Sail Shadows in the Sea of ​​Fog

Chapter 9: Poseidon's Treasure and Curse

On the rippling blue sea, the Valkyrie, pushed by the wind, had not yet reached its maximum speed, but right above the bow, as Cheng Lang turned the center of the ship, the outline of a huge translucent jellyfish appeared.

This jellyfish has hundreds of tentacles, and when the tentacles swing, you can faintly see a little red light.

Suddenly, the jellyfish fell down and wrapped the Valkyrie with its huge umbrella. Its slender and numerous tentacles also entangled the entire bottom hull of the ship in an instant.

But this jellyfish was more like a ball of insubstantial light and shadow. Even though it had wrapped around the entire ship, it still did not affect the sails that were swollen by the wind.

In just a breath, the Valkyrie, which was wrapped by the jellyfish, became blurred and mottled, and all parts gradually turned into a color that was almost the same as the background of the sea and sky.

To use an accurate description, the ship is like a piece of ice with extremely high transparency.

So if you look at it from a distance, the ship does seem to have disappeared, but if you get closer, you can still vaguely see the outline of the entire ship, the refracted light, and the track of the stern.

"Stop the shelling!"

Cheng Lang issued a new order, and the artillery deck under his feet immediately became quiet. The crocodiles in the distance also rushed over immediately after the artillery bombardment was gone.

"beep--"

On the open deck, Cheng Lang blew the Mirage Horn hanging around his neck.

Along with the low whistle, within a radius of one nautical mile with the Valkyrie as the center, the sea surface seemed to be boiling, with thick bubbles emerging and large amounts of water mist rising.

In just a few breaths, thick fog enveloped the sea area tightly, and the bubbles rising from the sea surface completely covered the track of the ship's stern.

"reef!"

Cheng Lang issued a new order, and the gorillas immediately pulled the cables, rolled up all the sails, and let the boat drift with the current in the thick sea fog by inertia.

Under Cheng Lang's nervous gaze, the huge crocodile rushed past the stern about a hundred meters behind the ship, then stopped blankly in the hazy sea fog, and let out an unwilling roar.

Immediately afterwards, it changed direction and began to rush around, but still could not find the big ship that suddenly disappeared.

"Go get a powder keg."

Cheng Lang subconsciously lowered his voice and spoke to the Great Sage beside him.

The latter also responded in a very humane way with a low "Oh" and took the gunpowder barrel handed from the gun deck.

This gunpowder barrel, which is as big as a small gas tank, is wrapped with a fuse as thick as a finger and covered with wax.

"Light the fuse and throw it as far as possible in the direction of the sunken ship. Can you do it?" Cheng Lang asked the Great Sage, who immediately made a promise by lightly pounding his chest.

"Throw it away"

Cheng Lang gave the order decisively.

The Great Sage first swung his strong arms, then asked Wukong to help him light the fuse, and then, as if throwing a shot put, he took a run-up on the deck and threw the oak gunpowder barrel out of the Valkyrie and into the thick sea fog.

"Pfft!"

The faint sound of falling into the water made Cheng Lang's heart tighten, fearing that the fuse would be wetted by the sea water and extinguished.

But even if there was no explosion, the faint sound of falling into the water attracted the attention of the crocodile, and it immediately swam rapidly towards the direction where the gunpowder barrel fell into the sea, brushing against the edge of the hull.

"boom!"

Almost at the same time, the gunpowder barrel exploded. The water column shooting into the sky and the large number of sea fish that were stunned and floated up by the explosion further strengthened the crocodile's determination to rush forward.

A moment later, everyone heard the horrific sound of the crocodile biting and ramming the sunken ship.

With a slight sigh of relief, Cheng Lang knew that they were safe for the time being. All he had to do next was wait patiently for the crocodile to calm down and go back on its own.

As for the Valkyrie, it cannot be moved yet.

Although the jellyfish hanging overhead could provide up to six hours of invisibility, he worried that once they moved, the wake of their stern would attract the crocodile's attention again.

More importantly, while the invisibility provided by the jellyfish can move with the ship, the thick fog just summoned by the Mirage Horn will not. They will just remain in place until 12 hours later.

If you want to use the Mirage Horn again, you have to wait another 12 hours after the fog disappears.

Since he couldn't move for the time being, he simply focused his attention on the jellyfish covering his head.

According to the "reminder" just now from the center of the ship, this giant jellyfish can help to remain invisible for up to 6 hours.

But correspondingly, whether he keeps the ship invisible above the water for one minute or six hours, there will be double the "cooling time".

Although it sounds quite restrictive, Cheng Lang is already very satisfied. These abilities combined with the Mirage Horn make this ship like a ghostly assassin on the sea.

As an assassin, patience is a must. Fortunately, the thing he lacks the most is time.

