from his nose and mouth.

"He is my brother."

what! ?

Xia Nan was genuinely surprised by Lorraine's answer.

He had initially assumed they were just old flames who had had a falling out, but it turned out they were blood relatives.

But they don't look alike at all...

wrong!

I don’t know if it’s just my imagination, but after hearing what Lorraine said, and carefully observing the other person’s facial features, and comparing them with Edson’s appearance in my memory, there really do seem to be some similarities.

However, one of them has a disheveled and decadent demeanor, while the other is aggressive and bright, making it difficult for people to notice the similarity in their appearances.

Similar to Edson's behavior, the brother and sister seem to avoid mentioning each other's existence.

When Xia Nan asked her question, Lorraine only replied with that one sentence and refused to say anything more, clearly having no intention of explaining the specific relationship between the two.

Xia Nan couldn't help but be even more curious about what had led these two people to their current predicaments—one living a secluded life as a fisherman, the other a passionate adventurer.

They also wondered what the Twin Oceans meant to both of them, and why they were both interested in this sea area.

But sensing that the atmosphere in the room wasn't suitable for discussing the other person's past, he wisely kept quiet.

He pulled the short man who hadn't really participated throughout the whole thing aside, said goodbye to Lorraine, and left the captain's cabin.

Anyway, we have plenty of time. We're sure to find something once we reach the Twin Oceans.

(End of this chapter)