The reconnaissance drone quickly brought back intelligence, but when Raine saw the photos taken by the drone, he was a bit dumbfounded.
"What's going on? Isn't the Dragon-class area supposed to be amazing? Why are all these ships made of wooden planks?"
Fancy came over, picked up the photo, and took a look, "That's true. And I didn't even see any weapons on their ships."
Seventy or eighty wooden ships without weapons? Was this the setup for the Dragon-class area?
This unusual discovery prompted Raine to get closer and take a look.
Ten minutes later, Raine had already seen the "fleet," which was so shabby that it was appalling.
They were all fishing boats!
Raine and his team approached quickly, and the people on those ships were surprised to see the fleet appearing before them.
Compared to Raine's aircraft carrier, their boats were really small.
Among these vessels, there was even a large bamboo raft. This suddenly made Raine feel a sense of affinity. Wasn't that the same as when he first started out?
Of course, even as a bamboo raft, it was much better than Raine's initial three-pole bamboo raft. It was made of a large row of bamboo tied together, with an area of about 10 by 10 meters.
In the center of the raft was a large stove, with eight wooden poles in eight directions, each with a young girl tied to it.
Raine asked curiously, "Hey, what's going on here?"
The other crew members didn't seem very strong. Either they were old or had disabilities, completely unlike the strong and robust crew on Raine's ship.
An old man on a black-awning boat looked at Raine in surprise, "You... you came from the Dragon's Forbidden Land?"
"Yeah, we did. What are you doing here? Fishing? And what's with this bamboo raft and the girls tied to it? Are you a pirate group?" Raine shouted.
The old man whispered with a few people around him, then looked at Raine and shouted, "Sir, we are not pirates. There are no dedicated pirate groups in the Dragon-class area. We are residents of the nearby islands. These girls are from our island, and they are to be sacrificed to the Dragon God."
Raine blinked. Sacrifice? He had been to several sea areas but had never encountered such a thing.
"What Dragon God? Are you talking about sea monsters?"
The people around were startled, and the old man hurriedly said, "Sir, don't speak carelessly. Be careful not to offend the Dragon God!"
At this moment, Blacky poked its head out from the sea, curiously looking at these people. If the captain gave the order, it would have a chance to showcase its strength.
But as soon as Blacky showed its head, the residents were so frightened that they all knelt down.
"It's the Black Dragon God, the Black Dragon God! Lord Dragon God!"
Blacky had a confused look on its face. What were these humans doing?
"Lord Dragon God, these are our 18-year-old girls, a total of eight, not one less. Please accept them."
Blacky thought about it. Although it didn't know these people, receiving food was always a good thing, so it swam over, ready to eat first.
"Blacky!" Raine shook his head, "They are ordinary people, and eating them won't increase your strength. Go back and play on your own."
Upon hearing Raine's command, Blacky reluctantly looked at the humans and submerged into the water with a sullen expression.
The residents, seeing this scene, looked at Raine differently.
"Sir...oh, no, my lord, the Dragon God actually listens to your advice?"
"What advice?" Raine frowned. "I'm the captain, who else would it listen to? Right, you said you live nearby. Are there any islands nearby? Whose island is it?"
Now the old man dared not hide anything from Raine, so he hurriedly said, "My lord, our island is nearby, and we built it ourselves. Since it's not in a safe area, it's considered unclaimed territory."
"Unclaimed territory? In a place like the Dragon-class area, isn't it supposed to be a fierce battle for an island?"
"My lord, you may not know, but although the fleets in the Dragon-class area are powerful, they don't dare leave the safe zone. Only people like us who have been expelled from the area living on such islands."
Raine thought about it. They should find an island to rest on and replenish their food and water.
"Then take us there."
"Well... my lord, what about the sacrifices?"
Raine glanced at the girls, their faces still somewhat childish and filled with a mix of fear and expectation as they looked at him.
Originally, they were doomed, but now that the Dragon God had spared them, their hope for survival had been rekindled.
"Keep the sacrifices for yourselves. Let's go, lead the way!"
...
The waves in the Dragon-class area were even more fierce than those in the King-class area. Watching the wooden boats swaying in the storm, Raine shook his head.
Terry's decision back then was actually quite wise. Living happily on a small island in the unpopulated area was much better than living a miserable life in the Dragon-class area.
Of course, people like them could never pass through the Dragon-class area.
After sailing for less than half an hour, a not-so-small island appeared ahead. The houses on the island were very shabby, and the surrounding boats were all fishing vessels, without a single warship.
