Chapter 12: A Taste of Murloc

Chapter 12: A Taste of Murloc

The red moon hung high above. Klein walked over to Donna and Denton and crouched beside the siblings.

Cleeves’s female companion, Cecile, clearly let out a breath of relief. She picked up the rifle on the deck, bent halfway down, and quickly moved in another direction, still keeping more than ten meters between herself and the pig and cattle organs sprinkled with peppercorns.

“Uncle, is it about to begin…” Donna, the girl with playful freckles, suddenly became a little nervous, though her face was full of curiosity and anticipation.

Klein raised the index finger of his left hand and pressed it in front of his lips, signaling the two minors to stay silent.

At times like this, he could not help but thank Roselle. It was precisely because of the efforts of this senior transmigrator that certain gestures he habitually used had become common body language in the Northern Continent, avoiding potential misunderstandings.

I heard that in the early Fifth Epoch, the gesture for “do not speak” was an insult in Loen, while in certain parts of the Southern Continent, it meant “kiss me”… Klein’s thoughts drifted for a moment.

Donna and Denton did not dare speak again. They quietly crouched there and watched Cleeves’s preparations before the battle with full attention.

The former adventurer picked up a hanging pole and tossed the thread holding a portion of pig and cattle organs over the side of the ship.

With a plop, the bait entered the water.

Cleeves unhurriedly spread out the remaining organs. Holding his weapon, he retreated step by step and hid in the shadows opposite Cecile. The line between the two of them and the ship’s rail where the pole was placed formed an angle of roughly sixty degrees.

After leaning the triangular spike and other weapons nearby, he lifted the rifle and tested the feeling of taking aim.

The deck fell completely silent, with only the rumble of the steam engine and the sound of waves striking the ship.

Time passed second by second. Donna and Denton could not help changing from a crouching position to sitting, backs against the wooden boards of the cabin, relieving the numbness in their legs.

It was then that they saw the hanging pole on the ship’s rail sink slightly.

A dull scraping sound rapidly traveled upward, drawing closer and closer. Suddenly, a figure leaped onto the deck.

It was a monster bathed in crimson moonlight, its entire body covered in dark-green scales and flowing with bluish mucus.

It had little resemblance to a human. It was more like a giant fish that had grown powerful limbs, with obvious webbing between its fingers and toes.

This murloc stood over 1.9 meters tall. Its eyes bulged roundly, gills grew along its cheeks, and its appearance was like a demon from legend. Donna reached out and covered her mouth to prevent herself from instinctively screaming.

At the same time, she covered her younger brother Denton’s mouth as well.

Good instincts… Klein chuckled inwardly and began examining the murloc seriously.

Unlike the Sailor who had lost control and whom he had seen before, a true murloc did not have a human-like head. It was a pure monster.

The murloc looked around with a certain vigilance. Only then did it crouch down, pick up the scattered pig and cattle organs on the ground, and swiftly stuff them into its mouth, making clear chewing sounds.

Within its mostly white eyes, the light gradually scattered, as though it had fallen into a dream.

Not very intelligent… Klein shook his head and made his judgment.

Bang!

Cleeves pulled the trigger. A bullet flew from the rifle and struck the murloc between the chest and abdomen in an instant, shattering scales and splattering flesh and blood.

“Waa!” The murloc let out a cry like a child’s shrill wail. Pushing off with both hands, it pounced toward Cleeves in the shadows, as fast as a steam locomotive.

At that moment, Cecile fired from another position as well.

Bang!

The rifle bullet struck the murloc’s side, sending fragments scattering and causing its tall figure to stagger.

The murloc that had eaten the peppercorns displayed visible sluggishness. It stopped where it was, uncertain which direction’s enemy it should deal with first.

This gave Cleeves and Cecile the chance to reload at leisure.

They took aim once more and pulled their triggers one after the other.

Bang! Bang!

Two bloody flowers bloomed in succession. Pain restored clarity to the murloc’s eyes.

It rolled and lunged, dodging the subsequent shots. As though it had not been injured at all, it closed the distance to Cleeves.

Cleeves calmly lowered the rifle in his hands and picked up the triangular spike leaning beside him.

Instead of retreating, he advanced. With a forward leap, he rolled to the murloc’s side, and the triangular spike in his hand stabbed viciously and accurately into the spot on the prey’s side where the scales had already been shattered.

The murloc spun abruptly, bringing with it a gust of wind, and forcefully flung both the triangular spike and Cleeves away. The former adventurer landed on the deck with a heavy thud.

The murloc shook its head, seeming to feel the intense discomfort in its body. It no longer attacked Cleeves and Cecile, but strode toward the ship’s rail, trying to leap into the sea.

Bang!

Cecile’s bullet struck it once more, creating a flower of blood, yet still failing to deprive it of the ability to move.

After two heavy steps, the murloc reached a suitable position. Its knees bent, and it was about to leap.

However, its body suddenly went soft. It failed to exert force properly, and the distance it jumped was clearly insufficient. It could only fall against the inner side of the ship’s rail.

Bang!

The murloc endured the damage from the rifle and tried to climb over the rail.

Seeing that it was about to escape, Klein took out his revolver.

At that moment, a thunderous bang came from another direction!

The murloc’s left eye immediately turned into a bloody hole, through which one could vaguely see pale, jelly-like matter squirming within.

