Anchor, Stop Pretending, You're in Chaldea - Chapter 150

“What?! The queen didn’t accept my proposal and is even planning to help us take down that sea monster?”

Standing on the deck, Xu Fu looked utterly surprised, and because of her shock, she lost her balance and fell.

“This is the good news you mentioned? Oh my God, what have you done!!!”

Sitting on the ground, Xu Fu cried out in a tone of grievance.

“???”

No way, I thought if I helped her figure out a way to deal with the Monster Snake in the sea, she’d be able to leave this area. What’s she dissatisfied with?

“You actually used the goods I intended to exchange for the Immortality Elixir for such a thing. Give them back! My goods!!!”

Xu Fu shouted towards Bai Qiu with a pitiful look.

“Let’s be reasonable here. You really think those few jars of fermented bean paste and some pottery are worth an Immortality Elixir?”

“I don’t care! Not only did you ruin what I sent, but you’ve also caused me such a big problem…”

Xu Fu buried her head in her arms, and tears seemed to glisten in her eyes.

“I just want to settle down here peacefully. Is that so wrong? Why do we have to look for the Immortality Elixir? That thing probably doesn’t even exist, right?!”

“Oh, why are things going from bad to worse? Seriously, I don’t want to try anymore.”

The Xu Fu in front of Bai Qiu was now in a completely defeated state.

Bai Qiu sighed.

This person is utterly useless now…

But I do need this ship to leave this sea area.

“Is that so? So you’re not planning to fight that Monster Snake in the sea?”

“Of course not! That ferocious creature is unstoppable in the sea and has already eaten so many of my subordinates. It’s impossible to fight it! Even with that queen’s help, the situation wouldn’t improve!”

Xu Fu spoke with a face full of despair.

“If you’re not planning to return my goods, then just leave. You’re not welcome here!!!”

Seeing that Xu Fu was about to drive him away, Bai Qiu sighed, turned around, and made a gesture to leave.

“Well, alright, but this might mean you’ll be cut off from supplies soon.”

“What?!”

Xu Fu hurriedly asked.

“What did you say?!”

“Do you think you can refuse the queen’s goodwill and still continue to get food supplies as if nothing happened?”

“Even so… The supplies on the ship are enough to last for, one, two, three… just over three months! Wait, is that only three months’ worth?!”

Xu Fu seemed to gradually realize the gravity of the situation.

Without being able to get more food and unable to leave this sea area, once this batch of food runs out, how will such a large ship and so many people survive?!

Xu Fu’s face gradually turned anxious.

“If I’m not welcome here, then I won’t stay. Goodbye!”

Bai Qiu turned to leave.

“Wait… please wait!!!”

Xu Fu stood up directly, grabbing Bai Qiu’s sleeve tightly.

“…Well, I didn’t say I disagreed.”

“Oh? Have you changed your mind???”

“I have no other choice, damn it, why do I have to look for the Immortality Elixir…”

Though unwilling, Xu Fu forced herself to smile at Bai Qiu.

“Well… from now on, you’ll be my ship’s envoy. Please speak kindly when dealing with the queen…”

Xu Fu tried to smile, but her expression looked more like crying.

“Don’t do that, it’s really creepy…”

Bai Qiu took a step back, putting some distance between them.

“Anyway, I’ll take that as a yes. I’ll inform you of the plans separately.”

“Understood. Farewell then, Envoy-sama”

—–

After disembarking from the ship, Bai Qiu walked straight along the beach toward the village. It was already evening, and the setting sun cast a crimson glow on the horizon. The reddish light floated on the surface of the sea, with seabirds flapping their wings towards the sunset, and the unique coastal breeze gently blowing.

Seeing this scene, Bai Qiu felt a lot of the day’s fatigue melt away. However, the whereabouts of Mashu and the others were still unknown, and there had been no communication with Chaldea today. Hopefully, once they broke through this sea area, things would improve. The scenery was quite nice here, so Bai Qiu decided to start a live stream to pass the time and earn some points.

Just as Bai Qiu was about to start the live stream, preparing an opening line, he suddenly felt something swiftly pass behind him.

“——————?!”

Turning around, Bai Qiu saw a figure near the woods in the distance, walking along a small path. Who would be out wandering so late? Could it be someone from the village or the ship? With that thought, Bai Qiu immediately headed in that direction to call out to the person.

“Hey, it’s dangerous around here at this hour!!!”

However, when Bai Qiu entered the woods in pursuit, there was no one in sight. Alert, he scanned the surroundings but saw nothing unusual. Yet, he felt something watching him from within the trees. It was an instinctive feeling, a sense that something was there despite not seeing it.

“——————————?!”

Realizing something was amiss, Bai Qiu decided to retreat. But the path he had taken, faintly visible in the sunset, had disappeared, along with any footprints.

This is bad!

Startled, Bai Qiu forced himself to remain calm. Panicking now would only make things worse; he needed to find a way out. He couldn’t believe something so strange could happen so close to the village and the ship.

“Phew…”

White mist escaped Bai Qiu’s mouth as he exhaled. Only then did he notice the temperature around him had suddenly dropped sharply, with tiny ice crystals forming on the ground! Though coastal nights could get cold, it shouldn’t drop this quickly.

“Swish————————!!!”

Suddenly, a purple beam of light shot at Bai Qiu from the shadows!

“————————?!”

Sensing the danger, Bai Qiu instinctively leapt backward, but the ground beneath him was already covered with a thin layer of ice. Losing his balance, he fell backward, inadvertently avoiding the attack. But then a massive ice pillar appeared above him, plummeting down!

“Boom————————!!!”

