Seeing this, the pirate ship immediately turned its cannons, concentrating all firepower in an attempt to sink the temporarily paralyzed vessel in one go!
"Damn it! Turn! Evade!" The Second Lieutenant commander on deck shouted, his eyes nearly bursting, but the damaged rudder simply would not respond. Seeing three cannonballs screaming through the air, heading straight for the ship, the shadow of death loomed over everyone.
At the critical moment, Seraphilia, standing on the deck, stepped forward amidst the Second Lieutenant's desperate roars. "Reporting, sir! I might have a way!"
"What way?!" The Second Lieutenant no longer cared about her rank. "If you have a way, use it! Or we're all fish food!"
With permission granted, Seraphilia no longer hesitated. She rushed to the gunwale, facing the whistling cannonballs and the pervasive smoke. Her silver hair danced wildly in the gale as she thrust both hands forward!
"Cloud Haze: Ice Mist Barrier!"
This was not the thin mist of training, nor was it the ice-slick prank. This time, she unleashed her ability without reservation. Using the massive amount of water vapor rising from the churning sea beneath her as a foundation, she frantically drew in the existing moisture from the air. In the narrow stretch of sea between the patrol ship and the pirate ship, she instantly constructed a massive, heavy wall of milky-white ice mist, churning with bone-chilling cold!
The wall was not entirely solid, yet it was extremely dense, filled internally with high-speed rotating small ice crystals capable of deflecting steel and turbulent, terrifying air currents.
The whistling cannonballs plunged into the ice mist wall, their trajectories visibly deviating, slowing down, and tumbling!
Most of the cannonballs, hindered by the friction of countless ice crystals and the interference of violent air currents, completely lost their aim and fell into the sea far away, exploding into towering columns of water. Only one cannonball managed to struggle through, but it was already at the end of its strength, leaving only a shallow dent on the ship's armor with a muffled 'cland' sound.
This ice mist wall, which lasted less than a minute but seemed like a miracle, bought the damaged ship the most critical time to breathe and make repairs!
The other patrol ship took this golden opportunity to complete a flanking maneuver, eventually coordinating with arriving reinforcements to capture the entire group of pirates.
In the post-battle summary, the Branch Leader personally looked into the matter. Seraphilia's ability report was highlighted, accompanied by an excited description from the field commander.
The final comment on the report read: "Suspected Logia or special Paramecia type. Outstanding abilities in mist control, ice condensation, and large-scale environmental interference. Extremely high tactical value. Mindset is calm and decisive. Recommended to be listed in the highest priority for focused development."
Soon, Seraphilia's name appeared at the top of a new list of promotions. Less than two months after enlisting, she was promoted from third class private to second class private.
Her monthly salary increased significantly, but more importantly, she gained a degree of 'trust' and opportunities to engage in more substantive missions.
The instructors' training of her also became more rigorous and targeted; they even began to privately teach her more profound combat techniques and basic knowledge of internal Marine intelligence analysis.
On the day the promotion notice was issued, Seraphilia was putting in extra practice with her swordsmanship on the training ground.
Instructor Barton walked over, tossed the brand-new shoulder straps into her arms, and said gruffly, "Don't get cocky, second class private. Your ability is a good hand of cards, but if the player is a waste, even the best hand won't win. Keep training, and train yourself into an ace that no one can strike down!"
Seraphilia took the shoulder straps, which still carried the instructor's body heat, her ice-blue eyes as calm as the deep sea. "Yes, Instructor."
The most direct change brought by the promotion was the weight of those few silver coins in her pocket, engraved with the seagull emblem.
The salary of a second class private still couldn't be called generous, but for Seraphilia, the weight of these silver coins was equal to the weight of Robin's future.
She almost immediately began meticulous planning.
She lived and ate at the base, her clothes were provided by the uniform, and her personal expenses were almost zero. All the silver coins, minus one that had to be reserved for emergencies, were converted into supplies flowing toward that broken house.
The quality of the food saw a leap forward.
The coarse, throat-scratching rye bread became 'good bread' mixed with white flour and a soft texture; besides the eternal pickles and beans, fresh vegetables glistening with water droplets began to appear, as well as fresh fish occasionally bought from fishermen. Once, she even brought back a small jar of milk, a luxury in town. Facing Robin's questioning gaze, she only said: "Calcium supplement, for growing up." She began to try more complex cooking, using limited seasonings in a small pot to repeatedly explore flavors Robin might like. In the soup for dinner, real chunks of meat finally began to float, instead of just scattered minced meat.
But Seraphilia also had a'secret supply' channel—the Marine canteen.
The food in the base canteen was cooked in large pots and tasted average, but it was greasy enough and the portions were substantial.