Alex watched the sailors move nimbly around the ship, trying to patch numerous faults. It was evident that their efforts would only buy the vessel another day or two afloat; it would be impossible to repair it completely outside a dry dock.
Soon, the woman noticed Alex’s group, who were sharing some nuts while pointing and conversing about the ship and the sailors' hard work. The sight of these onlookers somehow enraged the captain, who, having no other outlet for her anger, decided to take it out on them.
"Who the hell are you?" the woman shouted.
"Just spectators," Alex responded calmly.
"Why don’t you go watch your mothers get screwed?"
"I would, but I’m not sure where she is," Alex sighed.
Alex's casual attitude only angered the captain more, and she quickly drew her weapon.
"You think you're funny, human whelp?"
"Not particularly, though I like to see the bright side of life."
"If you want to get out of this situation positively, why don't you take your pack of hyenas and get out of here?"
"Come on, there’s no need to shout so much. You might sink your ship," Alex replied with a chuckle.
The woman finally lost her composure. Months of fleeing, weeks without proper food, and these last few days stranded had pushed her to the edge, and she attacked Alex without considering the consequences.
She leaped forward, intending to cut Alex in half with a single stroke. However, he didn't move or even make an effort to draw his sword. Alex simply expanded his aura rapidly to his subordinates, and Kragash rode the wave, extending his own to empower the others. Instantly, the entire group had a crimson glow in their eyes and quickly drew their weapons.
Kragash was the first to position himself in front of Alex, blocking the attack. He shifted his weight to avoid being knocked down, letting the force of the blow slide to the side.
Kragash’s move left the woman off-balance as she landed. She had to take an extra step to regain her balance, giving enough time for three direct strikes to hit her with the pommels of their swords.
The three hits were solid, making the woman fall to her knees, coughing. She was surrounded, with swords pointing at her vital areas.
The sailors froze in place, never expecting their captain to be struck down unilaterally before they had a chance to reinforce her.
"Stop! Don’t hit Sister Aeloria!"
A young girl of the same race and features as the woman kneeled in front of Alex, suddenly running out from the ship towards him, but she was soon stopped by a large, muscular man from the crew.
Alex glanced at the girl, noting the similarities between her and the woman. Both had white fur, but the girl's was visibly more silky and well-kept compared to the woman's, which seemed weathered by harsh conditions. The rest of the crew had various shades of orange fur with no common patterns.
"I don’t intend to harm your older sister, Aeloria. My friends are just helping her because she stumbled, isn’t that right, Aeloria?"
The woman looked at Alex with rage in her eyes but immediately softened her voice. "That’s right. My friend here just helped me not to fall."
The little girl, extremely innocent, still felt something was off. "Are you sure you’re not fighting? I don’t want my big sister to get hurt."
"Of course. Look, she seems better already and can stand up," Alex said, offering a hand to Aeloria. Before she could entertain any funny ideas, she felt a sword pricking her ribs, so she simply accepted the hand to stand up and move beside Alex.
The girl saw this and immediately rushed out of her protector’s grasp to hug Aeloria.
"…"
"…"
Alex was left standing there with a stupid look on his face. He couldn’t quite understand if the girl was just dense or if there was another explanation. A simple glance at the large Faeclaw protecting her revealed the truth—the girl was indeed that innocent.
She immediately embraced Aeloria, causing Kragash to cast confused glances at Alex. What were they to do? Moments ago, they were fighting a woman who had lunged to kill their leader, and now an apparently protected girl had entered their reach without hesitation. Alex simply shook his head, and the Gnolls understood, retreating and sheathing their weapons. This greatly eased the tension and allowed the other Faeclaw to also put away their arms.
"What’s your name, little one?" Alex asked.
"My name is Liora, Liora Stormclaw," the girl replied.
"Nice to meet you, little Liora," Alex responded.
Immediately, the girl’s stomach growled loudly, as if she hadn’t eaten in weeks—probably because she hadn’t.
Alex had many issues with Aeloria attacking him in broad daylight with serious intentions to kill, but somehow, seeing the sweetness and innocence of the little girl made his grudges melt like sugar in the rain.
"You should feed your girl better, my old friend."
"Eh, don’t worry about it. I’ll buy her something soon."
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
The girl pouted and interrupted, "That’s a lie. You’ve been saying that for days, but all you do is worry about that dumb ship."
The woman was taken aback by the sudden attack. "It’s not a dumb ship. It’s the pride of my fleet."
"Eh, the pride of your fleet? It doesn’t look very proud, nor much of a fleet to begin with," Alex commented.
Aeloria felt Alex’s comments stab at her old wounds. "I may have lost my other ships, but as long as I keep my flagship, there’s still hope."
"Well, I guess there’s a reason they call it the White Terror."
"Hmm, I see you know me. What do you want, old friend?" Aeloria responded, holding the little girl protectively while her crew slowly moved back into position.
The movement didn’t go unnoticed by Alex, but he didn’t really care.
"I’ve been looking for an admiral to build my own fleet, but I haven’t had luck finding a decent one. Recently, your name came up."
"If you heard my name, you also heard that I’m not for hire. I don’t sell my services."
"Really? Bad for you. This girl could use the money, and the ship too."
"I’m not here to sell my services, and I don’t want your pity," Aeloria replied firmly.
"Pity isn’t in the equation, Aeloria. What I offer is an opportunity for you and your crew," Alex said, his tone serene but authoritative.
"Opportunity? Do you think I need that?" Aeloria raised a defiant eyebrow.
"I think you're in a desperate situation. Your ship, your crew, your little sister... all would benefit from a change. I’m offering you a respectable position in my fleet, with enough resources to repair your ship and feed your sister."
