"How did you pull that trick just now? You can actually modify someone's memory. I've never seen you do that before," Jason asked quietly, leaning against Alka.
They still maintained their previous formation, but the old man in the boat was leading the way.
Hearing this, Alka said softly, "It's a technique for using dream mist. You're exaggerating; it can't possibly achieve that kind of effect.
The only reason it worked just now was a coincidence; the conditions just happened to be met."
Alka simply used the ability to sleep, combined with a certain hypnotic technique.
To call it a modification technique is a bit of an exaggeration. In this world of souls and magic, memory and soul are deeply bound together.
The ability to modify memory implies the ability to influence the very essence of life itself.
This is no small feat, which is why Jason and the others were so surprised.
The old man's expression of horror and anger upon seeing Julia's fishtail revealed his own incredulity.
That trembling expression of fear couldn't be faked.
This clearly met the conditions for a nightmare, one of the body's most instinctive reactions.
Things that are too terrifying and unbelievable can easily seem unreal.
Alka immediately put him to sleep and then used a very simple hypnotic technique.
The memory was still lingering in his mind, but the old man's appearance showed his age, and his strength was far too weak for Alka's.
With Alka's current strength and his increasingly sophisticated control over the dream mist, he could easily transform it in subtle ways.
While he was asleep, he used hypnotic techniques to make him truly perceive the memory as a nightmare.
Because it met these conditions.
And it only happened in a split second, just now.
It was only under these conditions that the effect was achieved.
So this wasn't memory modification at all, but simply an ability to adapt to changing circumstances, achieved through the delicate manipulation of the dream mist.
After roughly understanding Alka's meaning, Jason nodded.
In that case, there was nothing interesting to be found.
The old man's skill in controlling the fish also amazed everyone.
He sat in the small boat, waving his fishing rod, and a large school of sea fish followed him.
This was a species of fish, about the size of two palms on average, with pale black scales and a plump appearance.
It was obvious that this was a species that would yield a lot of meat.
Looking around, there were at least thousands of them surrounding them, paddling past their boat, under their feet, and without a trace of fear.
They seemed accustomed to it.
Even around the old man's boat, several of these enormous fish could be seen.
They were as long as a normal person's leg, propelling the boat forward.
No wonder they hadn't seen any spells on the boat, nor had they seen the old man rowing.
But the boat still managed to move slowly.
The old man looked just like they had at first glance: a herder.
It was just that he herded fish.
Seeing such a newcomer for the first time was a bit of a novelty.
"Okay, it's time for you to make a difference," Alka said, looking at Jason.
Jason nodded, rolled up his trouser legs slightly, and jumped off the boat.
However, his feet didn't touch the water directly. A crystal emerged from his feet, lifting him up in the water as he sailed forward.
He quickly arrived beside the old man's boat.
Soon, everyone could see Jason and the old man chatting happily.
Communication was his forte, and it was why he was the ship's primary intelligence gatherer.
Alka sat on the boat, staring blankly ahead, lost in thought.
"Why is he so afraid of Julia?" Sofia, who was steering, asked softly.
This was a question that needed to be understood.
Alka shook his head; he, too, was pondering this aspect.
The old man's previous behavior hadn't been faked. His expression upon seeing Julia was as if he had seen a ghost.
This clearly didn't align with their expectations.
They had originally thought this area had some connection to life, given the similarities.
But when he saw Julia's fishtail, he saw the fear he felt towards the mermaid.
There was even a hint of anger after the fear.
The relationship between the two might not be as... harmonious as they imagined.
Julia seemed to have noticed this herself.
As for the specific reason for this relationship, it was unknown. Even though they knew so many research reports, they only briefly covered the situation in this area, not their connection with life.
Not to mention information about conflicting customs and religious differences.
Led by the old man in front, they soon saw a... village ahead?
If it was a village.
Because the gathering place looked different from the village they imagined, the buildings seemed strange to them.
No, very strange and surprising.
There was still sea ahead, no mud, rocks, or small islands.
But above the surface lay residential areas constructed from various wooden planks, vines, and plants.
These house-like structures resembled giant spherical objects woven from vines.
The round vine-covered house had a circular opening in front, serving as the main entrance.
The house seemed to float on the sea. The circular structure prevented it from rolling because it was secured by flat wooden planks and vines wrapped around its perimeter.
This allowed it to float steadily on the surface.
Even so, one could still feel the house swaying slightly with the waves.
Watching this, Jason, who had been chatting with the old man, immediately asked.
"Is this your village? This... is quite interesting."
"Haha, it's quite different from the places you live outside. This is Piaoqiu Village," the old man said with a smile.
