The people on the deck looked at the swamp nearby.
"How are you? Where are we landing?" Jason asked.
Landing on this swamp was very different from landing on a normal island.
They had to think hard before they acted.
Arca raised his hand, and a map appeared in his hand. He unfolded it and looked around the area of the Land of All Souls.
Even though the map was huge, it still resembled a world map. The tiny islands within the area were not marked in detail.
Luckily, the Holy Mother Church had participated in its creation.
So the map of the Land of All Souls was quite detailed, with clear illustrations of the islands within the safe zone.
Their locations and distances between them were clearly marked.
The most ambiguous area was the border between life and death.
There was nothing there, only a few marked places on the periphery.
The Emerald Country was slightly better than the Life and Death Boundary, but not by much.
The only people who still wanted to explore this swamp were the researchers and scientists of the Holy Machine Church.
The high mortality rate in this area still scared many people away.
A look at the island in the Country of All Spirits.
Since they came from the Life and Death Boundary, they could pinpoint their current location.
There was no doubt about the boundary.
After examining it, Alka pointed to a clearly marked island in this area.
"Let's go there first."
This island was supposed to be the closest to their current location.
Sophia watched from a distance and nodded in response to Alka's words.
Alka then looked at everyone and said, "We are preparing to board. Everyone, get ready. We won't leave anyone on board this time."
The Swamp Sea was huge. If they penetrated deep into its depths, it would be difficult for the Voice of Dawn to provide support.
The entangled vines restricted its movements. The Voice of Dawn only needed to stay outside the Swamp Sea, maintaining a certain speed and moving with it.
The closest direction to them was enough.
At least the perimeter fence was safer; there was no need to worry about the Voice of Dawn being irreparably damaged.
After all, it was a ghost ship with its own intelligence.
After Alka's speech, everyone began to prepare.
The Swamp Sea was not like the other islands. No matter how big the islands were, the other islands were not much larger.
The area of the Swamp Sea could be compared to the area of an entire continent. They had to take enough supplies with them so that they would not run out of food and other necessities along the way due to the unfamiliar terrain.
The pocket rings were limited in size.
It didn't take long to prepare.
About two hours later, the Voice of Dawn slowly moored at the edge of the swamp.
As it moored, the movement of the swamp became noticeable.
The forward hatch opened, and the Flying Swallow appeared.
A large ship wouldn't have been up to the task, but a small, long boat like this was quite suitable.
Because it was designed for speed, the spells embedded in it allowed it to maintain a moderate thrust even under a certain load.
However, the ship's range was limited, and the Puppet Knights took up a significant portion of it.
There were also some supplies loaded on board, though in small quantities, serving more as camouflage.
Sophia sat on the bow of the ship, her position sending faint silver ripples through the water. She studied her surroundings through the bottom of the ship.
Pororo, Matryosha and Yulia walked straight through the swamp.
Under the emerald vines, the water was a pale green, barely covering their thighs.
Some areas were less stable, causing them to sink even deeper sometimes, even reaching their chests and stomachs.
In shallow areas, the boats had to go around them.
Because these areas only covered their calves.
Julia transformed her legs into a fish tail again.
This allowed the three types of sea animals to move through the waters with considerable speed, or rather, with greater freedom.
They could easily catch up with the Flying Swallow.
After all, this was not a vast expanse of water, and the Flying Swallow could not simply swim at full speed.
They had to maintain a low speed, controlled so that it was slightly faster than running speed.
Aside from Sofia, only Jason, Juanlu and Alka remained on board. Simon was on board a newly built aircraft, a large patrol aircraft.
There was just enough space for him to hover at an altitude of seven to eight meters above sea level.
It was a flying platform specially designed for him. However, the design and some of its components were not very well thought out, which resulted in a low flying altitude.
However, by controlling the treasures, he could achieve breakthroughs, which would make this a very practical occupation for him.
Six Sentinel patrol aircraft circled in the sky, carefully monitoring the surrounding area and conducting
patrolling.
A bright streak of light pierced the sky, and the crystal dragon descended, circling above the crowd.
Every now and then it would dart down like an arrow, skim across the water, and quickly rise.
By now, the crystal dragon was much larger than Jason (and that was without taking into account its tail).
It was already over two meters long.
Combined with the tail and the wide, glittering crystal wings, it looked like the beginnings of a giant dragon.
Sophia now took control and began to determine the direction of the group.
