We agreed to set sail, so you'd become the ruler of the deep sea?

Chapter 158 Plundering the Froststorm, the [Proof of the Lord of Cinder] Stirs Once Again

It didn't take long.

Apart from Vivian, who couldn't move, and the Bronze Dragon String Song, whose race was unique, the other crew members set foot on the icy plains of [Ice Island] and came before Yan Yan.

Upon seeing the white-haired, red-eyed girl, the knight in armor, and the beautiful short-haired girl dressed as a boy...

Yan Yan was greatly shocked.

This is quite different from the burly, rough, and savage sailors he had in mind!

Moreover, how come only three people got off such a big ship?

Is this reasonable?

But more than the doubts in his heart, Yan Yan was more concerned about Xia En walking towards the [Black Swan].

"Um... isn't he your captain?"

Yan Yan cautiously spoke to Joey, who seemed to be the most talkative of the three.

"A blizzard is coming soon. Aren't you going to persuade him to come to the island to take shelter? The blizzards in this area are terrifying; people can really freeze to death!"

"Oh, you mean the captain?"

Joey waved his hand: "Don't worry, there's no need to worry about him."

"If the blizzard is really dangerous, let's find somewhere to take shelter quickly."

Faia, who was standing nearby, added, "That's right, sir, I'm counting on you."

Hearing this, Yan Yan felt even more puzzled.

What kind of crew member doesn't care about the captain's life or death?
Or perhaps they didn't have a good relationship with Captain Shane?
Despite his doubts, Yan Yan glanced at the increasingly gloomy sky and immediately led the three of them toward his residence.

Despite being called a "dwelling," it was actually an igloo carved from solid ice.

The room is enclosed on three sides, with only a small doorway on the north side.

There was no furniture inside, not even a bed; it looked extremely rudimentary.

Come to think of it, with Yan Yan engulfed in flames, no furniture could withstand her power!

After Joey and the other two followed Yan Yan into the igloo, they immediately felt the surroundings become warmer. In addition to the igloo's ability to keep warm, Yan Yan, as a human torch, also played a significant role.

at this time.

A gust of cold wind seeped in from outside the doorway, and the howling of the wind gradually turned into a shrill scream like a ghost's wail, spreading the biting chill throughout the entire island.

Clearly, Yan Yan was not lying.

The blizzards in this area are terrifying; if Joey and his friends were in them, they could very well be frozen solid.

"No, I have to go take a look!"

After thinking it over, Yan Yan was still a little worried, so he said, "You guys stay here and I'll be right back!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he rushed out into the snowstorm.

"Hey……"

Feiya called out to him, but couldn't stop him, and couldn't help but show a strange expression.

"Is this guy being a little too enthusiastic?"

Ultimately, they were just strangers passing by, yet this man engulfed in flames so kindly extended a helping hand.

Let alone on this remote, snowy island, even on islands with better security, few people would do such a thing.

But whether it's Faia, Joey, or Ann, they can all sense it—

Yan Yan had no other purpose.

I simply wanted to help them.

Joey murmured, "This guy is such a good person."

In the Seven Seas, where the law of the jungle prevails, such kind and simple people are truly rare.

……

……

at the same time.

Under the dark and gloomy sky, snowflakes are falling from the sky.

As the cold wind grew stronger, the falling snowflakes became less gentle, crashing down on the earth like hailstones.

This causes the ice and snow on the ice field to accumulate and become even thicker.

However, neither the cold wind nor the snow could stop Yan Yan's progress.

Yan Yan ran across the icy plain, his steps uneven.

Any wind and snow that approached him could not break through the barrier of flames and quickly melted and dissipated.

However, a hint of worry still lingered on Yan Yan's face.

He looked up at the coast of the ice island.

Due to the blizzard, visibility in the air became very poor, and a thin, cold sea fog formed on the sea surface.

This meant that Yan Yan could only barely make out the ship named "Black Swan" on the shore, which seemed to be...

They are heading away from the island!

"...?!"

Yan Yan's astonishment grew stronger.

In other words, were there other crew members on that ship?

Otherwise, how did it start?

