"Mr. Big Cat will join us," Fang Hong estimated the possible combat, "You and Bakins, Miss Atira, will stay on the ship, I'll take one of the spellcasters with me, you can choose who."
"Take Gita with you," Luo Hao thought for a moment and replied, "After all, compared to Xiangzi and Luo Yu, she's not gained much experience recently."
Fang Hong nodded, he was actually thinking the same thing.
Besides Mr. Big Cat and Gita, their adventure team also comprised Parker, Tianlan, and Tang Xin. A little girl from the beautiful Kingdom of Iris claimed she needed to work hard recently, so Fang Hong decided to bring her along too.
Tang Xin is the only healer in the team, and she needs to level up as well.
Of course, Ai Xiaoxiao also doesn't have a high level, but since this is an adventure, they can't bring too many burdens, thus considering bringing her along next time, allowing everyone to rotate in leveling up.
Just like most guilds, they often use the method of old taking new in Eteliria for adventures, which is not considered an innovation.
The only thing that surprised Fang Hong was Hilveld, looking at him with bright eyes, seriously said:
"I want to go too, Ade."
Playful, below the long eyelashes, a pair of eyes as lively as a deer, Hailan like a gorgeous gemstone, reflecting the towering Chongshan and his shadow.
She added: "Remember the Spire incident? The underground ruins, I know them better than you. Plus, you need someone who knows how to find directions in harsh environments."
"We have Miss Scholar."
"Gita, after all, is not from our world, I can fill in the gaps for you."
"But the ship also needs a navigator..."
"Bakins is on the ship."
"Lord Captain."
This slightly teasing tone of 'Lord Captain' finally made Fang Hong react.
She made a very good point. But Fang Hong discerned from Miss Ship's Officer's eyes a strong longing, she didn't want to be apart from him for even a moment, let alone let him go on an adventure alone.
He hesitated a bit, finally nodding slightly.
Thus, the adventure team gained two more members, Hilveld and Xiesta, who carried her luggage.
The airship wobbled as it lowered in altitude, arriving at the valley distributed with rainforest layers, dense canopies prevented it from further lowering, forcing everyone to use a small boat to land.
Hilveld wore a wool cloak, paired with a tight-fitting adventurer outfit, straight pants, and dragon beast leather boots for traversing the mountains. Her hair was tied into a bundle, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, with bullets inserted into the strap, hanging from behind was the Gunslinger's Magic Guided Reactor and a glowing square crystal.
A silver handgun hung on one side—on the other side, a Lizardman's Jungle Hunting Knife, its bright blade sheathed in leather.
She jumped down from the boat, landing on the soft jungle ground, looking nimble and efficient.
Watching Hilveld slightly smiling at him, Fang Hong suddenly realized what Miss Ship's Officer was like in past adventures.
The others disembarked as well, the adventure team's members besides those from the Seven Seas Travel Group, included Miss Beiji acting as a guide and a few from Underground Walnut.
The civilian girl too wore an adventurer's outfit, her hair wrapped in a handkerchief, seeming a bit unaccustomed to the attire but still refused help from others, getting off the boat alone.
Only Underground Walnut gave her a hand.
He carefully asked if she had misplaced anything, before instructing her to keep close behind them. Beiji gave him a glance with her brown eyes, gently nodding.
Members of the Art of Conflict Guild couldn't help but chuckle watching this scene.
Fang Hong and Hilveld looked at each other, sharing an understanding smile.
Everyone could see the young man was interested in Beiji, even the girl herself had some vague perception. She might not understand her inner thoughts, but at least didn't reject—
Onboard, she kept a distance from everyone, only trusting Underground Walnut.
Perhaps only the latter was unaware, thinking that he was perfectly discreet.
But no one mentioned it.
After all, the gentle wine brewed by ambiguous feelings is often more mellow than intense emotions. It might forever become a memory, or blossom and bear fruit, but regardless, it is enough to leave something precious behind.
...
Hilveld recorded the coordinates using a pocket astrolabe and, after confirming the position, the team began to head along the valley's direction, towards Mount Pieriad.
Above, after the Seven Seas Traveler ascended to the north, the team looked upwards through the canopy from the valley, the airship like a leaf floating in the sky, the sky was gloomy, occasional lightning flashed between clouds.
Soon, only a tiny dot remained in that direction.
Around three in the afternoon, the Seven Seas Traveler had completely disappeared from everyone's vision.
In Eteliria, compasses often are useless, between the Sky Land, astrolabes are the only devices that can confirm accurate directions. This precise Magic Guided Instrument principle comes from the Numelin Elves' Star Traction Technique, invented by the Colin People three hundred years ago. Since then, navigation between the Sky Land boomed.