Chapter 2: The Dragon Cave

Rebri seemed to have merged with the hull of the ship, his senses extending infinitely along its surface. His gaze remained fixed ahead, seemingly motionless, but Komer knew that Rebri was monitoring every move of the jellyfish-like creatures underwater, ready to warn them immediately if anything unusual occurred.

Sorenberg, standing nearby, resembled a cheetah with its fur bristling—his gaze swept slowly across the water’s surface, while his hands had already drawn his knight’s gun and placed it on the deck. Though several steps away, everyone could sense the intense murderous aura emanating from his weapon, as if it were about to explode at any moment, searching for a target to unleash its fury upon.

Everyone noticed the odd behavior of Komer, Rebri, and Sorenberg. Although Haireddin was skilled in navigation and close-quarters combat at sea, he was helpless against a threat that even the enemy couldn’t see. Grace, the only one who had followed Komer, also sensed something amiss. Though she couldn’t pinpoint where the enemy was, she felt the external threat. Her dagger was already at her waist, and her tense body pressed against the edge of the deck, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.

“Mr. Gate, something doesn’t seem right. It seems we’re surrounded. Could you go take a look and see if there’s some misunderstanding?” As Komer assessed the situation, he tried to raise his magic power to its peak, silently reciting spells. Though he didn’t want conflict due to a misunderstanding, the jellyfish-like creatures were a reclusive race. If they attacked without reason, self-defense through force might be necessary to protect themselves.

Although he frequented these waters, Gate was clearly facing this situation for the first time. Seeing everyone prepared for battle, his relaxed mood instantly turned tense. He hurriedly stepped out of the cabin and looked around, hoping to spot one or two familiar jellyfish-like creatures.

Komer and Rebri immediately sensed a change in the underwater atmosphere. The tense situation, which had been on the verge of erupting, eased slightly with Gate’s arrival. Yet, Komer’s group still saw no sign of the enemy emerging.

“Mr. Gate, they’re all underwater. Please go and talk to them to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings.” Although Komer stopped reciting the spells, he remained cautious. After all, this was his first encounter with the notoriously dangerous jellyfish-like creatures, and he didn’t want to risk the lives of everyone on board.

A strange and incomprehensible stream of words came from Gate’s mouth. Although Komer didn’t understand what Gate was saying, he could sense that Gate was reporting his situation according to some specific procedure. This place was likely the Jellyfish People’s first line of defense. Perhaps merchants who entered normally wouldn’t be affected, but once the Jellyfish People noticed something unusual, they would immediately go on high alert and even launch an attack.

Suddenly, thousands of ripples spread across the water’s surface, as if countless water monsters had suddenly risen from the calm river. Dozens of heads appeared out of nowhere around the stopped ship. Wet heads with hostile and warning gazes stared at Komer and his group, creating an eerie and oppressive atmosphere. Even Grace, who was usually bold and outspoken, couldn’t help but scream and quickly covered her mouth.

Cold and indifferent gazes swept over Gate. After a long while, one of them, whom Komer couldn’t tell any difference from the others, spoke in a stiff and odd tone, “Gate, it seems you’ve violated our agreement. By rules, you’re only allowed to bring two delivery servants. They’re not delivery people—you deserve punishment!”

“Gentlemen, I think I need to explain. I, Gate, have been dealing with you for quite some time now. I know better than anyone what’s acceptable and what’s not. There’s a reason these friends are here, and they’ll surely explain it to you soon. I suppose the Jellyfish People aren’t unreasonable either. Now the initiative is in your hands—what is there to fear? At worst, it’s just a few lives. Are you afraid we’ll fly away?”

Gate’s words left the Jellyfish People standing in the water, with gloomy expressions, confused and at a loss. Even Komer and his group were impressed. They had thought he was just another experienced merchant, but he managed to speak in such a reasonable and confident manner. Even the Jellyfish People probably had never seen anyone dare to speak to them so boldly before, and for a moment, they didn’t know how to respond.