In a critical moment, Bai Qiu rolled to the side with all his might, yet his arm and leg were hit by shards of shattered ice. Thankfully, the Magecraft Mystic Code protected him from any serious harm.

As Bai Qiu tried to get up and evade the next attack, a woman in a purple mage’s robe appeared before him. Her face was obscured by the robe, and in the dim light, he couldn’t make out her features. She said nothing, merely raising the staff in her hand toward him. Behind her, dozens of magic circles materialized!

In an instant, the magic circles unleashed a barrage of beams at Bai Qiu!!!

Bai Qiu gritted his teeth, preparing to dodge again, but saw a dark red burst of magical energy flying in from a distance, directly colliding with the beams from the magic circles!

“Bang——————————!!!”

The intense impact produced a blinding light, forcing Bai Qiu to shield his eyes with his arm temporarily.

“You certainly are in high spirits.”

A petite figure appeared beside Bai Qiu.

“Draco!!!”

Bai Qiu exclaimed in delight.

“I was just wondering why you hadn’t returned for dinner yet. That tedious queen has been bothering me endlessly. And here you are, playing with such minor characters.”

Draco extended her already dragon-transformed right hand and swung it toward the mage floating in midair!

“Swish————————!!!”

A red energy blade cut through the frigid air, swiftly striking out! The floating mage pointed a finger forward, and several fireballs shot from the magic circles behind her, colliding with the energy blade. However, the blade, after several explosions, showed no sign of stopping.

“Damn…”

The mage muttered in dissatisfaction, then waved her staff, instantly conjuring an ice shield in front of her.

“Bang——————————!!!”

The ice shield shattered into countless pieces upon impact, transforming into sharp daggers shooting downwards. The surrounding trees struck by these shards immediately froze and broke apart! Even rocks couldn’t withstand the force, crumbling into dust under the impact of the ice fragments!

“Hmph, this level of attack.”

Draco, standing protectively in front of Bai Qiu, conjured a golden Holy Grail in her left hand.

“Isn’t even enough to tickle me!”

Black mist surged from the Holy Grail, enveloping Bai Qiu and Draco like a living shield. The sharp ice shards vanished as soon as they touched the black mist.

Looking back into the sky, Bai Qiu saw the mage opening a portal, preparing to escape.

“Do you think you can get away after all this?!”

Draco aimed her right hand at the fleeing figure, ready to shoot a magical energy beam to stop her.

“Rustle, rustle, rustle————————!!!”

Suddenly, dozens of green eyes emerged from the surrounding woods. Several Lamia appeared, slithering their way forward!

“Hiss, hiss, hiss——————!!!”

They writhed and charged at Bai Qiu and Draco without hesitation.

“Don’t look at them, or you’ll be petrified!”

Bai Qiu immediately warned Draco.

“Look? These lowly familiars aren’t even worth my gaze.”

The pitch-black mist from the Holy Grail spread outwards, and the moment the Lamia touched it, they screamed and writhed on the ground. In no time, they collapsed, their large tails curling up, eventually turning into wisps of black smoke and disappearing.

When Bai Qiu looked up again, the mysterious mage in the sky had vanished. Though she had remained silent throughout, Bai Qiu had some suspicions.

Considering a Caster from Greek mythology who appeared in the third chapter, the conclusion was fairly straightforward. It could likely be Medea, also known as Caster. However, wasn’t the Medea of this era in her younger form, Medea Lily? The one who attacked clearly seemed to be Medea in her prime as a powerful Magus.

But why did she attack him?

As Bai Qiu quickly processed his thoughts, he heard Draco’s displeased voice beside him.

“How boring! I loathe these cowardly Casters, especially those who use illusions!” She then looked at Bai Qiu.

“Didn’t you say you were just going to deliver a message to that tedious ship captain? If you die so easily here, I might just laugh myself to the point of devouring the Human Order of this world!”

“…Sorry, I fell into the enemy’s trap without realizing it.” Bai Qiu admitted, still surprised at being ambushed so close to the village.

“I’ll be more careful next time.”

“Hmph, remember, your life belongs to me.” Draco put away the Holy Grail in her hand.

“Ahhhhhh————————!!!”

Suddenly, a loud crash came from the right rear, where a rock completely collapsed!

Are there more ambushers?! Bai Qiu quickly turned his alert gaze toward the sound. Emerging from the pile of rubble was the energetic girl with twin tails, Himiko?!

“Oh! Found you, found you! Are you okay?”

“Himiko?! What are you doing here???” Bai Qiu asked, puzzled.

“I heard a lot of noise here but couldn’t get close, so I got anxious and smashed the nearby rocks to see if anything strange was hiding behind them.”

“No, generally, there wouldn’t be anything hiding behind rocks…” Bai Qiu quickly waved his hand.

“Really? But I thought it was pretty normal to do that.” Himiko said with a confused expression.

Who would smash rocks bare-handed to break a Bounded Field?! And she actually did it!!!

“But what were you doing here? Were you fighting those evil spirits?!” Himiko immediately checked Bai Qiu’s body.

“You’re not hurt, right? If you were cursed by those things, we need to perform a ritual to remove it quickly.”

“No, I’m fine.” Bai Qiu showed her his arm, which had only minor scrapes and nothing serious.

“That’s good. What about Draco-chan next to you?”

Himiko tried to check Draco, who glared at her with a fierce look.

“Am I a bad queen?” Himiko muttered, looking dejected.

“…No, I don’t think it’s your fault.” Bai Qiu then turned to his companions.

“We should head back to the village, gather our information, and discuss how to deal with the sea monster.”