Chapter 1149 — Tarrond Through Dragonkin Eyes

Even Byron, who counted as a strange specimen in his own fleet, could not help but stare blankly for a moment. He took a beat to react, then regarded the elemental creature coiled in Cassandra's tail with a rather odd expression, watching its volume shrink by half, and could not resist muttering, "Let it go already—it looks downright pitiful..."

"So long as its surge core is not destroyed, an elemental creature will not truly die even if drained dry in the material world," Cassandra said, glancing at Byron. "And if this fellow grew a few hundred times larger, you might not find it so pitiful... Doesn't matter, though. These little fission-spawned things gush out by the dozen from the rifts near Tarrond—you can catch fresh ones anytime."

As she spoke, the siren lady swung her tail to the side and flung the small water elemental hard toward the sea not far off. A shrill cry echoed through the air mid-flight: "I thank your whole family! I thank your whole family!"

Cassandra gazed after the water elemental as it dropped past the ship's rail, and only when its voice and form had vanished from sight did she turn her head slightly and say, thoughtfully, "I wonder if it's the lingering power of the Dragon God, but the elementals and spirit creatures pouring from the rifts near Tarrond are all in an excessively active state... A water elemental of that tier should not normally show such intense activation."

Byron frowned at that, turning somewhat grave. "I don't know much about the lore behind elementals, but back when I was an adventurer I crossed paths often enough with roaming hostile elementals and spirit monsters. Creatures that force their way into the material world are not actually very strong when they are alone, but if stable rifts let them pour out endlessly... the danger climbs sharply. From what you're saying, there are a great many such rifts in the Tarrond region now?"

"Not just a great many—they are everywhere," Cassandra said, shaking her head. "In the sky, on the ground, on the seafloor—rifts large and small, like cracks spreading through a crystal aggregate, wrapping the whole of Tarrond. What comes out of them is mostly water and fire elementals, with some agitated mana spirits or shadow creatures as well."

Byron's frown deepened. "For those adventurers, this must be close to heaven on earth. With enough strength, a few months' haul here would be enough to live out their lives in comfort once they return to Loren. But if these rifts keep growing unchecked..."

"An unstable elemental rift may vanish on its own, or it may fuse into a larger passage, and the active elementals squeezing out of those passages, influenced by the material world's environment, mostly fall into a violent state and rarely keep a calm, benevolent mind... Left alone, it would indeed become a great threat, especially the water elementals... They could ride the ocean currents and raid the coasts of Loren," Cassandra said, curling her tail to lift herself higher—which seemed to give her words a little more authority. "But judging from Tarrond's response so far, the dragons don't seem about to walk away from this mess. Since they have chosen to stay, they will surely find a way to seal those rifts."

"Then let us hope all goes well for them," Byron said after a moment's thought, with a sigh. "Those adventurers who signed up from Loren are a ragtag crew who only care about coin. At best they can handle small packs of monsters roaming the wilds—expecting them to risk their lives sealing rifts is hardly realistic."

Cassandra said nothing for a moment, propping herself up on her spiraled tail and gazing off at the distant sea. After a long while she broke the silence: "Mind you keep clear of the ice floes—some are big enough to sink your steel ships. We've been choosing the 'quietest' waters we can, but anyone bound for Tarrond cannot avoid these polar floes—and the farther we go, the more of them there are."

"Don't worry, we'll be at twelvefold vigilance for this last stretch," Byron said at once, then glanced at Cassandra with some curiosity. "Speaking of which—aren't you going back to the pilot's position?"

"See those dragons?" Cassandra smiled, lifting her head and the tip of her tail to point at the small flock of dragons circling overhead. "Tarrond is their home. They know the waters ahead better than sirens or naga do. After all, last time we swam there from the seafloor—we never took the surface route."

At that she suddenly stopped, then, as if sensing something, went on: "Ah—it seems something worth seeing is about to appear."

"Something worth seeing?" Byron looked at the sea with curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"A chaotic turbulence, about to form very close to the fleet. Don't worry, I've run precise calculations—it won't strike our course ahead. But I'm afraid it will strike at many people's minds."

As she spoke, the siren glanced at Byron. "You had best order the alarm sounded now and have the crew prepare—chiefly in the psychological sense. And have those scholars aboard made ready as well. The close observation they have been waiting for... is about to arrive."

Byron's expression changed at once, and he turned and ran for the bridge, while Cassandra looked back at the still calm, empty sea. Far off at the line where sea met sky, the coastline of Tarrond was already faintly visible.

Once past this chaotic turbulence, the fleet would reach Tarrond.

Moments later, a shrill alarm sounded in succession across every ship in the fleet, and Byron's singularly rough voice came over the shipboard broadcast:

"Attention! Chaotic turbulence is forming near the flight path—this turbulence will not endanger the fleet, but everyone must still take safety precautions!

"All non-essential personnel return to their cabins immediately, every ship tighten formation, and on no account stray from the safe route!"