The letter did not mention the time, but Ed did not dare to delay in the slightest.

Before leaving, he went to see River - this was the second time he had brought his father back. Just like the first time, he just stood by the door and watched Ada go about her business. The housekeeper seemed to regard her soulless master as a temporarily unconscious patient, convinced that talking to him would always help. She even tried to convince Ed of this...... But Ed didn't dare to face those godless eyes again.

He was too negligent to his father. He had also asked someone to keep an eye on River's every move because he suspected that he was planning something dangerous, but he stopped caring after discovering that River was only single-mindedly building a ship and preparing for the voyage. If only he had noticed it earlier......

The intense guilt and the weight of his powerlessness kept him from moving, just like a few months ago in Limestone Castle, silently watching Sercio like a puppet.

He couldn't save the boy...... Will he really be able to save his father?

“...... Would you like to talk to him?" Ida asked expectantly as she walked up to him.

Ed shook his head and stepped back.

"I have to go. He said.

Ada was a little disappointed, but not reluctantly. The maid who took over her care for River entered the room before she closed the door, her expression suddenly solemn.

"Please be careful. "I don't want to open that letter at all," she said...... I don't want to give me the whole of Cloud Castle. ”

Ed smiled wryly. He left a couple of letters just in case – if he didn't come back...... Even if you can't come back for a while, you have to make arrangements.

The housekeeper pulled out a necklace from her old but delicate little fanny pack and hung it around Ed's neck without saying a word.

"Take this. She said, "This is the amulet I asked for in the temple of the god of water in Collins...... It's the blessing of the white-haired and blue-eyed Sage himself, and it will definitely protect you. ”

Ed looked down at the sapphire on the pendant, set in a simple silver receptacle. The Temple of Collins does give or sell such amulets to believers, most of which are just a small blessing spell...... That didn't help him much.

He smiled gratefully at Ada. What he couldn't refuse was Felicity, or Ada's sheer kindness and enthusiasm.

"It's a pity that this is all I have. Ida sighed regretfully, "Otherwise, I'd like to send one to your friend." But ......"

She glanced behind him, "He shouldn't accept it, right?"

Ed turned back, and Iss strode toward him.

"Aren't you leaving?" he asked, "and the ship is ready." ”

.

They set off at noon. Ten dhows sailed through the waves in the bright sunshine, drawing neat white lines on the surface of the sea, like ten speeding dolphins, so fast that the best sailors could be stunned.

Ed didn't take anyone with him except Is. It's not hard to manipulate ten boats with magic...... He could lose ten boatloads of gold and gems, but he couldn't sacrifice any more.

He also didn't deliver any news to Neo City. If those sent to "protect" Cloud Island summon Neo's warships and mages, he would at least be able to say "nothing to do with me" when confronted by Nine Toes.

The weather was sunny. The clear blue sky is almost the same color as the calm sea, and after looking at it for a long time, I feel a little dizzy, and I can't tell whether I am sailing on the sea or floating in the sky.

“...... In this kind of weather, will you be dizzy and fall into the sea when you are flying in the sky?" he asked thoughtlessly.

Isis rolled his eyes back. Ed himself smirked, and his overtense nerves grew a little calm.

Robbie Island is in the eastern part of the Summer Sea, and there is only one small fishing village on the island. Twenty nautical miles east of Robbie Island, it is close to the edge of the Summer Sea. When they arrived at the designated sea, the sky was getting dark, and the setting sun was like blood, dyeing both the sky and the sea an ominous blood-red.

Almost in the blink of an eye, the sunset sank into the sea. When night fell, the stars twinkled, like flowers that had not yet had time to bloom, and looked unusually dim in the remaining skylight.

For a while, the whole world was blurred. Ed simply looked up at the starry sky, since the day he walked out of the Silent Tower, he had no energy to care about the changes in the stars, but he had looked at the star map for too long, and almost every star was engraved in his mind.

"There. He pointed to the northwest, "Looks like another star?"

Iss glanced up nonchalantly.

“...... You'd better solve the problem at hand first. He said.

But there was only a dark sea in front of them, and no shadow of black or white sails could be seen in either direction—it was not on the waterway, and the merchant ships heading east preferred to move closer to the coastline until they reached Unicorn Bay.

"I've heard that the Dragonbone can sail under the sea. "Maybe they're under our feet right now." ”

He didn't have anything to say, and Isa ignored him. By midnight, Ed had been crouching on the boat for a few moments, when Ise suddenly kicked him.

"It's coming. He said.

Ed suddenly got to his feet and almost fell into the sea.

His eyesight was far inferior to that of Is, and he squinted for a long time before he saw the rapidly approaching black shadow on the sea.

When he was close enough, he couldn't help but feel the urge to back off—he had never seen a ship so large...... A huge, dark shadow, heavy and light floating on the sea. It came at a rapid pace, showing no signs of slowing down, as if it hadn't seen it at all...... Or care that these poor ten little boats come straight at them like a silent beast, and can crush them in an instant.

Ed insisted on staying where he was. The keel brushed the edge of the boat and turned slightly, and the waves almost crushed the little dhow into the sea, but before it hit the boat, it suddenly recoiled and slammed against the gray keel outside the hull.

Ed lowered his hand with a calm face. He wasn't familiar with the sea, but it was the realm of the water god...... He didn't intend to let himself be embarrassed before he saw Nine Toes.

But the Dragonbone did put a lot of pressure on him. The breath of death rushed to his face, and the gray bones seemed to be wrapped around a black shadow that could not be dispersed. The dragon's long ribs clung to the hull of the ship like sharp claws, as if out of a strong love or a curse...... It's completely part of the ship. The rest of the strange statues on the Dragonbone, the intricate and twisted decorations, and the cloud-like black sails were nothing compared to them.

Ed couldn't imagine how Iss would feel.

The waves he pushed back were nothing to the massive Keel. It came to rest steadily in the middle of the sea, and a moment later a voice floated down from the bow of the ship,

"Get on board. ”