Chapter 728 David and Liana <TOC> Chapter 730 The Death Ring and Hurricane
Translator: SumTLMan
In the Devil’s Sea region, the sky was clear and bright. Angel leaned his head lazily, gazing out the window at the crystal blue sky, “Is this really the Devil’s Sea region? It’s yet another sunny day.”
“I recall in Lucas’s diary that he sincerely prayed, and the Ocean God took pity on him, informing him of a sea area where it was always sunny. Could that place be here?” Angel mused.
Initially, it was just a passing thought, but the more he considered it, the more likely it seemed. The Cloud Conch had been out of the misty area for almost a week, and during that time, it was all clear skies with no storms or huge waves. The calm and tranquil environment was like the Whale Beard Sea during the Month of Rest.
But could the Devil’s Sea area really have such a peaceful place? Angel was somewhat skeptical.
He knew that the route was so peaceful that they had hardly encountered any sea beasts.
With no sea beasts to kill, Toby wilted by the window, lazily basking in the sun.
Angel stretched lazily, pushed open the balcony door, and the golden sunlight immediately poured onto him, carrying a warm and cozy sensation.
Leaning on the iron railing, Angel enjoyed the soothing touch of the sea breeze and sunlight.
“No matter if this is the clear sea area mentioned in Lucas’s sailing diary, being able to capture this warm sunshine in the winter is not bad,” Angel thought to himself.
After a while, Angel decided to go back inside and continue his research. However, he noticed that the deck below, which usually had bustling sailors, was now eerily quiet.
There was only one sailor on guard duty, leaning weakly against a pillar, his face pale.
“Huh? Considering the liveliness of those sailors, how come there’s no reaction to the sun now?” Angel stood still, recalling the memories of these days.
For nearly half a month, he had been discussing shoe patterns with Nano and had not gone out much. However, it seemed that he hadn’t heard any commotion outside.
Could it be that the sailors were all hibernating?
Seeing the obviously sick guard sailor in the distance, Angel became somewhat concerned. Could it be that the others were also sick like this sailor?
Angel thought for a moment and decided to use his mental tendrils to investigate the situation. If a large number of sailors were indeed down, it wouldn’t be a small matter. Without anyone to sail the ship, reaching the Feran Continent would be even more difficult.
Just as Angel was about to examine the situation, he suddenly heard hurried footsteps outside.
In a short while, the footsteps stopped outside his door, and someone knocked.
It was Helen, whom he hadn’t seen for nearly a week. Helen’s face was also somewhat pale, as if she was sick too. Not only were her lips cracked, but her originally plump figure had lost quite a bit of weight in such a short time.
“Deputy Captain Helen, what brings you here?” Angel returned to his desk, folding his arms as he looked at Helen standing in front of him.
After taking a few deep breaths, Helen said to Angel, “Sir, we need your help.”
After some time, Angel filled nearly two hundred barrels of fresh water using his water conjuration spell, then watched the sailors cheerfully leave his cabin with a subtle expression on his face.
He had initially thought that there was an outbreak of disease on the ship and decided to tackle the problem himself. However, Helen told him that everyone was healthy; they were just parched from not having had water for several days.
Helen’s lips were cracked because she hadn’t had water for two days as well.
Angel hadn’t expected the solution to be so simple.
But on second thought, it made sense. For more than half a month, they had been unable to dock at Silver Palm Island to replenish their water supply. Since entering the misty area, there had been no rain, and they were currently experiencing sunny weather day after day, making it impossible to obtain fresh water. Water scarcity was understandable.
However, Angel was a bit puzzled. According to Helen, they had been short on water since they entered the misty area, which had been more than half a month ago. Why did they wait until now to seek his help?
“We didn’t want to disturb you,” Helen said, looking down with embarrassment.
“I’ve told you before, if you want to thank me, ensure the safe passage of the Cloud Conch to the Feran Continent. This is our shared goal right now. Before achieving this goal, you can consult me about any obstacles we encounter along the way,” Angel paused. “I don’t want the lack of resources to compromise the ship’s crew and delay our journey to the Feran Continent.”
Helen nodded. “I understand.”
“Now that the water shortage is resolved, are you running low on food?”
Helen shook her head. “We have plenty of food: dehydrated vegetables, dried meat, canned food, and more. We also have people assigned to fish, so we’re not lacking in food.”
Angel looked slightly disappointed, as he had wanted to practice making magical bread. Since they weren’t short on food, they wouldn’t be able to enjoy this luxury.
With the resource issue addressed, Helen said, “Sir, there’s another matter. We need to choose the next route for our journey.”