Also, didn't the captain care about the other crew members in the igloo?

and many more……

Yan Yan quickly realized that the most crucial question was: why would anyone go out to sea in a blizzard?
"Either I'm crazy, or the captain is crazy!"

Although Yan Yan was very surprised, he still did not stop walking.

Before long, he arrived at the edge of the coast of [Ice Island].

By this time, the blizzard had become extremely fierce.

The cold wind howled and roamed across the ice field and the sea, while increasingly dense snowflakes fell like a blanket of snow.

The already gloomy sky became even darker, and the sun could no longer be seen.

Fortunately, Yan Yan himself is an incredibly bright source of light.

With the help of the firelight, Yan Yan was able to see the scene on the sea.

Amidst the blizzard and freezing winds, ice floes of all sizes appeared out of nowhere on the sea surface, quickly forming an ice floe network covering several nautical miles.

The cold, chaotic wind caused the once calm sea to surge and churn, with waves rising higher and higher, making the ice floes spin like whirlpools.

Ordinary ships caught in such a storm would likely be destroyed and their crews killed in an instant.

However, when Yan Yan saw the scene in the center of the ice floe, he couldn't help but widen his eyes.

Then, the Black Swan let out a long and loud whistle and charged headlong into the eye of the storm without flinching or hesitation.

Like a spirited and indomitable fighter, bravely challenging the storm!

Ice floes, snowstorms, ocean waves... all were crushed and scattered by the purest force before this fearless charging ship, like ants trying to stop a chariot with their bare hands.

On that towering deck stood a figure as solid as a reef.

Compared to the entire storm and the sea it covered, the figure appeared so small.

But at this moment, his momentum was in no way inferior, as if he were fighting against the entire storm with the strength of one person!

The man held the helm in one hand and stretched out the other towards the raging, frigid storm sweeping in front of him.

"...What is he doing?"

The moment this question arose in Yan Yan's mind, she suddenly sensed—

The storm's direction has changed!
This storm, which formed on the sea and was mixed with icy, mysterious power, seemed to be gathering and converging on the location of the Black Swan.

at the same time.

It was as if countless invisible threads of power flowed into the captain's body from the frigid storm.

The howling wind and the drifting snow could not resist the attraction emanating from his body, allowing it to seize him.

Rather than a gentle "borrowing," it was more like a savage and wild "plunder"!

At that moment, the captain seemed to become the master of the storm!

They plunder and draw upon the immense power of the storm!
Yan Yan watched this scene in shock, his heart churning with immense emotions.

To plunder the power of the storm… this was simply beyond his imagination. Only then did Yan Yan realize that the reason the crew members weren't worried about Xia En wasn't because of a bad relationship.

Rather, it's because they have unparalleled trust in Xia En!
……

……

Xia En was neither aware of nor concerned about Yan Yan's thoughts on the shore.

At this moment, he was completely immersed in the feeling of [Plunder Storm].

Aside from that immature "plunder" during the promotion ceremony, this was the first time Shane had used this profession-specific talent.

He could feel the power of the storm flowing into his body.

This power is surprisingly similar to the secret power from the [Secret Sea].

Like ocean waves washing over Xia En's body.

The difference was that the storm seemed to be more violent, and the cold wind blowing on him caused a slight, knife-like pain.

But looking at the occasional pop-up on the panel—

[Strength +1!]

[Mystery +1!]

[Constitution +1!]

With such reminders, Shane felt that the pain was worthwhile.

It could be said that it was a bittersweet experience.

However, it is clear that [Plunder Storm] increases the attributes of Shane himself, not the attributes of [Black Swan].

That's the only small regret.

Just then, something strange happened.

On the surface of the Black Swan's hull, several mysterious patterns appear to emerge.

These patterns are slowly absorbing the secret power from the surrounding storm and gradually glowing with an icy blue aura.

"This is... [Chaos Demonic Runes]?"

Xia En was somewhat surprised.

The talent 【Ship Soul Synchronization】 cannot synchronize all of Shain's abilities to the ship.

Therefore, it is not possible to directly send the Black Swan to plunder the storm.

But to his surprise, the new talent [Chaos Runes] came in handy at this moment.

A portion of the icy, secret power is stored in the hull of the Black Swan. Perhaps in the future, some method will be able to utilize this power.

