Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic-Chapter 1676 - 1675: Yacht, Slumber, and Accident
Capítulo 1676: Chapter 1675: Yacht, Slumber, and Accident
“It seems you indeed have your own backing.”
The two brothers also noticed the surroundings. They weren’t panicked but once again clasped their hands together.
This time, without the obstruction of the island fog and at a relatively closer distance, Shard could clearly perceive that when the two formed a whole, even the spirits within them were communicating:
“Arcane Technique—Mirror Bomb!”
“Watch out!”
The brown-haired lady suddenly hugged the Shard Cat tightly and summoned a transparent shield, while the brothers’ bodies instantly exploded into countless tiny mirror fragments. The sharp glass shards shot out in all directions at a speed faster than bullets, and each mirror shard reflected the brothers’ complete images.
The flying glass shards pierced through the walls, embedded into the ground, and even caused continuous ripples on the witch’s shield. Numerous beams of light shot out from the mirror shards and reflected off other mirrors, thereby widening the range of the attack.
Those beams were merely ordinary attack-type sorcery, but when combined with the arcane technique, the effect was incredibly exaggerated.
Shard knew that Megan and Audrey did not want their followers to find out about their vulnerability. Thus, when Megan’s shield shattered and she avoided the attack, he also cast an arcane technique on the doorframe that had lost its door:
“Thorns of the Moon.”
Silver thorns emerged from the rain-soaked ground and quickly intertwined, blocking the flying shards and scattering beams with a clink and clatter.
Shard could sense that the brothers’ true bodies were hidden within some mirror shard, but the shards were too fast and numerous for him to capture their position in a short time.
Meanwhile, the female sorcerers on the rooftop had already jumped down, trying to intercept the shards flying in all directions in the rain, but they also failed to capture the brothers’ hiding place.
And when everything calmed down, the surrounding buildings and soil were already filled with those strange mirror shards, but the two brothers who had been spellcasting were nowhere to be seen.
Shard and the witch had anticipated their escape. As descendants of Edwards, they were not typical Circle Sorcerers. Given that one was mentally unstable and the other could only wield the power of Six Rings, it was indeed challenging to stop them.
However, as Shard prepared to retract the Thorns of the Moon, the witch hurriedly said:
“In a moment, I’ll carry you, so don’t speak in front of my followers.”
Shard could understand her reasoning. She couldn’t explain his uniqueness to each of her followers. Like Miss Galina, only her closest followers knew about his situation.
Fortunately, in cat form, it’s hard to determine gender from appearance, so as long as Shard didn’t speak, no one would know he was a male cat.
He nodded, then felt like he’d brushed against something. The witch blushed but said nothing. As the thorn bush slowly retreated to both sides of the doorframe, she regained her proud demeanor, carrying the silver cat through the thorn-guarded doorframe.
An invisible force field repelled the rain around them, and the rain-soaked girls respectfully addressed Megan Edwards:
“Miss.”
“Disguise this place to look like the Mirror Association had been here, and don’t let the Church notice our traces. Leave the relic on the third floor as a trap, and take all other valuables with us. We’ll leave in half an hour and continue surveillance tasks in other areas.”
“Yes, Miss.”
The female sorcerers replied. The witch gently stroked the cat in her arms and walked past them, heading towards the door.
“Are you not surprised by the influence I wield?”
On the carriage, she again asked Shard. The silver cat was crouched on the soft cushion of the carriage seat:
“Being Eleven Rings yourself, it’s normal to have some influence. I just didn’t expect you to have so many followers… You must have great personal charm.”
“Once I recover, I’ll take you to see my actual influence. The entire Paradise Island Pharmaceuticals should technically be considered a Circle Sorcerer group. But for now, you need a good rest. I’ll have people monitor the remaining three places we haven’t visited. If the Mirror Association shows up again, we’ll abandon today’s plan. Also, once you wake up, I want to discuss with you about what those two people said regarding Rot-Eye Barry transporting supplies to the island, yet there being no traces of stored materials. I think I know what’s going on.”
She spoke gently.
“Alright, I only need four hours of sleep. But the direction the carriage is heading in doesn’t seem to be towards the Green Lake Inn.”
Shard had yet to sleep in the rented room he’d taken.
“While that place is safe, it’s not comfortable enough. Come to my place; I believe you can trust me now.”
“Of course. So, are we heading to Paradise Island Pharmaceuticals’ local residence? Or do you have your own property here?”
The female sorcerer smiled and shook her head:
“Get on the ship. I have a decent yacht, docked right on the Duin River.”
