There was no need to be too concerned about the sense of ritual when reading this thing, so she simply crawled into bed, leaning against the soft pillow and reading page by page.
The author of "Travels in the South China Sea" is a businessman named Ferro. He is also a figure before the gray fog era. According to his description in the book, there was no gray fog covering the sea at that time, and all routes were connected in all directions, so people could sail freely on the sea.
"Maybe I should go to the library and borrow some books to read." As he looked, Hitzfeld was still thinking about the book collection he saw when he went to the library.
She had a large number of books to her name, but some were kept at the house in Wayne, some at Flo Street, and the portion left for Hitzfeld Manor seemed a little insufficient to satisfy her need for entertainment.
"Huh? He said he encountered a giant sea monster at sea?"
The characters between the pages caught her attention, so she turned the page back and began to read the story again.
[Ferro's logbook: On July 7, we encountered a giant octopus.]
[It’s unbelievable that the legend of the abyss is actually true! There really is a sea monster here, and it’s bigger than any octopus I’ve ever seen—no! It should be said that it’s bigger than any ship! I was just standing on the side of the ship peeing, and when I looked down, I saw a huge golden eye opened in the light sea water!]
[I was so scared! I almost fell into its mouth! I saw that when it opened its mouth, there were thousands of sharp teeth. They spread out in circles until I couldn't see them. They were enough to bite any living thing to death and crush it!]
[Or maybe it wasn't completely alive... I soon realized that the Thunderbolt might not be enough to stop it, so I immediately woke up the crew on duty, and they called the captain and the first mate. When they came out, the thing had already stretched out more than ten tentacles from the sea and wrapped around the mast. We tried to chop it with knives and axes, and shoot it with guns, but it didn't cause any harm... In the end, the captain lit a gunpowder barrel and threw it at it, which really hurt this guy, and we were able to escape.]
[I was terrified and soaked, like I was wearing thick clothes to a steam bath... I asked the captain what it was, and he told me it was a 'Giant Octopus', a sea monster that only lives near the abyss.]
[I must admit that I am better than him in terms of business skills, but he is far better than me in terms of sea experience. I then asked him what the 'sea abyss' is. Is it the legendary 'Namiya Sea Abyss'?]
[He said yes, the abyss never disappeared, it was just buried deeper and rarely appeared in front of the world.]
['Did you know? There is actually more than one abyss.']
[He smokes a cigarette and we can see his hands shaking.]
['The initial abyss area is only here... that is, it is between Icarolin and Aisha. Those areas that are too deep must be bypassed.']
['But everything is different after the disaster. After the environment recovered, the sea became less dangerous, but there was one more abyss. Experienced sailors are worried because the abyss is a breeding ground for sea monsters. Another abyss means there will be more sea monsters in the future. ']
[We didn’t want to believe what he said because it was a bit too scary and pessimistic. The captain predicted that there would be more and more sea monsters in the future and the sea routes would become more and more difficult to navigate... I think he was using this statement to raise the price.]
[We eventually parted ways on bad terms. I transported my people and cargo to the port of Wetgate Island, and let the Thunderbolt go. Three days later, I heard the news of their death.]
[According to the news brought back, the entire ship of Thunderbolt was torn into pieces. The largest piece of debris was not even as tall as a 13-year-old child. It is hard to imagine what they encountered.]
[Everyone said they had encountered a waterspout - only the most ferocious monsters could smash the ship to pieces, but we immediately realized that it was not a waterspout, but a monster from the abyss coming to take revenge.]
[I had nightmares for many days, and the giant golden eye was in my dreams. I'm not sure if it remembered my appearance and smell... I hid on Wetgate Island for 22 days, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because we were the only ones who brought in the imitation fabric during that period, and we all made a fortune.]
[I will remember this encounter until I am old and have one foot in the grave. I have been afraid of monsters in the deep all my life, but fortunately, the goddess has blessed me and I have never encountered them on the sea again.]
This is the end of this story.
Hitzfeld couldn't help but sigh that merchants value money more than their lives - if anyone was scared like this, they would never dare to go out to sea in their entire life. But Ferro actually went out to do business, truly abandoning everything for profit.
But this story can't be true, can it?
She frowned, feeling a little unbelievable.
Based on the bizarre history of the Namibian world, she believed that there were sea monsters in the sea.
But according to the captain of the Thunderbolt, that time was after the beginning of the Cataclysm Era and before the advent of the Gray Fog Era.
Aren’t there many legends recording that the Age of Cataclysm was opened by the Sun King himself?
Something like wielding a divine sword extending from the sun to slay evil spirits... One strike of the sword could even cause a shift in the earth's crust, changing the topography of the entire world and wiping out countless lives in the catastrophe.
If this is true...
In fact, she probably had a pretty good credibility... because she had experienced the journey to the Dragon Kingdom, and now she knew how powerful that goddess was.
"But if that happens, the monsters in the sea will be roasted to death by the boiling sea water, right?"
Hitzfeld muttered to himself.
