Chapter 21

Having received the latest instructions from Captain Luo Zhengdao, Zola Hegel immediately walked to the middle of the upper deck and shouted at the sailors:

"Everyone, pay attention! Lower the main sail, take in the jib, and reduce the speed to seven knots. All off-duty sailors, rotate positions every hourglass turn, with each lookout post spaced fifteen yards apart. Keep a close watch on the navigation conditions on both sides of the ship. Have axes and knives ready, and be prepared to launch the dinghy to cut away the seaweed entangling the rudder. Alright, you lazybones, get to work!"

Compared to the starry seas of the always sunny and beautiful tropical oceans, the Floating Light Sea, where algae have proliferated to the point of disaster, is clearly much more perilous. Whenever foreign ships enter the Floating Light Sea, sailors find that no matter which direction they look, they see algae of various sizes and colors. These luminescent algae not only obscure the sailors' vision but also confuse the star projections from the lower horizon. Accurately identifying direction in such a place has become a daunting challenge that leaves sailors scratching their heads.

At this point, the magical artifact known as the "Celestial Sphere," which resembles a globe and is usually placed on the captain's desk, along with its companion "Directional Beacon," immediately becomes the most treasured item on the ship. It is said that these two relatively common magical artifacts were initially created to help sailors navigate the Floating Light Sea and the Dark Sea. If we were to go back several thousand years, it was a common occurrence for ships to get lost in the Floating Light Sea. Even without considering the possibility of attacks by fierce sea dragons, being trapped in the algae for a long time, running out of supplies, and dying of thirst and starvation was undoubtedly a more terrifying way to die.

While listening to the half-elf beauty's introduction to the natural geography of the Floating Light Sea, Luo Zhengdao observed the various algae around the Yangwei, and the terrifying sight of the overgrown plants almost drove him to the brink of mental collapse.

Such a vast, primitive jungle-like scene could only remind him of documentaries about the Amazon rainforest from the old world. Perhaps the only difference was that the Floating Light Sea was even more dangerous than the tropical rainforest. If we were to apply the old world's scientific theory of the food pyramid, where plants feed herbivores and herbivores feed carnivores, the number of creatures that this lush sea area could support would be an astronomical figure that could scare anyone to death. How many carnivorous predators would there be in this ecosystem?

Thinking about this question in detail would make anyone shudder. Luo Zhengdao, feeling a deep sense of unease, was also worried about the future. The Floating Light Sea was indeed very dangerous, but there was no other way; you had to go through it even if you didn't want to.

The Floating Light Sea, with its eerie and somewhat strange atmosphere, made Luo Zhengdao's scalp tingle. Unable to contain his impatience, he asked Vena Dubov:

"Vena, how long will it take us to get through the Floating Light Sea?"

Hearing this, the half-elf squinted her eyes and said with a mix of teasing and joking:

"Smooth sailing, it will take just twenty days. If the goddess of misfortune favors you... who knows!"

"Roar—"

Just as Luo Zhengdao was about to say something to vent his negative emotions, a long, mournful howl echoed over the Floating Light Sea, making his body tremble.

Upon hearing the strange sound, the experienced sailors immediately fell into a commotion, dropping their work to look around for the source of the sound. Luo Zhengdao, startled, tugged at Vena's robe, whose face had changed dramatically, and asked:

"Vena, what is that sound?"

The half-elf, who usually had a radiant smile, now had a serious expression. Her eagle-like sharp eyes scanned the surrounding algae forest. After a moment, she leaned close to Luo Zhengdao's ear and whispered:

"Shh! Keep your voice down. That's the roar of a sea dragon."

Almost at the same time, the boatswain Zola Hegel, furious at the chaos on the ship, swung his cat-o'-nine-tails and lashed it at several sailors who were shouting and running around, scolding them harshly:

"Fools, shut up! Do you want to turn into a pile of dragon droppings?"

Driven by immense fear, the sailors found it difficult to control their emotional reactions, and Zola Hegel had to brandish his whip, striking each of the out-of-control sailors until they calmed down. Soon, the entire warship fell into a long, deathly silence, and the same was true for the slightly rear-positioned twin-masted ship, the Chao Yong.

"Roar—"

The same mournful howl, but this time it sounded closer. Sensing the approaching danger, Luo Zhengdao's fingers trembled uncontrollably. Before his穿越, he was not a professional killer from a special forces unit like Delta or SEAL, and standing on his two legs in close proximity to a prehistoric-level monster was already a significant challenge. In an instant, the algae less than a hundred meters away trembled, and then a slender, silver-white figure elegantly emerged from the dense algae.

Following the sound, Luo Zhengdao fixed his gaze on the fleeting shadow and murmured:

"Sea serpent?"

