Chương 1308: [1224] – Y06.124 – The Windy Warhawk IV

"He's queer, Captain," the merman whispered.

"Yes, I did notice his ears, Jan."

"No, no, not like that. Aye, not like that at all, Captain. Says he isn't gay." Captain O'Shan made a face, as though an Aldishman had promised to pay on time.

"Don't speak such curses while we're out on the waves!"

"That's what he said, Captain."

"He must have spent too much time around the Aldish, but… didn't he say he was the Iyrman's brother? Does he just hate himself? His people? I didn't notice a terrible look in his eye, just a bow of kinship. What a shame to deny himself in such a way, his heritage, his culture." Captain O'Shan shook his head, mourning the half elf's pride.

"I don't like it, Captain. A half elf that isn't gay is like an Iyrman that lies. I ain't ever heard of it, and I never want to hear of it."

"We'll see how straight he is." The Captain reached up to his silver necklace, though the merman grabbed his hands.

"That's not what I was talking about. I'm telling you, he's strange."

"Yes, I did notice his ears, Jan."

"Not like that. He knows of bourbon, but not the Berben family. He shouts for seadrakes to attack, more than one. He is the brother of an Iyrman, and from what I see, most, if not all of his companions, are as strong as our warriors, they could clash with our strongest too."

"That strong?"

"You see them, Captain," Jan stated.

"You know it to be true." His eyes scanned across them one by one. Adam, the fool, who seemed to somehow carry a large amount of respect from his peers, not as a respectable fellow, but something else. Apparently the King wanted him to leave the city for one reason or another, and he had dared to go against a Captain, the daughter of the Marquise, which he may not have known.

Then there was the Iyrman, who stood tall and strong, and all that needed to be said about him was that he was the grandson of the Mad Dog, and seemingly lived up to such a role. Then there was the other Iyrman, who held a certain aura about her, perhaps the leader in the shadows. Then there was the older Aswadian, who carried himself with the sharpness of a man who have lived through thousands of battles, wielding such a fine spear, magical without a shadow of a doubt.

The half dragon was certainly a dragon in disguise, who seemed so bored, eager for battle. Even those of the fellows who wielded longswords, the half elf with the greatsword, and the large man with the boyish face, who had begun to grow a beard, and was an Iyrman's dream. No, not just them. The younger Iyrmen, each in their early twenties or so, held a certain sharpness to them too, each at least Experts, that much was for certain.

Then there were the red skinned Iyrmen, who wore certain tattoos, no doubt related to that woman who they had heard of. Taygak smiled, feeling a light buzz upon the ship, while John, who remained near the mast, was glad all the rumours were true, that the ship could truly fly upon the water, while Brittany remained near the mast, not liking how swiftly the ship was moving.

'What are they truly doing here?' Captain O'Shan wondered, though he wasn't about to ask, since he was a professional.

"Oh yeah, we're just heading to Aswadasad," Adam replied casually.

"We're hoping to do some business there, though most importantly, I need to go speak with the Priest Commander of Black Mountain, since I want to steal away some people from him."

"Wow! The Priest Commander?" The young half elf said, who was in her late teens or so. She wore a scale cuirass, and carried a blade and a club at her side, though didn't seem like she was here to fight, having mostly spent her time keeping the ship clean.

"Yeah, I ended up stealing away Manager Dunes without asking for permission, but who could blame me! He's such a handsome guy, and so powerful, and his children are way too cute, so I can't surrender them," Adam admitted, saying far too much, but he couldn't help himself since the young woman seemed so hungry for tales of adventure. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"How are you going to steal him away?" the girl asked, her brows raised in expectations.

"Gold," Adam said.

"I'm going to drown him in so much gold, they'll tell stories of the Adam of Adams in the future!"

"Wow! Are you rich?"

"Ah, well… not as rich as you might think, but… I'm the kind of guy that, if I need the money, I can get it pretty quickly, and I'm not afraid to spend it."

"How much gold do you have?"

"I can't say because it'll get me killed, but… I did earn more than ten thousand during a tournament by betting on myself."

"What! You fought a tournament? Did you win?"

"Ah, well… my first tournament, I had to step back, since it was the King's Sword's daughter, and her cousin. So I decided to beat up Vasera and got third."

"What?" The teen replied, furrowing her brows.

"Vasera? You mean Vasera the Savage?"

"The brass half dragon, yeah," Adam said.

"It was back in… I don't know, almost four years ago now?"

"You're taking my water!" The half elf fumed, narrowing her eyes.

"I'm not the smartest, but I know when I'm being played the fool."