The storm came quickly and went quickly.

About half an hour later, the blizzard gradually subsided, and the sky soon cleared up.

On the deck, Xia En opened his eyes, a glint of icy blue light flashing in them.

"Is this gone?"

"It lasts way too short!"

He sighed, his expression showing regret, as if he hadn't had enough.

It feels like getting into a novel or movie, only to have it suddenly end abruptly.

However, in just half an hour, Shane's attribute panel also changed—

[Overall Qualifications: 1.4 → 1.5!]

[Current "Storm Power": No attribute (0), Extreme Cold (1)!]

[Career fit: 25%!]

This 0.1 increase may not seem like much, but you should know that not long ago, Shane's total overall quality was only 0.5!

Moreover, this transformation only occurred within half an hour.

If you encounter a larger, longer-lasting storm, wouldn't the boost to this attribute be like a rocket?

As Xia En felt his body become lighter and stronger, including the surging secret power and blood energy within him, a hint of anticipation appeared in his eyes.

"Strive and accumulate experience!"

Sooner or later, he will be able to face the powerful members of the Truth Society directly, instead of being forced to flee!
The appearance of that unnamed "Thousand-Faced One" did indeed put immense pressure on Xia En.

What he needs to do is turn that pressure into motivation!

Xia En touched the steering wheel in front of him and said reassuringly, "Little Black, thank you for your hard work."

The recent extreme cold storm did cause some damage to the Black Swan, with a layer of ice crystals forming on its surface and minor damage to parts of the hull.

However, with its high-speed regeneration self-healing ability, this minor injury isn't a big problem.

……

……

It didn't take long.

Xia En piloted the Black Swan back to the shore, where he saw Yan Yan waiting at the edge of the ice field.

"Mr. Yan Yan, what are you doing here?"

Xia En asked, somewhat surprised.

"I was worried you wouldn't make it through the blizzard, so I came out to find you..."

Yan Yan honestly explained his purpose for coming and looked at Xia En with a complicated expression, his eyes wide open.

"Oh, right, Captain Shane, I saw it!"

"I saw everything you did in the storm!"

"……Um?"

Xia En's expression was somewhat strange.

Even if most people saw that scene, they probably wouldn't say anything, right?
Did Yan Yan bring up this topic to threaten me?
It's the kind of story that goes something like, "Captain, you don't want your special abilities to be exposed, do you?"

Of course, this was just a random association by Xia En.

On this godforsaken, snowy island, even if Yan Yan wanted to expose himself, he wouldn't be able to find a target.

Yan Yan's next words, however, caused Xia En to fall into a brief silence.

"...So strong! So amazing!"

Yan Yan looked at him with excitement, her tone full of admiration.

"I've never seen such a spectacular sight before, it's even more impressive than the village chief's!"

"Not only Captain Shane, but that ship is also amazing. It managed to survive the storm unscathed."

"How did they do that? I'm so curious..."

Hearing this barrage of direct praise, Shane was speechless for a moment.

He never expected that Yan Yan only brought up this topic to praise him.

'This guy is way too naive, isn't he?'

Xia En didn't know how to evaluate Yan Yan's personality.

In short, it has a kind of pure and untainted beauty, so much so that Xia En felt a little guilty for "judging others by one's own standards".

Having witnessed countless treacherous dealings at sea, this was the first time Xia En had met someone as simple and straightforward as Yan Yan.

Moreover, if a beautiful girl were to praise him like that, Xia En might feel secretly pleased.

Now it's a man taller than me...

My feelings are incredibly complex.

"By the way, you said there's a village on this Ice Island, right?"

To prevent Yan Yan from pressing further, Xia En decisively interrupted, "Could you take me to see the village?"

"……Can."

After a brief hesitation, Yan Yan seemed to have made up her mind and replied, "Please follow me."

Subsequently, led by Yan Yan, Xia En and the others proceeded along the ice field towards the center of the island.

An hour later, a town sculpted from ice and snow came into view.

At the same time, Xia En looked down.

The [Proof of the King of Cinder] on the back of his right hand once again emitted a faint warmth.

(End of this chapter)