Ships came and went at the harbor.
Besides the houses visible in the distance, the seafront area was filled with various platforms and plazas for stacking goods and warehouses for storing goods.
There were also rails around the harbor for towing ships into the shipyard for maintenance.
You could even see many ships anchored on the shore.
Even from afar, people could be seen moving about like ants.
The entire harbor was bustling with activity, and the clamor seemed audible even there.
One after another, ships with light gray exteriors and ochre accents patrolled the area, seemingly guarding the Southern Cross Island.
Because their sails bore a red cross, the symbol of the Southern Cross Island.
They had seen it before in the book Baraz had given them.
Even at the harbor, the tall lighthouse perched on the shore bore a red cross.
"This place is so huge!" Jason was momentarily at a loss for words, suffering from his lack of education.
They docked the Voice of the Dawn in the waters outside the harbor, awaiting inspection by a local government vessel.
A short while later, a gray vessel about 40 meters long, with a red cross on its head, approached.
This vessel was noticeably shorter than Alka and his crew's Voice of the Dawn.
A soldier on board, wearing a white and blue navy uniform with a red cross on his chest, looked up at Alka and the others.
Next to him floated something resembling a notepad and a quill.
He said, "New faces? What exactly do you do?"
The language of the Home Sea.
It was strange, why was the common language of this sea area the same as the lingua franca of the Home Sea?
Without giving it much thought, he replied directly, "This is our first time here, and we're a treasure-hunting group."
"Treasure-hunting group?" He looked up at Alka and the others with a quizzical expression.
"Okay, but remember, no digging on the island. All property on the island belongs to the Lafsas royal family. Any reckless digging is considered theft."
Clearly, this wasn't his first time dealing with a treasure-hunting group, as he spoke with practiced fluency.
"Of course," Alka nodded.
As for whether this was illegal, he'd have to check the map first to be sure.
Alka pondered silently.
"Now, registration is required. Please answer with caution."
After that, the notepad beside him floated in front of him. He picked up the floating quill and began to ask questions.
It seemed that since this was Alka and the others' first time here, the process was a little complicated.
"Does it have a group name?"
"Compass Eye."
"How many people?"
"Hmm..."
"Is that a difficult question?" the marine asked, frowning and looking warily at Alka.
"Okay, nine." He thought for a moment, still not including the puppet army.
"What ship? A ghost ship or a spell ship?"
"What kind of ship?" Alka frowned slightly at this question, clearly touching upon a certain level of privacy.
"Since you're new here, I'll explain." He seemed accustomed to this and began to explain directly.
"The standards for ports are different. For intelligent ghost ships, they must be placed in specific port areas, and of course, there's a fee for that."
"Ghost ship."
He nodded. Even knowing it was a ghost ship didn't surprise him much.
After recording everything, he tore the entire piece of paper off, magic flowing into it, and then he flung it out.
The paper folded in mid-air into a cross, then dyed red and affixed to the right side of the bow.
"This is the pass. Okay, you can enter now. Remember to prepare your money."
Without waiting for Arka and the others to respond, he waved his hand and steered the boat towards the other ships behind.
The men on the deck exchanged glances.
"Looks pretty legitimate."
"Alright, Dawn's Voice, keep going."
Then the boat slowly began to move, sails furled, propelled by the incantations on the ship's underside.
Slowly moving forward, they passed a white mark on the sea.
The sound of soft music drifted over.
"You said the ship's out of control?" Hearing this, Alka frowned and looked under the ship.
The current was shifting, and the waves were slightly lifting the entire ship's bottom.
He controlled the ship's diagonal movement, heading towards a special area in the harbor ahead.
The cross on the bow was faintly flashing red.
"Some kind of spell structure? I have to say it's quite advanced," Simon said, observing the current lifting the ship's bottom.
It wasn't just their ship; the other ships entering the harbor with them were also experiencing the same effect.
This was clearly a normal phenomenon in this port.
This avoided congestion; after all, you couldn't always expect these people to follow the rules and learn courtesy.
Perhaps because they were ghost ships, the area they were lifted to was noticeably farther away from the other spell-crafted ships.
The various facilities there also looked more advanced as they sailed towards that area. Everyone also spotted the other ships in the harbor area.
As soon as they approached, they could feel the surge of magical energy ripple outward. It was a magical gathering area.
"It's been artificially modified, and the concentration of magical energy is a notch higher than the surrounding area," Julia said, sensing the difference.
The ships in that area were also much more advanced in appearance than the other spell-crafted ships.
Most were between 40 and 60 meters in length, and each one had its own distinct personality.
Not only were the colors vibrant, but they also featured various patterns, and the sculptures on their bows were also diverse.
Some were even more ostentatious.
The most eye-catching was a 60-meter-long ship with three gun decks, about three or four meters taller than Alka and his crew's ship.
