Chapter 078: Saving the Sailboat (1)

Dick had served as captain for many years, navigating the Tianqing River hundreds of times, yet this was the first time he had ever faced such a dire situation!

The school of devilfish was only a few hundred meters from the ship, and beyond them lay the whirlpool. No matter how sturdy and reliable the "Sailing" was, encountering either the fish or the whirlpool would result in heavy losses, perhaps even the sinking of the ship.

Not far ahead lay the Three Perils of the Tianqing River. If the ship were destroyed at this moment, not only would the valuable cargo be lost, but the lives of many passengers would be forfeit. Thus, they had no choice—the "Sailing" must not meet disaster!

After precisely judging the situation, Dick quickly summoned several brothers and sons to gather all those on board with powers above the level of Spirit Illusionist. This was a moment of life and death; most would not stand idly by.

Rain poured down in torrents, lightning flashed and thunder roared—the weather was worsening rather than improving. With lives at stake, a small team of twenty or thirty soon gathered on the deck.

Dick acted decisively. The wind was blowing upstream, while their passenger ship was drifting downstream. Because of the rain, the sails had been taken in long ago; Dick assigned the majority to raise the sails again, hoping to harness the wind to slow their downstream progress as much as possible. If they could endure the storm, the whirlpool would gradually dissipate.

But it was thunderstorm weather, and the sails stood tall, making them prime targets for lightning. They were on the Tianqing River, and in such fierce wind and rain, the ship could not maneuver freely. Therefore, only powerful illusionists could be trusted with this task. Even if lightning struck, they could work together to redirect it, and if the mast were hit, their strength would allow them to protect themselves.

The whirlpool was stationary, but the devilfish were different. Even if they slowed their progress so the "Sailing" would not be drawn into the whirlpool before the storm ended, there was still a strong chance the ship would be attacked by the school of devilfish. If the "Sailing" were gnawed by thousands of razor-sharp fish teeth, its fate would be sealed—sinking.

Therefore, a small elite team had to be tasked with luring the devilfish away.

The illusionists assigned these tasks quickly got to work. Each was drenched to the bone, rain streaming down their chins and earlobes, nearly blinding them. Yet Shen Duo and Feng Jun remained dry and spotless, appearing as two oddities—but no one had time to notice, for everyone on deck was striving with all their might.

Dick turned his gaze to Shen Duo and Feng Jun, bowing deeply before them. Rain battered the battle-hardened captain, leaving him in a sorry state. "Honored guests, the lives of over a thousand souls depend on this moment. I beg you, please lend us your aid!"

Dick, over a hundred years old, was a keen judge of character. With one glance, he knew the young man and woman before him were capable of ensuring their safety even if the "Sailing" were destroyed. Saving the ship was not their necessity. Thus, he appealed to their humanity, hoping they would extend a helping hand.

Dick underestimated their sense of responsibility. Even if he hadn’t pleaded, Shen Duo and Feng Jun would never have stood by in such a crisis.

"Captain Dick, assign us any task you need. My brother and I will do everything in our power to help the 'Sailing' overcome this peril," Shen Duo replied earnestly.

Hearing this, Dick's face lit up with excitement. Without hesitation, he placed the most crucial task upon Shen Duo and Feng Jun. "You two, along with a team of ten elite illusionists, are to lure the devilfish away from the 'Sailing' as much as possible."

Dick knew the task was difficult, but he had no alternative. He could only trust them—this special team was now the hope of the entire "Sailing"!

After Dick's instructions, Shen Duo and Feng Jun felt the weight of responsibility settle on their shoulders. They nodded solemnly to Dick and immediately gathered their team to devise a plan. Wei Dong was among them.

With the three of them, the squad assigned to lure away the devilfish numbered thirteen, most of whom possessed the power of at least a three-star Spirit Illusionist.

Wei Dong, seasoned by years of training outside, had more experience than Shen Duo and Feng Jun. He had witnessed a smaller devilfish migration frenzy in Bohai and was familiar with their habits.

These herd-dwelling fish monsters were usually led by a commander—about one in every hundred was a leader, and devilfish leaders were generally Holy Illusion Beasts, sometimes even high-star Holy Illusion Beasts. To control the devilfish school, they first had to locate the leader. If they could control the leader, the attack power of the school would crumble.

Everyone quickly agreed this plan was feasible. Their next task was to find and subdue—or even kill—the leader among the devilfish.

The "Sailing" had several emergency spirit condors. Aside from Feng Jun, who could fight in the air, the rest would need tools or beasts to take to the sky.

Shen Duo asked, "Does anyone here know how to pilot a spirit condor?"

Spirit condors were the most common aerial transport on the Sacred Light Continent, equivalent to modern airplanes but far more widespread. Not every illusionist could pilot one, just as not everyone could drive a car.

Of the ten, only three admitted they could, which was already impressive. Spirit condors were low-level beasts with little intelligence and no aggression, useful only for transport—not like contracted beasts, which shared a mental bond with their illusionist partners and could fight alongside them.

Shen Duo assigned each of the three to a condor, dividing the squad into four groups: Feng Jun, Wei Dong, and herself in one group; the other ten split into three groups.

They would scout the fish school first, then the others would follow on condors, ready to receive instructions.

Shen Duo summoned Swiftwing from her beast space, and instantly, a graceful, agile silver wolf appeared before them. With a resounding howl, Swiftwing made a striking entrance, but in the thunderstorm, he was immediately drenched, his silvery fur plastered to his body, looking bedraggled and embarrassed.

If the showy Swiftwing could take human form, he would surely roll his eyes and curse aloud at this moment.

He complained via telepathy, a little aggrieved: "Xiao Duo, you called me out without warning me about the weather... I'm not like the Young Master Yusha who can sense what's happening outside from within the beast space." The wolf’s deep, magnetic voice made it hard not to smile.

But now was not the time for jokes. Shen Duo ignored his complaints and instructed Swiftwing to reveal his true form at once.

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Many high-level beasts later will take human form, so the author sometimes uses "it" or "he" interchangeably. Please forgive any confusion, and don’t forget to vote for the story!