He remembered the moment of turmoil and fear in New Grande, and the lonely figure of Belcleral he saw.

He remembered the look on the man's face as he let the traitor Iban lead him and desperately try to escape.

The expression was neither fearful, sluggish, nor unconcerned. So what is it?

Resignation – yes, that's it!

It seemed that he knew the fate that awaited him, but he nevertheless moved forward.

Indeed, when Berclere and Iban arrived at the gate, hundreds of tons of stones fell from the defenses.

Bury them under rocks that must be lifted by the dragon's strange power.

Of course, if the two bodies are not found, it is like evaporating from the world.

At least Iban's body can't be found.

A few weeks later, at a banquet celebrating the wedding of Scarlet Moon and Riverwind, Robert and Stone saw Beclercle alive again.

Before they could catch him, the man disappeared into the crowd. They haven't seen him since.

Until Robert found him calmly mending sails on this ship three days ago, no, four days ago.

Berclere set the ship along, his face calm.

Robert leaned against the railing on the side of the boat - and began to retch.

There was nothing about Berclery, but Marstel didn't say a word about the crew.

Marstelle, in order to explain their sudden departure, only said that she had received information that the dragoons would be particularly interested in their ship.

Therefore, it is wise to sail to the open sea as soon as possible.

None of the crew raised any questions. They don't have the slightest affection for the Dragoons, and most of them have stayed in Furosan long enough anyway that they have run out of money.

Robert also did not explain to his friends the reason for his haste to leave.

Everyone had heard the story of the Emerald Man, and although they didn't mention it for the sake of face (Calamon was quite unavoidable), Robert knew they thought he and Stone had drunk too much at their wedding.

Nor did they ask why they risked going to sea at this time. Their trust in him is unwavering.

Robert, seasick and gnawed away from guilt, curled up pitifully on the deck, staring out at the sea.

Scarlet Moon's excellent medical abilities helped him to a certain extent, but even the priest couldn't do anything about the churning in his stomach, and the struggle of his soul was not something she could help with.

Calamon was surprised to find that even Rodrith seemed quite at ease.

The mage sat far away from the others, hiding under the cover of a sailor's calamity, trying not to get wet.

The mage didn't get seasick. He doesn't even cough very often. It seemed that he was often lost in his own thoughts, and his golden eyes shone brighter than the sun looming in the dark clouds.

When Robert mentioned his fearful pursuers, Marstel just shrugged.

The Perichu was much faster than the dragoon's big ship. They managed to slip out of the harbor, and only other pirate ships noticed their whereabouts.

In that group, no one asks questions.

The sea becomes calmer and smoother in the gentle breeze.

The dark clouds hung low on the surface of the sea all day long, and finally they were blown away by the fresh sea breeze.

At night, the sky is clean and full of stars. Marstel let the ship rush into the wind. The hull of the ship swept swiftly across the water.

The next morning, everyone woke up to see the most terrifying sight on the Candela continent.

They reached the edge of the Ishtar Sea of Blood.

When the sun appears like a golden sphere from the western horizon.

The Perichu sailed into the waters as red as a mage's red robe, into the sea that looked like blood foaming from the corners of a mage's mouth when he coughed.

"It's a good name," Robert said to River Breeze as he stood on deck.

The two looked side by side at the red, muddy waters. They can't see too far.

An impending storm hangs in the sky, enveloping the waters under a lead-gray curtain.

"I don't believe it. River Breeze shook his head solemnly. "I've heard William mention this place.

I'd heard him talk about sea dragons that could swallow big ships, and women with fish tails, but this—" The Plainsman shook his head, looking uneasily at the blood-red waters.

"Do you think this sea is really red with the blood of all the people who died on Ista when the burning mountains hit the Pope's temple?" asked Crimson as she walked up to her husband's side.

"Nonsense!" said Marstel disdainfully.

She walked across the deck to join them, her eyes constantly looking around, making sure she had the entire ship and crew running at its best.

"You've been abducted by Pig-faced William again!" she laughed. "He likes to scare you like to scare you like dirt buns.

The color of this body of water is dyed red by the red soil that has been washed up from the bottom of the sea.

Remember, we're not sailing on gravel, unlike the bottom of the ocean here.

Once dry ground, it was once the richest capital of Ista and included the fertile suburbs that surrounded it.

When a mountain falls, it splits the land in half. A large amount of water rushed in from the sea and became this new ocean.