The Outlander still underestimated the wealth of the witches.
In fact, Shard had seen yachts in this world before. In a world of the Steam Age, although yachts were still steam-powered, and the lighting and communication systems were purely mechanical, they also had a unique aesthetic.
Shard boarded a yacht for the first time when he and Lecia attended an auction in Coldwater Port and encountered the Fishbone Pirate Crew. Compared to the yacht that held the Circle Sorcerer auction, Megan and Audrey’s yacht was obviously smaller.
But this was understandable, after all, one was an ocean vessel, and the other was primarily for inland river navigation.
The rain continued to drizzle as the carriage carried the two across the bridge back to the west of Green Lake City, then boarded the three-story yacht from the dock at Backwater Bay inside the city.
Shard had seen this ship from a distance during his actions in Green Lake City, but he didn’t expect it to be the witch’s docked yacht.
He was somewhat tired, so after boarding the ship, he followed the witch to the room prepared for him and was ready to sleep immediately. It would have been more convenient to rest at home at this time, but since Audrey and Megan had kindly invited him, Shard was willing to accept their hospitality.
The room prepared for him was probably meant for special guests. The pillows and bedding on the ship were quite nice, but it would have been even better if they weren’t red. Even though it was only eleven in the morning, after Megan lit some sleep-inducing incense, Shard fell asleep almost as soon as he closed his eyes.
The emptiness in his heart and indifference to everything became unimportant when Shard stood on the ridge in his dream and saw the enormous Silvermoon. The glow of the Silvermoon illuminated him, reflecting in his eyes and heart.
“Speaking of which, I rarely nap and dream during the day. Turns out, even dreaming during the day, I dream of the Moon.”
[Does what you dream about have anything to do with whether it’s day or night?]
“She” made a good point.
As for waking up from the dream, it wasn’t that Shard naturally woke up; he sensed the surroundings shaking. Opening his eyes, he immediately realized it was not an illusion and then became aware that the ship was moving.
He put on his coat and left the room, walking through the yacht’s corridor to the deck. Feeling the badge on his chest heat up, he indeed saw the brown-haired witch standing in the gale and rain, looking solemnly southward.
Although it was still the afternoon, the sky was so gloomy it resembled night. Audrey Edwards was looking in the direction of Green Lake City. Shard also looked up and saw a pitch-black cloud pillar piercing the cloudy sky, and at the end of that black cloud pillar, the pitch-black clouds formed a terrifying vortex, even Shard couldn’t see what was in those clouds.
“What happened?”
“Oh, you’re awake? Sorry, I didn’t expect the afternoon wind and rain to be so heavy.”
The witch said, as Shard opened an umbrella and came to her side:
“Is that… the direction of Central Island?”
“Today is the joint island landing day for the Church of the Five Gods and the Prophet’s Society in this parish, which is a major operation. Because the Church’s main Circle Sorcerer team was dispatched to the island, I planned today’s action in the city. Otherwise, do you think we could create such a commotion in the city and remain safe? Looks like the Church’s team is in trouble.”
The witch said worriedly.
Not just the people on the yacht, everyone on both shores of Green Lake could probably see the cloud pillar rising from the lake’s center and the vortex-like rain clouds looming over the lake. This was quite different from the anomaly Shard caused with the “Spatial Stabilization Aura” on their first island landing, it looked like a storm had risen from Green Lake.
The rain was getting heavier, and although Shard didn’t know what was happening on the island, he sincerely hoped that those who went there could return safely.
“I informed my friend from the Thirteen Rings about the situation here.”
On the swaying deck, the witch suddenly whispered, and Shard glanced at her, not at all surprised. During his Sunday date with Galina, the Red-Haired Duchess had been in his arms, whispering the contents of that meeting while flirting:
“Will your Thirteen Rings friend come here?”
“No, at least not for now.”
Audrey gently shook her head:
“But a few from the Twelve Rings and Eleven Rings will come. Probably… next week. How are you doing? You look much better than in the morning.”
“I’m fine now.”
Though awakened from a nap, he felt no drowsiness, quite the opposite, he was full of energy. Even the slightly cold but fierce wind and pouring rain couldn’t affect her condition:
“I also told my teacher about the danger here, and she gave me a nice alchemical item, so I have a chance to escape next time.”
The brown-haired lady joked with a smile:
“Your teacher is really stingy. I thought she would give you a relic. Sage Level, or even Angel-Level. It seems your teacher isn’t that great after all.”
