C2 The Cult of Prymus

Pato's body stiffened as he came towards the pair and within two steps he fell to the ground, but even then he didn't stop moving in Albert's direction as he began to crawl forward on his hands and knees.

Albert sighed as he reached his hand out to Anthony, who hurriedly handed the pendant back to him.

"Gun."

When the crew, attracted by the sound of gunshots, rushed into the second floor cargo hold with their respective weapons, they were met with the shrunken corpse of Pato's

body.

The corpse was flipped and twisted like a dead bug.

Half an hour later, the crew released Pato's body on deck.

The airbag dragging Pato slowly rose and faded away, and the crew, after patting each other on the shoulder, returned to their work.

Albert leaned against the railing with a bottle of wine in his hand, he squinted at the withering sun, the few black dots gathered as if they were

locked eyes with Albert.

He shook his head and looked ahead, and as far as the eye could see, the emerald green color met the sky on the horizon, creating an infinitely long

line.

This was the blue sea, vast and wide, a sea of giant trees, and underneath the countless dense canopies was the land that the supreme sun could not even touch

The place is cold, damp, and full of evils.

It is cold and damp, full of vicious curses and maddening whispers, with evil spirits tossing in the mire and evil spirits wandering in the mist.

Human beings can only live on those empty islands hundreds of meters above the blue sea.

Albert closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, every time he looked into the blue sea, some kind of whisper echoed in his mind, he couldn't tell if it was himself remembering the horrible experience he had when he first came to this world, or if it was something he was actually hearing at the moment.

"Captain? n

Albert opened his eyes to find Anthony staring at him as he leaned against the railing next to him.

"You don't have to be chagrined, the crew knows how Pato's death was, no one blames you."

Albert didn't say a word, he saw something unseen in that averted look in Anthony's eyes.

It was a disguised regret.

"Captain, I'm not going to do it again after this trip back."

Albert took a sip of his wine and handed the bottle to Anthony.

"Why?'

The drink followed the sigh out of Anthony's mouth as he reached out and pointed at Pato, who was almost out of sight.

"I don't want to give my body to the supreme sun like him, and I don't want to fall into the horror of the blue sea like most of the people who run flying boats

in the middle of the sea.

I want to be buried in a cemetery and have my children visit me on holidays."

Albert sighed again, Anthony was more than just an experienced first mate to Albert, he was also his savior when he first came to this world.

He was the one who had spotted Albert riding in the canopy and lowered the flying ship to a height within rope's reach against Beehive's whispers that could drive a man mad.

"If you're worried about this particular cargo, then we just won't take on any more jobs like this afterward."

Anthony shook his head firmly as he looked at Albert with the wisdom and gentleness expected of an older man.

"No, Albert, I've been running flying ships for decades, and while other captains' charts are remarkable for having twenty air island locations on them, yours has seventy-seven air island directions detailed on it.

Look, it's not that I can't appreciate the joys of exploration, it's just that I'm too old and I'll trip you up!

I bet the congregation will be erecting statues of you in the near future, right next to those idols in the sanctuary!"

Albert laughed bitterly, he wasn't exploring for the sake of mankind, as Anthony had said.

The reason he kept exploring was that he was searching for a place called the Land of Return, the legendary empty island that connected the two worlds.

In his world, waiting for him were his dear friends in distress and those aging parents.

Anthony's determination to quit the quest was as strong as Albert's determination to find the place of return, and his retention paled into insignificance, leaving him to lose this powerful arm.

He could only allow himself to lose this powerful arm.

Three days later, the Crescent Moon was about to arrive at the mainland island of Valence.

Albert stood on the bridge holding the wooden box wrapped in three layers, looking at the horizon where the blue sea meets the sky, the gray rock wall slowly appeared.

colored rock wall.

At first it was just a dot, but as it got closer, the dot slowly turned into a line, and then it formed a long gray horizontal line between the blue sea and the sky.

The pier of the air harbor was very busy, there were merchants who came to buy off the goods, there were craftsmen who repaired the flying ships, and there were also beautiful women who threw winks at the young men in twos and threes.

There were merchants who came to buy out the goods, craftsmen who came to repair the flying ships, as well as beautiful women who winked at young men.

Shooting out the ropes, the Crescent Moon slowly entered the berth, helmsman Bond carefully controlled, the airbags on both sides of the flying boat hissed, adjusting the height of the Crescent Moon.

After docking, First Mate Anthony stood on the deck, skillfully maneuvering with the tax collector, Crew Chief Hillpeter assembled the crew and prepared to arrange the unloading of the cargo, and Helmsman Bond stood in his control area with a cigarette in his mouth, ready to adjust the buoyancy of the flying boat at any time to cooperate with the crew in unloading the cargo.

Albert strides out of the bridge, followed closely by Mechanic Connie.

"Fill the air tanks with compressed plume gas, plume gas is key to the lift of the flying ship, don't use the cheap stuff that's full of impurities.

Check the air bladders and steam engines, and it's time to take care of the auxiliary lift wings, they've been squeaking ever since Oak Island. ......"

The diminutive Connie took note of the captain's requests one by one, and as he watched the captain about to jump onto the dock, he reached out and pulled the other man's arm.

