Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 484 concludes with the burning.

Led by Gordon, the younger of the twin warriors, the group guarding the ship at the dock also heard the commotion coming from the depths of the canyon.

The roars of humans, the howls of wolves, the high-frequency buzzing of magical energy, the deafening sounds of objects colliding, the ferocious roars of monsters...

They could guess that the core adventurer squad of their fleet was probably engaged in a fierce battle with one or a group of monsters.

Judging from the duration of the sound and the fluctuations in the roar, the enemy's strength was definitely not low, which seemed to have put Lorraine and the others in a tough battle.

That's why his brother Ryan, who was also stationed at the dock, went to provide support alone.

Now, some time has passed since the sounds coming from the depths of the canyon disappeared.

None of the professionals who left the fleet to explore further, including Renn who went to provide support later, returned.

The crew on board the Blade of Vengeance felt anxious, and whispers could be heard throughout the deck.

Fortunately, as the only remaining professional in the team, Gordon remained firmly at the bow. No matter how anxious he was, he deliberately maintained a calm expression, giving the crew a sense of security and preventing them from falling into inexplicable chaos due to the unknown situation.

"pat...pat..."

The sound of hurried footsteps came from deep within the canyon.

Gordon, who was standing at the bow of the ship, could no longer keep his expression in check. He stared ahead with some tension, while the crew behind him gripped their weapons tightly and held their breath.

Then suddenly, a sense of relief washed over me.

What appeared before them was not the terrifying monster that had defeated the team in their worst-case scenario, but rather Alton, the halfling in the team who was exceptionally skilled at fishing.

Just as they breathed a sigh of relief, before they could even ask the other party for details, they saw the little guy running towards them, waving his tiny arm vigorously and shouting:

"Come help! Everyone come and help!"

……

……

The most dangerous enemy has been beheaded by Xia Nan and is now dead.

Only a few scattered merman corpses remained on the ground; there was no need for a fight, and therefore no danger.

Led by Alton, the crew members rushed to the depths of the canyon to help clean up the battlefield. They were surprised that the powerful professionals they had always known were all so badly injured, and they were also shocked by the enormous shark beast that was more than four meters tall and resembled a small mountain.

Even a corpse was enough to send chills down the spines of veteran sailors who had been at sea for many years, making it hard to imagine such a brutal monster standing in front of them.

That's why, after listening to Alton's explanation of the situation along the way, and learning that it was the black-haired youth named "Xia Nan" who had joined the team and turned the tide in the end by beheading the shark beast, even the way Alton looked at him became strange.

It's hard to imagine how someone nearly 1.9 meters tall could use their sword to cut off the head of such a monster.

But the battle had just ended, the field was filled with the strong smell of blood, and several core adventurers were seriously injured, so it was clearly not the time to inquire about these things.

The crew members wisely kept quiet and focused on cleaning up the battlefield.

Thus, the Blade of Vengeance fleet has successfully completed its mission.

The harvest may not have been particularly abundant, but all the odds and ends added up to quite a lot.

First, there's the reward from the Adventurers' Guild for investigating the suspected ancient ruins emerging in Twin Valleys.

The dilapidated buildings in the canyon, blending into the rock walls and weeds, filled with exotic styles, are enough to prove that they should be able to deliver on their commissions with a relatively high level of completion.

Furthermore, due to the appearance of a powerful mutated shark beast deep within the canyon, in addition to the intelligence gathered there, we can apply to the association for extra mission rewards.

Of course, that's a story for another time.

Secondly, there were the spoils collected from several battles along the way.

This includes the weapons and equipment carried by the Shahua fishmen, as well as the two magical conch shells from the fishman priest they encountered earlier on Hare Island.

Finally, there are the things inside the Twin Valley ruins.

As the pioneers who first arrived at this canyon, the Blade of Vengeance team should naturally enjoy the greatest benefits while facing unknown dangers.

In the ruins, anything they thought could be sold for money was brought aboard the ship by the crew.

Even if the vast majority of them end up being thrown into the sea, as long as a few pieces catch the eye of collectors in Suyu Bay and fetch a price, their trip won't be in vain.

