#100 - Zalan's acquaintance

The small mage and her companion appeared to be two people: a young girl and a middle-aged woman.

Both were dressed plainly. The girl had short, brownish-white hair and wore a brown face covering, but it couldn't completely hide her fair complexion, which was unlike that of commoners.

The middle-aged woman was dressed in ordinary work clothes, making her inconspicuous in the crowd.

The young female mage kept her head lowered while boarding, as if avoiding something.

Munn stood on the deck, watching the witch strip enter the ship and disappear into the lower deck cabins.

"What are you looking at?"

Zalan came to the deck after settling everyone in.

He noticed Munn staring at the passage to the lowest cabins and glanced over, but saw nothing.

"I discovered a small mage."

"A small mage? Are you sure?"

"Yes, a young girl about my age."

Hearing Munn's reply, Zalan's expression became puzzled.

Having served as a guardian to a high-ranking spellcaster, he knew that spellcasters weren't capable of instantly identifying mages in a crowd.

However, Munn's tone didn't suggest he was lying, which made Zalan even more curious about the magic Munn was learning.

"Can you identify who is a mage?"

"Yes."

"Then, I..."

"You definitely aren't."

After Zalan unsuccessfully tried several incantations with Munn, he finally gave up.

"Alright, it seems I truly lack this talent."

"What do you think of that small mage?"

Munn retracted the Old Willow Tree magic staff and consulted Zalan.

"If she's about your age, she's likely a mage apprentice. Otherwise, if she revealed her identity, Gold wouldn't let a mage stay in the lower cabins."

When Zalan spoke of a mage apprentice, he wasn't just referring to the girl's status, but more to the concealed methods of mage inheritance.

Mage apprentices were the lowest tier in this form of inheritance.

"Keep an eye on her. I want to know what kind of magic she knows."

Although the small mage only had one-fifth of a witch strip above her head, Munn didn't plan to let her off easily.

To be precise, Munn now wanted to quickly understand what magic in this world was like.

"Alright, I'll speak with Gold. He shouldn't refuse such a small request."

"By the way, don't reveal her mage identity yet."

"Rest assured."

As Zalan went to find Gold, people were gradually boarding the ship.

Just as the sailors were about to pull up the gangplank, a small group of people stumbled onto the pier.

They were walking hastily, bumping into many people and causing complaints on the pier.

Munn followed the commotion and looked over.

These people's clothes were tattered, with a few scattered pieces of armor, and most of them were injured.

Judging from their attire, Munn guessed they were likely soldiers in retreat.

"Wait, we need to board!"

"The ship is full. Wait for the next one!"

By the time the six people reached the ship, the sailors had already begun raising the planks.

Munn knew that the people on the ship didn't want trouble.

Carrying armor, weapons, and even supporting an unconscious young man, allowing these people on board would definitely cause problems.

"I'll pay three times the price!"

The apparent leader below didn't give up after hearing the first mate, Cullen's, refusal.

He pulled a brown money bag from his chest and threw it up, landing accurately in Cullen's hands.

Cullen didn't care about the man's accuracy; he simply weighed the money bag in his hand and tossed it back down.

"Today, the fee for boarding is one hundred gold coins per person. This isn't enough for three people."

"One hundred?"

The leader paused, then immediately turned back and began searching the unconscious young man's body.

Soon, he found more golden items from the young man's hemlines, linings, and sleeves.

"These are worth about eight hundred gold coins. There are only six of us."

‘I said it was full today...’?

Just as Cullen was about to refuse again, Zalan and Gold emerged from the captain's cabin.

After seeing Munn, Gold first tipped his hat in salute, then came to the ship's rail and looked at the people below.

"All six of you cannot bring long weapons on board, and you must split into three groups of two to board three different ships."

After receiving the reply, the leader turned back and discussed it with the others. Then, he led the injured young man onto the Thorns.

The other four also threw their sabers into the sea and ran towards the two large ships behind.

"That leader should be a soldier I trained before."

As Gold ordered the gangplank to be lowered again, Zalan walked to Munn and said.

"No wonder Gold agreed to let them on board."

"Actually, he should thank you for being able to board. Otherwise, although I can still fight, Gold's skills aren't bad either, and he wouldn't listen to me."

Munn didn't refute Zalan.

In his opinion, Gold was indeed very respectful to him, which sometimes made him feel as if the other party wanted to gain something from him.

"Alright, since you know him, should we let him stay on the second floor?"

"No need. I don't have much of a relationship with him. I only saw him once in Flowing Cloud City after leaving the army. I just didn't expect him to appear here."

Hearing Zalan say this, Munn abandoned the idea.

However, just as the two were talking, the leader who had boarded the ship made another request.

"Can I have a room? I have injured people here."

"I told you already, it's full. Only the lower cabins can squeeze people in. If you don't want to stay, you can disembark."

Seeing the captain's stern refusal, Lance Davidge could only helplessly carry the injured man towards the lower deck cabins.

After leaving Flowing Cloud City, Lance led a small team of guards into the jungle.

With years of war experience, he evaded pursuers time and again, finally arriving at the Xilin Pier after two days.

Lance knew that Magistrate Suarez was framed, but no one believed him.

Now, the only thing he could do was protect the bloodline of the Suarez family.

Seeing the soldier covered in wounds enter the cabin, Munn stopped paying attention to him.

For Munn now, the small mage was the focus of attention.

"I feel like that small mage is hiding from something."

"Hiding?"

Hearing Munn's statement, Zalan responded subconsciously.

"Of course, she has to hide. The best way for a small mage, young and with weak magic, is to hide."

Munn had already considered Zalan's explanation. He also knew about the lifestyles of some lower-level mages.

However, the feeling that the young girl gave Munn was more like she was hiding from someone.

But Munn had no evidence now, so he could only observe for the time being.

As the sun rose from the sea, Gold's three large ships raised their anchors and began sailing towards the Vena Islands.

Before the Thorns disappeared from the sea, the Flowing Cloud City guards tracking Lance's group also arrived at the Xilin Pier. After discovering that the six had completely escaped their control, Major Michael, leading the team, could only announce a temporary return.