Hearing her subordinate's report, Beidou's expression turned slightly grave.
She nodded. "Everyone, hurry and gather on the deck!"
"Aye!"
That sailor hurried up the stairs.
Naturally, Beidou had her own exclusive elevator. After a day of study, she'd already figured out many of the ship's convenient gadgets.
"Master, let's hurry to the bridge tower and check out the situation too!"
With that, she pulled Ye Xi onto the elevator.
A sea beast?
Ye Xi had never once seen what a sea beast looked like in Teyvat.
Seeing everyone so panicked, he wondered—could that sea beast possess power approaching that of Osial's wife, Beisht?
The elevator went straight to the bridge tower.
At this moment, the atmosphere within the bridge tower was extremely tense.
The crew kept lookout over the sea, while the helmsman Hailong gripped the wheel, swiftly changing course to the first mate's commands.
"Big sis, you're finally here!"
"Young Master Kazuha said he sensed a dangerous wind, so we all hurriedly checked our surroundings—and found a huge swarm of sea beasts!"
"They're closing in fast, and the one leading them seems to be the beast king of this area!"
"Maybe it's their first time seeing our warship, and they're getting ready to attack! This doesn't look good!"
On land, animals all have their own territory, along with an extremely strong sense of territoriality.
This same instinct exists out at sea as well.
To these sea beasts, the ships that came and went in the past were all small—hardly worth fearing.
Just like a mouse or a stray cat scurrying up to a human's doorstep, the sea beasts couldn't be bothered to pay them any mind.
Even the Alcor, in their eyes, was no more than a slightly larger stray dog—something to drive off now and then.
But when the cruiser appeared—its deep draft, its massive size—
just the shadow it cast beneath the water was enough to make the sea beasts feel threatened.
And so, they immediately regarded the cruiser invading their territory as a mortal enemy.
Even the beast king didn't dare take it lightly. In the past, when it encountered small boats, it would casually send a subordinate over to chase them off.
But this time, it personally led all its subordinates over.
All to protect its kind and drive the cruiser out.
Having drifted across the seas for so many years, Beidou naturally understood this pattern well.
"Big sis, what do we do!?"
Facing the crew's question, Beidou said gravely, "Flee at full speed. Our warship is sturdy, but against the full force of a large swarm of sea beasts, I'm afraid even it couldn't take it."
"Wise as ever, Big sis!"
Clearly, the first mate thought the same.
However, Ye Xi, standing to the side, was rather befuddled.
He looked all around, searching for the sea beasts through the bridge tower's huge windows.
But the towering sea beasts he'd imagined were nowhere to be seen.
"Beidou, where are the sea beasts?"
"Master, you're looking too high—look down!"
Beidou pointed toward the stern.
Then Ye Xi saw a great mass of sea beasts resembling giant octopuses, floating on the surface and pursuing swiftly.
It's just...
compared to the cruiser, these so-called sea beasts were simply the difference between a basketball and an egg!
Even if there were a lot of eggs, it was still just a bunch of eggs!
"What... what's so scary about this? What are you all running for?"
Hearing this, Beidou said in a low voice, "Master, you absolutely mustn't underestimate them."
"These sea beasts have extremely hard heads, covered in thick shells."
"That shell is very sharp, and combined with the tremendous force of their heads, any single one of them can smash a small wooden boat to pieces."
"Even the Alcor would get a big hole knocked into it."
"Running into this swarm of sea beasts, if the Alcor were here, it'd probably end up looking like a hornet's nest."
Ye Xi really wanted to say: however fierce these sea beasts were, could they compare to a missile?
The cruiser's hull could withstand even small missiles—why would it fear a mere few sea beasts?
Before he could speak, a roar suddenly came from the water's surface.
"Roaaar——!"
The first mate's face fell, and he cried out in alarm, "This is bad—that's their signal for an all-out assault! They've caught up, they're about to attack!"
"Quick, issue an impact warning to all crew—everyone on deck, brace yourselves!"
The crew member at the communications station hurriedly issued the order.
After receiving the notice, the crew on deck grabbed hold of something secure.
"Brothers, hold on tight! If you fall off, you'll be sea-beast feed!"
"Hey, this iron ship's so sturdy, we'll be fine, right!?"
"Who knows! Whether it holds up comes down to this one hit!"
"These sea beasts hit hard—they'd bend even a lump of iron! Let alone this many of them! Everyone, be careful!"
Just then, a shout came from one side: "Here it comes! They're ramming us!"
A dozen or so octopus sea beasts on the sea charged in with their pointed heads.
Like a maddened flock of sheep on land.
Just as everyone braced for the impact, a clattering, clanging sound came from the side.
Like hail falling on an iron box.
