Ustengra, Section 1

The Everglades north of Mosal are crisscrossed by hundreds of veins of water that divide the entire Everglades into nearly a thousand islands, reefs, whirlpools of various sizes. In addition, the dense fog in the Swamp obscures a qiē on the water level throughout the year. Only experienced seafarers can find the right course, and the slightest mistake will end up with a shipwreck.

Of course, this was hundreds of years ago. Through hundreds of thousands of years of exploration, the Mossar people have cleared several safe and secure shipping lanes. Even the Gentiles who have never been to Skyrim can make their way from Mosal to the Sea of Ghosts in peace and security as long as they can see the signs.

It's a pity that in Alice's vision at this moment, not to mention the reef road signs painted red with paint, there is not even a torch or a wooden sign. There were only two things she could see, the thick white mist and the dark deep water.

Not...... And a ship, a very small one.

"Unfortunately, we can't go on the regular route. And the two of us can't drive a big ship. Afro's bodyguard, Xiao Ya, who was of Sirodil blood, sat on the bow of the boat and said as he gently shook the oars.

The oars ripple in the water, making a rhythmic 'whoo-whoo-whoo'.

"Clearly, taking the main road will be detected by the sentries of the river pirates, so you can only take the small road. Alice looked at the monotonous shaking Zeshui boredly, and said casually: "But this ship ...... Is it really okay?"

She pressed her two fingers on the edge of the boat, and with a little force, she rubbed off a piece of rotten wood blackened by the river's blisters. Falling into the water makes a soft 'clatter' sound.

"No matter how you look at it, it looks like it won't last long. ”

"A little girl who has never been to sea. Xiao Ya shook her head slightly, as if she was despising the ignorance of the girl in front of her. "Anyone who has ever sailed knows that an old ship can be trusted more than a new one. There have been no problems with the new ship, so no one knows what will go wrong with it. Maybe it will leak after a hundred feet, or maybe the keel will break if there is a little wind. The old ship is different, every beam and every board has been tested by wind and waves. And the crew also knows it, knows its capabilities and limits. ”

"And," he added. "If we come out in a new boat, the river pirates can smell paint and wood a thousand feet away. Then we'll only be able to fight on the ship, I don't care, but you guess it's a big problem. ”

"Hmm. Alice nodded slightly and shrugged.

It's good that this short conversation makes it clear that she doesn't know anything about life on the water. In fact, she couldn't even rock an oar. In addition to staring at the water in a daze, the only thing that can be done is to inspect and repair your own weapons and armor.

The scales and swords provided by Aphro were of the highest quality. The main body of the scale armor is a refined sheet of mild steel, which is forged with corundum and star meteorite gravel. It's lightweight, it's sturdy, and it's padded with a soft mink fur inside, which is very comfortable to wear on the body and has little noise. And the scorching furnace sword was made of red copper and steel. Even in this cold morning star, the slightly reddish sword body still exuded a slightly hot aura.

Just these two things...... It's probably worth a thousand septin. This time it's a big love.

Alice thought to herself that if she had the opportunity in the future, she would have to repay Lady Aphro well.

However, for now, let's complete the current commission.

Soon, she was checking her gear from start to finish. And then...... She had nothing to do again.

In fact, this was the fifth time Alice had inspected her weapons on the ship. However, the two of them have not covered a fifth of the distance so far.

The boring atmosphere soon enveloped the boat, which was just over 10 feet long. Except for the monotonous sound of paddling, there was only a thick gray-white fog that shrouded the field of vision. Alice boredomically stretched out her hand to dangle in the river, occasionally finding a floating stalk of grass to pass the time.

"Hmm, what's that?"

Alice suddenly saw a palm-sized, black and white thing floating down the water. It rises and falls in the swaying waves.

Xiao Ya tilted his head slightly, glanced at it and said, "A piranha." Dead. ”

"Piranhas? I don't think I've seen them before. Alice reached out and scooped up the piranha as it passed by the boat. Put it in the palm of your hand and observe it carefully.

This piranha is fresh. The exterior is also intact, and it looks like he has just died. Its pure white belly is bulging, its dark black scales are smooth and fine, and it also has a faint fishy smell. The diamond-shaped body is well suited to swimming quickly in shallow water – its teeth are sharp and faintly reflect a chill light.

"It seems to be holding up. Alice whispered. She took out her dagger and cut open the piranha's white belly. Then he cut open its stuffed stomach cavity.

A finger with a large gold ring rolled out of the stomach pouch.

