On the other side of the ocean, Ariel was commanding the Raging Tide Kingdom's fleet from a distance, tailing that ship of Ryan soldiers.
The Raging Tide Kingdom and Ryan were mortal enemies. It was impossible for her to watch her foes swagger across the sea without doing a thing.
So Ariel personally led the pursuit, rounding up several pirate vessels to serve as cannon fodder.
Ever since the Silent Night Pirates signed a pact with the Raging Tide Kingdom, that overlord of the sea ceased hunting their kingdom's fleets. But Aige could not be bothered to distinguish between government warships and civilian vessels—so long as they looked like humans, she simply did not attack them.
As a result, some humans took the risk of turning to piracy, while certain subjects of the Raging Tide Kingdom took to the seas on their own, specifically targeting merchant vessels from the continent.
Ariel normally turned a blind eye to these pirates because they never dared raid the Raging Tide mainland. As long as they pillaged outsiders, she did not care.
Today, however, to deal with the Ryan forces, Ariel rounded up these pirates and forced them to harass the Ryan warship.
The results were magnificent. Though Ryan boasted a powerful legend among their ranks, their experience in naval warfare was virtually non-existent. The pirates struck like the wind, firing a single cannon shot before darting away, keeping the Ryan soldiers on edge the entire time.
Unwilling to sit by and await death, the Ryan forces attempted a counterattack and managed to capture two of the slower pirate ships.
Yet that was their limit. Just as Radiant General Cyril Roland was about to press his advantage, he was struck by lightning.
Heavy, dark clouds had gathered out of nowhere in the previously clear sky, brewing thunder within their depths. When Cyril Roland tried to repeat his trick, a bolt slammed right down on him.
It did little actual damage, but it succeeded in briefly paralyzing him, causing him to plunge straight into the sea.
By the time Cyril Roland clambered back onto his warship, he ordered his men to ignore the pirate ships and break out of the encirclement immediately.
This decision was undeniably correct. Soon after he returned aboard, a howling gale whipped up colossal waves, crashing straight toward the Ryan warship.
In all their days at sea, this was the first time the Ryan troops had witnessed a tsunami. The crest of the wave towered far above the ship's masts, like an enormous mountain made of seawater crashing down upon them.
The soldiers had no choice but to raise a magical barrier. The massive wave rocked the warship violently. Instead of dragging it down to the ocean floor, however, it propelled the ship a great distance forward.
Cyril Roland seized upon this like a lifeline and immediately ordered full speed ahead.
It had to be said that the people of Ryan were quick learners. Knowing their ship was ill-suited for sailing, they had devised a new trick over the past few days: using Feather Fall to make the entire vessel as light as nothing, then letting the strong winds blow it forward, skimming across the surface.
This speed was far faster than catching wind with sails. The only issue was the heavy drain on mana.
Feather Fall could make an object light as a feather, but applying it to an entire ship was vastly different from casting it on a person. To sustain the effect, the spellcasters among the Ryan forces had to give it their all, leaving them unable to divert their focus to cast any other spells.
The escape tactic worked wonders, quickly putting distance between them and the pirate ships.
Just as the Ryan ship vanished over the horizon, a smile played across Ariel's lips.
"These landlubbers truly are panicking. It took so little effort to herd them right into the Sea of Thunder."
Ariel's ultimate objective had always been to drive the Ryan forces into the Sea of Thunder to suffer their own undoing. She had not expected to accomplish the task with so little effort.
On the sea, the Raging Tide Kingdom truly could toy with these Ryan invaders as they pleased.
It was a pity that their kingdom's strength was still insufficient. Had there been just one more legend capable of coordinating with her, Ariel would have dared to launch a direct assault on the Ryan troops.
Unfortunately, apart from the old king, no one could effectively support Ariel on the ocean.
Ariel gave the command: "Follow them! Do not give our guests a moment of respite. Make them feel as though someone is constantly snapping at their heels so they have no time to think!"
The Raging Tide Kingdom's warships glided steadily forward, trailing behind the Ryan vessel.
At this rate, in about another day, the Ryan forces would enter the terrifying Sea of Thunder and come face to face with the truly formidable leviathans of the deep ocean.
***
While winds and clouds surged across the surface, the depths of the ocean were far from calm.
Anbaixiu entered Aige's body once more to convene with his friends from the Elegy Poetry Society.
Gareth, Aige, the Bone Dragon Eldest Miss, the Rose of Decay... and the dwarven vampire Heji Stone, whom he had not seen in a long time.
Anbaixiu looked at the dwarf in confusion. "Didn't you say you were in seclusion writing a book? What are you doing out at sea?"
Heji Stone fumed, "Didn't you tell me to come? I only showed up because I got word that you were going to pay me for my royalties!"
Anbaixiu was taken aback. He had never said anything of the sort.
*Damn, it's the power of Destiny Weaving.*
Anbaixiu had rolled the dice to notify all his enemies that he would appear on this island and wait for a month.
This message had been conveyed to everyone who held a grudge against him through all sorts of dubious channels. Aside from the time and location being correct, Anbaixiu had no control over the contents.
Evidently, Heji Stone held a grudge against him, and the distorted "message" had lured him here.
The dwarven vampire still resented Anbaixiu for using his research findings to show off and swindling him out of a fortune. Without even verifying whether the news was true, he had rushed right over.
Anbaixiu said helplessly, "You've known me for quite a while now. Do you honestly think I would give you money?"
