Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 464 Strange-colored Ribbonfish
After the battle, Xia Nan carefully studied the altars left on the beach by the Shahua fish people.

Equally rudimentary, even the building materials were reefs and sea rocks picked up from who-knows-where, but the intricate patterns carved on the surface of the altar and its overall structure were almost identical to the one he had found in the hollow of Cliff Island.

This confirmed Xia Nan's conjecture.

The sacrificial ceremony that this group of Shahua fishmen was performing was the same one he had seen before.

Xia Nan wasn't sure what this ritual would specifically bring to the fish-people—whether it summoned powerful shark beasts or was purely out of faith.
Regardless, the fact that they have used humans as sacrifices has become a reality.

The fishermen's corpses, too gruesome to look at, now lie quietly in the pit, gradually growing cold and rotting.

"That's a bit strange."

As she ran her fingertips along the patterns carved on the altar's surface, a thoughtful expression appeared on Hein's face.

"These runes are indeed the structure of summoning ritual spells, but there are many very obvious changes."

"It's not really an improvement... it's more like combining several spell structures together."

"It's hard to tell."

Although not a formally trained academic mage, and only marginally related to spellcasting due to her Druid profession, Hein undoubtedly possesses the most extensive knowledge of mysticism among the group.

Right now, he and Xia Nan are studying the reef altar left by the fishmen.

Is this sacrificial ritual a tradition of the Shahua fish people?

Having just arrived at Suoyu Bay and having no prior knowledge of the Shahua fish people's ethnic culture, Xia Nan asked the two people beside him.

“Definitely not.” Beside her, with one foot on the corpse of an elite merman, Lorraine, a cigarette smoldering between her right fingers, shook her head with absolute certainty.

"The Shahua fish-men are among the most aggressive in the sea. They see humans as enemies and will almost never hold back when they encounter them, slaughtering them all."

"These all stem from racial hatred. While they might plunder some useful things along the way, using human corpses as offerings in sacrificial rituals... I've never heard of such a thing in all these years."

Having experienced similar things twice in different times and places, Xia Nan was almost certain that the sacrificial ritual in front of him was not something that a single Shahua fishman did on a whim.

It must have been specially arranged for some purpose that they were not yet aware of.

So... what exactly are these fishmen after?
To some extent, whatever conspiracy the other party is plotting, it has nothing to do with Xia Nan.

If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up. I am just an ordinary adventurer who has just escaped poverty, and my level 3 profession is at the bottom of the world's extraordinary pyramid.

If anything serious happens, the high-level professionals in Suckerfish Bay will handle it; it's not my place to worry about this or that.

Moreover, barring any unforeseen circumstances, he will return to the mainland after the "Moon Tide Feast" ends in a little over two months.

Even if the fish people cause a huge disturbance, Xia Nan doesn't believe they can overcome geographical conditions and the physiological structure of aquatic organisms to cross two provinces and affect him.

On the other hand, it must be admitted that since arriving at Barracuda Bay, I have only left the port to do two missions, and both times I encountered altars set up by the Shahua fishmen.

This made Xia Nan somewhat concerned.

"Perhaps it was a task assigned by their god?"

Although the gods of this world are like chess players outside the chessboard, sitting high above their divine kingdom, they each have different personalities, their own likes and dislikes, and their own beliefs and even desires. Many of them maintain very close communication with their believers.

To put it nicely, it's "humane".

The unusual behavior of the Shahua fish people, which deviates from their usual habits, makes it hard not to suspect that their superiors, or even the gods they worship above, are making some kind of move.

"It's not impossible."

Lorraine nodded slightly, her eyes unfocused as if she were recalling something.

"If that's the case, I did hear some words about the Shahua fish people during the few days I rested in the tavern."

“In the past, this would not have happened so frequently.”

The deity worshipped by the Shahua fish people is named "Sekera," and is also known as "Giant Shark" and "Caller of the Deep Sea."

The areas under their jurisdiction include [plundering], [tyranny], and [hunting].

Xia Nan's knowledge base contains information about this deity's personality and conduct.

In short, he was an extreme and brutal racist.

