Endless Ocean: Escape Starting from a Canoe

Chapter 199 The Decapitation Blade
The Salmon Dream is a very unique drifting boat.

It carried a deep, pungent smell of blood, as if it were engraved into the black iron. Mixed with the salty, damp air under the sea breeze, and along with the various rusty but enormous hunting tools on the ship that could easily harm giant sea beasts, Shi Ming felt as if he had entered a slaughterhouse.

Everywhere was a mottled crimson.

Led by Chris, Shi Ming toured the drifting ship.

The Dayun was positioned half a nautical mile away on the sea, and was remotely controlled by him.

Chris's appearance—thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a square face—would make him seem like a positive character if he appeared in a TV series from Shi Ming's previous life. It would seem incongruous to have him leading this drifting ship.

Even though Chris recognized him at a glance, Shi Ming didn't mind.

He now has some trump cards up his sleeve.

He was not afraid as long as he did not enter the King-class drifting ship.

Moreover, on the open sea, no one would mindlessly make an enemy of an S-class Awakened who has no ties to hold and can act recklessly.

"Truly professional."

"Compared to firearms, these oddly shaped blunt weapons can cause sustained damage, are more effective against giant sea monsters, and are more cost-effective."

"Moreover, once it's embedded, the sea monster is essentially tied to the ship and has no chance of escaping."

After visiting the drifting boat,

Chris and his crew held a grand welcoming ceremony, and the very tactful captain even doubled the reward given to Shi Ming! Three-quarters of the blood obtained from hunting sea monsters would go entirely to Shi Ming, or be converted into cash upon sale.

In addition, we can now learn about the experience of capturing large sea monsters.

"Brother Shi,
"I hope you won't think this reward is too little."

"As long as you can help me capture that sea monster, you can take all the wealth on this ship!"

Shi Ming was flipping through Chris's hunting notes.

He was only interested in the notes. As for the wealth on this ship... it was clear there wasn't much. At least compared to the Smoke, it was far inferior. Both were Gold-class drifting ships, but Reinhard knew how to enjoy life. Look at this place, all black steel, rust, and the smell of blood...

Shi Ming muttered to himself as he casually flipped through the notes.

The notes are a summary of experience accumulated year after year, and are quite detailed.

Especially important are the precautions to take when facing giant sea monsters, how to determine when they begin to eat, how to maneuver a ship to avoid losses when facing super-large sea monsters, how to break through their thick fat defenses, and how to find their fatal weaknesses...

These lessons learned from the killings were very helpful to Shi Ming.

If he were to hunt the Twilight Whale before seeing these notes, Shi Ming would use "Titan's Descent," combining the Formless Pure Ice with ten times the power, to launch a strong attack on the Twilight Whale's head, attempting to penetrate its skull and kill it in one blow.

But after reading these notes, he realized that his ideas might be somewhat flawed.

The whales of today are not the same whales of the land era. As mutated sea creatures, their heads are not their weak points. In addition, with their thick skulls and blubber, even if a knife with ten times the force were to pierce through their tens of meters thick skull, it would not be able to kill them instantly because the wound would be too small. Instead, it would only provoke the ferocity of the sea creatures!
Moreover, if you attack from the head, it's easy to swallow it whole.

Chris's advice was that if the two sides were evenly matched, they should start with the spine. The spine, located two-fifths of the body, is closest to the skin, making it the most effective point of attack, allowing a domino effect.

If the difference in strength is too great, the strategy of "delaying" can sometimes help the weak overcome the strong.

The so-called "delaying tactic" involves using the massive body of the sea monster to inflict multiple blunt wounds on specific areas, thus prolonging the timeline. Shi Ming wasn't sure if this tactic would work on the already rotting Twilight Whale, but it did offer a new approach.

……

……

……

"Captain Chris, tell me the specifics of your target sea monster? Such as its size, weaknesses, etc."

Learning should be applied in practice.

Learning from others is important, but practical experience is also one of Shi Ming's goals.

Chris hesitated for a moment.

"That sea monster is only an A-level sea monster. A month ago, we discovered its whereabouts in waters 27 nautical miles from here. We originally planned to set a trap to slowly wear it down, but just over ten days ago, we discovered a drifting ship that had traveled a long distance to this place and had also set its sights on it. Moreover, that drifting ship is stronger than us, but it has not made any rash moves either, as if it is waiting for reinforcements."

"We felt we couldn't wait any longer, so we changed our plans and decided to launch a full-scale attack."

"Young man, as you know, sea creatures are killed by those with the ability, and those without are killed. There is also competition among whaling ships."

“If this continues, the Salmon Dream will come to nothing, and the prey we painstakingly wait for will become someone else’s prey. If we can successfully capture an A-rank sea beast, besides the reward for my little brother, it will help my brothers produce at least two more A-rank Awakened individuals, and more…”

Chris paused.

They didn't continue the conversation.