It was clear that he loved his village very much.
Jason looked at the houses and asked curiously, "How was this house constructed?"
"Using the [Vine Growth] spell."
"[Vine Growth]?" Jason asked curiously.
What kind of spell is this? The name alone sounded a bit too strange.
"It's a very simple spell, easily learned by outsiders from the Holy Mother Church. Let me demonstrate it to you."
The old man waved his hand.
Magic energy emanated, and Alka saw that in the water below, where the vines had formed, some of the vines began to break free and grow upwards.
Under the old man's control, it emerged from the water, forming a ball that floated along with the waves.
But because it was firmly connected to the vines below, it was tied to the ground. Even if it swayed, it would not completely float away.
This was clearly the same structure as the houses in the village, except that the houses were larger, perhaps using more vines.
In that instant, Alka understood how the houses in this village were constructed.
This was truly fascinating.
As they arrived at the village, Alka and the others were incredibly conspicuous.
A middle-aged man, seemingly not very old, wore armor made of strange vines.
He held a metallic trident in his hand and walked towards them.
…No, not walking.
When he got a little closer, they realized he was sitting on something.
It was a strange creature, a full meter and a half long, with four limbs, a slender head, and a long, swaying tail.
It looked a bit like a crocodile, but also a bit like a fish.
Although the trident he held had a metallic sheen, Alka didn't think it was a metal weapon.
It's strange for someone who's lived at sea for so long to use a metal weapon.
It would wear out easily.
It doesn't make sense; it looks like some kind of wooden weapon with a metallic sheen.
It should be very sturdy.
His strength is also at the second stage, but several spirals stronger than the old man's.
It feels like he's about to break through to the third stage.
After swimming over on the strange creature, he glanced at everyone warily.
He particularly glanced at Alka, Sofia, and Jason.
It was clear he'd noticed something different about the three.
The only peculiarity between them was that they all believed in the Virgin Mary, effectively members of the Virgin Mary Church.
"Uncle Kake, who are they?"
Hearing this, the old man named Kake, who had been leading them, smiled and said, "They're from the Church of Our Lady. They just happened to run into the marshland in our direction, so they came up to take a look."
Hearing this, the middle-aged man once again glanced at the group with caution.
Seeing that Alka was clearly the leader, he nodded.
"I hope you won't do anything bad in the village."
Everyone nodded.
Following the two men, they headed towards the village.
The village covered quite a large area.
After all, the spherical houses floating on the sea were truly peculiar.
The arrival of these outsiders made the surrounding residents turn their heads and look in their direction.
The children, in particular, saw the pile of dolls on the boat, their eyes lit up.
But they didn't dare come over, and it wasn't because they were timid. Rather, it was because their parents had already firmly restrained them, looking at them with unfriendly eyes.
It was obvious that if they tried to break free, they would be met with a severe beating from their parents.
As soon as they entered the village, they seemed to have arrived at Uncle Keck's house, which was very close to the village entrance.
He waved his fishing rod, and thousands of fish formed a straight line and swam towards the base of the two spherical houses.
The structure of this house and its surroundings was somewhat different, as the round house had a distinct fence behind it, forming a large circle.
The fish entered the fish pen through the seawater below.
It was clearly a breeding ground.
"This is definitely not where you want to stay. After all, this is just an ordinary village.
If you want to reach the muddy land, you'll have to leave the village and walk in this direction for a few days."
The middle-aged man holding the trident looked at the crowd and said.
"Mudland?" The name puzzled Jason.
Looking at Jason, who had spoken, the middle-aged man nodded and said, "Yes, it's what you outsiders call an island."
Upon hearing this, everyone understood what the so-called mudland meant.
After all, given the structure of this marshland, they could live normally even outside of an island; they didn't necessarily have to live on one.
In a generation, the concept of an island might no longer exist, so calling it a mudland seemed more reasonable.
"Of course, we're just a little curious. After all, this is a village on the sea.
We'll leave soon. Thank you for your guidance," Alka nodded beside him.
It was clear that the middle-aged man, who looked like a militiaman, was considering Alka and the others' religious beliefs by allowing them to tour the village.
This village seemed unusually xenophobic. Whether it was for safety reasons or something else, not allowing them to stay overnight was completely understandable.
After hearing Alka's response, the middle-aged men nodded in relief.
"Quick, you're being rude," said Uncle Keck, who hadn't left the scene.
Hearing this, the middle-aged man named Quick sighed helplessly.
"Uncle Keck, there's nothing we can do. For the safety of the village, now's not the right time to take in outsiders."
