Toward the powerful, Gegeduor and his son showed great enthusiasm, while Leilin merely smiled and played along.
"Attention! Attention! You have entered Port Iyas! Here, under the great Void Lord, Wings of Fluctuation, supreme sovereign of the Azak Continent — the great Defiled Bird — you are under protection! We hope you will abide by the port's rules, or you shall face the fury of the port guardians and the judgment of the Sovereign!"
A mechanical voice carried onto the ship, tinged with a hint of menace, but Gegeduor showed no reaction whatsoever — clearly he was used to it.
Moreover, when a supreme sovereign's domain issued a threat, all one could do was accept it obediently.
"The Defiled Bird?! The supreme sovereign of the Azak Continent?!" Leilin's eyes flickered slightly as he looked toward the port, where an enormous bird statue crowned the peak of a massive mountain. He seemed momentarily lost in thought.
"Isn't this close to the Heil Continent? How can a supreme being from another continent extend their influence here? Could it be..."
Numerous thoughts churned in Leilin's mind, but outwardly he followed Gegeduor off the sailing vessel and onto the dock without betraying any emotion.
The moment he set foot on solid ground, the sheer volume of people and the clamorous scene made the very air seem to boil.
The briny smell of sea cargo, the body odor of livestock, and various other miscellaneous scents blended into a nauseating stench that made Leilin's brow furrow slightly.
*Clank! Clank!*
Enormous mechanical arms roared continuously, seizing cargo from holds and decks and hauling it down. At the ends of the ceaselessly running conveyor belts stood massive humanoid creatures with bulging muscles, shouting as they hoisted box after box of heavy, unwieldy cargo onto their shoulders and carried them away. Interspersed among them came the hurried shouts and curses of tally clerks.
Though using extraordinary power could certainly speed things up considerably, never mind the cost-benefit ratio of doing so — those lofty extraordinary beings would never stoop to such menial labor.
"Sir! Your vessel has been confirmed as an Ancient Type III! Accompanied by a great creature, physical standard Level Five! Payment required..."
At that moment, a giant octopus approached Gegeduor, its two tentacles deftly gripping a notebook and a fountain pen.
"I know! I know!"
Gegeduor waved his hand and tossed a small black pouch to the octopus. Leilin even spotted a pink pearl that Gegeduor had slipped from beneath his tentacle into one of the octopus's suckers — it vanished in the blink of an eye. Leilin couldn't help but feel exasperated.
It seemed that no matter the era, some things were simply unavoidable.
"All right! Then! Mr. Gegeduor, and Mr. Gegger! I'll take my leave now!"
After completing the formalities with Gegeduor, Leilin smiled and said goodbye, then disappeared into the bustling crowd.
Gegeduor and Gegger watched the direction Leilin had departed and fell silent for a while, covert spiritual power fluctuations carrying on a private conversation.
"Mr. Lei just left like that?" Gegger still seemed somewhat reluctant.
"Let it go, my child!" Gegeduor's spiritual fluctuations reached him in response. "With his strength, even without our help, he could have reached the continent on his own given a bit more time. And as our reward, he's already ceded all the rights to the Spiny-backed Iron Whale to us. We shouldn't ask for more! Fair trade, honoring contracts and rules — that is what the great Sovereign, the Eye of Judgment, taught us, and we must follow it without deviation!"
"Yes, Father!" Gegger's vertical eye drooped, and even his tentacles below seemed listless. "But I still feel it's a pity..."
"Actually, his departure benefits us as well!"
A hint of gravity appeared in Gegeduor's massive vertical eye.
"What do you mean?" Gegger clearly hadn't caught on, looking confused.
"That Mr. Lei! The secrets he carries are surely extraordinary! Although I haven't had much deep contact with him, I've already begun to touch the bottleneck of the extreme old stage. Seen through our Evil Eye race's unique spiritual vision, Mr. Lei is still shrouded in a layer of mist, but the aura he occasionally gives off makes my heart race with dread. Even the Grand Elders can't give me that sense of oppression and terror..."
Gegeduor's voice carried a note of lingering fear. "A person like that — if he were to truly act against us, it would be a catastrophe for us, the entire fleet, and the Eidong Trading Company! Now, he's left of his own accord, we've preserved our friendship, and it's a good outcome for both sides!"
"So that's how it is... Mr. Lei is that powerful?"
Gegger looked at his father, suddenly realizing how much he still had to learn.
...
"Chip! How's the information and data collection going?"