"This place is exactly as everyone described. If we rely only on our feet to navigate, we will easily fall into the abyss."
Sophia could roughly assess the surrounding area by watching the silvery ripples.
These vines looked strong, but in many places there were fragile holes in them.
If you accidentally stepped on one of them, it would be like walking on the ground and suddenly hitting a pothole, falling straight down.
With its unique structure, it also created a suction force, instantly pulling you down along with the vines and the suction.
Hearing Sophia's words, Julia next to him waved her fish tail in the water.
Since the water was clear, the sunlight penetrated through the fine scales on the fish tail, creating a faint shine.
Julia moved the surrounding water with her hand.
She said, "These holes can be detected by the change in current. The water above the holes is different from the water above these powerful vines."
It would be better to take a boat. A small boat would easily handle the inevitable dangers.
It would also make their journey through this area more comfortable.
Jason held onto the edge of the boat, constantly observing the situation below.
The transparency of the water, the vines growing near the surface, and the underwater clusters of various aquatic plants were clearly visible in the sunlight.
"Are there too many fish?" Jason asked, turning to look at the others.
Also, in the gaps between them and among the various aquatic plants, Alka saw many sea fish swimming leisurely.
It was a scene full of life.
Julia was surrounded by many fish, guarding her like guards.
She simply reached out and stroked the scales of the fish surrounding her.
"These vines are a great breeding ground for sea creatures, aren't they?" Julia said with a smile.
They were floating on it.
But the speed was not particularly fast, even for the Flying Swallow, which is known for its speed.
Since they couldn't make the draft too deep, they also had to control certain spells to prevent the bottom of the boat from coming into full contact with the aquatic plants and vines below.
This caused the speed to decrease even more.
"At our current speed, it will take us about ten days and nights to reach the island."
It was still within everyone's acceptable range.
It was just that the method of movement was a bit new.
...
"Something is happening! Be careful."
Simon, who spent most of his time in the air in his plane, suddenly spoke up.
A Sentinel patrol plane hovering above him and in the surrounding sky detected movement in the distance.
Hearing this warning, the people below immediately became wary.
"Captain, do you need us to conduct reconnaissance?"
Jiu, flapping his wings like a dragonfly, asked from behind Lucelia.
A pedal capable of flying at high speeds was of little use in such conditions.
Hearing this, Alka, who was standing nearby, shook her head.
"No, Simon's designs are more than effective for reconnaissance in this environment."
The doll girls, due to their small size, active nature, and exceptional flexibility, are the best scouts in conditions of limited visibility.
A patrol plane capable of high-speed, high-altitude flights is undoubtedly the best choice for the vast swamps.
The main reason is that the planes used are purely for reconnaissance purposes... and cheap.
The loss will not be great.
"It is a humanoid creature, about 5 kilometers away from us at 2:00. From a distance, it is a bit blurry.
It is in a small boat, slowly sailing in our direction."
Simon reported the situation to everyone through the remote reconnaissance of the design.
In order not to attract the enemy's attention, she did not bring the structure closer, but watched from a safer distance.
Alka slightly raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.
A pink mist appeared and spread, diluting and mixing with the air.
However, no other changes were noticed by those present.
When Sofia stood up, he looked around, finally realized something and asked, "Did you make us invisible?"
Alka nodded.
Although Sofia could now manipulate light to make everyone invisible,
This method still had many drawbacks.
The invisibility created through the pink dream mist was even more deceptive, capable of in certain
deceive the senses to some extent.
As they remained in place,
Simon also raised the reconnaissance structure higher into the sky, hiding it.
After a while,
a man riding on a small island slowly approached them.
The creature was probably a humanoid, dressed in good-looking clothes.
The clothes shimmered in the sun, as if reflecting the light.
The clothes were tight-fitting, and judging by the wrinkles and scars on his exposed arms, he was an elderly man.
The color of his skin looked a little strange, a grayish-greenish tint.
The boat he was riding in was very small, and could probably only hold two people.
He was sitting on the bow of the boat, holding a long fishing rod-like object in his hands, and waving it slightly.
The surface of the water around him was choppy.
"It's a fish... There are many fish around him, and they're all the same kind," Julia said, already sensing something.
Hearing this, everyone turned to watch.
This man gave the impression of... a shepherd.
If he were fishing, his boat would be dirty, without the gear to hold the fish.
Alka silently put on her glasses and looked around.
He looked at the magical power around the old man.
"He's not very strong, probably in the second stage."
