Chapter 328: An Interesting Fellow
Sea Kings was the collective name given to the enormous creatures that inhabited the depths of the ocean.
They came in countless shapes and species, but all shared one defining trait.
Their size far exceeded that of ordinary marine life.
The battle unfolding before Axel and the others was a perfect display of the law that ruled the sea.
The strong devoured the weak.
The Sea Kings tore into one another without mercy.
Massive jaws clamped down on flesh.
Fins and tails smashed through the water.
Blood poured from their wounds until the surrounding sea had turned dark red for miles.
At some point, the creatures seemed to forget why they had gathered here in the first place.
The tiny ship that had originally attracted their attention no longer mattered.
Compared to one another, that little vessel was barely a mouthful.
Why fight over scraps when much larger prey was already swimming beside them?
The battle continued for an unknown amount of time.
Eventually, the crashes and roars began to fade.
Only then did Vivi and Chopper cautiously approach the railing.
Both crouched low, gripping the side of the ship as they peered across the water.
The sea was still crimson.
Several enormous heads remained visible above the surface, proving that the Sea Kings had not truly left.
Then something strange happened.
One after another, they turned away.
Not individually.
Almost together.
Within moments, the surviving Sea Kings were swimming off in the same direction.
Chopper stared after them.
Then his shoulders sagged.
"Are they finally full?"
He wiped the tears from his face.
"Thank goodness. We're not going to get eaten."
Vivi did not relax.
Her brows drew together.
"Don't you think that's strange?"
Chopper looked at her.
"Why?"
"They left. Isn't that good?"
"That's not what I mean."
Vivi shook her head.
"Those creatures were just trying to kill each other."
She looked toward the retreating Sea Kings.
"Even if they were full, their instincts should still make them wary of one another."
"Predators don't normally travel together after fighting over food."
Chopper blinked.
Vivi continued.
"The way they left didn't look peaceful."
"It looked more like they were fleeing."
Chopper's expression slowly changed.
"Fleeing?"
Vivi nodded.
"Think about a herd of antelope running from a lion."
"They don't care whether the animal beside them is dangerous anymore."
"They only care about getting away faster than everyone else."
Her gaze remained fixed on the emptying sea.
"If those Sea Kings really left because they were afraid..."
Chopper's face went pale.
"You mean there's something here even scarier than them?"
His eyes widened in disbelief.
For Chopper, who had only just left Drum Island, those Sea Kings had already been terrifying enough.
The idea that something even more dangerous might be nearby was almost impossible to accept.
Behind them, Wapol slowly stood up.
He cleared his throat and put on an exaggerated expression of confidence.
"I am the great Wapol!"
He puffed out his chest.
"Why would I ever be afraid of a few stupid sea creatures?"
Vivi looked over.
Then immediately remembered how he had been trembling behind the cabin moments earlier.
"I wonder who was hiding over there shaking like a leaf."
Wapol's face stiffened.
Being mocked by a girl younger than him was humiliating.
He was Wapol.
King Wapol.
No one had dared speak to him like that before.
Of course, things were different now.
Axel was still nearby.
And Wapol valued his life far more than his dignity.
So instead of exploding in anger, he forced himself to remain calm.
"I wasn't shaking."
Vivi raised an eyebrow.
Wapol crossed his arms.
"That was a digestive exercise."
"..."
Vivi stared at him.
Then decided that responding would only make her head hurt.
She turned back toward the sea.
Had she simply been imagining things?
Maybe the Sea Kings really had eaten enough and left.
Chopper looked at Wapol.
Oddly enough, the hatred in his eyes had faded.
Now there was something closer to pity.
Wapol had become strangely pathetic.
Vivi finally stood.
"Karoo, bring the oars from the cabin."
"Quack!"
Karoo hurried inside.
A moment later, he returned carrying several short oars.
Wapol looked at them.
Then looked at the ship.
Then back at the oars.
His expression became increasingly incredulous.
"You're joking."
Vivi glanced at him.
"Oars?"
Wapol pointed at them.
"You're planning to move this ship with those?"
He snorted.
"They barely reach the water."
"This may be a small ship, but it's still nearly ten meters long."
He spread his hands.
"How long do you plan to row with tiny paddles like those?"
Vivi remained calm.
"This is the Calm Belt."
Wapol stopped talking.
"That attack we just survived could happen again."
"And again."
"And again."
She handed one of the oars to Chopper.
"If you'd prefer to wait around for another group of Sea Kings, feel free."
