We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 211 Reunion with An, [Moonlight Boat]

The valley fell silent as soon as the high priest said this.

In indigenous tribes, the high priest's authority is even greater than that of the holy woman.

He was clearly not speaking without reason.

The little girl who had asked for a hug earlier was confused and looked at Sha Jingjing curiously, asking, "Oh right, Saintess, you do seem to have a special smell on you today."

"It smells strange, but it's also fragrant, and it even smells like meat!"

—The smell of barbecue still lingers on Sha Jingjing.

However, the little girl's words did not improve the strange atmosphere in the valley.

The high priest and several natives continued to scrutinize Sha Jingjing and her group, lingering particularly long on Xia En.

Seeing this, Shane frowned and decided to confront the natives.

Because of his relationship with the Lord of Radiance, he wasn't particularly wary of the natives of Sand Island.

Moreover, judging from the aura the high priest exuded, the opponent might not be a match for him.

Just then, Sha Jingjing stepped forward and said, "I did encounter a group of outsiders in the desert earlier."

"One of them was an extremely dangerous madwoman with long black hair and a bewitching appearance. She killed several of our clansmen and left two gunshot wounds on me."

As she spoke, Sha Jingjing pointed to her shoulders and lower abdomen.

Although the bleeding from the wound had stopped, a chilling, mysterious power still lingered, continuously damaging her body.

"Holy Maiden, you're injured!"

Upon seeing Sha Jingjing's wound, the little girl immediately looked worried: "We need to treat the wound quickly."

The other natives also stirred up a small commotion.

They had great faith in their own saintess, but even she suffered such an injury, which showed how powerful the outsider was.

At this moment, Shane noticed...

The indigenous people in the valley were not exactly in good condition either.

Many people had injuries, some minor and some major.

Some people had red eyes and sad expressions, as if they had just been crying.

After a moment's thought, Xia En understood the reason behind this situation.

As news of the Norwich Treasure spreads throughout the Seven Seas, the number of various factions heading to Sand Island in search of the treasure is sure to increase gradually.

In addition, there is the natural antagonistic relationship between outsiders and natives.

Even though the natives are naturally adapted to the environment of the Sand Island, they are still bound to suffer casualties under wave after wave of attacks from outsiders.

This is why such a negative and pessimistic atmosphere exists.

"Once the others return, gather all the injured together, and I will conduct the [Moon-Singing Ceremony]."

Sha Jingjing said to the High Priest, "Please help me prepare, High Priest."

The high priest opened his mouth, hesitated, and finally sighed, saying, "Yes, Your Holiness, you have worked hard."

Before turning to leave, the high priest added a sentence.

"Oh, by the way, we also captured a strange prisoner. How to deal with him is up to Her Majesty the Saintess."

Upon hearing this, Sha Jingjing became somewhat nervous and cautiously glanced at Xia En behind her.

She was well aware of her people's hatred for outsiders.

What if they've already attacked Shane's companions? Wouldn't that be a terrible situation?
Thinking of this, Sha Jingjing immediately asked the little girl, "Ayi, where are the prisoners? Take me to see them."

Soon, led by a little girl named "Ayi", the group arrived at a corner of the valley.

A heavy suit of metal armor sat there quietly.

"Saintess, it's him."

Ayi muttered to herself, "But he doesn't seem to be a bad person. He helped us fight off a lot of outsiders and saved some of our older brothers and sisters."

"Moreover, he is mute and cannot speak."

"I don't recognize the words written in the sand..."

Click!

As the group approached, the silent, armored monster quickly stood up and turned to look at Shane, who was not far away.

This sudden turn of events startled Ayi, who quickly hid behind Sha Jingjing.

—Judging from his appearance alone, An's image is quite intimidating.

Sha Jingjing rubbed Ayi's little head: "Why don't you go wait over there for a while? I have something I want to say to this guy."

"Eh?"

Ayi clearly had many questions she wanted to ask, but she was quickly taken away by the three natives.

At this moment, Xia En couldn't help but look at An with a surprised expression.

There is no other reason.

He could clearly sense that An's aura was stronger than when they had parted ways.

