Chapter 117: Chapter 117: Beast Island
Boom...
The dark clouds hung low in the sky, making it hard to breathe. Amidst the rolling thunder, lightning flashed within the dark clouds, eventually gathering into a dazzling burst of light and striking down fiercely.
Crack!
In that moment, the world was coated with a sheen, as if the lightning had come to life, dancing freely above all things.
Deafening thunder resounded, and the falling lightning danced around like countless silver serpents, captivating the eyes of Rosinante, who stood atop the mast with a long blade held high as a lightning rod.
"Phew~"
Exhaling a breath of blue smoke, Rosinante's hair stood on end as he moved his numb body. He looked up at the sky, waiting for the next bolt of lightning to strike down, ready to absorb it with his third-generation Ghost Pierce.
The dark clouds spread, lightning and thunder!
The waves surged, the wind howled, and the Great Route displayed its terrifying side. The layers of waves rose and fell, causing the massive Tangji Kede ship to bob up and down in the vast expanse of the sea.
"@[email]!"
On the deck, Torreboll shouted in dialect, roughly translating to 'awesome.'
"Picka, watch the triangular sails!"
"We've deviated from our course, start the turn. Virgo—"
Dover, who was steering the ship, kept a close eye on the record pointer in his hand. In the Great Route, the waves deceived you, the winds deceived you, even the positions of the sun and stars could deceive you, but only the 'record pointer' faithfully pointed to the destination.
With everyone's busy efforts, the Tangji Kede ship successfully passed through the stormy area filled with lightning and thunder. The sky whistled with cold wind, and in an instant, the accumulated water on the deck froze rapidly, turning into solid ice.
"Isn't this a bit too exaggerated?"
Diamanti stretched out her hand, and the crystalline snowflakes fell into her palm, quickly turning into goose feather-sized snowflakes.
"Just a moment ago, it was thunder and lightning, and now it's snowing?"
Swish...
Holding the third-generation Ghost Pierce as a 'lightning rod' at the top of the mast, Rosinante leaped down and landed on the snow-covered deck, where the snow had just started accumulating.
"Get shovels and clear this snow."
Once they entered the Great Route, everyone's horizons were truly broadened. Compared to underwater icebergs and sudden thunderstorms, a snowstorm was child's play.
As everyone began to shovel snow, Pike climbed up the main mast with a 'bump' and melded into it, then swiftly 'swam' upward, reaching the top of the mast. There, he took out a telescope and began to keep watch.
Before long, the snow and wind in the sky suddenly ceased, and the blazing sun hung high once more.
"Is this the Great Route?"
Jora, who had just walked out of the kitchen with a steaming spicy dish in her hand, decided to go back and make something cold.
"Yes, just the extreme weather changes alone can weed out ordinary people with weaker constitutions."
Rosinante put down his shovel. In this world, the principle of 'survival of the fittest' was taken to the extreme.
"Those who can adapt to the Great Route naturally have robust constitutions—"
At this moment, lookout Pike descended the mast.
"There's a strange whirlpool up ahead."
"A strange whirlpool?"
Rosinante took the telescope from Pike, looking puzzled at the direction he pointed to. Despite his experience as a seasoned sailor, he couldn't make heads or tails of this whirlpool—
"I've never seen anything like it."
A massive whirlpool, at least several hundred meters in diameter, was visible a few hundred meters away from the Tangji Kede ship. Normally, sea whirlpools were caused by conflicting ocean currents, or occasionally by underwater earthquakes, monsoons, or even small whirlpools formed near islands and coastlines. But the one before them was clearly different. Within the swirling waters of the whirlpool, giant fins moved swiftly, as if some enormous sea creature was swimming beneath, creating this colossal whirlpool!
"Prepare for battle; we've encountered 'Sea Monkeys.'"
Rosinante, who held the position of "Chief of Staff" in the family, couldn't possibly enter the Great Route without making any preparations. He relied on the collected navigation logs and his understanding of this world to immediately identify the 'identity' of this whirlpool.
Sea Monkeys, a type of sea creature.
Their size ranged from 20 to 30 meters.
These sea creatures enjoyed creating waves and whirlpools, destroying ships on the open sea for no particular reason other than sheer amusement.
"Haha, just some Sea Monkeys."
Drawing his extra-long Western sword, Diamenti struck a slashing pose.
"Let me take them out with Flying Slash!"
"Are you sure your newly acquired Flying Slash can take out Sea Monkeys, which have their strength weakened in water and are over 20 meters in size?"
Although he was poking fun, Rosinante also unsheathed his third-generation Ghost Pierce.
"It's time to exercise everyone's long-range attack abilities."
Boom!
Leading the charge was Gladiolus, the smallest among them. Smoke billowed from the cannon as a mixed red wave suddenly erupted within the whirlpool several hundred meters away.
"Good shot—"
As Gladiolus fired that shot, the massive whirlpool in the distance suddenly accelerated! Its diameter rapidly expanded, causing the Tangji Kede ship to tilt in that direction.
"Spirit Slash: Soaring Cut!"
