Chapter 72

What kind of fish were swimming underwater was no longer important to Hong Tao and Karl. The two of them were weaving above the school of fish, looking for the right moment when the whale would surface. This task was quite challenging. Hong Tao didn't dare to attack if the direction was wrong. If he were to thrust a harpoon into the whale's head, the whale's tail would likely follow, causing trouble. It was also difficult to get close when the whale was facing them. He couldn't possibly jump over the whale's body and throw the harpoon, as that move was too difficult, even for an Olympic windsurfing champion. Only when the surfacing whale and the sailboard were moving in the same direction could he easily catch up and throw the harpoon, then quickly change direction to escape. Unfortunately, Hong Tao's luck was poor. He encountered this situation twice but didn't attack, as the targets were a bit small, only about five to six meters long. He planned to go for a larger one.

Windsurfing on the sea might look light and graceful, but it was actually quite tiring, especially when frequent changes in direction were needed. Even with the chest hook securing the sail, constantly adjusting body angles and foot positions required strong leg and abdominal muscles. Generally, half an hour to an hour was the limit, as it was impossible to control the sailboard at high speed for a long time. Hong Tao wasn't a superman, and he was no exception. He would get seasick if he drank too much and tired if he worked too much. Seeing no opportunity, he called Karl to return to the sailboat, away from the fish area, to rest on the sailboard.

The school of fish was quite large. Judging by the bubbles in the water, there were not many whales below, at most three or four. Only one was relatively large, the one that had leaped out of the water to call its companions. Unfortunately, Hong Tao never got a good position to attack it. However, he wasn't in a hurry. These few whales couldn't capture such a large school of fish. They would either have to separate the fish into smaller groups or wait for more companions to arrive, providing another opportunity to attack.

"Tao, more whales are coming from a distance! You should come up, several of them are coming!" Bozhu, standing on the deck of the sailboat, could see farther. She knew those tall water sprays were not waves but something else.

"Shut up, no wonder your grandfather didn't want to bring women out to sea, you're too talkative! Let's go, it's time to work! This time, we'll intercept their reinforcements. We'll go straight to them and attack before they arrive, so they won't have a chance to change direction. Azhu, follow us!" Hong Tao wasn't someone who listened to advice. Once he made up his mind, no one could change it, and too much talk would only annoy him. Hearing more whales were coming, he was actually happy. He patted Karl on the back and got up first, steering the sailboard in the direction Azhu pointed.

This time, four adult whales came to reinforce. They formed a diamond shape, occasionally surfacing and then diving back under, slapping the water with their tails. They were likely signaling to their distant companions: "Don't worry, don't scatter the fish, we're coming! We'll have a big catch today, and we'll be full after cooking all these little fish... hahaha!"

"We'll take the last one. You on the left, I on the right. Remember what I said, don't use too much force, throw the harpoon and turn left immediately, then head back to the sailboat to get another harpoon." After observing the distribution of the whales, Hong Tao gave Karl the battle instructions. The two sailboards separated instantly, propelled by a strong side wind, and shot towards the whales like two arrows.

The four whales continued their journey towards the fish, not taking the two small sailboards seriously. They had seen fast things before; swordfish could swim faster than sailboards and chase sharks around. In the ocean, no creature would attack an adult whale, so over time, whales became less concerned about their surroundings, living in comfort.

"Kill... ah!" Unfortunately, this time they encountered two extremely vicious beings. They not only intended to attack the whales but also to kill them. This marked the beginning of a premeditated, organized, large-scale commercial whaling industry, which would have been advanced by several centuries. The one who opened this chapter was a young man standing on a high-speed sailboard, with a large rat head tattooed on his back, throwing a harpoon with all his might towards the massive whale a few meters away.

"Thud!... Splash!" Hong Tao didn't hear the harpoon pierce the whale's body, but he felt a spray of water hit the back of his neck, followed by a loud splash behind him. When he turned to look, the whale was gone, and Karl's sailboard was moving in the opposite direction. The rope on his sailboard was rapidly decreasing.

"Damn!" Hong Tao suddenly realized that if he continued in this direction, the bamboo tubes might hit his feet. He quickly turned right, and with a violent jolt of the sailboard, the bamboo tubes disappeared, pulled underwater by the whale.

Hong Tao didn't bother to look for the bamboo tubes, as they were already underwater. What he needed urgently was a new harpoon. Bozhu's sailboat was just a hundred meters behind, and going back to get a harpoon was the priority. Tracking an injured whale on the surface was relatively simple, as long as it wasn't a deep-diving sperm whale. Ordinary whales wouldn't dive too deep, especially baleen whales, which preferred to swim in the upper layers of the water where there were krill. Even when injured, they would continue their usual habits and not easily change direction.

"Hey, be careful not to let the bamboo tubes hit your legs..." When Hong Tao returned to the side of the sailboat, Karl had already prepared the second set of bamboo tubes and was ready to go. Hong Tao took the harpoon and bamboo tubes from Bozhu, and before leaving, he reminded Karl of his experience. In the ocean, with no antibiotics or emergency medical equipment, the chances of survival after an injury were slim.

"I was just about to tell you, one of the bamboo tubes grazed my calf, look!" Karl grinned, lifting his right leg to show a shallow scratch.

"You have really good luck. After traveling thousands of miles from the Middle East to the Song Dynasty, you haven't even died from exhaustion, and the bamboo tubes didn't hit your legs. Does your God love you that much?" Hong Tao couldn't help but mutter as he watched Karl's back disappear into the distance. He looked up at the sky. It was past noon, and the sun was starting to set. He estimated it would be another two to three hours before sunset, and he had no confidence in subduing the whale before dark.

PS: Click, collect, and recommend! Throw them all to Hong Tao...

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