If he wasn't mistaken, this meant... An had broken through to the third tier, becoming the second third-tier crew member on the [Black Swan]!
Although this promotion speed was much slower than that of Shane, it could only be described as "rapid progress" among ordinary secret path practitioners.

Is this a unique characteristic of elves' physique?
Or did the [Knight] Secret Path work its magic again?

However, what Xia En cared about more was...

"An, are you alright?"

"And where is Tracy?"

"Captain Shane, I'm here..."

At that moment, a weak voice sounded from behind An.

A faint green light appeared on the armor, and the fairy Tracy floated up weakly.

She seemed to have temporarily merged into the surface of the armor using some kind of special magic.

The reason she didn't hide directly in the gaps in the armor was clearly because the series of "misfortunes" she had encountered before had left a considerable psychological scar on her.

Seeing that Tracy was alright, Shane breathed a slight sigh of relief.

Suddenly, he noticed that Anne's body was trembling slightly, and there seemed to be suppressed sobs coming from under her armor.

Xia En's expression immediately changed: "An, what's wrong? What happened?"

Tracy said from the side, "To lighten the load, Ann threw away all the cardboard he used for writing, so I'll express his meaning for him."

Upon hearing this, An's body stiffened instantly.

But at that moment, Trish spoke up: "Ann was just thinking... I thought I would never see Captain again."

"It's so good to see that the captain is safe and sound."

Xia En was taken aback.

He hadn't expected that Ann would be so agitated about this.

But then again, this seemed to be the first time the two had been separated for such a long time since An pledged his allegiance to him.

Especially since they encountered Twilight, their situation was truly more perilous than ever before.

However, in Xia En's memory, An was always calm and reserved, rarely showing any emotions.

In retrospect, it was the "curse of aphasia" and this armor that hindered his expression of emotions.

Hearing these words, Ann stared at Tracy, shaking her head with a slightly pleading look in her eyes.

Trish seemed oblivious and continued, "Ann also wants to ask, who is this female native?"

"Why does the captain seem to have such a good relationship with her? It's a little unsettling..."

"...Hiss, should I have said that?"

Shane: "..."

Sha Jingjing: "..."

Xia En glanced at An silently. Although he couldn't see An's expression clearly, he could more or less sense An's feelings of shame and indignation.

Judging by that, if there had been a crack in the ground, An would probably have already crawled into it!
Xia En, understanding the situation, didn't pursue the matter further. She simply coughed twice, stopping Cuixi from continuing to express her reassurance, and said...

"This is the Saintess of Sand from Sand Island, Sand Crystal."

"Thanks to her, I was able to find you."

Then, Xia En turned to Sha Jingjing and said, "Thank you for what happened earlier." Sha Jingjing could have revealed Xia En's identity to the High Priest, but she chose to keep it a secret for herself.

"Consider it repaying the favor of those few skewers of grilled meat."

Sha Jingjing waved her hand and said generously.

But at the same time, her eyes were fixed on the floating Tracy: "Speaking of which, what is this little thing?"

"Could it be... a legendary fairy?"

Xia En raised an eyebrow: "You've heard of fairies?"

This is indeed surprising.

Not to mention this desolate island covered in yellow sand, even among islands under the jurisdiction of the Federation, there aren't many residents who have ever heard of fairies.

"Yes."

Sha Jingjing frankly stated, "According to the knowledge passed down by the previous generation of saintesses, it seems that a long, long time ago, [Sand Island] was not like it is now."

"Not only does it have forests and grasslands, but also clear rivers. Many magical animals live on the island, including fairies!"

Xia En was somewhat surprised.

Was the former "Sand Island" really such a vibrant island?

But how did it become what it is now?

Xia En casually voiced her doubts, to which Sha Jingjing replied directly, "You're asking me? I don't know either."

"Anyway, as long as I can remember, Sand Island has always looked like this."

"Come here, little vixen, let your big sister touch you."

As she spoke, Sha Jingjing reached out her devilish hand to Cuixi.

Tracy cried out, "Captain, save me!"

Xia En chose to remain indifferent and observe.

After all, if you really think about it, the reason they were in so much danger on Sand Island was most likely because this little imp had sneaked into An's armor without permission.

However, before Sha Jingjing and Cuixi could play together for long, a commotion broke out outside the valley.