Rosinante swung his third-generation Ghost Pierce abruptly, and a gigantic sword aura, tens of meters long, soared toward the whirlpool, emanating a black-red glow.
"Crescent Moon: Funeral!"
Diamanti tensed her muscles all over and swung her extra-long Western sword with force. A crescent-shaped Flying Slash, green in color, shot out in a similar fashion.
However, it was smaller than Rosinante's and lacked the black-red spiritual energy that could corrode flesh and bone.
"Whizz, whizz, whizz, Sacred Deadly Bullets!"
With Haki wrapped around his index finger, compressed to the extreme, Dover's fingertip emitted a metallic glow. Then, the lines on his fingertips turned into bullets and shot out suddenly.
Swoosh!
A beam of light streaked across the sea, instantly hitting one of the Sea Monkeys in the water. However...
"Such attacks don't work well against enemies with massive bodies."
As Rosinante spoke, Jora, who was nearby, took a step back. She made a charging motion, and her crystal shoes abruptly kicked forward.
"Lantern Kick!"
The vacuum fluctuations, similar to the Flying Slash, turned into a crescent-shaped light, flying over the sea. It then ripped apart the seawater with a pop, accompanied by a scream.
—As for where Rosinante and Diamanti's Flying Slashes had landed earlier, two massive bodies were now floating.
The lower bodies resembled fish, but they looked like oversized seals, with the face of a monkey. It could be said that this world was truly full of wonders.
"Hehehe, leave it to you guys."
Torreboll, who had a well-rounded and sturdy physique from training, sat back and formed a chair out of slime.
Although he had ranged abilities as well, such as throwing slime and igniting them as "incendiary bombs," they were ineffective against targets in the water. So, he decided to take it easy and relax in the water.
"You take the helm,"
Dover, who had gained nothing from his attack, pushed his sunglasses up unhappily. He handed the helm and the record pointer to Torreboll. Meanwhile, a large number of threads rapidly intertwined and combined behind him.
"Thread-Thread: Platinum Star!"
Swish...
A purple-armored muscle warrior flew out. Although it carried the name "Platinum Star," it was just Rosinante's quirky sense of humor. Its range was certainly not limited to mere "C."
With Dover closing his eyes to concentrate on controlling it, the "Platinum Star" made of threads flew above the whirlpool. Then, it displayed formidable power surpassing "Ryusoken Double-A" as it swung a single hand. Transparent threads emerged from its five fingertips.
"Five-Colored Threads!"
With a downward swipe, the "Platinum Star" controlled remotely by Dover created five cracks on the sea surface.
Although they were quickly smoothed over by the swirling seawater, a sea monkey that had already lost its life emerged below, moving up and down with the direction of the whirlpool, amid a large amount of red bloodstains that soon appeared.
"Squeak... squeak!"
Amidst a panicked chorus of squeaks, the heavily injured sea monkeys immediately abandoned their plan to create a whirlpool and overturn the merchant ship—those "bipedal, upright-walking monkeys" standing on the ship were too strong.
As the sea monkeys swiftly disappeared into the sea, the whirlpool gradually dissipated, and the crisis was averted.
"Very well, the first round of our voyage has ended."
Sheathing his third-generation Ghost Pierce, Rosinante noted that while the extreme weather and sea monsters of the Great Route were dangerous, they didn't pose much of a challenge to the current Tangji Kede family.
"Next, it's time for rest... No, I mean, the first challenge is waiting for us."
Following Rosinante's gaze, everyone first saw a black dot; as it continued to enlarge, they could see the flag at the top of the fortress. Soon, the shape of an island appeared on the sea surface, along with defensive structures surrounding the island.
"Beast Island, here we come."
The scent of blood wafted through the wind, and even without using Kenbunshoku Haki, everyone could clearly sense the danger emanating from the island ahead.
"Be cautious. If it's called 'Beast Island,' it's definitely not a friendly place."
As the Tangji Kede ship continued to approach, the extreme weather and sea monsters disappeared, leaving only slight waves rocking the ship, making the entire sea feel like a comfortable bed for a nap.
In front of them, the island was lush and covered with dense forests, resembling a "Summer Island."
The weather on the Great Route's islands remained fixed in four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. By looking at the vegetation, one could determine the climate of an island.
"Not bad, it looks interesting."
Dover surveyed the island before him. Amidst the lush vegetation, a long wall stood.
However, it wasn't a stone wall but a mixture of earth and wood, composed of round logs towering two to three meters high. Each log was exceptionally thick and sharp, with personnel holding flintlock guns patrolling atop them, giving off an intimidating aura.
"What's the meaning of this?"
"Even the family has breached stronger fortresses and harbors than this."
Rosinante shook his head as he spoke, facing Gladiolus, who had pulled up his mask to cover the lower half of his face.
"Don't underestimate this island. True strength lies not in the forces displayed openly but within that city."
Just as the Tangji Kede ship slowly approached, a small patrol boat came to greet them.
"Welcome, travelers from afar! Please come this way!"
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(End of this chapter)
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