Chapter 80 First Day at Sea
At noon that day, after a short sacrifice offering ceremony, the Big Maritime Windmill depart from the dock with the guidance of a steering boat.
A big group of well-dressed men and women sending the Big Maritime Windmill off at the dock. They were the shareholders of the big three whale-hunting company in Dunerk. Every time a whale-hunting ship was dispatched, many shareholders would always rush over to wish the whale-hunting ship good luck, hoping that they would gain good harvest.
Single-horned Wild Whale, it was a high-leveled magical beast whose whole body was worth money. The single horn on his head that was three meters or longer, was a weapon material that could drive every forging great master crazy. Every horn could become a godly weapon, a kind that couldn't be bought with money.
The skin of a Wild Whale was a high-quality material for making leather armors. Having a leather armor made of the skin of a Single-horned Wild Whale was similar to having several extra lives. A Whale Skin Leather Armor carved with protection magic array had an extremely powerful resistance against physical and magical injuries. It was a life-saving treasure that every cowardly high official and nobility wished to possess.
The meat of a Wild Whale was delicious and could strengthen a person's physical strength and qi. The meat of every Single-Horned Wild Whale would always be purchased by the logistics department of the Imperial Army with a very high price. Certain secret elite forces of the empire ate the meat of the Single-Horned Wild Whale as their main food so the individual strength of their soldier was astonishing. Military department of every country on the continent wished for its elite force to eat the meat of Single-Horned Wild Whale but, for now, the countries on the continent that possessed this kind of strength were only Gaul Empire and Vias Business Union.
As for the blood of a Wild Whale, it was the best neutralizing agent in alchemy, a lot of high-quality medicine required it. The oil extracted from the internal organs of a Wild Whale had unusual effects of boosting sex drive for old men and getting rid of wrinkles for old women. Simultaneously, this kind of oil was also one of the compulsory fuel and raw materials in magical forging.
Even the bones of a Wild Whale were extremely valuable. They had a white luster and were exquisite, even more popular than the best ivory among high officials and nobilities. Furthermore, the whale bones were enormous, several fold bigger than ivories. They could be carved into huge handiworks, with every whale bone carving having a sky-high price.
The eyes and magic core of a Wild Whale were totally priceless yet unavailable in the market because they were the empire's controlled goods. No one could privately sell these treasures. The magic core of a Single-Horned Wild Whale was huge, it was a compulsory energy core for certain large-scale magic formations usually used for military campaign. Its eyes were even more precious magical materials. They could be used to make magic wands of formidable might or as single-used magic treasures of unbelievable power.
As a result, every Single-Horned Wild Whale was worth a lot of money. Every Single-Horned Wild Whale could bring a huge profit for the big three whale-hunting companies in Dunerk. It could make the purses of those shareholders bulge quite a bit. So every time a whale-hunting ship went out to the sea, a big group of shareholders would send the whale-hunting ship off as if sending their own elders off.
Big Maritime Windmill was the newest among the 12 whale-hunting ships owned by Dunerk's big three whale-hunting companies. It was enormous, much bigger than other whale-hunting ships. It was 120 meters long, several floors tall, and dozens meters wide, a colossus through and through.
The main body structure was constructed using huge hundreds-year-old wood. The important places were reinforced with metal. The ship was covered with a layer of steel as thick as a thumb which was even engraved with a small defensive magic formation. Every whale-hunting ship was a main battleship of the imperial navy. During a war, the military department would enter these special whale-hunting ships into the navy battle formation.
The black Big Maritime Windmill that was like a small hill slowly departed the harbor. With the help of the huge power produced by the magical array, the whale-hunting ship sailed against the wind, entering the surging North Sea.
After Dunerk Harbor disappeared from sight, Lin Qi and Enzo came out of their cabins while wearing thick bear skin coats. Safety rope to prevent them from falling overboard were tied around their waists as they stood on the deck looking into the distance. The wind rolled up waves. In the horizon, dozens of icebergs were slowly floating to the south. On those icebergs, there were actually several unlucky Ice-Armored Polar Bears or fat Long-Toothed Seals."
