The boat was slightly shaking. A glass oil lamp had been tied to the broken mast and was the only source of light on the deck.
The oil lamp was made with a thick cylindrical glass. The only opening was at the bottom. It could easily handle the rain, as long as it did not get blown to the floor by the wind.
The two Grand Knights were working on both sides of the deck. Both of them lowered their bodies by the railings and tied themselves to the broken mast with ropes.
Under the dim light, the freezing raindrops were hitting Angele’s face. He narrowed his eyes and took a glance at the surface of the sea. The visibility was low, but he could still see the intense waves.
For some reason, Angele felt like something was not right. He decided to check the surroundings.
The followers saw Angele walking on the deck and bowed to him.
"Master Green, the storm is going strong. I would suggest you stay in the cabin. We’ll take care of the deck!" Isabel’s follower, the Grand Knight named Rivail, shouted.
The old man Gill added, "Yeah, it’s just a storm. We can handle it for you. Just go back to the cabin."
Angele’s brow furrowed. "Something’s not right here. I need to do some checking." After practicing the mentality compression technique, his senses had become much keener than before.
*Creak*
The door of the cabin was opened again, and Isabel too walked to the deck.
"What’s going on? You found something?" she questioned.
"It’s coming!" Angele pointed at the right side of the boat.
The others looked at the direction he was pointing at.
A black shadow with the height of a human being was quickly rushing to the boat from the right side. It was a creature with two large wings swinging so fast that they blurred.
"A… beetle?" Gill untied the black hammer from his belt and held it tight in his hands.
Rivail drew the double-edged silver axe from his back, preparing for a possible fight.
Angele finally had a clear view of the creature as it got closer.
It was a large black beetle; there was a strange bell-shaped mouth on its head. The two wings over its back were swinging incessantly. The beetle kept circling above the boat.
The light from the oil lamp cast a reflection on the beetle’s six razor sharp legs.
The noise made by its wings echoed in the sky.
"Wait! Don’t attack it!" Isabel yelled, "That’s a knell beetle! They come in groups. They won’t attack us on their own!"
The two followers heard Isabel’s words and thus lowered their weapons. They stood by the railing and watched the beetle flying around in the sky.
Angele’s expression turned serious. He had read about the knell beetles in a Wizard’s encyclopedia. They were described as a relatively aggressive wild creature.
"Why are they here? I thought they only existed in the books," Angele asked in a loud voice.
"This is a dangerous zone. I already told you, anything is possible," Isabel quickly explained, "Even the king of the sea, the merfolk, can’t terrorize this area. You can expect strong aggressive wild creatures and mutated fishes here."
Isabel raised her head and added, "But I don’t know why they are coming to us. Knell beetles won’t do anything if we’re not considered as threats."
"Maybe it’s the light on the deck." Angele lowered his voice.
They stopped chatting and watched the beetle flying around in the air quietly.
Blue light dots flashed in front of Angele’s eyes.
Rows of data were being refreshed beside the beetle’s body in his sight.
‘No forcefield detected. Scanning for attributes information.’
‘Knell Beetle: Strength higher than 7. Agility higher than 11. Stamina higher than 13. Mentality higher than 9. Checking the database… Ability: Shock wave. Sound wave resistance.’
‘Comparing the attributes… Higher than average Grand Knights. Lower than an average formal Wizard.’
The chip quickly reported the results back.
Angele felt a bit relieved. It was just one knell beetle, and it was not a threat.
Knell beetles mutated because of the pollution from the ancient Wizards’ experiments. Although it was an ancient species, its ancient blood was not valuable.
Not all ancient creatures had strong abilities.
"Knell beetle is usually found on the land… Why did it come to the sea?" Isabel wondered.
"Well, there’s one possibility…" Angele pointed at the further side on the right before finishing his sentence.
There was a large black ship approaching the boat in the rain.
The ship looked like a ghost ship from the tales. There was no sail and its body was broken. Angele did not see any person on the deck, but the ship was surrounded by countless dark shadows.
The ship was getting closer and closer.
The dark shadows looked like bees dancing around their nest. Angele’s expression changed after realizing that it was a whole group of knell beetles.
