Sail Shadows in the Sea of ​​Fog

Chapter 199 Tail
At the northern end of the Desolate Ice Sea, due to the constant raging winds and the almost opposite direction from the southern end, it is the only route for many merchant ships or pirate ships to leave the Desolate Ice Sea.

On this busy yet desolate ice route, the Valkyrie and the conspicuous Thorn were busy making their way, showing no intention of stopping to visit the pleasure boats or merchant ships that sold furs along the way.

In contrast, the ships along the way couldn't help but secretly observe the Thorn.

The reason is simple: the ship no longer has a mast, or rather, the mast has grown into a single, towering tree.

Unfortunately, perhaps because it's too cold here, since leaving the warm dock, this mast tree has been constantly shedding its withered and yellow leaves, until now only bare branches remain.

That's why, at this moment, the captain of the Thorn, Princess Yunlan, was sitting cross-legged in front of the French windows of the annex, looking at her mast with a worried expression, like a middle-aged man with thinning hair.

She was even considering renaming the Thorn Rose to "The Thorn Rose That Was Accidentally Killed and Left with Only a Flowerpot and Dead Branches".

No matter how worried this ex-princess, who aspired to be a pirate queen, was at this moment, things were much better on the Valkyrie in comparison.

The ship's captain wasn't worried at all, because he had been sleeping for four days and still hadn't woken up. On the contrary, his crew members were extremely anxious.

Amidst the anxieties of either the captain or the crew of the two ships, on the sixth day of their voyage, they returned to the waters of Ice Sled Island, a crucial passage into the icy sea, aided by strong, cold winds.

Although they solved the problems related to the sacred tree, their mission was still unfinished.

The most significant issue, of course, is the failure to build two sleds that can be used in the desert.

However, given the current ambiguous stance of the Frost Kingdom, leaving this place as soon as possible is clearly the wise choice compared to the sleds that the Scorching Sands will need in the future—especially since their captain is asleep again.

Urged on by this sense of urgency, the two ships fled almost with their tails between their legs, not even having time to retreat from the rented ice sleds before entering the sea of ​​stars and hiding in the thick fog summoned by the Silver Queen, desperately making their way forward.

At the same time that the two ships entered the water, the Thorn, which was full of withered branches and leaves, also began to sprout tiny buds.

"Has the captain not woken up yet?" In the captain's cabin of the Thorn, Yun Lan, dressed in a princess dress, asked while practicing swordsmanship with the Undead Treasure.

“That’s right, Your Highness Yunlan.”

The Magic Mirror respectfully said, "The captain of the Valkyrie is still asleep; it will be the eighth day soon."

"Since the Thorn has begun to sprout again..."

Sweating profusely, Yun Lan stopped, wielding her thorny rapier. "The speed of the Thorn Ship is gradually increasing. We can run a little faster. I have a very strong feeling that someone will definitely make a move against us."

"I will immediately inform Mrs. Silver Queen to increase the ship's speed," the Magic Mirror said, his attitude remaining extremely respectful.

"If a battle breaks out"

Yun Lan said seriously, "My Thorn and I will be responsible for holding off all the enemies. You just need to take the captain away and escape. But in return, you need the captain to accept a deal."

"When the captain is unable to make a decision, the first mate can make any decision on behalf of the captain."

The one who uttered these words was Yun Ji, who appeared in the mirror. On the second day after Cheng Lang fell into a coma, for the safety of the Valkyrie, the Magic Mirror accepted Yun Ji's suggestion and had her sign a contract with Shenba and the ship's core—using the ship's core at the bow.

Similarly, Yavso also signed a contract with the heart of the Thorn.

"If a deadly battle occurs"

With a commanding smile, Yun Lan said, “My sailors and I will hold off the enemy. You are responsible for getting Captain Cheng Lang to escape and accepting the deal I propose after he wakes up. He needs to assist the King of the Principality of Lika, who is also my father, in unifying the Star Sea Continent, just like he promised to help me back then.”

"make a deal"

Yun Ji agreed to the deal seriously and decisively. "If he refuses, I will have Shenba harvest the soul of his second son. This can be written into the contract."

"Snapped!"

Yun Lan snapped her fingers with a bright smile, "Deal! I'm starting to look forward to the appearance of the enemy, and I'm starting to look forward to Captain Cheng Lang breaking the contract."

