Chapter 153: 150 Avoiding Danger

The great ship carrying Sophia cut through the shimmering sea, plowing a long wake of churning white foam.

The outline of Silver Shawan gradually faded behind the ship, finally merging beneath the blue line where sky met sea.

In the exclusive cabin on the second deck of the ship's upper structure, where Sophia stayed, Bella had all her weapons and armor removed. Wearing only a single shirt, she was seated on a hard wooden stool in the exact center of the room.

On the other side, Sophia looked curious. An old man in priest robes gazed with deep eyes, while the Captain of the Guard stood like an iron tower, arms crossed, muscles taut, his sharp gaze never once shifting from Bella.

Even without weapons, a Gold-rank individual still had the ability to harm the current Hero.

"Possessing the Truth Vision, no wonder you could identify us as Church personnel," Priest Samuel said, looking at Bella's silver-luminous pupils with understanding. "However, it seems you have not yet fully mastered this ability."

"Fully mastered?" Bella asked, confused.

"Truth Vision? What is that?" Sophia asked as she checked Bella's panel.

Samuel explained to Sophia:

"It is a very convenient but rare reconnaissance skill. It can not only distinguish traces left by others but also roughly discern their strength and abilities. Some within the Church have also obtained this talent skill."

"And as far as I know, the person who possesses this skill can choose to turn it off, rather than having those silver eyes glowing constantly like she does."

Sophia nodded, then saw that Bella opposite her also looked enlightened, which made her feel a bit amused—her own skill was not even as well understood by others as it was by her.

What she did not expect was that most ordinary people, lacking famous masters or panels, could actually only rely on spending vast amounts of time to figure out the talent skills they had acquired.

"You are the person Silver Shawan wants to catch, right?" Sophia asked.

"Yes!" Bella admitted cleanly and decisively.

"Are you not afraid we will send you back?"

"I have previously contacted Church priests and accepted their help. They are all very good people. I feel the Church should not collude with slave traders... right?"

After a pause, Bella's gaze shifted to Samuel, who wore priest robes: "Did I guess wrong?"

Sophia gave no answer to this, then asked: "Then why did you go to kill that... what was it..."

Although she had heard the fat guard's shout inside the ship's upper structure earlier, Sophia had not bothered to remember that name.

"Horn," when she spoke this name, Bella instinctively clenched her fist. "The reason is simple. He killed my friend, a very important friend, who died as a slave under his torture."

Immediately, Bella told Sophia how she had tracked her friend's whereabouts to Silver Shawan, and how she had discovered her friend had died miserably at Horn's hands.

After confirming the murderer, she used the talent 【Truth Vision】 obtained at level 40 to lock onto Horn's location. She tracked him for half a month, figured out his movement patterns, and finally found the opportunity to take him down.

However, success came from the Truth Vision and failure also came from the Truth Vision. The pair of eyes constantly glowing with silver light exposed her in the end. With no choice, she hid beneath the Church's ship.

"Just to avenge your friend?"

"A friend who shared life and death with me." Bella shrugged, as if stating something obvious.

"Then what are your plans afterward?"

"If you do not hand me back to Silver Shawan, I hope to return to the Kingdom afterward to search for my father's whereabouts."

Sophia looked at Samuel, but the priest shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. We cannot bear even the slightest risk."

The Captain of the Guard, who had been silent behind them, had already placed his hand on his sword.

He understood the innocence of the girl before him, but compared to the future of humanity, any sacrifice was acceptable, whether it was his life or his glory... Feeling the pressure from across the room suddenly intensify, Bella closed her eyes.

Under the Truth Vision, she was very clear about the gap in strength between the two sides; even if she resisted or fled, there was no hope.

"No need to make things so tense," Sophia suddenly said. "Bella, I cannot simply let you go, but would you be willing to stay by my side? A few years, just like a long-term employment."

"Willing."

Without hesitation, Bella agreed. Bella clearly understood that she had obviously been drawn into some secret operation of the Church; this invitation was likely the other party's greatest goodwill.

"My lord..."

The Captain of the Guard frowned, and Samuel even spoke out directly to try to dissuade her, but Sophia raised her hand to stop him.

"She is not lying, is she?"

Samuel paused for two seconds, then nodded—before this conversation even began, Bella had already drunk a Truth Potion; without special means, it was naturally impossible to lie.

"Then it is settled," Sophia decided.

Seeing this, Samuel had no choice but to agree.

Although he could forcibly erase this potential accident regardless of the Hero's opinion, the result of causing the Hero to become estranged from them would be counterproductive.

However, they could not leave themselves completely unguarded; they needed to leave a little contingency on this girl named Bella...

Suddenly, Samuel's eyes widened, and he quickly walked out of the cabin.

"What happened?" Sophia remained seated in her original spot, not moving.

She was still weak in strength now; in any sudden situation, not acting rashly was the greatest help she could offer others.

Samuel squinted, gazing at the edge of the sea line. There was a small black dot there, which seemed to be a ship.

But... how could it be a ship?

He sensed a large object approaching; at first, he thought it might be some kind of ocean giant monster.

However, the distance was still too great now to see the opponent's true form clearly.

The opponent also seemed to have noticed them. Under Samuel's gaze, that "ship" quickly changed direction, obviously intending to go around them.

Seeing this, Samuel slowly retreated into the cabin. Although somewhat curious, it was always better to have fewer accidents on their journey.

—

Actually, if they had gotten closer, Samuel would have felt even stranger, even sighing that this world truly had all kinds of wonders.

Because this was indeed a ship, a monster ship made of irregular wooden planks glued together by mycelium, pulled by two mermaids.

The crew consisted of one Pooji and one Mushroom Person...

"Boss, shouldn't we go up and ask for directions?"

On the Mushroom Ship, Dylan looked at the departing great ship and asked in confusion.

They had been sailing aimlessly for three days; didn't they need to know the direction?

"Ask? Ask what! A whole ship full of Gold Rank—charging at it would definitely get you chopped to bits and thrown to the fish! We steer clear of it and follow the direction it came from—that's all we need to do, no need to ask!"

Dilan was slightly surprised by the identity of that ship, but nodded in agreement with the boss's decision.

(End of Chapter)