CHAPTER 459: CHAPTER 358 BLINDLY EATING FISH (4500)

The residents of Black Tide Town moved with a startling uniformity, as if they were all connected tightly by the invisible threads of the same marionette.

No, it wasn’t "as if"; there really were invisible threads controlling their egos, instincts, and subconscious reactions. It was... their collective belief in the Abyssal Horror, Dagon!

Ostensibly, these residents of Black Tide Town appeared normal, but their "egos," bound to their flesh, had long been tainted by the object of their faith. Even their subconscious reactions were identical. Their so-called "ascension" to become the Deep Sea Clan was nothing more than that god forcibly dragging them into the water, they being tightly anchored to him.

Only when he heard the townspeople cry, "More fish are here!" did Byron finally snap back to his senses from the series of shocks the town had dealt him. He became aware again that apart from whale oil technology and the shameful deity thieves like Dagon and Yemengade, his main purpose for coming here was to rescue Hawkeye James Kent and his companions, who had accidentally "eaten the wrong fish."

Togar Mon, the owner of the oil refinery workshop who was directing workers in rendering whale blubber, suddenly said, "Someone is calling for help; we should assist them."

The others, as if nothing were amiss and completely unaware of their own abnormalities, chimed in, "Rescuing lost lambs is also part of our god’s teachings. We should guide the followers of false gods onto the true path."

"We must also invite them to our Fish-Eating Day ritual, just like those outsiders a few days ago."

"Exactly!"

With each echoing the other, they quickly reached a consensus.

The group immediately jumped aboard the whaling ship, weighed anchor, hoisted sails, and charged toward the distressed adventure ship on the distant sea.

Naturally, they didn’t forget to leave enough people behind to watch the fires.

Rendering whale oil by burning whale oil sounded somewhat infernal, but the consequences of an accident during the actual operation were even more so. If any cauldron was mishandled during rendering and the oil temperature became too high, it could trigger a massive explosion, powerful enough to blast the entire dock sky-high. This was especially true for the super "whale explosions" caused by the decay and expansion of a dead Leviathan Whale.

According to the older generation of whalers, that was the quickest way to end up displayed on the wall alongside one’s ancestors, bar none. Whalers who had been unfortunate enough to witness such a spectacle described it as a second sun rising from the sea, accompanied by a mushroom cloud that engulfed everything.

No one dared to be careless.

"Uncle Mon, I’ll help too," Byron said, hurrying to follow.

There was no trace of Hawkeye James or his companions within the town, nor any sign of the ship Chronos. Yet, according to both the mayor’s memories and those of this body, they were both quite certain the "sacrificial offerings" were in this town. Instead of painstakingly searching for them himself, it would be better to follow this batch of "new fish" and see what happened. Perhaps he could easily locate the unfortunate souls that way.

"What? You are descendants of the Ancient Bay Dwellers? You’ve been cast away on the New Continent for hundreds of years?"

"My Creator, that’s too unbelievable!"

When the crew of the adventure ship heard the frank statements of the Black Tide Town residents and saw those signature azure eyes, they unsurprisingly showed expressions of astonishment.

Every ship was equipped with a Beast Tamer who could initiate "Mental Sensitivity," a skill that allowed communication with animals and was even more straightforward with humans. Moreover, Jefferson, the Third Order Beast Tamer on this adventure ship, was also the captain; initiating a "Group Mental Sensitivity" was quite simple for him.

After repeatedly confirming the residents’ claims, the crew had no choice but to accept this unexpected turn of events.

Jefferson then explained his party’s situation to the townspeople, "We are the Rhein Alliance’s adventure ship, the Ironclaw Vessel. However, just after we left the Shattered Isles and arrived in nearby waters, my Guardian Beast, the Ironlance Shrimp—a small-breed Sea Monster—was suddenly dragged thousands of meters into the deep sea by something unknown. During the chaos, our rudder was destroyed, and we had to make landfall for repairs. We’re lucky to have encountered you. Otherwise, tonight would have been perilous..."

He didn’t forget to add at the end, "Ladies and gentlemen, I know many Bayfolk friends from the Pirate City Black Sails Harbor. If you Bayfolk Descendants could provide some assistance within your means for our New Continent endeavor, I would be happy to take a few of your representatives back with me on the return trip to see it. Perhaps the Royal Families of the Bayfolk Nations would even be pleased enough to bestow one or two noble titles upon you."

This Adventurer hadn’t lied to the townspeople. The Ironclaw Vessel was second-tier among the adventure ships of various nations. Only its captain was Third Order, and its overall strength was fairly ordinary, completely reliant on a powerful small-breed Sea Monster to maintain its standing. Before receiving the Pirate King’s message, they had already wandered the labyrinthine Shattered Isles for several months. Once a nautical chart dispersed the "Fog of War" and revealed the correct course, they had naturally arrived swiftly.

Unfortunately, before they could even begin to celebrate, great joy was followed by great sorrow. They were unexpectedly attacked and suffered heavy losses, especially the loss of their most powerful Sea Monster, which diminished their strength by at least sixty percent.

It wasn’t that these colonizers were entirely without caution towards strangers at this point. Rather, it was the ingrained mindset from their experiences in the Bantaan Archipelago that subconsciously led them to regard the "semi-natives" before them as they had the Tenor People encountered previously.