Chapter 500 Wild Berry Cliff and Shield of Iron Rock

Five days later.

A stretch of sea southeast of Barracuda Bay.

The ocean was vast. A medium-sized vessel, masquerading as a merchant ship, bobbed in the waves.

With the clamor of sailors and the cries of seagulls in his ears, Xia Nan stood alone by the deck railing, his dark eyes gazing into the distance.

There, where the sea met the sky, the faint silhouette of an island could just barely be seen.

Three days had passed since he set out from Wave-Breaking Wharf in Barracuda Bay, and his destination was that remote island in the distance known as "Wild Berry Cliff."

Unlike the excellent geographical location and unique terrain of Barracuda Bay, Wild Berry Cliff was just like Hare Island, which he had visited before—one of the most ordinary and obscure islands in the Southern Archipelagos.

Even though passing adventurers called it Wild Berry Cliff, it didn't actually have any more wild berries than anywhere else. The name had simply been chosen at random for convenience.

Under normal circumstances, unless an unexpected incident forced a ship to dock temporarily for rest, no one would ever set this desolate, unremarkable island as their destination.

But right now, intelligence indicated that the pirate gang—suspected of having close ties to the Ebb Tide Gang and responsible for looting the collector Auriel Silverheart's goods—was holed up on the island, using Wild Berry Cliff as their main base.

This was exactly why Xia Nan had given up his rest time between quests to make a special trip here.

Since this trip was motivated by his own personal interests, and because acting alone was simply more convenient, Xia Nan hadn't asked any of his acquaintances for help. He hadn't wanted to trouble anyone else.

Alton and the members of the Blade of Vengeance Fleet were still on vacation in Barracuda Bay. When the Barbarian Aken heard Xia Nan was heading out, he had patted his chest in a manner perfectly befitting his personality and offered to sail out with him. He only dropped the matter after Xia Nan politely declined.

During the battle at Twin Canyon, Xia Nan had practically turned the tide. His outstanding performance in the fight against the Shark Beast had earned him the recognition of the entire Blade of Vengeance team. Even many of the sailors on board had come to view him as a truly reliable member of the group.

If he had actually asked for help, it went without saying that Alton would have agreed. He likely would have received a positive response from most of the crew in the Blade of Vengeance as well, including Lorraine and Hein.

In the end, it was his own business, and Xia Nan's personality made him reluctant to inconvenience others too much.

Of course, he wasn't exactly sailing out to handle things completely alone.

Auriel had operated in the Southern Archipelagos for many years and possessed extensive connections.

Even before contacting Xia Nan, he had already made arrangements regarding this batch of lost goods.

This disguised merchant ship Xia Nan was currently riding on—which looked perfectly ordinary on the outside but was outfitted to the standard of custom adventurer vessels on the inside—was one of his arrangements.

Beyond that, he had also met a few new teammates who would act as the main force for boarding the island and completing the quest.

"Hey, Sea Fang! Come over here and let's talk about the upcoming action plan!"

A gruff male voice that made his eardrums throb slightly rang out from behind him.

Turning his head, a stocky figure came into view, fully armed and clad in metal plate armor.

"Iron Rock" Habik, a Level 4 Shield Guard Warrior.

He was a hill dwarf, and the captain of the Shield of Iron Rock adventurer squad he had founded.

His height of just over four chi meant the bottom of the heavy steel tower shield strapped to his back practically dragged on the deck. A one-handed Faceted Hammer hung at his waist. He held a well-maintained classic barrel helm in his left hand and raised his right hand high, waving toward Xia Nan. His Fine splint armor caught the sunlight, reflecting a dazzling gleam.

Xia Nan's impression of this dwarven warrior was average.

Gruff, loud-mouthed, and so abrasive that he came across as somewhat reckless and rude...

Perhaps because they hadn't spent much time together, the man's image in Xia Nan's eyes perfectly matched the world's stereotype of the dwarven race, without a single unique trait.

It wasn't that Xia Nan didn't want to interact with him more closely.

Personally, he was relatively professional when it came to adventurer quests.

After all, they needed to fight side by side, and he wanted to gain some understanding of his teammates on this trip.

Even if they couldn't be friends, or never crossed paths again after the commission ended, for the sake of the mission itself and any potential battles, they still needed to figure out each other's combat styles and roles.

