Endless Ocean: Escape Starting from a Canoe

Chapter 54 Itsukushima Rin's Fury

"Look me in the eyes and tell me, what are you panicking about?"

A general in a high position possesses unquestionable authority; a casual question can command respect without anger.

"General..."

Although Da Huangye was not as imposing as the general, he was still a seasoned veteran in the political arena, no less so. When the Great Flood came, he was a young, marginal secretary. In order to obtain a place on a drifting ship, he used all sorts of tricks and schemes, and his methods were truly ingenious.

Over the decades, it has climbed to its current high position.

After a mental struggle and weighing the pros and cons, he painfully betrayed his deceased nephew, selectively revealing part of the truth to his superiors.

He understood perfectly well that deceiving others about certain things would only hasten his demise.

Losing such a precious treasure is indeed a capital offense; even ten stomachs wouldn't be enough to dissect him.

But putting all that aside, General, as my direct superior, don't you bear any joint responsibility? Don't you bear any guilt for lax supervision?
Even if I die, you won't have an easy time.

Only by standing on the same front as the general and tying our interests and responsibilities together can we possibly overcome this calamity.

That's why the scene described earlier happened.

……

On Itsukushima Rin's desk, anything that could be thrown was now on Oohara's face, rolling down his face and onto his knees as he knelt.

"General, I truly deserve to die!"

"I am willing to commit seppuku to atone for my mistakes."

He drew the military knife hanging at his waist and made a move as if to kill himself.

"Bastard thing!"

Seeing this, Itsukushima Rin became even more enraged, and smashed his brass pipe against Oohara's nose.

You may die, your death is nothing to regret.
But do you want me to take the blame for this?
Before long, the other important figures on the ship will also read and study the intelligence report worth 600 Pure Crystals! His political enemies will surely find this loophole soon and use it to attack him and drag him down.

The position of General Who Conquers the Seas is coveted by countless eyes!

And you, someone caught in the vortex, died here, trying to tarnish my resume and drag me down with you?

Itsukushima Rin's eyes rolled back in anger.
And yet, there was nothing they could do.

The more ecstatic they were initially, the more dramatic the contrast became at this moment.
No, it has to be even worse!

"You, you devise a plan for me, immediately! Retrieve the map of the Endless Sea!"

"Fifteen days. You only have fifteen days. My other subordinates, even the A-rank Awakened Demon Blade, can temporarily cooperate with you. Great Wilderness, this is your last chance."

"If not..."

Itsukushima Rin's voice grew colder with anger.

The vast wilderness gave me a jolt.

The Demon Blade was one of the three A-rank Awakened on the ship, directly under the command of Itsukushima Rin. Its A-rank offensive skill, "Yaegaki Greatsword," was invincible. It once cleaved the Silver-class drifting ship [Kaya], which invaded the Kanagawa region, in two with a single strike. The eighty-meter-long Silver Ship broke in two, a truly terrifying feat.

"General, if we cannot find the map of the Endless Sea, I will sacrifice my life for the soul of the Black Society."

Itsukushima Rin waved her hand.

Da Huangye wisely stood up and left the office where only the two of them were.

Amidst the extremes of joy and sorrow, Itsukushima Rin seemed to have lost all her strength, sitting limply on the shark-tooth chair.

The fact that there is an endless sea map in the warehouse can be discovered by anyone who is interested; it can't be kept secret for long.

Next, he will have to help the Great Wilderness operate and conceal information.

How did such a great achievement turn into a capital offense?
……

Shi Ming lay on his bed in the captain's cabin, gazing at the rising sun outside. It was another new day.

Ever since the crew learned that Shi Ming loved watching the sunrise, the drifting ship has been adjusting its course at dawn these past two days, pointing the captain's cabin window eastward. This has also made him wake up very early.

He opened the window, and fresh air, accompanied by the sea breeze, blew into the captain's cabin.

It felt like every cell in my body was being activated by the sea breeze.

After watching the sunrise for a while, he went up to the deck and began his daily training. Knife skills, hand-to-hand combat, marksmanship... The ship had plenty of bullets, so he could practice as he pleased. Even when facing Awakened Ones, his agility and some fighting techniques were quite useful.

After several attempts to absorb and increase his stats, he gained a general understanding of his basic physical attributes.

If we convert it into numbers according to the system's approach, it would look something like this.

[Stone Inscription]

Attack Power: 45 (Base attack power, without using Arm of Strength. Briefly increases by 10 times after using Arm of Strength)

Stamina: 55 (Physical Fitness)

[Endurance: 59 (enduring ability)]

[Defense: 108 (Defense without skill activation, further divided into resilience and recovery. With Xuanwu Shield activated, resilience is infinite for 3 seconds. With Death's Edge activated, recovery is infinite for 60 seconds.)]

[Mental Strength: Unknown]

The limit for an average person is 10.

After an ordinary person awakens their powers by bathing in the blood of a sea beast, they will receive varying degrees of enhancement and growth based on the blood's grade. Normally, during the initial awakening of D-grade and C-grade sea beasts, all their stats can increase by around 15.

Grade B is 20, and Grade A is 30.

The differences vary from person to person and also from species of marine mammals.

The difference between Grade D and Grade A is not only in their initial attributes, but also in their growth potential.

Grade A has far greater growth potential than Grade D.

If you have been bathed in the blood of multiple different types of marine mammals, the highest level shall prevail.

Shi Ming's current stats naturally far exceed those of ordinary people.

However, he might still be outmatched when dealing with some experienced A-level Awakened individuals or those with high-attack weapons. This is normal, as he is still a newcomer who has only been awakened for a few days and hasn't had enough time to grow.

An S-rank skill is just a powerful trump card; true strength has multiple dimensions.

To become stronger, you need more than just training and growth; you also need other things to help you.

For example, weapons.

The knife in his hand had been replaced with the one that had been found in the captain's cabin of the Yellowstone.

The Eye of Creation scanned the past.

【Battle Blade - Slay the King】

【Level: 4】

[The Rhodes Rump family's collection includes a blade said to have beheaded a king in the 14th century. Although still incredibly sharp after centuries, it lost its edge in the endless ocean, eroded by seawater and high pressure, and no longer possesses its former sharpness.]

[Upgrade Requirements: 10 Sea Beast Blood Crystals, 10 Iron Ore, 10 High-Grade Sea Crystals]

This is a fine knife.

The sword the system gave him was just an ordinary weapon for individual combat; even after several upgrades, its potential for growth had reached its limit.

But this knife is different; you can feel its extraordinary material just by holding it.

How could such a fine knife be allowed to decay and deteriorate due to corrosion?
upgrade!

Shi Ming took out the blood crystals that the captain and his exploration team had collected from Turtle Island.

They collected a lot of blood crystals from Turtle Island, nearly 20 baskets, but a mere 10 crystals were just a drop in the ocean.

(End of this chapter)