Iberian Peninsula, near the Port of Valencia.

Due to the La Mancha Plateau to the southwest having been occupied by the Undead Spirits, Valencia below the plateau immediately became a frontline city in danger. The Aragon-Castilla Kingdom had a large number of knights stationed within the city, with each day's provisions consuming a staggering amount of resources.

The Turia River that runs through the city had both banks' farmland and grains requisitioned, to feed the knights stationed within the city. At the same time, numerous mercenaries were gathering from the north to the south, mainly the local "Bull" mercenary groups of Iberia.

To address the increasingly severe food requirements, the City Lord of Valencia had issued a new decree, demanding regular levies of fish from coastal fishermen as an additional "Defense Tax." Thus, at the mouth of the Turia River, numerous fishing boats set sail every day.

On this day, the fishermen of Valencia were out at sea as usual when they suddenly spotted an iceberg floating over from the east.

Panic instantly erupted aboard the fishing boats, as there had been similar incidents recently: Undead Spirits had released corpses into the Jucar River from the plateau, allowing them to be swept into Valencia Bay, then these bodies floated along the currents to the beaches near Valencia, north of the citrus flower coast.

Fishermen who discovered these bodies washed ashore were about to check them out when ghouls suddenly emerged from the bellies of the dead... After these harassing spirits were exterminated by the City Guard Knights that rushed over, the incident spread throughout the nearby fishing villages.

The conclusion everyone reached was that the Undead Spirits to the south were very cunning. If you encountered anything bizarre nearby, you should definitely not approach rashly—it might be the Undead Spirits causing mischief.

So, the fishing boat immediately turned around and headed back to the city, planning to alert the City Guard Knights.

A few minutes later, a fisherman at the stern suddenly cried out:

"That iceberg is still following us!"

The rest of the fishermen quickly rushed to the stern to see and realized that not only was the iceberg trailing them, but it was also gradually closing in the distance, and it seemed like there was a person standing on it...

Everyone was terrified out of their wits, and the captain of the fishermen then gritted his teeth and commanded:

"Full speed ahead!"

In truth, this was just a slogan, as the fishing boat's diesel engine lacked the sophisticated contraption to change speeds, and the advanced engine with a control circuit had burned out half a year ago.

Thus, the fishermen found a few oars from the ballast area below and began rowing frantically outside the hull... Though far from matching the thrust of a diesel engine, their collective futile effort nonetheless stabilized the previously panicked morale.

"The person's gone!" Another frantic shout, and the fisherman watching for the iceberg at the stern rushed into the cabin.

"Did he jump in and swim over?" the captain anxiously asked.

"No, I teleported directly over," said a strange male voice from the side.

The inside of the fishing boat immediately erupted into chaos once more, and the captain reached for his handgun at his waist, only for Aske to effortlessly snatch the weapon, dismantling the handgun with a few flicks of his wrist.

"Don't panic," Aske said casually, tossing the emptied magazine aside as he looked leisurely at the surrounding fishermen drawing their daggers, and with a smile pointing at himself, said, "Look closely, I'm just an ordinary human mercenary, human."

The fishermen looked at each other, eyeing him for roughly two and a half minutes. Seeing he still hadn't shown any signs of hostility, they hesitantly and guardedly lowered their daggers.

Indeed, the person before them undeniably appeared to be human. And if it were an advanced Undead Spirit capable of disguising itself as a human, slaughtering the entire boat would be a matter of moments—and there were no City Guard Knights here at sea to help.

So, after quickly realizing this fact, although everyone still harbored some doubts, they soon began to exchange frantic looks with each other and then tacitly pretended not to be suspicious anymore, sighing in relief:

"You scared me to death, I thought you were an Undead Spirit..."

"I am here to support the Aragon-Castilla Kingdom on behalf of the Church Court," Aske said as he fumbled in his chest, pulling out a document that had been water-damaged to the point of illegibility, with only the indistinct shape of the Church Court's seal visible on it.

"Ah, I see," the fishermen crowded around to look at the document, and the skepticism on their faces grew even thicker, yet they all pretended to be convinced and nodded with forced smiles, "In that case, we can confirm your identity now."

Noticing the fishermen's eyes darting around, Aske turned over the paper in confusion, only to realize it was the one he had carried on him, which ended up being soaked by the sea.

"My apologies, I took the wrong one." Aske casually tossed it aside and drew out another document—this time, an intact copy housed on Fire Island, which truly bore the Church Court's instructions and stamp.

This time, the fishermen took turns coming closer, scrutinizing it for quite some time, and then once again exchanged glances.

"What's the matter?" Aske asked curiously, "Is there a problem with this one too?"

"Your document, indeed it shows no signs of damage, and the handwriting is very clear," the fishermen hesitated to say, "but we are illiterate."

Aske: ......

So, you guys were doubting about nothing from the start!

Irritated, he pulled out two Lorraine Gold Coins and casually dropped them on the ground; the fishermen picked them up skeptically, and upon verifying they were indeed genuine gold coins, they immediately displayed sycophantic smiles sincerely:

"Mercenary sir, please take a seat here."

"We've got some fish soup that just started boiling; we'll serve you some in a moment."

"The sea breeze outside is strong, let me lower the curtains for you."

"This is some grape wine I've treasured," even the chief fisherman eagerly brought out a wine bottle and poured Aske a glass, "Please, have a taste."

Aske took a seat in the chief fisherman's chair and leisurely took a sip. The wine, having been stored for who knows how long, was so sour it was nearly undrinkable, so he put down the glass and asked:

"How long till we reach Valencia?"

"Roughly 20 more minutes," the chief fisherman said obsequiously.

"That quick?" Aske paused and then smiled, "You're willing to take me there just like that, aren't you afraid I'm an Undead Spirit in disguise?"

"If you were an Undead Spirit, we would have been killed long ago, how could we still be alive now," the fishermen laughed in response.

Of course, Aske was well aware that these were merely their flattering words.

In fact, it was all thanks to the power of money; two gold coins were worth several months of their fishing income, obviously making it worth their while to let go of suspicions. And with a few more gold coins, they might even dare transport a real Undead Spirit back.

Therefore, Aske continued to ask some questions, mainly about the situation in Iberia. These fishermen were all from Valencia, well-acquainted with the Undead forces stationed on the southern plateau, and would speak with great detail about various rumors, while having absolutely no clue about the broader Iberian Continent's situation.

According to these men, Aske could confirm that the current situation on the peninsula was roughly in line with what was stated in Eleanor's plan. The Undead Spirit forces currently occupied the highlands in the southern part of the continent, while the Aragon-Castilla Kingdom defended the north, with the situation at a stalemate.

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