"Do you want to do it?" Sofia asked quietly.
He nodded, "Let's do it."
With a slight wave of his hand, he made the pink weapon that appeared out of thin air slowly gather and return to Alka's palm.
The others also revealed themselves.
The old man, who was walking a little ahead, was clearly startled by the group's sudden appearance.
"Ah...ah!"
The already narrow canoe began to tilt from the sudden and strong push.
He was so startled that he fell straight into the water. The sudden movement scared away the dense crowd of fish around him.
The entire surface of the sea was covered with strong ripples.
Countless numbers of fish could be seen jumping out of the water.
He quickly stood up, since his height allowed only the upper part of his body to be seen. He grabbed a long pole and quickly swung it.
The fish below instantly calmed down under his arm swings.
The strange clothes on his body shone even brighter when drops of water fell on them.
Drops of water ran down his clothes.
It was some kind of waterproof material.
Only when the fish finally calmed down did he finally sigh in relief.
He moved slightly, partially revealing himself behind the boat, and looked at Alka and the others.
"Who are you? How did you suddenly end up here?"
His tone of voice was a little strange, but Alka understood what he said.
Since Lucelia had spoken like that from the beginning, it was her native language.
It came from the common language of the Sea of All Creatures.
The people on the ship might not know other languages, but the common language of the four seas, combined with the language of the White Crocodile, used to transmit secret messages, was the language that everyone on board had to learn.
So when this man spoke, everyone understood him.
"Julia, go and communicate."
Julia nodded in response to Alka's words.
This man spoke the common language of the Sea of All Creatures, so he must have some connection with this sea.
This place was so full of life that no one would believe that it had no connection with life.
Julia swam slowly, wagging her tail.
She slightly opened her arms and waved them, showing that she was unarmed and had no evil intentions.
She said softly, "We have no evil intentions. We just stumbled upon this place while sailing in the sea."
We came to see out of curiosity."
Situations like this were not uncommon.
Hearing this, the old man in front of her clearly believed it, gradually letting down his guard and slightly raising himself up.
The moment he fully straightened up, his eyes suddenly widened, as if he had seen something extremely frightening.
He pointed at Julia, his entire body trembling, his face full of terror.
"You… you are a human, a mermaid."
As they spoke, their fear gradually turned into anger. In this ambiguous situation…
In a state of anxiety, he tightly clutched a fishing rod-like object in his hand.
He pointed it at Julia.
Then, as if filled with determination, he rushed at her.
Seeing this clearly aggressive move, the people behind him prepared to attack.
Alka raised his hand slightly, stopping them.
"I will do it, take your time."
He jumped out of the boat. In one leap, he landed next to Julia, then extended his hand with his fingers spread wide, indicating the oncoming force.
A pink mist burst from his fingers, which quickly enveloped his ears and head.
The anger and fear that once tormented him immediately subsided, and he stood there, slightly confused.
Alka quickly turned to Julia and said, "Quickly remove the tail of the fish."
Julia nodded, and the tail of the fish turned into a pair of thin white legs standing in the water.
Alka controlled the mist, swirling it around the old man, and muttered in his ear continuously.
"It was all a dream... it was all a dream. Everything that happened now was fake, just a nightmare..."
A pink mist swirled around him and pulled him
back to the back of the boat, returning him to his previous position and movements.
Finally, Alka quickly returned to his original position.
With a slight wave of his hand, he dispelled the pink mist swirling around the enemy's head.
The old man, who was somewhat confused, quickly came to his senses and looked around doubtfully.
He discreetly rubbed his head and looked at the crowd.
Then he carefully stood up. Before Yulia could say anything, Alka emerged from the water.
"Don't worry, I'm from the Church of the Holy Mother of God."
He slightly raised his right hand, and a faint ball of holy light appeared on his palm, emitting a pure white glow.
It was a simple spell of the Church of the Holy Mother of God. Apart from dispelling the surrounding evil, its only property was illumination.
In this scene, everyone could clearly see the old man's transition from vigilance to relaxation.
He turned over and sat down in the boat.
"So you're from the Church of the Holy Mother of God? Were you carried away into the swamp?"
"Yes, but this time I happened to be there and was interested in the place, so I decided to come and take a look to broaden my horizons."
Hearing this, the old man nodded, smiled and waved his fishing rod.
The boat moved slowly.
"It's not safe here. Come with me. I'll take you to the village."
The others stood at a distance and, at Alka's signal, followed him.