Chapter 671 - My Doomsday Territory

Chapter 671: Voyage Across the Endless Sea In the Great World of Mountains and Seas, various races and civilizations are primarily concentrated on the boundless Xuanyun Plateau. However, the Endless Sea also boasts a number of islands—though compared to the vastness of the Endless Sea, calling them sparse would be misleading. Some of these islands are vast enough to rival the Eurasian continent on Earth. Civilizations have flourished on these islands as well. Some nations along the coastal islands are migrations from the vast continents, while deeper within the sea lie indigenous civilizations that have developed naturally on the islands. Unlike the Xuanyun Plateau which shares a common script and language, many island civilizations are isolated and vastly different due to lack of communication. "Because of the unique properties of the Endless Sea's waters, even those of extraordinary rank cannot fly, and ships navigating these waters are highly susceptible to sea monster attacks...?" Lorlin was studying a piece of intelligence. They embarked from a private port on the southern coastline. Over the years, the exploration corps had organized a few voyages, but none ventured far. The longest one lasted fifteen days at sea before being annihilated by sea monsters. Without the city-return scrolls, destruction of a ship on the Endless Sea would have meant certain death for all aboard. The fleet had now departed the port for several hours. No land was in sight, but the sea was calm, as was a typical marine surface. Lorlin extended her senses. Everything on the surface seemed ordinary, but below the waves, her perception felt mired and sluggish, as if moving through mud. She attempted to soar into the air, but upon reaching the void above, she felt a heavy pressure pressing down. Almost threw her back out. "Captain, the first and second mates are requesting a meeting with you." The one who found Lorlin was a sailor, a local native. Apart from the senior management, the Green Shade policy was to employ locals. This voyage did not involve a bloated fleet, but only this meticulously crafted battleship, "The Initial." Armed to the teeth, "The Initial" boasted menacing cannons on its sides, while on its deck stood arcane spell towers crackling with electricity, occasional runes flickering in the void beyond the deck. However, Lorlin was well aware that "The Initial" was not invincible against the Endless Sea. Inside the meeting room, First mate Tang Xiaoli, second mate Xie Yi, the third mates were the Star Spirit and Star Moon sisters, and the chief sailor Kong... The persistent demand to bring along the bamboo rat first mate was grudgingly met; Lorlin as captain was more or less a title earned. Before being summoned, she had prior experience captaining pirate ships, albeit those with mere handfuls of crew. Additionally, there were the gunners, storeroom managers, ship doctors, and other key role handlers. The current issue revolved around acquiring the "Silent Sea Crystals." "Silent Sea Crystals only exist deep in the Endless Sea, and we have natural advantages in exploration with life-saving items like the city-return scrolls. I think charging forward is enough," pounded the bamboo rat Xiaoli, ending with a squeaky "squeak." Looking around, Lorlin, Xie Yi, Star Spirit, and Star Moon all cast dissenting votes, while Kong sat aloof, neutral, and the awakened stage crew members huddled shivering in the corner. "Searching aimlessly in a vast ocean is imprudent. Besides, since the Silent Sea Crystals are circulating, there must be forces in the seas who know how to obtain them." Lorlin had rarely done her homework. "However, compared to the ocean, islands are scarce, and we lack any nautical maps..." She glanced at Star Spirit and Star Moon. Star Spirit shook her head, indicating they had no specific target, and divination was impossible. "Ahem..." a crewmember timidly raised a hand, "Can we try the radio? Maybe we'll catch some information on sea civilizations." In the Great World of Mountains and Seas, the technological tree focused mainly on personal combat strength, with research on objects lagging behind. Yet, tools like radios, in advanced forces like those in White City, still existed. Radios, belonging to high-end mystical items, could receive yuan power frequencies from distant regions and occasionally bizarre messages. A sailor brought a rune radio shaped like a seashell and turned it on. "Zzz... Zzz..." "O gracious Lord of Death, please cast the radiance of the blood moon." "Oh ho, oh ho, let me out!" "Meow, meow meow, meow meow meow~" "Zzz... Huff huff~ Boom! Clang! Ping!" Nothing particularly useful, it seems? Reluctantly, Star Spirit and Star Moon had to use the divination method, letting the staff stand upright and releasing it to fall randomly—the direction it pointed in was the direction the ship should go. The ship cut through the waves, swiftly reaching over a month into the voyage. "Boom!!" The "Initial" shuddered, alarm cries echoed, followed by an onboard broadcast: "Two second-level sea monsters spotted at seven o'clock, one third-level sea monster at ten o'clock, all units, all units prepare for action..." Before surfacing, sea monsters were nearly undetectable, and the traditional method of sensing strength by aura was ineffective. However, after over a month at sea, the crew had developed a method for observation. —Judging strength by size. Sea monsters the size of a car were considered first-level threats, posing no real danger. Monsters the size of a two-story building classified as second-level, slightly dangerous. Third-level sea monsters were much larger; "The Initial" was 266 meters long and 39.8 meters wide, while the third-level sea monster's length matched the ship's width. In a single collision, "The Initial" was cloaked in a semi-transparent shield, yet it still shook. "Boom!" Cannons fired on both sides, sending pillars of water tens of meters high. Soon, a blood-red stain spread across the waters on "The Initial's" left. The two second-level sea monsters were instantly killed, but the third-level emitted an earth-shaking cry, its massive tentacles thrashing against the shield. Most of its body was charred, many tentacles severed, looking near death though healing rapidly. —These sea monsters couldn't regenerate from a drop of blood, but their self-healing was at least at an SS level. "I'll handle it." Kong leapt from the deck and, midair, delivered a slash. The blade light was not dazzling, quite unadorned actually, but upon striking, the third-level sea monster split cleanly in two without the surrounding sea showing any sign of division—not due to Kong's weakness, but his mastery over his strike, executing it perfectly with no wasted energy. As Kong slowly descended, his toes lightly tapped the slain sea monster, propelling him back onto "The Initial's" deck. "It's a giant sea sturgeon, one of the few edible sea monsters, we're in for a treat today." The salvage team rapidly got to work, securing the enormous sea monster around "The Initial" and extracting materials and edible parts. Just then, On the horizon, several small dots appeared, ships over a hundred meters long rapidly drawing near. On the flagship, A figure held a disc, resembling a radar with ripples spreading out, their gaze fixed on a small point for several seconds before speaking with slight excitement, "That sea sturgeon has stopped!"