章 313: Chapter 313: Entering the Smoking Sea
The sailor's shout was like a thunderclap in the quiet morning, instantly stirring the tranquil cabins and deck into a flurry of activity.
Thump, thump, thump...
Adventurers resting in the cabins all rushed out, while the sailors dozing on the deck were jolted awake, their spirits revived.
"What?"
"Have we reached the Smoking Sea?"
"Is this the 'Land of the Devil'?"
Many people on the ship flooded onto the deck, looking into the distance.
Although Volantis was close to this ancient and mysterious lost civilization, and they had all heard of it, almost everyone present was visiting the vast Smoking Sea for the first time. Normally, ships would steer clear of this area from a great distance.
This was a sea filled with smoke and lava.
Legend has it that before the Doom, the Smoking Sea was once a land connecting the continent of Essos.
However, the catastrophe of the 'Wrath of the Gods' shattered the Valyrian Peninsula, blasting the land into fragments. The sea water flooded into the sunken land, forming the present-day Smoking Sea.
The sea water here boils all year round, with erupting volcanoes and smoking reefs beneath the water. There are even legends of demonic mischief and sea monsters lurking.
Viserys and Mia naturally rushed out as well, but as a man and a woman, they did not reside in the same cabin. Viserys rested in a cabin with three other male adventurers, while Mia gathered with the few female adventurers.
Such an arrangement could reduce many unnecessary troubles in the monotonous and boring life at sea.
Just yesterday, a mercenary who couldn't control his lower half sneaked into the women's side. However, these female mercenaries were not pushovers. They caught him and threw him into the sea to feed the fish.
"So this is what the Smoking Sea looks like."
The ships maintained their formation and continued to sail forward. After a while, as the distance got closer, even without a spyglass, one could see clearly. Soon, an adventurer expressed his feelings.
Viserys, leaning against the ship's rail, also looked into the distance.
There was a place clearly distinct from the sky, where gray fog was constantly rolling, like a huge monster emitting heavy breaths, sending chills down one's spine.
One could even vaguely see shadows of lightning within the gray fog.
"The Smoking Sea is too vast, it might swallow us whole."
The red-haired girl standing next to Viserys, leaning against the railing, also couldn't help but express her feelings.
Her voice was somewhat low and suppressed, voicing the thoughts of all the mercenaries around.
This constantly rolling gray fog was like the gaping maw of a demon. The exploration team of twenty warships and thousands of people seemed mighty.
However, in front of this constantly rolling, sky-covering gray fog, they were as insignificant as an ant. The other side could effortlessly swallow them all.
"May the gods bless us, I hope we can return safely this time!"
Then someone started praying first, followed by various voices rising together.
"Great Lord of Light..."
"Lady of Tears, you..."
There were those praying to the Lord of Light, to Lys's Lady of Tears, and also to the Black Goat, and even to the Seven Gods.
However, among these, the followers of the Lord of Light were the majority.
The faith of R'hllor was extremely popular in Volantis, especially among the lower classes. Most of his followers were the poor or slaves, and even half of the Tiger Cloaks were followers of the Lord of Light.
But the red-haired girl was not among them, she did not believe in religion.
Having experienced hardship from a young age, she had prayed to the gods countless times, but never received a response.
From that time on, she understood that she had to rely on herself for everything, and that praying to the gods would never yield any response.
That's why she fought back at that time, cutting off that thing of the man who wronged her and feeding it to the dogs.
The twenty warships were still steadily approaching the abyss of gray fog, and the sunlight above everyone's heads was slowly being blocked, the light gradually dimming.
"We're getting closer."
The prayers of the people became more urgent.
And on the deck, there were those who regretted their decision at the last moment, not wanting to go to their deaths. They strongly requested the fleet to turn back to Volantis.
However, the Tiger Party, as the employer, was very generous when it came to spending money. They spared no expense in organizing such a large expedition. The mercenaries had taken the money, so naturally, they wouldn't be soft-hearted at this time.
The slave guards on the ship first warned a few adventurers who were causing trouble, and then for those who didn't heed the warning, they were grabbed and thrown directly off the ship.
Below the ship was the gradually boiling dark sea water. The mercenaries about to be thrown off the ship begged for mercy continuously, but to no avail. In the end, they were held by several guards and thrown down, emitting a shrill scream.
They were quickly submerged by the sea, disappearing without even a few struggles.
Everyone on the ship witnessed this scene, their faces changing slightly.
It was only then that some people finally understood that the generous reward offered for this expedition was not so easy to earn.
It was a price paid in advance for their lives.
Viserys, looking at the place where the man who was thrown into the sea disappeared, furrowed his brows. The ship was still moving forward, and the surroundings had become a hazy gray.
Viserys looked back, the light in his pale purple eyes fluctuating. He had good eyesight because he saw what seemed to be a head appearing there, looking blankly in the direction the ship was leaving.
"Was that the man just now?"
Viserys clenched his fist, but his heart suddenly heightened its vigilance.
No one noticed this small detail, except for him.
He had already sensed the dangerous aura of the Smoking Sea.
The man just now was like a ghost, showing a head on the surface of the sea.
A ghost lurking on the expedition's ship?
Or did he die when he fell, and then quickly transformed into a non-human creature?
Viserys's thoughts raced in his mind, imagining the man's appearance when he was thrown off the ship, but he couldn't find any flaws.
"The spirits of Valyria?"
Viserys suddenly thought of the legends he had heard before.
The people of Elyria and Tyrosh claimed that the spirits of Valyria were bound to this land, and they would take revenge on those who dared to trespass.
"Balerion."
The silver-haired young man suddenly felt a sense of unease in his heart, and then quietly called his black dragon in his mind.
"Heh—"
And in his consciousness, the black dragon quickly responded to Viserys's call.
It was now resting on an island not far from the Smoking Sea, waiting for Viserys to call it to fly in and rescue him at any time.
Having received Balerion's response, Viserys breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the gray fog had not blocked their special sensing ability.
"You don't need to pray either, Emon."
At this moment, Mia's voice sounded in
Viserys's ear.
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