From the moment he stepped on the boat, Norvi was on his toes – especially at night. He didn't need anyone to remind him that these ten days on the ship would be the best time for the Shadow Dancer to complete his mission.

But after a few days of high tension, it was inevitable that he would relax from exhaustion, and when danger really came, the elf's natural acuity could not match the instincts of animals.

It was only when Mochi's shrill warning sounded that Norway felt the faint sound of wind behind his head.

There was indescribable fear in Tess's wide-eyed amber eyes on the other side - he had no time to dodge the blow.

But the long, sharp weapon stopped in his hair, as if hindered by some invisible barrier, and could no longer penetrate a single inch.

Norway could feel the slight pressure on the back of his head, and even the chill at the tip of the sword, but he was not injured.

The shadow dancer's form froze for a moment at the unexpected situation, and the horror in Tess's eyes turned to irrepressible joy...... And proud.

She looked almost ready to clap and cheer.

The magic belt that Ed gave to Norway was still useful.

It was a belt embroidered with gold thread, delicate but too pompous, and Ed took the opportunity to sneak it into Norvi while he was at the temple. Tess suspected that Ed had touched it from the Treasury of the Temple of Collins or something—no, not the word "touch", as the Sage of the Water God, Ed could have taken ...... and "borrowed" it openly. It took a lot of talk for Tess to get Norway to tie it under her coat, for one reason. According to the stinky temper of the elves, even if it is a killer, he will definitely be the first to him. Instead of getting a hands on a tiny, fragile human girl.

She guessed right.

With a hint of frustration, Norway quickly turned, the sword in his hand - Lance stopped talking as he gave him back the weapon, and he clearly understood that the ship was not safe.

By the time the sword was swung, the Shadow Dancer had nimbly avoided it, as if it had disappeared into the darkness once again. But Norvi's gaze had been firmly locked on the other party's figure.

That's the Shadow Dancer who failed at Tapu. Judging by his face and eyes, it's likely that he's not much bigger than Siana.

Anger arose. Whatever the reason, train such a teenager as a killer...... When did the elves start. Depraved to such a point?

But now is not the time to sympathize with the "enemy". Protected by magic, Norway was confident that he could deal with a shadow dancer, but he was just worried that they would turn to Tess as a target.

Luckily, even a killer. The stubbornness and pride of the elves, whom Tess called "Stinky Temper", are not lacking at all. The Shadow Dancer stubbornly attacks Novi again, completely ignoring Tess. Even if you know that Novi has protection.

Respectable...... But it's not smart enough.

Norway sighed in rejoicing, unconcernedly exposing his vital points to the opponent's attack, and the long sword stabbed the opponent's thigh at a tricky angle.

If it was possible, he still didn't want to kill this young man who was just doing what he was told.

But the other party quickly sensed his intolerance, and used it as a shield, without any scruples, only attacking and not defending, as if he also had magic protection on his body.

Norvi grew agitated - there was probably more than one shadow dancing on board. And he had to protect Tess.

The long sword he swung with a faint killing intent soon left several wounds under the opponent's body. The Shadow Dancer's speed slowed slightly. Xiao Mo's warning sounded again poignantly.

Tess, who had been standing wisely to the side, let out an uncontrollable, small exclamation, and Norvi's heart sank sharply.

Another shadow dancer silently appeared in the small room, blocked between Norvi and Tess.

A cold light flashed in Tess's hand, and the small dagger was like the fangs of a viper. She's certainly not going to sit still...... But she's no match for a shadow dancer by any means.

“...... Lance!" Norway exclaimed, "Lance, Sunstrider!"

He needs help......

He believed that the elf, who was always a little impatient and also known as the "Sunstrider", really wanted to bring him back to Grivar alive, and that the elves were constantly patrolling the room...... But the fight just now was not silent, and there was no reaction from the outside. It reminded him of that night in Tapu Town.

Among his "escorts", I am afraid that there are also people who want his life.

Before he had time to think about it any more, Novi slammed backwards and tried to rush back to Tess. The shadow dancer behind him dodged with ease, wielding a dagger and cornering Tess into a corner, even having time to turn back and smile coldly at Norvi.

Later Shadow Dancers were even shorter, looking almost smaller than Tess, with almost colorless gray-blue eyes without a trace of warmth or hesitation, black tattoos at the corners of their eyes snaking like thorns to their cheeks, thin lips tightly closed, and sunken corners of their mouths showing a bit of indifference and gloom.

Unlike another shadow dancer...... He wouldn't hesitate to go after Tess.

Little Mo let out a scream, and a brown shadow flew out of the corner of Norvi's eye with a string of blood—the little mongoose was obviously injured. The chaotic sound of daggers and daggers striking at Norway frightened him, and he quickly turned to meet the attack of the latecomer, leaving his back entirely to another enemy.