Heji Stone frowned, pondering the thought. It did make sense. Even if the world ended, this lich would never willingly part with coin. He had harbored doubts about the message himself, but the location was so precise that he wanted to come and check it out.
"Hmph, I knew it wouldn't be that simple. Whatever. My book is finished, and I don't care about that petty cash anyway. Consider this a vacation."
With that, Heji Stone proudly produced the first edition of his work, handing a copy to every member of the Elegy Poetry Society.
He boasted, "My newly compiled *Chronicles of the Demonic Dragon War*. Once this is published, I will become the foremost historian in the world—without equal."
Yet the moment the words left his mouth, he saw Anbaixiu pull out a pen and add his own name to the author line.
"What are you doing?!" Heji Stone yelled in fury.
"Give me the second author slot," Anbaixiu said. "I want to leave my name in the history books too."
Heji Stone roared, "Get lost! I'll kill you!"
A pair of bat wings flared open behind his back, and he lunged toward Anbaixiu.
Halfway through his leap, Anbaixiu produced two bottles and shoved them into Heji Stone's hands.
Baffled, Heji Stone caught them, only to freeze when he looked down. Inside was blood—and blood unlike anything he had ever seen before.
The color was off, and the mana contained within was foreign. It was unquestionably something new.
Uncorking a bottle, he took a sniff, his eyes widening in shock. "Dragon blood!"
Anbaixiu chuckled. "Indeed. One bottle of Astral red dragon blood, and one bottle of Githyanki blood. I specifically found the ugliest Githyanki woman—might even be virgin blood. How's that for a gift between friends?"
Heji Stone hurriedly took a tiny sip, an expression of sheer bliss spreading across his face.
Whether dragon blood or Githyanki blood, both possessed unique flavors he had never tasted before. This gift had struck right at the vampire's heart.
With an air of disdain, Heji Stone stowed the two bottles away and scoffed, "Hmph, it's just average. Doesn't hold a candle to the elf blood I've tasted."
"You get a bargain and still act smug? Don't think I won't tell Catherine," Anbaixiu threatened.
Heji Stone snapped his mouth shut. The lich was an honored guest among the elves right now; the dwarf truly dared not let Anbaixiu speak recklessly.
Anbaixiu brought out even more bottles of blood and asked, "So, can my name be added as the second author?"
Heji Stone stared at the priceless vials of blood, finally gritting his teeth. "I'll leave you the third author slot."
"What? Aside from you and me, who else has anything to do with this book?" Anbaixiu demanded angrily. If he hadn't provided the intelligence, what book could this dwarf have possibly written?
"I'm saving the second author for myself! Don't think I don't know that 'Lord of Elden' is your alias! And Arthas, Sephiroth, Sargeras... I can't even count them all. I want to build some fame for my own alias—is that a crime? You can take the third author slot. Take it or leave it!"
Hearing Heji Stone's words, everyone in the Elegy Poetry Society turned to look at Anbaixiu. Using aliases wasn't strange, but they seemed to have vaguely heard these names before. Just how many outrageous deeds had this lich pulled under those aliases for everyone to find them familiar?
Fuming, Anbaixiu hurled the vials of blood over. This dwarven vampire knew exactly how to stab him right where his soul hurt most. If he hadn't used so many aliases, he would already be the God of Alchemy by now!
"Where did you hear about these aliases?" Anbaixiu asked.
Heji Stone gleefully gathered the precious blood vials and explained, "Ever since the Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn was banished, the whole world has been searching for divination wizards. You and your student are naturally unaffected, but it's a different story for other divination wizards. A divination wizard happened to find me, asking me to pass along a message because they want to meet with you."
"There are other divination wizards?" Anbaixiu asked in surprise. "Are you serious? How did they manage to track you down?"
Heji Stone replied, "Because you divination wizards can't divine yourselves, obviously! That left them with no choice but to find someone like me who has ties to you."
The explanation made sense. Heji Stone hadn't come all this way purely to collect royalties. Delivering the message was one part of it, but showing off his finished book to his friends and enjoying a leisurely vacation at sea was the rest.
While a divination wizard was certainly important, Anbaixiu had no time to attend to the matter right now. He casually set a time with Heji Stone, then turned his gaze toward Gareth.
"Brother, how did things go with your dragon clan? Was your father-in-law rescued?" Anbaixiu rubbed his hands together as he asked.
Gareth smiled. "Not bad. He suffered a bit of indignity, but nothing major. As for those living dragons, I call the shots. Whatever you say goes."
Surprised, Anbaixiu glanced toward Canggu. Since when did this henpecked, live-in son-in-law speak with such bravado?
He expected Canggu to object, but the Bone Dragon Eldest Miss nodded instead. "He's right. There is no need to care about what those useless fools think. If anyone refuses to obey, I will personally deal with them."
Her words carried a bone-chilling frost. Anbaixiu asked, "Did they conspire with outsiders to ambush your father?"
Canggu shook her head. "No, they didn't. But neither did they warn him. Doing nothing is a betrayal in itself. We are bone dragons; we never should have considered those living dragons our kin to begin with."
Anbaixiu nodded in agreement. Undead were undead; mingling with the living served no purpose.
With that, the dragon problem for this ocean journey was resolved. Once they finished this performance, they could focus on gathering faith for Aige without distraction.
For now, the trap Anbaixiu had prepared for the Ryan forces was set, waiting only for them to charge straight in.
Chapter 394