Endless Ocean: Escape Starting from a Canoe

Chapter 152 General-class Drifting Ship, Pharaoh!
Perhaps due to a lack of energy stones, the Ganges was sailing quite slowly.

As a guest, Shi Ming leisurely sat in the passenger cabin of the Ganges, enjoying the unique Indian cuisine, curry fish oil tea.

"How does it taste, buddy?"

The sun was scorching at sea, and Eliza walked over wearing soft, light clothing.

She lightly brushed her fingers across the hem of her dress, casually hooked her hand, and sat down opposite Shi Ming. Her veil had been removed, her hair was loosely tied up, and a few strands of hair naturally fell beside her neck.

Even from several meters away, Shi Ming could smell the scent of sea salt and sweat on her body.

"Very unique."

Shi Ming took a sip and then placed it on the table.
"As a powerful awakened being of the Dragon Kingdom, Brother Stone does not rely on the power of his motherland. He travels alone on a drifting ship to hone his skills on the ocean. I truly admire his spirit. Alas! Back then, my Peacock Kingdom was the fourth largest country in the world, but now it has fallen into a state of national displacement and hardship."

The fourth largest country?

Shi Ming thought to himself.

As is well known, there are more than a dozen fourth largest countries.

“Miss Eliza, you flatter me. I haven’t been away from my homeland for long, and the places I’ve been to are far fewer than those on the Ganges. I’m very interested in maritime tales. I’ve heard that the waters of the Peacock Kingdom are unnavigable because of another large whirlpool? But how big can that whirlpool be, that it could cause all of your country’s ships to leave their homeland?”

Eliza took a sip of curry tea.

She seemed to have been scalded by the tea, and took a very restrained, light breath, as if her lips had touched the cold, fresh snow. Then, looking at Shi Ming, her smile returned.

"Young man, you are unaware of this."

"That whirlpool is different from ordinary whirlpools. Although its core is only three nautical miles away, it has a terrifying [domain]. Centered on the whirlpool, an area of ​​more than one hundred nautical miles in radius is filled with eddies. The water flow in the three hundred miles area is rapid and flows in a circular pattern, making it difficult to navigate."

"And the closer you get to the center, the stronger the vortex becomes. Ordinary silver and bronze-class drifting ships can hardly withstand it and can only leave this area of ​​the sea."

"The Peacock Kingdom has evacuated 99% of its ships. What's the point of leaving the gold ships and general-class ships there?"

"Moreover, even Shiva would find it difficult to approach the center of that vortex."

Compared to the other topics Eliza brought up, Shi Ming was more interested in the Great Vortex.

"I've heard that there's a powerful sea beast deep within that whirlpool?"

A creature capable of withstanding vortices that even a general-class drifting ship would struggle to withstand must be an S-class sea monster.

"It's just a rumor."

Eliza smiled and gently gathered a few stray strands of long hair with her fingers.

She possesses the gentle grace of a married woman.

This was the type she felt Shi Ming was most likely to be interested in, based on her brief contact with him and her analysis and predictions.

This is the type of drink that these young men who spend all their time on the boat love the most.

"Shiva once joined forces with Yu the Great to investigate the existence of life in the core of the vortex, but found no trace of any living beings. The living conditions there are extremely harsh, and even S-class sea beasts would not want to stay there."

"I see."

In addition, Shi Ming learned a lot about the Yellow Sand Sea and its forces from Eliza along the way.

The Black Gold Alliance is not as united as the Great Yu and the Lighthouse.
They don't share glory and disgrace like the twelve stars, maintaining a superficial harmony.

The various factions are engaged in constant open and covert struggles. The four general-class ships, Pharaoh, Nile, Golden Bodhi, and Red Sea, regard each other as potential enemies, and conflicts between their ships, large and small, are ongoing.

It was thanks to the mediation of Black Gold that the situation of one king ruling the territory of Africa and four generals standing in a tripartite balance of power was formed.

Unfortunately, this situation seems to be about to change soon.

A new S-class Awakener has appeared on the General-class drifting ship [Pharaoh].

Ptolemy's "Sea Beast Feast" held with the corpse of that S-class sea beast was a subtle way of putting pressure on the Nile River, the Red Sea, and the Golden Bodhi, while also testing the reaction of the King-class drifting ship Black Gold.

……

After a long chat, Shi Ming used the excuse of managing his subordinates to return to the Dayun.

Actually, there's news again in the lighthouse's "Let there be light."

