The Creators: From Night City

Chapter 369: The Skellig Storm

"Uncle Geralt wants to enjoy the salty and humid North Sea breeze, so he plans to take a boat from the port of Novigrad, while our Lady Yennefer will take a shortcut and use her magical portal to get there first." Dandelion interjected.

"Okay, Dandelion, I just want you to help me find a ship. There's no need to be so sarcastic."

"Is it just a matter of finding a ship, Geralt? You have no idea how much trouble I had to convince the captain to load your horse, Carrot, onto the ship." Dandelion held his forehead, a look of pain on his face. "Why can't you ride a horse that can teleport?"

"I do have a rainbow unicorn here, but unfortunately, it's just a toy. Otherwise, if our great Viscount Thunderhap complained to it, maybe it would come back to life." Geralt was also good at talking nonsense, and he retorted in the same sarcastic tone.

The unicorn he mentioned did exist in this world, but this noble creature had not appeared in human society for a long time, so we could only glimpse its image in books. It was so long ago that most people thought it was just a myth.

In those myths and legends, unicorns look very much like horses, but they have a horn in the center of their forehead, which is usually spiral-shaped. The color of this horn changes as the unicorn ages. At the same time, in myths, the pointed horn on their heads is so sharp that it can pierce any evil and even space, which also gives them the ability to travel through space.

"Come on, unicorns are noble creatures that only pure people can ride. And you, Geralt, will never ride one in your lifetime, you pervert."

"Then it seems that our dashing Master Dandelion meets this condition. He has never slept with a woman, nor has he ever engaged in promiscuous relationships."

The two of them fought back and forth, and the battle was so intense that Jiang Bing couldn't bear to interrupt them.

Fortunately, Yennefer spoke in time: "Mr. Saber, Geralt doesn't like using portals, but if you need it, you can come with me."

As she said this, Margarita looked very subtle.

"Actually, for some reasons, I can't use the portal either." Jiang Bing had a strange look on his face and rejected the other party's invitation to commit suicide.

"I'd better go on the boat with Geralt."

Hearing Jiang Bing's decision, Dandelion stopped arguing with his best friend. "Mr. Saber, I'm not trying to stop you, but the ship Geralt is on is already full. The captain probably won't allow any new passengers on board. After all, if we add more people, they'll have to sleep on the deck."

"I'll pay you more," Boss Jiang said without blinking. "I'll give you enough to convince the captain to sleep on the deck. You're responsible for dealing with him, Master Dandelion."

………………

The port of Novigrad is always so prosperous.

There came ships from Atri at Cape Percy, from Pond Venezia in the Gulf of Praxida, from Luton, Blaviken, and Espadon on the Crooked Coast, from the Skellige Islands, and even from the City of the Golden Tower in the far south.

Carrying cargo, transporting people, exploring, smuggling, the extremely dangerous ocean has not hindered the development of the shipping industry. Although the Age of Exploration has not yet arrived due to the limitations of shipbuilding technology and ferocious monsters in the sea, Jiang Bing, looking at the "Skellig Storm" that he is about to board, feels that it may not be long before the Age of Exploration arrives in this world.

This is a 'giant ship' over 30 meters long with a deep V-shaped bottom, which can effectively adapt to the turbulent waters of the Skellige Islands. The hull made of 'Blue Mountain Hemlock' is as hard as ordinary steel, enough for it to survive large storms.

The entire ship has a strong Skellige style. This archipelago kingdom, which looks very much like a Nordic pirate, has extremely advanced shipbuilding and navigation technology.

After all, as a "country of a thousand islands" surrounded by the ocean, ships are equivalent to horses for them and are an indispensable means of transportation.

The captain of the "Storm" warmly received Jiang Bing and prepared the best suite on the ship for this wealthy sponsor. After Jiang Bing settled his luggage, he enthusiastically took him on a tour of the entire ship.

Seeing that Jiang Bing was very interested in the ship, the captain talked incessantly all the way, as if he was introducing his own talented child to a stranger.

