The Legend of the Fishermen of Sicily

Chapter 117 Male and Female Twin Tails!

"Enter a state of maximum alert."

The oarsmen next to Leo knew he didn't understand flag signals or sign language, so they translated for him using lip movements.

Leo nodded to indicate that he understood and mouthed his thanks.

When the crew is on alert, the oarsmen's task is to be ready at any time.

In the event of danger, they are the ship's backup, filling in wherever needed.

However, we haven't reached that critical juncture yet.

I still need to focus my attention on my studies.

The instructions from the lookout indicated that he had confirmed the identity of the man in the sea.

As my teacher Peglerini once said—

After identifying the swordfish, the next step is to determine its size.

Fish with dorsal fins protruding about a hand's width above the water are juveniles. They should not be hunted or frightened, and fishing boats should carefully navigate around them.

A dorsal fin half an arm's length is the standard size for a mature swordfish and is also the most common size for hunting.

The first dorsal fin that Leo saw on the surface of the sea was of this type.

But a dozen meters away from that dorsal fin, there was another protruding "small sickle"...

...Leo couldn't understand it; that thing protruded more than half a meter above the water.

Leo really wanted to go up and ask Professor Peglerini, "What's that in the sea?"

Did the swordfish meet some giants from a land of giants on its journey, and then travel together to the Mediterranean?

He decided to write this down and ask the teacher after class, and then move on to the next point.

Having determined the swimmer's identity and body type, the next step is to determine their swimming speed.

Swordfish are probably the fastest-swimming large fish in the ocean.

The long, sword-like prow will cleave the water's surface, creating a V-shaped watermark resembling the bow of a ship cutting through waves.

At this time, the two swordfish had not yet noticed the approaching wooden boat; there were only two narrow lines on the sea surface, no more than 30 centimeters long.

Since there were two fish, and a primary and secondary order, the other fish had to be alerted before attacking the female... so the boat had to proceed with extreme caution.

The entire ship must remain silent and not make any noise.

Although everyone had been waiting for several hours, at this moment their hearts were all united.

On the runway, the harpoon in Pegrel's hand is a war horn; the moment it is drawn, the war begins!

The sound of water breaking came abruptly, and many people didn't even see when Pegrellini made his move.

A rough shout followed immediately: "Prepare to intercept the smaller one!"

Although he couldn't see what was happening in the sea, Leo understood that the female fish had hit her target and they were about to face the male fish's revenge!

Captain Rinaldi quickly and skillfully assigned personnel.

He led a group of people to control the female fish that had been speared, and continued to wear it down.

Peglerini led a group to change targets and intercept the male fish, forcing it to create distance and preventing it from damaging the boat.

As expected, Leo was assigned to the interception team.

He was under a lot of pressure this time because the female fish in front of him was large, and the fish control team needed more manpower.

The entire ship split in two due to the emergency, but no one panicked. They carried out the attack or defense in an orderly manner under the captain's instructions.

The busiest people at this moment are the lookouts on the high mast.

He had to observe the condition of both fish simultaneously and transmit information to the entire ship at all times.

At this point, no one had time to read his flag signals; they could only shout, and they had to shout very loudly.

"The female fish is charging forward, hold on tight to the rope!"

"The male fish went to the left, those people over there, pay attention!"

"It's circled around to the stern! Quick, follow it!!"

Leo's emotions ignited completely with the hoarse voice above him.

A series of muffled thuds came from the bottom of the boat. It wasn't from being hit, but from the undulating waves created by the high-speed swimming of two swordfish constantly slapping against the hull.

The sound, like a war drum, roused the soldiers to face the enemy who could charge at any moment.

Despite his surging blood, Leo's mind remained remarkably calm.

The male swordfish remained at a distance of forty or fifty meters, circling their boat but never entering its attack range.

However, being outside the attack range does not mean you can only wait.

"The water trail is 1 meter wide, the water droplets are fine and do not splash, and the swimming speed is over 50 kilometers per hour. It has entered an attack state and may rush over at any time."

"The swordfish's tail forms a large S-curve, which is preparation for diving... Peglerini said that the danger factor of a swordfish that attacks from below is doubled, so it cannot be allowed to dive."

The people on the boat could only intercept swordfish that were active on the surface of the water.

Once the swordfish dives down, there will be no way to stop it... and the entire ship will face a life-or-death crisis.

Leo immediately threw a harpoon, not to hit it, but to provoke it and prevent it from diving down, at least ensuring that it was moving in waters the lookout could see.

"Keep throwing!" Pegrelini appeared beside Rio.

He taught this knowledge to Leo, so of course he knew what Leo was doing.

How could a pitcher of this caliber launch an attack from such a long distance?

Encouraged by his teacher, Leo threw the harpoon several more times.

