208 Pointless Cracks Part 1 (1/2)
The hunting group returned to the port once again. Saleen and the rest of the mages, who were participating in a mission like this for the first time, still felt anxious. This time, the group had come to the port which housed the magic ship. The feeling observing the hundreds of meters long massive ship from the port was entirely different from observing it from a long distance away.
Saleen made some detailed calculations. There was a magic cannon installed on the magic ship. Including the tipped up bow, the ship was only two hundred meters, which was too different from the amount of space that was required to install a magic cannon. The depletion by the magic cannon was more than thirty times the depletion by the fort, and in order to lower the depletion amount to normal levels, a ship longer than one thousand meters would have to be constructed. However, that was impossible.
Horse carriages could not go onto the main port. Hence, the mages walked on foot and proceeded onto the pier before splitting up onto the four hunting boats.
The hunting boats were around fifty meters long and had a width of about ten meters. The front of the boats were raised while the backs were lowered. Saleen had been born by the sea, but people in Ceylon City had stopped killing whales a long time ago, not to mention whale-like magic beasts.
There was a large and structurally odd alchemical crossbow placed at the bow of the hunting boat, guarded by two puppets. Saleen’s group was led to the rear of the cabin on the second story, and in the cabin, there was a magic compass with a diameter of more than one meter. This item was not simply used for navigation. It was also used for spotting magic beasts in the ocean.
The other ten mages who boarded the boat were allocated the cabins situated at the front of the boat. At the front of the boat, there were rooms specially designed for mages located on both sides of the cabin. Because Andrew and Keegan were in Lex’s group, they managed to get a free ride and were able to enjoy the privileges as well. By staying in the rear, they did not need to fight at all. They were only required to monitor the compasses.
However, the captain of the ship would be manning the compass most of the time, unless he and the chief officer had died. Even so, Saleen would not need to worry at all because Juno would take over command of the ship if that really happened. Saleen’s seat was good because he could look out of the crystal window and observe what was happening up front. Five mages, eight swordsmen, plus Nailisi and Sika were in the cabin. All fifteen of them sat comfortably on their chairs, as though they were on vacation.
The boats set sail and left the port, then entered the mist surrounding the perimeter of the island. Besides the four hunting boats, there was also an armored ship following behind them. This armored ship was responsible for protecting the four hunting boats. Furthermore, if there were any important magic beasts, it could also contribute to offensive efforts.
The environment in the boat was inferior to that of the inside of the castle, thus Saleen and Lex were unable to carry on with their special training. Then, the people in the cabin began to chitchat.
Saleen realized that he had little time for conversation ever since he had become a mage because he was always busy. It was the same case for Lex as well. Even though the nobles in Qin did not have the habit of consuming afternoon tea, they would still gather every Saturday for the sole purpose of catching up with one another. However, Lex had never received an education on such matters when she was young. The moment she had matured, she had become engrossed in the world of magic.
From the perspective of outsiders, mages were mysterious and basked in glory. However, most people would not be able to tolerate the dullness that came with being a mage.
Daniel mentioned his experiences at sea, and even Andrew and Keegan were captivated by them. Saleen then realized that Daniel was very eloquent. Beneath that honest face, Daniel’s character was actually very similar to that of people from Sikeqinya. Around Saleen and Lex, Daniel had only been able to be introverted. However, around Andrew and the others, Daniel behaved differently, causing Saleen to be astounded.
”Actually, the finless whale isn’t that big of a deal. This magic beast is only about twenty meters long and feeds on small fish. As long as boats like ours do not provoke it, the finless whale will avoid us. The real danger is the blueflag flying fish. The moment this fish appears, it will just be overwhelming, as it flies in the sky like a bird. Its protracted mouth can easily penetrate heavy armor from end-to-end.”
Saleen then thought to himself, Isn’t that nonsense? Penetrate heavy armor from end-to-end? There are no warriors who wear heavy armor on boats. With the exception of magic armor, warriors who are at sea only wear leather armor, or else they would drown if they fell overboard.
Furthermore, a swordmaster at minimum was needed to deflect a blow that could penetrate heavy armor from end-to-end. Saleen had heard of the blueflag flying fish. It was a grade-3 magic beast, and a group only consisted of hundreds of them, so how were they overwhelming?
”The last time I went to Cloudflow, I did not take my own ship, and the ship I was in did not have any magic compasses. In the end, we ran into a group of blueflag flying fish. There were at least ten thousand of them, and they formed a dense layer on top of the sea. I thought I was doomed. When those things fly, they don’t turn at all, they simply crash straight into the ship. Even an armored ship would sink.”
Lex simply laughed as she heard Daniel’s words, but she did not bother exposing the holes in his story. Keegan grabbed his hair and said, ”So did you actually die?”
”The…” Daniel became slightly awkward. Everyone here was a mage, so no matter how much knowledge Daniel possessed, others would still be able to detect his lies. If the mouth of a blueflag flying fish could destroy an armored ship, they would have been massacred already, because their mouths would be a superior material for making alchemical crossbows, and the arrows produced would be indestructible.
”Haha…” Sika burst out in laughter as she pointed at Daniel without any regard for him.
Andrew and Keegan became upset when they saw that. As a warrior, could not she show some respect to a mage? Since Andrew and Keegan had been living in Alchemy City for some time, they had been subconsciously influenced by the beliefs of that city. In fact, they had witnessed Sika sparring with the other swordsmen, and they knew that Sika’s capabilities were close to those of a high grade swordmaster already.
”Of course I did not die. I am a death mage, not a dead soul,” Daniel fumed.
Sika tapped on Daniel’s shoulder and said, ”I am a mountain person, so I haven’t seen any of those blueflag flying fish. But, I know of a type of magic beast which is more terrifying than that fish.”
”What is it?” Saleen knew that Sika was spouting nonsense, so he did not want Daniel to be able to insult her. If Daniel dared to insult Sika, then Saleen would already have to let Lex down. No matter what, Saleen would have to teach Daniel a lesson if that happened.
”The ferocious volcanic boar. That magic beast is even longer than this boat, and it runs faster than the golden-winged crow can fly. Furthermore, the boars travel in herds, so when they start charging, they can even topple a hill. There was a time I went out hunting and I ran into a dozen of them by accident. At that time, I thought that I was doomed…”