"That's a pretty good idea. Come on in."
Without another word, Ethan directly pulled the Rakshasa birdman who had come up with this money-making idea into the protected area of his top-tier raft.
By now, the huge wave was less than a hundred meters away from the top-tier raft.
Once the wave drew closer... everyone finally realized that it was actually several hundred meters tall, far higher than they had initially imagined.
How high would they have to fly to escape being swept up by this enormous wave?
But the problem was... Above the giant wave was a vast and terrifying area of thunderclouds.
Although most Featherguard birdmen had magic resistance, lightning was an unusual element that wasn't covered by their magic resistance. The Featherguard who had charged at the top-tier raft earlier was the best example.
One shock, and it went rigid. Once it went rigid, it was done for!
"It's over! It's over!"
"I can't fly back! Am I really going to die in this sea of bugs?"
"Who could've imagined that after eating bugs every day, we'd end up being eaten by them instead!"
"I originally thought the wave would only be about twenty or thirty meters tall. I figured I could fly over it. But now, it looks like... I'm dead for sure."
"If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have been trying to save money to buy my wife a new nest. I should've paid that swindler the three hundred thousand sooner. At least I could've gone back to see my newborn little chicks. Now I'm going to lose my life, so what do I need money for? Sob..."
The winged races were all filled with regret.
Just then, Ethan shouted again, "This raft will take another twenty airborne passengers. You won't be allowed to land, but you can cross the giant wave under the protection of my raft!"
"Five hundred thousand Dragon Coins per person. Get in fast if you can afford it. No bargaining!"
"Me!"
"We have another chance!"
"My little chicks, your dad will definitely come back to see you!"
At his words, the birds immediately plunged toward Ethan's raft like falling meteors.
After all, the giant wave was almost upon them. Those who hadn't escaped by then wouldn't be able to escape at all.
And the twenty spots were effectively the last twenty places to survive. Who would dare save money on a payment that could buy them their lives?
Flap! Flap!
Puff! Puff! Puff!
There was limited space inside the top-tier raft, and the passengers who came later had only rented airspace, so they weren't allowed to land.
As a result, the birdmen inside the raft were practically wing to wing, with their feathers rubbing against one another. But none of them dared complain, because this was their last chance to stay alive.
Crash!
As the last twenty birdmen entered the shelter of Ethan's top-tier raft, the giant wave finally came crashing down.
Ethan's little raft instantly became like a tiny leaf in the ocean, slapped straight into the Red Sea by the harsh hand of reality.
Although Ethan had transformed himself into a bubble that enveloped the bamboo raft, he still couldn't escape being driven beneath the sea by the giant wave.
Fortunately... Ethan had long since realized that although his Demonic Armor was incredibly powerful, it couldn't possibly withstand an entire swarm of bugs endlessly devouring it.
So... he had used alchemy long ago to trade with the Abyssal Demons for some unusual items.
These items were called...
Wax!
Wax wasn't usually very useful, but when it came to water, it provided an extremely effective seal.
Wax could also be used as a lubricant.
For example... when a keyhole gets stiff and the key won't slide smoothly, you can poke a little wax into it. Inserting and removing the key will then become much smoother.
[T/N: 😏]
At this moment, Ethan had applied a thick layer of wax to his Demonic Armor, or rather, spread it thickly over the surface of his air sac. The instant the giant wave came down, Ethan had already transformed himself into a huge ball, wrapping the entire raft inside.
With the surface of his Demonic Armor coated in wax, the whole thing was even more airtight. He could practically use it as an air sac.
Gulp!
Several seconds later, after tumbling countless times in the Red Sea, the raft finally surfaced again.
After the giant wave passed, the Red Sea once again returned to a state of calm, as if the enormous wave had never existed.
Ethan could finally retract his Demonic Armor, which had been stretched so thin that it was almost transparent. He transformed it back into a huge sail and continued moving slowly toward the opposite shore under the gentle breeze.
"Thank you, Shapeshifter!"
"Thanks!"
"Thank you so much. I'll be on my way now."
After surviving the most dangerous part, the airborne passengers thanked Ethan one after another before flying back into the sky.
Next, the birdmen who had paid a high price to become passengers also left one after another.
On top of the top-tier raft... once again, only the nine passengers and Ethan himself remained, making ten people in total.
"Everyone, you've worked hard. We'll distribute the food and fruit now."
Ethan had long anticipated that the hot spring water might spill because of the raft's rocking, so he'd made thorough preparations in advance. He used the Hardening Technique on the water together with the large wooden barrel, freezing them into one huge block of ice. That way, nothing could possibly fall out.
Then, whenever they wanted a drink, he could simply throw a Great Fireball at it to thaw some of the water.
He was a genius.
As for the meat and oranges, Ethan had placed them all inside the small wooden hut in the middle of his top-tier bamboo raft and locked everything away together. This way, he didn't have to worry about anyone stealing anything, and he could also ensure that none of the food would fall into the sea and go to waste.
[🎉 Shoutout to N8t1ve for joining p@treon. You can also join to motivate me. Thank you very much.🤗]