"make a deal"

Yun Ji shrugged. "I'm also curious whether Shenba will be whipped to death by a hundred invisible whips."

"gollum"

Shenba swallowed hard, beginning to regret the abilities he had gained and his daily ramblings.

In this pre-arranged agreement, which concealed both determination and madness, the two ships zigzagged their way toward Fengmo Island.

Meanwhile, in the waters surrounding Fengmo Island, amidst a thick fog that had been hovering on the surface for a long time, there were many sailboats—no, a fleet of ships.

These sailboats, arranged in an I-shape, were mostly loaded with various in-demand trade goods.

Once these items are brought into Pirate City, they can be exchanged for a large number of more sought-after items, such as gold coins, Poseidon's Blood, and various treasure maps or clues to them.

"Has the fleet commander not arrived yet?"

In the middle of the top horizontal line of the "工" shape, Mr. Belwick, one of the captains of the Honest Man, asked while tearing into a plump chicken leg. This was the fifth time he had asked the question that day.

"not yet"

Their first mate replied politely that he had been keeping an eye on the open deck.

"Brother, why don't we go pick up the fleet commander instead?"

After snapping the chicken leg bone in half with a crunch, Belvik made a suggestion to his brother Kervik, who was sitting on the other side of the table, already quite drunk.

"Be patient, we need to follow Mr. Lu Ting's arrangements."

Kervik spat out half a bone, shook his finger, and said with a sinister smile, "Of course, we should also trust our fleet commander."

"Mr. Lu Ting!"

At the core of the other side of the I-shaped fleet, Captain Senfa, who had arrived at the Furnace, asked, "Are we really not going to go and meet the Valkyrie? Now all the ghost ships in the entire Star Sea have received bounties for him. Are we going to abandon this precious friendship? Is it because of that ship bottle? No, no, no, Lu Tingxian."

"Alright, alright, sit down."

Mr. Luting, who was also having lunch, waved for Captain Senfa to sit down and said with a hint of helplessness, "Your kind nature is simply not suited to be a pirate."

"The Brotherhood is not pirates."

Senfa proudly waved the ship license that Yun Ji had casually given him during their last meeting and said, "We are a legal merchant ship authorized by Rica, Gotland, and Morfita with a privateer's license, and we have a permanent ship license in Pirate City."

"A disgrace to piracy!"

Mr. Lu Ting shook his head helplessly, but he only muttered these words to himself and did not say them aloud.

"Therefore, we cannot lose Captain Cheng Lang, such an important ally."

Don't worry, don't worry.

Mr. Lu Ting pointed to the thick sea fog around them, "We just need to hide here. Don't worry, if there are enemies, we will definitely be of great help."

Our appearance at this time would only alert the enemy, causing them to send more reinforcements, which would ultimately harm our important ally.

"Really?" Senfa asked suspiciously.

"of course it's true"

Mr. Lu Ting said impatiently, "Now either have a drink with me, or shut your mouth and leave quietly." Just as the kind-hearted Captain Senfa sat down with concern for his friend, the Valkyrie and Thorn, which were hiding in the thick fog, also received a warning from the Silver Queen that a ship had entered the fog.

"Want to fight?" Yun Lan asked Yun Ji, who was on the other side of the mirror, with eager anticipation.

"Fight you mushroom!"

Yun Ji snorted, "Escape, escape as fast as you can. We can't afford to fight easily."

"why?"

Shenba asked with displeasure, "But the ghost ship is following behind! He can cut ghosts apart!"
"Snapped!"

Yun Ji tiptoed and lightly tapped Shenba on the back of the head. "You were bullied in Pirate City, didn't you go home and call me for help?"

"Of course!" Shenba answered without hesitation.

"That's why we don't take action."

Yun Ji pointed to the ghost ships on the wall that had entered the thick fog. "Look at the enemy ships that are coming. There are at least 10 of them. Our two ships simply cannot annihilate them all."

Even if you get them to stand still, it'll take you a long time to chop them down with your broken sickle.

"But can we win?" Yavso asked, sounding uncertain.

"Why do you think Lord Panini wanted to take you back?"

Yun Lan smiled and asked her first mate, "You don't actually think Lord Panini likes to eat little kids like you who don't have much meat, do you?"

"I'm not a child!"