However, the gun ports on the gun decks were all sealed, locked with spells.
They weren't the only ones affected.
When Alka and her crew's Dawn of the Voice sailed in, the gun ports were also sealed with spells.
Observing this, Simon nodded.
"No wonder they dared to allow ships like ours, armed with rock-shaking cannons, to dock so brazenly."
As the ship slowly approached the shore, the anchor sank to the seabed with the sound of chains.
As Alka and her crew disembarked,
A naval officer and two soldiers approached.
"Hello, we are the navy of Southern Cross Island. We charge one gold sail for docking."
One gold sail?
How is this any different from robbery?
However, Alka said nothing more and silently produced a gold sail.
Clearly, the local government knew full well that the owners of ghost ships wouldn't care about such a small sum.
This demon gathering area, along with the surrounding supporting facilities, certainly looks impressive.
But it's definitely not worth the price.
New here, I need to see more.
The navy captain was a little surprised to see Alka and the others so forthcoming.
He was certain he had never seen this ship or these people before.
It was strange that they didn't drag their feet and cause any trouble.
However, it also made their attitude noticeably better.
He accepted the golden sail, channeled a stream of magic power into his hand, and shot it at the cross star on the side of the Voice of Dawn's bow.
The cross star lit up faintly.
"The validity period is one week. If you need to dock again after that, please continue to pay. For longer dockings, or any maintenance work required on the vessel, please inquire at the Star Shipyard over there."
He pointed to a small house not far away, where a large group of people were gathered.
"Then I wish you a pleasant journey here." He bowed slightly and left with the two marines.
"What do we do now? What should we do?"
Jason turned and asked.
It had been so long since he had been in contact with the civilized world that he felt a little lost for a moment.
"We've just arrived, so do whatever you want. You can move freely on the island. We'll meet on the ship tonight."
Alka calculated the time and said.
It was only a dozen hours of daylight now, and there were at least six hours left until nightfall, enough time for them to get to know the island.
This was the first island they had docked at in the vast sea, a large one with a city on it. They were already filled with curiosity and a desire to explore.
Hearing this, everyone nodded.
After chatting for a while, they departed together.
As for the ships...
Of course, there were puppet armies guarding them. Besides, this was a powerful port after all, so no one would be so arrogant.
The girls walked together towards the port town.
"Would you like to come?" Jason turned and asked.
Alka thought for a moment and waved his hand, preparing to go it alone for a while.
Jason didn't force Simon and the others to join him, and he also walked towards the town.
Alka stood there and took in the surroundings.
This place was truly magnificent. The ships were neatly lined up side by side, their massive hulls and tall masts like a dense forest.
A crane, constructed of wood and some metal, rotated constantly, fetching goods in wooden crates.
The laborers carrying goods in the square included not only humans but also numerous subspecies and races of varying skin colors.
Arka even spotted gray-skinned Broken Islanders, and there were also numerous varieties of murlocs.
After all, murlocs were taller and stronger.
A casual glance revealed that most racial differences were primarily reflected in minor variations in skin color and limbs.
For example, the difference between Broken Islanders and normal humans.
With a flip of his hand, a business card appeared between his fingers.
It read Baraz's Golden Trout Merchants.
28 Mast Street.
Putting the card away, Arka began walking towards the town.
"Make way, make way."
"We need 10 porters, working until tomorrow morning. 10 Bronze Birds per day. More work, more pay."
"Watch out, the cargo is coming."
"The Red Blade Commando is recruiting sailors. 50 Bronze Birds per day and night, a high salary. Two Silver Snakes will be given as a settlement allowance once you join the ship."
A variety of noisy voices rang out from all directions.
But most of them were from various individuals or forces seeking various positions.
Some laborers, sailors, and even Alka heard mention of combatants.
The sailor recruitment price ranged from 10 Bronze Birds per day and night to 50 Bronze Birds per day, which was indeed a high salary.
As for the reason for such a huge difference, just look at the recruitment point that asked for 50 Bronze Birds.
Basically, no one was interested.
It looked like it was extremely dangerous, and it was notoriously dangerous.
Especially since this group even provides resettlement allowances, practically life-saving money.
The forces recruiting combatants offer high salaries, estimated to be between a dozen silver sails and one gold sail per month.
If a battle breaks out, the spoils must be shared.
Like pirates.
Alka turned to look at the ghost ships passing by in a row.
A conservative estimate suggests there are at least 20 Treasure Masters on this island.
How outrageous.
This is just based on the number of ships, which is definitely a significant undercount.
Because there are definitely ships with more than one Treasure Master.
For example, Alka and his group.
One ship houses several Treasure Masters.
Is this the Infinite Sea?
Alka didn't know the overall status of this landmark island within the Infinite Sea, but based on the descriptions in "Dream Chaser Land"
Judging by the infrastructure of this island's harbor, while it looked impressive, it certainly wouldn't be a good place to get in.
