Chapter 729 Three Routes <TOC> Chapter 731 The Rat Ants
Translator: SumTLMan
After Helen left, Angel once again opened Lucas’s nautical logbook.
According to Helen, the voyage had not been as peaceful in the past, with various storms and disasters occurring. This time, however, they were fortunate with clear skies, and the voyage was smooth and easy.
“It seems I was overthinking it,” Angel rubbed his temples, ultimately closing the parchment scroll with a sigh.
After closing the scroll, Angel looked at its title once more.
Generally, people only emphasize a particular quality they possess when they are severely lacking in it.
The title read “The Most Honest Captain of the Shining Gold Age — Lucas’s Captain’s Log.” Who would deliberately add “most honest” to the title of their logbook? Perhaps Lucas emphasized his honesty as a captain because he lacked this quality?
However, Angel felt that people who love to lie rarely tell the truth, and when others don’t believe them, they emphasize their “honesty” even more. Viewed from this angle, there seemed to be some possibility of truth in Lucas’s nautical logbook.
Angel shook his head, his thoughts in disarray. He remained skeptical about Lucas’s nautical logbook for the time being.
Putting away the parchment scroll, Angel decided not to dwell on it any further and continued researching the “Flying Boots.”
The wall clock continued ticking, and in the blink of an eye, daytime turned to dusk, the soft moonlight enveloped the calm sea in a veil of starlight.
Having worked on his desk for half a day, Angel finally lifted his head.
A pair of artistic black leather boots appeared on the paper, with delicate and mysterious runes on both sides.
“For my first time making shoes, I should start with a simple design,” Angel murmured to himself.
He had tailored many garments in the past few days, but this was his first time making shoes. Following the instructions from the bracelet, he took out the corresponding materials and began the crafting process by cutting and tanning the leather.
As he was working on the leather, a commotion came from outside.
Almost finished with his task, Angel opened the door and stepped onto the balcony, curious about what was happening outside.
As soon as he opened the door, a dazzling array of lights flashed before his eyes.
“Chirp chirp,” Toby flew out from the room, joyfully circling around Angel upon seeing the breathtaking sight outside.
The starry sky was already a beautiful sight, but even more stunning were the shimmering halos of light beneath the sea’s surface.
The star-filled sky blanketed the sea, and at the same time, circles of radiant, glowing halos appeared beneath the water.
The tranquil sea surface appeared as though countless glowing donuts were floating along with the waves. Combined with the stars cast upon the night sky, the sight was simply breathtaking.
The sailors’ chatter was filled with excitement.
From their brief conversations, Angel learned the name of this phenomenon: the Death Rings.
The glowing rings beneath the sea were actually a species of creature called “Death Jellyfish.” These creatures were fragile but extremely venomous. Being stung by a Death Jellyfish left almost no chance of survival.
This area had a high concentration of Death Jellyfish, and their bioluminescent rings were especially visible in the darkness of night. Hence, the phenomenon was named “Death Ring,” which also referred to the region itself.
Helen appeared on the deck, but unlike the other sailors, she wasn’t there just to admire the beauty of the Death Rings. Instead, she was calmly instructing the sailors in their tasks.
They were about to change course and enter the Frostbound Passage. Everyone needed to put on warmer clothes, the ice-breaking saws in the hull had to be checked, and anti-freezing oil layers needed to be applied to areas prone to freezing. These tasks needed to be completed in a short amount of time. The sailors, who had been stealing a glance at the scenery, reluctantly returned to their posts after groaning.
At that moment, Angel jumped down from the third-floor balcony and landed beside Helen.
“Good evening, Sir,” Helen said, startled, and bowed respectfully.
“We’re about to enter the Frostbound Passage?”
“Yes, the Cloud Conch is slowing down. We’ll be conducting our final checks in the Death Ring area, and we should enter the Frostbound Passage in about an hour.”
Angel looked around but, truth be told, he could not see any indication of a channel amidst the vast ocean.
However, he didn’t dwell on it, knowing that everyone had their own expertise. He turned to Helen and said, “I’ll be carving a temperature-stabilizing rune on the ship later. It will maintain a normal temperature onboard, so it won’t be too cold. However, to avoid damaging the ship and to maintain its structural integrity, I’ll have to use a floating rune. The effect won’t last long—only about half a month.”
Helen’s face lit up with gratitude. “Thank you, milord. Half a month will be enough to get us through the Frostbound Passage.”
Angel nodded, took out a bottle of gargoyle blood ink from his bracelet, and began the engraving process. He knew that some people on the ship relied on temperature, humidity, and wind direction to determine weather conditions. Thus, he made sure to leave a lookout tower outside the range of the temperature-stabilizing rune.
The engraving was a simple task for Angel. The low-level rune only needed a continuous supply of energy, and the blood ink itself emitted energy waves, requiring little effort. However, to cover the entire Cloud Conch with the temperature-stabilizing rune, Angel estimated it would take him half a day.
As he worked, the Cloud Conch continued to sail forward.