Unfortunately, ever since they met on the ship three days ago, Habik and the other members of the Shield of Iron Rock had maintained a lukewarm attitude toward him.

Even when he took the initiative to strike up a conversation, the topic would quickly die off as they gave him the cold shoulder.

Xia Nan didn't feel much overt hostility from them, but at the same time, they never tried to warm up to him, always keeping their distance in conversations.

He could understand this.

Just like the Silver Claw Osprey Squad he had encountered before, he was merely a temporary outsider, while they were veteran teammates who had fought together for years, forming an established and tightly-knit group.

Maybe they would socialize normally on an average day, but during a dangerous mission that required combat, there was no way they would blindly trust a stranger like him.

'I just hope things improve later on.'

Thinking this, Xia Nan saw the dwarf taking the rare initiative to call him over for the upcoming plan, so he stepped forward and walked over.

The Shield of Iron Rock was a highly classic four-person adventurer squad.

Aside from Captain Habik acting as the frontline shield guard, it also featured a half-orc Warrior, a human ranger, and a gnome Rogue.

Judging by the strength of their auras under Xia Nan's Perception, their Class Levels were all around Level 3 to Level 4, and the highest definitely wouldn't exceed Level 5.

Their equipment was all of Fine quality. Although he hadn't heard of their squad's name, they should all be veterans with years of experience in the Southern Archipelagos... well, except for one of them.

"What's there to discuss? Didn't Auriel already gather all the intel? It's just a gang of slightly bolder pirates, plus a few Ebb Tide Gang thugs at most."

"Let's just charge straight in, kill them all, and be done with it! No need to waste any more time!"

It wasn't that Xia Nan held any racial prejudice, but he had to admit that the half-orc adventurers he had encountered since transmigrating to this world fit their racial stereotypes a bit too perfectly.

Other mixed races like half-elves and half-dwarves were perfectly normal, yet half-orcs alone gave off an inexplicable, off-putting vibe, as if they had inherited the flaws of both parent races.

They lacked the robust physiques and feral fighting spirit of pureblood orcs, yet they had also lost the intellect and creativity of humans.

Xia Nan even suspected that some professional adventurer squads only recruited half-orcs to treat them purely as a kind of expendable material.

And right now, the one who had spouted those overly reckless words that made Xia Nan frown was none other than the half-orc Warrior of the Shield of Iron Rock—Hogk.

He called himself "Skullcrusher," claiming it was a title bestowed upon him by his tribe, and he was immensely proud of it.

During Xia Nan's few brief conversations with him, the half-orc acted as if his "Skullcrusher" nickname was incredibly famous in Barracuda Bay.

Unfortunately, Xia Nan had never heard of it, nor was he the type to hand out empty flattery. This caused the half-orc, who made zero effort to hide his emotions, to immediately turn cold and refuse to speak with him anymore. He even displayed a faint aggressiveness during their occasional encounters afterward.

Combining the information he had sporadically observed over this period with the hints in the other man's words, Xia Nan guessed that the half-orc was behaving this way mostly because of his own nickname, "Sea Fang."

'Maybe... he's a little jealous?'

Xia Nan couldn't help but laugh inwardly.

He had to admit, as long as he kept his mouth shut, Hogk was at least quite intimidating in terms of appearance.

His coarse brown hair was tied into dozens of thin braids adorned with animal teeth and bone fragments. His facial features were as fierce as a wild beast's, with two sharp lower canines poking past his thick lips, and a totemic tattoo inked on the side of his forehead.

His robust body, nearly seven chi and two meters tall, made him look like a standing brown bear. His dark green skin was pulled taut over solid muscles, and its surface was covered in hideous scars left behind by battles.

His weapons were two heavy steel handaxes, tied tightly to his waist by an iron chain that served as a belt. They clinked crisply as his body moved.

Right now, the half-orc Hogk stood on the deck, loudly spouting his ideas to his teammates while glancing at the approaching Xia Nan from the corner of his eye.

Judging by the reactions of the people around him, it was obvious that no one—including his own teammates—cared about the half-orc's opinion.

"Hogk, quiet."

The speaker was the team's human ranger, a woman, which was a rare sight among bottom-tier adventurers.

Seli looked to be in her early thirties. Judging by her prominent facial features and honey-colored skin, she was likely a local of the Southern Archipelagos.

