The beach on the Northern Coast, under the bright sun, with calm tides rolling like fish scales, emitting a salty sll beneath the waves.
Everything was no different from usual.
It made one doubt whether the "calamity" coming in three days would really arrive.
However, adhering to the attitude of rather believing it exists than not, Ticky still honestly followed the Demon King's decree and, along with other players, packed up the rubbish at Withered Wood Port, preparing to migrate to the Sun Step Mountain Range...
It seems that the great lord had planned this a long ti ago, which is why there were no major repairs or constructions at Withered Wood Port. The only fortress was rely a walled one, located on a nearby high ground hill.
After stuffing the last bag of luggage into the wooden box, Ticky, wearing a captain's hat, looped it with a belt and dragged it to the muddy ground by the beach, then tossed it onto a steam cart parked there.
This kind of wagon "with a chimney" is one of the new magic devices of the Great Graveyard, allegedly called a tractor, which can haul anything.
Ticky wasn't well-versed in magic and didn't understand its principles, just knew that this contraption was similar to the one on a steamship, only it runs on land rather than swimming in the water.
Noticing the commotion on the cart, the skeleton sitting dazedly at the front snapped awake and chanically shouted back.
"100 Joss Paper!"
"Put it on the Demon King's tab."
This guy was rely a servant of the Demon King's servant, just a soulless summoned entity, he didn't need to be polite to the guy.
Ticky casually replied and then knocked hard on the carriage, making a disturbing 'Guangguang' sound, signaling it to get a move on.
It seed as if it had received a quest reward for its master.
The skeleton silently ignited the magic array to fire up the boiler, grasped the control lever and steering wheel, and headed towards the path leading up the mountain.
Watching as the wobbly tire tracks extended up the mountain, Ticky doubted whether this cumberso fellow could safely deliver his luggage.
But it didn't matter anymore.'
After all, there wasn't anything valuable in there, like gold, eralds, or precious gems—those had long been teleported to the Great Graveyard by that great lord.
Having finished everything, Ticky didn't leave imdiately but returned to the seaside to bid farewell to his "tavern."
The dilapidated ship cabin looked like a beached whale, with the wooden ship shell decaying under the sea wind. The deck was covered with graffiti and altered price lists, and a card from an unfinished poker ga lay slanted on a table made of beer barrels.
Lifting the sunshade sail, Ticky sat on the wooden box by the door, squeezed out the last few drops of murky rum from the tilted beer barrel into a cup, and clinked it against the drafty door panel.
"Cheers!"
He tilted his head back and downed the drink in one go, then fiercely hurled the cup in his hand towards the nearby wave-rolling beach.
It's finally ti to say goodbye.
He hated this broken ship to its very core.
If he hadn't bought this thing at that ti, if he hadn't believed the nonsense about spreading faith to elevate the soul, if he hadn't believed the bullshit propaganda that the colonies were full of gold, he might be lying in a luxurious manor now, sleeping on the laps of maidens, enjoying tea with milk or milk with red wine... anything but ending up becoming the Demon King's lackey in confusion.
Alright.
The last thing isn't actually that bad.
And, even though he hated the bad luck this broken ship had brought him that much, it was also the one that accompanied him through the toughest tis.
Blaming all the problems on a mute could also be too extre. After all, it was he himself who made those choices... because of his greed within.
Thinking about parting with this guy, he unexpectedly felt a hint of reluctance.
"More?" The voice behind him interrupted Ticky's thoughts, and the latter instinctively turned around, seeing Lumier coming towards him.
"No, just had the last drop."
"I ant your luggage." Lumier pointed to the bar counter at the tavern.
"...I ant the luggage, it's all on the cart."
Ticky cleared his throat, covering up his embarrassnt.
At that mont, he suddenly noticed a drastic transformation in the aura of this old acquaintance standing before him.
Especially those eyes.
Compared to a month ago, they had clearly lost their naivety, now resembling lapis lazuli polished with ti.
A month ago, this guy wasn't like this at all.
Although back then he was fierce, cunning, and not easy to deal with... but the cunning of that extent seed more like a bluffing thug from the slums rather than the current version, a seasoned and tested explorer.
If they faced each other again, he might not be able to suppress him as easily with just force...
eting Ticky's unwavering gaze, Lumier looked at him inquisitively.
"Is sothing the matter?"
"No..." Ticky shook his head, hesitating for a mont before finally not being able to resist asking, "Speaking of which, I haven't seen you around lately, what have you been up to?"
Lumier did not conceal anything, replying frankly.
"Lord Demon King arranged for to visit the residential areas of various tribes, to investigate their livelihood habits and population numbers, paving the way for future missionary work. That great lord said that the Temple of the Great Graveyard must be established in every tribe, every village, and every tent district, to form new condensation cores of the Great Graveyard's strength at the grassroots, replacing the old faith."
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