Chapter 1119: Chapter 118: Summoning
Tens of thousands of scout Soldier Bees swiftly flew through the sky.
Their bodies were covered with light-colored scales, blending with the color of the sky as they soared within the clouds.
Meanwhile, beneath the ocean’s surface, a larger swarm of Soldier Bees camouflaged as common fish swam in all directions,
occasionally leaping out of the water to snatch floating wood and planks before diving back into the sea.
Indeed, a sailboat had recently sailed through this sea area,
fragments of wooden crates and shards of ceramics were left behind, appearing as items abandoned by a cargo merchant ship.
But the current state of the merchant ship remains uncertain.
"Origin Island is surrounded by a circle of thunderous gales,
and beyond the thunderous gales is the Calm Sea Area,
where gentle breezes or calms prevail, the ocean surface is steady, and the water current slows.
For marine life, the Calm Sea Area isn’t much of an issue,
but for ancient sailing vessels with masts and sails, entering the Calm Sea Area could be rather troublesome."
Li Ang thought silently,
Near the equator in reality, between the latitudes of 5° and 30° to 35° North and South, historically known as horse latitudes, the Calm Sea Area’s other name.
Specifically, this region is a high-pressure calm zone,
where sailboats trapped in the Calm Sea Area cannot sail by wind, leaving them stuck in place, waiting for ocean currents or intermittent breezes.
Over time, the ship’s water supply runs low, prioritizing the sailors, and the horses on board would perish from thirst, tossed into the sea, hence "a zone filled with horse carcasses."
"Did this ship accidentally enter the Calm Sea Area, or did they have a clear goal, with the confidence and capability to cross the Calm Sea Area?"
Just as Li Ang contemplated, the scout Soldier Bee detected something unusual, a dense scent of blood drifted from the sea ahead.
————
This was a large four-masted sailboat, its wooden hull coated with waterproof and anti-corrosive brown paint, the sails dazzling white and shimmering like fish scales under sunlight.
These sails used on the sailboat were indeed biological materials,
they came from the skin of white giant bears inhabiting the Calaveras Mountains, capable of growing up to seven meters tall, occupying the ecological top niche in the mountainous terrain.
Their skin comprises three layers, the outermost being tough, light, and waterproof, making it the finest sailcloth material that only a few vessels have the privilege to purchase and use each year.
This ship, known as "Atoka," is among them.
The Atoka originally belonged to the Good Shipping Company under Duke of Atoka,
A year ago, the previous Duke of Atoka, Roy Good was accused of treason, most of his assets were seized and nationalized,
his brother, Edward Good, took over the remaining assets of his older sibling,
leaving only a four-masted sailboat to the nephew as noble family concession—according to current noble rules, in a family estate dispute, the defeated branch members typically receive severance payment and set sail to the New World,
ostensibly to develop new family ventures,
but in reality, to fend for themselves in the New World.
At this moment, Atoka’s deck was crowded with crew members.
These sailors appeared somewhat ragged,
their bodies exuded the scent brewed from long periods without bathing, their collars and cuffs showed greasy yellow stains,
their beards disheveled, their eyes bloodshot.
Johnson Good stood at the forefront of the sailors,
A year ago, he was the only son of the Good Duke, inheriting the golden hair and handsome appearance passed down from ancestors, of noble birth, receiving the finest aristocratic education, and engaged to the daughter of another imperial duke, a leader among the empire’s younger generation.
Yet a sudden upheaval shattered the young noble’s life trajectory,
his father was convicted of treason, the evidence irrefutable, jailed,
he and his mother were ousted from the family castle, which had been passed down for over two hundred years, roaming the streets, forced to sell jewelry, and rent lodgings,
his fiancée, the duke’s daughter also indifferently sent a letter of annulment, enclosing a check of one thousand pounds to cover the annulment costs.
Meanwhile, his uncle, Edward Good, whom the elders deemed useless and unruly, relied on his good personal relations with the imperial archbishop,
held onto the remaining assets of the Good Family,
suddenly elevated from a branch with no inheritance rights to the leader of the Good Family.
Although the Duke of Atoka’s title remained detained due to numerous treason matters at the Empire Archives, it’s estimated that it won’t be long before Edward Good formally becomes the new Duke of Atoka, continuing the Good Family’s legacy.
"Whew..."
Thinking of this, Johnson Good couldn’t help but take a deep breath, his face gaunt, hair and beard unkempt, bearing little resemblance to the once golden-haired young noble.
He endured the great humiliation and cashed in the check clipped within the annulment letter,
used this money to hire sailors and purchase goods,
utilizing his sole asset, the Atoka sailboat, to engage in shipping trade between the New World and the Old World, gradually amassing wealth.
He vows to reclaim everything his uncle took from him,
family honor, company assets, personal reputation...
and even the truth behind his father’s treason.
Johnson Good silently clenched his fist, his gaze straight ahead.
At the bow of the Atoka sailboat stood a wooden Ocean Goddess Statue, ships plying the seas use such means to pray for safety.
The captain of the Atoka sailboat, a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties, with a full beard, dark skin ordered his crew to bring a horse out from the hold.
This horse was cargo from the merchant ship, blindfolded, its feet bound with cloth to prevent erratic movements.
Clang—
The captain drew a curved blade from his waist, the horse seemed to sense an ominous presence, restlessly stomping in place, yet was firmly restrained by robust sailors on either side, unable to move.
In the reverent gaze of the sailors, the captain loudly recited the incantation for the Ocean Goddess sacrifice, swiftly beheading the horse.
The horse’s carcass sprayed a gush of blood over the statue at the ship’s bow,
a large amount of blood trickled down the statue, into the ocean, the crimson slowly spreading in the calm sea water.
The beheaded horse’s body twitched a few times,
the sailors on either side compressed the horse’s carcass until all the blood was squeezed out before dumping the horse carcass into the sea.
"...How much longer?"
Johnson Good stepped forward, lowly asked the captain beside him.
"If nothing goes wrong, half an hour."
The captain gently replied as he wiped the blood from the curved blade with cloth: "If the Ritual track this time fails to summon the Giant Beast from the deep sea to carry us out of the Calm Sea Area,
then we’ll have to wait half a month before performing the Ritual track again."
Half a month...
Johnson Good remained silent, he, as the ship’s owner, had been traveling with the ship for the entire year,
A month ago, Atoka sailboat inadvertently entered the Calm Sea Area due to a storm and tsunami, now trapped here.
They were on the brink of exhausting their fresh water supply; not to mention half a month waiting, even one week, some sailors below might go mad and revolt.
Imperial ships were not entirely without means to resist sudden disasters, whether Magic Scrolls that release gales out of thin air or Magic Balls that filter seawater into freshwater,
previously, the Good Shipping Company possessed all, able to solve the current predicament.
But those items were also taken by his uncle, leaving just an empty ship.
Now, he could only hope that the Otherworldly Captain he hired at a high price could truly fulfill his promise,
by using special Ritual tracks to summon the Giant Beast from the deep sea,
letting the Giant Beast carry the ship across the Calm Sea Area.
Johnson Good drew a six-pointed star shape on his chest, silently praying to the goddess in the unseen realm,
the mission to revive the family was not complete, his father’s injustices were not yet vindicated,
the duke’s daughter who annulled their engagement, the uncle who seized his family estate, and the so-called friends who kicked him while he was down,
he must reclaim everything that rightfully belonged to him...
Just as Johnson Good indulged in imagined scenarios of "thirty years east of the river, thirty years west, beware of bullying the young and poor," the blood-laden sea surface suddenly boiled up,
