### Chapter Sixty-Seven: Gate Crashers
“The bottom of the ship blew up—”
Amid the panicked shouts, more people staggered out of the cabin onto the deck. One man, visibly shaken, rushed to the captain’s side and clutched his hand for dear life, yelling in terror, “Water, water!”
“The hold! The front cargo hold is critically damaged! Water’s flooding in—”
“Our cargo—has it been moved out?!” The captain, upon hearing this, turned into a raging bull. With a voice that could wake the dead, he bellowed, “There are forty boxes of tea in the hold! What the hell is going on?!”
Just then, someone bobbed up from the churning river and shouted at the ship, “Captain Rect, it’s a magic orb!”
“There’s a magic orb under the water, at the bottom of the ship!”
Boom!
Just as one disaster was subsiding, another struck! The second deafening explosion was almost immediate, shaking the ship even more violently, like a war chariot suddenly rumbling over rocky terrain. I clung to the railing, and this time I could clearly hear that the sound came from beneath the deck.
The ship’s bottom…
“Quick, quick! Drain the water, move the cargo—”
Boom! Boom! Boom!!~
Three successive, thunderous booms erupted around the ship.
I turned to see other merchant ships flying the Merchant Association flag also under siege. The explosions came from beneath the water, accompanied by flickers of dim golden light, wooden splinters erupted in all directions, and water splashed up like a fountain!
“The ship…”
“That’s our cargo ship too…”~
On the deck, everyone was stunned by the sudden chaos.
“Someone is attacking the Merchant Association’s cargo ships!”
“What is it?!”
“Who the hell dares to attack a cargo ship in Royal City—”
The roar was frantic, and the sailors were livid. The captain, standing among them, shouted a few curses and then hurriedly called for people to jump down from the deck to salvage the cargo.
The chaos spread like wildfire around the ships that had just exploded, a wave of panic washing over the vessels as they attempted to turn and escape doom. However, in their confusion, they collided with other ships making the opposite move. Cries echoed as someone fell into the water!
“Help, help…”
“Ah—”
This situation instantly triggered a chain reaction, and soon even more ships rushed to unfurl their sails in a panic, turning their rudders only to crash into others, ramming bows into sides. Some small boats were flipped over on the spot, and more people plunged into the icy river, desperately swimming toward the shore.
In less than half a minute, the entire river was in utter chaos.
“Don’t panic, don’t panic! All ships, don’t move recklessly!”
“Don’t try to sail without orders—”
Amid the sounds of the ship’s hull cracking, I could occasionally hear someone trying desperately to maintain order, but their voices were nearly drowned by the terror spreading in the air. Shouts echoed loudly but were filled with weakness.
It was a complete mess…
The deck swayed beneath my feet.
“Ugh.”
I leaned against the railing, suppressing a gag, rubbed my eyes, and surveyed the surrounding chaos, frowning slightly.
At this rate, no one would be able to find anyone…
Though I thought this, it was clear saving lives was the most important thing.
I decisively jumped off the ship, my form light and agile. I tapped the surface of the river with the tips of my feet, freezing the water instantly before using that force to leap forward over ten meters. I landed next to a woman who looked like she was about to drown and was gasping for breath. I grabbed one of her hands and used the Moon Step to return to the ship’s tail.
I tossed the woman onto the deck, didn’t even give her time to say thanks, and jumped back down.
I kept repeating this cycle, rescuing anyone I could reach. The strong swimmers were fine on their own, and at this point, the little boats from the Arbitration Bureau were starting to react too, moving around to help rescue people.
I shook off the water from my shoes and turned around, only to see a drenched Rect walking my way, puffing hot air into his hands.
“d*mn it.”
He watched as more and more people swam to shore and muttered a curse under his breath.
By now, the ship’s swaying had mostly calmed, and there were no more explosions underwater. Rect stood beside me, suddenly turned to shout at his subordinate nearby, “You two, come with me to check the ship’s bottom to see what’s going on!”
His subordinate nodded and ran off. Rect then looked at me.
“Was the bottom of the ship blown up?” I asked.
“Probably.” Rect replied, “Water might be flooding in heavily.”
“They’re going to escape.”
I bit my nails, fixating on the surface of the water as my brain raced, “Forgiveness Head, is there any way—?”
“No, this has gotten very complicated,” Rect said seriously. “Sorry, I overestimated them. After all, they’re supposedly clergymen. To create chaos just to facilitate their escape is beyond reckless. They clearly don’t care about civilian casualties at all.”
“Pfft.”
I couldn’t help but scoff at Rect’s naïve perspective, “What they did at the Castle of Silence was way more extreme than this.”
No, now wasn’t the time for pointless discussions.
“Open the gate.” I suggested. “It’s too chaotic now; we can’t figure out who’s who. We need to ensure people are safe first. Let any ships that can leave head to the inner exit.”
Then suddenly, I remembered the massive stone gate connected to the city wall a kilometer away: “Rect, does that large stone door have any… passage that’s wide enough for people to slip through?”
