Chapter 127: Enemies or Not? Selene shook her head vigorously, attempting to dispel the pounding headache and overwhelming fatigue as she looked past Moon’s shoulder toward the shore. What she saw made her breath catch. Before her stood bipedal figures with two arms, two legs, and recognizable facial features. But their skin was entirely blue, ranging from deep azure to lighter tones. Their builds were lean and athletic rather than bulky. They were roughly human-sized but with slightly longer limbs. Their eyes were large, dominating their faces, and their ears were pointed. The blue people wore primitive clothing, woven from what appeared to be materials made from jungle vegetation, simple wraps and coverings that left much of their distinctive skin exposed. They carried primitive but effective weapons: wooden spears with sharpened stone tips, bows made from flexible wood with vine strings, and what looked like stone knives secured at their waists. They jumped up and down excitedly as Mirage, Moon, and Selene slowly approached the shore, as if excited. Moon stopped Mirage approximately fifty meters from what he estimated was effective attack range for their weapons in case they decided to attack. "Wait. I need to understand their body language first... determine if they’re truly hostile or just curious about our arrival." Mirage halted obediently upon hearing his rider’s orders, his body tense and ready despite the exhaustion. The white horse was prepared to fight if it was deemed necessary. They all remained battle-ready despite their depleted condition. They’d survived too much to die carelessly on a beach to primitive weapons. The blue people continued their dancing, and jumping, with excited expressions on their faces. Which initially struck Moon as happiness of starving predators discovering food. But that interpretation soon faded as the creatures made no aggressive moves whatsoever. Instead, they began to deliberately place their weapons on the sandy ground before them. Their spears laid flat, and their bows set down gently. Their hands which had four fingers were raised and opened, showing empty palms as if saying: We mean you no harm. Moon turned slightly toward Selene, keeping the blue people in his peripheral vision. "What do you think? Are they genuinely friendly or is this a trap?" Selene studied the display carefully, her eyes trying to discern their goals through their body language. After a moment, she said, "I don’t know for certain. They seem friendly enough, the weapon-lowering gesture is pretty clear. But we absolutely cannot lower our guard completely. Let’s approach slowly and cautiously. Be ready to fight at a moment’s notice if things become grim." Moon nodded his agreement, her assessment matched his own instincts. "This is the only visible island in any direction. If we can establish these people as friendly or neutral, it would be ideal. Fighting right now isn’t optimal, especially if there are more warriors deeper in the forest who would just keep coming in waves." Going back into the water wasn’t appealing either. The golden fish had moved on, which meant normal oceanic predators would return to this area. Swimming while exhausted made them vulnerable to aquatic beasts they’d previously been protected from. The island represented their best option for recovery, assuming the blue people weren’t immediately hostile. "Alright. Let’s approach slowly. Stay mounted on Mirage so we can retreat quickly if needed. Keep your eyes and ears vigilant." They began moving forward cautiously, Mirage’s hooves slowly touching the sand on the seabed as the water grew shallower. When they finally reached the beach proper and Mirage’s hooves touched dry land, a system notification appeared before both awakeners. [You have entered a Death Zone with penalty of 500 Lives per death.] Moon felt a wave of relief despite the high number. The death zone was no longer classified as permanent death territory, they’d successfully escaped the oceanic permanent death zone. But five hundred lives per death was still catastrophically high. A single mistake could set them back dramatically in their accumulated life reserves. The voices of the blue people grew clearer as proximity decreased, their language becoming audible even if incomprehensible. "Kraeth ul’nivar sha’keth!" one of them called out, gesturing enthusiastically toward Moon and Selene. "Vel’shan! Vel’shan thar!" another responded, pointing at Mirage with obvious fascination. "Ni’keth mora zha’vel," a third added, making welcoming gestures with both hands. The language was completely new to their ears. It was a mix of harsh consonants with flowing syllables. The sounds carried no similarity to any human language Moon had encountered, and they made clicks and whistles in between words. "What are they saying?" Selene whispered directly into Moon’s ear, her voice barely audible. "How would I know? Do I look blue to you?" Moon responded in an equally quiet whisper, his tone sarcastic. The dry humor surprisingly lightened up their tense mood. One of the blue people, seemingly a leader based on his standing and deference the others showed him spoke to one of the smaller figures, which was a youngling, judging by their size and face. "Thar’vel kesh Kiri!" the leader commanded. The youngling immediately turned and sprinted deeper into the forest, disappearing into the dense vegetation within seconds. Selene’s grip on Moon’s waist tightened. "Look! one of their younglings just left. Are they trying to lure us into a false sense of security while calling for reinforcements?!" Moon’s jaw tightened, his hands tightening on his staff. "Not sure. But if they want a fight... then so be it. I’ll make sure their blue blood mixes with the seawater as if it’s one." Selene’s brows rose in surprised. She’d never heard such a firm, and cold tone from Moon’s voice. It was clear that he wouldn’t hesitate to kill if threatened, and it didn’t matter if they looked like humans or not. The blue people continued their welcoming gestures, seeming genuinely excited rather than aggressive. But Moon knew better than to trust appearances completely. As they arrived in shore, Moon and Selene took out another potion to hasten their recovery in case they did fight. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺 As they drank the potions, the blue people began to grow more excited at seeing them drink the potions.