"Your Excellency, Mr. Sable, you are looking at the 'Skellig Storm,' a caravel-gallon hybrid ocean-going sailing vessel. It has a beautiful fore-mast square sail, main-mast jib, and mizzen-mast jib, ensuring it runs fast and steady on the sea."

The captain was obviously an old sailor. He wore a leather armor with sea rose marks that had faded due to the erosion of sea water, and a traditional Skellige scimitar was tucked away at his waist.

His dark face was rough and dull from the sea breeze, but his sharp eyes showed the cunning and shrewdness of a businessman.

After all, he was a merchant, not a pirate.

"Captain Hammond, Dandelion told me you often travel from Keldra Harbor (the capital of the archipelago) to Novigrad?"

"Of course, of course, there is no absolute safety in the sea, so everyone is still inclined to trust an old captain who has been traveling back and forth on this sea route for more than ten years, right?" The captain had something to say and took the opportunity to praise his own business ability.

"Are there sea monsters in the sea, Captain?" Jiang Bing was very curious about the marine ecology of this magical world.

"Of course, sea monsters, the Kraken, the Kelpy, the Grogmere, the M'bawan, the Kanaloa, I grew up listening to their stories." The captain answered Jiang Bing's questions easily.

"Are they all real?"

"Uh~" The older captain took off his Skellige-style cow bone bicorne hat, scratched his greasy scalp, and looked embarrassed.

"To be honest, Mr. Sabul, I'm not sure. When I was on the ship, I often saw large groups of human-faced monster birds flying and circling in the sky. I also saw groups of female snake demons in the sea, and even heard the song of the Sirens many times, but I have never encountered the above."

The captain put his equally greasy hat back on, causing Jiang Bingcheng to worry about the personal hygiene in this world. He continued, "After all, if you encounter any of the monsters above, you probably won't see me anymore."

"Siren, mermaid?" Jiang Bing keenly grasped the key words in the other party's words. Because of the existence of "The Demon Hunter Principle", Jiang Bing had some information about most of the monsters in this world, but knowledge gained from books was not enough, so he still wanted to see the real thing.

Chapter 370 The storm is coming

"Yes, mermaid, haha~" The captain was overjoyed as if he had thought of something.

"Mr. Sable, don't believe the words of those troubadours and self-proclaimed romantic fools. Mermaids don't like to sleep with people. They just want to bite off the balls of anyone who comes near them."

"Actually, this statement is not very objective. What you are talking about are sirens, distant relatives of the man-faced harpies. Real mermaids are intelligent creatures. They can communicate and even have their own culture." Geralt's signature bass voice sounded from the side.

It turned out that the two men had come to the door of the livestock room on the lower deck while walking and chatting on the boat, and Geralt had just come out of it and bumped into them head-on.

He happened to hear the captain talking about monsters, so he took the initiative to join in.

"Maybe, Master Witcher, I can't tell. After all, I'm just an old sailor."

Jiang Bing met an acquaintance, so he said goodbye to the captain and started chatting with Geralt.

"Mr. Sabul, what do you want from Mossack?"

Because he was still needed to make an introduction, Geralt was naturally an unavoidable party, so Jiang Bing simply showed the acorn to him.

"For it."

"An acorn?" The witcher stammered the two words in confusion.

"It's still unknown whether it's an acorn or not. The answer will depend on the druids."

"They do have a deep understanding of nature." Geralt has traveled all over the continent and has extraordinary knowledge. He turned around and talked to Jiang Bing about his views.

"Mr. Sable, do you know the Dryad?"

"Nature's darling, weird wife?" Jiang Bing blurted out the two classic nicknames of the tree spirit.

"The only dryads on the continent that still exist are probably in Brokilon Forest."

"Of course," Geralt agreed, "but I was referring to their capital, Duan Canar (Old Language)."

"Land of Oak Trees?" Jiang Bing immediately completed the translation in his mind.

"Yes, I think since this thing is an acorn, it would be better to ask the tree spirit."