"Oh, did you kill yourself by swallowing gold?" Alice said casually. She set aside the thumb with the gold ring, and washed the piranha's abdomen with the river's water.

The corners of Xiao Ya's mouth twitched slightly. He looked at the thumb that showed deep white bones, and then at the pretty girl who looked nonchalant and was concentrating on cleaning the piranha. A very incongruous feeling arises.

It's very incongruous, very incongruous.

He couldn't help but open his mouth and say, "Hey, did anyone say that you don't look like a girl at all?"

Alice tilted her head slightly, and replied with a little surprise, "Yes, I haven't received this kind of evaluation before." The dagger in her hand slashed rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, all the scales and hard bones of the piranha were removed, and a few more knives were struck in her hand.

"I feel like you're more like a man......," Xiao Ya said halfway and hurriedly added. "I'm not saying you look like a man, I'm talking about your way of doing things. ”

Alice's shoulders trembled slightly. He muttered in a low voice, "I'm not interested in women. She held the piranha in place with her dagger, and a flame erupted from her palm to completely envelop the fish, and in a matter of moments, the smell of grilled fish came from the boat.

"Uh...... I didn't mean that ......," Xiao Ya replied, a little embarrassed. He scratched his head, a little overwhelmed.

"Oh, what do you mean?" Alice set off the fire and took out a little salt from her backpack and sprinkled it. She thought for a moment and smeared another layer of mustard on it.

"It's probably the mentality and means of dealing with things. ”

"I don't understand what you're talking about, can you go into more detail?" the girl plucked the leaves of Nightshade and Deathknell, and inserted them evenly into the slit cut by the flower knife. Then she consists of smeared with chili oil, sprinkled with mint and mustard.

"Uh...... This ......" Xiao Ya tried to explain, but his attention involuntarily shifted to the 'thing' that Alice was making.

What is this? Grilled fish? Grilled fish that can be sent directly to Akai?

The light blue translucent jelly stuffed into the belly of the fish is frost troll fat! And is it really okay to smoke with rose essential oil? At this time, you should pour a bottle of water on it anyway!

Xiao Ya felt that his worldview seemed to need to be reinvented. But maybe he's mistaken, maybe the girl in front of him is actually making some kind of terrible poison?

The next moment, his stupid fantasies were shattered.

"Ah, it's finally cooked!I've been hungry for a long time!" the girl cheered, picking up the 'grilled fish' and biting down.

"Don't-"

"Don't?" Alice tilted her head and looked at him quizzically. But it dawned on him that he said, "Oh, do you want to eat it too?" ”

The next moment, half of the 'grilled fish' fell on Xiao Ya's outstretched palm.

"No ......"

"You're welcome, eat it while it's hot!"

Xiao Ya swallowed a mouthful of saliva with a grunt. Facing the burning gaze of the girl in front of him, he couldn't think of a refusal for a while. In his senses, the grilled fish in his hand was so heavy that it seemed to be able to reach half the world.

Life...... Unbearable.

"Huh, what's that?" he suddenly saw something strange and whispered to Alice's side and back.

Alice quickly turned her head away, but she didn't find anything strange. It was water but water, and she couldn't see anything.

When she turned around, Xiao Ya seemed to have stuffed the whole piece of fish into her mouth, and was covering her mouth and munching on it. So Alice put what had just happened behind her. Looking at the man in front of him excitedly.

"How's it going?" asked the girl eagerly.

"Hmm. Xiao Ya touched her lips. "It's rich, fragrant and mellow. It's just that the taste is a little strong. ”

"Oh, it looks like there's too much pepper. I see, next time I'll try to put some ice salt to neutralize it. Alice replied satisfied. Then she lowered her head and took a small bite of her own half of the grilled fish under Xiao Ya's frightened gaze. She shook her head slightly as she ate. Commented softly.

"Hmm...... Sure enough, it's a little heavy. Next time, maybe you should add some spirit skins and jellyfish to dry in. ”

"Jamila's taste was really problematic, so I said that what I made must be fine. ”

Hearing what she said, Xiao Ya's forehead twitched unconsciously. He unconsciously pressed his right pocket, and his fingers were a little cold.

This kind of thing...... Is it really something you can eat?

The next moment, his body stiffened.

Inside the pocket, there is nothing.

Then he noticed that there seemed to be a lot of white on the water behind Alice on the other side of the boat. The stuff floated feebly, kind of like dead fish and crabs or stuff.

Oh, could it be...... Poisoned to death, right?

He just pretended not to see it, but his hands quietly accelerated the paddling action.