It's worth mentioning that the [Bloodline Rock Comprehensive Operating Table] that Xia Nan had previously obtained through the attribute panel was not forgotten. It was later carried back to the ship by several strong sailors and put into the storage room. Its value will be verified after returning to Suckerfish Bay.

According to the agreement between Xia Nanfang and Lorraine, the gold coins he was entitled to receive were the association's mission rewards and the spoils from his previous arrival at Twin Valley.

I'd guess at most a hundred or two hundred gold coins. With so many people sharing, even if the total income is high, the average would only be around normal.

Compared to what he actually gained from this mission, these were indeed just incidental trifles.

On an unseen level, the several high-quality battles during this mission greatly improved Xia Nan's combat skills.

[Chongchao], who had already trained intensely and reached level 2, needed no further explanation. Even [Ember Echoes] had been upgraded by him, and [Gravity Control] had also received a significant boost due to his brilliant maneuvers in several battles, with its upgrade progress nearing the halfway mark.

These may seem like invisible gains, but they are actually all related to Xia Nan's actual combat strength.

In addition, [Dream Corridor] also gained 6% charge due to his contact with the core of the secret realm. All that is needed is a key to start opening the dream realm and upgrading combat skills.

On a tangible level, this is also the most satisfying gain for Xia Nan regarding this mission.

Finally, after nearly two years since his transmigration, he finally obtained the spatial storage equipment he had been longing for—the [White Pot] pocket watch.

Compared to the value of this item, giving up other loot in Twin Valleys is nothing.

"Come on, everyone, lend a hand and lift its arm!"

The shouts of the crew members could be heard in my ears.

Looking over, one could see several sailors working together to lift the shark beast's corpse, whose head had been severed by Xia Nan, and which was now lying quietly in a pool of blood.

Speaking of which, these shark-like monsters summoned by the Saka fishmen are quite valuable, and many parts of their bodies have good material value.

Whether it's selling it for money or finding skilled craftsmen to make it into weapons and equipment, both are worthwhile solutions. The skin and bones of the beast he killed on Cliff Island became the material for his new armor; considering the gold coins invested, it should be blue-quality equipment.

Judging by the time, by the time I return to Suyu Bay, the forging should be complete and I can wear it directly.

The shark beast that the sailors are trying to move is not only larger in size, but also much stronger than the one on Cliff Island, and its materials should be more valuable.

but……

Xia Nan's gaze lingered on the shark beast's side chest, where a huge blood hole had been blasted out by his [Gravity Etching], the very spot where that pale white body had once grown from.

Even now, those two pale human legs still resembled deformed limbs, hanging stiffly on the sides of the shark beast's back.

Unconsciously, he recalled the human heads that had been shrieking and unleashing mental attacks at them during the battle, much like spellcasters.

I hadn't really noticed it when I was in the secret realm, but now that I think back carefully, I realize that his facial features are seven parts similar to the strange "Old Mark" in the secret realm.

Furthermore, consider the operating room on the altar, which is arranged exactly like the dark chamber of Mand.

Xia Nan boldly deduced that perhaps when the secret realm traversed and landed in the Twin Valleys, it coincided with the sacrificial ceremony of the Shahua fish people, or even earlier, before all the inhabitants of the valley had been captured to fill the pits, and the shark beasts had only been summoned not long ago.

The operating room merged into the altar, and Old Mark's corpse, which was originally lying on the operating table, was forcibly fused with the shark beast, which was originally in its normal form, at an extremely subtle moment. This caused the other party to become the "clipping"-like form it had just been in, and also allowed Old Mark, who may have been dead, to parasitically regain his life force.

The bizarre mental attack from Old Mark caused the villagers and the Shahua fish-men to kill each other, which also affected the spiral sharks in the nearby waters, causing them to flee in groups.

Now, neither the shark beast nor the corpse of Old Mark, who traveled from another era, is truly dead and has no chance of being resurrected.

However, this does not mean that the carcass of the shark beast is completely safe to recover.

Xia Nan had some concerns, so he waved his hand, signaling the sailors to leave the shark's corpse where it was.