It was probably rare to encounter such a situation as well. The jellyfish-like being who spoke first hesitated for a long time, then turned back to discuss with his companions for quite some time, yet still failed to reach a consensus. Perhaps their opinions were divided—some firmly opposed allowing strangers in, arguing that inviting outsiders to the meeting had brought countless troubles, while others believed Gate was a trustworthy acquaintance, and since these people had come in, they might indeed have important matters to discuss, so it would be better to let them in. After all, the trading area wasn’t some particularly secret restricted zone, and they held control over the lives of these people, so there was no need to be overly anxious.

Komer and Gate’s group patiently waited for them to reach a decision. On the other hand, the jellyfish-like being who spoke first felt embarrassed by the internal disputes among his own group, so he simply agreed to let them head straight to the trading area to report to the leader in charge of trading, who would decide the fate of these people.

The ship finally moved forward again on the calm waters. The Catania River was quite wide, but near the banks there were thick reed forests, which served as good raw material for papermaking and added greenery to both sides of the river. Yet within those dense reed forests lay the free kingdom of the jellyfish-like beings. Most of their youth was spent in these marshy areas, where they could live freely without worrying about threats from the outside world.

Komer and Rebrí could sense eyes silently tracking them. The jellyfish-like beings’ suspicion and caution were indeed extraordinary. Although they thought everything was under control, their keen senses made them feel that these strangers on the ship were not so simple, so it was crucial to maintain necessary vigilance.

Komer, however, observed with interest the armed forces among these jellyfish-like beings silently moving in the water. Although he couldn’t see any weapons on them, Komer was certain that in the event of a conflict, their weapons would likely be fired from the water immediately. Though the jellyfish-like beings weren’t magicians, their nature endowed them with innate abilities in certain water-based magic. According to historical records Komer knew, their water-based magic had caused great suffering to the human naval forces at the time and was one of the main reasons why those humans fled in disarray.

The jellyfish people have a quite unique way of moving through water—they keep only their eyes above the water’s surface while their bodies glide skillfully through it, seemingly without any resistance or need for propulsion, moving silently and lightly through the water, which gives an eerie feeling.

The river grew wider, and the reed forests on both sides became denser. Gradually, scattered lands began to appear beneath the reed forests where there used to be lakes. Of course, these areas were called land only in comparison to the pure water on the river surface. In reality, no one could walk on this so-called land; it was actually a swamp, an endless expanse of marshland.

Komer observed from afar the series of corridors that seemed to be made of some kind of plant. As the boat drew closer, he heard the voice of the barefoot merchant beside him: “Mr. Komer, that’s our trading area. These corridors and the buildings enclosed by them are where we outsiders rest and wait. Once we get there, they’ll send someone to negotiate the inspection and finalize the deal. It won’t take long. As soon as the deal is done, we must leave immediately. It’s always the same people every time—the jellyfish people never want to have much contact with us.”

The boat finally approached the corridor area, which consisted of crude structures built from special wooden logs on the floating mud. The moment they stepped onto the corridors, Komer gently touched the wooden logs. These weren’t ordinary oak or fir wood; a faint magical energy rippled in his palm upon touch—probably from some special plants native to this vast swamp. The joints were secured with dried reed stems and leaves. There were a few simple wooden tables and benches. It was hard to imagine that this was the jellyfish people’s designated trading area.

As the group stepped onto the corridors under the jellyfish people’s surveillance, Komer could sense a tremor arising immediately underwater. He guessed that these jellyfish warriors were probably using some special method to communicate, perhaps to summon those responsible for handling such matters.

“Mr. Komer, my task is complete. Everything else now depends on you. The Jellyfish People have peculiar temperaments and ways of thinking that differ greatly from ordinary people. I hope you won’t anger them, otherwise we’ll all end up as food for the fish here.” When everyone stepped onto the balcony, the Barefoot Society merchant could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Although nothing had actually changed, the solid feeling of standing on the balcony provided a great deal of psychological comfort. Coming here might mean entering a truly substantive area. Looking around, the reed marshes, like green walls, swayed gently in the breeze, as if the entire world were still while only this green wall world was moving. As Komer was admiring the scene, a mighty energy sword suddenly shot straight into the sky from deep within the reeds. Even Rebril, Sorenberg, and Grace beside him noticed this anomaly.