Chapter 17

Dafei continued to flip through the diary, and finally found some content.

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February 8, 150, Overcast: We've been at sea for more than two months, and we haven't even seen a pirate! All of us who are stuck in the bottom hold are about to go crazy! Our ship is too fast, and we can't even fish for fun. Life is truly boring and dull. Robbers suggested we play cards. I thought about it, and the sailing regulations don't say we can't play cards, so let's just play a hand. Besides, we're in this stinky, stuffy bottom hold, and the captain and first mate rarely come down to inspect. Even if they do, the sound of their leather boots will alert us.

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February 9, 150, Sunny: Robbers owes me 14 gold coins, and Eric owes me 10 gold coins.

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February 10, 150, Sunny: Robbers won today, but he still owes me 4 gold coins. Eric lost again, and now he owes me 15 gold coins in total.

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February 11, 150, Overcast: Damn! Eric had a lucky hand today, and now I owe him 5 gold coins!

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Damn! Finally, I've gotten back into the habit of writing a daily diary, but can you be any more boring? Where's your wife? Your daughter? Keep flipping!

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February 14, 150, Today, while we were playing cards, someone suddenly came down! It was Count Makar! He greeted us gunners warmly and even gave us some fun magical trinkets to keep us entertained! I never thought such a noble and powerful mage like Count Makar would come to our stinky, stuffy bottom hold, and he was so approachable! His demeanor truly impressed us!

Dafei's spirits lifted! Makar! Keep flipping! There's a bunch of gambling debts recorded after that, but I'll skip them.

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March 16, 150, Heavy rain! At 9 PM, the lookout gave the alarm! We encountered pirates! I was excited! Finally, it's my turn to take action! All the gunners were excited and ready for battle! At 11 PM, our ship managed to shake off the pirates, and we were all excited for nothing!

More gambling debts, skipped.

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April 2, 150, Sunny, At 10 PM, we encountered pirates and then shook them off. I'm thinking, with our ship being so fast and all the sailors being elite from the empire, with such an excellent captain and first mate, will we gunners ever get a chance to take action?

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April 11, 150, Rain! Pirates, hello! Pirates, goodbye!

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April 17, 150, Rain! The continuous rainy season has given all our sailors rheumatism. Their knees hurt when they walk, and it's a painful feeling.

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April 18, 150, Rain, Today, Count Makar came to the bottom hold again and brought us a barrel of medicine for rheumatism. It was a strange color and very bitter, but it was incredibly effective. After one cup, our legs felt better and were full of strength! Count Makar is truly admirable!

Full of strength? Like a jumping zombie? Skip the gambling debts and keep flipping! Oh, there's content! This page is full of writing!

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June 3, 150, Sunny! This day finally arrived. We entered the waters where the Naga reside, and the battle was inevitable! We've been at sea for almost half a year, and finally, it's our turn to take action! In the intense chase, I killed 6 Naga, Robbers 4, Eric 3, Robin 5, Joey 5, and Hawk 3. Unfortunately, the Naga leader escaped on a heavily wounded sea dragon! If our ballistae had a longer range and more power, we could have hunted that sea dragon and gained unimaginable rewards. I would have earned great merit! I missed this rare opportunity to establish great achievements after half a year, and I couldn't be happy at tonight's commendation ceremony. This battle exposed serious accuracy issues!

We are used to fighting pirates, and our ballistae usually target large ships or giant sea monsters that surface. We don't worry about missing. However, facing the Naga warriors who swim and chase us at high speed is really challenging.

First, the ship is always moving.

Then, there's the problem of light refraction in water, making it hard to aim. Fishermen aim slightly off when using harpoons, and now it seems this is an important skill. Unfortunately, I looked down on fishermen and never learned this skill. But the Naga are naturally skilled at this, hiding in the water and firing accurate bone arrows at us, while we find it hard to hit them.

Moreover, the water greatly reduces the power of the bolts. This is hard to believe, but from my calculations, it's true. The bolts lose 1/3 to 1/2 of their power when they enter the water! This is equivalent to 20 points of armor! How can such a weak substance provide such strong protection? I think it's similar to how a flat stone skips on water.

How to solve this problem? I'm too tired today. We'll discuss this tomorrow.

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Dafei was excited! There's a plot twist! The accuracy of ballistae on moving targets is indeed a problem. When Juan discovered the pirate king's ultimate skill, he started researching a divine skill. This gunner, after discovering the problem, will surely develop a divine skill! The secret is indeed in this diary!

Dafei hurriedly flipped to the next page!

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June 4, 150, To celebrate our gunners' achievements yesterday, we decided to play a bigger game...

Damn! Your research project! Dafei flipped through quickly!

