Survival at Sea: My Warship is a Rubber Duck?

Chapter 148 Demon General - Thorn Burial

Time flies, and it was already two o'clock in the afternoon.

With the lucky buff from the cat and the abundant resources unique to the dungeon, Yu Wang and his group would encounter some serendipitous events every few steps.

Correspondingly, the three of them also reaped considerable benefits.

It could be a "Prosperous Treasure Chest," or it could be plants that are beneficial to the human body, materials that can be sold for a high price, and sometimes you might even find creatures with precious plants growing on their bodies.

They always managed to escape danger. Although the duck army suffered losses from time to time, less than twenty ducks were actually reduced to zero and returned to the Little Yellow Duck. The remaining one hundred and thirty ducks were still able to protect Yu Wang and his companions within the flock, clearing a path as they advanced on the island.

The flock of ducks swept through the bushes and moss, startling countless small creatures hiding in the shadows, creating a spectacular scene.

Poisonous weeds and traps are all rendered ineffective by the duck army's destruction.

Rumble—

A series of hurried footsteps came from the side front, the footsteps were heavy. Yu Wang looked up and saw a tortoise running past at a speed that was not quite in line with its species.

Compared to its real-world relatives, this tortoise is significantly smaller, only about half the size of a stone block, but it has a fruit tree on its back that is two meters tall, with a trunk as thick as a fist and branches laden with bright red fruit, making it look like a mobile orchard.

This makes its weight absolutely substantial, and when it runs, the ground shakes.

"It's a fruit-bearing tortoise! ​​The fruit on its back is a precious plant!"

Upon hearing Zhang Xinlan's voice, Yu Wang immediately released a flock of ducks to chase after her.

"Quack quack quack—" The flock of ducks were so excited, their eyes sparkling, that they chased after the ducks with great enthusiasm.

"The giant tortoise has run off to the ten o'clock direction!" Yu Wang shouted, and quickly took off after it.

"learn!"

Zhang Xinlan reacted even faster, already holding the flintlock pistol in her hand, kneeling on one knee with a serious expression, and starting the burst firing mode.

"Bang! Bang!"

Two bullets hit—although they were aimed at the tortoise's head, the bullets ended up hitting the trunk of the fruit tree on its back!

The tree trunk snapped in two, and the crown, along with all the red fruit on the tree, crashed to the ground and rolled everywhere.

The tortoise felt a lightness on its back, and was startled at first. Then, its four short legs moved even faster! Without looking back, it darted into the depths of the dense forest and fled, as if some ferocious beast was behind it.

Zhang Xinlan: "————"

She laughed awkwardly, "Ha, sparing a turtle's life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Anyway, all we want is fruit."

"Quack!!!" Duck B, who was chasing in the lead, watched helplessly as the mobile orchard disappeared. He stomped his feet in frustration and quacked loudly in the direction the tortoise had fled.

"Alright, alright, the fruit isn't here!" Zhang Xinlan smiled, reassuring Ya B. She picked up a bright red fruit, wiped it, and took a bite. "Mmm! Sweet! What kind of fruit is this? The eleventh or twelfth?"

Duck B sighed softly, somewhat disappointed that it couldn't acquire any new spoils.

Yu Wang glanced at Duck B; he knew that this duck had been under a lot of pressure lately.

There are also different ranks within a flock of ducks.

The arrival of the level 4 skeleton duck has taken away its position as the strongest fighter in the duck flock.

Duck A is customer service, busy making money every day, equivalent to the finance minister; Duck C is the strategist, belonging to the civil service.

The chef duck is a noble chef, with a high status, standing above all other ducks.

DuckB privately challenged Skeleton Duck to a challenge, but never won.

The Bone Duck has terrifying combat experience, as if it grew up on the battlefield, and many of its reactions have become instinctive.

Whether it's a sneak attack or a direct confrontation, it often takes the least effort to take down the duck, as casually as if it were just making cucumber salad.

However, after several attempts, Duck B's skills have indeed improved considerably.

Pressure can indeed be a driving force for progress.