Moving slowly to Luo Zhengdao's ear, Vena Dubov, whose body emitted a faint orchid fragrance, whispered in the softest voice:

"Yes, the sea dragon looks like a snake. Early sailors also thought they were some kind of sea serpent, but this creature is actually a sub-dragon species, scientifically classified as a sea dragon. Don't think it's easy to deal with just because it's a sub-dragon. In the Floating Light Sea, even a pure-blooded dragon might not be able to defeat a sea dragon."

"Roar—"

Another roar from the sea dragon, a deep and resonant sound that resembled the grand organ in an old-world church, with a majestic echo. A few seconds later, the sea dragon revealed its massive body just a dozen meters away from the Yangwei. To Luo Zhengdao, the visual impact of this scene surpassed countless Hollywood blockbusters with their flashy special effects.

In his childhood, Luo Zhengdao had been sent by his ambitious parents to learn calligraphy for a few days, though he never became proficient. However, the calligraphy teacher, with his Mediterranean hairstyle, had excitedly described the elegance of cursive script to the students, comparing the characters to a dragon in motion. Now, seeing the sea dragon's graceful form for the first time, Luo Zhengdao trembled with a mix of fear and excitement.

The sea dragon's powerful and agile form, combining absolute strength with fluid grace, could not be described better than as "graceful as a dragon." Luo Zhengdao couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "The ancients were not wrong. Could they have seen sea dragons too?"

The boatswain Zola Hegel, an experienced old pirate, had navigated the perilous Floating Light Sea many times. He repeatedly reminded the sailors:

"Don't move or speak recklessly. Sea dragons rarely attack ships; it might just want to scratch an itch."

Indeed, the saying "big size, big wisdom" holds true. As a top predator with immense strength, the sea dragon has no natural enemies once it reaches adulthood. However, it is plagued by parasitic animals that it cannot shake off. The plants in the Floating Light Sea, though abundant, are soft and slippery, making it difficult for the sea dragon to find suitable hard objects to scratch its long, parasitized body. As Zola had said, the sailors watched the sea dragon enthusiastically approach the Yangwei, then vigorously rub its back against the ship's sides and bottom, much like a person scrubbing their skin.

The rough, steel-file-like scales on the sea dragon's body produced a grating sound as they rubbed against the ship's planks, making the sailors shudder and wonder if the ship could withstand the sea dragon's rough treatment.

A common truth is that the most obvious things are often overlooked. When the main attraction appears on stage, all the audience's attention is focused on it. Similarly, everyone was so focused on the sea dragon's movements that they overlooked a small figure that had clung to its body.

"Flap! Flap! Flap!"

Everyone involuntarily held their breath, and in the eerie silence, the sound of flapping wings seemed particularly jarring. Like the sailors, Luo Zhengdao dared not breathe, and he looked up, hardly believing his eyes. It was a red, dragon-like creature, but much smaller, perhaps a meter tall if it were on the ground, similar in size to an adult wolfhound.

"Chirp!"

Just as Luo Zhengdao's curiosity was piqued by the unexpected situation, the strange creature lowered its flight altitude and landed on the ship's stern deck as lightly as a leaf. It used its bat-like forelimbs to support itself, flared its nostrils to sniff the surroundings, and then, with a wobbly gait, crawled toward Luo Zhengdao on all fours.

Intuitively, Luo Zhengdao did not feel much threat from the small creature. In the loud background noise created by the sea dragon, he had to raise his voice to ask the half-elf beauty:

"Vena, what is this creature?"

"It's a pseudodragon, a weak sub-dragon. Wei, be careful of the stinger on its tail; it's highly venomous. Its combat ability is negligible, but its venom is potent."

Two tigers cannot coexist on the same mountain, unless they are a male and a female. Predators like the sea dragon, at the top of the food chain, have a strong territorial instinct. Any creature that dares to wander into its territory is taking a life-threatening risk. However, the sea dragon does not mind the activities of weak creatures like the pirates, who must control their noise even while breathing, or the pseudodragon, whose strength is on par with that of an ordinary wild animal. Just like a well-fed lion or tiger, the sea dragon, having just enjoyed a sumptuous meal, simply wanted to find a place to scratch its itch and did not care who followed it to take advantage of the situation.

After listening to Vena's explanation, Luo Zhengdao cautiously took a palm-sized piece of dried meat from his spatial bag and threw it to the pseudodragon. It cautiously lowered its head to sniff the meat, then opened its mouth and bit into it. The pseudodragon's small, sharp, needle-like teeth quickly chewed and swallowed the tough, brick-like dried meat, which disappeared into its small belly in an instant.

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End of the chapter.