"If you don't believe me, you should ask the Iyrmen. Just like the Iyrmen, I don't lie."

"Yeah? You think you're so tough? I'll bet you a hundred silver you can't beat Ashuk."

"Who is Ashuk?"

"The inasir who wields that longspear," she said, pointing to the waterman who wielded a longspear, who wore only a pair of shorts, and the scars of battle.

"He's one of our Monster Trio, almost at the…"

"Yeah?"

"He's strong," she said, smirking at him, quickly catching herself from saying too much.

"Is he a Rage Dancer?"

"A Storm Dancer," she confirmed.

"I might have some trouble then," Adam admitted, since Rage Dancers were difficult to beat, but he spoke about it so casually, as though he could truly face the terrifying monster.

"So? Are you going to run away?"

"I wouldn't mind facing him, but not on the ship," Adam replied, meeting the inasir's eyes, which had opened suddenly upon feeling the gaze.

"I can't wear my armour, and if I'm not in my armour, I won't be able to give you a good show."

"Captain!" the teen called, the Captain flashing a wide smile, since such a tone only meant one thing.

"A show?" Captain O'Shan asked as he approached, revealing such a beautiful smile, one might have thought he was a half elf.

"He's strong in armour."

"Who is to fight?"

"Ashuk."

"Ashuk?" The Captain laughed.

"If you fight without armour, then he will fight without his Dance." Adam's ears twitched, and a wild grin flashed across his face, his eyes darting to meet Jurot's.

'Did you hear that?'

'I heard that,' Jurot's eyes replied.

"Well, well, well, I can't say no if he's not going to Dance!" Adam said.

"Just to confirm, you mean he won't Rage during our battle?"

"That is correct."

"Ho ho!" Adam rolled his shoulders, his heart suddenly taking flight.

"Well then, well then, ho ho! I suppose I'll have to don my shield and my axe!"

'Is he an idiot?' Captain O'Shan thought, eyeing up the half elf, who seemed to be acting as though he had already won.

"Even without his rage, he is a good opponent."

"Yeah, that's why I'm holding back by using Seventh Sky," Adam said, far too loudly, far too smugly.

"You? Hold back?" Ashuk asked, his voice low, almost gravelly.

"Well, what can I do, when it'll be dangerous for me if I beat you?" Adam replied, with a tone that was far too haughty when speaking to the likes of Ashuk. Ashuk's eyes then fell to the side, meeting the gaze of the fool's brother, and yet Jurot made no motion to stop himself. Ashuk's lips formed a wild grin.

"You are so fun?"

"Finally, someone who isn't a noble bastard," Adam said, smiling even wider.

"Do not worry, I will only take an eye."

"I'll ask you not to aim for my pretty face, for my wife's sake."

"I cannot make a promise."

"Please? I somehow managed to marry a Ray of Life's Rose, I don't want her to regret it."

"Hah!" Ashuk raised a brow.

"A Ray of Life's Rose? You?"

"Listen, man, I don't know how I did it, but I did!" Adam laughed with Ashuk, who continued to laugh as Adam continued the joke.

"You married a Ray, truly?" Captain O'Shan asked, silencing Ashuk's laughter.

"I did."

"How did you do that?"

"She wanted to be the mother to my adorable children, who treated her so well," Adam joked, winking at the half elf.

"Adam, you must treat the Captain with respect," Jurot stated.

"Ah, excuse me," Adam replied, quickly straightening up.

"I'm not sure, but I suppose it's because I have a good heart, though my beautiful face helped, and, yeah, our children are really adorable. Also, I'm rich enough to donate quite a lot of gold to the Order, and I'm sure all the magical equipment helps."

'Will you allow him to say all that?' Dunes thought, his eyes trying to meet Jurot's, but the Iyrman remained still. Captain O'Shan began to understand what Jan meant, the only issue was, Jan had underplayed such words. Adam was one of those figures one could meet in a generation, who caused a storm wherever he went. Even now, the half elf's eyes remained confident, against the likes of Ashuk, whose pressure was almost overwhelming, to the point the human fellow's entire skin grew wet with sweat.

"How powerful are you?" the half elf Captain asked.

"Jurot," Adam called, holding the half elf's gaze.

"Ashuk will understand when they cross blades."

"How will you hold back against our Ashuk?"

"I won't be using my armour, the greatest weapon we have in our midst, and I won't be using my greatest magic."

"You are an Oathsworn?"

"Let's just say that I'm one of Baktu's favourites."

'What?' Captain O'Shan's eyes darted to meet Jurot's, who remained complete unphased by what the half elf said.