Yavso shook the bottle full of dangerous spores in her hand, and then she looked like she suddenly realized something.

"I can't think of any other reason besides your spores."

Yun Ji said, "We are at least confident of escaping from them, but we can never annihilate them all. If even one ship escapes or releases one of those disgusting skeletons, we will probably encounter more enemies next time."

Therefore, we can only feign being outnumbered and using speed to overcome them, leaving the slower ones behind first, and then dealing with them one by one gradually.

“I have no objection, please run at full speed,” Yun Lan suggested.

"We definitely need to run at full speed."

Yun Ji said respectfully, "Mrs. Silver Queen, the rest is now in your hands and Princess Wuying's care."

“It is our honor, First Mate.” The Silver Queen responded with an extremely ladylike curtsy.

As soon as she straightened up, the Valkyrie sped off at high speed. Princess Mist Shadow, who was swinging with her new playmates on the Thorn, jumped off the swing and ran to the stern. She forcefully swung out a bridle and tied the two ships together.

At the same time, the Thorn Ship also grew more and more lush through the communication between Yunlan and the ship's heart. As the leaves growing from those branches grew larger and larger, the ship also ran faster and faster.

With the help of the dragonfly fins and the strange sails, the two ships, almost tied together, gradually increased their speed and slowly shook off the ghost ships that had just chased into the thick fog.

On the ninth day of Cheng Lang's coma, which was also the second day after the enemy ships were discovered, fewer than five ghost ships remained that were still following behind them.

Even so, these five ghost ships barely managed to enter the dense fog.

Fortunately, just as Yun Ji and Yun Hai were arguing about whether to start a counterattack, Cheng Lang finally woke up.

"I slept for nine days?!" Cheng Lang asked in astonishment.

“A full nine days,” the Magic Mirror replied, “not a second more, not a second less.”

"Captain, shall we make our move now?"

Yun Lan asked, "What do I think?"

"No rush," Cheng Lang waved his hand. "Who wants to tell me what's going on first?"

"Respected Captain, to put it simply, nine days ago..."

"broken!"

As soon as the other party spoke, Cheng Lang realized something and quickly ran to the office to look at the metal bowl that was still on the table.

so far so good!

Cheng Lang breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally succeeded in throwing the Holy Grail nine times. At this moment, the small boat in the metal bowl was pointing straight in one direction.

"Sorry, where were we?"

Cheng Lang, carrying a metal bowl that only he could see, asked the magic mirror beside him as he walked towards the conference room.

"It hasn't started yet."

The Magic Mirror cleared its throat and began to briefly recount the important events, starting with Yun Lan's "forced transaction" before encountering the enemy ship.

"We need to find a way to destroy Shenba's broken scythe!" Cheng Lang, who felt as if his soul had left his crotch, shuddered.

"So, esteemed captain, shall we attack the ship behind us?" the Magic Mirror asked respectfully.

"Don't move. No, do it!"

After Cheng Lang finished speaking, he asked, "The one in Poseidon's asshole?"

"Nightmare"

“That’s right, where is Abyss Nightmare?” Cheng Lang asked.

"Your Excellency Captain, your pet is currently resting on the helm," the Magic Mirror said respectfully. "Should I bring it back?"

"Bring it back"

Cheng Lang immediately said that he had just sensed the Nightmare's desire through the heart of the ship—a desire for the ghost ship. Strangely enough, this desire came from its appetite.

Before long, the Magic Mirror returned to the conference room carrying the Nightmare of the Abyss.

"Crack! Crack!"

Almost as soon as Cheng Lang received the seemingly unchanged Clam Abyss Nightmare, its heavy shell rapidly opened and closed, producing two crisp, melodious tapping sounds. Cheng Lang subconsciously added a mental "Hey! Bro?!"

"You'd better be able to eat this."

Cheng Lang weighed the clam in his hand, a wicked smile already spreading across his face. "Stop the ship, Lady Silver Queen. Remove the fog and raise the white flag."

"Good captain"

Without asking any further questions, the Silver Queen immediately maneuvered the Valkyrie to furl its sails. At the same time, Mist Shadow, who was playing games with her friends on the Thorn, also flung her pet paw out, letting it swallow the bridle that had previously bound the two ships.

As the two ships came to a stop, a huge, conspicuous white sheet was hung on the top of their respective masts or treetops.

(End of this chapter)