Goblin Dependency

When Sasha, Ellison, and Flynn arrived at the dock, the scene that greeted them was one of chaos following a great battle.

Crimson and fluorescent blue blood mixed together, splattered like paint across the dark brown surface of the Water Iron Wood platform.

The bodies of the Sha Hua Fishmen were piled in heaps, and once their ownership was assigned, they were transported by dock workers to the adventurer teams’ ships that had slain them. The corpses of the dead adventurers had already been collected by their comrades, and those still alive were almost all injured, with few in a reasonably good state, all bearing conspicuous bloodstains.

The most eye-catching sight was the corpse of a thoroughly dead demon in the middle of the harbor’s central open space.

Its body was massive and imposing, from a distance looking like a gray-blue mountain of flesh, even lying slumped to the side, its naturally arched back reached the height of an ordinary person’s shoulders.

It resembled a humanoid shark, its broad and blunt inverted triangular head comprising almost a third of its entire body, with the gaping maw revealing rows of sharp teeth.

The human-shaped limbs and torso were filled with muscle, and even though it was now completely lifeless and no longer able to exert force, the clear and bulging muscular contours beneath its rough skin still hinted at the explosive strength it once possessed.

One didn’t even need to consider whether it possessed any additional special powers, as its extravagantly grotesque appearance alone was enough to determine its terrifying combat ability, far surpassing that of ordinary humans, even low-level professional adventurers.

Yet now, this shark beast monster had become a corpse with no hope of resurrection.

In its chest, right in the center, deep intersecting blade wounds could be seen, the edges with obvious scorch marks from flames; its elbows and knees had holes as if pierced by some sharp object, and broken vine seaweed lay scattered around it, with binding marks visible on its skin.

The true blow that ended its life came from the back of its head, where the half-blade of a wide-bladed giant axe, shaped oddly like a ship’s anchor, was embedded in its skull.

The wounds on Barbarian Aken had yet to be bandaged, as blood flowed from the gash across his shoulder left by the shark beast’s claw, tracing the lines of his tattoos down his body.

Clearly, he was unfazed by such minor injuries.

At this moment, in the most straightforward and direct manner, he was declaring the victory he and his companions had won.

Both feet stood directly on the shark beast’s body, one hand gripping the handle of the giant axe embedded in the corpse, while the other hand made a fist and pounded his chest, producing a dull sound akin to the beat of war drums.

Unlike the team members who were wholeheartedly celebrating victory, Lorin, as the captain of the Sword of Vengeance squad, stood alone to one side, her Scale Fire Saber already sheathed at her waist, the air around still carrying residual heat.

With a cigarette between her lips, her brow furrowed, she gazed at the shark beast’s corpse ahead, seemingly lost in thought.

"Captain! Captain!"

The call from Sasha behind snapped her back to reality.

Turning around, the Spotted Cat race had already padded over lightly on his two paw pads.

"Boss Lorin, how’s the situation?"

"I was searching for the Deep Sea Resonating Stone in the streets when I heard about the port attack and rushed back immediately."

Hearing this, Lorin raised her hand to calm him, and then replied:

"The Sha Hua Fishmen did come suddenly. Fortunately, Hai Yin and I had already finished our business and returned to the ship, so overall, it wasn’t too bad, just a few sailors with minor injuries."

Indeed, as Lorin said, the Sha Hua Fishmen’s attack came without any warning.

One moment the port was bustling with people coming and going, shouts filling the air, and the next, those Fishmen leapt from the sea, commencing a slaughter.

But clearly, they had chosen the wrong place.

The Moon Tide Banquet was approaching, and the docks were filled with adventurer ships from the entire Southern Islands.

Though many of the main crew members were not present due to island activities, some professional-level crew members were always left behind to guard the ships as a precaution.

At first, perhaps caught off guard by the Sha Hua Fishmen’s surprise attack, but once they reacted, they immediately organized a counterattack.

Among them were experienced adventurers like Lorin, whose professional level was over Level 5.

It didn’t take long before the Fishmen who had jumped ashore were wiped out.

For the Vengeance Blade Blade Ship Group, it was somewhat unfortunate that the main force of Fishmen attacking the port—the shark beast monster—had chosen the Vengeance Blade Blade as its target.

But on the other hand, it was also fortunate.

Lorin and the Spellcaster Hai Yin, who had been on the island for business, returned to the ship ten minutes before the Fishmen’s action.

Thus, the main force of the Vengeance Blade Blade Ship Group was mostly present, save for temporary new members Xia Nan and Alton, and also missing the Spotted Cat Sasha.

With the likes of Sarisa providing long-range attacks, most of the main force was there.

Facing a shark beast monster that they had fought before and whose combat ability was clearly weaker than its counterpart in the Twin Canyon, the battle was not too difficult.

With Hai Yin casting to control movement, Sarisa providing ranged attack suppression, Lorin engaging from the front, the twin warriors Rein and Gordon assisting from the flanks, and finally Barbarian Aken delivering the fatal strike with a diving chop.

The battle ended with a seamless cooperation.