“Class A sea beasts are valuable from head to toe, so competition is inevitable. However, Salmon Dream is one of the top hunting ships in the northern part of Europe. In terms of experience in dealing with such large sea beasts, probably no one can surpass Captain Chris. So who is the competitor?”

"It's a [Decapitation Blade] from the Kingdom of Uzu."

"???"

What a small world!

The decapitation sword is a golden drifting ship under the command of the general-level drifting ship [Renhuang], which is used to hunt whale-like sea monsters.

"Isn't the territory of the Woguo Kingdom located in the area around Mount Fujie?"

Shi Ming was a little puzzled. "We were also very puzzled, but each of the gold-class drifting ships has its own style, and that ship also has the crest of the Renhuang clan, so it's impossible to mistake it."

Chris paused, then continued,
"The Decapitation Blade arrived in this area thirteen days ago and discovered the sea beast, but instead of taking action, it tracked the whale fifty nautical miles away, seemingly waiting for assistance. To be honest, I hadn't originally planned to seek outside help for this hunt. Although the Salmon Dream only has one A-level Awakened, they have a lot of experience dealing with large sea beasts and know how to use their size to their advantage, turning the sea beast's size advantage into a disadvantage. It was only because of the variable of the Whirlpool Kingdom that we were forced to seek outside help."

"Human nature."

Shi Ming didn't care that the number of A-level Awakeners had decreased from two to one. Generally, on a gold ship, having even one A-level Awakener was already considered exceptional.

He put away the notes and insights Chris had given him.

In return, the notebooks do not need to be returned.

These all require time to observe.

"I have a general understanding of the situation. Captain Chris, when shall we depart?"

He is in a hurry.

"Brother Shi, when do you think would be a good time?"

“How about…” Shi Ming hesitated for a moment. “Now?”

The three-day deadline has passed. Having failed to kill any sea beasts within three days, the murderous aura emanating from Shi Ming and the aura of the Extreme Evil Sanctuary have dissipated, and he will not scare away any sea beasts. Moreover, this place is so close to the Twilight Whale; delay could lead to unforeseen circumstances, and he does not want any abnormal situations to interfere with his subsequent plans.

"Now?"

Chris was taken aback.

Their big, round eyes lit up.

Now, now is good!
Every extra day we wait increases the risk. What if the [Decapitation Blade] calls in powerful reinforcements tomorrow, such as a twelve-star S-rank expert? Remember, the target is indeed an A-rank sea beast, but it's not an ordinary A-rank sea beast!
To be honest, he felt that once Shi Ming learned the true nature of that whale, he would also covet it; no one could resist its allure.

But there's no better way now.

The power of the Salmon Dream is inferior to that of the Decapitation Blade.

If he waits any longer, he will gain nothing.

Now we can only do what we can do: if we doubt someone, we don't use them; if we use someone, we don't

……

……

……

About fifty nautical miles southwest of Salmon Dream, a submersible drifting ship, adorned with whirlpools and a red sun, stealthily hides beneath the surface, while a periscope protrudes from the water, swaying from side to side.

The decapitation sword.

The golden floating ship was personally steered by Prince Mutoku, the son of Emperor Niohū.

"Your Highness, Emperor Ren sent a message two hours ago. He has confirmed via communications that Captain Quilt of the Constantinople will come to help."

"The old man still has some skills."

Wu De stared at the periscope, surveying the surface of the sea from inside the cabin.

"Is Naquit reliable? How strong is he? Will he do something unethical and steal our prey?"

"Rest assured, Your Highness."

The guard replied.

"Quelt was the most outstanding warrior in Italy in the old days. At the age of fifteen, he won the Spartacus title in the Rome Cup World Fighting Championship."

"His friendship with His Majesty Emperor Ren began in the land era. Moreover, His Majesty Emperor Ren's seventh wife, whom he married despite strong opposition from the cabinet ministers, died in the early days of the drifting era. She was Quilte's older sister. In fact, this captain of the ship in Constantinople was one of your step-uncles."

Prince Wude snorted.

"Step-uncle?"

"Spartacus?"

"Can the titles of martial artists from the old era really gild his reputation now? His skills are merely the result of benefiting from the early days of the wandering era!"

It was already dinner time, and a maid dressed in a traditional Chinese dress brought out a plate of succulent fish liver, a small dish of side dishes, a cup of sake, and a bowl of thick soup.

"Get out, get out."

"The thought of eating the heart of a white dragon whale that has been cooked for over a year makes me feel uncomfortable."

The white dragon whale is 65 meters long.

Based on this calculation, its heart must weigh at least 600 kilograms.

Even if one eats two kilograms a day, it would still take a year to awaken the "whale fall" ability. Prince Wude didn't eat much, so a year is a conservative estimate.

"Is the intelligence from the Xirang Research Institute reliable?"

"Does the heart of a white dragon whale really need to be eaten raw to awaken its powers?"
"What if I finish eating the heart but haven't awakened my abilities—"

"This prince will definitely make trouble for them."

(End of this chapter)