Thinking of this, he picked up the spoils he brought back and hurried into the captain's office.

After placing all the spoils on the table one by one, Cheng Lang couldn't wait to ask, "Magic Mirror, take a look at these things I brought back. What's so special about them?"

"Dear Captain, you are very lucky to have found a piece of Poseidon's armor." The magic mirror praised flatteringly.

"You mean this?" Cheng Lang picked up the scale he brought back. "Is this the armor piece?"

"Yes, this is the armor piece. You are truly wise."

The magic mirror still had that sleazy, fawning look on its face. "Do you need me to help you recall this complicated and trivial common sense?"

"Tell me about it. You're free anyway." Cheng Lang replied absentmindedly while pinching the armor piece, but in fact, his ears pricked up.

“Legend has it that after the Valkyrie killed Poseidon, she spilled 18,000 pieces of Poseidon’s armor and 180,000 cups of his blood into the sea.

After Poseidon's death, his armor and blood were jokingly called the universal patches and universal glue of the Star Sea Continent.

The magical item made of armor pieces and Poseidon's blood is called armor. For example, me and that hypocritical mask, we are both considered armor.

Of course, the most important function of Poseidon's armor and blood is to nurture the heart of a ship."

"The heart of the ship is conceived with them?" Cheng Lang asked in surprise.

"certainly"

The pale green face in the magic mirror nodded, "The ship's heart is also known as the gift of the Valkyrie. It was because the Valkyrie killed Poseidon and spilled the armor and Poseidon's blood that the Age of Exploration began.

As I said before, a ship without a hearth cannot sail on the ocean; it is nothing more than a piece of wood floating on the water."

"So, there are only 18,000 ships with hearths on the ocean at most?" Cheng Lang asked.

“You are so wise.”

The magic mirror said flatteringly, "But in reality, there is no accurate number of how many pieces of armor Poseidon was stripped of by the Valkyries and how many cups of blood he shed.

On this point, there is a witty saying that has been passed down since the beginning of the Age of Discovery that explains it all.”

"What witty remark?" Cheng Lang asked curiously.

"The wooden ducks in the bathtubs of the princesses of the six principalities of the Star Sea all have ship hearts," said the magic mirror with a wink.

"Heh" Cheng Lang laughed dumbly, this witty remark really was enough to explain everything.

“Everyone wants to be the captain”

The magic mirror continued, "Becoming a captain grants you the power of the ship's heart. No matter what abilities you possess, you can live a good life even without sailing. There are even rumors that the power of the ship's heart is drawn from Poseidon. The more ships there are at sea, the weaker Poseidon becomes, and the less likely he is to be resurrected."

Naturally, there's no need to worry about the sea being ruled by Poseidon again. If that tyrant were to resurrect, it would be a disaster for all life on land and a feast for the sirens and sea monsters."

"It's a collision between sea power and land power," Cheng Lang couldn't help but sigh.

"Your summary is brilliant!" the Magic Mirror said, even clapping its hands. "I'm going to write that down!"

"You're such a piece of shit"

Cheng Lang muttered something in his heart but didn't say it out loud. Frankly speaking, flatterers are not annoying. What is annoying is the flatterers who flatter others instead of themselves.

"The Valkyrie shed more than just Poseidon's armor and blood."

The Magic Mirror spoke with uncontrollable enthusiasm at this moment, "She also tore off the seven blood-red scales on Poseidon's chest and used her spear as a pen to write the secrets of this world on these seven scales.

Rumor has it that anyone who can obtain the seven reverse scales and the secret of the world can have any wish fulfilled. Often, this secret is also called the treasure of Poseidon.

"The secret of the world? Any wish?"

Cheng Lang was stunned for a moment. He wanted to go home, back to the world he was familiar with. Is this wish possible?
"That's right"

The Magic Mirror's tone became more excited. "Whether it's becoming the common master of the star sea and the continent, or any other wish, it will be granted."

"What else did the Valkyrie pull from Poseidon's body?"

Cheng Lang asked seemingly unintentionally, but in fact, his nerves were tense. When he obtained the power given by the heart of the ship, he learned two secrets:

The keel of the ship was made from Poseidon's spine, and his whip was made from Poseidon's tendons.

"That's all I have," said the magic mirror. "Poseidon is not a piece of fish on the chopping block."

It's almost like fish.
Cheng Lang secretly complained, "With the scales scraped off, the spine and tendons gone, isn't it just a piece of limp meat?"
Having said that, he felt somewhat relieved. Since the legend said that Poseidon did not lose his spine and tendons, then only he knew this secret, which was undoubtedly good news.

Thinking of this, Cheng Lang changed the subject and asked, "Tell me about the remaining two items. Are there any special things about them?"

