Chapter 576: Encountering Leviathan
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The raging wind stung their faces, and the surging waves kept slamming against the side of the warship.
The booming sounds and violent shaking made everyone on the ship feel nauseous.
Fortunately, after a few days of adaptation, the soldiers of Bay Territory had managed to endure and adjust to the Caribbean's stormy seas.
"Ding, Seamanship +1, currently at 132 (Advanced)"
Steering the ship, Matthew skillfully adjusted the speed and direction to avoid the crashing waves as much as possible.
Although the steel magic warship could withstand such rough seas, the constant vibrations were still disruptive to the crew's much-needed rest.
More importantly, Matthew aimed to learn more skills and study how to accelerate learning itself.
Matthew had a faint hunch—as his mastery over feat analysis deepened,
One day, he would elevate this inheritance to a higher level, achieving analysis of skills, feats, talents, and abilities across the board.
This would require a wealth of data—tons of information accumulated gradually.
However, the wild storms of the Caribbean gave Matthew new ideas.
Ordinary wooden warships—even five-masted ones—faced the risk of capsizing in sudden storms.
But the modified steel magic warships—
Not only had superior protection, but their heavier tonnage also allowed them to resist more turbulent waves.
"Looks like it's time to push forward with the armored giant cannon upgrade."
Matthew transmitted the information back to Bay Territory, where research was immediately initiated, saving precious time.
At that moment, Yaya suddenly lifted her sleepy head, her eyes serious as she spoke without hesitation:
"There's a monster approaching underwater!"
A monster underwater?
A sea monster?
Anything that made Yaya feel alert was at least extraordinary-tier.
If it were a massive sea monster, it could pose a serious threat to the steel warship.
Without hesitation, Matthew issued a battle alert.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The sharp, piercing alarm immediately jolted everyone awake.
Despite the rocking ship, they quickly got out of bed, armed themselves, and rushed to their battle stations.
Weapons checked, combat stance assumed, enemy search engaged!
The entire process took less than 30 seconds!
Despite a few rough edges, Matthew was quite satisfied with their performance.
As for the extraordinary sea monster rising from the depths—it would become their first whetstone at sea!
Elio, now awake, rushed to the command room, where the strategists were already busy.
A high-tier spellcaster was channeling mana into a magical device.
As a ripple of ultrasonic waves spread downward, the scene below the ship appeared in a magical projection.
The previously dense school of fish had vanished without a trace.
A massive shadow was charging toward the fleet at astonishing speed.
The monitoring team quickly reported the data:
"Target length: 12 meters. Speed: 70 km/h. Depth: 132 meters. Ascending at 3 meters per second. Distance to us: 1235 meters."
Massive size, incredible speed, and aggressive intent—
This terrifying creature was coming straight for them!
A wave of caution surged through Elio, and she felt a pang of regret.
Had it not been for the lord's warning, the fleet might have failed to detect the approaching threat in time!
They might not have noticed it until it struck.
Firmly remembering this lesson, Elio immediately gave the order:
"Alert Ships 2, 3, and 4 to prepare deep-sea torpedoes."
"Ship 2 ready."
"Ship 3 ready."
"Ship 4 ready."
Noticing the monster was now within 800 meters of the fleet, Elio gave the clear command:
"Fire!"
Two dark launch ports opened beneath the steel magic warship.
Metal tubes, 30 cm in diameter, shot out.
A fiery red tail flame erupted behind them, instantly vaporizing the surrounding seawater, leaving a white steam trail.
The spinning tail fins adjusted the direction of the magic torpedoes, guiding them precisely toward the locked-on target.
The giant underwater creature was a massive fish clad in gray-black metallic scales.
Its body was torpedo-shaped and looked incredibly stout.
Its powerful tail and spiked fins churned the water with forceful strokes.
Generating immense propulsion, its massive body rocketed forward.
It was an armored tuna—
One of the apex predators of this sea.
Driven by a relentless hunger for food and oxygen, it swam with all its might.
Only death could stop its movement.
To escape terrifying predators, it had left its familiar waters to hunt.
Just yesterday, it had crushed a floating wooden fish.
Although the meat inside wasn't much, the taste was exquisite—making it crave more.
Whenever it "saw" similar prey, it would attempt to hunt.
Most of the time, it feasted on delicious flesh and blood.
Occasionally, it got wounded, but its tough armor always helped it survive.
It grew larger and stronger—
Its craving for wooden-fish flesh grew deeper, as if a voice echoed in its mind.
Its half-meter-wide eyes caught sight of the oncoming projectiles.
Its sensitive nose twitched, but it didn't smell blood.
The small size of its targets didn't alarm it.
No real threat!
The battle-hardened armored tuna charged straight at the dozen torpedoes.
It had great confidence in its armor!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Violent explosions erupted underwater, shaking the sea with terrifying force.
The chaotic waves surged outward wildly.
Even the ocean's surface burst with towering water columns.
"Ding, your magic warship has slain the extraordinary magical creature: Armored Tuna. You gain 10,000 Destiny Points."
Upon hearing the battle alert, Matthew instinctively glanced over and muttered:
"As expected of the Ser Family's magical gunpowder formula—the firepower is insane."