Albert turned to stare at Connie, casting a questioning glance.

Connie held the hat with the goggles in his hand and squeezed it around with a timid look on his face.

"Captain ...... I have a vision that will increase the speed of the Crescent in a short time.

It's just that ...... I promise to keep costs under control this time!"

Albert waved his hand, always responsive to the lad's requests regarding innovation.

"You're the best mechanic I've ever seen, Connie, give yourself some credit and be bold."

Although Albert had an encouraging look on his face, in his mind he was already doing the math.

Anthony needed a share of the money for his old age, the Crescent needed to be refueled with compressed plumes and fuel, the crew's pay, the cost of supplies for the next voyage, the cost of repairs, Connie's little inventions that burned up money but came in handy every time, and so on and so forth. ......

"It's the same in any world, it's really hard to move without money."

As one of the busiest ports on the Valance continent, Maple Leaf Town had a size that far exceeded that of other mainland towns, and it was even a bit larger than some uninhabited small empty islands.

There were not only locals from Valance Island, but also fair-skinned and blonde-haired girls from Moanke Island, and even those strict Bettygasts from Andares Island, who wore finger-thick chains around their necks to show their firm belief in the Lord for the rest of their lives.

Albert, carrying his sheeted trunk through the sea of people in the marketplace, bypassed the clanking blacksmith's store, and came to the Temple Street, where the Plame

In front of the majestic building of the Theosophical Church, the gateway was wide open.

Here the door was wide open, and the devout prostrated themselves on the ground, and after murmuring under their breath, they rose at the waist, and after taking two steps, prostrated themselves again.

A low, but extremely penetrating song came from the hall.

Those voices caused people's internal organs to tremble, making people truly feel a sense of awe from the inside out.

Inside the temple, beside the pillars carved with many idols, there was a line of benches, which were filled with believers, who put their hands together in front of their chests, and with the rise and fall of each chest, their murmurs were mixed together, forming a burst of reverberation, which swung back and forth between the stone walls of the hall, like a mournful dirge.

Albert did not join in the mass of the faithful; he was not a believer, whether in the light of the Prymnesian religion or in any other, he

did not believe in any of them.

He had come here only to deliver a predetermined shipment.

Soon, his eyes fell on the priest of the Church who was celebrating Mass.

The priest was dressed in rough gray robes, holding an upside down cross in his hands, and was chanting to guide the faithful in prayer.

Albert waited patiently until the ceremony was over and the crowds had faded away before he met the priest, Ullian, who was waiting for him in the direction of the side door of the final hall.

Urien stared at the parcel in Albert's arms for a long time, finally raising his eyes.

"Only the holy relics were brought back? That means you didn't find the place of return?"

Albert shook his head and said, "No. That description you gave about the Inferno God Cult does resemble the Returning Land, but it is not ......"

"Well ...... then you come with me."

The parish was large, and Albert followed Ullian out of the great hall, through the cloisters and stables, and finally stopped by a small house on the east side of the cemetery grounds.

Urien knocked gently on the door, and a low inquiry floated out.

"Lord Marius, Albert has come to visit, and I believe he has brought the holy relics."

Ullian said, while also looking at the package bleached blue in Albert's arms, his eyes filled with suspicion.

"Let him come in."

Ullian stepped back and made a gesture of invitation to Albert, who let out a breath and pushed the door open.

It was a house that was dark as hell, and the only source of light in the room was a flickering candle.

Bishop Marius sat behind a wooden round table, his entire face hidden in the shadow of his hood.

"It seems that you have succeeded in reclaiming our holy relics that were stolen by the Inferno Cult ......"

Marius' voice was very strange, like a gurgling sound coming from the throat of a person who was about to drown.

The sound sounded like a poisonous insect crawling up his back to Albert, causing him to instinctively feel danger.

"My Lord Bishop, where is my money?"

"Go on, Ullian will arrange everything."

Seeing that Albert refused to leave, Marius laughed, a laugh that sounded as if a few bubbles had risen from a swamp.

"Are you going to watch me inspect the goods?"

With Pato's downfall fresh in his mind, Albert could only excuse himself.

After Albert had gone, Bishop Marius stood up.

He raised his left arm, and several slippery tentacles protruded from his sleeve tubes, which ripped away the sheet from the crate and completely wrapped the small wooden crate carved with tentacle reliefs, as if the believers were flocking to their god.

"Ullian! Give him the money."

Ullian outside the house bent down and bowed after hearing the bishop's command, then pulled Albert out of the cemetery.

Five thousand Andadiel gold coins was not a small amount, it was enough to cope with the financial crisis that Albert was facing next.

As he walked, he pondered, wanting to use the money as much as possible on hardware upgrades to the Crescent Moon.

A sharp whistle cut through the sky, followed by a strong tremor coming from under his feet, Albert crouched down like a passerby and looked around.

"An earthquake?"

Luckily, the earthquake passed quickly, and the people on the street began to talk to each other, looking as if they didn't know what to do.

After experiencing the same confusion as the passersby, Albert let go of the pendant in his pocket, and he looked up to see that the dusky sun had again

one more wriggling black dot.