"What is it?" Lilia asked, confused.
Leo had been locked in the hut for two days, and she was really curious about what he was up to.
"you'll see soon," he said, grabbing her hand and pulling her to a cliff.
This place was far away from where the barbarians lived, and below them was a crashing wave.
Leo pulled out his Flamestone and lit the fuse on the bamboo tube, then quickly threw it into the sea.
"What are you doing?" Lilia watched him, looking scared, like the bamboo tube was super dangerous.
Boom!
Suddenly, there was a loud explosion. The sea roared, and a huge wave splashed up. A few strange fish floated on the surface.
Lilia's mouth dropped open, and she just stared at the mess.
"It worked!" Leo was excited. The black gunpowder was even more powerful than he thought.
If he added some metal pieces or rocks, it would be a real grenade.
"Did you get shocked?" he asked, looking at Lilia, who was still frozen.
Glug!
Lilia swallowed hard, took a step back, and stared at him in shock, saying, "You... you're an Alchemist!"
Alchemists were always making evil and dangerous things.
"Is there really an Alchemist in this world?" Leo shook his head. This wasn't something an Alchemist would make.
"You're right," Lilia snapped out of her shock and looked at Leo like she was meeting him for the first time.
She said, "If you were an Alchemist, you wouldn't have been caught on a ship and forced to work as a slave."
In this world, Alchemists were even more respected than mages.
They had magic powers too, and studied all sorts of weird stuff-metals, potions, even things that could explode.
But nothing was as powerful as the black gunpowder Leo made.
The worst part was, you didn't even need fire magic to make it. It could be mass-produced.
Now that he had a way to protect himself, it was time to plan how to leave the island.
Leo didn't want to stay here forever.
"Lilia, can you build a big boat?" he asked her.
"Leo, are we leaving?" Lilia was happy, but then she shook her head and said, "Elves don't like to leave their land. I don't know how to build a boat. Maybe we can ask the barbarians."
She thought of the old priest. The barbarians weren't born on this island-they had escaped from other lands and ended up here.
"That's all we can do," Leo nodded and said, "Come on, let's go find the old priest."
They found the old priest and told him their plan.
"Lord Leo, are you really leaving? We can build a big boat for Lilia, but can't you stay?" the priest asked again, trying to keep Leo.
"No!" Leo hadn't even said anything yet, but Lilia cut in, coldly refusing, "She's my person. She has to come with me."
"Huh?" He was confused. When did he become Lilia's person?
He said, "Priest, we had a deal. I teach you how to survive, and you let us leave."
"Ah," the priest sighed. He knew he couldn't keep Leo.
"We'll build a boat for you, but it's not safe for long-distance travel," the priest said.
"Don't worry. Just enough to sail 100 miles," Lilia said.
She remembered that more than a hundred miles away from Flame Island was another island, occupied by humans and used as a supply hub for seafarers.
There, people gathered, and perhaps she could find news of the princess.
"One hundred miles is enough," the old priest looked at Lilia, clearly he also knew about that small island.
"But I have one more request," he said, looking at Leo, "I want Lord Leo to take Ava with him."
He was determined to bind the barbarians and Leo together. Since he couldn't keep Leo on the island, he would have Ava go with him instead.
"This..." Leo wanted to refuse, but then he remembered what Lilia had said.
Ava had already been publicly betrothed to him by the old priest. If she stayed here, no barbarian would marry her. In such a savage place, a woman without protection would find it hard to survive.
Moreover, after these few days, he had some feelings for Ava. She was kind, and good at taking care of people. Having her along would be helpful.
"Alright, I agree," he nodded.
"Hmph!" Lilia muttered coldly, not saying anything.
"Good. Then I'll order the men to build a big ship immediately. It will take about half a month," the priest said, happy that he had gotten Leo's agreement.
"Fine," Leo and Lilia weren't in a hurry.
Also, there was still more knowledge on farming and animal husbandry he hadn't taught the barbarians.
Half a month would be enough.
Leo returned to his daily routine, teaching the barbarians, making black gunpowder.
After leaving Flame Island, he didn't know if he would be able to find the materials needed to make gunpowder again. He had to make as much as possible, to ensure his own safety.
"Lord Leo, is this how we fill the bamboo tubes?" Ava held a bamboo tube, learning how to load the gunpowder. She had also added shards of obsidian.
These stones were found near the volcano, sharp and brittle.
If they were shot into a body by the explosion, it would be fatal.
"Yes, that's right. Remember, no open flames, and don't let it get wet," Leo warned again and again.
Loading the gunpowder was too complicated, so he handed the task over to Ava and a few other barbarian women.
"Leave it to us, Lord Leo. We won't make a mistake," Ava promised, directing the women to fill the bamboo tubes with gunpowder.
Leo didn't stay there. He went to the beach to check on the barbarians building the ship.
They called it a "big ship," but it was really just a larger raft.
However, it had a simple mast and sail structure, and it was fairly sturdy.
Leo asked them to build a large, waterproof cabin for living and storing the gunpowder.
"Lilia, do you know how to sail?" he asked her once he found her.
He had learned from Lilia that there was a human-inhabited island 100 miles to the west of Flame Island.
But in the open sea, without a compass, it was hard to determine direction. They might easily get lost.
Lilia answered, "As long as we don't meet bad weather, I can tell the direction. And right now it's a favorable wind. If everything goes smoothly, we can reach the island in less than a week."
"Will it take that long?" Leo was worried. Being at sea for a week was too long.
And although the barbarians' ship looked sturdy, it would definitely not survive a storm.
All they could do was hope for a smooth journey.
Soon, half a month passed.
The big ship was finally completed. It was over three meters wide, nearly seven meters long, with two levels. The lower level was used for storing food and fresh water, while the upper one was for storing gunpowder and living quarters.
This was the largest ship the barbarians could build.
At dawn, the sea was shrouded in mist, and the tide was rising.
A group of barbarians were performing the final ritual.
It was an out-of-sea ceremony, a form of blessing.
Leo didn't take it seriously, but he also didn't stop them.
"Lord Leo, the Fire God and the Sea God will protect your journey. I entrust Ava to you. If possible, I hope you will come back to visit us soon," said the old priest, his voice filled with emotion.
Ava's eyes were slightly red. For the first time in her life, she was leaving the island and her family, and the feeling of loss was hard to bear.
"Rest assured, once I settle down, I will come back to visit you," Leo promised.
He watched the barbarians performing the ritual, then pulled the old priest aside and whispered, "I've left you some gunpowder. You must use it carefully. If there are any attacks from half-beasts or humans, you can use it as a deterrent, but don't waste it. Making this is very difficult, and I can only give you this much."
The barbarians on this island were not safe. They often faced attacks from humans, half-beasts, and even other barbarians.
Leo left a box of bamboo tube explosives - over six hundred in total - which would be more than enough for self-defense.
The old priest, remembering the power of the bamboo tubes the night before, looked terrified. He bowed deeply and said with reverence, "Lord Leo, I believe you are the messenger sent by the Fire God, who has protected our tribe. These divine items are the blessings of the Fire God. I will not use them lightly."
"Alright. Then we'll part ways here," Leo patted the priest's shoulder. He couldn't help but laugh at the memory of the previous day.
When the bamboo tube exploded, the old man had fallen to the ground in fear, continuously kneeling before Leo, insisting he was the messenger of the God of Flame...
The ship raised its sail, and with the tide, slowly drifted away from the shore.
On the beach, a group of barbarians danced and waved, blessing them on their journey.