Before long, Angel heard a commotion, but couldn’t make out the content of the shouts. He saw everyone moving, as the Cloud Conch suddenly made a sharp turn and picked up speed.
As Angel wondered what was happening, Helen hurried over, looking anxious: “Sir, Drew just said there’s a powerful hurricane approaching.” Angel knew Drew, the young sailor who had told him the story of the Beauty Naya.
“Are you sure?”
Helen replied, “Drew has a certain kind of premonitory intuition when it comes to changes in the sea weather. That’s why Captain Alvin brought him on board the Cloud Conch. Since he joined, his weather predictions have rarely been wrong.”
Hearing Helen’s certainty, Angel furrowed his brow. They were in the Death Ring Zone, a crossing point of major sea routes. If the hurricane blew their ship off course into a terrifying area, it would be disastrous.
“Sir, do you have a way to deal with this?” Helen asked, staring expectantly at Angel.
Angel pondered for a moment. If he relied on Gravity Lines, he could stabilize the Cloud Conch to some extent. But battling against nature for an extended period was a difficult task. However, since there was no turning back, he had to give it a try.
“How far are we from the Frostbound Passage?” Angel inquired.
Helen replied, “At full speed, we can reach it in half an hour.”
“How long before the hurricane Drew predicted arrives?”
As soon as the question was asked, Angel saw Helen staring blankly at the distance. He followed her gaze and saw the clouds rolling and shifting in the distance, as if a dragon-snake was slithering through the mist.
Angel had once seen an image of a majestic wave on the Qiantang River on the holographic tablet. It looked like a white line, charging forward with overwhelming momentum.
Now, a white line was also approaching from the distance, but it was countless times larger and more terrifying!
“The hurricane has arrived,” Helen said, somewhat dazed.
Angel estimated that in less than two minutes, it would be near the Cloud Conch. That meant they needed to rely on Gravity Lines to withstand the hurricane for at least half an hour to reach the Frostbound Passage.
Considering his and Toby’s Gravity Lines reserves, and the fact that their opponent was nature itself, it would be extremely difficult to hold out for half an hour.
Angel turned and asked, “How long would it take to sail to the other two safe channels, the Summer Dew Ridge and the Calm Sea?”
“We’re currently on the Frostbound Passage route, so both other channels are quite far. It would take two hours to reach the Summer Dew Ridge and more than five hours to reach the Calm Sea,” Helen explained.
“In that case, we have no choice but to take the Frostbound Passage. However, whether we can hold on or not, I don’t know.” Angel looked back at Toby and said, “It seems we both need to give it our all.”
Toby understood Angel’s meaning and nodded, calling out. “We have another way, and that is to take advantage of the wind,” a male voice suddenly appeared behind them. Helen turned around and saw a serious-faced Alvin at the cabin door.
Taking advantage of the wind? Helen seemed to have an idea, her eyes lighting up: “You mean, Captain, that we should use the power of the hurricane?”
Alvin quickly walked over, nodding to Helen: “Yes, we need to take the Frostbound Passage now, which means going against the hurricane. But if we can harness the wind, we can take this route with the wind in our favor.”
Alvin took out the sea chart and pointed to a particular area. —Summer Dew Ridge.
“Going through the Summer Dew Ridge would allow us to take advantage of the wind. With the wind at our backs, we could even reach the Summer Dew Ridge in a very short time,” Alvin said.
“It’s a good idea, but…” Helen looked carefully at the sea chart, her face showing a hint of hesitation: “But, will the wind really work as we expect? The hurricanes in the Devil’s Sea are unpredictable and often change course.”
“We can only leave it to fate,” Alvin sighed, understanding the logic.
Helen fell silent.
In the end, they both looked to Angel to make the final decision on the route.
“I don’t know which route is more suitable. But, if we go to the Summer Dew Ridge, wouldn’t we also be attacked by the Summer Dew Witch?” Angel said.
“There is indeed a possibility of being attacked by the Summer Dew Witch, but if she is in a good mood, we could explain the situation to her, and she might let us pass. There have been ships that have passed through the area before, even some manned by mortals,” Alvin said.
At this point, Helen added, “Many of the attacked ships had ventured deep into the Summer Dew Ridge. We could stop outside the ridge for a while, wait for the hurricane to pass, and then return to the Dead Zone to choose a new route.”
“But some were attacked as soon as they entered the Summer Dew Ridge,” Alvin supplemented Helen’s words, “So, there is danger in either direction, and we can only leave it to fate.”
Angel turned to look at the approaching hurricane.
With such a powerful force, how long could he and Toby keep the Cloud Conch afloat? He couldn’t be sure.
After pondering for a moment, he decided, “Let’s take advantage of the wind and head for the Summer Dew Ridge.”
“Good! We’ll arrange the crew right away,” Helen and Alvin received the order and, without any hesitation, immediately turned to handle their respective tasks.
Angel silently watched the distant hurricane.
Encountering such a hurricane in the Devil’s Sea was already a common occurrence. However, it was the first time they had encountered a hurricane in such a crucial area.
It could only be said that their luck was truly poor.