Chapter 702 - 691: Survivors of the Archipelago
Chapter 702: Chapter 691: Survivors of the Archipelago
Archipelago, Silver Sand Bay.
The mountain-top estate that was once occupied by the great Slave Master has long been flattened, replaced by a towering tower. Its gray-white structure can be seen from afar.
The entertainment venues at the foot of the mountain have also been cleared out, converted into rows of somewhat uneven shacks, with cooking smoke gently rising.
The island’s population is even larger than before the mist rampaged.
After all, all survivors from the Archipelago have been placed by Sofia on Silver Sand Bay and a few nearby islands.
In the bay, ships of all sizes are anchored, some newly built, others restored, with masts standing like a forest, and new ships are being constructed overtime.
Over ten miles to the east, on a much less noticeable small island compared to Silver Sand Bay.
Two Tiger-men squat among the rocks, focused on the fishing nets.
Their fur colors are one dark and the other light; the darker one is more robust, while the lighter one is tall and thin, missing a piece of ear.
They both bear slave marks on their bodies, but that’s all in the past, as the current Archipelago no longer distinguishes between slaves and non-slaves.
"Pull slowly, don’t tear it," the dark-furred Tiger-man said without lifting his head, deft fingers untangling the fish from the net, "If it tears again, we’ll all go hungry."
"Got it, got it," the one with the missing ear muttered in reply, but couldn’t help but murmur as he looked at the haul in the net, "There’s less and less, this net used to fill half a barrel, now it doesn’t even cover the bottom."
The dark-furred one remained silent.
He yanked the fishing net, flipping it from the water to reveal a few palm-sized miscellaneous fish and several half-dead sea crabs.
The one with the missing ear said again, "This can’t go on, you know how much food those shipbuilders consume daily, but the fish are all eaten by bugs. Where can we get so much food? Even the mermaids on the neighboring island have no solution!"
He leaned in closer, lowering his voice significantly, "Brother, I think it’s unrealistic for everyone to leave by ship together, in the end, a group will still be left behind. We need to plan ahead!"
"Shut up!" The dark-furred Tiger-man suddenly snapped, startling his younger brother, "The Hero said he would take everyone with him, and he will definitely do it! Even if we have no choice, if someone has to be left behind, our lives were saved by the Hero, so what’s giving them back?"
The one with the missing ear reluctantly closed his mouth.
The dark-furred one patted his shoulder, "Cast one more net; it’s not time to starve yet..."
"Big brother?" The one with the missing ear was puzzled.
But the big brother signaled him to be quiet, and the Tiger ears twitched slightly, listening closely to the surrounding sounds.
Plop——
After the one with the missing ear calmed down, he finally heard the strange sound.
Something was stepping through the water approaching them, the noise was light, almost drowned out by the sound of the waves, but the Tiger-men’s hearing could barely distinguish it.
The one with the missing ear glanced around, seeing nothing.
Both of them, having dealt with Chis before, knew what this meant—bugs had come ashore again!
Just as the two Tiger-men prepared to act, a light suddenly lit up at the tip of the distant tower. The light concentrated into a line, crossing over ten miles of sea in an instant, and landed a dozen meters in front of them.
Boom——!!
The rocks shattered, and purple blood splattered.
A bug’s body appeared there, its six claws waving menacingly toward them but had lost its head. The headless body swayed and then crashed heavily onto the rocks, squeezing out purple blood that splattered at their feet.
The Tiger-men had no time to marvel before they were suddenly surrounded by the sound of more water trampling; only then did they realize they were unknowingly surrounded by bugs!
But this time, they weren’t coming toward them but were retreating into the sea.
Soon, the coast was quiet again, and the arrow radiating magic power gradually dissipated, leaving behind a single bug’s corpse.
The one with the missing ear gaped at the still-twitching bug corpse, holding onto the fishing net he hadn’t had a chance to throw.
"This...this..."
He turned his head, looking to the west. The tower peak still stood quietly at the sea-sky junction as if nothing had happened.
"Lady Sofia’s Magic Arrow?" The one with the missing ear’s voice floated, "From so far...she actually can..."
The dark-furred one squatted, poking the bug corpse with his claw.
The shell was as hard as iron, unmovable.
He withdrew his hand, wiped the purple blood on his pants, stood up, and also looked at the tall tower.
"After all, she is the Hero!" His voice was steadier than the one with the missing ear, but there was also an undeniable awe in his eyes, "Without extraordinary skills, how could she have kept us alive until now?"
"Anyway, now there’s meat...even if it’s the worst kind to eat."
The one with the missing ear felt somewhat weak in the legs.
It wasn’t just the close call with death under the bugs; he was more afraid that besides having exceptional vision, the Hero also had great hearing and overheard his words just now.
He could only console himself: no matter what, it’s the Hero, with a broad heart, surely wouldn’t trouble me over a bit of idle chatter...
He worried too much; Sofia only had long-distance vision, not exceptional hearing.
...
Atop the high tower, Sofia stood on the roof.
The sunlight cast obliquely from behind her, stretching her shadow long across the stone brick floor.
She gazed in the direction of the small island, a white frame slowly rotating deep within her pupils.
In her eyes, every invisible Chis was outlined by the white frame, making [Refraction Invisibility] useless.
But when Chis began to retreat, she did not continue attacking.
After a while, when the bugs had all fled, she spoke with some regret, "The bugs have become smarter; they already know to hide the Eye Worms in cover to avoid getting sniped."
Sofia, with her display panel, saw the skill and status of the bugs, making it clear Chis controlled the bug swarm below through Eye Worms.
Without killing the Eye Worms, killing a few ordinary bugs meant little.
And Chis, after losing several Eye Worms, gradually figured out Sofia’s strength.
The attack just now was merely another probe.
Sofia knew these bugs hadn’t given up on devouring this group of people yet; they haven’t launched a large-scale attack so far only because they were wary of her.
And her reason for not shooting those ordinary bugs, trying to weaken the swarm, was also out of cautious consideration.
After all, she now had to protect the entire Silver Sand Bay and nearby small islands.
And the crises they face include not just the bugs but also the mist that might surge again at any moment.
"There’s not much time left; we probably can’t take everyone," the Captain of the Guard suddenly spoke.
Sofia looked at the shacks below the tower: "They chose to stay at Silver Sand Bay because they believed in me, and many had the chance to sail back when the mist first cleared, I can’t abandon any one of them."
"Sometimes, you have to choose to sacrifice some people for ultimate victory," the Captain of the Guard said again.
Priest Samuel remained silent beside them.
Sofia sighed, "Bella will bring back good news. With the Kingdom’s help, we can move everyone all at once."
Suddenly, Sofia’s eyes brightened!
She saw at the sea-sky boundary, that familiar ship—Bella has returned!
Though the ship was in poor condition, and many crew members were missing, as the ship docked, Silver Sand Bay erupted in wild cheers, dispersing the gloom that hung over everyone.
Bella brought back hope!
Seeing Bella’s visibly weakened body, Sofia couldn’t help but feel touched and distressed.
After some greetings, Bella delivered the Communication Crystal and also mentioned Puki almost taking over the Kingdom and the ongoing struggle with Chis for the ocean.
Sofia and the others took quite a while to digest, finally accepting the fact that Puki, the once round little monster from a beginner’s village, had become a world power within a few short years.