What Geralt said made a lot of sense. What's more important is that the Brokilon Forest where the dryads live is right next to Velen and can be reached by crossing Cremora. It is much closer than the Skellige Group.

But only children make choices. Anyway, the train can take Jiang Bing back at any time. If the druids don’t have an answer, it’s not too late for Jiang Bing to take Geralt with him.

As for why Geralt was brought along, it was because the dryads regarded all forests as their own territory, so they would extremely hate humans because the forest land was occupied by humans. Without Geralt, the face king, Jiang Bing would be faced with a rain of arrows as soon as he arrived at the edge of the forest.

After Jiang Bing agreed to help Geralt find Ciri, the white wolf immediately patted his chest loudly and expressed his willingness to act as a middleman and introduce him to the dryad queen Silver-Eyed Esna.

As the two chatted, the 'Skellig Storm' finally set sail, sailed out of the port of Novigrad, and headed southwest along the coastline.

Life at sea is very dull and tedious. Apart from meditation and exercise, Geralt's daily activities include going to the barn to look after his beloved horse "Carrot".

He would brush the chestnut Kaedweni mare's coat and feed her a few carrots to soothe the noisy mood caused by the rocking of the ship and the stuffy space.

Just as he was brushing his horse's mane with a brush, the window on the side of the ship suddenly darkened. When he reacted, he found that there was a lot of noise outside the cabin.

There is a proverb in the Skellige Islands: The sea is like a child's face, it changes at any time.

And this moment was very appropriate. In the distance, the sky was filled with lightning and thunder, and dark clouds were so low that they almost covered the water, and they were spreading rapidly towards the ship like wildfire.

The wind in the air also began to become chaotic, and one could clearly feel the humidity increasing rapidly.

"The storm is coming!" The lookout on the watchtower almost shouted at the top of his lungs.

The crew members immediately became busy.

Secure the cargo, lower the sails, tidy up the decks, and close all unnecessary deck hatches to reduce possible water infiltration.

When facing a storm, it is necessary to lower the sails, because the strong winds in the storm will make the sails bear too much force, which is very likely to cause the mast to break. Therefore, experienced captains will ask sailors to lower half of the sails in advance, retain the small triangular sail, maintain basic maneuverability, and help adjust the course. Whether to lower the sails again later depends on the situation.

Geralt's keen senses made him feel that the storm was too bizarre, so he dropped the tools in his hands and prepared to go find the captain to discuss it.

As soon as he arrived at the captain's room, he found that Jiang Bing had arrived early at some point and was looking in the direction of the storm.

"Can we get around this storm?" Geralt asked gravely.

Captain Hammond's face was heavy, but he didn't look panicked. He stood on the upper deck and issued various instructions in an orderly manner. He even had time to answer Geralt's questions.

"I'm afraid we can't completely bypass it, Master Witcher. This storm is so strange that it almost covers the entire northern coastline leading to the Skellige Islands. We can only try to avoid it and see if we can take a detour via Faroe Island."

"What about the southwest?" Jiang Bing suddenly spoke.

"Looking at the current situation, this storm is not going to be easy to weather."

"The southwest is close to the Desolate Sea. I don't want to go near that cursed place." Captain Hammond shook his head almost like a rattle. He raised the same monocular telescope as the one he used on his lookout, repeatedly observed the storm, and added with a gloomy expression: "And..."

"It's too late, isn't it?" Jiang Bing said the next sentence first.

"Yes, this damn storm is expanding at an abnormal speed. We can't avoid it anymore."

"Mr. Sabul, Mr. Demon Hunter, I suggest that you two return to your respective cabins. It will be very dangerous to stay outside for a while."

On the surface, the two of them seemed to be willing to do good.

Not long after, dark clouds carrying storms appeared like the mouth of an abyss, instantly swallowing up the "Storm".

The big raindrops were crackling and almost hitting the boat, and the sound filled everyone's eardrums.

The wind was surprisingly not violent, but the waves came one after another, one higher than the other, throwing the more than 30-meter-long ocean-going sailboat up and down and shaking it from side to side.

