Goblin Dependency

In the air, there’s only the sound of a frightened girl’s sobbing and whimpering, the mother’s forcedly calm consolations, and the father’s silent yet quickened breaths.

The matter has ended, and there is no more opportunity to intervene, so Xia Nan naturally didn’t plan to linger any longer.

He was about to turn around and leave when a slightly husky voice came from behind.

"Please, stay a moment, Adventurer sir."

The speaker was the middle-aged man who had just been on his knees begging the adventurer to release his daughter.

Due to the angle, although Xia Nan didn’t actually have time to intervene, the other party truly saw his attempt to step forward and stop the action.

"Perhaps... are you looking for a fist-sized, deep blue, semi-transparent rock?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Nan couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows.

"Yes, do you have any leads?"

In front of Xia Nan, dressed well and obviously a senior adventurer, the honest middle-aged man, knowing he meant no harm, still didn’t dare lift his head for safety’s sake, only staring at those dust-covered sturdy boots, hesitating:

"I don’t know exactly where they’re hidden, but..."

"Three days ago, when I docked my boat, I saw several sheriffs escorting an adventurer back from the southern shore of the dock."

"I didn’t dare listen too closely to their detailed conversation, but I vaguely caught two sentences, like ’Hidden in the sea, would it be too secretive that no one can find it in the end?’, ’Rest assured, wedged in the cracks of the reef and will be evident at low tide tonight’."

"I wonder if it’s of any help to you."

Without a doubt, this middle-aged man provided quite a useful clue.

For Xia Nan and others who currently had no idea about the hiding place of the Deep Sea Resonating Stone, it provided a clear objective — the southern shore of the dock, underwater, wedged in reef cracks.

Looking through the open door at the messy ground inside with scattered furniture and sundries, and the patched clothes on his family members.

Xia Nan flicked his right hand across his pouch and tossed him a silver coin.

It’s not a significant amount of money but would hardly even buy a better drink at an adventurer tavern like Three-legged Sea Dog or White Sparrow. Still, it’s enough for him to buy some decent clothes at a small stall or piece together a set of cheap makeshift furniture.

Behind him came the thanks from the middle-aged man and his family, as Xia Nan and the others walked toward the direction of the dock.

...

...

Meanwhile, at the core of Stodd Island.

In some mansion’s basement.

The light was dim, and a single candle couldn’t illuminate the entire room, struggling to cast its faint light around.

Flynn, the man who, moments ago, was speaking calmly and collectedly in front of many adventurers without flinching.

At this moment, he bowed his head respectfully.

With a cautious tone, fearful of angering some presence, he sincerely said:

"Lord Dodd, the second round of activities has already begun."

His answer came in the form of a faint sound of scales scraping the floor.

Ahead of him, through the faint candlelight, he could vaguely see a tall silhouette shrouded in shadows.

"Are the resonating stones all prepared?"

Carrying a heavy accent, the voice coming out of the darkness was in the Universal Language, but the words were glued together, with a very high pitch.

If there was a professor proficient in various race languages present, they could determine that these were characteristics of the "Dragon Language."

"They’re all arranged, Lord Dodd." Flynn continued to maintain the utmost respect, not daring to look up and meet eyes, only staring at the mysterious shadow at its feet.

"However, the batch of Deep Sea Resonating Stones we bought for insurance purposes hasn’t arrived at the port until today, possibly due to an incident at sea."

In some sense, this wasn’t Flynn’s negligence.

After all, with pirates rampant in the Southern Islands, even a merchant ship loaded with cargo, escorted by professional-level adventurers, can’t guarantee safe passage.

What’s more, these deep-sea resonating stones were just backup supplements for emergencies, they hadn’t even been processed, and they didn’t arrange how strong security forces for escort.

It’s quite normal to encounter some unforeseen circumstances along the way.

But at the heart, this is Dodd the "Algae Scale"’s property.

Even if only a copper coin goes missing, he needs to report it clearly to the other party.

Otherwise... there’s precedent.

With the event looming and arrangements already complete, Dodd the "Algae Scale" seemed indifferent to the loss of these hundreds of gold coins.

The long tail swayed menacingly in the shadows, producing a hair-raising rustling sound.

"How are the adventurers on the island?"

"Most of those previously invited have arrived, including the ’Wind Forger’ and the ’Furious Tide Battle Gang’..." Flynn, head-down, detailed the intelligence he had gathered from the festival activities, "Moreover, unexpectedly, the ’Sword of Vengeance’ has also landed on the island."

"Sword of Vengeance? Oh, it’s the daughter from the Morton Family."

Lorin hadn’t publicly revealed her identity with the Morton family, but having grown up in the Southern Islands, perhaps ordinary adventurers wouldn’t know, but large pirates like Dodd the "Algae Scale" with their own intelligence networks certainly wouldn’t miss such information.

"Yes, sir."

Flynn hesitated briefly before supplementing his report with a cautious tone, without offending.

"Also, Elison Morton has independently come to Stodd Island."

"These two haven’t interacted for many years, and now with the timing so special, I suspect..."

Faced with his subordinate’s speculation, Dodd showed indifference, his tone casual:

"Both here? That’s good, saves me from looking for them individually later."

"Anything else besides these two from the Morton family, any adventurers worth attention not in the invitation list."

Flynn recalled briefly, though based on previous short interactions judging the intensity of their aura, the professional level of the others seemed unworthy of attention.

But considering their past achievements and the adverse impact of missed reporting, he ultimately disclosed the previously unmentioned, unfamiliar name to Dodd.

"Sir, there’s a ’Haiya’ Xia Nan, who also came to the island as a temporary member of ’Sword of Vengeance’."

"I took the chance to observe before, their professional level doesn’t exceed Level 5 at most."

"In terms of achievements, it’s said Ebbtide Gang and Corner Shark Gang were erased from him, but based on their professional level, there’s likely some exaggeration in those accomplishments."

With some subjective impressions, Flynn shared the intel he had.

Apparently, to Dodd the "Algae Scale," an adventurer who hasn’t reached even Level 5 in professional rank isn’t enough to become an object of worthiness.

Thinking Flynn was wasting his time, he wasn’t even interested in evaluating the ’Haiya’ mentioned.

Only with a tone of slight dissatisfaction, he shifted the topic.

"How about the Sha Hua Fishmen?"

Immediately hearing the displeasure in Dodd’s words, Flynn shivered subconsciously, too quick to kneel and lie on the ground.

Regretting internally for his earlier verbosity, he didn’t immediately ask for forgiveness but aligned with Dodd’s temperament, replied carefully and seriously to the question.

"Sir, as you’re aware, those Water Rats never understand human words."

"But this time with such a number of high-level adventurers on the island, they’re excellent materials for sacrifices, and they certainly can’t resist the temptation."

"I’ve previously arranged scouts on the shore for observation. In the last two days, the number of Fishmen gathering noticeably increased, expected to act soon."

"I’ve also made my preparations."

"Everything proceeds according to plan."

For this banquet, Dodd the "Algae Scale" had prepared for a long time, devoting vast amounts of time and energy, the consumed gold coins even countless.

As the Moon Tide Banquet approaches, his heart instead gradually calmed down.

Listening to the report that everything is as planned, no waves stirred in his mind, merely contemplating the subsequent actions.

A long tail covered with scales, like a giant python lurking in shadow, swayed subtly under the faint candlelight.