Chapter 33: Is He Actually a God?

One hour ago, Siren Sea.

Ever since leaving the range covered by Stonehenge, the world seemed to have returned to the appearance familiar to the Norscans.

Moving along the coastline once called the North Chaos Sea toward the inner Siren Sea, the water, which had previously looked clear and vibrant, had once again become murky and unclear, with the spines of some grotesque monsters even surfacing in the ocean from time to time.

But whether it was due to Li Ang's protection or the pale blue Chaos Brand on their bodies, those massive sirens did not attack the Norscan fleet.

However, to tell the truth, even if they had actually attacked, these Norscans would not have been very afraid.

When they were unable to obtain food, they would often go out to sea in extreme situations to hunt these monsters in the ocean, using them to fill the gaps in the village's diet. And now, they possessed a kind of devilish wisdom, allowing them to advance steadily through storms and the ocean.

It was as if there were a shared database in their minds; even when facing the Magic storms blowing from the direction of the Chaos Snowfield, these sails and formations could advance in perfect unison amidst that natural fury.

This was not anyone's protection, but their instinctive operation after receiving the wisdom Li Ang had imparted out of thin air.

Navigation was like an instinct branded into their bones, and that Brand of Supreme Wisdom allowed them to easily draw inferences about other cases, constantly innovate, and sail freely in this cursed ocean.

In this sea area where even the Floating Island warships of the Dark Elves could potentially be destroyed and sunk, the Norscans had not lost a single person to this day, and were still advancing toward their target at an extremely high speed.

They could even use the celestial phenomena in the sky to anchor their direction and use knowledge to manipulate the sails to navigate the seven seas.

In the life of a Norscan, this was probably the most perfect moment.

Deep snow was falling from the sky, and the Norscan dragon ships were moving along the rugged and terrifying Chaos Snowfield. Their goal was to reach the Frozen Sea this afternoon and then find the nearest Norscan settlement before the sun set.

Because the mission was relatively easy, many people on the Norscan dragon ships had already leaned back inside the cabins and started chatting with those around them.

"I think Li Ang is a god."

The Norscan, whose beard and hair were soaked with snowflakes, said in a muffled voice:

"He says he isn't, but he is. Greater than the Dark Gods the High Priest speaks of. My mind is so sharp now, I have so much knowledge—if he isn't a god, then who is?"

"But he said himself that he isn't."

"That must be a lie, just to put our minds at ease."

Facing the opposition of a greenhorn standing on the dragon head, the middle-aged Norscan said in a deep voice:

"Look at the God Eagle symbol on our bodies; that is the symbol of wisdom. Even the Dark Gods were persuaded by Li Ang to bestow his mark upon us, so he must be a god. Perhaps he is an avatar of the Dark Gods."

"Then what about that Holy Grail? It's not like we haven't fought those tin cans; how could they possibly believe Li Ang is an avatar of a wisdom god? That Holy Grail is glowing, you know."

"I don't know about that. But he is definitely a god."

The old Norscan scratched his scalp and gave his thoughts quite stiffly.

Norscans were generally very stubborn when they made up their minds about something, and they didn't have any particularly devious schemes. Whatever he felt it was, he believed it should be that way, and so he would believe it.

Even though Li Ang and a regional-level psychic aggregate had opened their minds together, their logical thinking could not be distorted in the short term. They pondered for a long time and argued with each other, but reached no conclusion.

But after the dragon ship rounded a corner, a seemingly silent Raider put his brain to work, feeling as if his wisdom had a flash of inspiration.

"He claims he isn't a god, but he can control the things of gods, so is there a possibility that the Boss is actually right too?"

"What do you mean?"

"He might be greater than the gods we know. Just like he said, he is the Old Ones of this world; sooner or later, he will lead us on the path to dominating the world."

"That seems to make a little sense..." "That must be it, right? Hey! What do the folks on the other ships think!"

In the silent Siren Sea, the voices of the Norscans on the ocean carried very, very far, even allowing the surrounding dragon ships to hear them clearly.

And the Norscans, who had long since become impatient due to the long voyage, immediately split into several factions, confronting each other and using their loud Norscan voices and curses to attack the private parts and immediate family members of those with opposing opinions, just like arguments in every corner of the world.

Listening to such lively, boisterous, and vibrant sounds, the man standing at the rear dragon head at the very front smiled and turned to look at the leader, who had a greatsword on his back and hand-axes hanging at his waist inside the cabin.

"Wufuruike, did you hear that? Everyone is quite curious. As the first messenger of the god, what do you think?"

"I don't know."

Standing in the cabin with dark circles under his eyes, Wufuruike said in a muffled voice.

He always had a strange, ominous premonition in his heart, just like the day his family's siren leg was gnawed on by parasites. He had a strange sense of danger, as if ants were crawling over him.

But just like when he hadn't discovered it at the beginning, he could only feel a sense of frustration and unease spreading within his heart. Yet he couldn't find the source of that sense of crisis at all, and he hadn't slept well for three consecutive days.

And Wufuruike's friend just shrugged when he saw this.

"Alright, Wufuruike, how much longer until we reach the Frozen Sea?"

"Hmm, about another thirty nautical miles... Damn it, why do I know this kind of knowledge?"

"Ahahaha, everyone is the same. The feeling of having this kind of knowledge constantly stuffed into your brain and then constantly understanding it—to be honest, it's really wonderful."

The friend laughed, walked down from the dragon head, and patted Wufuruike on the shoulder.

"Alright, let's not talk about that. We're all adults, it's time to talk about some sensitive topics... Wufuruike, do you think Li Ang is a god or not?"

"... Didn't you just ask that? I don't know."

"But this is indeed a very important question, Wufuruike."

Looking at the resistant and awkward Wufuruike, the friend sighed and said with a serious face:

"So much time has passed, Wufuruike, we all know this very well. Everything is too abnormal, even the power of the Dark Gods operates freely in his hands. I don't believe you don't know what those blue marks are. Even your current state is very likely related to this.

I am very worried about you, Wufuruike. We are all small fry, trash robbing on the ocean; we don't even know when we'll die. But if you don't understand your own position, you won't even know how you died.

So we must recognize our position now, what kind of people we are. And what we need to do.

You are the leader, we listen to you."

"I said I don't know—"

Just as Wufuruike was irritably rejecting the question, the lookout standing on the dragon head suddenly issued a warning.

"Wufuruike! Black smoke discovered ahead! It's from the village we passed by before!"

"What?"

Wufuruike couldn't care about communicating with his friend and walked quickly to the bow of the ship.

And looking at that thick black smoke, Wufuruike felt the unease in his heart gradually turn into real panic.

(End of chapter)