Genshin Impact: A Mortal's Ascension to Godhood

Sailing from Liyue Harbor (Part 2)

The next day, Liyue Harbor.

"Li Tao! This way!" At the port, two adventurers wearing the uniforms of the Maritime Affairs Department greeted Li Tao who had come here and took him to the gathering place at the port. One of the two adventurers was Jiang Miao, a middle-aged man. Like Li Tao, he was the owner of the Water God's Eye, but his combat power was relatively weak. He usually served as a navigator in the fleets of various chambers of commerce in Liyue. Li Tao had met him two or three times; the other was Shanhai, who was old, but familiar with the hydrological environment around Liyue Port and was also very good at swimming. He worked as a patrolman on the beach, responsible for rescuing people who fell into the water and diving to salvage items in the water.

Now, Li Tao, Jiang Miao and Shan Hai have all been recruited by the General Affairs Department of Liyue and have temporarily joined the Marine Aid Team formed by the Maritime Affairs Department. Currently, more than ten members of the Marine Aid Team are waiting for orders from officials of the Maritime Affairs Department at the port.

"Li Tao, I heard that you are a combat adventurer... When the time comes, please take care of us." Jiang Miao stared at the one-handed sword hanging on Li Tao's waist and begged sincerely. There was no other way. Jiang Miao knew that he had no talent for combat. If someone like him picked up a knife to kill monsters, he would be tripped by a slime and break a leg.

“Xiao Jiang, you are just too weak!” Lao Shanhai snorted and said dissatisfiedly, “You are favored by the water god and have obtained his divine eye, but you are simply wasting God’s gift. Even when I encountered a sea fish that wanted to attack me underwater, I knew to pick up a knife and fight back, but you dare not even kill a fish. You should just be your navigator!”

Jiang Miao smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, yes, I understand, Mr. Shanhai... I don't think the Haiyuan Team will force me to fight."

At the same time, Shanhai turned to Li Tao and said, "Xiao Li, for the sake of my many years of adventure, please listen to me. This adventure is by no means simple. Those pirates are probably not wanted just because they accidentally burned some ships. There must be a bigger trouble behind this."

Li Tao also said helplessly: "I know, old man. The seven stars and eight gates of Liyue reacted so quickly. They formed a sea aid team to investigate what happened yesterday. Those pirates must have done something extraordinary. But I can only guess based on past events. Who can know the truth in advance?"

"In short, it's better to be careful." The old man twisted his gray beard and said, "The unknown is also the most dangerous for adventurers."

……

"Sea aid team, assemble!"

"Next, I will divide everyone into three groups: the combat group responsible for fighting, the surveying group responsible for piloting and mapping, and the observation group responsible for lookout and observation."

"There are different divisions of labor among the three groups. Each group should do its own thing and avoid chaos."

"Next, the leaders of each group we designate will select their own members according to the list, and then board the ship in an orderly manner!"

The Maritime Department brought an old sand ship with a mottled deck from the west bank of the harbor, preparing to use it as the flagship of the expedition fleet. Behind it followed two thin single-masted Guang ships, which seemed to be just to make up the numbers. These three ships formed the expedition fleet of the Maritime Department's Sea Aid Team.

"Uh..." When the team leader appointed by the Maritime Affairs Bureau was selecting people, Li Tao couldn't help but ask Shanhai, "Grandpa, does the Maritime Affairs Bureau have no more ships? Why did they get such a shabby ship?"

Shanhai replied in a low voice: "Without the instructions of various departments, the Maritime Affairs Department cannot build ships privately. Moreover, the materials for large ships like Fuchuan are difficult to find and it is very troublesome to manufacture, so the merchants simply build some sand ships and small boats. Sand ships have large cargo holds, deep drafts, and easy to find materials, but they still take a year or so to build. Small boats are even simpler, with a mast and a few dried wooden boards, which can be put together to sail in the near sea and inland rivers. The Maritime Affairs Department also has to consider the needs of merchants, so most of them build these ships."