Even if some survived, it would still be the era of the goddess, wouldn't it?
She is still here, she hasn't left yet.
Her kingdom of God stands on the Eastern Continent. Given her tyranny, would she allow these things to stir up trouble?
Based on Hitzfeld's... understanding of the goddess, she felt that the more likely scenario was... that she would either take up her sword and chop down all the troublemakers in the world, or order her subordinates to do something similar.
So there are doubts here.
The time and era may not be correct, and it cannot be ruled out that the author of the book is making things up.
She decided to ignore those thoughts for now and move on.
[Ferro's logbook: October 10.]
[I can't believe what I saw!!!]
At this point, Hitzfeld turned the page.
Then she saw a line drawing of the illustration printed in ink.
Under the dark sky, a three-masted sailing ship is sailing on the sea. The close-up gives a close-up of a man looking back. He is covering his head with one hand and pointing at the ship with the other hand. He seems to be mad at his companions.
[The Thunderbolt! That's the Thunderbolt!!!]
Hitzfeld's breath hitched.
[I told myself it was impossible! This couldn't be true! The Thunderbolt should have been destroyed eight months ago! Everyone on board died, it couldn't possibly appear before my eyes again!]
[But this is... it can't be explained by science or logic... I saw the Thunderbolt, I'm sure of it - I remember every detail of it!]
[It was still as swift and beautiful as I remembered, except that it had turned a brilliant blue, like a ghost ship made up of countless blue dots of light.]
[I couldn't accept what I saw.]
[I fell ill, and before I regained consciousness I could vaguely hear the Captain's voice.]
[He said: 'Mr. Ferro, it is time to go find that beast and take your revenge. ']
Chapter 54: Nemo
Hitzfeld was stunned for a long time, and read the two plots back and forth again. Finally, he turned to the title page and other parts, and determined that the nature of this book was a travelogue or autobiography.
[Travels in the South China Sea - Green-Fellow - (the scraped part) - published by Haishengang Huimin Publishing House]
It is indeed an autobiography, but could such an outrageous autobiography, which is close to a fantasy story, be published in that era?
But the name of this publishing house looked familiar to her.
Poseidon Port, Poseidon...Isn’t Poseidon Colossae?
The Angelo family's belief is the sea god Colossae.
At this moment, Hitzfeld's eyes reappeared the final farewell. She saw the tall figure slowly retreating in front of her, and heard clear words from the darkness: "Don't forget to go to Colossae, No. 17 Jingong Road, there are things I left behind."
Oh, the damn memory is attacking me again.
After holding his forehead for a long time, Hitzfeld collapsed on the bed, and his lips, which were originally pursed, suddenly smiled.
It's as if I really want something that you would leave for me... You can't give me what I want most. You clearly know what it is, but you still took it away without mercy.
However, just because I don't want those things doesn't mean I'm willing to let others get them.
Some roads that were originally blocked seemed to be cleared at this moment. She lay on the bed and thought a lot. All the entanglements, struggles and contradictions finally converged into one thought: I must live well, go to Colossae, and see what he left for me.
It was a new vitality that was injected into her body and soul out of nowhere, and she suddenly felt that many things made sense again.
"Tsk...why would I be affected by this..."
He slapped the quilt and his fingers hit the book "Travels in the South China Sea". Hitzfeld picked it up and looked at it again and again, his expression becoming more and more unhappy.
"Others can live again in this form... even a sailboat can do it... but you are unwilling to spend a few more words with me... am I so unbearable to you?"
But "Travels in the South China Sea" cannot speak. This book can only silently bear her resentment. It cannot even pray - hoping that it will not be cleared out of the fireplace in another form tomorrow morning.
"Poseidon Port, Huimin Publishing House." Hitzfeld stared at the lines of words and read quietly in a tone that only she could hear.
"Is Poseidon Port the same as Colossae Port?"
She had read some ancient documents, some of which were original rubbings and some of which were translated versions, so she had a general idea of the terrain of the ancient continent of Aisha, and she also knew that the most prosperous city on that continent was called Colossae.
Legend has it that this was also the place where gods descended - the young goddess transformed and matured there. She brought a new era of revival to Colossae, and her significance to the ancient continent of Aisha far surpassed all the celebrities and gods in history.
After studying the geography for a while, she became more determined to "go there and take a look later". Then her thoughts turned back to the incident itself, and she began to think about why even a ship could take the form of a flying spirit.
The scene described by Green Ferro in his travel notes was as if the ship had become a spirit or a ghost. When he and his caravan were stranded on a desert island, they saw the remnant of the Thunderbolt still moving on the sea. He was frightened and became crazy. At this time, the natives from the nearby desert island came to attack them. Although Ferro's companions and servants fought desperately, they still died tragically one by one. The entire group of survivors finally decided to surrender to the natives, but the natives showed no mercy to them and cut off their heads.
The only survivor was Ferro, whose madness was indiscriminate at that time, as if he cared nothing except the outline of the ghost ship in his eyes. The natives had never encountered such a captive before, and thought he might be some kind of extraordinary spirit, so they did not kill him, but took him back to the tribe and gave him food and drink.