"These unlucky fellows, once the iceberg nears a shore, they would quickly turned into the clothes on our bodies and the food on our plates!" Lin Qi waved his hand at those unlucky magical beasts standing blankly on the icebergs, "Naturally, it's also possible they would be sent into an animal-fighting ring, like the one we bet on two nights ago."
Breathing in the cold air, Lin Qi said with joy, "Rich! Enzo, we're rich! Indeed, just like my old man always said - it's impossible to get rich if you follow the rules! If you want to get rich, you have to take risks and let your sword do the talking! Those two girls are really wealthy, we're rich!"
Enzo's complexion was quite pale. Big Maritime Windmill was rocked by the waves. Its bow would occasionally tilt up to 30 degrees, making Enzo feel as if it could be overturned at any moment. The wind whistled while the waves were slapping the deck. The sky and the ocean were white. Enzo couldn't really differentiate which was which.
Forcing out a laugh, Enzo suppressed his nauseous feeling and asked, "Lin Qi, why do we only come out for 15 days? Don't tell me they are certain they can catch a Single-Horned Wild Whale within 15 days?"
Lin Qi shrugged his shoulders. He smiled and said, "Oala, 15 days are enough. They have a special method to attract those Single-Horned Wild Whale. Moreover, every year, every whale-hunting ship cannot hunt too many Single-Horned Wild Whale, hunting two to three Single-Horned Wild Whale every 15 days was the limit!"
Laughing complacently, Lin Qi said, "Too much of something makes it less valuable, Enzo! Too much of something makes it less valuable! In order to allow our descendants to still be able to rely on hunting Wild Whale for a living, Dunerk's big three whale-hunting companies supply the entire continent with 20 to 30 Single-Horned Wild Whale every year, 40 at most, not more than that!"
Jumping happily several times on the deck, Lin Qi shouted at the top of his voice, "I love these big fellows to death! Oh, have you ever eaten a stew of fresh whale penis?"
Enzo's complexion turned green. He covered his mouth without uttering a word while his body pathetically swayed along with the boat.
Lin Qi hadn't noticed something was amiss with Enzo. He wishfully wondered, "I have never eaten it either! My old man doesn't allow me to! But, that thing is the most valuable treasure on the body of a Single-Horned Wild Whale. Tch, it was even more expensive that its magic core. I don't understand why so many kings and emperors dispatch special envoys to compete for this thing every year. Oala, this is the only thing I don't understand about a Single-Horned Wild Whale!"
With a wa sound, Enzo vomited. He pathetically kneeled on the deck and vomited even greenish-yellow bile until he felt dizzy.
"Ah! You rookie!"
Seeing Enzo vomiting like crazy, Lin Qi couldn't help but laughed loudly at his misfortune.
"You're actually seasick, you unlucky rookie!"
Chapter 81 Second Day at Sea
The bow of Big Maritime Windmill shot out a red light onto a small iceberg one hundred meters ahead, shattering it. Even the mountain under the sea was cracked by of the red light. The huge ship rammed against the shattered ice, scattering it as it continued to sail to the depths of North Sea.
With the safety rope around his waist, Lin Qi complacently stood next to the statue of the ship. With his left hand pressing onto the mermaid statue - the mascot of Big Maritime Windmill and his right hand gripping a sharp harpoon, he was staring at the sea.
Suddenly, a cyan shark around three meters long leaped out of the water, opening its mouth to bite the bloody beast meat hanging by the ship's railing. Lin Qi laughed out loud. With a flash of his yellow qi, the harpoon shot out, splitting the wind while leaving a trace of yellow light. Following an ear-piercing whistling sound of wind, it firmly stabbed into the shark's head.
The harpoon penetrated the shark's head, killing it in one hit. Lin Qi laughed heartily and pulled the tenacious rope made of beast muscles behind the harpoon to pull the shark up. Lin Qi's eyes shone. He rushed to several sailors on the deck who were similarly holding a harpoon waiting for a target and said with a smile, "Guys, a fresh Hammerhead Shark! Good stuff, you know, its liver is extremely delicious! Thor, Thor!"
Under the caress of the cold wind, a sturdy sailor as tall as a bear chuckled and walked over bare-chested. He helped Lin Qi pulled the hammerhead shark that weighed at least 500 kilograms onto the deck. Thor Zhang, a sailor of Big Maritime Windmill, pulled out a sharp fish blade and swiftly cut the shark's belly open, cutting out its liver carefully.