Keck was also somewhat frustrated, but he didn't argue. He looked at Alka and the others and said, "From here, it'll take about three to four days and nights to get there.
The muddy area is crowded and quite accommodating. You can rest safely there, but you'd better move quickly. If you're slow, it'll be too late."
"What do you mean?" This made Alka frown.
It was clearly not a good thing.
Quick was about to explain when he heard an older voice from behind.
"Let me tell you."
The old voice said, as an old man, hunched over, stood on a strange creature, being carried over.
The creature beneath his feet was the same species the militia had been waiting for.
I had just asked about it; it seemed to be called a crawling fish.
"Village Chief."
"Village Chief."
Hearing the two voices, the old man simply nodded.
The old man looked at Alka and the others.
"Well, you don't seem like bad people, but I hope you understand that things in the village are quite tense these days."
Then, without waiting for Alka and the others to reply, the old man rambled on, "Those monsters from the Profaned Land are coming again. We must be prepared.
The head gardener sent word just a few days ago, so if you're going to the muddy land, you'd better hurry."
"Monsters from the Profaned Land?"
"It's that area you call the border between life and death. There are many monsters there, and they hate all life.
Over the years, they've periodically gathered to attack the outside world, and we're right here on the border. We're right next to that Profaned Land."
With that, they understood.
The monsters in the area bordering life and death were indeed extremely aggressive, even if they were merely passing through the distant sea.
But once spotted by the monsters above, those entwined undead and plant-based creatures would find a way to attack them.
Those with ranged attacks would employ them relentlessly, while those without would hurl vines and even rocks at them.
Living next door to such monsters was almost inevitable.
Indeed, the fact that this place had survived was already quite fortunate.
Because Alka didn't seem to notice any protective measures being taken by the village.
Finally, the village chief thought for a moment and said, "If you don't mind, you can join the village team in the muddy field."
This might save a lot of time; they often take this route.
"Village Chief!" a middle-aged man named Quick called out from the side, frowning.
He clearly didn't trust outsiders like Alka.
"Don't worry, Quick, they're not bad people. Trust the wisdom of the elders."
Hearing this, the middle-aged militiaman nodded.
The village chief finally began to explain.
"Our village needs to transport some supplies to Nidi. You're in this area, the main target of attack, and we need resources.
The last batch of supplies from our village hasn't been delivered yet, but they're about to depart. If you don't mind, you can come along. "
Arka turned upon hearing this, looking at the crowd and asking for their opinions.
The others behind him nodded in agreement without comment.
If it could speed things up, why not?
As for whether there would be any danger, they would need to remain vigilant.
"Okay, we can act together. If there's any danger, we'll be able to help."
The old man smiled and nodded. "That's perfect. Come with me." "
The old man led Alka and the others to the end of the village.
This allowed them to pass through the center of the village and take a quick tour of the entire village.
There seemed to be many herders like Keke.
Because half of the houses had this kind of structure, they saw numerous bighead carp swimming around and gathering in this part of the village.
This seemed to be their village's specialty.
Arriving at the end.
As they had said, there was a large amount of supplies piled up here.
These supplies were sealed in rattan balls, revealing some unknown wood and many fish products.
More supplies were placed on a long, concave board.
The board had a flat bottom and floated on the sea.
In front of the board was a strange, slender fish, over three meters long.
The huge body and long, wide tail of the fish could It was enough to clearly demonstrate its immense power in the water.
The fish was wearing a saddle-like device, with two vines extending from it, tied to a long wooden plank.
A human sat at the head of the plank, also wielding something resembling a fishing rod.
There were three such fish-pulled wooden boats.
If you had to compare them, they resembled horse-drawn carriages.
They could even be called fish carts.
Six robust-looking militiamen accompanied them, all around the second stage of their strength.
Their attire, weapons, and the climbing fish they rode were identical to Quick's.
When Alka and his companions arrived, most of the supplies had already been loaded and they were ready to depart.
The village chief led them over and spoke with the bearded, middle-aged man who led the group.
"They will follow you to the muddy ground, so you can keep an eye on each other." "
The bearded leader nodded, showing no disdain or embarrassment.
Finally, he glanced at Alka's smile and extended his hand for a shake.
"Just call me Madru."
"Call me Alka. I'll be in good hands these days."
"You look much better than I do. We deserve your care."
After a few polite exchanges, the two newly met strangers walked forward together under the village chief's gaze.
The village's transport team led the way, with Alka and the others trailing a few meters behind, following at a distance.
"What a unique way to do things. This place is truly interesting."
Simon couldn't help but smile as he looked at the transport team ahead.