บท 29: To The Sea

--- Chapter 29 ---

A grilled fish smells spread on the beach.

Huo Yuhao whistled while looking at the sea and glanced at the blacksmith who devoured grilled fish like no tomorrow. This man apparently hasn't eaten anything for three days.

"What a guy." He commented while eating the grilled fish.

Qianye Ying'er sat beside Huo Yuhao and bit the grilled fish like a kitten. Her amethyst-colored eyes dazzlingly shone when tasting the freshness and savory taste. "This is amazing~! You can really do anything, Yuhao!" She praised him.

"My Hao'er is the best~!" Huo Yun'er agreed with Qianye Ying'er statement and nodded her head wisely. She tasted his porridge for weeks when taking Yae's legacy, and this grilled fish showed his cooking skill better.

Huo Yuhao shrugged his shoulders because he had Master Chef Skills. He obviously could make good food without any problem aside from the ingredients. "I could do better because grilling fish with salt and pepper is basic." He replied naturally.

After filling their stomach, the blacksmith rubbed his stomach with a satisfied look. "You're amazing for a kid." He commented with a grin.

"Anyway, what happened when I fainted?"

"Well, your workshop almost burned down to oblivion. I saved it before that could happen, though." Huo Yuhao answered while bringing the Luan Bird's Egg out. "This thing was the cause. You were trying to heat it, didn't you?"

"Haha, It's a rare material. I'm obviously curious about such a weird-looking rock and starting to melt it down. It wasn't even working with the highest temperature I could muster. Who would have thought it could burn my workshop down!" The blacksmith laughed, which left Qianye Ying'er speechless on the side.

Qianye Ying'er lowered her head and muttered, "How could someone be this foolish?"

The man laughed even more and continued, "By the way, my name is Xiao Chen. The one and only blacksmith from Northern Sea City. My dream is to create a weapon that could split mountains."

"Is that so? It's not hard to create such a weapon." Huo Yuhao returned casually.

Xiao Chen frowned and denied, "If you're talking about using Martial Soul, then you're wrong. What I want is pure destruction from a "man-made." weapon."

"Here, look at this carefully." Huo Yuhao smirked and brought out Baruka's Dagger, slicing the nearest coconut tree "gently." like brushing something off. The blade made contact with the wood and passed through it like tofu.

The coconut tree fell quickly, and Huo Yuhao kicked it away from them, leaving a clean cut on the stump. Xiao Chen's mouth was hanging down, running toward the stump with a shocked look.

"S-So clean. It isn't something a weapon could achieve with good material alone." Xiao Chen said while observing the cut.

Huo Yuhao placed the Baruka's Dagger back into his inventory and commented, "You wanted to cut a mountain, right? Can you replicate the same sharpness of my dagger first?"

"I-I can't... With my skill, I wouldn't be able to create such a weapon." Xiao Chen mumbled to himself. "I have to train even more..."

"Then, join my organization. I'll teach you how to become a decent blacksmith." Huo Yuhao suddenly offered.

"Organization??"

Xiao Chen heard Huo Yuhao's brief explanation and was stunned to witness a kid his age have an ambition like this. No, Xiao Chen also had a big dream, meaning he couldn't judge this strange boy. He stared at Huo Yuhao and deeply pondered about something for five minutes.

"Let me ask this. Does Dragon Nest allow me to use resources without limit?" He asked solemnly.

Huo Yuhao glanced at Xiao Chen and replied, "It depends on your contribution. When you're helpful for Dragon Nest's early development, I'll let you use the organization's resources."

"Oh? You're here."

"Hmm??" Xiao Chen turned around and saw over 30 people behind the drunken fisherman Yun Han. "The fuck, what are you doing here, old man!"

Yun Han grinned and answered, "Why are we here? Obviously, to join the Dragon Nest, I have my friends and family who agreed to join this newly created organization. We are old but better than brat like you, Chen."

"Also, that boy was the one who solved our problem. You haven't noticed this, but the whirlpools that caused the misery of the Northern Sea City have disappeared."

Xiao Chen looked at the people behind Yun Han and recognized some were retired but well-known to be skilled individuals in the past. Furthermore, he seemed to hear something wrong from Yun Han's mouth.