Yet, as the collision sounds came, the entire warship—forget any damage—didn't even sway.
Such a colossus, like a spaceship traversing the cosmos, paid no heed at all to the impacts of those meteorites.
"Eh? What's going on?"
The expected impact never came, so the sailors mustered their courage and looked out at the sea.
On the sea floated a whole swarm of sea beasts, knocked senseless.
They were all dazed and disoriented, drifting on the surface; some had even shattered the thick shells atop their heads from the impact and lay there like corpses.
This sight left everyone aboard utterly dumbfounded.
"Look, everyone! These sea beasts actually knocked themselves out!"
"Hiss.... good heavens, am I seeing things?"
"A-amazing!"
"Our ship is actually this tough!? Heavens, we'll never have to fear these brutes again!"
"That's right! With this ship, we can finally sleep easy!"
All this while, sailing the seas had kept everyone on edge.
Whenever they ran into sea beasts like these, it was basically a near-death situation!
Seeing the scene before them, the sailors couldn't help but cheer with excitement.
"Hahahaha, push harder, you brutes! Your daddy's ship won't even budge! Didn't you eat enough?"
A sailor stood on the deck, mocking them.
The sea beasts on the surface let out terrified, furious roars.
Even the beast king showed an expression of fear.
The events at sea were, of course, witnessed by everyone in the bridge tower.
Everyone watched, dumbstruck.
"Big sis... those sea beasts... are they knocked out?"
"Good grief, this hunk of iron is actually this hard!"
"Wonderful! Truly wonderful! Now what do we brothers have to fear when we go out to sea!?"
Beidou was both shocked and delighted. She knew the cruiser was sturdy, but she'd never expected it could withstand an attack from an entire swarm of sea beasts!
And without so much as a sway.
It was simply unbelievable!
Those sea beasts that could ordinarily shatter any vessel now lay so fragile before her.
And the warship's state right now clearly showed that an attack of this magnitude was no more than a tickle!
Even if they ran into something tougher, there'd be nothing to fear at all!
Ye Xi spread his hands. "So, I was just very puzzled—what exactly were you all so afraid of?"
"Seeing you all so frantic just now, I thought Osial had come."
Actually, it wasn't that he couldn't understand.
After all, this voyage was the Southern Cross fleet's first time taking the cruiser out to sea.
They knew far too little about this ship to act rashly—like a warrior who'd obtained a dragon-slaying blade, who wouldn't dare go provoke a dragon without first finding a chance to test his blade.
This was the caution that seafarers drifting across the oceans had to possess.
For sailors, the slightest hint of danger could mean a wrecked ship and lost lives—they wouldn't gamble with their lives.
This was for the best, too.
After this experience, everyone surely now knew the cruiser's power.
Only by experiencing danger time and again could everyone's understanding of the cruiser be refreshed again and again.
After all, in this world, the cruiser was a genuine dimensional-reduction strike!
Suppressing the excitement within, Beidou drew a deep breath. "I truly never imagined this ship's sturdiness reached such a degree!"
"Hailong, turn the wheel! We're going back!"
"Eh!?"
Hailong looked blank. "Big sis, what are we going back for?"
Chongzuo, beside him, smacked Hailong on the head. "Are you dumb, kid! Do you know how much those sea beasts are worth?"
"Hurry back and collect the carcasses—we're rich!"
"Oh, oh!"
Hailong's eyes lit up, and he hastily slowed down and turned the wheel.
Ye Xi looked at the sea beasts floating on the surface and asked, "Beidou, are these things worth a lot?"
Beidou put her hands on her hips. "Of course! Every part of these sea beasts is a treasure!"
"The meat can be eaten, the blood is medicinal, and the shell on their heads is a rare forging material!"
"Normally, running into this kind of sea beast, barely managing to haul one back is already worth a good deal of money!"
"This time, there are so many of them! At least a hundred!"
"Master, you, our big boss, have struck it rich!"
"Hahahaha."
As she spoke, Beidou couldn't help but burst out laughing!
She was overjoyed inside!
For her, the rout of these sea beasts didn't just mean striking it rich—most importantly, her Southern Cross fleet had conquered these waters!
From now on, these sea beasts would absolutely never dare come up and obstruct the fleet again!
What's more, she'd gained a brand-new understanding of the warship!
The ship's level of safety brought tremendous security to all the crew—no longer would they have to worry about brothers meeting tragic ends in the ocean depths!
As the captain, how could she not be moved?
She looked at Ye Xi beside her, knowing full well in her heart that this safety had all been granted by Ye Xi!
Ye Xi hadn't expected these ugly-looking sea beasts to be so valuable.
He immediately gave the order: "Tell everyone aboard to put all their effort into hauling in these sea beasts shortly!"