"It’s their nest!" Angele shouted, "More than a hundred knell beetles!"
Isabel bit her lips after hearing Angele’s words.
The power of a knell beetle nest could easily destroy their boat. If the knell beetles were enraged, they would release shockwaves. The damage those waves could inflict was immeasurable. Angele wondered if the brood mother was in the nest. According to the data, the knell beetle’s brood mother had a similar power level to that of a Gas stage Wizard. If the four lost their boat, they would die on the sea sooner or later.
"Wait, it’s a ship? Is that you? Wizard Milano?" Isabel suddenly shouted. She sent her words to the large black ship using energy particles.
However, there was no response from the ship.
The beetle over the boat slowly flew away and returned to the nest.
"They probably just built the nest in the ship," Angele stared at the knell beetle’s nest and said.
"Yeah…’ Isabel nodded. "I thought they were the pet of a Wizard I know."
"It’s good news to us actually. Knell beetles will lead us to land, as they won’t stay on the sea for too long. The only thing we need to do is follow after them," she added.
"Are you sure about this? Won’t they get provoked if we decide to follow their nest…?" Angele asked while his brows were furrowed.
"They won’t, I think. Knell beetles are not valuable to us and Wizards never hunted them. Also, most importantly, they don’t like the taste of human flesh…"
"So, the problem becomes how we can follow the speed of that ship." Angele asked, "Right?"
Isabel stared at the nest of the beetles and started thinking. She took a glance at Angele. This man had saved her for no reason. They had met during a mission, but for some reason, Isabel enjoyed the time she was spending with Angele.
However, Isabel needed to return to her family after the mission was finished. There was hardly any chance that she would develop a deep relationship with Angele.
Isabel had mixed feelings about the situation and she wanted to stay with Angele for a bit longer.
She slowly took down a dark crystal orb from her belt and threw it into the air. The fist-sized orb floated in the sky and turned into a black bird.
The bird had no eyes, mouth, or feathers. It was just a bird-shaped shadow with a pair of black wings.
Isabel raised her hand and pointed at the ship.
The black bird flew around in the air for several seconds and flew to the beetle’s nest.
"What is this?" Angele was curious. "A magical puppet?"
Isabel nodded, "It’s an alchemical creature. I call it the Shadow Sparrow. This creature can attack anything in my sight. Technically speaking, it’s created with metal." Isabel turned around and looked at Angele.
"Wait, do you have a familiar?" she questioned.
Angele shook his head. "I haven’t found one yet. The familiar will become one of my weak points if it’s not strong enough, but I’m trying to acquire a suitable one. "
"Is that so…" Isabel stopped asking.
She chanted some incantation and a blue glow covered her eyes.
The glow lasted for several seconds before disappearing.
"I already sent my sparrow to the nest. Knight Rivail, please get all the ropes you can find here," Isabel turned to Rivail and ordered him.
"Understood." Rivail bowed and untied the rope from his waist. He returned to the cabin and started collecting ropes.
Gill stayed on the side awaiting further orders. Angele took out the ring Isabel gifted him. It was still covered in the white glow.
He discovered that the ring had many different functions. It could keep its owner’s body temperature at a safe range, and the runes engraved on it could warn the owner about illnesses or organ injuries. Those runes would only reveal themselves after the ring was put on the finger.
Despite its simple appearance, this silver ring was an extremely rare enchanted item. The ring could increase a Wizard’s resistances and help them in dangerous situations.
Angele handed the ring over to Isabel.
"Take it. You need it more than I do." Isabel was trembling in the freezing wind. Her clothes were soaked wet.
Isabel looked at the ring and pursed her lips.
"I’m fine. Don’t worry."
"We’re friends, right? Come on." Angele insisted.
Isabel raised her head and stared Angele in the eyes.
Angele put the ring on the center of her right palm.
*CHI*
A thin layer of white glow flashed on Isabel’s body.
She opened her mouth but failed to utter any words.
Angele smiled. "Don’t worry. I like it a lot as a gift, but I just think you need it right now. You see, my robe is still dry, and I’m not cold. Take it."
"Got it." Isabel lowered her head.