Even so, Signpost Island had so many treasure wielders docking there.
They were practically everywhere.
Alka thought as he left the dock's plaza and entered the town's interior.
Here, he could see many of the townspeople.
Aside from the salty, damp sea breeze, the surroundings were relatively clean.
It wasn't as medieval and filthy as Alka had imagined.
Furthermore, the street beneath his feet was unusually wide, wide enough for at least two large carriages.
There were even things like streetlights on either side, though it was unclear what they were used for.
The houses on either side weren't made of wood.
Most were brick and tile buildings, ranging from three to six stories high, with a few wooden houses dotted around.
However, most of the houses were painted in off-white and reddish-brown paint.
You could see some workers touching up the paint.
The salty, humid sea breeze had eroded the houses.
There was a tavern near the intersection.
The tavern sign depicted a giant sea fish speared by a harpoon, with a wine glass next to it.
Fisherman's Bar.
But the bar didn't seem crowded, and Alka had no intention of entering.
He wanted to find Baraz's Chamber of Commerce first.
He glanced at the street signs.
White Sail Street, apparently not Mast Street.
There were many shops at the intersection, but most of them were related to ships.
They sold all sorts of boat accessories.
Aside from the tavern, there wasn't even a place to eat.
Alka continued walking inside. Finally, at an intersection, I saw the sign for Mast Street.
I immediately headed towards it.
The street was noticeably different upon entering. The concentration of magic had slightly increased.
It wasn't that there was anything special about this place, but rather that many of the items here were imbued with magic.
The abundance of such items naturally slightly increased the surrounding magic.
Alka glanced at the shops on either side.
He could see a few restaurants with decent food, followed by shops selling spell materials and various weapons.
The magical sheen on some of the weapons could be seen from the entrance.
Many people in various clothing were shopping.
Most of them were in groups.
This place clearly focused on items related to touchers or combatants.
Number 28... Number 28, got it.
Seeing the house number 28, Alka looked down.
However, it didn't seem quite what he expected.
The merchandise in this shop had been removed, and it looked like
It wasn't long after they took it down.
The shop's door was open, and some workers were packing up the items inside, looking quite empty.
A man stood there directing things, his back looking slightly tired and worn.
From his back, it must have been Balazs.
Alka walked over and patted his shoulder.
Balazs turned around.
When he saw it was Alka, his slightly tired face perked up a bit, and a smile broke out.
"Alka? Long time no see."
He opened his arms and gave Alka a brief hug.
After all, Alka and his companions had been on the Broken Isles for quite some time, and they had met Balazs several times.
They could be considered quite close friends.
"Friend, I was just wondering if you'd come over. Congratulations."
"Thank you, but... are you having any trouble?"
Alka asked, looking at the shop that seemed to be moving.
And judging by Balazs's expression, he knew he wasn't doing well.
It certainly didn't look like he was moving to a better place.
Hearing this, Balazs felt a little helpless. He waved his hand and sighed, "Let's not talk about that. Business competition is always fierce, isn't it?"
Hearing this, and looking at the shop that had disappeared, Alka couldn't help but ask, "Are you not going to quit this business?"
He looked like he was about to go bankrupt, which was worrying.
"No, of course not."
Balaz shook his head. "It's just a minor setback. The shop's gone, but my ship's still here. Some of my crew still trust me. With some time, I can get back to where I was before."
Hearing this, Alka nodded. This was clearly much better than he'd imagined.
He also knew a little about the situation at Balaz's Chamber of Commerce.
They primarily operated on the 70-meter-long ship of the time. As long as it was still there, this was only a minor setback.
"And this time, I've cleared out some of the disloyal members in our team, so it's not a complete loss," Balaz said, as if trying to comfort himself.
Alka nodded despite not understanding the details of the situation.
"In that case, why don't we go for a drink? I just arrived on this island, too."
Hearing this, Balaz clearly piqued his interest. "No problem, wait a moment."
He said something to the people inside who were carrying things.
He came out and said, "Let's go."
He led Alka to a tavern in a small alley not far from Mast Street.
Looking at this tavern in an alley, one would definitely miss it if they weren't familiar with it.
"Old Alley Bar, my favorite. Don't worry, even though it's in a bird cave, it's a really nice place." Balazs said, winking at Alka.
"Trust me, this bar is important and safe."
Hearing this, Alka perked up slightly.
Clearly, this place seemed to be some kind of special place in the area.
He walked up the stairs.
Opening the iron gate, he walked up a spiral staircase to the second floor of the building.
This bar was actually built on the second floor of the building, not on the first floor or in the basement.
It was quite unique. The difference was immediately apparent upon entering.
‐‐ It wasn't dark, but rather brightly lit by the surrounding windows.
‐‐ And it wasn't noisy or bustling at all.
‐‐ It was exactly what Alka wanted.