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Chapter 367: Kingdom of Cloud Mountain
Chapter 367: Kingdom of Cloud Mountain
In the east, the sun gradually rose over the horizon, hanging in the sky as it slowly ascended, illuminating the cerulean sea that reflected the changing colors of the sky.
In the calm waters, as still as death and as smooth as glass, the Dead Star sliced through the waves, creating a trail of frothy spray. Surrounding the ship, a few sea kings bobbed on the surface at a distance.
Whoosh!
A sea king, with a frog-like upper body only slightly larger than the Dead Star, burst out of the water. It opened its massive mouth, revealing a long, coiled tongue hidden among its sharp teeth, and shot it toward the largest structure on the Dead Star.
Zhing!
Just then, a flash of light suddenly appeared, leading a flock of birds that charged toward the incoming tongue. They swarmed it, tearing it into segments.
As the birds shredded the tongue, they also crashed into the frog-like sea king's skull, creating an irregular hole and causing it to fall back into the sea, creating a massive splash.
Lily stood alone on top of the building, brandishing White Lightning in her hand before sheathing it with a flick of her wrist.
Ka-chak!
Boom!
On the other side of the Dead Star, just as Lily sheathed White Lightning, another sea king, resembling a seahorse, leaped out of the water and charged toward the ship.
Renitia happened to be sitting on the bulwark nearby. She drew out her mechanical hammer and swiftly extended it.
"Seahorse! Taste my destructive Bursting Gale Shot!"
With a twist of the hammer's handle, the cannon mouth emitted a blinding white light as she fired a powerful blast.
The white light engulfed the seahorse's upper body, shattering it to pieces, and within the light, one could even see the fragmented remains of the seahorse's body.
Soon after, a noticeable shadow appeared in the waters near the ship's stern.
"Oh dear, that won't do."
Marika appeared at the stern, her hair dancing as it formed spirals. Infused with her Haki, it moved like snakes, slithering into the sea with agility.
"Hair Bind: Snake Bind."
Soon, a cloud of red emerged on the water's surface.
As the Dead Star continued on its course, a shark-shaped sea king appeared within the red cloud.
"Let's stop for a moment, Retty."
Marika turned with a smile and said to Retty, "We can't let certain ingredients get away."
She then turned back to look at the shark-like sea king and added, "Shark fins are a delicacy, and those frog legs are quite something too. We can slice a bit of essence from the seahorse; it's not only delicious but also beneficial for the body."
The Calm Belt was dangerous, but if one could overlook that danger, it was a paradise for certain individuals.
Marika was one such person.
She had been in high spirits lately. The departure of the super-giant sea kings meant that they hadn't encountered any of that size during their subsequent journey, but there were still plenty of smaller and less intelligent sea kings around.
Especially now that they were in the middle section of the Calm Belt, right at the heart of the sea king nests, the attacks from these creatures couldn't be described as constant, but they were relentless and required swift responses.
It was troublesome, but not particularly dangerous, just a constant cycle of day and night.
Initially, it was Sagk alone who faced the sea king attacks. Whenever they appeared, he would strike them down with lightning, and if he felt like taking it easy, he would simply stretch his limbs like an elderly person exercising—a wave of his fist or a lift of his leg was enough to take down a group of sea kings.
Once they passed the central area, Sagk and the other top executives took turns. Sagk handled the daytime, while the executives took care of the night.
After a few days, the sea king attacks started to lessen, and they gradually reduced the number of people on watch, eventually settling on a single person for each shift.
Eventually, it was just Agin on guard duty, with Palu occasionally helping out during the night.
Sailing on the vast ocean was incredibly dull, especially in the Calm Belt, where the winds were still and land was scarce, offering nothing but an endless expanse of water.
Gazing out across the endless expanse, one might eventually be driven to jump overboard out of sheer boredom.
But for someone of Sagk's stature, certain comforts were necessary on a voyage like this.
Monotonous?
Musician Bailong, Dancer Pashia, and Maid Bellana had all been brought along for the journey.
As for the sea kings they had defeated, Marika kept their essence-rich parts, ensuring their meals were so lavish they could feast every day.
With music to listen to, dances to watch, servants to cater to his needs, and Marika constantly experimenting with new dishes, the voyage was far from dull.
The only downside was the lack of fishing.
There were no fish to catch in the Calm Belt, only sea kings, and Sagk had seen more than enough of them.
Yawning, Sagk finished the last sip of wine in his glass and waved away Bellana, who was about to pour him another. "That's enough. You've been up all night, so go get some rest now."
"Yes, sir." Bellana respectfully bowed and, after setting the bottle down, quietly withdrew.
Initially, Bellana had stayed hidden inside the ship after entering the Calm Belt, as no one knew how dangerous it would be at first.
But as they grew accustomed to the environment, Sagk allowed non-combat personnel like her to come out and exercise—facing the sea kings' attacks while playing the piano, drumming, hot pot feasting, or dancing.
Over time, their courage strengthened, and they could now entertain Sagk even amid battles.
For instance, the night before, they had partied through the night, with the constant attacks from the sea kings. The three female executives took turns guarding while the others enjoyed the festivities, continuing until the wee hours of the morning.
After the three female executives retired for the night, Agin, who had drunk his fill, took over the watch. Sagk, however, continued the revelry.
Come morning, when Agin finally went to rest, Lily and the others took over.
"You should get some rest, too," Lily said as she entered the room and walked over to the table to pick up the wine bottle. She corked it and placed it back in the cabinet.
"There haven't been any sea kings for a while, so we should have a few hours of peace."
"Have Marika make some breakfast. Something light, like a porridge made from the sea king we caught today."
Leaning back, Sagk pondered for a moment before speaking again. "Lily, how long has it been?"
"Thirteen days."
Lily continued, "The frequency of sea king attacks has been decreasing, and we estimate that we're close to the Western Sea. The attacks have provided us with an intense and urgent form of training."
Sagk chuckled softly. "Indeed, it's been excellent practice fighting these large enemies. Now that we're almost there, what's the situation with our intelligence?"
"I was going to wait until you'd rested to give you a full report. With the information we've gathered from the locals we brought with us and my own investigations, we have a fairly good understanding of the situation."
The Four Blues was vastly larger than the Grand Line.
Even the Emperor of the Sea, with his immense power and influence, hadn't managed to dominate the entire New World, which was only about half the size of the Grand Line. In comparison, the Four Blues was an incredibly vast expanse.
The World Government had only managed to get a little less than half of the nations in the great oceans to join their cause.
The oceans were not only mysterious but also incredibly vast.
Naturally, gathering intelligence in such a massive area was no easy task.
The locals from the Western Sea they had brought along were commoners and didn't know much.
Most of their information came from Gabra and his team—Lucci and the others in charge of intelligence.
But even with their efforts, the sheer size of the area made verification time-consuming.
Fortunately...
"The Kingdom of Cloud Mountain, or the Kingdom of Cardashal, is located not far from the Calm Belt," Lily explained. "It covers an area of four thousand one hundred and sixty square kilometers and had a population of five hundred and thirty-nine thousand four hundred and forty-eight people three years ago. It's a member nation of the World Government."
(End of Chapter)
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