Li Tao nodded and did not ask questions like "Why does Liyue have no navy?" In fact, Liyue has a navy, but the main force is the famous "Death Star", and the others are small Kalmi like the one under his feet. It's not that the sand ship is bad, but it is not suitable to be a warship. The same is true for wide ships and small boats. These ships are more suitable for sailing on wider and deeper rivers. It is really difficult for them to sail in the ocean.

Moreover, Liyue lacks professional naval schools and naval personnel. Haven't you seen that even adventurers have been recruited to serve as navigators and surveyors? Despite being close to the sea, most Liyue people are still more accustomed to the feeling of being down to earth, especially the Qianyan Army. A large number of Qianyan Army soldiers get dizzy when they get on the ship and are not used to it at all. Otherwise, how could Li Tao be on the combat team of the Sea Aid Team? Just dispatch the Qianyan Army. For those who are not familiar with the sea, fighting and living on the sea are completely new areas. Even Li Tao himself can only avoid getting dizzy when riding on the ship.

Well, then the question is, when encountering such a thing, why didn't Liyue let the private maritime force [Southern Cross] fleet led by Captain Beidou go out to suppress the bandits? Li Tao didn't know this, but -

"Members of the combat team, before you set off, I want to say a few words to you."

The "dwarf" who was designated as the leader of the combat group by the Haiyuan Team took off his bamboo hat calmly, revealing a head of white hair tied in a ponytail and a handsome face. This man looked like a young man who had just reached adulthood, with orange-red eyes, a straight nose and tightly pursed lips, and a calm and steady temperament. His clothes were mainly black with red patterns in the middle; his left arm was covered with pure white sleeves of different colors, while the sleeves of his right arm were equipped with several heavy armors with red leaf patterns; at his waist, a transparent long sword was tied on a golden belt, and the wind element swam around it happily; the hem of his clothes was a pair of tight-fitting trousers, and his feet were wearing straw sandals suitable for combat.

"My name is Fengyuan Manye, I am from Inazuma, and I am the holder of the Wind God's Eye. Half a year ago, I came to Liyue because of something, and I am currently serving as the boatswain in Liyue's fleet [Southern Cross]. Liyue Port has once again been attacked by pirates composed of Inazuma Ronin. I am very sorry - if my hometown had not fallen into chaos, this would not have happened. No, this should not have happened."

"I am not saying this to apologize on behalf of those pirates. Pirates are pirates. Since they have committed crimes in Liyue, we should arrest them and bring them to justice. I will not be lenient towards them. I hope you will do your best to assist the Marine Aid Team in completing this mission."

"That's all I had to say. Thank you."

Manye's brief but powerful words slightly shocked the members of the battle group, and then everyone gave him warm applause. A Qianyan soldier nodded approvingly and said, "He doesn't look like an Inazuma man at all. He keeps his promise so well and is so determined that I almost suspect he is a Liyue man hiding in Inazuma."

Li Tao almost laughed out loud when he heard this, and then it took him a lot of effort to adjust his expression.

After the 100-member Hai Aid Team boarded the ship, the fleet of three ships set off towards Guyun Pavilion. According to Jiang Miao, it would take three days to get from Liyue Port to Guyun Pavilion with good sailing conditions. If there were any unexpected situations, this time would be extended.

"Does it take that long to get from Liyue Harbor to Guyun Pavilion?" Although Li Tao was mentally prepared, he was still shocked by the fleet's miserable speed. Think about it, these ships are all hard sails and cross sails. They are fine when the wind is favorable, but once the wind is against them, they can't move. Maybe people will have to row on the lower deck - the Guang ship only has one mast, so when it can't move, they have to row! In addition, the weather at sea is unpredictable. Even with an experienced navigator and a route map to guide, if you encounter a storm, you will have nowhere to turn. Thinking of this, Li Tao found that this mission was indeed a tough job. But the situation at sea is like this. No one can do anything about it. They can only tough it out for the next few days.

"I hope we can find traces of pirates soon..."