Chapter 249: The Water Ancient Dragon.
Jié Jié stared as the shadow beneath the ship was dragged onto the island, while the hunter with dual blades cautiously descended along the island’s edge.
He blinked, and the luster on his body reignited, flowing anew.
The Abyssal Wave Dragon’s small eyes locked with the hunter’s. In a flash, the hunter leaped back to the shore.
“What’s wrong!”
The Compiler called out to the hunter sprawled on the beach, only breathing a sigh of relief upon seeing him still moving.
The hunter quickly rose, distancing himself from the ocean, suppressing his panic as he spoke.
“Water Ancient Dragon! It might have been chasing us all along!”
“Hiss!”
The Compiler sucked in a sharp breath, eyes wide as they darted behind the hunter, everything unsaid.
As the hunter turned around, he hesitated briefly before gripping his twin blades behind his back, concealing his aggression from the monster.
Whether maintaining friendliness towards neutral ancient dragons or preparing for an ambush against hostile ones, this approach would always prove useful.
With a slight crouch, regardless of whether the ancient dragon had a calm or arrogant nature that ignored everything, this method worked just as well.
They were still unsure about the Water Ancient Dragon’s temperament, but the brief battle amidst the rainstorm with the Steel Dragon remained vivid in their memories.
Observing the two bent figures, Jie Jie tilted his head, bypassed them, approached the boat, and displayed an appearance brimming with curiosity.
When there was no danger around, his boredom became the greatest peril.
“He seems quite curious about the ship? This explains why it moved so swiftly on its own.”
“But such a massive body, glowing brightly, yet we didn’t notice him from the side of the ship. He clearly isn’t pushing the boat directly; he must be able to control water currents.”
The two bent over, whispering quietly, worried that the Water Ancient Dragon’s curiosity might damage the ship.
The situation wasn’t particularly dire at present; at least the unknown had become known.
But it wasn’t exactly good either, since their crucial crossing now depended on the other party.
“Do we throw stink bombs?”
“Not yet.”
If stink bombs were truly so effective, monsters would’ve been driven into remote corners long ago. Quite a few monsters get angered by stink bombs.
Moreover, once a monster goes berserk, stink bombs are hard to affect them. And in this vast ocean, entering the water would isolate the creature from the foul smell, possibly leading to retaliation due to their actions.
Pretending to study the ship, Jie Jie observed the hunter’s reaction, spat out a jet of water, pushed the boat back into the sea, and then returned underwater, blowing bubbles.
Hurry up, hurry up!
Though the old Steel Dragon’s memory included the part about crossing the sea, allowing him to find directions and fly across the ocean, he eagerly awaited following the hunters’ trail to explore livelier parts of this world.
There’s nothing interesting on this island, get on the ship quickly!
However, after rarely landing on solid ground, even though the island seemed barren, the hunters planned to rest well for the night.
“He should still be under the ship. What should we do?”
“Maybe the ship interests him? He hasn’t restricted our movement so far. I’ll tie the ship to the shore.”
“I’ll go instead.”
Crouching low, the hunter carefully approached the ship and secured the wooden stake into the sand, without any sudden attacks from the monster.
Perhaps with just a gentle push, the creature could drag the ship away, but this successful action undoubtedly gave both individuals a sense of security.
Indeed, there was nothing on the isolated island, but even the existence of an ancient dragon couldn’t stop them from lighting a bonfire and resting for the night.
Hopefully, we can drive him away.
In the middle of the night, they cautiously fetched some food and water, but there was still no movement underwater, forcing them to take turns keeping watch.
By the late hours, the Compiler flipped over, exchanged a wry smile with the hunter.
“Shall we set off?”
“I thought sleeping on land would feel more secure. Alas, let’s check anyway.”
Reboarding the small boat, there was no anticipated monster attack, everything proceeding smoothly as if they were worrying unnecessarily.
Until the small boat slowly accelerated again, they could only exchange another wry smile.
Since resistance seemed futile, they decided to enjoy the ride.
…
“If we haven’t lost our way, we will land near Poké Village at the foot of the snow mountain to resupply before heading to East Dordoma. So far, everything has gone smoothly.”
Familiar wry smiles appeared on their faces almost daily.
But life must go on, day after day passing.
From being constantly on edge every day at first, they’ve grown somewhat accustomed to it now.
Occasionally, that thrust would disappear for a while, but not long after their relief or regret would it return.
They couldn’t confirm if their course had been interfered with, but it felt like the Water Ancient Dragon was helping them rather than forcibly dragging them forward with their toy.
Amidst their admiration, they were also very curious about the existence beneath the water.
After all, receiving help from an ancient dragon is something that only occurs in various strange legends and wild histories, rarely recorded in modern times.
Curiosity can only remain curiosity; they had more important tasks ahead. They couldn’t afford any risks, only wanting to maintain the current status quo.
Until they reached the original continent.
“Look!”
The hunter’s call made the Compiler snap back to reality and look below the ship. A massive shadow was rising from the abyss until the surface erupted in splashes.
“Wow, he can fly!”
The Water Ancient Dragon soared with dazzling colors, water cascading from its unified wings, its long tentacles swinging.
He flew off into the distance, leaving only his retreating silhouette for the hunters.
Speechless, the two waved silently to the departing silhouette, bidding farewell to the monster who had accompanied them thus far.
“Bon voyage.”
“It feels like we’ve been blessed.”
The hunter gazed at the retreating figure, feeling invigorated.
After one more day, they spotted familiar vast lands through their maritime telescope.
Although what came into view wasn’t the snow mountain on their preset route, the joy of impending landing still made the two jump around on the ship.
After celebrating, they calmed down again.
“We can’t relax yet. The shallow seabed areas see more active Sea Dragons compared to the deep sea. Be careful!”
Even as they emphasized caution, their brows involuntarily twitched.
Meanwhile, Jie Jie had already arrived at the coastal area.
He left earlier because he noticed the seabed beneath the sea was rising overall, connecting with the distant land.
This meant the land wasn’t far!
He intended to explore the coastal areas before the two landed, then continue tailing them after they arrived.
New continent, I’ve arrived!
(The second volume, complete.)
