Resell?

Yinsen was happily cutting down sharks one after another, but the other captains were not foolish enough to stay aboard and merely watch. Through the Detection Glasses, Yinsen could see several people gradually jumping into the sea.

"Looks like the ones jumping in aren’t just captains… or perhaps they aren’t captains at all."

They were all Veteran Adventurers who had spent a considerable number of years at sea. Yinsen did not believe these people lacked methods to deal with attacks from beneath the water. Perhaps there were even crew members aboard who specialized in underwater combat.

When Yinsen cut down the last shark surrounding him, he noticed a figure nearby fighting a Death Shark.

Although visibility was still poor, Yinsen made out something. "That’s combat equipment capable of using the power of magic stones."

After returning to the Goddess of Dawn, Yinsen took some time to shower and change clothes in his cabin. By the time he came out, the battle outside had already entered its final stage.

People gradually emerged from the water. At this point, Yinsen could see more clearly that they were indeed wearing all kinds of Magic Stone Equipment. Most resembled light armor, while a few looked like Leather Armor. However, no one wore the set Yinsen had previously seized.

"Wait…"

Yinsen had not expected to discover anything, but he noticed that one person’s Magic Stone Equipment looked much like everyone else’s. Yet the "shirt" beneath that armor seemed closer to the skintight undersuit from the equipment set he had seized before.

"The adventurers on that ship don’t seem simple."

It had only been a hurried glance, so Yinsen did not dare say whether his judgment was accurate. When they next came into contact, he could observe that captain more carefully—he had already remembered which ship that person belonged to and identified its captain.

What Yinsen did not know was that while he was observing the other captains, many people were observing him as well.

From a purely wooden sailing ship without hull plating somehow possessing a magic stone shield, to Yinsen being the first to emerge from the water despite not being the first to enter the battle, even though Yinsen had tried to keep a low profile, his strength had still drawn plenty of attention.

To captains who were familiar with Brent or on good terms with him, the strength Yinsen displayed made them sigh. Brent was fairly reliable after all. He had not randomly brought in some unknown person; this young captain was very strong.

"Every ship, report your situation."

The communicator rang out again, and all the captains could hear their "comrades" reporting in. This swarm of Death Sharks had caused some trouble, but there had been no injuries. Only one unlucky fellow had bumped his head while taking an impact.

But that fellow had not even broken the skin. Astonishingly, that was the most serious injury suffered in this encounter.

"Adjust course. Move closer to the island."

Once he knew that none of the ships had any problems, Brent directed the fleet onward. This time, they would land directly on that island. For some reason, as they drew closer and closer, everyone felt an oppressive sensation. Even the dullest person could sense that something was about to happen.

The captains gathered aboard the Hope once more, but none of them sat in the meeting room. Instead, they all assembled on the poop deck, gazing toward the distant land together.

"The weather is getting stranger and stranger."

One captain turned his attention to the sky. Thick storm clouds blocked out the sunlight, and lightning seemed to be brewing faintly within them. From time to time, rain or snowflakes drifted down. It was impossible to tell whether the next moment would bring snow or rain; sometimes snow would suddenly turn into rain halfway through. They had already experienced this several times on the way toward the island.

Even along the latter half of this sea route, such conditions were extremely rare.

Occasionally, lightning would strike the sea, or a whirlpool would suddenly appear, causing considerable trouble for the fleet. Several times, they had nearly collided while avoiding sudden whirlpools or lightning strikes.

Fortunately, the crewmen were all experienced old sailors. Nothing irreparable happened, and the fleet drew ever closer to the massive landmass that nearly blocked the entire route.

"I keep feeling that this land is filled with a strange, oppressive aura."

Brent had not lowered his telescope once. He kept staring at the distant land. This place gave him an extremely unpleasant feeling, as though something deep within him was warning him not to approach it.

The others did not understand, but Yinsen knew why.

As a mage—and one who had faced Death Energy head-on several times—he knew that the island was saturated with Negative Energy centered around Death Energy.

Brent and the others had not recognized it as Death Energy partly because Death Energy was not the only kind of Negative Energy. It was merely one of the more abundant varieties.

