Shrouded Seascape

Chapter 768: Forest

Chapter 768: Forest

Dark purple tree trunks extended upward from beneath the ink-green seawater, intertwining above the ship. A turtleshell ship the size of half a soccer field slowly sailed through the forest of purple trees.

The turtle shell covered in moss opened slowly, and several Haikor sailors nervously looked at the eerie scene around them. It was deathly silent. Aside from the sound of waves, there were no other noises.

"Boss, have you been here before? Will we really reach our destination by going through this place? I can't see any creatures in the water. Maybe there's something dangerous inside?" Shindy asked. He looked quite fearful as he stared at the boatswain next to him.

"This is the territory of our gods. What are you so worried about? This route opened just a month ago, so it's quite new, but this is my third time using this route, and there hasn't been any danger. This place isn't dangerous at all."

The boatswain's eyes revealed a hint of contempt for Shindy.

Shindy was diligent and hardworking, but he was quite timid. He was always asking about this and that out of fear. The boatswain decided to kick Shindy out of the ship upon their return.

What was he doing sailing when he was so timid? The boatswain found it so absurd that he couldn't quite believe Shindy's decision to even go out at sea.

A new route? Are they delivering goods to a new location rather than the usual? Charles thought.

"Stop looking around. What's there to see around here? You guys go to the hold and bring the goods up to the deck. We'll be arriving soon."

At the boatswain's words, Shindy followed the other sailors to the cargo hold.

As soon as they reached the cargo hold, Charles finally saw the "goods." They were a group of terrified humans. They were crammed into cages, looking disheveled and filthy. The majority of them were adults, with no elderly or children. It seemed that this batch of "goods" had been carefully selected.

Charles had no idea what the Foundation was going to do with these outsiders, but he was certain about one thing—these people had a horrible end ahead of them.

Amidst the shouts and wailing of the terrified people, five-meter-long poles were inserted into the cage from up above. Shindy squatted down, placed the pole on his shoulder, and carried the cage toward the hatch with another Haikor.

There were many "goods" in the cargo hold. The sailors carried cages nonstop for thirty minutes before they finally managed to move all the "goods" on the deck up above.

As soon as they finished their work, their destination finally appeared in their eyes.

Their destination was an island woven from purple tree trunks.

The deep purple trunks not only covered the sea surface but also created a giant circular net that surrounded the entire island. The forest of purple that Charles and the others had seen not too long ago had obviously come from here.

The forest-like island didn't have any natural light; the flashing red dots on the net bathed the entire island with a hazy, flickering red glow.

The new sailors were terrified. They immediately competed with each other, expressing their loyalty to the captain. They all claimed that they weren't a traitor.

Shindy was the most earnest among the new sailors.

However, the captain knew that they had to prioritize fresh water before anything else. Without fresh water, they would all die even if they managed to find the traitor and kill them.

The captain snorted coldly at the new sailors. Then, he turned and walked toward the priest. "Priest, is there fresh water on this island of the gods? Can you ask them for some fresh water on our behalf?"

The priest seemed to have been put between a rock and a hard place, and it showed on his face, but he eventually nodded and said, "All right, I'll go and ask for some fresh water. Come with me."

The captain nodded and was about to go follow the priest when he stopped and looked at the new sailors.

"Wait, I want to bring them along, too," the captain said. The remaining crew members then attracted his attention, and he added, "No, I want everyone to come with us."

The captain was afraid that there was more than one traitor among them. If he were to leave some of the crew on the ship and his ship ended up missing upon his return from obtaining some fresh water, the joke would be on him.

The entire crew disembarked and followed the priest with anxious looks as they headed into the depths of the purple forest.

The path wasn't that difficult, but everyone's breathing became lighter and lighter as they walked deeper into the forest. They were all afraid of disturbing some existence.

Finally, they stopped in front of a living wall.

The priest crouched and revealed a purple leaf in his hand.

A small pure white flower looking like a lotus was behind the purple leaf, and it was a beautiful flower.

Just as everyone was entranced by the white flower, it suddenly moved, retracting its stem and opening its bud. The bud then made a beeline for the priest's right eye, attaching itself to it.

Everyone was startled by the sudden turn of events, but the priest remained calm.

Soon, the flower retracted, and its pure white color faded away. It eventually became a sky-blue flower.

The priest sounded deeply respectful as he said, "Sir Attendant of the Gods, our ship's fresh water has been contaminated. May we ask for some fresh water from the island?"