But realizing the huge gap in strength between the two sides, YaB was really unwilling to accept it.

"for you!"

Zhang Xinlan threw a fruit at Yu Wang.

Yu Wang casually took it, took a bite, and felt the cool sensation go down his throat, instantly making him feel refreshed.

Reviewing the dungeon in my mind, I realized that while the ducks had made some mistakes, they not only successfully opened up a safe route from the teleportation point to the top of Dongqiu Mountain, but also found no less than twelve kinds of treasures along the way, resulting in a rapid increase in their power.

Yu Wang glanced at his character panel: [Equipping title: Veteran Foodie]

[Effect: Increases the buffs gained from eating by 20%. The probability of a mental boost is significantly increased when eating.]

Strength: 7.5/11

Physical condition: 7.6/11

Speed: 8/11

With the title's bonus effect, the benefits of consuming precious plants will be greater. A fruit that originally only increases attributes by 0.1 will increase them by 0.12 after being eaten. Over time, the cumulative effect is quite considerable.

All three attributes are steadily improving, getting closer and closer to their respective limits.

As their strength increased, their control over "authority" also improved, with the most obvious change being the "Bone and Blood Armor" form.

The bone and blood armor initially covered only the two forearms, but it expanded to extend to the upper arms, and the feet were also protected by bone armor.

Relying on the bone armor covering his feet, he trampled countless Drunken Dream Immortals along the way.

"I possess authority, and once my average attributes reach 10 points, I can advance to the extraordinary level at will, depending on my mood."

, 7

Yu Wang continued to calculate in his mind: "But I can sense that the portion of the 'Aberration' authority that can be grasped at the Mortal Blood stage is far from its limit. Advancing at 10 or 11 points would be too wasteful; the foundation wouldn't be solid, and important basic abilities might even be missed, resulting in gaps in the later skill tree. To fully master the authority portion at the Mortal Blood stage, one must at least reach 20 points before transcending."

He sighed softly, "The task is arduous and the road ahead is long."

Wang Huaisong checked his attribute points, which averaged only 6.7. However, he possessed the ability "An Old Horse in the Stable," which could boost his attribute points to 8.7 after activation, almost matching Yu Wang's strength after he wore the title of "Leader."

Old Wang looked at Yu Wang with envy: "At this rate, you'll be collecting them all soon, right? You'll have to tell us about what's going on up there then."

Young people have a head start and a natural advantage in games.

If Old Wang were to voice his thoughts, he would surely be seen as someone who, at the age of seven thousand, maintains a robust physique, something many people would envy.

"It's still a long way off." Yu Wang put away the panel and shook his head. "It's not comparable to a professional who has seven or eight basic stats as soon as they enter the game."

"Professionals?"

"Athletes and soldiers are examples," Yu Wang explained. "They start much higher than ordinary people, so they naturally need fewer resources. If the same resources were poured into them, they would have already reached their peak, while we are still slowly climbing."

Wang Huaisong nodded thoughtfully.

Yu Wang, however, remembered another person, "Mad Shark".

He's a prime example. He willingly gives up a lot of resources, yet he can keep up with the team and even maintain an advantage while relying on his own resources. Such a person would be a top performer in any division.

I wonder how he is doing now.

"What are you thinking about?" Zhang Xinlan's voice pulled him back to reality.

"It's nothing." Yu Wang pulled himself out of his thoughts and looked ahead. "Keep going, we're almost at the top of Dongqiu. That milky white pond should be just ahead."

"A pond of milk!" Zhang Xinlan's eyes lit up. "Charge!"

The island wasn't large; its longest north-south diameter was only about 5 kilometers. For Yu Wang and his companions, this size of terrain was hardly impressive. They moved quickly, the ducks sweeping past them, and at 3:30 PM, the group finally reached the top of the eastern hill.

After passing through thick grass that was as tall as two people and as thick as trees, the view suddenly opened up before us.

-

It was a milky white pond about twenty meters in diameter. The water had a faint milky fragrance, and a thin, creamy halo floated on its surface, giving people a sense of peace and tranquility, as if they had returned to the womb.

