novelraw Chapter 238: Caught a Big One
Chapter 238: Caught a Big One
Woo—
Accompanied by the piercing sirens from Red Maple Island in the distance, every household in the Witch Sea simultaneously lit their lamps and gazed at the sky.
Tonight would be the brightest night in the Witch Sea, yet also the darkest night.
Since the creation of the New Sun World, it had never escaped the shadow of natural disasters.
In the sky, the pale white moon gradually stained with a streak of bright red, its faint crimson light piercing through the clouds and casting onto the silent ocean. As the gentle sea breeze blew, heavy dark clouds began to blanket the sky, and the roaring waves surged from afar.
The wind brought shadows... Chen Qi immediately lowered his head:
“Fen, get up here quickly!!”
The area where Fen was located was too dark.
Fen’s own witch spiritual field was enough to attract powerful monsters.
With a gentle breeze, bubbles began to rise from the seabed beneath Fen’s feet, as if the liquid were solidifying. Silently, a twisted, dark creature emerged.Its entire body was pitch black, shaped like a bear but sturdy, with a head resembling a deer. In the darkness, a pair of dark red eyes glowed...
Shadow Bear Deer—
Chen Qi drew his Giant Slayer rifle without hesitation and fired straight at the Shadow Bear Deer’s head.
With a strong gust, the Shadow Bear Deer’s head exploded dramatically.
“Hurry!”
Then Chen Qi moved to the ship’s edge and pulled Fen up from the small boat.
“Huff, huff, huff...”
Fen gasped for air, patting her chest. Having rested for quite a while, she hadn’t fully entered combat mode yet.
Chen Qi commanded:
“Fen, from now on, never enter the sea lightly without any light...”
“Mm.”
Fen nodded, then looked back in horror at the creature behind her.
On that pure black body, the Shadow Bear Deer’s head was already severed, but black lines continuously sprouted out, rapidly repairing itself.
In just a moment, the Shadow Bear Deer, whose head had been shot off, reformed half a new head and smiled at them.
One of the Shadow Beast’s strongest traits was uncontrollability and powerful regeneration.
“Good stuff...”
After saying this, Chen Qi immediately fired three more shots at the Shadow Bear Deer with the Giant Slayer rifle.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The Shadow Bear Deer was blasted to pieces, its corpse turning into a mass of jelly-like shadow substance on the sea surface.
Wriggling Shadows, the shadow material, were guaranteed drops from second-tier or higher Shadow affinity monsters. They could be used to craft shadow equipment, make high-level shadow skill card practice materials, or thrown onto others to lower their sanity.
Once exposed to strong light, the wriggling shadows quickly decayed into useless stinky mud, so they required special preservation.
This was a rare material unique to the Witch Sea’s 2.0 version after the arrival of the Smiling Moon.
“Number One, retrieve it.”
Chen Qi instructed Number One to collect the wriggling shadows into the Ghost Ship’s storage.
Such skilled operation... Fen picked up her wooden staff and assumed a battle stance.
However, the moment she took her stance, she was instantly startled.
In the sky’s anomaly, bubbles kept rising on the faintly red sea surface—
Above, the dark clouds pressed down like waves, continuously bearing down!
Her inspiration sensing was being blocked, unable to detect any presence in the darkness.
Along with the hissing wind, pairs of bright red eyes opened one after another in the darkness, gazing at the ship’s lamp like famished shadow beasts thirsting for prey!
“One, two, ten, thirty, a hundred...”
Fen tried her best to count the number of shadow demons, then circled the entire sea area only to find countless monsters hiding in the shadows surrounding the Ghost Ship, eager to bite their necks and tear their flesh.
Chen Qi patted Fen’s back:
“Fen, what’s wrong? Scared?”
Fen gritted her teeth:
“No, Qi, I’m just amazed...”
“No, being scared is normal. Now, sailing in the Witch Sea, you must always stay alert.”
Chen Qi took out the Daylight Lantern from his Backpack Card, infused it with spiritual energy, and lit it.
As long as the ship’s lamp stayed bright, they wouldn’t be attacked by shadow beasts.
The Witch Sea’s 2.0 version had three major changes.
First, shadow demons had become permanent residents of the sea, wandering the Witch Sea forever.
This was a unique feature of the Witch Sea region.
As for why the Smiling Moon’s arrival caused so many shadow demons to appear, it remained a mystery.
Second, mutated monsters greatly increased; ancient sea monsters from the deep and other ancient entities surfaced on the sea.
Most importantly, the third point: the arrival of B-tier dimensional rifts including the Witch Trial Grounds and a series of ancient B-level rifts!