He viewed other creatures in the ocean as enemies to be eliminated, and encouraged the Shahua people to plunder and kill in all directions to demonstrate their power and ideals.

Just like the emblem of this deity, He is like a terrifying shark swimming beneath the surface of the water, searching for all prey in the ocean with greedy and savage eyes.

If it really was this being who suddenly had the idea to require the fish-people to demonstrate their piety through rituals, using the corpses of other races as sacrifices... then it could be considered reasonable.

With limited clues, simply standing still and chatting won't lead to any useful conclusions.

After cleaning up the battlefield, the group dug up some soil and covered the pit where the villagers' bodies were piled up, giving these civilians who had suffered an undeserved calamity a somewhat dignified end, so that their bodies would not be left to rot in the wilderness. Only then did they return the way they came.

The battle had just ended, and there hadn't been time to properly clean the blood and bits of flesh that covered his body.

Even from a distance, the fleet on the dock became alert after being alerted by several adventurers.

When Xia Nan and his group emerged from the forest, they could see that everyone had already adjusted their battle formation, looking as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

He finally breathed a sigh of relief after spotting the group and exchanging several different secret signals with Lorraine.

"What's going on? Is there a problem on the island?"

The bald, burly man, Aken, carrying his strangely shaped giant axe that resembled a ship's anchor, strode forward and asked.

The tone was genuinely concerned, but one could also detect a hidden eagerness to try.

The storm had ended some time ago, and the barbarian class, whose inner fire had been worn down by the gale and rain, had been rekindled and was now burning his heart, fueling his emotions.

He longed for battle.

"A group of murlocs who were performing some kind of sacrificial ritual have all been dealt with. We'll discuss the details later."

Knowing her crew member's personality, Lorraine simply waved her hand and didn't say anything more.

Then he turned around and urged the shipwrights responsible for repairing the boats:

"The situation has changed, so hurry up and try to finish your work before sunset."

"We need to get to our destination as soon as possible."

A frenzied school of spiral sharks, the mysterious rituals of the Shahua fishmen... something might very well be happening on the other side of the Twin Ocean.

To fulfill the mission and to find the clues she hoped to discover, the process had to be accelerated.

As the core of the Blade of Vengeance and the captain of the entire ship, Lorraine wields considerable authority within the crew. Especially among the sailors who enjoy perks that are considered quite high even in the entire Barracuda Bay, they show no slackening in the face of the captain's orders and immediately throw themselves into their work.

Fortunately, thanks to the timely release of Hein's [Fast-Growing Vine Shell], the Blade of Vengeance was not seriously damaged in the face of the onslaught of the Helicarpa sharks during the storm, which greatly reduced the originally expected repair time.

In the afternoon, the crew completed the maintenance work ahead of schedule, and the group left Hare Island smoothly to continue their journey.

……

……

Life at sea was as dull as ever.

Three sunrises and sunsets have passed in the blink of an eye.

They were not far from their destination, the Twin Oceans, and everyone on board was making preparations.

Following the helmsman's instructions, the sailors climbed the mast and nervously adjusted the sails to more precisely control the ship's direction. Bows, crossbows, swords, and axes stored in the hold were taken out and distributed, and supplies such as fresh water and food were checked one by one to confirm their quantity.

Even the experienced adventurers on board were much more serious than usual.

Hein spent a third more time meditating at the bow than usual; the Renn and Gordon brothers were always equipped, carrying their swords and shields while directing the crew; Arken spent less and less time training, accumulating anger within himself as the source of his barbarian power; and Sasha, the spotted cat, also climbed down from his comfortable, sofa-like rope suspended between the masts, moving lightly across the deck and ship's side.

Infected by the atmosphere on the ship, even Xia Nan gave his armor a thorough cleaning, something he hadn't done in a long time.

From Barracuda Bay, the blacksmith shop recommended by Hera.

The quality of this plate chainmail is quite good. Although it was pierced by a harpoon and left two deep scratches during the battle with the Shahua fishmen on Hare Island, it was not the kind of serious damage that penetrated through the front and back, so it did not have much impact on the overall defensive performance.

It's still wearable.

Xia Nan couldn't help but feel that he had been wise.