It was not dead yet. Lying near the cabin, it struggled to crawl, attempting to stand again.

A few seconds later, the poison erupted. It convulsed and died completely.

Klein looked toward the source of the sound and saw a middle-aged man walk out from the shadows leading to the cabin on the other side.

The middle-aged man wore a dark-red heavy coat, loose white trousers, and the standard bicorne hat of this era.

In his hand was an iron-colored hand cannon outdated for the times, its thick, dark muzzle still emitting white smoke.

Klein had previously heard the attendant introduce him, so he recognized this man. He knew that he was the captain of the White Agate, Elland Kag.

With obvious wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, on his forehead, and beside his mouth, Elland walked toward Cleeves and smiled faintly.

“As captain, I must ensure that no accidents occur.

“Please forgive me for watching from the side all this time.”

Cleeves had already risen to his feet, revealing no particular emotion.

“This is your ship.

“By convention, you have the right to share the spoils.”

Elland tilted his head and glanced at Klein and the others, smiling as he said, “The next replenishment of fresh water and food will be in two days. You will still need to find a way to preserve the murloc’s corpse yourselves.

“How about this? Sell it to me at a lower price, and the difference will count as the payment I should receive.”

“That is the best solution.” After exchanging a look with Cecile, Cleeves agreed to Elland’s request. “One hundred and thirty pounds, and the whole thing is yours.”

The Beyonder ingredients on a murloc have a market price of one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds. Considering its other spiritual parts, one hundred and thirty pounds really is cheap… But Cleeves and the others can only do this. This is Elland’s ship, and he has a whole group of armed sailors and crewmen to help him. If negotiations truly break down, he could sink everyone here into the sea within minutes… Of course, that assumes I do not get involved… Mm, it can be seen that Cleeves and Cecile are not Beyonders, or at least not Beyonders in the field of combat and shooting. Elland, however, is somewhat suspicious… Klein stood up and listened to the transaction from the side.

“No, you seem to have misunderstood something. I am not threatening you. One hundred and fifty pounds. That is a fair price.” Elland Kag called over a sailor and gave him the key to the safe.

“You are ‘Fair Elland’?” Cecile seemed to only now recall the other man’s nickname at sea.

Elland laughed.

“Yes.”

At this moment, Donna and Denton, the siblings who had been stunned by the intense battle and the living monster, leaped up. Both excited and frightened, they ran over and drew near the murloc’s body.

“Is—is it really dead?” Donna nudged the murloc’s body with the tip of her shoe, then jumped back as though afraid it would revive, hiding behind her younger brother.

“It really is a monster!” Denton drew in a breath, eyes wide.

“There are many monsters at sea. Actually, this should not be called a murloc. Aside from having four limbs and being able to stand, it shares nothing in common with humans. I prefer calling it a fish monster,” Elland said with a gentle smile.

He immediately crouched, took out a small knife, and cut open the cheek beneath the murloc’s eye, revealing tender white flesh stained with traces of red.

“The most delicious part of a murloc, suited to being eaten raw.” Elland carefully sliced off a piece and handed it to Donna. “You remind me of my daughter. Unfortunately, she has already grown up and has a family of her own.”

“I—I do not dare eat it…” Donna said, looking at the thin slice of flesh skewered on the tip of the dagger.

“Haha, who wants to try?” Elland asked with a laugh, looking around.

After confirming that his spiritual intuition gave no warning, Klein nodded.

“I am curious.”

Elland immediately handed the dagger to him.

“Try it. On land, even nobles may not necessarily have the chance to eat this.

“This is not a murloc. It is a fish monster. You can understand it as a mutated fish.”

He was dispelling the siblings’ fear.

Klein had originally wanted to ask if there was any mustard, soy sauce, or similar seasoning, but seeing that Elland did not mention any, he felt too embarrassed to ask, afraid of appearing ignorant.

He took the dagger, bit down on the blood-stained piece of tender flesh, and swallowed it into his mouth.

It was an almost melt-in-the-mouth sensation. The metallic scent of blood was very faint, carrying just the right touch of saltiness, perfectly setting off the freshness and sweetness of the meat.

Klein chewed twice and felt that he had never in his life tasted fish so tender and delicious.

“Excellent.” He raised his thumb without stinginess.

Donna curiously observed the entire process. Suddenly, she developed a powerful interest in the cheek meat beneath the murloc’s eye.

This overwhelmed her fear and revulsion, and so she suggested that she would like to try it.

Elland fulfilled her request, smiling as he watched her bite down on the slice of meat with eyes tightly shut and face wrinkled into a ball.

Donna’s expression gradually relaxed. She soon opened her eyes and praised it with excitement.

“Indescribably delicious!”

With her taking the lead, Denton, Cecile, and the others divided up the already scarce cheek meat beneath the eye. They ate until they were both satisfied and dissatisfied—satisfied by the flavor, dissatisfied by the quantity.

Seeing Elland eat the final piece, Cleeves pointed at the murloc’s body.

“The meat along both ribs is suited to frying. The belly is best roasted. The other parts taste terrible.”

“That is exactly what I think.” Elland chuckled. “I will have the chef prepare it at once. On a night like this, enjoying fine food together, tasting good wine together, and exchanging maritime legends is a very pleasant thing.”

I am really looking forward to it… But how did a perfectly good hunting activity turn into a culinary exchange meeting… Klein swallowed.