I wonder what kind of bad things they're up to.

[Jinshan: Sharing intelligence, the Black Gold Alliance's "Pharaoh" recently killed an S-class sea monster, the "Feathered Serpent of the Underworld," and will be holding a sea monster corpse feast at the Cairo ruins over the next seven days. Colleagues who need the S-class sea monster's remains for research can go there to purchase them.]

[Michael: Received]

[Freedom: Received]

[Divine Comedy: Received]

【…】

"The Feathered Serpent of the Underworld, it seems that the so-called curse of the mummy was indeed orchestrated by the people on the Pharaoh. I wonder what other pitfalls lie hidden in this feast of selling sea monster corpses."

"Once I've acquired some of the sea monster's blood, I can retreat."

"I have no say in the infighting among these people."

Shi Ming muttered. He had already offended several powerful forces; there was no need to make more enemies for himself.

Of course, being unwilling to offend someone does not mean being afraid of offending them.

Sometimes, even if you don't provoke others, they will provoke you.

"Captain, the Pharaoh, a general-class drifting ship, is just ahead."

Shi Ming looked into the distance.

The Pharaoh, though not as grand and imposing as the Twelve Stars, still stretches for over 600 meters and can be described as a floating village, an artificial island on the sea.

Its overall structure is pyramid-shaped, which is very unique.

At the bow is a lifelike statue of a king cobra, its body stretching downwards with incredibly realistic scales, coiling around this floating pyramid.

"Ship to a halt."

“Brother Stone, next, we will need to board the Pharaoh’s ferry to this general-class ship. The rules are similar to those of the Twelve Stars, so you should be able to understand.”

Eliza explained.

Shi Ming nodded.

He called Shidun to go with him, while the others stayed on the Dayun. Now that he could remotely control the Dayun, he wasn't afraid of any accidents.

He even reserved 100 Pure Crystals on the ship.

If there is some ulterior motive on the Pharaoh that has angered him, he can charge up his power remotely and use the [Broken Force] characteristic of the Great Luck to ram the entire ship!

The Ganges sent Eliza, Singh, and two other unfortunate, cursed crew members.

Five people boarded the ferry boat.
Let's drive together towards that magnificent pyramid.

……

……

……

The magnificent pyramid's apex is a resplendent golden palace, symbolizing the pharaoh's boundless authority.

"Lord Ptolemy, a young man saved us from this crisis. He is a dragon from the East, and he radiates the light of the sun, just like the son of the sun god..."

"presumptuous!"

The captain's speech was forcibly interrupted.

Before Ptolemy could respond, a middle-aged man in a magnificent robe with snake-like eyes, holding a tin staff, coldly rebuked the old man beneath the ship's grand golden hall.

"The offspring of the sun god?"

"The sun god has only one son, and that is the great Ptolemy! Old man, I think you're getting senile. Since you can't protect the obelisk, perhaps its next owner can."

In the main hall, the imposing Ptolemy waved his hand.

"Don't worry about the details, Abu. Now that you've returned safely, I'm relieved."

“Abu, although you are the rightful captain of the Obelisk, you are getting old after all. This world belongs to the young. Nia is a good successor.”

“Jia Fang, you have just advanced to the S-rank Awakener, so you need to temper your brilliance appropriately. I can rest assured that you will host the upcoming Sea Beast Feast. This grand event is not only a sacred ceremony for my Pharaoh, but also another milestone in mankind's conquest of the endless ocean.”

"I don't want anything to go wrong."

"Yes, Lord Ptolemy."

After the meeting ended, Nia helped Abu and, together with Jafang and his entourage, walked out of the magnificent Pharaoh's Palace.

The main hall sits high above, with long, golden steps stretching endlessly.

"Father, look!"

Nia's voice rose and fell, filled with excitement.

Looking down from the golden staircase, they saw a group of people in the distance boarding the Pharaoh from the ferry.

"Dragon!" Abu exclaimed excitedly.

"country bumpkin".

Jia Fang glanced at him with disdain.

In the distance, he saw a young man with distinctly Eastern features stepping onto the golden steps of the Pharaoh. His aura was restrained, his expression was high-spirited, and his body seemed to conceal endless vitality. He was clearly a high-level Awakened One with abundant energy and surging awakening power.

Jia Fang's Nether Serpent bloodline was stirring.

"At least Grade A!"

"Great material!"

Jia Fang's snake eyes lit up.

(End of this chapter)