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August 9, 150, Fog! At 9 PM, the sea was pitch black and shrouded in thick fog. In this terrible environment, we were attacked by an unknown sea monster, and we were completely helpless! I could only attack blindly based on the sound of the waves. Suddenly, a strong wind dispersed the fog, thanks to Count Makar's magic! We finally saw a huge monster, like a small island, spewing fog and chasing us! Oh my God, I've never seen such a huge monster! But worse, we couldn't attack the enemy behind the ship! At that moment, a huge fireball fell from the sky and drove the monster away, again thanks to Count Makar's magic! He is truly powerful! I think I should learn something from him!

Makar appeared again! This gambler finally came to his senses. Dafei flipped the page quickly.

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August 10, 150, Sunny, Today, I visited Count Makar with reverence and nervousness. The Count received me warmly in his study. Although Count Makar has always been kind to us, seeing his power made his kindness even more touching. Count Makar's study is full of books, and his desk has many bottles and vials. He is truly a mysterious and wise scholar! I asked about the sea monster, and Count Makar said it might be the legendary Leviathan, which can create fog, but he couldn't be sure. My God, if it was the Leviathan, then Count Makar is a powerful being who defeated the Leviathan...

Dafei was suddenly shocked!

Leviathan! An official level 8 marine creature, with unknown attributes, surpassing level 7 beings like angels, demons, and dragons! It's said that God created the world in 7 days, making all things and the laws of time and space in the first 6 days, and on the 7th day, he created two divine beasts: the male Behemoth, the ruler of the land, and the female Leviathan, the ruler of the sea!

If Makar could drive away the Leviathan, how powerful is he? Is my epic quest as a ship's gunner to fight such a powerful being? And Makar's study? Usually, high-ranking officials live on the upper decks, so the room where Blood Sea's boss is located is likely his study. Can the reward for defeating a powerful mage who can drive away the Leviathan be just a magic book?

Now I can use the ballista, and dealing with that evil spirit won't be a problem. But the ballista is too large to fight in such a small space. This is a problem. I'll stick to the original plan and attack from behind. It's been a while, and there are no footsteps above. A level 5 person isn't in a hurry, and I, at level 8, am even less so. Let's keep reading the diary:

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Of course, the Count's time is very precious, so I asked him how to solve the ballista accuracy problem. Count Makar thought deeply and said he would come to me once he figured it out. Before leaving, he gave me a very expensive bottle of wine. I was so excited!

Sure enough! Relying on this gambler for research is unrealistic. A powerful mage is more reliable, especially since the ship's gunner's divine skill was also thought of by Makar. Keep flipping.

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January 17, 151, Sunny, Today is an exciting and inspiring day. Count Makar came again, not only with good wine but also with a solution to the ballista accuracy problem! I never thought he would take it so seriously! I thought he had forgotten about it!

This is a truly shocking solution! It's a design for a new magical ballista. The wood for the body must be made from high-grade magic wands, the steel arms and protective armor must be made from mithril alloy with good magic conductivity, and the body must be embedded with 12 enchanted magic stones and 12 high-level magic arrays. Even the bolts must be enchanted! This expensive and astonishing ballista can allow a regular gunner, who knows no magic, to deliver a powerful shot that ignores obstacles and fog, and even without precise aiming, the enchanted bolts will automatically seek out enemies, even those hiding in other dimensions! Whether it's the Leviathan, the Naga, or the ship's movement, it's no longer a problem!

This existence is like the Elven Kingdom's artifact, the Phantom Bow. So, the Count named this new ballista the Phantom Ballista!

This is a truly genius, magical, and great idea! Unfortunately, our ship lacks the equipment, tools, and materials to implement this design, but I am determined that once we complete this expedition, I will follow Count Makar and do my best to realize his great idea!

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System Notice: You have obtained information about the new ballista, the Phantom Ballista!

New Player Notice: After obtaining information about a weapon, the player triggers the research plot for that weapon. You can research it yourself or learn it from relevant NPCs.

Finally, a reward! This boss is different because he provided information about a new ballista! Even though the goal is lofty, it's still more reliable than nothing.

I've spent enough time reading. Dafei flipped to the last two pages.

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April 19, 156, Storm approaching!

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April 20, 156, An unknown fleet appeared in the storm.

The diary ends here, with one day missing. Did he die?

Dafei sighed. This poor guy probably had no wife or daughter. Even more tragically, he died without knowing how, and didn't even leave a last word. His diary is full of praise and admiration for Makar.

Wait, since the Phantom Ballista was designed by Makar, he is the relevant NPC. What if I give this diary to Makar? He would be happy, right? After all, the diary is full of his greatness and glory, a solid record of Makar's achievements. If he's the only survivor, he won't have any proof otherwise. He might even give me the Phantom Ballista out of gratitude!

However, I've already accepted the epic quest to fight Makar. Will there be trouble if I see Makar with this quest?

Forget it, these aren't things to worry about now. Let's fix the ballista and check the next cabin.

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