Aleen dragged Angor towards Mara. Angor felt awkward at first, but when he saw no sign of disapproval in Mara’s expression, he slowly joined Aleen.
“Grandpa, and brother. You came too!” Aleen rushed over to hug Mara.
Mara greeted Aleen with a smile. “Wait, Lady Merlin is about to channel mana into the nightmare stone. You better keep your distance.”
The three kids nodded and followed Mara until they were away from the escorts.
The graceful escort in elegant formal dress, Lady Merlin, walked to the front of the ship with slender steps. Under everyone’s gaze, she floated the figurehead statue into the air using an unknown power and slowly put it in front of herself.
The figurehead of The Redbud was a praying maiden wearing gauze robe. It left Angor with a deep impression when Angor first saw it because he felt something mysterious from the gem embedded on the forehead of the statue. However, he was not a supernatural yet, so the faint feeling was all he could get.
Now, what Lady Merlin was casting finally confirmed Angor’s question on that day.
The pale crimson gem on the maiden’s forehead was a supernatural item and an extraordinary magic crystal at that. It was called the “nightmare stone”.
As Lady Merlin used her magic to control the nightmare stone, Mara began explaining the item to the kids.
Nobody knew where the nightmare stones came from, even though it was rumored that there was something to do with another plane. The stones were extremely rare and could be used to create illusions without using magic formulas. It was considered a priceless artifact used in illusions of the Occult Art.
An ordinary nightmare stone the size of a sand drop could create an area of illusion covering dozens of meters. The nightmare stone on the praying maiden statue was as big as a toddler’s fist, and could easily cover a space that extended for half a kilometer under an illusion.
Sweat drops came down from Lady Merlin’s forehead. A visible wave like water ripples covered the entire ship. Lady Merlin let out a sigh in the end, waved her hands, and returned the statue to its original position. She looked a bit exhausted.
“The Mirror Veil was deployed. The Cloud Whale won’t break the illusion as long as we don’t attack it first,” said Lady Merlin. She walked back, limping a little. Activating a nightmare stone required an awfully large amount of mana.
“Return to your work. You were right, the Cloud Whale has a gentle nature and will not seek destruction for no reason. We’re fine with the protection of Mirror Veil,” said Lady Merlin. She waved a hand at the second captain to ask him to go away.
When Lady Merlin returned to the platform, the second captain had already ordered his sailors to disperse the onlookers. Most people had left the deck, and talents had returned to their own rooms.
Komoen from the Gravity Forest looked at the Cloud Whale in the sky for quite a while. With a passionate expression, he said, “The Cloud Whale can manipulate the power of the sea, and exchange air around it using its air sac to fly in the sky. The creature is one of the best mounts for traversing the ocean. If only I could…”
He did not finish his words, but his desire towards the Cloud Whale was obvious enough.
Lady Merlin and Florent did not say anything. A Cloud Whale was as strong as a formal wizard. Apprentices like them would better spend more time meditating than wasting time thinking about the impossible.
“Um? Look! Something’s coming down the sky!” A sailor on the deck suddenly shouted.
That made everyone still on the deck raise their heads to look.
About a kilometer up in the sky, a crimson dot slowly dropped down, like a feather falling in the wind. No matter how long it dropped, it only turned in place without going into another direction.
Also, there was no doubt that the crimson dot was coming towards The Redbud.
It was still far, so the kids could not make out what that was. On the other hand, the four apprentice wizards had already begun to use their far-sight spells. Various colors shined over their eyes.
“It’s a human!” Komoen yelled.
“A woman in red,” Mara said. He saw more details compared to Komoen.
“An umbrella?” That was the only thing Lady Merlin could say after hesitating for a while, but it already showed that her observation was even better. The woman was falling like a feather because of a beautifully crafted umbrella.
The last one to comment was Florent. He had been wearing a serious look, and his gray hair and beard flowed upwards despite gravity. A stern look appeared on his once kind expression. When looking carefully enough, one could also find a bit of terror in it…
“It’s Flora,” said Florent. His voice had trembled when he spoke.
“Flora? Which Flora?” Komoen clearly did not understand.
Lady Merlin seemed to realize something. Her pupils shrunk and she pointed towards the red dot with a shaking finger, “You mean, Flora the Blood Witch?”
Florent nodded slowly and grimly.
Everyone fell into silence.
The three kids did not make any sound either since the lords and ladies were acting like this. Angor noticed that all the apprentice wizards seemed shocked, so whoever was coming was surely someone special.
Angor already witnessed the cruelty of the wizarding world. He feared that the visitor might suddenly attack them out of the blue, so he slowly dragged Alan and Aleen away. In the end, the kids leaned against the door leading into the lookout room.
Mara recovered from his initial shock. He quickly glanced at the kids, pushed the door open, and urged the children into the lookout room.
“Hide. Do not make a sound. Flora is a formal wizard, and a black one. Those people usually do not care the life and death of common people, but she won’t harm you as long as you stay out of her sight,” Mara warned the kids with seriousness and painful expression. He then closed the door.
Mara joined Florent in a shaken mood. He was telling the truth—formal wizards would never kill common ones for no reason, not because they were kind, but because their lifestyle was too far away from common folks. Would someone chase after an ant on the street? No. Even apprentice wizards were just like ordinary people in the eyes of formal wizards, but they had to stay here. They were the only strength on this ship. Someone had to “welcome” this formal wizard.
More importantly, that was Flora! A wizard who was famous for her bloodlust in the entire southern region.
Mara felt his legs shaking.
…
“Lady Flora was on top of the Cloud Whale, which means the creature could have been that man’s mount…” Lady Merlin addressed the formal wizard in a respectful way, even if she knew that Flora was actually younger than herself. A lot younger.
They used Eagle Eye spell to check the Cloud Whale again. As expected, they saw something else. A group of demon falcons was circling around the whale’s back.
Demon falcons were originally predator eagles from arctic areas. They became demon falcons once made into scout avatars by wizards.
Demon falcons could not survive on the sea because they must find replenishment on the ground every day, and of course, they could not do that here. So someone must have been feeding them and considering their position, that feeding place should be on the back of the whale.
A demon falcon was that man’s favorite familiar. Realizing that, indescribable fear climbed onto everyone’s face.
“If that man is hostile against The Redbud, I’m afraid that even Lord Sabot won’t stand a chance,” said Komoen. He had completely given up his idea towards the Cloud Whale. He did not even dare to think about it anymore.