Ishtar's wealth is now buried beneath the stormy seas. “

Marstel looked overboard with dreamy eyes, as if she could see through the murky waters, see the legendary wealth of the sea, the lost city.

She sighed longingly. Scarlet Moon looked at the greedy captain with disgust, and a sad shadow appeared in her eyes as she thought of this terrible catastrophe and the precious lives sacrificed in it.

"What is it that keeps the dirt up there?" said River Breeze, frowning as he looked at the blood-red waters below.

"Even with the force of the tides and waves, the heavier soil should still be deposited back to the bottom of the sea. ”

"That's right, barbarian. Marstel looked at the tall barbarian with admiration. Explain, your countrymen are farmers, at least I know so, and are familiar with the soil.

Put your hand in the water and you can feel the particles of the earth. Suppose there is a huge whirlpool in the center of the sea of blood.

Spinning with tremendous force and stirring up the dirt underneath may result in a scene in front of you.

However, whether this is true or the pig-faced William's nonsense, I can't say for sure.

I've never seen this whirlpool, and neither have the sailors around me.

Since I was a child, I learned the art of sailing from my father, and after so many years of sailing on the seas, I have never seen that thing.

No one I know would be stupid enough to sail into the middle of the sea in that great storm. “

"And how are we going to get to Mislath?" Robert frowned. "If your chart is correct, it's on the other side of the sea. ”

"Assuming we have pursuers behind us, we can go south to Mislath.

If not, we can sail around the west shore of this sea to the north side of Ras Nordmar. Don't worry, half-elf. Aqua shook his hand conceitedly.

"At least you can boast that you've been to the Sea of Blood: one of the wonders of Candela. ”

Marstel turned and walked to the rear, away from the group of people who were talking incessantly.

"Attention deck! there's a situation on the west side!" shouted the lookout man.

Marstel and Clough immediately pulled out their binoculars and looked at the western horizon.

Everyone exchanged uneasy glances and gathered together.

Even Rodrith stepped out of the cover of the Victorious Storm and walked across the deck, his golden eyes looking west.

"A ship?" Marstel grumbled to Clough.

"It's not. The Minotaur said in the lingua franca of other feet. "Maybe it's a cloud. But it's fast, very fast. Faster than any cloud I've seen. ”

At this time, everyone could see the black dots on the horizon, gradually growing larger in front of their eyes.

Robert felt a throbbing pain in his body, as if he had been pierced by a sword.

The pain was so real that he gasped and grabbed Calamon's clothes to avoid falling.

The others looked at him with concern, and Calamon kindly reached out to his friend.

Robert knew what was flying towards them.

He also knew who was leading them.

"A bunch of wyverns!" said Rodrith as he walked up to his brother. "I believe there are at least five of them. ”

"Dragon!" Marstel was taken aback.

For a moment, her trembling hands grasped the railing, and she turned around and gave the order, "Full sail!"

The crew stared to the west, their hearts clenched by the approaching horror.

With nothing but the beloved ship on her mind, Marstel raised her voice and repeated the command again.

Her strong, calm voice overpowered the crew's faint fear of the dragon.

Several crew members instinctively jumped up to carry out the order, and slowly, more people began to move along.

Clough and his whip were always pumping at people who were too slow, which also helped.

Within minutes, the largest sails were open to the wind, and the ropes and masts began to roar.

"Keep her by the storm!" Aqui shouted to Belcleral.

The man nodded sluggishly, and from his empty expression it was hard to tell if he had heard or not.

Evidently he heard it, as the Perichu began to approach, the never-receding storm of the Sea of Blood.

It was pushed forward by its strong wind, and it was advancing on the crest of the wave on the edge.

It was a very risky thing to do, as soon as one mast was blown away, a rope broke, and one sail cracked, they were dead.

But she had to take a gamble, and it was the only way.

"It's useless. Rodlis said coldly.

"You can't get rid of the dragon. You see, how quickly they caught up with us. Half-elf, you've been stalked from the beginning. He turned to face Robert.

"From the time you left their camp...... Or," the mage said hoarsely, "or you brought them here, or so to speak, you brought them here!"

Rodlis finally spoke, he didn't want to hide it anymore, it was time to uncover the truth.

Robert was shocked when he heard this, he knew that the magician had already seen his inner thoughts, but he didn't expect Rodrith to open his mouth so early.