The pond was covered with all sorts of exotic flowers and plants, each one much thicker than its siblings outside. The purple petals were as big as washbasins, the berries were as big as fists, and even the leaves of ordinary ferns were as thick as leather.

When the three people and a flock of ducks arrived, there were already guests.

A flock of swift wolfbirds with four-leaf clover-shaped crests on their heads were drinking water at the edge of the pond. They were slender, about 1.5 meters tall at the shoulder, and covered with velvety moss. Their size was not considered enormous, and the island did not have the resources to support such creatures, so the sense of oppression they gave off was not too strong.

Normal creatures will be highly vigilant when they come to drink from such water sources, paying close attention to any movement around them, since water sources are often the best places for predators to ambush.

Photosynthesis alone is insufficient to meet all the needs of large organisms.

But this flock of swift wolfbirds is completely different.

They were extremely relaxed. Some were lying on the ground dozing off, some were preening each other's feathers, and a few cubs were playing with a fresh turtle shell by the pond. The shell was about the size of a stone block, and they were tossing it around with their claws, rolling it back and forth, having a great time. Wang Huaisong watched with a pounding heart.

The three were very familiar with the appearance of the tortoise shell. They could tell from the broken fruit tree stump on it that even though Zhang Xinlan had shot off the heavy load and increased their escape speed, they still couldn't escape in the end.

Wang Huaisong subconsciously assessed his own strength. His strength was 6.7, enough to easily lift the turtle shell, but tossing it around like those baby turtles?

In less than three moves, his old back would break.

At this moment, a large, swift wolf-bird with a hideous scar at the corner of its eye raised its head and its gaze accurately locked onto the direction of the duck flock.

With over a hundred ducks, it would be hard to go unnoticed.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Yu Wang's hand had already reached for the water gun at his waist, and Zhang Xinlan and Wang Huaisong held their breath, ready for battle.

Fortunately, the alpha wolf glanced at them, then at the flock of ducks, seemingly assessing the strength of both sides. After a moment, it nonchalantly lowered its head and continued drinking.

The leader didn't say anything, and the other wolf-birds also looked away and went about their business.

"Is this a decision not to fight?" Zhang Xinlan asked softly.

"I guess they think it's not worth it. After all, these ducks can't be eaten; at best, they can be used as chew toys for dogs. It's a waste of effort." Yu Wang also lowered his voice. "Don't bother them. Let them finish drinking and leave on their own."

The three of them stood there, watching the flock of wolf birds leisurely drink water, play, and nap. They waited for more than two thousand minutes before the birds left contentedly and disappeared into the jungle on the other side.

"call"

Wang Huaisong breathed a sigh of relief: "They're finally gone."

The three of them then stepped forward and approached the mysterious pond.

The pool was perfectly circular, with a diameter of twenty meters. Because the water was milky white, the bottom was completely invisible, making it impossible to judge its depth. The creamy sheen on the surface of the water was even more pronounced up close, resembling a thin layer of oil. "No wonder—" Yu Wang mused, "An island that's five or six thousand meters in size would be considered rich in resources if it had three precious plants. This island, however, has ridiculously abundant resources, mostly due to the effects of this pool."

Zhang Xinlan leaned closer and took a deep breath. The aroma of milk filled the air, and her eyes lit up. "This pond smells so good! If we drain it, we won't have to worry about fertilizer anymore, and we won't lack antidotes either!"

As soon as Zhang Xinlan finished speaking, the ring on Yu Wang's finger, which read "Compensation for the wet nurse," suddenly trembled violently!

The next second, the ring detached from the finger on its own, flew to the center of the pond, and hovered above the water.

The milky white pool water began to swirl, forming a miniature vortex. Strands of milky white energy rose from the pool and merged into the ring!

The whole process lasted about three minutes.

When the ring flew back into Yu Wang's hand, it had completely changed its appearance.