I don't know how long the magic protection on his body lasts...... But dealing with two shadow dancers at the same time, it would be difficult for him to hurt either of them again.

There was silence outside the room at first, then there was a faint sound of wind and thunder. Before you know it, the boat, which had been moving smoothly, began to jolt incessantly, not very noticeably at first, and then became more and more violent, gradually affecting everyone...... and elves. Sometimes they even had to stop at the same time, hold on to the pillars or walls around them to stabilize themselves, and then start attacking again.

That had the biggest impact on Tess, seeing that her moves were getting more and more chaotic, but Norway was never able to rush to her side, and his heart was a little cold.

The flickering candlelight flickered brightly for a moment, then went out completely. It was pitch black in the windowless cabin, which was nothing to the elves, but Tess ......

There was a sudden jolt of the ship. Then, as if slammed by a giant hand that fell from the sky, it suddenly sank down with a loud bang. Norway took advantage of the momentum to pounce on Tess, using his height and weight advantage to slam the little gray-eyed man away, rolling on the ground with Tess, and escaping from the room in an extremely embarrassed position.

There was a tooth-crunching sound between the planks of the ship's hull, as if it was resisting some kind of tremendous pressure...... Then it swooped upwards.

There was a cold stream of water under your feet. Novi realizes that tonight's catastrophe may have just begun.

Nalya only felt empty under her feet. All I saw was the dark river rushing in front of me.

She didn't have time to be afraid, she had barely realized that she had been thrown off the deck when she felt a tightness around her waist and someone grabbed her belt with agility. Forcefully pulled her back to the boat.

"I told you. Miss!" her savior yelled at her, spitting almost all over her face, "I told you better go back to the cabin!"

That's First Officer Van Lunding Rogers. In his early thirties, he had rough skin, short, stiff hair and a little gray in his beard, and he looked much older than his actual age. He pulled the frightened Narya to the hatch of the ship and unceremoniously threw it into Fili's arms.

Fili quickly reached out and caught the girl, but he couldn't stand steadily. At this moment, his feet slipped, and he simply fell into the cabin with Naria.

The paladin had already stripped off his bulky armor - he wished he was still wearing it. At least it won't hurt like a broken waist bone, and it won't be thrown up and down like an apple thrown into a round wine barrel and turned half to death!

With him as a meat pad, Nalya was not hurt, but as soon as she got up, she rushed to the hatch of the ship.

Fili hurriedly grabbed her: "I'm pretty sure you can't help you outside at all!

It doesn't seem good to talk like this to a cute girl in such a rude tone...... But his limited demeanor has probably been spit out in the past few days.

"But, Tess ......," Naria looked worried, completely unconcerned about his rudeness.

The hull of the ship tilted violently again, the hatch slammed shut and was opened, and the creaking of the keel was even more terrifying, as if the whole ship would be crushed by the waves in the next moment.

Nalya crashed into Fili again, smashing him all over the wall. Fili rolled his eyes, barely breathing, and almost knocked out.

With a bang, the hull returned to normal, but it still bobbed around. The sound of the wind and waves outside seemed to be getting louder and louder, and I don't know whether it was rain or river water poured in from the hatch, and it fell coldly on the two of them.

"I'm sorry......" Narya smiled awkwardly, trying to hold on to a pillar without trying to rush onto the deck again.

She realized she couldn't help Tess - she couldn't even help the sailors who were still on deck desperately trying to get under control of the ship and break out of the storm.

In her frustration she heard a crisp thud like something breaking, and then groaned and slammed down on the deck, followed by the panicked and angry roars of the sailors.

“...... It seems that the mast is broken. Filly said, seemingly resigned to his fate.

He struggled to move to Naria's side, whispering a spell.

"Breathe in the water. In the girl's surprised gaze, he shrugged and explained, "I made a few more notes, just in case...... But I really didn't want to use it!"

He shook his head and sighed, stumbling back to the opening and closing hatch.

"Fili!" Naria cried out worriedly.

"I'll see if I can make it last a little longer," Filly reassured her, "at least it can hold up to the shore or something...... I can't breathe in the water for the whole boat. ”

“...... Is there anything I can do to help?" asked Naria.

"Go find someone else. The paladin replied, "Then leave the cabin as soon as possible...... Or stay somewhere like this where you can easily find an exit. It's not a good idea to huddle in a ship when it might sink. ”

Naria nodded, found the staircase leading down, and slipped inside, groping her way into the depths of the cabin in the dim, swaying light.

The gods are above......

She couldn't help but pray in her heart, but she couldn't help but wonder if there were gods watching everything in the world, which of them was, and for what reason, that such a storm should be poured on their heads at this time.

(To be continued......)