The people on the boat were tossed around like sandbags. It was difficult for them to even stand still, let alone move.

But there are two exceptions.

With the help of years of physical training, Geralt struggled to maintain stability on the roller coaster-like deck and returned to the right deck of the sailboat.

Jiang Bing, on the other hand, had already arrived early.

Chapter 371: The Impoverished Skellige

"Do you think it's a monster or a curse?" Jiang Bing suddenly asked a question while looking into the distance.

"It could also be the work of the druids of Skellige. The weather sorcerers among them are capable of doing something similar."

The storm grew more and more violent, almost capsizing the heaving ship. Captain Hammond tied himself to the rudder with a rope and steered the ship in the storm.

"Son of a bitch, come on, come on~!" The old sailor from Skellige finally showed his fierce bravery that was unmatched among his clansmen. While cursing, he quickly adjusted the direction of the ship so that it could accurately avoid the main impact of each wave.

There were flashes of lightning and thunder, illuminating the dark clouds. Several shadows flashed in the lightning, but Geralt couldn't see them clearly. However, Jiang Bing's expression suddenly changed.

He raised his eyebrows, a rare sight, and stared intently at the center of the storm with narrowed eyes, but he spoke quickly and emphasized, "Geralt, go and tell the captain to return the same way."

The witcher had seen Jiang Bing's strength before, and seeing him act like this, he did not hesitate at all and carefully walked towards the rudder, holding the side of the boat.

The waves rolled, and the dark clouds also rolled with them. Finally, lightning illuminated the clouds again. Jiang Bing, who was concentrating all his attention, finally captured what he wanted with his eyesight that was countless times better than that of ordinary people.

It was a tentacle, a thick, towering tentacle covered with terrifying suction cups that poked its head out from the sea surface and quickly slammed into the water, causing a huge tide while pulling the slender neck and head of another monster into the seabed.

With the help of this exposed tip of the iceberg, Jiang Bing was able to infer how huge the two monsters were underwater.

He withdrew his gaze, sighing that the water in the "Wizarding World" was indeed bottomless, and took off directly into the air, taking a shortcut and arriving at the rudder at the same time as Geralt.

"Full sail, head southeast." Jiang Bing took over the command without any nonsense.

"But Mr. Sable, the wind is blowing from the north now." Captain Hammond looked puzzled.

Jiang Bing said nothing, but turned his head quietly, and looked at the old captain who was close at hand in the dark wind and rain with his eyes that emitted a faint golden glow when he mobilized his mental power.

The howling north wind suddenly calmed down, and then a stronger northwest wind suddenly blew around the ship.

Captain Hammond seemed to understand something now. He looked at Jiang Bing deeply, turned his head sharply and shouted, "Sailors, full sail, full speed, southeast."

The airflow filled all the sails of the sailboat, but the force was just within the range that the mast could withstand. It drove the ship like an arrow from a string, almost flying towards the southeast in the turbulent waves.

"Yo~~" Captain Hammond felt the sea breeze blowing on his face brought by the rapid speed, and couldn't help but stretch out his hand and shout. The Skellige people's yearning for freedom is written in their bones.

It was not until the lookout on the Skellige Stormer saw the outline of the continent of Weyden in the distance that the ship, which was moving at full speed, slowed down and sailed slowly.

Captain Hammond, holding his soaked cow bone bicorne hat in one hand, stepped down from the rudder onto the deck. He looked at the calm sea and hesitated for a long time before speaking: "Mr. Sable, may I ask if you discovered anything in the storm?"

"Oh?" Jiang Bing was surprised at the old captain's sharpness.

The other party smiled carelessly and explained, "I'm an old sea wolf. Besides, I've been running this route for half my life and have never encountered anything like this. That storm doesn't look like it was naturally formed."

Jiang Bing was silent for a few seconds. Seeing Geralt approaching, he waved his hand to ask the two to come closer and told them his guess.

"It's the Kraken. It must be fighting something. As for its opponent, I'm not sure."