Fortunately, he didn't listen to Hera's suggestion to "rent" the armor, but instead bought it on the spot.

Otherwise, with just these two scars, my deposit would be gone, and I would have to pay extra rent for this period of time.

This shows Xia Nan's self-awareness regarding his own armor breakage rate.

Right now, the only one on the entire ship who hasn't changed and is as relaxed as ever is the halfling Alton.

Due to his personality, the short man always appeared very relaxed and carefree.

Any troubles seem to go in one ear and out the other, never lingering in his mind.

Smiling broadly, she was full of enthusiasm and curiosity about everything.

Right now, he's sitting on the railing, swinging his legs, fishing with great interest.

Normally, this should be a very dangerous behavior.

Alden was only up to Xia Nan's waist in height. He was short and not known for his strength. His posture while sitting on the railing at the edge of the ship further deprived him of the last layer of protection at the edge of the deck.

It's likely that a small fish in the water could bite the hook and pull it off the boat with just a little force.

The crew, including several adventurers, were initially worried.

Only when the fish buckets beside Alton were filled one after another did they finally feel relieved, realizing that this halfling, like the black-haired youth, was also an unconventional individual.

Xia Nan was leaning against the railing next to Alton, but he wasn't holding a fishing rod; he was simply watching Alton fish.

As for the reason... cough cough, of course it wasn't because he had already been fishing all morning with his rod, and his only catch was two tangled water plants.

It's normal for luck to fluctuate; sometimes there's no need to force it.

Since my luck with fishing isn't great today, I'll take a half-day break to rest and recharge before going all out again tomorrow.

Xia Nan comforted himself in this way, while also hoping to get some good luck from Alton.

Unlike the exaggerated performance of a few days ago, where fish would bite almost the instant the rod was cast, the intervals between catches at Alton have been getting longer and longer recently.

Of course, this wasn't because his luck had run out.

Instead, what the smaller fish wanted to catch changed.

Compared to the sense of accomplishment from catching a fish, Alton the Halfling enjoys more the novelty of catching different fish with each cast.

As the days went by, he caught more and more fish, and the threshold for small people gradually increased.

Last night, Xia Nan even saw the other party catch a strange fish that usually only appears in the deep sea, with a shiny body and no eyes. Even the most experienced old sailors on the deck had never seen it before.

"Buzz!"

The fishing rod, which was hanging down naturally, suddenly bent, and the fishing line was pulled straight.

Another fish has taken the bait!

Xia Nan's attention immediately focused, and her gaze fell on Alton, who was sitting to the side.

The agility granted by the bard profession meant that even when the opponent exerted force with their arms, their body sitting on the railing showed no signs of instability.

No need for fancy fish-playing techniques or complicated fishing skills. The short guy just sits in place and, in a fixed, formulaic way, lifts the fishing rod twice and then reels the line in for two seconds.

The fish that took the bait underwater seemed to cooperate, but in reality, they coincidentally followed the other's rhythm, struggling in vain, and were caught very easily.

"Clap!"

Sparkling water splashed as a long, slender ribbonfish, about the length of a long arm, landed on the deck, its bewildered eyes darting about as it leaped and struggled.

Xia Nan, who was standing by, seized the opportunity and gently tapped the back of the fish's head with his finger bone, causing the slender ribbonfish to completely lose consciousness.

Thinking that there would be an extra treat for lunch later, he inserted his fingers into the gills, lifted the ribbonfish off the deck, and was about to throw it into the wooden bucket next to him.

But the next second, when Xia Nan saw the specific appearance of the ribbonfish in his hand, he couldn't help but be stunned.

The seaweed fish, which I thought should be entirely silvery-white, now looked as if it had been roughly brushed with some kind of paint-covered brush.

The scales on the right side of its body have a rare and strange brownish-red color.

With the dorsal fin as the dividing line, the left side is silvery-white and the right side is brownish-red, as if two different colored ribbonfish have been forcibly merged together.

Unconsciously, he recalled the introduction Lorraine and the others had given him about the destination of this mission over the past few days.

Looking at the strange, multicolored ribbonfish in his hand, Xia Nan already understood:
"Twin Oceans, we've arrived."

(End of this chapter)