Chapter 79. Starfall Bay - 2
Chapter 79. Starfall Bay - 2
"What\'s a 1-star planet?" He asked.
"Well, a planet is categorised into three categories based on the overall strength of the planet," Ralf said. "They are 1-star, 2-star, and 3-star planets. I don\'t know much about 2-star or 3-star, but I have heard that on our 1-star planet, the strongest being is a gold-ranking individual. However, it has only been a rumor, and nobody has ever seen that individual, so it\'s hard to tell if it\'s true or not."
Orion nodded. He couldn\'t help but feel fascinated by the structure of power here.
"Tell me more about planet Sadola," he asked. "I want to know the basics of it."
As Orion asked about planet Sadola, Ralf\'s face turned ugly all of a sudden.
"I can\'t tell you anything about planet Sadola," he said, gritting his teeth.
Orion frowned as he heard that.
"Why can\'t you tell me?" He asked, looking straight into Ralf\'s eyes.
"I-I just can\'t tell you," Ralf said as he stammered, avoiding Orion\'s gaze.
Tension arose in the sphere as Orion looked intently at Ralf, who kept his head down and refused to look at Orion.
"Ralf, I need to understand what\'s going on. If there\'s something dangerous or crucial about Sadola, I have to know," Orion pressed, his voice firm.
Ralf sighed, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "It\'s not that I don\'t want to tell you, Orion. It\'s that I can\'t. Talking about Sadola... it could put us all in danger. There are forces at play that are beyond what you and I can handle."
Orion\'s eyes narrowed. "Forces? What kind of forces?"
Ralf shook his head. "The kind that can end our lives without a second thought. Just... trust me on this. For now, focus on what we can do here. You will know everything when we get there."
Orion sighed. He couldn\'t force Ralf to talk, nor did he want to. But he still had one thing he wanted to know after seeing Ralf\'s suspicious behaviour.
"Tell me, Ralf," he said, his eyes piercing straight at him. "You can\'t tell me or you don\'t want to tell me?"
As Ralf listened to Orion, he gritted his teeth, the veins on his forehead pulsing. Finally, he muttered some low, barely audible words.
"I…can\'t."
Orion nodded as he heard him and didn\'t pester him anymore.
\'It seems there is definitely something suspicious going on this planet.\'
From what he could tell from the last question he asked Ralf, it seemed he was forced to remain silent and not talk about anything to anyone about the matters of Sadola.
\'Let\'s just hope it isn\'t anything serious.\'
He thought as he continued to push the spherical ball.
***
After going on like this for hours, they could finally see something in the distance.
\'Are they boats?\'
As they moved closer, Orion saw that it was a cluster of boats docked around the land. There were hundreds of boats, if not more, that he could see from the distance.
\'There are too many!\'
He could also see many boats making their way towards the docking position and many leaving, setting sail in the distance.
Seeing so many boats for the first time in his life made Orion really excited about this place and was looking forward to see what else it had that could draw his attention.
Before long, they finally reached the land.
However, as soon as they set foot on the land, a group of men came and surrounded them.
Orion frowned as he saw that. But he didn\'t take action and waited to see what they wanted from them.
Most importantly, he could tell that they were some sort of guards because of the armor they wore and the weapons they carried.
Their armour appeared to be made of the dark blue scales of some monsters, and they didn\'t wear the full armour. They only wore the chestplate. But they had the same emblem on their chests. It was the symbol of an illuminating sun. n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
As for their weapons, they all carried a spear in their hands and a sword around their waist.
Moreover, he could tell that they had the same aura as Ralf had, so he figured they were probably at Iron rank. All of them.
"Ralf, where have you been?" One of the guards asked, and his face showed frustration. "We have been looking for you for days, and after not finding you for over a week, we thought you died with your crew."
"We had an accident," Ralf said as he explained what happened to them. "Our boat first got destroyed by the sea centipede, and then we were stuck in a very unusual dungeon. It took us seven days to clear the dungeon and get out of that place."
The guards appeared surprised by Ralf\'s answer, for they also didn\'t expect such a thing to happen to him. But as their eyes moved towards Orion and the other kids standing behind Ralf, their faces turned to one of joy.
Seeing that, Orion had a bad premonition.
"Haha, it seems you didn\'t forget your job even though you were stuck in the dungeon," the same guard, who talked earlier, laughed. "Since you have completed your task, you don\'t have to worry about your crew missing for a week. I will explain everything that happened to you to the general. He will be pleased to see a new batch."
"Good," Ralf said enthusiastically. "I will leave them in your care then."
As he said that, he turned around and started leaving Orion and the transmigrators here. His group of pirates followed closely behind him.
"Ralf!" Orion shouted at him as he saw him leaving. "What is the meaning of this?" He asked.
After hearing the conversation between the guard and Ralf, he understood everything. They had been betrayed and sold to these guards.
Moreover, it seemed that even before they had ventured into the dungeon, Ralf\'s plan had always been to transport them to these people. But because of the huge centipede, it got delayed until now.
However, after coming outside the dungeon, Orion hadn\'t thought that Ralf would betray them. It didn\'t even cross his mind at all.
With how Ralf appeared to listen to his orders like a dog earlier in the dungeon and outside of it too, Orion felt that he neglected the shrewdness in those eyes of his because of that.
As Ralf heard Orion\'s shout, he turned to look at him, but there was a wide grin on his face, which seemed to be saying he had won.
"What? What\'s with that face? You look angry, Orion," he teased him. "But sadly, I can\'t do anything about it. You see, if I don\'t deliver you guys here, then I could only start counting my days, and believe me when I say I am the one who is most afraid to die. And since I don\'t want to die, then I could only do what I was told to do."
"You will regret it." Orion only said that and ignored him. There were far more pressing matters demanding his attention than the betrayal of Ralf.
As he turned his head, he saw a group of guards with their weapons aimed at them, ready to attack at any moment.