"Can you repeat that last line?" He frowned at Yun Han.

Yun Han sighed and repeated, "He's our savior."

"It's not a big deal. I only fought some spirit beast here and there, banishing them away from the coastline." Huo Yuhao added while crossing his arms. There was a faint smug aura coming from him.

"There is no way..." Xiao Chan moved his gaze to the coastline and noticed some whirlpools gone from the sea, leaving one or two behind. It's natural because the "Bigger whirlpool." required a longer time to disappear.

"Amazing, isn't it?" Huo Yuhao released his Haoshoku Haki and made the air tremble slightly. People who saw yesterday's event recognized this pressure and felt assured because Yun Han didn't lie to them.

"Thank you." A solemn-looking grandpa kneeled before Huo Yuhao. "I'm Shen Liu, the mayor of the city. Northern Sea City will always be indebted to you."

One after another, people began to kneel on the beach and looked at Huo Yuhao with thankful looks. They have suffered a lot for years, and this boy finally saved them. Even Yun Han kneeled with a smile on his face.

"You're welcome." Huo Yuhao said naturally.

"So what do you think, Xiao Chen?"

Xiao Chen had a defeated look and replied, "Fine. I'll join your organization. It's not like I can reject you or anything with these elderly kneeling on the ground. They are people who I have respected since young."

...

Clank!

At the docks, Xiao Chen was hammering a metal plate onto an enormous ship. He frowned and turned around, watching Huo Yuhao feeding meat to the Saltwater Golden Crocodile.

"Damn, I'm glad I didn't refuse your offer." Xiao Chen grimaced while hammering the metal plate again. "That beast looks scary as fuck!"

Huo Yuhao chuckled and replied casually, "Don't worry, Goldy is docile. He wouldn't attack someone out of nowhere."

"And you even named it..." Xiao Chen sighed inside.

"What? Goldy is an adorable nickname."

[Name: Start an Organization]

[Objective: Built a base(0/1) and have at least 200 loyal subordinates(50/200)]

[Reward: 1x Black Gold Upgrading Ticket and 1x Random Training Ground]

"Quarter of the goals. Not bad." Huo Yuhao stared at the system panel. "I will finish this quest soon enough."

"Chen, we should be able to sail in a few hours, no?"

Xiao Chen smacked the metal plate heavily and breathed out because this part of the ship finished. "Yeah, we could sail this ship in a few hours. The wind movement is good enough to travel out of the coast." He replied while jumping down from the ship's deck.

"Sweet. We can't stay in this place for too long. Three days is our limit." Huo Yuhao patted Goldy's head, making the crocodile squirm in delight. He stared at the boundless northern sea and smiled inside because everything would be "easier." there.

A few hours later.

Everyone who agreed to follow Huo Yuhao on his wild journey stepped on the ship. Even though it literally was made at such a hasty pace, every fisherman and Xiao Chen acknowledged this was the "Greatest." ship they had ever seen.

Not to mention, Huo Yuhao also applied his Spirit Engineering to this ship, making some features to improve this transportation's performance by several steps ahead.

A beautiful-looking yacht floated on the seawater, retaining reinforced metal plating all over its body. It's over 100 meters long and 40 meters wide, enough for 69 people to live in the sea.

Huo Yuhao walked to the top deck and looked at his subordinate calmly. "Everyone, thank you for coming. From now on, you'll be under one banner. Dragon Nest." He said naturally.

"After we sailed from this beautiful city, I wish you guys could contribute to our organization and become stronger together alongside me."

"It might be weird to hear this from a kid, but I sincerely hope everyone stays well."

Huo Yuhao entered the captain's room and placed his palm on the handle made of Deep Black Iron. "Chen!" He shouted while releasing his Thunderfire.

Xiao Chen, who sat on the control panel, nodded and flicked the engine-starting button. Several G-Reactors within the ship were triggered and powered the engine, causing some motors to move slowly.

As the engine was warming up, Huo Yuhao smirked and pushed the handle forward, making three propellers below the ship rotate. The yacht gently cruised away from the docks and drove to the coastline, moving to the open sea at a steady speed.

"To the Sea!" Huo Yuhao declared excitedly.