206 Starting the Hunt Part 1 (1/2)

The swordsmen from the swordsman’s camp were already used to such a scene. All of them sat in their chairs earnestly, and none of them stood up. The ship Saleen was in berthed at a dock that was very far from the magic ship. This dock had been independently built, so it was far away from the ships belonging to Devil's Horn.

Even so, that did not stop Saleen from observing the processes happening in the port. He saw a massive tower, and a slide laid on a metal bridge. Hooks hung from above, helping unload cargo from the ships.

Those metallic boxes were tied up and lowered from the ships before being stacked up on the port. Thereafter, five meter tall metal puppets would come and carry them away.

Some cargo was obviously special. Once that cargo was unloaded from the ship, horse carriages…

Those were not horse carriages. They were chariots being pulled by magic beasts! Saleen had only seen this type of event in murals, but now, it was unfolding right before his eyes. Saleen was extremely astonished. The hunting team consisted of mages from various empires. Even if the secrets of these processes were not so easily discovered, other people would already be able to learn a great deal just by observing the port’s structure and workflow. Were the people of Alchemy City really not worried at all?

The carriages pulled by the magic beasts were filled with cargo as they made their way inland. The port was constructed within a rock, and the many paved wide roads were also within the mountain.

In truth, Devil's Horn was not suitable for building ports. The reason it was possible was completely due to the efforts of humans. It was still manageable on land as there were numerous puppets around to chisel the mountain, but what about the sea? Had the underwater area under the port also been cleared by humans?

Saleen witnessed a feeling of unparalleled resolution, looking at this metallic port. It was the type of unyielding heart that humans possessed in the face of nature.

”Let’s go. We’re going to rest on the island for two days before setting off on the hunt,” the sorcerer hurried everybody.

Behind the port, there were dozens of giant horse carriages waiting. All the mages boarded the carriage while the swordsmen from the swordsman’s camp rode on horseback and followed beside the convoy. The personal bodyguards of the mages also boarded the carriages with the mages. Most mages did not possess the energy to train their bodies as Saleen and Lex did. Unless they advanced to the grade of a sorcerer, they would be lacking in strength.

After a day and night of being on a ship with only chairs, the difference between two types of mages immediately became evident.

Wealthy mages had better physique. Their physique was already that of swordsmen. On the other hand, mages from poor backgrounds spent all their time practicing magic, so they did not get much rest during the journey and all of their faces were pale. By this time, it was already considered good if they had not vomited due to seasickness.

The horse carriages, with the hunting group inside, traveled along a road and arrived at a castle. Most of the mages were extremely exhausted, so after the rooms were allocated, they split up and went to rest. The swordsmen, however, were led to the diner so that they could consume their meals first.

Even though Saleen and Lex were not tired, they still took a nap. This castle was surrounded by a forest, and the crisp chirping from birds could be heard just outside the window. As Saleen laid on the soft bed, he had a sweet dream.

The dream was a little blurry, and Saleen only remembered the portion just before he woke up. Saleen dreamt that he was on the magic ship. He was standing on the bridge as he commanded the magic ship to launch an attack on a dragon. Just as the behemoth, which was on the ship’s bow, spit out a ray of blinding magic light, Saleen woke up.

”Master.” Saleen opened his eyes and saw that Nailisi was lying down beside him, staring at him with her pair of green eyes.

”What is it?”

”Juno sent someone to give you this item.” Nailisi took out a thin book and handed it to Saleen. When Saleen opened it, he realized that the book simply contained the details of the hunting mission.

The hunting program, as well as the habits of some dangerous magic beasts, were written in this book. All the important details and the mission specifically for Saleen’s group were stated very clearly.

Saleen frowned when he saw them. According to the briefing in the book, this mission seemed too easy. Could there have been a mistake?

Saleen climbed out of bed and put on his clothes before heading out to look for Lex. Lex and the rest of the group had woke up earlier than Saleen, so they were all eating in the diner already. The moment Saleen and Nailisi appeared, servants immediately came forward to serve them. Saleen did not even wash up. He simply cast a Cleaning spell and went to sit beside Lex straightaway.

This castle had obviously been built for the purpose of hosting hunting groups. The diner was massive, formed by a chain of smaller halls. The swordsmen which belonged to Saleen’s group were also sitting at the same table.

Including the swordsmen which Andrew and Keegan had hired, there was a total of fifteen people sitting at this table. Excluding Sika and Nailisi, the other hired swordsmen were not weak either. They were at least at the standard of a beginner swordmaster. Their sword auras might not have been very powerful, but their many years of killing magic beasts had caused them to have ferocious auras around them.

”Sir, you are here.” The swordsmen bowed towards Saleen. Saleen nodded, and asked the swordsmen to carry on with their meals.

”Lex, have you seen this?” Saleen took out the book containing the mission details and showed it to Lex.

”I have. Everyone has a copy.”

”Don’t you think our mission is too simple?”

”Isn’t that great?” Andrew replied, and continued, ”There are always a few lucky mages in every mission. They don’t have to do much. They just have to follow the sorcerer’s ship and act as the reserve forces. Finally, my turn is here. Ha…”

Whenever Alchemy City hunted finless whales, at least four ships were deployed. Even though the target for this mission was not much, five ships were still going to be deployed. One of the ships would be a warship, responsible for protecting the fishing boats from any harassment by the pirates. The whalers were going to venture to the deep-sea and would not be under any protection from Devil's Horn. Without the warship, the fishing boats would not be able to withstand much impact in the event that a magic beast which was grade-8 or above appeared.