Yinsen could not identify the other kinds either, but he was certain that these energies were anything but friendly toward humans. If someone remained in such an environment for too long, even if their body was not eroded, their mind would not be able to endure it. They could very easily be corrupted or driven mad by the stimulation.

"What a… wonderful place."

Anyone could tell that Yinsen was being sarcastic. The captains all nodded in agreement. Brent finally lowered his telescope and looked at the people beside him, seemingly about to ask whether anyone wanted to withdraw.

But when he thought of this strange land blocking the route and the unknown threat it might pose, he knew the danger had to be eliminated. In the end, he held back and said nothing.

As the fleet gradually approached the land, the chance of something happening at sea steadily decreased. The captains returned to their ships one after another, and Yinsen also needed to make preparations before landing.

But before he left, Brent deliberately pulled him aside.

"Perhaps you should stay on the ship."

"Are you worried that I’m not strong enough to handle a situation like this?" Yinsen knew Brent was concerned for his safety. Compared to the others, Yinsen still looked rather young. "Don’t worry. If something goes wrong, I’ll retreat immediately."

Yinsen was not worried that this place could truly threaten him. His strength had improved far too much compared to before, giving him ample confidence.

More importantly, he had enough means to preserve both his own life and his companions’ lives. If things went wrong, he could even hide in another world. If he lacked the courage to land even under such circumstances, he might as well find a safe world and muddle through the rest of his life there.

After returning to the Goddess of Dawn, Yinsen began sorting out his equipment for the landing.

There was not much to sort through. As his Storage Space had expanded, he had tossed his already limited equipment inside, carrying only a few simple items on his person, mainly to confuse the other captains.

By comparison, Logan still looked as though he were heading to a battlefield, equipped with a full set of firearms and a backpack stuffed with supplies.

Loki continued wandering around with a staff in hand. Yinsen knew that Loki kept all his equipment stored with magic and would naturally take it out when needed.

Selene’s situation was rather special. She had once been accustomed to wearing a specially made leather outfit, with compartments on the back for magazines. Her primary weapons had been two modified Beretta 93F automatic pistols, and she would also carry two backup weapons.

Under the current circumstances, that loadout could no longer meet her needs. Fortunately, Selene was a Warrior who had lived for several centuries. Aside from firearms, she also had extensive experience with cold weapons. Thus, in addition to a specially made suit of light armor, she equipped herself with a longsword and two shortswords.

Of course, she had not abandoned the Berettas. She also carried enough grenades to ensure that Selene would have sufficient weapons whenever she needed them.

"So here’s the question: if we all go ashore, who will guard the ship?"

"I can stay behind." Loki’s reaction was as quick as ever. He had little interest in going ashore to investigate what was strange about the island. If he stayed behind, he could do his own thing—or simply stir up some trouble to give Yinsen a headache for a while.

Unfortunately, Yinsen ruined his plan before he could put it into action. His Royal Highness was absolutely not the type to obediently guard the Goddess of Dawn without doing anything, and Yinsen would never leave him behind.

"Laura can’t stay behind either. In a situation like this, I’d rather leave an empty ship." As long as the people were safe, it did not matter if they lost the ship.

Perhaps noticing Yinsen’s situation, when the fleet gradually docked, Brent signaled for the Goddess of Dawn to berth directly alongside his Hope so that his crew could help watch Yinsen’s ship.

Yinsen did not trust Brent’s men, but there was no better choice at the moment. Besides, Brent had already made the offer, so Yinsen nodded and accepted Brent’s proposal. Then he led his people ashore with Brent.

"Although it’s no longer swaying and rocking like the sea, this place makes me feel extremely uncomfortable. I’d rather go back to the ship."

Less than a minute after stepping onto land, Logan began complaining. Although he had failed to become a druid, after studying for so long, he had still been influenced by Broll to some extent. He had no fondness whatsoever for this place filled with Negative Energy and utterly devoid of Natural Balance.

Laura felt the same way, and even Little Ou, cradled in her arms, wore an expression of agreement.

Their voices were not loud, and Little Ou’s nod was barely noticeable, but it still caught someone’s attention.

"Is this little fellow your pet?"

Yinsen turned his head and found that it was the captain he had marked for close observation, smiling as he stared at Little Ou in Laura’s arms.

"Can you sell it to me?"