Hammerhead Shark was an aquatic magical beast commonly seen in North Sea. Its skin was an excellent material for leather armors while its fins were worth a lot of money in the East. The Hammerhead Shark fins Dunerk exported every year to the East were numbered in the hundred thousand, earning a lot of money for Dunerk. Yet the most delicious and, at the same time, the most precious thing of a Hammerhead Shark was still its liver.
Several sailors also came over while carrying a huge wooden plate. Thor sliced the liver on the deck, then mixed in a little soy sauce before adding a little wasabi with stinging smell. Lin Qi greedily grabbed a piece of liver and put it in his mouth. The fresh and tender liver practically transformed once entering his mouth. A hint of spicy and sweet mixed with a hint of exotic fishy taste simultaneously entered his stomach, quickly making a hint of heat spread from his stomach.
"Good stuff, I haven't eaten fresh Hammerhead Shark liver for three years!" Lin Qi sighed emotionally. He use a small knife to take several pieces of fish liver then walked over to the hold of the ship in large strides.
On the upper floor of the hold of Big Maritime Windmill were several single cabins specifically set aside for the captain, vice captain, and noble guests. At the moment, Enzo was laying on his stomach on the bed in one of the cabins. His hands were holding a wooden basin he was throwing up into. Since yesterday, he hadn't drunk a drip of water nor had he eaten a grain of rice. He had vomited everything in his stomach that not even bile was left. Now he was opening his mouth wide to retch, vomiting as if even his internal organs were going to burst out of his mouth.
Enzo, whose body was weak all over and whose vision was a black blur, didn't even realize when Lin Qi entered the cabin.
Lin Qi took the wooden basin from Enzo's hands and opened his mouth to put in the several pieces of fish liver. Enzo instinctively chewed and swallowed the fish livers into his stomach. Enzo who had never eaten wasabi before violently sneezed several times. With strength of unknown origin, he suddenly jumped out of the bed.
Laughing complacently, Lin Qi strongly slapped Enzo's shoulder, "A Hammerhead Shark's liver, good stuff! For a rookie like you, after eating several pieces you can adapt to a life on a boat! Oh, look alive, look alive, there are still many interesting things waiting for us!"
Enzo shook his head. The heat in his stomach swept through his whole body and his downcast spirit was indeed restored by a lot, even his internal organs that originally suffered extreme pain also got better. He rolled his eyes at Lin Qi and said with a bitter smile, "Boss, you should have given me this stuff yesterday!"
Lin Qi helplessly shrugged his shoulders and pulled Enzo to leave the smelly cabin. He gave a long sigh and said, "There's nothing to be done, we haven't entered the territory of Hammerhead Sharks yesterday. The magical beasts in the sea are similar to those on land, they have their own territory!"
There were countless aquatic magical beasts in the territory of North Sea. Those middle-leveled and low-leveled magical beasts scattered to various places in the sea as they pleased. However, powerful magical beasts like Single-Horned Wild Whales and Hammerhead Sharks possessed their own specific living areas. A Single-Horned Wild Whale wouldn't rashly cross the border into the territory of another powerful magical beast while other magical beasts naturally also followed this rule.
After tying a safety rope around Enzo's waist, Lin Qi brought Enzo, whose spirit and physical strength already recovered by a lot, back to the deck. Enzo still stood unstably on the deck, making it difficult for him to walk, but with the support of the several fish livers with miraculous effects, he no longer felt dizzy.
Big Maritime Windmill continued to sail to the depths of North Sea as its high-spirited sailors freely hunt from the deck.
These aquatic magical beasts were greedy and stupid. As long as fish bait were hung by the side of the ship, they would take the initiative to jump out of the water, exposing their vitals to the sharp harpoons. If it was in water, a Hammerhead Shark could effortlessly killed an Earth Knight, but when they were out of the protection of the sea, they were indeed unable to withstand even a single blow from the sharp harpoons.
Very quickly, close to one hundred Hammerhead Sharks were arranged neatly on the deck. These creatures' skin, fins, livers, and teeth were cut out while their meat were carefully minced. By mixing their blood and several unusual medicines, buckets of fishy-smell blood plasma were produced.