The island's defense capabilities were virtually non-existent, not even comparable to the markets in the unpopulated areas.
There were quite a few people on the island, and when they saw a large ship approaching, they all stopped and stared at Raine and his crew in amazement.
After landing, Raine led his captains to follow the old man deep into the island.
In a slightly more decent stone house, the old man invited Raine and his team to sit down and rest.
An elderly woman, accompanied by several middle-aged women, carefully brought out many fruits and food. Although the island seemed quite poor, there were abundant survival supplies. Raine and his crew didn't hesitate to partake.
When the old man entered, Raine put down a coconut and asked, "Old man, why do you sacrifice to the Dragon God?"
Upon mentioning this, the busy women in the room paused.
The old man sighed, "My lord, we don't want to do it either. These children are our own. Our hearts hurt more than anyone else. But... if we don't go for the sacrifice, the Dragon God will destroy the island! Every year we have to contribute eight female children, although the heartache, is better than the whole island being destroyed. There are thousands of people on the island..."
Raine heaved a deep sigh, realizing that for these people, this might be their only option. What good would it do to demand that they rebel? Just take a look at their boats, equipment, and personnel, and it's clear that it's impossible.
"Old man, after offering sacrifices, will the Dragon God really not come and destroy this place?"
The old man replied, "It will come, but it will leave us a way out. It won't completely destroy the island, nor will it eat too many people. We are all old, weak, sick, and disabled here. Even if we have mutations, you can imagine that our abilities are not too strong since we are the ones who have been eliminated."
"Even if there are some mutants with good abilities, they will still find a way to return to the safe waters. So even if the Dragon God eats us, it won't make much of a difference."
Fancy asked, "If the Dragon God still comes to destroy the island after taking the sacrifices, then why offer them in the first place?"
"Sir, there was an island that didn't want to offer sacrifices, and in the end, the entire island was destroyed... In the Dragon-class waters, one must obey the Dragon God. Even the forces in the safe waters absolutely dare not go against the Dragon God!"
"The Dragon God, it is a true god, and its subordinates are all divine beasts! We dare not rebel!"
Raine's brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
Subordinates that are all divine beasts? Is this too much?
The reconnaissance drone quickly brought back intelligence, but when Raine saw the photos taken by the drone, he was a bit dumbfounded.
"What's going on? Isn't the Dragon-class area supposed to be amazing? Why are all these ships made of wooden planks?"
Fancy came over, picked up the photo, and took a look, "That's true. And I didn't even see any weapons on their ships."
Seventy or eighty wooden ships without weapons? Was this the setup for the Dragon-class area?
This unusual discovery prompted Raine to get closer and take a look.
Ten minutes later, Raine had already seen the "fleet," which was so shabby that it was appalling.
They were all fishing boats!
Raine and his team approached quickly, and the people on those ships were surprised to see the fleet appearing before them.
Compared to Raine's aircraft carrier, their boats were really small.
Among these vessels, there was even a large bamboo raft. This suddenly made Raine feel a sense of affinity. Wasn't that the same as when he first started out?
Of course, even as a bamboo raft, it was much better than Raine's initial three-pole bamboo raft. It was made of a large row of bamboo tied together, with an area of about 10 by 10 meters.
In the center of the raft was a large stove, with eight wooden poles in eight directions, each with a young girl tied to it.
Raine asked curiously, "Hey, what's going on here?"
The other crew members didn't seem very strong. Either they were old or had disabilities, completely unlike the strong and robust crew on Raine's ship.
An old man on a black-awning boat looked at Raine in surprise, "You... you came from the Dragon's Forbidden Land?"
"Yeah, we did. What are you doing here? Fishing? And what's with this bamboo raft and the girls tied to it? Are you a pirate group?" Raine shouted.
The old man whispered with a few people around him, then looked at Raine and shouted, "Sir, we are not pirates. There are no dedicated pirate groups in the Dragon-class area. We are residents of the nearby islands. These girls are from our island, and they are to be sacrificed to the Dragon God."
Raine blinked. Sacrifice? He had been to several sea areas but had never encountered such a thing.
"What Dragon God? Are you talking about sea monsters?"
The people around were startled, and the old man hurriedly said, "Sir, don't speak carelessly. Be careful not to offend the Dragon God!"
At this moment, Blacky poked its head out from the sea, curiously looking at these people. If the captain gave the order, it would have a chance to showcase its strength.