Wapol immediately looked less argumentative.
Vivi continued.
"We still have a chance."
"Judging by how recently the Sea Kings noticed us, we probably haven't traveled very far into the Calm Belt."
"Rowing will be slow, but if we keep moving, we may be able to get out before something else finds us."
She did not mention their other possible hope.
Axel.
From everything she had seen, he clearly had ways to move the ship even without wind.
Probably much more than that.
But he was lying on his wax chair with his eyes closed, apparently content to let the ship drift here.
That meant he had some other reason for staying.
What reason?
Vivi had no idea.
And because she had no idea, she refused to depend completely on him.
People ultimately had to rely on themselves.
That was a lesson life had taught her well.
Wapol turned away.
"For the record, I'm not scared of those sea monsters."
He pinched his nose.
"I'm just tired of the smell."
"So hurry up and row us out of here."
Vivi immediately replied,
"You're helping too."
Wapol spun around.
"What?!"
"Yes."
"You want me, King..."
He paused.
"Lord Wapol..."
His voice weakened slightly.
"To do manual labor?"
Vivi nodded.
"No."
His refusal came instantly.
Vivi did not argue.
"Karoo doesn't have hands."
Karoo lifted his wings.
"Quack."
"So there are only four people who can row."
She counted them off.
"Me."
"Chopper."
"You."
Then she pointed toward Axel.
"And him."
Wapol followed her finger.
Axel remained stretched out on the lounge chair.
Still resting.
Still apparently uninterested in helping.
Vivi looked back at Wapol.
"If you can convince him to row, then you don't have to."
Wapol stared at Axel.
A long silence followed.
Then he immediately grabbed an oar.
"I'll help."
Vivi smiled.
Wapol grumbled.
"I'll help, alright?"
He looked at the tiny oar in his hands.
Then an idea came to him.
"Actually..."
His mouth opened.
He swallowed the oar.
Chopper blinked.
Vivi stared.
A moment later, Wapol opened his mouth again.
Something much larger emerged.
A gigantic oar extended outward from his mouth.
Vivi's eyes widened.
Wapol positioned himself at the stern.
"Watch this!"
He began paddling.
Splash!
Splash!
Splash!
The enormous oar churned through the water with tremendous force.
The ship surged forward.
"Whoa!"
Chopper grabbed the railing.
Karoo flapped his wings for balance.
Vivi stared ahead in surprise.
Despite the absurd method, it worked.
The small ship moved quickly across the calm sea.
For a short while, Wapol seemed unbearably proud of himself.
Then the speed began to drop.
The strokes became slower.
And slower.
Finally, the ship almost stopped again.
Vivi turned around.
"What happened?"
Wapol's face had gone pale.
His tongue hung out slightly.
"I'm tired."
The giant oar drooped from his mouth.
"I can't keep going."
The ship slowed to a crawl.
Then Axel spoke.
He had remained silent for so long that everyone immediately looked toward him.
"Interesting fellow."
Vivi frowned.
Chopper blinked.
Wapol stopped panting.
Karoo tilted his head.
Who was Axel talking about?
Before anyone could ask, the ship suddenly moved.
Not forward.
Up.
The deck tilted slightly.
Chopper grabbed the railing.
"Huh?"
The entire vessel rose several meters.
Then stopped.
Wapol immediately began paddling harder.
Splash!
Splash!
Nothing happened.
The ship did not move.
Chopper looked around in panic.
"Why did we stop?!"
Vivi stared over the railing.
Her expression changed.
"We didn't stop."
She swallowed.
"We were lifted."
Chopper froze.
Then slowly looked downward.
"Another Sea King?"
Vivi's face had gone pale.
"No."
The water around them began to bulge upward.
Something enormous was rising from beneath the surface.
Blue.
Endless blue.
The bloodstained sea rolled away as a vast body emerged.
Their ship rested on top of it like a leaf on the back of a whale.
Chopper's mouth fell open.
Vivi could not even see where the creature's body ended.
All that filled her vision was its back.
Calling it an island would not have been an exaggeration.
Chopper's voice trembled.
"If those were Sea Kings..."
He stared downward.
"Then what is this?"
Vivi could barely speak.
"A super-giant Sea King..."
Something far larger than the creatures they had just watched tearing one another apart.
Only then did Vivi understand why the other Sea Kings had fled together.
They had not been full.
They had been afraid.
Vivi slowly turned toward Axel.
He had called this thing interesting.
Interesting?
There was nothing interesting about it.
It was horrifying.
....
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