Lin Qi kicked a fish fin and said with a sneer, "In the East, those wealthy big shots can pay more than one thousand gold coins just for one piece of high-quality Hammerhead Shark fin! They like this stuff, but us, we only like their livers. By eating the livers of Hammerhead Sharks, even a rookie like you can quickly turn into a veteran sailor!"
Inhaling deeply, Lin Qi looked at Enzo with malice, "Enzo, my good brother, how about I teach you how to swim? Conveniently, you can also be a fish bait, maybe you can attract several high-leveled Hammerhead Sharks? Ck ck, the fin of a high-leveled Hammerhead Shark, it's worth over ten thousand gold coins in the East!"
Enzo suddenly shivered. Swimming in this awfully cold weather, in this North Sea filled with icebergs?
Furthermore, who knew how many vicious sharks were swimming around down there!
Enzo righteously rejected Lin Qi's demands. He gnashed his teeth and said, "No! I would rather duel you, I absolutely won't learn swimming in this damned place!"
Rolling his eyes, Enzo craftily said, "If it was that small river next to Wright Town, maybe I will be interested to learn!"
Lin Qi spread his hands expressing his disappointment. The prow of the ship suddenly shot out another red light, shattering yet another small iceberg ahead into pieces.
Suddenly, the person keeping a lookout on the mast loudly shouted, "Boat! There is a boat there!"
After a pause, he shouted as if he saw a ghost, "A boat less than three meters long, damn it!"
Chapter 82 Meeting an Easterner
At North Sea, at a place more than one day sailing away from land, actually appeared a small boat less than three meters long?
The sailors on the deck all shouted in astonishment. Big Maritime Windmill wasn't like those kind of old-fashioned wind-powered boats, rather it was a boat powered with magic formations. Within one day, the distance it could travel was seven to eight times to those wind-powered boats. In other words, from this place, a wind-powered boat needed five to six days of sailing before encountering dry land. A small sampan less than three meters long basically couldn't return to dry land from here.
"Which unlucky person floated here?" Lin Qi smacked his lips and took a huge machete from Thor's hands. "Slow down, go near and take a look! If it was a pirate, just let him continue to drift around; if it was an unlucky person drifted here because of a disaster, in that case, fine, I'm in a good mood today!"
Shrugging his shoulders, Lin Qi grinned and said, "If it really was an unlucky bastard who encountered a disaster while sailing, then we can let him ride on our boat!"
Thor grinned and pushed the corners of his eyes in a grimace, "Young master, we are now sailors of a whale-hunting ship, we are doing an honest business. So, if he was a person who met with a misfortune, according to the sailors' customs, we should help him!"
The sailors on the deck simultaneously started to laugh, then one after another grasp their harpoons just in case.
At sea, any bizarre thing could happen. If the small boat belonged to an unlucky bastard who encountered a misfortune, then fine. If it was a pirate who had violated the rules and was exiled, then they would have to be careful. Pirates were poor, vicious, and extremely evil bandits. Among pirates who violated the rules, some was exiled to the sea on a small boat, especially those bandits among bandits. Furthermore, they generally would possess extremely powerful strength.
A brand new magic-powered whale-hunting ship like Big Maritime Windmill was the ultimate dream of countless pirates. With such a big ship, there was basically no boat on the ocean that could escape it. It was the most powerful treasure of a fortune.
So they had to be careful, in case the fellow was an exiled pirate, in case he controlled their ship, Black Tiger Family would lose their face. After all, all the sailors on the ship were subordinates of Black Tiger Family. They were also pirates, if they were robbed by others, would the Black Tiger Family still have the face to mingle in the north?
The furnace with magic formation within the ship gradually died out and the big ship slowly sailed forward from the remaining force. The prow of the ship firmly bumped against a floating ice, shattering it into pieces. Several hundred meters ahead on the sea was actually a small boat less than three meters long. Yet what was astonishing was that half of the ship was already frozen over. In was drifting along the sea wind in Dunerk's direction.
