Chapter 74 - Going to Sea
historical
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After Rooney Elvis accepted his father’s dying will, he officially joined the inheritance battle to become the Baron. He brought a few servants and sailors, then boarded a small sailboat, launching out to sea in search of sea monsters!
“Bring the crossbows, harpoons, longswords and other weapons!”
“Check the sails, ropes, food and weapons. We must be prepared for everything!”
“You, you’ll be the navigator...”
Rooney was yelling orders on the deck. The skies were pitch black as if the gods were looking down at his clan with disdain. Everyone thought that Rooney was courting death like an idiot. No one thought that he would return alive!
It started to drizzle. It had been sunny but suddenly changed right before Rooney’s departure. All the crewmen cried, “This is a warning from gods. We cannot go to sea; if we go to sea at this time, we definitely will not return!”
Rooney just looked at the sky and then glanced at his navigator, Depp. “Depp, do you think we can go to sea today?”
Depp looked up at the sky and thought about the weather of the previous few days. “This rain should only be temporary. It will pass quickly. It’s not the windy season and the condition at sea isn’t bad, but this sign is rather foreboding...”
Rooney patted Depp’s shoulder. “There is no sign. Everything is fine, trust me!”
Rooney stood on a platform on the deck as he looked down at all of the crewmen. “Lil Jack, Rhode, Johann and Depp! You all were in the army together with me. We’ve fought together in the battlefield. We climbed our way up from the bottom. Now, we have become members of the Royal Guard. I have even become a Bloodline Knight. We are exceptional talents among millions, so I believe that this time, like countless others, we will come out victorious!”
Rooney continued, animated, “From here, we will spread the insignia of the Rosa d’Oro throughout the Luhmann Kingdom. My friends, you shall accompany me to stand above men as true nobles! I, Rooney Elvis, swear to God that I will not forget you all if I ever achieve success!”
Rooney’s words inspired all of the people before him. Depp immediately yelled out, “That’s right! We will definitely achieve victory. Rooney will become Baron Elvis!”
Rooney lifted an eyebrow. “No, I won’t stop at becoming just a Baron!”
The rain stopped then and the clouds parted. to reveal the sun. The rays of dawn hit the deck, blinding everyone. Rooney stood aboard the deck as if he were being blessed by the heavens!
Rooney embraced the sunshine and knelt to the ground, kissing the deck. “May your blessings descend on us. Now, raise the sails, we’re going to sea!”
The sails were raised and the anchor was pulled up. Slowly, the sailboat started moving with the wind toward the direction of the rising sun!
The boat sailed for nearly a week. Rooney and the others used nautical maps, searching for locations where sea monsters could appear, but they didn’t encounter any. This sort of thing was like a cruel joke from the Goddess of Fortune. Those who carefully avoided the unsafe areas to avoid all the sea monsters and Children of the Sea would definitely encounter them!
But now, on this journey, when Rooney had come to search for them so conspicuously, there wasn’t a single one to be found. After floating on the sea for over a week, there were still no rewards for their efforts. Rooney’s crew was running low on food and water. If they couldn’t find a target, they could only go back empty-handed, and become laughingstocks!
On the eleventh day, they wandered into an area on the map, where a huge leech was said to be active. This sort of sea monster was relatively easy to deal with. Though it was large, its intelligence was low, and its attacking pattern was simple! As long as you were careful to drag it onto the boat, it was possible to tire it to death! That was the plan of Rooney’s crew, but in order to accomplish that, they had to encounter the giant leech just as it surfaced which required a bit of luck.
That afternoon, Rooney and company were on the deck observing the surface of the seas, looking for traces of the giant leech and scattering bait into the seas. Yet, all that they attracted were normal sea creatures like fish and shrimp.
Johann climbed onto the mast to look into the distance. Suddenly, he saw that the water below the boat had drastically changed colors. It seemed to have darkened instantly.
Johann looked down and saw a huge shadow, several times larger than the sailboat, which then disappeared instantly. The pipe Johann was smoking fell into the sea, leaving faint ripples.
Johann’s complexion changed. As the experience settled upon him, a chill went through his body, freezing up his back. He yelled with a shrill scream, terrified, “Monster, Monster!”
Instantly, all the crewmen, who were scattered over the deck, looked at Johann. Suddenly, a huge impact battered the body of the ship. The force of the hit tilted the ship violently, causing all of the crew members to tumble on the deck from the impact!
Boom!
A huge tail appeared with the sound, which created a massive wave. The seawater was flipped into the air, as water droplets drenched all the crew members that were on deck. The giant tail made a heavy sweep over the deck, causing heavy damage to the area. All of those people present saw the giant tail, which looked like God’s whip. Each scale was as big as a grindstone!
“Sea monster, it’s a sea monster!”
“Oh God, what is this?!”
“Monster, monster!”
The crew lost all composure, as they began blabbering strange chants that even they themselves couldn’t understand.
“Quick, grab your weapons and prepare for battle!”
Rooney recovered the fastest. He was the first one to crawl back up again and yelled at his crew to get back into proper stances. Fear filled all their souls. When faced with a real sea monster, they finally understood what they were dealing with now. This was a monster, a natural disaster. Humans were hopeless and weak before it.
Rooney wrestled with everyone until his crew snapped out of it and stood up to carry out their battle plan!
“Rhode, Lil Jack, you two man the crossbows!”
“Depp, you’re in charge of the harpoon. Aim at its eyes and mouth, toward its vitals!”
“Johann, you steer the boat to avoid its attacks!”
The crew immediately moved into action. The crossbow they had brought was similar to a ballista. Rooney climbed upon the mast, looking down for the monster’s location.
Rooney was agitated, his face flushed red and his breathing hastened.
“Where is it? Come on out darling. Where are you...”