The original simple silver-gray ring band has been transformed into a warm milky white, with a budding water lily pattern appearing on the ring face, subtly conveying a gentle power.

[Ding! Your compensation as a humicified lactating mother has absorbed a high concentration of milk essence and undergone a transformation!]

[Obtained Item: "Bound Desire Spring"]

[Quality: Purple]

[Effect 1: Suppresses negative desires (greed, anger, fear, etc.) in the wearer's mind, maintaining mental clarity.]

【Effect 2: Automatically produces 1 drop of pure milk daily (can be used for detoxification, plant ripening, etc.)】

[Description: Something that was just something to casually give away has somehow become quite precious, to the point that even the original owner might be surprised.]

Yu Wang looked at the brand-new ring in his palm, feeling the gentle power seep into his body through his fingers. The clutter in his mind seemed to have been washed away by clear water, leaving him exceptionally clear-headed.

"Good stuff," he said softly.

The cost, of course, is very high.

The pool water, which was originally milky white, is now clear and transparent, and you can see the bottom at a glance.

The pool wasn't actually that deep; the deepest part was only about two meters. Now you can clearly see the pebbles at the bottom of the pool.

The energy sources that gave the island its life have completely disappeared.

Without its source of energy, the exotic flowers and plants by the pond immediately showed signs of decline.

The edges of the purple petals began to curl, wrinkles appeared on the surface of the berries, and the thick fern leaves drooped limply.

Even the thick clump of grass, as sturdy as saplings, could no longer support its enormous weight without the nourishment of the pond water and began to collapse in patches, making cracking sounds.

Perhaps over time, this situation will spread to the entire island.

The lush greenery will be gone, and the dense plants will wither without their source, leaving only one or two barely surviving.

Zhang Xinlan and Wang Huaisong stood there, their eyes wide and mouths slightly open, completely bewildered by what had happened.

"I----"

Zhang Xinlan spoke first, her voice a little hoarse: "I just said 'drained' — were you really drained?"

The two looked at Yu Wang at the same time.

Yu Wang explained the ring's effects, expressing his exasperation with his own gluttonous ring: "Sigh, at a rate of one drop a day, it'll break even eventually. The ring produces pure milk, much better than diluted milk; we'll actually make a profit—"

Halfway through his sentence, Yu Wang suddenly clutched his chest, his expression changing drastically.

A sudden pang of heart palpitation gripped his heart tightly!

Immediately afterwards, countless whispers rang in his ears, as if countless people were murmuring in his ear at the same time!

Dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting—all sorts of discomforts come rushing in like a tide!

The world before their eyes had also changed. They were already standing at the highest point of the island, and with the surrounding tall grasses falling down, their view was now unobstructed, allowing them to take in the entire island.

But at this moment, what Yu Wang saw was not the lush, vibrant green island he had seen before.

The blue sky and white clouds seemed to be veiled by a purplish-red filter. In the center of the island, several enormous thorny bushes, hundreds of meters high, suddenly pierced through the once dense canopy of trees!

The thorns were entirely black, covered with menacing barbs, each as thick as a small car, with sharp, spear-like tips that pierced the sky!

They seemed to have grown from the depths of hell, exuding an aura of violence!

Blood-red membranes spread out from the middle of the thorns, like giant spider webs, covering the top of the tree canopy! The surface of the membranes was covered with blood vessels, which were still pulsating slightly, like the organs of some kind of creature!

"Leader!" The title effect activates at this moment: [Effect 3: Path Guidance LV1]

The alarm bells rang in Yu Wang's mind! Those thorns are extremely dangerous! Never approach them! Any creature that gets close will be devoured and assimilated!

Yu Wang gritted his teeth and used his last bit of strength to put the newly transformed ring on his finger.

A cool sensation surged from the ring face, flowing through the blood throughout the body! That was the power of the "Binding Desire Fountain," suppressing negative states and maintaining mental clarity.

The whispers receded like a tide, the dizziness and nausea quickly subsided, and the terrifying scene before my eyes began to dissipate.

