351 Departure

At this rate, we wouldn't depart before the damned midnight! How long can they pretend to need to move simple canopies less than a single kilometre from the forest line to the shore?

"It's not that they want to slack… We are all just scared. The island you pointed us out is a taboo for us!"

With Heila working hard at the forefront of the job I delegated to the people, it was Jessie turn to speak up for their people. With all the injuries she still had to slowly heal up from, I took care to exclude her and several other wounded from the task.

"I know. You can tell them, that as long as we get back to the island before the night, I will be able to protect everyone. But if they continue to stall like that, I won't have any other option than forcing all of us to travel through the night."

Turning myself to face the woman instead of overlooking the progress of the work, I looked her right into the eyes before adding.

"And I can't guarantee anything after it turns dark. Who knows what lurks under the surface of the water, hiding in the shadows of the night."

I was done with trying to be kind. Those people were freed from slavery, yet I was almost certain that they didn't consider themselves free. Unless I was ready to use some of the whips, trying to make them work hard with the elusive carrot alone would never work.

"If you put it in this way… I will relay the message to them. I just hope you will be able to keep your end of the bargain. If you think those land beasts are even comparable to the monsters that guard those waters… Let me tell you that, there is a reason as to why Overlord is the only one travelling by ship on the entire island!"

With her face still showing some signs of uncertainty and doubt, Jessie tried to coax me into changing my mind, but to no avail. There was no point explaining to her that the most likely reason behind Overlord's monopoly on sea fare… was the exact the same reason why everyone feared what's in the water. No one can maintain a complete monopoly just by being passive!

In the end, with the additional motivation in place, the entire work finished only by the time when I initially hoped to be already reaching the shores of my private resort island… But with a bit of clever manoeuvring and courageous sailing, we still had the chance to make it there before the sun would stop gracing this land with its presence.

To be honest, I had no idea how I could instil the drill and obedience in them. With how I was going to connect all the canopies together with the prepared poles, I had to have some degree of control over the rowing speed of each boat. While the road wasn't hard or long, I needed them to be able to row their way out of the influence of the sea current that we will be once again using. 

With how it encircled most of the island before turning deeper into the ocean unless we started from the specific point on the other side of the island, we could either try to fight with the flow right away or just try to angle out of it after using it to gain enough momentum to carry us most of the way.

"Listen here. I made this trip not once, not twice, but three times in a row already. While it's true that it will be the first time with so many canopies at once, if I dared to challenge this journey with a makeshift raft, I'm certain we can overcome the odds and arrive safely in a matter of two hours at most. Just remember, when I tell you to row, there can't be any slacking!"

Even before the first pair boarder their canopy, I was resolved to cutting away anyone who couldn't oblige with my orders. It was better to get rid of the dead weight instead of letting it drown the entire group. 

Taking the poor state of some of the folks into account, I split all fifty ships into five columns, with ten canopies each. Those who I deemed to be most likely to give up, were located on the inner row, while the weak ones took place right beside them. With the outermost column bearing the influence of the current for the longest time in the entire group, most of the fit men in relatively good condition were placed there. 

After some additional troubles with setting the poles in places and making sure they were holding the entire construction together, the boarding process finally started. 

Contrary to my expectations, there wasn't much trouble there. Row after row, people were sitting down in the canopies, two for each boat. With the shallow waters extending for over a hundred meters, there wasn't any problem with pushing the entire formation afloat, before everyone slowly boarded.

I guess my warning did its job!

With my boat reserved to be in the very centre of the formation, I couldn't help but smile wryly when I saw Heila already sitting at the very front of the open space inside the canopy, inviting me with a smile to sit behind her.

What a mischievous cat…

I guess I had to decide where I was going to take my relationship with her soon, or she was bound to hold resentment towards me. With how small the society would be with less than a hundred people making up my entire nation, even a single enemy could turn all my efforts of creating a powerbase awry!

"Let's go!"