The captain of Big Maritime Windmill, Good Luck Valjean Qiao, walked out of the captain cabin and steadily walked to Lin Qi's side. Good Luck Valjean Qiao was the most outstanding captain in Black Tiger Family who also had the best luck. When he was young, he commanded three pirate ships to rob 17 cargo ships in a row at North Sea within seven days. The outcome was all the cargo ships were filled with priceless spices, then only he gained the nickname 'Good Luck'.
With a body as sturdy as a black bear and alrealy white hair and beard, Valjean Qiao looked into he distance while carrying a huge hatchet. He frowned and said, "Young master, you have to be careful later! This thing is strange, no one can sail a cargo ship or a passanger ship into North Sea during winter, so it was unlikely to find any brother who was out at sea sailing to earn money during this damnable time period. This ship is very odd!"
Lin Qi's expression changed slightly. Right, during winter only whale-hunting ships and coastal fishing boats can set sail from Dunerk while other ships could only divert to the southern ocean. It was basically impossible for other ships to enter North Sea during this time. The small boat was indeed odd, to not be careful was out of the question.
Stretching his hand to make a round slash above his head with the machete, Lin Qi coldly said, "Prepare the whale-hunting prongs, if anything was amiss, shoot him dead!"
Urgent sound of copper bells rang from within the ship. It was the signal to ready Big Maritime Windmill's six magic-powered whale-hunting prongs.
The huge ship was already approaching the floating ice with a circumference of seven to eight meters very slowly. Half of the boat was frozen within the floating ice. The part of the ship exposed outside was completely empty. Through the transculent ice, a black thing could be seen within the frozen half of the boat.
"Woah, a person!" Lin Qi shouted in shock.
Lin Qi's shout just left his mouth when the floating ice was suddenly split open with countless cracks. Following an ear-piercing cracking sound, the ice surrounding the boat crumbled. The entire boat was exposed in front of everyone. At the head of the boat, the curled up person was astonishingly an Easterner wearing a precious Blue Fox leather cloak with long black hair draping over his shoulders.
Everyone on the deck simultaneously sucked in one breath. An Easterner, how could he travel into North Sea at this damnable time? Also, how was he sealed inside the ice? Looking at the pieces of ice all over his body, perhaps he was already frozen to death?
Lin Qi sighed lightly. He abandoned the machete, shook his head, and said, "Truly a pitiful person, send several people to carry him abroad. That Blue Fox leather cloak is not bad, take it off and wash it. It can be sold for at least several thousand gold coins at Hunchback Shop. Oh, it looks like he didin't have any valuable jewelries, a person who could wear this kind of Blue Fox leather cloak, it's unlikely for him to be stingy in adorning himself several gems!"
Just now, Lin Qi's gaze swept over the Easterner's hair. His hair was in a bun and on it was astonishingly a crown made of pure gold. Around the golden crown were embedded rubies as red as blood, each was as bis as a thumb and extremely gorgeous!
"It must be because I've bought enough Redemption Talismans during these two years, the various gods are protecting me!" Lin Qi swallowed a mouthful of saliva and gave another order, "Forget it, let him enter this world with nothing and leave it with nothing as well! His clothes must be made of high-quaility silk, take off his undergarments and socks as well. After they are washed, they could also be sold for several hundred gold coins at Hunchback Shop. Those countryside landlords love silk from the East!"
When Lin Qi was calculating the fortune he could make from the dead person, the curled up person suddenly moved. He slowly stood up and raised his head to look at Lin Qi's group dozens of meters away.
He was an exceptionally sturdy and unusually handsome youth who wasn't shorter than Lin Qi. Due to being frozen for a long time, his face was blue to the point of being almost transparent. His messy clothes also made him look incomparably pitiful, but it couldn't cover the aloof pride, brash arrogance, and overbearing might of his.
Lin Qi and the others stood on the prow of their ship while the youth stood on the small sampan. Yet, Lin Qi suddenly had a feeling as if he was looked down on by the youth while he was looking up at him.
Strongly shaking his head and casting aside the strange feeling in his heart, Lin Qi opened his mouth and asked the Easterner, "Hey, do you want to hitch a ride?"
The youth's body faintly flashed. Following dozens of hazy shadows, when his figure reappeared, he was already standing in front of Lin Qi.