Feeling the intense tremor from beneath the sea, Yaya nodded in agreement, though her face twisted slightly as she pouted:
"But it's too expensive. Just the magic powder costs several kilos—not to mention the torpedoes, which cost as much as advanced magical items."
"Even with the cost reduced, one torpedo is still 10,000 gold. But its lethality against extraordinary creatures is worth it."
For Yaya, firing over 10 torpedoes at once meant burning a pile of gold as big as her arms.
It hurt just thinking about it.
Matthew didn't try to comfort her. He simply smiled and continued:
"No worries. The more data we collect and the better we understand our enemies, the more precise our future strikes will be—and the more we can improve our torpedoes."
Still mourning the loss of over 100,000 gold, Yaya leaned over the window, eyes fixed on the floating armored tuna as she growled:
"Hmph, we better study this thing thoroughly—and sell it for a good price!"
Splash!
The steel crane on the Big Fish slowly reeled in the chains.
The massive 12-meter armored tuna stunned the soldiers.
Seeing thick blood oozing from its mouth, Yaya said with excitement:
"Wow! This guy's skin is so thick!"
Li nodded—she had felt the ferocious turbulence in the water.
That destructive force could've easily killed her—she couldn't even get close.
Yet this monster had almost no visible injuries.
Yaya ordered the crane to place the fish on the deck. She climbed atop its head and poked it with her finger:
"Wow, excellent material—perfect for lightweight, durable armor..."
"The skin's thick and strong—great for leather armor..."
"Eyes are intact and brimming with magic—perfect for gems..."
"The fins are sturdy and highly penetrative—ideal weapon materials..."
"..."
Li gazed at Yaya with growing admiration.
She was so small, yet so knowledgeable—truly amazing.
But soon, her expression grew complicated.
Yaya was now commanding Beelzebub and Gater to butcher the massive fish.
One wielded an axe, the other a cleaver—first chopping off the savage fins.
"Pry open the gills—ugh, so stinky. Clean it well and purify for fertilizer..."
"The belly's softest—I'll make the cut. Okay, now split it open..."
"Too bad most of the organs are spoiled—only good for fertilizer..."
"Clean the gut—there might be treasures inside..."
"Oh? Its bones are sturdy—excellent crafting material..."
"The meat shouldn't go to waste—preserve it well. Those tree saplings in the underworld are craving seafood..."
"Oh? A magical core in the skull? Great! That's a rare crafting gem—this alone makes up for the 100k gold!"
"..."
In under 30 minutes, the 7-ton fish had been completely dismantled.
Li watched as every part was sorted and processed.
With all she'd learned lately, Li now understood clearly—
This armored tuna alone was worth 300,000 gold.
With further refinement and processing, its value could double.
It was more than what Sea City had made in an entire year.
And Bay Territory had achieved it in mere moments.
It gave Li a sharper understanding of "power."
Personal strength was important—but the power of a territory was vital too.
The dark gray clouds above began to scatter. Yaya, staring at the distant crimson rays on the horizon, pouted:
"I was just planning to use this dumb fish to lure more sea monsters..."
Li stayed silent—but deep down, she made a firm decision: she would study twice as hard.
Big winds and rains bring big fish.
To help Bay Territory's soldiers grow faster, Yaya, under Matthew's suggestion, deliberately provoked several large sea monsters.
The navy soldiers, already accustomed to the Caribbean's storms, began to "enjoy" fighting these giant sea monsters.
Led by Elio and Gater, the naval warriors began formulating different battle plans for various kinds of sea monsters.
Against the fast ones, they used wide-area, high-damage deep-sea torpedoes.
Fire two to stun the target, then wait for it to float to the surface.
The highly penetrative Dragon Hunting Crossbow was perfect for taking down such large targets.
Against the massive and heavily armored sea monsters, Bay Territory's battles were fought with great patience.
First, target the limbs they use to move.
Once slowed, they could use various poisons prepared by the elite warriors from Catachan.
It was a rare trip away from the Catachan plane, and they had much work to do.
Studying poison effects was but a minuscule part of that massive task.
The hardest to deal with, however, were the sea monsters that could soar through the skies.
That's right—the Caribbean had flying sea monsters!
Terrifying Flying Fish!
They grew bird-like wings, thin as cicada wings but incredibly tough.
Using strong tails, they launched themselves from beneath the surface.
They could flap their wings freely, gliding for two to three minutes and over two or three kilometers before diving at their targets.
They were fast and hard to spot.
They loved attacking during storms, using the weather to hide their trajectories.
If you weren't careful, their meter-wide mouths could bite and swallow your entire upper body.
Even out of water, they could move freely and continue attacking.
Their leg-like fins let them launch sudden charges.
Over 30 terrifying flying fish attacked a warship of the Yao Moon Family.
Beelzebub and Gater quickly rushed in, arriving within 30 seconds.
It took effort to take down the frenzied, biting flying fish.
But in just over 30 seconds, more than 20 soldiers had lost their lives.
Still, the terrifying flying fish were incredibly valuable—worth over five million gold.
Their fins and unique scales gave Bay new ideas for cannon and shell designs.
Their organs were rich in magic, able to be refined into rare alchemical materials.
And their flesh was tender and fresh.
Perfect for baiting other sea monsters.
To counter airborne threats—
Every warship was fitted with temporary watchtowers and airborne detection magic tools.