I thought for a moment, unsure if I was expressing myself clearly.
“A passage?”
Rect paused slightly but then quickly caught on: “Yes. But not the main gate. There are underwater pillars with emergency drainage holes carved out to prevent accidents. They’re sealed with wooden planks. With the power of that explosion, blowing them up would be easy…”
We shared a glance, and Rect suddenly turned back to see a subordinate comforting the people I had rescued. He called out, “Hezler!”
The Kanli Blade responded, “I’m here, Captain.”
“Open the gate and let the ships head toward the water gates! We’ll leave this to you. How to handle it—consult the Arbitration Bureau. There’s no need to insist on saving the ship, we must reduce casualties and ensure everyone’s safety!”
“Understood!”
“Everyone else, follow me!”
Rect waved his arms and commanded, “Get everyone down from the lookout tower! We’re headed to the water gates. Peilo, you—”
Bang!!
He seemed about to call for me to follow as well, but before he could finish, he was startled back by an unexpected loud boom. Ice shards flew everywhere, and the whipping cold wind made him instinctively shield his eyes. By the time he regained his senses, I had already vanished from sight.
…………
Northwater Gate.
I, standing atop the water gate wall that towered like a mountain and blended seamlessly with the city wall, leaned down to look below. With one hand pressed low on my hat, I observed the boats swaying, the peaceful river being continuously disturbed by rippling waves, letting the cold wind dance with my uniform while I quietly waited.
Soon enough, Rect was the first to arrive on the wall, followed by over ten reinforcements from the Kanli Blade. I glanced at him and said, “Took your time.”
“No, you’re just cheating. You’re just using ice, yet somehow you fly better than the Water Order.”
He shot back casually, quickly walking to my side: “So, see anything?”
“Nothing at all.”
I shook my head lightly, “The river surface is as calm as a mirror; there’s no movement whatsoever. Are you sure those drainage holes are sealed and need to be blown open to access?”
“Of course.”
He replied, “Those holes are for emergencies. They’re only activated to prevent the stone door from getting stuck or during heavy rains when the river can’t drain. The sealing planks are never removed, especially since they’re nearly thirty meters underwater. It’s too much trouble.”
“Is there a possibility…”
I tilted my head and asked, “Could someone who can use the Water Order precisely easily destroy wooden planks from underwater without a trace, making it undetectable from the surface?”
“There’s a chance,” Rect stroked his chin, contemplating, “But in essence, holding air with whirlpools underwater to accomplish this is already very tricky. To do it silently, as far as I know, Granny Apfel can’t do it.”
“……”
I paused and said nothing more.
“Regardless, we need to go down for a quick check.” Rect said as he adjusted his hairstyle.
Just when I thought he would leap down immediately, he waved his hand, and three Kanli Blades pulled out sharp, uniquely designed grappling hooks.
They secured one end of the grappling hook to their waist, advanced, and firmly lodged the other end in the parapet. They handed the grappling end to their comrades before swiftly standing on the wall like I did.
“Check the drainage holes, pay attention to the water flow.” Rect instructed earnestly, “Just check if the sealing boards are damaged. If anything goes wrong, shake the rope immediately. These aren’t ordinary enemies; don’t recklessly engage in combat.”
“Got it.”
“Don’t worry, Captain, we’ll be back before you know it—”
They said as they leaped off the wall, their movements as light as a feather, running along the wall before splashing into the river with a soft ‘plop.’
“Stay alert! If anything happens, don’t hesitate; pull them up right away.”
Rect gave a few more reminders to others and then looked at me: “Do you think the Choir of Saints has a high chance of showing up here?”
“What do you mean?” I frowned, staring at the still, calm river surface, “You think they might not come?”
“I didn’t say that.”
Rect shrugged: “But if I were them, given the current situation, I absolutely wouldn’t risk taking this water route again.”
I watched him in silence, waiting for him to continue.
“On my way here, I thought about it.” Rect explained, “That Chris—no matter how outstanding his gift in the Water Order is, we must not overlook one thing: he’s not alone. There are two men and two women with him.”
“Yeah, and one of them is a child. You can’t expect all of them to be good at the Water Order. How would he manage to escape underwater with everyone below our very noses?”
“……”
Sounds plausible, indeed.
Even if the Choir of Saints members were to abandon their companions to escape alone, I wouldn’t be surprised. Such a possibility is pretty low though, especially at this critical moment; no mouse would dare to create internal discord, right?
Because the cat was watching from above.
“So what happened earlier.” Rect continued, “Was probably just them realizing escape was hopeless, trying to create chaos to blend in with the crowd and swim ashore, aiming for temporary retreat.”
“Well, that’s okay.”
I nodded: “They couldn’t escape through other gates anyway. As long as they’re still in the city, they’ll eventually slip up.”
That may be true…
But I had an unsettling feeling. If it’s really that Birdbeak Doctor, things likely won’t be so simple. For some reason, I feel that person might have different plans; they aren’t the type to just sit quietly.
And…
How long have those three Kanli Blades been in the water?