But as soon as Blacky showed its head, the residents were so frightened that they all knelt down.
"It's the Black Dragon God, the Black Dragon God! Lord Dragon God!"
Blacky had a confused look on its face. What were these humans doing?
"Lord Dragon God, these are our 18-year-old girls, a total of eight, not one less. Please accept them."
Blacky thought about it. Although it didn't know these people, receiving food was always a good thing, so it swam over, ready to eat first.
"Blacky!" Raine shook his head, "They are ordinary people, and eating them won't increase your strength. Go back and play on your own."
Upon hearing Raine's command, Blacky reluctantly looked at the humans and submerged into the water with a sullen expression.
The residents, seeing this scene, looked at Raine differently.
"Sir...oh, no, my lord, the Dragon God actually listens to your advice?"
"What advice?" Raine frowned. "I'm the captain, who else would it listen to? Right, you said you live nearby. Are there any islands nearby? Whose island is it?"
Now the old man dared not hide anything from Raine, so he hurriedly said, "My lord, our island is nearby, and we built it ourselves. Since it's not in a safe area, it's considered unclaimed territory."
"Unclaimed territory? In a place like the Dragon-class area, isn't it supposed to be a fierce battle for an island?"
"My lord, you may not know, but although the fleets in the Dragon-class area are powerful, they don't dare leave the safe zone. Only people like us who have been expelled from the area living on such islands."
Raine thought about it. They should find an island to rest on and replenish their food and water.
"Then take us there."
"Well... my lord, what about the sacrifices?"
Raine glanced at the girls, their faces still somewhat childish and filled with a mix of fear and expectation as they looked at him.
Originally, they were doomed, but now that the Dragon God had spared them, their hope for survival had been rekindled.
"Keep the sacrifices for yourselves. Let's go, lead the way!"
...
The waves in the Dragon-class area were even more fierce than those in the King-class area. Watching the wooden boats swaying in the storm, Raine shook his head.
Terry's decision back then was actually quite wise. Living happily on a small island in the unpopulated area was much better than living a miserable life in the Dragon-class area.
Of course, people like them could never pass through the Dragon-class area.
After sailing for less than half an hour, a not-so-small island appeared ahead. The houses on the island were very shabby, and the surrounding boats were all fishing vessels, without a single warship.
The island's defense capabilities were virtually non-existent, not even comparable to the markets in the unpopulated areas.
There were quite a few people on the island, and when they saw a large ship approaching, they all stopped and stared at Raine and his crew in amazement.
After landing, Raine led his captains to follow the old man deep into the island.
In a slightly more decent stone house, the old man invited Raine and his team to sit down and rest.
An elderly woman, accompanied by several middle-aged women, carefully brought out many fruits and food. Although the island seemed quite poor, there were abundant survival supplies. Raine and his crew didn't hesitate to partake.
When the old man entered, Raine put down a coconut and asked, "Old man, why do you sacrifice to the Dragon God?"
Upon mentioning this, the busy women in the room paused.
The old man sighed, "My lord, we don't want to do it either. These children are our own. Our hearts hurt more than anyone else. But... if we don't go for the sacrifice, the Dragon God will destroy the island! Every year we have to contribute eight female children, although the heartache, is better than the whole island being destroyed. There are thousands of people on the island..."
Raine heaved a deep sigh, realizing that for these people, this might be their only option. What good would it do to demand that they rebel? Just take a look at their boats, equipment, and personnel, and it's clear that it's impossible.
"Old man, after offering sacrifices, will the Dragon God really not come and destroy this place?"
The old man replied, "It will come, but it will leave us a way out. It won't completely destroy the island, nor will it eat too many people. We are all old, weak, sick, and disabled here. Even if we have mutations, you can imagine that our abilities are not too strong since we are the ones who have been eliminated."
"Even if there are some mutants with good abilities, they will still find a way to return to the safe waters. So even if the Dragon God eats us, it won't make much of a difference."
Fancy asked, "If the Dragon God still comes to destroy the island after taking the sacrifices, then why offer them in the first place?"
"Sir, there was an island that didn't want to offer sacrifices, and in the end, the entire island was destroyed... In the Dragon-class waters, one must obey the Dragon God. Even the forces in the safe waters absolutely dare not go against the Dragon God!"
"The Dragon God, it is a true god, and its subordinates are all divine beasts! We dare not rebel!"
Raine's brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
Subordinates that are all divine beasts? Is this too much?