A blood-covered native staggered in.

"Your Holiness, High Priest!"

"Our tribe is under attack by outsiders, please send reinforcements immediately!"

The high priest asked with a serious expression, "Who are these outsiders? How many of them are they, and what is their strength?"

The wounded native, panting heavily, replied, "About thirty or forty people. They seem to have the ability to manipulate blood. We are no match for them at all."

"Moreover, those outsiders were extremely hostile to us and had no intention of leaving any survivors."

"The power of blood..."

The high priest's face darkened: "It's those vampire beasts!"

"Have they even started to covet [Sand Island]?"

"All warriors still capable of fighting, board the Moonlight Ship!"

At this moment, Sha Jingjing also arrived at the High Priest's side. Upon hearing this, she couldn't help but frown slightly: "There are still quite a few people whose injuries have not been healed."

"Wouldn't it be too hasty to go into battle now?"

The high priest shook his head: "There's no time."

“I know the ways of those vampire beasts. They have an irreconcilable hatred for us [Moon Wing Clan].

“If we arrive too late, the entire tribe will be wiped out.”

Sha Jingjing murmured, "Vampires..."

Although she didn't know much about this race, for some reason, a strange sense of disgust would always rise in her heart when the name was mentioned.

Could this truly be a blood feud etched deep in our blood?

After a moment's thought, she said, "High Priest, I understand."

"In that case, I'll just hold the Moon-Singing Ceremony on the Moonlight Ship."

"Although the effect will be less, it can at least heal some of the injuries."

The high priest nodded and said, "Then I'll leave it to you."

Before long, Sha Jingjing led a group of natives out of the valley.

To her surprise, Xia En and Ann also followed.

"...Aren't you going to take this opportunity to leave?"

Xia En stated frankly, "To be honest, we also have a considerable grudge against the vampires."

"That woman named Twilight is a member of the vampire clan."

"If it's convenient for you, you might as well give us a ride."

Sha Jingjing nodded emphatically: "That would be perfect."

She had already witnessed Xia En's strength, and if Xia En were willing to take action, many people might be spared in this battle.

Soon, Shane saw the "Moonlight Ship" that the natives had mentioned.

This is a large ship moored behind the sand dunes, its sails as worn as the yellow robes worn by the natives.

It looks old and weathered.

However, its hull had a silver-gray pattern, which was not as intricate as magic patterns.

It's more like some kind of ancient totem pattern, giving people a strange sense of barbarity and antiquity.

"This is the Moonlight Ship?"

Xia En was secretly surprised: "But how do you start it?"

The lower half of this "Moonlight Boat" is submerged in the sand, like a whale stranded on a beach, unable to move.

However, given the urgency of the situation, he couldn't press the matter further and simply boarded the boat with the other natives.

"Big brother, you're from outside the island, right?"

Just then, a low, clear voice rang out beside Xia En.

"Ok?"

Xia En turned his head and frowned.

The girl speaking next to him was the local girl, Ayi.

But isn't this little girl too young to be on the battlefield?

Ayi grinned and said, "Big brother, don't underestimate me. I'm the tribe's candidate saintess."

"They've already been to the battlefield!"

"A candidate for sainthood?"

Xia En was somewhat curious about this term.

“Those like my sister, who have been recognized by the Lord of Light, are the true [Saintess of the Sand].

"But if my sister dies, it will be our turn to be the next Holy Maiden."

Ayi said calmly, "On [Sand Island], the Holy Maiden is actually more likely to die than her fellow clansmen..."

“I have seen five saintesses since I was born, and maybe... I will be the next one.”

These simple words subtly reveal a corner of the cruel truth about Sand Island.

Xia En fell silent.

Soon, Sha Jingjing walked to the bow of the ship and looked up at the sky with a devout expression.

A full moon hung there quietly.

"I offer this body to the Lord, may His glory be with us..."

As Sha Jingjing chanted softly, moonlight poured down like water, falling on the [Moonlight Boat].

At this point, Xia En suddenly realized what was happening.

He finally realized where his earlier feeling of unease had come from—

In the eyes of the Moon Wanderer, the Lord of Billions of Radiance is not the blazing sun, but this cool and serene moon!
(End of this chapter)