Hearing this, Angel felt a headache coming on. He couldn’t provide any advice without external consultation, so he always let Helen and Alvin decide. But they always came to him with their decisions.
According to them, this was the protocol set by the White Shell Shipping Company: the route must be decided with the involvement of an extraordinary person.
With no other choice, Angel sighed. “Go ahead.”
In any case, after Helen finished explaining, she would voluntarily present the pros and cons of each route and give her recommendations. Angel merely needed to follow her advice.
Helen took out a sea chart and pointed to a red cross along the route. “Sir, based on our current speed, we will reach this point by tomorrow morning — Death Ring.”
Helen spoke at length, and Angel gathered the gist of it: the Death Ring was an extremely important transit hub, with only three relatively safe routes to choose from, a far cry from the dozens of routes they had encountered before.
Helen: “Although the Death Ring is fraught with danger, these three routes are comparatively safer, with accident rates generally kept below 5%. These routes are the Calm Sea, the Summer Dew Ridge, and the Frostbound Passage.”
“The Calm Sea, also known as the Lonely Road, has little wind, making it much slower than other routes. To speed up, one could activate the ship’s stored kinetic energy, but doing so might attract the attention of the gigantic sea creatures that dwell in the Calm Sea. Hence, we traverse this path using human power, plodding forward.”
Hearing that this route was slow, Angel crossed it off in his mind.
“The Frostbound Passage is an extremely cold route with fewer sea creatures. Though icebergs may drift along, the Cloud Conch has the capability to break through ice quickly, making this route a viable option.”
As she mentioned the last route, Helen hesitated: “The Summer Dew Ridge is the route we usually take. However, we should avoid it this time.”
“Why?” Angel looked at the map, noticing that the Summer Dew Ridge was scattered with numerous islands, which should be desirable for ships drifting at sea for extended periods.
“It’s called the Summer Dew Ridge because a witch named Summer Dew resides in this region. According to the late Sir Roman, our ships from Sky Mechanical City had to send her a message requesting passage before entering the Summer Dew Ridge. Unauthorized intrusions would be treated as hostile, with the invading ships being attacked and sunk.”
“Sir Roman used to be in charge of communicating with her, but now that he’s gone…” Helen paused, “Without a way to contact her, it’s best not to take this route. It is said that Witch Summer Dew has a bad temper, and she only allowed us to use the route after the person behind the White Shell Shipping Company personally visited her and made some promises.”
Witch Summer Dew? Angel searched his memories for a long while but couldn’t recall a specific image. However, from what Helen said, she must be a powerful transcendent, daring to live in the Devil’s Sea. Even the people from Sky Mechanical City had visited her, which probably meant she was a formal wizard.
It was best not to trespass into the territory of a formal wizard, or else they might risk being killed for offending her.
“What would you suggest, Angel? Which route should we take?” Angel asked.
Helen pondered for a moment: “If you want a smooth and safe journey, we could take the Calm Sea route. There are many islands in the Calm Sea where we can replenish our resources, but our progress may be slower. We may have to spend a month in this area.”
“If you want to go faster, we could take the Frostbound Passage. However, the conditions along this route may be more severe. Sailors have been known to freeze or even die on the Frostbound Passage,” Helen said.
From Helen’s tone, it was clear she preferred the Calm Sea route. However, Angel wanted to save time and was more inclined to take the Frostbound Passage.
“Let’s take the Frostbound Passage. I’ll take care of the cold issue,” Angel thought to himself, deciding to spend a day inscribing a temperature-controlling rune on the ship.
Helen nodded in agreement. As she had come to know the wizard better, she understood that he was a man of his word. Since he had promised to deal with the cold, she trusted he would find a solution.
“I’ll discuss it with Captain Alvin and pass down the order,” Helen said, preparing to leave with the sea chart.
However, Angel’s gaze was still fixed on the map, noticing a nearly straight route on the other side of the “dead zone.” This area was marked with a skull, and Angel curiously asked, “What’s this route?”
Helen looked over, her face showing a hint of fear. “Sir, this area is extremely dangerous. Even the higher-ups at White Shell Shipping don’t dare to venture in.”
“According to Sir Roman, this area is also known as the Sea of Ghosts, where countless terrifying ghosts wander. Any ship that enters will become a ghost ship, never able to leave.”
“The Sea of Ghosts? No wonder there’s a skull marking,” Angel didn’t delve deeper, instead folding the map and handing it back to Helen.
After putting away the map, Angel suddenly recalled a question he had earlier.
“Helen, has it always been sunny like this when you’ve been to this area before?”
Chapter 728 David and Liana <TOC> Chapter 730 The Death Ring and Hurricane