The sky returned to its normal color, the crimson membrane gradually became transparent, the giant thorns slowly blurred, and finally disappeared completely, revealing the original normal canopy of the bushes.

Yu Wang was panting heavily, his back soaked with cold sweat.

But Zhang Xinlan and Wang Huaisong were not so lucky.

Zhang Xinlan's eyes widened, her pupils dilated, and an expression of suffocation and despair crossed her face. Her lips trembled, as if she wanted to say something.

Wang Huaisong covered his ears tightly with both hands, his arm muscles relaxing and tightening at the same time, as if he was suppressing his urge to hit someone.

"Damn it—" Yu Wang cursed under his breath, and without any hesitation, immediately activated the power of the ring.

He forced out a drop of freshly condensed pure milk, then quickly took out his water bottle, poured out some fresh water to dilute it, and poured it on the heads of the two men respectively.

The cool liquid flowed down the hair and seeped into the scalp.

Zhang Xinlan was the first to come to her senses.

The first thing I did was frantically breathe in the fresh air.

Wang Huaisong slowly removed his hands from his ears, his gaze gradually focusing.

"I—I just—" Zhang Xinlan's voice was hoarse as she described her feelings: "Rain—the bus—it was unbearably stuffy—it kept stopping and starting—the pungent smell of perfume mixed with body odor—and the D music, thump thump thump, it was so loud it made me want to die—opening the window only made more car exhaust fumes rush in—"

As she spoke, she realized how absurd it was, and the feeling of suffocation returned, so she quickly stopped.

Wang Huaisong said, "I was standing for six hours in a crowded train carriage—no seats—a kid next to me was stepping on my feet, the person opposite me was coughing without a mask—and there was a mixture of instant noodle smell, foot odor, and fart smell—"

He couldn't continue, and just gagged twice.

Yu Wang twitched the corners of his mouth, realizing for the first time that having too much of an imagination wasn't a good thing, and he didn't have time to comfort them.

He gave a brief order: "Go! Return the way you came immediately!"

When he gave the order, he activated the title's active skill:

[Effect 4: Clustering Effect LV1: This effect can be activated when you are in a recognized leadership position within the team. It grants all friendly units within a certain range a slight "morale boost" and "cooperation efficiency improvement" effect. Duration: 1 hour, Cooldown: 24 hours]

Without saying a word, the three of them quickly retreated along the path they had come from!

Unlike the previous journey where we explored as we went, this time our only goal was to move as fast as possible! We couldn't care less about treasures or resources!

Duck B seemed to sense something too. It raised the long spear that was taller than itself, quacked loudly, and led a group of ducks to the front!

"Gagaga—!"

The ducks acted as pioneers, biting at vines, ramming into bushes, and filling in the muddy swamps with their bodies!

An unobstructed escape route is being built at an astonishing speed!

As Zhang Xinlan ran, she vividly described her feelings, perhaps trying to alleviate her fear. "Stop abusing the elderly! I finally forgot!" Wang Huaisong's face paled even more.

They didn't seem to see the giant thorns or the strangely colored sky, but they were reliving the most unbearable scenes from their memories.

Yu Wang didn't know whether he was lucky or unlucky.

[Ding! World Announcement!!!]

A golden system notification was forcibly displayed before the eyes of all survivors! No matter what they were doing or where they were, they could not ignore it!

An anomaly has occurred in the "Furry Island" dungeon! Due to the destruction of its slumbering grounds, the Demon General "Thorn Burial" has awakened prematurely!

[The long-term dungeon, "The Garden of Thorns and Flesh," is coming soon!]

[WARNING: This is a world-class boss! Any player is welcome to participate in defeating it! The killer will receive generous rewards! Furthermore, the top 1 players on the contribution leaderboard will share a sliver of the "Thorn Burial" authority, granting them a permanent skill!!]

[Countdown: Demon General Thorn Burial will fully descend in 168 hours (currently in the early stages of descent, with limited power)]

[Instance capacity: 1]

[PS: Due to the extremely high difficulty of the raid, a mysterious friendly unit will join the battle.]

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