"Whatever's hauled up—once it's sold, all the Mora earned will be distributed to the brothers as wages!"
The moment he said this, everyone in the bridge tower was greatly astonished..
"What!?"
"B-boss! Are you serious!?"
"Th-this many sea beasts—that's gotta be a fortune!"
Beidou was equally stunned. She'd never expected Ye Xi to be so generous!
She'd heard Ye Xi say before that he wouldn't shortchange the fleet's people, but the cruiser's safe hull before her was already the greatest favor.
She'd never imagined Ye Xi would actually hand out money too!
Ye Xi nodded with a smile. "It's true—pass the word down!"
The thing he lacked least right now was Mora.
It was just money, wasn't it?
And if the people in the fleet heard this news, they'd surely be thrilled!
Because who could predict whether they'd encounter sea beasts again on future voyages?
And if they did, wouldn't that be another big windfall?
With expectations like this, naturally more people would be willing to join the Southern Cross fleet.
By then, the fleet would grow ever larger!
Using Mora to win over people's hearts was absolutely worth it.
Hearing Ye Xi's confirmation, everyone looked toward Beidou.
Beidou crossed her arms and said grumpily, "What are you looking at me for? In this fleet now, Master Ye Xi is the boss!"
"His word counts the most! Now hurry and put out the notice!"
"Have everyone haul with all their might, and then we'll throw a victory feast and drink!"
"Aye!"
The crew responded excitedly and hurried to pass the news down.
Before long, cheers rang out across the entire ship.
The crew on deck broke into an uproar.
"What? The money from selling these sea beasts is all going to be given to us!?"
"Aaah! Big sis!"
"Long live Big sis!"
On hearing this news, the crew burst into a round of praise.
However, Chongzuo, who was nearby, heard it and promptly gave them a kick.
"What are you yelling nonsense for? It was Master Ye Xi who personally gave the order!"
"Big sis already said it—from now on, we all have to listen to Master Ye Xi!"
The moment he said this, those around him were taken aback.
"Master Ye Xi? The old master came too?"
"That's not right—when I boarded the ship, I didn't see him at all!"
"Chongzuo, Master Ye Xi is on the ship?"
These words made Chongzuo suddenly come to a realization.
That's right!
How could Ye Xi be on the ship?
When they set off, he'd gathered all the brothers and inspected every corner of the ship.
He'd worried some thief might have sneaked aboard, so he'd checked very carefully.
So there was no way he could have missed seeing Ye Xi!
At this point, someone beside them hesitantly stepped forward and said softly, "Actually, brothers, I might know...."
"What? You kid, do you know the inside story?"
"Mm."
The sailor explained, "Actually, when we were gathering just now, I saw Big sis and Master Ye Xi come out of the captain's quarters together!"
"What did you say——!?"
These words were like a spark, igniting everyone at once.
Chongzuo couldn't help but mutter, "That's right! We patrolled every place we searched on the whole ship—only Big sis's captain's quarters we never went into!"
"But if Master Ye Xi was in the captain's quarters last night..."
You have to understand, there was only one bedroom in the captain's quarters!
This point, everyone understood perfectly well!
"In other words, Big sis slept together with Master Ye Xi last night!?"
"Shhh——!"
Chongzuo hurriedly covered the sailor's mouth and whispered, "Don't talk nonsense—it's enough for everyone to know in their hearts, but you absolutely mustn't spread it around!"
"Oh, oh!"
A few sailors hurriedly lowered their voices and discussed in hushed tones.
"This is really wonderful news!"
"Yeah, before, everyone felt sorry for Big sis—handing over the fleet she'd painstakingly run for so many years and all that. But if Big sis and Master Ye Xi became a couple, wouldn't that be perfect!?"
"We're all one family—why split it into yours and mine?"
"It hasn't been easy. At Big sis's age, I thought it wouldn't be long before she retired from the fleet and married some rich young master from the harbor! Who'd have thought she'd actually enter Master Ye Xi's household!"
"Now we're going to make it big from here on out!"
"You think—if Master Ye Xi could get a few more ships like this in the future, then wouldn't we...."
"Ahahahaha, sweet, sweet, sweet! Just thinking about it feels great!"
"Don't forget, Master Ye Xi is an Adepti! Big sis is truly in for a life of bliss now!"
"..."
A few sailors huddled together, whispering.
Before long, the ship turned around and returned to the waters from before.
Everywhere here floated the corpses of sea beasts and sea beasts knocked senseless.
There were also quite a few sea beasts trying to rescue their kin.
Seeing the giant ship suddenly return, they were instantly terrified and fled in all directions.
And the sailors aboard grabbed their gear, ready to hunt!
.....
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