Aeloria remained silent, her eyes shifting between Alex, her weary crew, and the little Liora, whose stomach growled again.
"I don’t want to lose my independence. There’s still much I need to do out there," Aeloria finally said, her tone softer but still firm.
"Let's do this. Back at my residence, we’re preparing a celebration feast. Let’s go there and eat first, then we can discuss business and contracts in a more private setting," Alex replied. At the mention of food, Liora’s stomach seemed to growl louder, and the little girl looked on the verge of collapse.
“Alright, but that doesn’t mean I’ve accepted anything. Don’t think I’ll owe you for lunch.”
“Sure, sure, no worries. Let’s go.” Alex offered his hand to little Liora, who timidly accepted it. “You must be really hungry, but don’t worry, soon you’ll be able to eat to your heart’s content.”
“Really? Does big brother have the money?”
“Of course. I may not be rich, but I have enough to feed you.”
“And my big sister, and the others. They’re all my friends and treat me very well.”
“Of course, there will be something for them too. Let’s go.”
“Yay!”
Liora was extremely happy and started skipping along as she followed Alex. The rest of his companions were stunned by what was happening. The little girl had always been extremely shy, rarely stepping away from Aeloria's side and being very withdrawn in conversations with others. Now, however, she was joyfully skipping alongside the human, showing no fear despite being surrounded by muscular, scarred Gnolls.
Aeloria quickly regained her senses and whistled for the rest of the group to gather and follow. She soon came up beside Liora, taking her other hand.
The sailors went into overdrive, patching the last issues they could with the ship before following Alex's group.
Even Liora herself couldn’t clearly explain the sense of tranquility she felt being with Alex. His touch made her feel relaxed, and whenever he patted her head, it was as if the troubles they had faced recently were nothing but a bad dream. Such was the power of Alex's aura that any beast, or creature with a trace of beastly blood, could be subdued by him if they had much less cultivation.
Passing through the market, Alex’s group bought the exotic meats they had seen earlier, as well as some local herbs for lower-quality tea and other miscellaneous items for Alex's enjoyment. Finally, they arrived back at their new home.
“Oh, Bromir, you’re back. Welcome! How were your travels?”
“My lord Alex, it’s a pleasure to be in your presence. Thank you for having me. My travels were successful, and there are many events that should be discussed in private.” The dwarf responded cordially, but upon a second glance at both the little girl and the burly Faeclaw, Bromir frowned and added, “My lord, are you aware of the company you bring into your home?”
“Not entirely. If there's something you need to report, it can wait for a private conversation,” Alex replied.
Hearing Alex’s response, Aeloria immediately deduced what the dwarf had implied and responded, “It won’t be necessary. I’ll personally reveal everything you need to know about us.”
It seemed Alex had entangled himself in a tricky situation. From Bromir's expression, it might not be easy to resolve. However, that could wait until after the banquet.
Alex released Aeloria’s hand so the little girl could entertain herself playing in the courtyard while she gorged on food whenever a maid brought snacks for Alex. The atmosphere began to relax and feel more like a festivity.
The dwarves, upon learning of Alex’s cultivation progress, joined the celebrations with imported wine they had brought back from distant lands where they had traded and negotiated.
Soon, the meat was ready, and everyone was called to the table. Under Alex's orders, their new guests were served generously with a good portion of meat and other products. However, they showed restraint; a single look from Aeloria was enough for them to control their cravings and eat a reasonable portion, even if they hadn't eaten in weeks. Everyone except Liora, who devoured all the meat that landed on her plate or on Alex's and Aeloria’s plates beside her.
Finally, with everyone satisfied and the little girl’s belly nearly bulging from so much eating, the mood was reignited when Aaron, the muscular Faeclaw acting as Aeloria’s lieutenant, challenged him to a duel to measure their capabilities.
Everyone was in a good mood, celebrating Alex’s advancement, so no one was bothered. Kragash accepted the challenge on Alex’s behalf, but first, they allowed the other subordinates to duel among themselves.
“I see your men are quite skilled,” Aeloria commented, watching the display of Alex's soldiers facing off against her sailors.
“They might be, but they’re at a disadvantage against your men. Mine are more used to fighting in formation, while the freestyle approach your men use leaves them perplexed and constantly losing the initiative.”
“Even so, they’ve managed to defeat several of mine. They have good training, good equipment, and from what I’ve seen, a good leader too.”
“And yet I admire the courage with which your sailors face this situation. Despite fighting against better-armored and better-armed opponents, they don’t shy away from the fight and find ways to turn the situation around. That kind of experience is something we’re still far from achieving.”
The duels continued, and soon it was time for those with cultivation to begin practice combat. Both sides organized a Kohaku Shiai, where the lowest-ranked fighters would start, and the winner of each match would face the next level. The contest had 12 fighters per side, with Kragash and Aaron at the end.
Although both sides claimed it was a friendly match, tensions began to rise, and Alex didn’t help much by offering a monetary reward to the winning side, rather than to the Faeclaw.
Whether it was the testosterone of a man watching so many battles, his warrior spirit, or the intoxication of the wine, Alex didn’t know, but he was quite entertained watching the fights while sharing drinks with Aeloria and Bromir, genuinely wanting to see a good show.
Initially, the other side didn’t know how to act. Alex had received and treated them well, and although the initial fights between soldiers were intense, they didn’t want to do anything to offend the young human. Defeating his officers could clearly do that. Seeing the hesitation in her followers’ eyes, Aeloria calmed their nerves. From what they had seen of Alex so far, the human had always shown integrity and wasn’t petty enough to back out of his word to give a reward or force them to lose to avoid paying it. The boy seemed genuine, and she advised her men to give their best effort but without killing anyone. Kragash did the same on his side, and the duels began.