Though B-tier rifts were only one rank higher than C-tier rifts, their destructive power and difficulty multiplied several times.
Their existence caused permanent damage to surrounding space, completely altering thousands or even tens of thousands of meters of sea area.
This resulted in many unknown dangerous sea zones appearing above the Witch Sea, where even following the safe routes on sea charts involved great peril.
Inside, survival rates for most B-tier rifts were below ten percent.
However, the rewards inside were beyond human imagination.
Steam Hand Workshop, Bonfire Energy Company, Magic Bullet Company—all these thriving companies owed their foundations and even their founding to control over high-tier rifts.
Thanks to rifts, Steam Hand Workshop and Magic Bullet Company created powerful weapons beyond imagination.
One B-tier rift could sway the outcome of a war or the strength of a small country’s weaponry.
Therefore, after the Smiling Moon’s arrival, strong surrounding nations couldn’t restrain their greed.
The Goldenfinch Kingdom, White Tower Federation, even the distant Black Blood Empire and Winter Country ignored Beiguo’s warnings and dispatched powerful privateer hunter groups. As predators, they penetrated the Witch Sea’s depths, becoming a strong third force besides the navy and pirate gangs!
Because of these three factors, navigation difficulty in the Witch Sea would sharply rise at least tenfold. Ordinary fishermen could only fish under the lighthouse’s light, and even third-tier supernaturals could not guarantee their safety without encountering pirates.
Chen Qi tried hard to use his inspiration to detect the current sea area.
But he felt a wall—a boundless tidal wave wall—constantly crashing wave after wave, blocking all his spiritual energy sensing.
A huge force of nature pressed heavily upon Chen Qi and Fen.
Unconsciously, I’ve also entered the Witch Sea’s 2.0 version... Chen Qi looked at the dense crowd of shadow beasts like ants, hung the Daylight Lantern at the ship’s bow, and commanded:
“Number Three! Full speed ahead in this direction!”
Rumble rumble!
Ghost Fire Mode! Activated!
The Ghost Ship burst into blue flames, the ship’s lamp brightness maxed out, sailing toward the distant sea.
As a floral aspect supernatural, Fen possessed some weather detection skills:
“Qi, are you really heading to the Sea God Pirates’ base?”
“Yes, there are countless treasures there, tentacles, and deep blue fire.”
Chen Qi was extremely excited and without hesitation pushed the ship to full speed:
“I’m going to Blackore City to pick up my small houseboat, then head to the Sea God Pirates to look for high-tier profession cards.”
...
On the tall buildings of Red Maple Island, people held lanterns, watching the Ghost Ship sailing farther away.
“He’s gone. Indeed, staying here was too dangerous.”
Mad Wolf Fenrir said, feeling an inexplicable sense of loss and helplessness.
Veteran Gael downed a cup of strong wine:
“Fenrir, don’t worry. I believe you’ll soon see his deeds in the newspaper!!”
“Old Gael, it’s not that simple. Those Royal University geniuses have already arrived in this sea. Compared to those geniuses, supernaturals like me and the Black Hunter are just mortals. Those newspapers will become their stage.”
Little Red Riding Hood brushed her golden hair and laughed self-mockingly.
Once those supernatural university monsters arrive, these pirate geniuses will shatter instantly.
Old Gael shook his head and laughed heartily:
“That’s not certain, Little Red Riding Hood! Maybe he’ll surpass you soon and beat you senseless!”
Be beaten down? Little Red Riding Hood clenched her teeth, her fierce golden eyes flashing:
“I will be beaten down? I’m no ordinary third-tier; among third-tiers, I am the strongest...”
Crossing her arms, she had seen Chen Qi’s strength in the training room.
Though outstanding among second-tiers, she was still too weak in the third tier.
Moreover, in her eyes, all third-tier supernaturals were just toys.
Old Gael’s face flushed as he downed the drink:
“Heh, then try it, Little Red Riding Hood! Aren’t you about to set sail? For the Witch Relic, to heal our leader, the Blood Lady!
You little one, you’re just Fenrir’s sister, yet surprisingly loyal! Surprisingly fierce! If I were younger, I’d definitely like a fiery temper like yours!”
Y-you like me... Little Red Riding Hood bit her lip, tempted to tear Gael apart.
But after hesitation, she squeezed out a simple sentence:
“When I’m gone, Fenrir, my brother, take good care of the Blood Lady for me!”
It’s in your hands... Little Red Riding Hood felt a little reluctant.
Fenrir looked at her determined gaze and nodded seriously.
...
Morning—
A shy ray of sunlight peeked over the horizon, dyeing the skyline a gentle orange-red.