He used the "weakness strike" technique with each attack, but the distance was too far to cause any damage, though he still achieved his goal.

"The splash suddenly angled, its tail rising; it's about to sprint!"

Peglerini's voice in reality overlapped with the instructional video in Leo's mind.

Three or four burly men raised their harpoons and spears, ready to intercept the swordfish.

They were silently calculating the distance in their minds.

Thirty meters, twenty meters, ten meters—Leo sounded the horn of counterattack from distances exceeding that of a normal person's attack range.

The others didn't care about the optimal distance anymore... and charged forward with Leo at full speed!

In less than five seconds, before the male swordfish could even get close, it was hit by a series of spears and harpoons. It retreated in pain to avoid the attack, but before that, it had already been hit by a spear tied with a rope by Peglerini and was pulled back by the others.

"I'll teach you how to handle fish." Peglerini made no attempt to hide his favoritism.

With so many people around, they specifically asked to teach Leo some new knowledge.

Leo happily exclaimed, "You're here!"

Before they could even touch the rope, an anxious voice came from the bow of the boat.

"Dad! The female fish turned around!!"

The situation was too urgent, and Captain Rinaldi didn't care about rules or etiquette, so he called out "Dad" directly.

Peglerini's first reaction was to check the condition of the ropes in their hands—

The rope was swinging violently from side to side on the water's surface, and it also exhibited a bouncing motion.

Students who didn't study properly, please review yesterday's notes. This phenomenon indicates that they encountered someone with a bad temper!

What's even more terrifying is that this female fish, on her path of revenge, is enormous!

Peglelini, disregarding his status, yelled at the lookout above him, "What the hell are you looking at? Why didn't you warn us sooner?"

In this complex situation, the lookout is the eyes and mouth of the entire ship.

He needs to keep track of the situation of both groups at all times so that everyone can react sooner.

Rinaldi had been controlling the fish for so long, the female fish must have been showing signs of exhaustion. The lookout could have predicted its next move and given the whole area a warning in advance.

The man on the lookout tower covered his neck and said a few words, but the people below couldn't hear anything.

Finally, he vomited out a disgusting mass.

This is also a fisherman who came to help.

He is highly knowledgeable and experienced.

But the scene of the mermaid fighting ignited the passion in his blood. Every shout was like being possessed by Huang Jianxiang. After more than ten minutes, his voice was ruined.

"Gati, hurry up!" Peglerini searched everywhere for his youngest son.

At this point, someone in charge is needed; otherwise, things will be too passive!

Leo dashed off in a flash: "Damn, I can climb fast, and now we don't need hand signals or flags."

Leo's words made a lot of sense, and Peglerini didn't stop him, only shouting at his retreating figure, "Then what are you doing carrying a harpoon?"

Leo turned around and quickly brandished his trident: "I'm from the interception team; I can throw things from high altitudes!"

Captain Rinaldi quickly reassigned the crew.

The three members of the Peglerini family came to the bow of the ship and led the crew to deal with the female fish that was preparing for revenge.

Some people tried to change its direction with a rope, while others were prepared to intercept it.

But then something terrible happened...

...it sank down.

Tall fishing boats are most afraid of swordfish diving back in retaliation, because they are completely unable to take any interception measures.

The female fish was so large that the wooden boat would probably be unable to withstand a collision with it.

The captain expressed his dissatisfaction with the decision made by Peglerini's crew: "Leo should have been left down there. He throws so accurately that even a fleeting opportunity could have resulted in a hit on the target."

Pegrelini pointed to Leo, who was loudly reporting the situation above, and said, "Who among you can climb as fast as him? Hans had only climbed down five or six meters when Leo had already stepped over him and reached the top. Without him quickly taking over as lookout, we would be a bunch of blind men now."

Looking from the boat, there were only chaotic waves on the sea surface, with no trace of any swordfish.

Because of their elevated position, lookouts can see deeper into the seabed.

"Hans is disgusting," Gatti said with disdain. "He just threw up once, and then he was so scared by being stuck on that swaying mast that he peed his pants."

Climbing a pole alone is already shaky enough, but with two people climbing together, and Leo climbing so fast... the lookout in front suffered terribly.

After all, not everyone is like Leo, who gets more excited by the most thrilling scenes.

"Alright, let's focus on the most important things right now."

Peglerini, watching the rope closely, frowned and said, "It's gone too deep. Leo is useless here. Nobody can hit a swordfish more than five meters underwater."

"Standing that high? Is that feasible?" Rinaldi asked, pointing to Leo above his head.

Leo took his harpoon and went up to the lookout tower.

But Rinaldi didn't know if standing at such a high position would increase the underwater attack range.

Peglerini shook his head: "I don't know."

He was just a fisherman, not a physics teacher.

No one has ever thrown a harpoon from that tall mast.