If what he wrote is true, then he is really lucky.
Hitzfeld was so amused when he saw this. Why was it that every time something terrible happened, the people around Ferro were the ones who got unlucky while he himself survived safely? He was really a disaster star.
As she continued watching, she gradually couldn't laugh anymore.
Ferro was even more frightened than she was. He described in detail his life in the native tribe, especially the worship of the "Mother River".
[I don’t know how long I was crazy, I only know that when I woke up and found myself in a certain environment, the warm sea breeze had turned cold, and it was roughly winter in the South China Sea.]
[Fortunately, the winter here is not too cold. But I soon realized that my companions and servants were all dead, and I was taken as a captive by a cannibal tribe. My clothes were gone, and I was wearing animal skins and grass skirts, and some weird oil paint on my body and face.]
[They didn't eat me, and seemed to accept me - this made me both happy and scared.]
[I am glad that I am still alive, but I am afraid that I have regained consciousness. I don’t know how I communicated with them before that. I am also afraid that I have eaten human flesh like them...]
[I was terrified and locked myself in the tent. A few hours later, I heard noises and drums outside, and a young girl, who looked no more than twelve or thirteen years old, came in to find me and took me to lead the ceremony.]
[I was even more surprised because I could actually understand the dialect she spoke. I tried to ask her questions using the dialect I deconstructed in my mind, and it worked.]
[That should be attributed to my other self, the mad me before I regained my sanity, who left me a valuable legacy.]
[Through the conversation, I learned that her name was Shama, and she was not the daughter of a tribal chief like in those mysterious stories. I was actually a little disappointed at this point.]
shameless.
Hitzfeld frowned fiercely.
Do you have the nerve to write it all down?
[But Shama is the daughter of the previous generation of priests, which seems to be a more powerful identity than the daughter of a chieftain. And judging from the postures and eyes of the people around me looking at me... I think I may have inherited part of the status of a priest?]
[I don’t understand why… what did a crazy me do to make these natives respect me so much?]
Turn the page.
This side is an illustration.
Still in black and white, the line drawing depicts a group of shirtless natives whose bodies are completely dark with only the whites of their eyes visible. They are densely packed on the side of the road, watching a native girl pulling Ferro towards the altar.
Ferro was dressed similarly to them, but his skin was lighter, and the runes painted on his body were more complicated than those of the others. Judging from his expression, he still didn't understand what was happening, and three thick smoke lines could be seen in the distance.
[I carefully told Shama that I had lost my memory and might need her to tell me what to do later.]
[I originally thought that this was a child, she was a bit dull, maybe I could trick them with that.]
[But I never expected that Shama would go crazy after hearing what I said - she opened her hands and loudly described to the people around her what happened to me. She actually told those demons that I had become a 'changed person'!]
[I was so scared that I turned and ran, but they quickly caught me back... Just when I thought they would cut me into pieces and eat me for dinner, they lifted me up and threw me onto a thatched sedan chair, put a wreath on my head, a bone necklace around my neck, and stuffed a scepter into my hand. Everyone knelt down to worship me.]
[Later I learned that they were the legendary Nemo people.]
[The Nemos, the guardians of the sea and the sun, have discovered since ancient times that there will be ghostly apparitions, not limited to the Thunderbolt that I saw, but also real dead spirits, humans, and even some other things.]
[Shama's mother knew some of the language of the civilized world. Because I was crazy and kept talking about ghost ships, they regarded me as a person who inherited the spirit life, which is a qualification for sacrifice in the Nemo tribe.]
[As for why they suddenly showed such respect for me, I later learned that the Nemo people hold a sacrifice to the ‘Mother River’ every year.]
[They believe that all things have spirits, and that the death of all things does not mean their true demise, but that they will transform into a form of blue light dots and live in another world. That world is the 'Mother River'.]
[The purpose of the sacrifices and rituals is to lead those ghosts back... to occupy their young bodies and complete the resurrection.]
[That's why they treated me like that.]
[They believe that the ancestors have reawakened in my body. Except for my appearance, I am now a complete Nemo.]
Chapter 55: Man and Fish
[The Nemo people seemed very stupid because they never considered that if I were really their ancestor reincarnated, how could I be ignorant of all the customs of the tribe.]
[But since they didn’t care about this, I couldn’t confess it voluntarily… They served me with the highest courtesy, gave me the most delicious meat, the sweetest fruit juice, and made me spend a long and absurd life in chaos.]
[I did not gain nothing. For example, through Shama, I understood what the Mother River is and what the ritual is. I also learned about what needs to be done during the ritual, what to recite, and what materials to prepare.]
[I even created some of my own - I found that my companions' relics were not destroyed, but piled up in the warehouse as trophies. Among them were several barrels of gunpowder that were not completely damp, and the middle part was still usable. So I asked them to bring the things to me for processing. Later, I performed some ridiculous circuses on the altar with gunpowder, which shocked them and made them respect me more.]
