Chapter 2074

"According to Miss Iliser, the divine war at the beginning of the Fifth Era was a battle between the god of the ocean and that 【Dragon-Eater】. Regardless of whether either side left anything behind, it should be related to dragons and the ocean."

He walked toward the busy pier and stood at the very end, gazing at the sea:

"For dragons, I only have the 【Power of the Red Dragon】 and the glove; as for the ocean... the divinity of the Guardian of Mermen - Lord of the Scarlet Spiral, the divinity of the Controller of Ocean Storms - Raging Storm, and the divinity of the First Drowned - Lord of the Deep Sea Drowned, have all been devoured by me."

Xia De preferred to call them the "Three Evil Gods of Coldwater Port," and the cults of these three evil gods seemed to have appeared in the Moon Bay area, though they were not very common.

He held the glove and used the 【Power of the Red Dragon】, then closed his eyes and listened intently, but as expected, he heard nothing. He then emptied his mind to feel the ocean before him.

Although Xia De had never mastered any power related to the "ocean" other than "Water Walking" and "Underwater Breathing," perhaps he truly had this talent, or perhaps the ocean itself did not reject him. At first, he could only hear the ebb and flow of the tide, but then the sound of the tide seemed to turn into pleasant music. All senses except hearing seemed to lose their function, and when Xia De's soul gradually forgot the sounds in his ears, his mind touched the tide before him, and the water accepted Xia De's soul.

The divinity of the ocean gods had successively entered the soul of the Outlander, and a soul stained with the breath of the sea was also regarded as a companion by the ocean. The ocean, which was infinitely large compared to a human body, did not let the "tiny" soul merge with it, but instead gently stroked him, joyfully circled him, and finally, in front of Xia De who had his eyes closed, it almost revealed a vague, human-like appearance.

Xia De could not describe the feeling at this moment, and he could not distinguish what that blurred figure was at all. The sound of the tide and the wind brushed past his ears, and the almost whispering sound finally turned into a sentence that could be understood:

"Please save Moon Bay."

"What?"

He wanted to hear more clearly, but the current surrounding him and the feeling of almost merging with the sea just a moment ago disappeared like a receding tide.

When he opened his eyes in extreme disappointment, he was immediately forced to squint again by the glaring sunset before him. The sun was sinking below the horizon, and the light of the sunset reflected on the sea was still brilliant. He seemed to have stood here for a long time, and as he realized this, the noisy sounds of the docks finally resumed as if a theater curtain had been raised.

【Outlander, you have touched "Miracles" and "Enlightenment," and you have gained insight into the "Ocean."】

After a slight pause, the gentle voice continued:

【Outlander, you have obtained the temporary status "Favor of the Sea." Within two months, when acting in the ocean and coastal areas, your stamina and spirit recovery speed will increase, and your luck will improve.】

"The ocean is very gentle, isn't it?"

Before Xia De could think about these gains, another slightly familiar voice sounded in his ears. Only then did he realize that while he was "dazed" on the pier, someone had actually come to his side.

Turning his head to look, Miss Iliser with black hair and blue eyes, or rather "Miss Radiance," was turning her head and smiling at him.

The sunset dyed her beautiful long black hair with an orange luster. She tilted her head slightly and then winked at Xia De:

"You know, when you smile at girls, you are actually casting a charm spell on them."

But her appearance at this moment was clearly also showing off her own charm.

"Good evening, Miss Iliser. I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

Although Xia De was startled, he still responded with a smile immediately. But then he realized that the other party seemed not to want him to smile, so he suppressed the smile back.

The smile on the blue-eyed girl's face became more obvious:

"I wasn't deliberately avoiding you, so why are you so surprised to meet me again?"

She had her hands behind her back, turned her head away from Xia De, and looked at the evening sea where seagulls were circling:

"Many people in many regions believe that life is born from water, and therefore must return to water. Intentions related to death have never been inseparable from water. At the same time, people living along lakes, seas, and rivers have more or less inherited some traditions about water burials. And the sea, it really is beautiful."

The girl with her hands behind her back faced the sunset, her long black hair swaying slightly in the wind. Her long dress rustled in the wind of the docks, and her waistline highlighted a figure that Ajelina couldn't even imagine.

"The sea is indeed beautiful, but it is also dangerous for ordinary people, especially during shipwrecks and storms."

Xia De said this on purpose, but Miss Iliser smiled and did not pick up on this sentence:

"Did you complete the last mission smoothly?"