The early bird catches the worm, the early horse gets the grass, and the early water spirits get work!
Number One, Number Three, and Number Four Water Spirits had already grabbed cloths, diligently cleaning every corner of the ship.
Number Five, Six, and Seven handled cutting vegetables and food prep.
“Hmm, except for watering Number Two, the other Water Spirits are very serious...”
Chen Qi nodded with satisfaction.
Water Spirits truly were pet beasts pulled to the max manually.
After finishing his ruthless supervision, Chen Qi found a reef in the sea and stopped the ship.
After days of sailing, he and Fen had entered the Sea God Pirates’ territory, and in the distance, the towering statue of the Sea Goddess soared into the clouds.
Chen Qi jumped off the ship and carved a star on the reef with his long blade:
“Fen, from now on, this will be our contact point! If your radio can’t reach my ship, come here and carve a flower.
If I can’t reach you, I’ll carve a star here.”
“No problem! Qi!”
Fen tossed down her sailing small boat.
Next, Fen’s destination would be Blood Demon Island near the Sea God Pirates’ base. She needed to find the legendary Blood Demon Heart, the key to suppressing her Blood Blossom Disease!
“Alright!”
Chen Qi didn’t hesitate either and threw down his long-unused, tattered small houseboat.
His strength was now average—neither top nor bottom.
He had many plans for his next moves.
But crashing directly into the Sea God Pirates’ territory with the Ghost Ship would be too conspicuous.
Disguising as a chef and entering their waters with the small houseboat was much more covert.
Of course, naturally blending in would be best.
For guarding the Ghost Ship, Chen Qi had a temporary plan: Deepsea Water Spirit Number Three.
He had already taught Number Three all the skills for sending distress signals, starting engines, and steering the ship!
If trouble arose, Number Three would send information to the machine inside the small houseboat.
The once timid Number Three had become an excellent little captain of the Ghost Ship.
If Number Three couldn’t handle it, then Fen, his first mate and alchemist, would take over.
I’m currently stuck in the job transfer task, so contacting the Sea God Pirates’ lighthouse keepers is paramount.
As a post, the lighthouse keepers managed dock security and ship traffic.
Therefore, finding a lighthouse keeper was not difficult.
The key was how to contact them. Every lighthouse keeper was under strict protection.
“Assassination or replacement?” Chen Qi pondered, hesitating.
At that moment, an unusual sound came from the sea beneath his feet!
Before he could react, a tentacle grabbed his leg.
“???”
Chen Qi blinked.
Tentacle Grass was a special plant lurking on the seabed that attacked anything entering its territory.
Once entangled, it absorbed energy continuously! Spiritual energy couldn’t be used for a short time!
It was a highly controlling creature that severely weakened combat power if caught!
“Fen!”
Chen Qi immediately warned Fen.
Usually, there were more than ten tentacle grasses!
He was controlled; next would be Fen!
If Fen got caught, facing the whipping tentacles, both of them would be seriously injured.
“I’ll try my best!”
Fen reacted immediately. Her spiritual sensing couldn’t detect the tentacle grass beneath her feet at all.
However, the tentacle grass moved extremely fast, and Fen was still one step too slow.
Splash!
Two slippery tentacles rose from the water, reaching toward Fen’s fair feet and arms...
Then, just as the tentacles neared Fen’s feet, they suddenly stopped, twisted, and sharply changed direction.
Ignoring Fen, the tentacles charged toward Chen Qi.
“...”
“...”
Why only grab me? Why not entangle the Flower Witch?
This isn’t right!
Chen Qi was shocked as three tentacle grasses tightly grabbed his legs, making it impossible to break free for a moment.
Such strength! After the Smiling Moon, these guys’ power had leveled up!
“This thing is troublesome...”
Chen Qi struggled with his legs.
Normally, with his sensing, he shouldn’t have failed to detect a normal tentacle grass attack...
Wait...
Chen Qi suddenly froze, thinking of a possibility.
This was a trap!
Tentacle grass traps were a tactic the Sea God Pirates proudly boasted about!
Legend said the well-known Carol had been caught by this trick and even threatened with photos by Pelu of the White Pigeon Press.
“Hide! It’s a trap!”
Chen Qi immediately commanded.
“???”
Fen heard this and quickly jumped into the water to hide.
Soon, a huge warship surged, raising giant waves and fiercely arriving at the reef.
At the bow, a pirate whose back was embroidered with the Sea Goddess couldn’t hide the excitement on his face and rubbed his hands:
“These tentacles! Thank the Sea God! We caught another big one!”