The Herd

This is St. Anthony Port in the Twin Towers District of Rhine City, the busiest inland port in the city.

The long, mournful sound of steam whistles startled a flock of waterbirds, their clear cries drifting toward the clouds and making the azure sky seem even more profound. The pier, constructed from sturdy bluestone, stretched for dozens of meters, its edges marked by the relentless washing of the currents, while a cool breeze mingled with damp water vapor rushed against our faces.

It is embarrassing to admit, but although I, Lynch, have lived in Rhine for twenty years, I have almost never come to the harbor, let alone set foot on the pier.

It is even livelier here than the train station in the Cross District. Thousands of merchants and customers are always gathered in the harbor plaza. Large shipments of goods are often traded before they even leave the port, and the pier is constantly crowded with groups of workers waiting to be hired. Their enthusiasm and sweat are enough to raise the temperature by several degrees.

"Make way, make way, my shipment has arrived!"

"Hey guys, need help unloading? Our brothers have plenty of strength. We guarantee it will be fast and steady; the goods won't be damaged at all."

"Come take a look, take a look! Today's cheapest food supplies, five Lande pounds a crate!"

"Come inside and see! We have the best ready-to-wear clothing and blankets in Rhine. The prices are low; you definitely won't lose money taking these back to Norin on your ship."

"Extra! Extra! The Organ lost contact last night. The Shipping Association has issued a heavy bounty!"

At least tens of thousands of people are gathered in the entire port, which makes even me, a transmigrator who has seen true crowds, gasp in admiration. And this is just an ordinary morning on an ordinary day. By this calculation, there are probably hundreds of thousands of people in Rhine City alone who rely on the port and shipping for their livelihood.

My experience from my hometown confirms that once a cheaper land route is opened, at least half of these people will be out of work. While it is possible they might eventually find other ways to survive, what about in the meantime? Never mind the capital invested in shipping; just these dock workers and small merchants alone are enough to cause a massive riot.

In my hometown, they once preferred to ban maritime trade just to ensure a million canal workers had food to eat, which shows just how significant the impact can be. I should take the opportunity to investigate; there is likely a formidable opposition hidden here. Since they have presented such a grand posture and I have already accepted their advance payment, I must complete the mission flawlessly to honor their good intentions.

Just as I was calculating this in my heart, a sharp whistle suddenly rang out in my ears. A group of men then rushed onto the pier, scattering the workers waiting for jobs and clearing the area completely.

They were a group of burly men wearing red and blue uniforms, carrying heavy rifles, with military sabers at their waists and round metal helmets on their heads. This was the standard Rhine Governor's Guard, the local military force for the Rhine region.

What is going on? The military is clearing the area directly? What happened? Is this really necessary?

Seeing that Archbishop Trinlais beside me did not show any surprise, I remained composed and observed from the side. As the pier was cleared, a horn sounded.

A sailboat flying the holy emblem of the Black Night slowly entered the harbor. From a distance, I could see dozens of sailors in red and black uniforms standing in neat lines along the ship's side.

It looks like they are also military. They are...

"Those are the central army from Nolan, participating in the escort at the request of the Church."

"Such tight security?" I frowned, feeling that something was wrong. "Even both sides' military forces have been deployed? Are you always this cautious when transporting supplies?"

"The ship is carrying supplies allocated by the main hall of the Church to the local region, including high-value items like secret potions, scrolls, or mystery materials. It is true that some wanted Soul Severers might target the cargo, but the Church's own guards are usually enough to handle it. It is generally not necessary to mobilize the Lande Navy on such a large scale."

The Archbishop hesitated for a moment before explaining:

"However, this time we are transporting the holy memory of the Crimson Lady. The main hall is quite cautious and asked a master proficient in prophetic ability to make a prediction. They discovered that this transport might encounter trouble, so to be safe, they raised the security level to the highest."

"Being targeted?" My expression was a bit conflicted. "It wouldn't be the holy memory that is being targeted, would it?"

"That should not be the case; it has little meaning to anyone else but you. You do not need to worry. Everyone involved in the escort, including the Lande Navy, is very professional. They have executed countless escort missions; they are experienced and their skill is trustworthy. There shouldn't be any problems."

I only felt the veins on my forehead throbbing. "I have a feeling that as soon as you say that, there will definitely be a problem."

"Heh, I am just an ordinary person and do not possess the prophetic abilities of you Soul Severers. Look, it is almost over."

The hull had already entered the berth and was moving forward slowly. Four people wearing Black Night holy robes and carrying swords stepped out of the cabin, lifting two large wooden crates. A six-star priest followed behind them, holding a square, small box in his hand that looked like it was forged from pure metal from a distance.

"Alert!"

As soon as this group appeared, an officer among the sailors immediately shouted orders. All the sailors remaining on the ship then immediately stood guard beside the priests, looking around cautiously and maintaining constant vigilance.

The local military on the shore also prepared to provide cover. Not only did they clear the idlers from the pier in time, but before the ship entered the berth, they fired several continuous volleys toward the water to eliminate any hidden dangers before taking their positions on the pier with rifles at the ready.

It seems very professional indeed. Just as my anxious heart began to settle, I heard a soldier clearing the area gasp in a low voice.

"What is that?"

While the ship was entering the harbor, a cluster of black dots suddenly appeared in the sky above the river behind it. The dots grew rapidly; they were dozens of giant raptors, flying in a neat formation and diving down toward the ship.

"Continue into the berth, the others intercept the enemy!" The sailor officer, who was also guarding the priests, calmly shouted. "Pay attention, they have things hanging from their bodies; those might be explosives. Prepare to fire! Do not let them get close!"

The raptors were quite fast. In the blink of an eye, they reached the space above the river and dove toward the large ship that was turning into its berth.

They were indeed well-trained, professional soldiers; they did not panic at all. Whether it was the sailors on the ship or the local military on the shore, they all raised their rifles in unison, aiming at the raptors, and then the gunfire rang out simultaneously.

Blood splattered and wails filled the air.

The raptors were blasted out of the sky one by one, but before they fell, the packages hanging from their bodies were also blasted open, spraying out large amounts of dust. The moment this dust touched the air, it ignited, turning the blasted raptors into balls of fire. Utilizing the inertia of their dive, they crashed down around the ship like a meteor shower of fire.

"Damn it! Continue firing! Stop them above the water!"

The large ship was entering the harbor, and all around it were the pier and other passing vessels. If the fireballs were to crash down, not only would the large ship be set ablaze and everyone on board fall into the water, but the pier and other ships would also be affected.

For a time, all the soldiers could only fire desperately at the sky, trying to shoot down these burning raptors in advance.

The effect was quite significant; after all, there was still some distance, and these were dead things that could not dodge. Soon, most of them were shot down, with only a few fireballs crashing onto the pier, where the flames were easily extinguished. However, before the officers and priests could celebrate, a soldier beside them pointed at the river and gasped.

While everyone's attention was drawn to the raptors and fireballs in the air, three wakes approached the large ship silently.

They were three large porpoises with man-made objects strapped to their bodies. Although I did not know what they were, from the raptors earlier, it was clear they were definitely not good things and were very likely explosives.

The soldiers on the shore turned their rifles, but it was already too late; the three porpoises had already reached the hull of the ship.