Then, he walked to the other side and approached Lorraine, who was exhausted from overusing her combat skills and was now leaning against the wall, barely managing to stand up and direct her crew to clean up the battlefield. He said:
"My personal suggestion is that the disposal of this monster... needs further consideration."

"Hmm?" Lorraine looked puzzled. "Why do you say that?"

Xia Nan would certainly not reveal the details of his experiences in the secret realm. After all, being able to contact and establish a connection with the core of the secret realm was, to some extent, one of his cheat codes, and a secret that needed to be kept hidden.

After organizing his thoughts in his mind, he slowly began to speak:

"You should be able to tell that this shark-like beast and the human body on its body are not from the same source, but rather are forcibly combined later."

"The shark beast I encountered on Cliff Island also proves this point; the normal form of such monsters should not be like what we encounter."

"The reason for this could be the product of a spellcaster's biological experiments, or it could be the work of the fish-men behind the scenes. But you saw how that human body behaved during the battle; it has an extremely strong ability to corrupt the spirit of living beings."

Upon hearing this, Lorraine seemed to realize something, and her expression paused.

"You mean... the shark's corpse might still retain the influence of that strange human body?"

Xia Nan nodded.

It wasn't that he was overthinking things, but the changes in "Old Mark" in the secret realm were too bizarre, which caused even Dr. Mande, who had been in contact with him for a long time, to become crazy and eventually go to extremes.

Now that Old Mark's body has arrived on the continent of Efala, he doesn't want his teammates to end up like Dr. Mande.

In this situation, the shark-like monster that has fused with Mark's corpse should be treated with caution.

After a moment's consideration, Xia Nan suggested to Lorraine that they conduct further testing.

After receiving permission, he drew the [Emberfall] straight sword and went to the side of the shark beast's corpse lying there.

Following the huge blood hole blasted open by his force field energy, the blade pierced deep into the flesh, tracing the outline of Old Mark's body when he was fused with the shark beast, and slashed all the way to the pair of human feet on the side of his back.

Using the wrist to force the wound open with the blade.

as predicted!

What came into view was the shark beast's organs, which, like its appearance, had become deformed and twisted.

The monster's massive intestines were connected to the human's delicate liver and lungs, while the human's no longer beating heart was trapped beneath the shark's chest cavity.

Not just external!
Even inside the shark beast's body, Mark achieved a fusion of flesh and blood!

Staggering over to Xia Nan's side, Lorraine frowned as she stared at the shark beast's deformed and twisted internal organs on the ground, lost in thought.

He stared at it for a long time, then a look of determination flashed across his face.

"Burn it!"

She spoke resolutely to the sailors waiting nearby.

While the materials from the shark beast's loot are valuable, if the equipment made from them has the potential to affect the wearer's mental well-being, then no matter how excellent it is, it is not a good choice.

Even if they don't use it themselves, if they simply sell the flesh and blood materials from the shark beasts and the buyers have problems, they will eventually have to go back to their "Blade of Vengeance" fleet.

Those who have the financial resources to purchase materials of this caliber are clearly not people who can be easily dealt with.

Not only would you offend the loot and material merchants, but you would also get into other troubles, which would be a losing proposition.

Having roamed the Southern Islands for so many years, she was able to bring the Blade of Vengeance fleet to its current size. She couldn't possibly be as short-sighted as those low-level adventurers who lived day to day, indulging in a drunken stupor in taverns.

As a captain in charge of all matters, big and small, for dozens of crew members, she has a lot to consider.

The potential gains from the shark carcass were not worth the great risk she was taking.

"Crackling sound".

Sparks flew.

With a mere flick of the [Scalefire Scimitar], wreathed in orange-red flames, the firewood gathered by the sailors from around the canyon burst into a fierce blaze.

You can see the massive, lifeless body of the shark beast, along with its head, which was also thrown into the pile of firewood, slowly charring under the flames.

The flesh and blood material, worth up to four figures in gold coins, disappeared into the air as the smell of burning meat gradually filled the air.

(End of this chapter)