She was tall and lean, sporting a crisp bob of chestnut hair. Her face was sharply contoured with high cheekbones, and a few sunspots dotted her cheeks.

Her gaze held the piercing sharpness typical of an archer, and she had a habit of narrowing her eyes when looking at people.

She wore a light green suit of nimble leather armor, with a cedar longbow slung diagonally across her back and two spare short swords resting at her waist. She gave off a capable, no-nonsense aura.

Xia Nan hadn't interacted much with her either.

But compared to the half-orc, who was clearly lacking in intellect and Perception, this human ranger was obviously much more observant.

When Xia Nan first boarded the ship, he often felt her scrutinizing gaze. The ranger seemed to have vaguely sensed how dangerous he was. While deliberately keeping her distance, she remained secretly vigilant.

She was extremely careful and never exposed her back to him.

There were even a few times when the half-orc failed to rein in his temper and seemed on the verge of verbally offending Xia Nan, and it was always Seli who stepped in to stop him and keep the situation from escalating.

Just like now. The half-orc who had been clamoring to charge straight onto the island instantly shut his mouth after Seli's low reprimand. He didn't argue back; his nostrils just flared as he angrily turned his head to look away.

As for the final member of their squad, the gnome Rogue.

One could only say that his words and actions truly fit his [Rogue] Class.

His presence was incredibly low.

He rarely showed his face on normal days and barely spoke. Whenever someone did bump into him, he was usually huddled in the shadows, toying with his two compact Short Daggers and occasionally lifting his brows to cast a sinister glare at passersby.

Xia Nan didn't even know his name. He only ever heard Habik and Seli call him Agu.

Even though he had followed his teammates up to the deck, he had no intention of joining the conversation. He was crouching on a nearby flight of stairs, silently staring at the floorboards.

"Charging straight onto the island from the front definitely won't work," the dwarven captain Habik said, rejecting the half-orc's idea once again. "It's too dangerous, and we might not even have enough manpower."

Their primary goal for this trip was to retrieve the collector Auriel's stolen collection.

"Teaching the pirates and the Ebb Tide Gang a lesson" was only secondary.

To some extent, as long as they could bring the goods back to Barracuda Bay whole and safe, the mission would be considered a complete success even if the pirates suffered zero casualties.

Of course, considering that Auriel's collection was highly likely to be heavily guarded due to its intrinsic value, a fight would be inevitable.

"Then how do you suggest we get on the island?!" having been repeatedly shot down by his teammates, the half-orc lowered his head and muttered in dissatisfaction.

Already used to this, the dwarf Habik ignored Hogk's disgruntled mood. He looked at Seli and the gnome Agu to the side and pondered, "I've thought of two possible methods over the past few days."

"First, we just play the part of a passing merchant ship for real and lure out the pirates' main force."

"We shift the battlefield from their home turf on the island to the open sea, minimizing our disadvantages."

"We wipe out their main forces on the water, which will make boarding the island much easier later."

Saying this, Habik held up a second finger as thick and stubby as a radish.

"Second, we sneak onto the island from the far side of Wild Berry Cliff."

"Then, based on the situation on the ground, we can search for where the collection is stored while scouting out the pirates' exact layout and numbers before we decide what to do next."

"Let's go with the second one," the human ranger Seli suggested with a slight nod. "The first option is a bit too risky. If the pirates figure out who we are ahead of time and put up their guard, it'll only make things harder."

"The second option is relatively safer. We can have the ship drop anchor a bit further out to wait on standby and sail in to pick us up as soon as we signal."

Hearing Seli's explanation, Habik thought it over for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"Good, then we'll board from the side of the island and decide our next move based on what we find."

With that, the group's subsequent plan was set.

Even though Xia Nan had been called over as a token gesture, the group had tacitly shut him out of the actual decision-making.

He could imagine that even if he had voiced a different opinion on the spot, the members of the Shield of Iron Rock wouldn't have listened.

Knowing this full well, he hadn't bothered to get involved. He had just observed the people present in secret and waited for the result.

If it differed from his expectations, or if it hindered his performance, he would choose to act alone.

Fortunately, the squad's final decision to board from the side was exactly what Xia Nan had in mind anyway. It saved him from wasting his breath; all he had to do was follow the team and prepare for battle.