"Yes, the lonely child longed for maternal love. But what she craved was actually not much; the bedtime stories told by her mother before sleep were enough to satisfy her. Children are never greedy; those small wishes are not complicated."

Xia De took out the silver anchor ornament, and Miss Iliser nodded:

"Very good, very nice. Then, according to our agreement, let me tell you more information about Moon Bay."

She gazed at the sea:

"It's not just you looking for things; the believers of that Great One are also searching for traces of that divine war in Moon Bay for their next plan. Don't ask me what plans the cultists have; I am not omniscient."

Xia De thought for a moment:

"That Great One was an eyewitness to the divine war at the beginning of the Fifth Era. He should know what the gods left behind at that time, so why do the cultists still need to search for it?"

Gods don't have "amnesia" or anything like that.

"Because it was not the god who devoured the dragon who sealed those traces."

The blue-eyed girl replied. Seeing that Xia De wanted to ask more, she shook her head with a smile:

"I was not an eyewitness to that divine war either. I can only tell you that such a major event must have left something behind, but I don't know how to contact those traces."

She continued to look at the sea before her:

"Such a charming ocean. It's just that I don't know if this sea will still be able to maintain this appearance after the disaster that Moon Bay is about to suffer."

"What kind of disaster is Moon Bay going to suffer?"

"Remember? I can only tell you one piece of information at a time, and don't treat me as if I know everything. I am not that omnipotent."

Saying this, she suddenly laughed again:

"However, if you want, next time we meet, I can not give you information, but teach you interesting miracles instead. Are you interested in transformation magic? I can teach you how to turn into a fish."

Xia De hurriedly shook his head. With a pet cat at home, he absolutely must not learn how to turn into a fish. Knowing that lazy, soft-hearted, and hard-headed cat—who looked smart but wasn't actually very bright—Xia De knew that once little Mia got the illusion that "Ah, he is weaker than me," that orange and white kitten would really treat herself as the true master of the house.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I have no interest in turning into a fish. Let's stick to intelligence next time."

"You don't see the benefits of being a fish; a fish doesn't have to worry about sinking before it dies... For this mission, go and ask him; this is related to his child."

The blue-eyed girl turned around and pointed to a man who was carrying two heavy sacks and unloading cargo from a ship. The man was not far from the end of the pier where they were standing, and because he was busy with his head down, he seemed completely unaware of the two of them.

"I understand, but I would also like to ask about the Radiant Messenger."

Xia De saw that she intended to say goodbye:

"I have some very important matters that I must know the truth about the Radiant Messenger to complete."

He looked at the girl close at hand. Xia De had seen blue eyes before; Dr. Schneider, Helen, and Grace all had blue eyes, but only gazing into Miss Iliser's eyes made Xia De feel as if he were staring at an ocean that was calm on the surface but actually surging with waves.

The sunset left traces on her profile, and the girl seemed to be thinking:

"You could have relied on your own strength to complete your own affairs, so why seek help from me?"

"But I truly do not know why the Radiant Messenger sank."

Miss Iliser covered her mouth and laughed:

"How could we people living in the Sixth Era know the reason for the sinking of the 'unsinkable ship' of the Fifth Era? If you want to know, you should ask the people who experienced these things."

After finishing, she shook her head playfully:

"I almost forgot, you can't find such people now."

"Can you really not find them?"

"Don't easily question the thoughts of girls; that is very impolite. Oh, you who are blessed by the sea, the sea will also help you. Do not seek answers from me; the answers are in another direction."

She waved goodbye to Xia De in a good mood and walked along the pier toward the docks. She looked like a noble lady from a famous family, so her attire was out of place at the docks, yet no one noticed her at all. After the porters carrying sacks blocked Xia De's view of her, she completely disappeared from Xia De's sight.

"Seeking answers from the Fifth Era... I'll open that time key, which was supposed to be used this morning, tomorrow morning."

The man chosen by Miss Iliser as the mission target was still moving cargo from the freighter docked at the pier. If Xia De wasn't mistaken, that whole ship was full of grain.

He had originally been thinking about how to approach and strike up a conversation; even as a "travel writer," it seemed very abrupt to rashly inquire about someone else's child. Fortunately, things went even more smoothly than Xia De had imagined. After seeing Miss Iliser off, while he was standing there thinking, a boy holding an iron lunch box and wearing a patched grey flat cap ran over quickly.