"This golden statue of Poseidon clearly belongs to the Principality of Boerland"

The magic mirror said, "In the entire Xinghai Continent, including the Sirens, the only country that devoutly believes in Poseidon is the Principality of Boerland. Only they can create something like this."

"It's not some kind of armor?" Cheng Lang asked with a hint of disappointment.

"Of course not," the mirror replied, "but it could be worth a lot of money."

"Okay, next thing, what is this box?" Cheng Lang asked. "I tried, but I couldn't open it."

"Please bring it closer," said the magic mirror, and even a pair of glasses appeared on his pale green and skinny face.

He moved the unopenable wooden box towards the magic mirror. After a moment of silence, the magic mirror said doubtfully, "Strange, it's just an ordinary piece of wood to me."

"Ordinary wood?" Cheng Lang frowned. "Don't you call yourself the almighty Saint Barbara Magic Mirror?"

"Santa Barbaya, not Santa Barbara," the magic mirror corrected unhappily, "and the armor piece is said to be only 18,000 pieces."

"So you can't tell what this is?" Cheng Lang picked up the wooden box and asked while looking at it over and over again.

"I'm sorry, I can't tell."

The magic mirror said with a slight embarrassment, "Perhaps we can ask Saint Barbaya for advice in the future. She will definitely be able to tell us the answer."

"She's still alive?"

"She once witnessed the entire process of Poseidon being killed, so she was cursed by Poseidon to be immortal." The magic mirror said with pity.

"Immortality is a curse?" Cheng Lang became more and more confused.

"You'll know when you get a chance to meet her. For her, immortality is indeed a curse." The magic mirror answered evasively, as if it didn't want to continue the topic.

Seeing this, Cheng Lang didn't ask any more questions and sent the unopenable wooden box to the stair compartment downstairs. Just as the magic mirror had said when they first met, it was the safest place on the entire ship.

Back on the open deck, we could no longer hear any noise made by the terrifying crocodile. The sky had also darkened as the setting sun had completely sunk underwater.

Maybe I can leave?
Cheng Lang weighed the pros and cons secretly. He didn't want to stay near the island for long - even though he had no idea where to go.

Rather than waiting for the jellyfish enveloping the Valkyrie to disappear, it would be better to take the risk and leave now.

Thinking of this, he gritted his teeth and gave the order, "Set sail!"

"Whoa whoa!"

The vine goblins responded immediately, working together to pull the vines, causing the rolled-up sails to fall down with a "crash".

However, when he saw the sail, Cheng Lang was stunned.

He clearly remembered that when the vine goblins left the stranded reef coastline, they replaced the boat with new sails that they had looted.
But how long has it been?
How come the sails of this ship have become so tattered, full of holes of all sizes, and covered with black mold?

After coming to his senses, he left and ran back to the captain's office, asking the magic mirror about his doubts.

"this."

The magic mirror said awkwardly, "A full hundred years have passed, allowing this useless mirror to forget some insignificant little troubles."

"Don't keep us in suspense!" Cheng Lang reminded unhappily.

"Just like Saint Barbara, this ship actually also carries Poseidon's vicious curse," the magic mirror answered concisely.

"Poseidon's curse?" Cheng Lang was stunned for a moment, "What curse?"

"When the heart of the ship was conceived, Poseidon's curse appeared. He cursed the ship to be an unclean ship and the enemy of all sea monsters."

The magic mirror paused and continued, "Simply put, this ship won't look very good. The hull is covered in black mold, which most sirens hate.

Especially its sails. As long as it goes out to sea and leaves the harbor, it will always be in tatters from sunset to sunrise. Although this does not affect the Valkyrie's navigation, the sails are the captain's pride after all, so."

"So what?" Cheng Lang asked.

"Unless you find Poseidon's treasure and learn the secrets of this world"

The magic mirror said cautiously, "That might be the only possible way to break Poseidon's vicious curse."

"Is there no other way?" Cheng Lang asked with a gloomy face.

"Probably not." The magic mirror's tone became increasingly unsure.

"Why would Poseidon curse this ship when he has nothing better to do?" Cheng Lang asked subconsciously.

"Maybe it's because she is called Valkyrie," the magic mirror guessed.

Is it because.
Cheng Lang suddenly thought of another possibility: could it be because the keel of this ship was made of Poseidon's spine? Or maybe it was because of his whip?
I'm afraid that's all there is to it.
"I'm so unlucky!"

Cheng Lang muttered weakly, then pulled himself together and asked, "I plan to leave under the cover of night. Do you know which direction to go if I want to leave here?"

"Of course! Of course I know!"

The Magic Mirror's tone turned flattering once again. "I still have the logbook from when I came here. Please take me to the bridge. I will help you navigate the way out of the Sea of ​​Despair."

(End of this chapter)