In Sumeru, pretend to be a scholar

The nature of the lunar torque should be the feedback of the gravitational and tidal forces exerted by the moon on the planets, but it has been mystified. I've heard that the holders of the Eye of God in Nordcale can manipulate the lunar torque with elemental force. Damn it... I don't have the Eye of God, so it's really difficult for me to directly feel this power...

I wanted to buy some Moon Torque Charging Components to bring back to Sumeru, but unfortunately, I'm out of money.

After finishing the book, Wang Yan realized that the other person had hardly researched anything and mostly just complained.

Outside of Nordkalley, research on lunar torque in other regions is still far too inadequate.

That's normal, though. After all, this is a force with local characteristics. It would be a problem if people from other regions did better research than the natives of Nordkal.

"Never mind, I'll go to Nordkalé when I have time."

Wang Yan shook his head, closed the book, and put it back in its place.

Just then, a long horn sounded outside, and the huge merchant ship trembled slightly before setting sail.

……

The Flying Cloud Merchant Guild's fleet traveling from Ormos Harbor to Liyue consisted of not just one ship, but several large vessels, along with a few other scattered ships.

The surrounding ships did not belong to the Flying Cloud Merchant Guild; some belonged to other merchants from Liyue, while others were from Sumeru itself heading to Liyue Harbor.

When trading in Teyvat, the greatest danger on land is that Hilichurls and treasure-hunting groups will come out to plunder; other monsters rarely attack caravans.

In the sea, however, the situation is completely reversed.

Although there are Hilichurl tribes at sea, they mostly survive on small islands, and as long as you don't get too close, they don't pose much of a danger to ships.

While treasure-hunting groups, or pirates in general, still exist, they are gradually disappearing as countries strengthen their control over their maritime areas.

The greatest danger at sea today comes from sea monsters.

Although Wang Yan had never seen a sea monster in person, he had heard a lot about them, both in the game and after he transmigrated.

In the game, Beidou beheaded a sea monster as tall as a mountain and then obtained the Eye of God, becoming the uncrowned Dragon King.

The notices in Port Omos contain a lot of information about sea monsters. If you chat with some adventurers at the dock, you can even find out the story of an adventurer who wanted to land on a small island, only to find that it was just the back of a sea monster emerging from the water, and who ultimately sacrificed the head chef.

After I traveled here, I heard even more about sea monsters.

Even in Sumeru City, news would occasionally spread that a merchant ship or an adventurer had been attacked by sea monsters and suffered heavy losses.

Therefore, merchants liked to band together around large merchant guilds and sail together.

It can be considered that we benefited from the security capabilities of the Feiyun Chamber of Commerce.

"So, will we encounter sea monsters?"

Wang Yan came out of his room, stood on the deck, looked at the other ships no more than a hundred meters away, and looked at Yun Gui beside him.

Yun Gui shook her head: "That's hard to say. After all, the sea is unpredictable, and no one can foresee what will happen next."

"However, based on my experience, I'd probably only encounter it once every three times."

As she spoke, Yun Gui smiled and said, "Mr. Wang Yan, you can rest assured that our ship is equipped with sufficient firepower. Although it is not as powerful as the regular warships of the Thousand Rock Army, ordinary sea monsters would be nothing more than easy prey."

"By the way, have you ever eaten sea monster meat?"

Wang Yan naturally shook his head.

Yun Gui smiled and said, "Generally speaking, sea monsters are huge and live in the deep sea, so they have a lot of oil in their bodies, which can be used for grilling. It's quite delicious to eat them occasionally."

"What you're saying... I'm starting to look forward to it."

"Haha, it's better not to get your hopes up. We may not be afraid, but the ships around us are in danger."

Not all merchants have the money to equip their ships with sufficient firepower.

Moreover, the firepower of a single ship may not be enough to stop an attack by sea monsters.

That's why there are instances of small boats following merchant ships.

Chapter 108 Big Dipper

Wang Yan's expectations seem to have not been met.

For four consecutive days, the sea was calm and sunny, and there were no incidents of sea monster attacks.

"After passing this sea area, we can enter the outer sea of ​​Yunlai. Although it is the outer sea, it is already within the control range of the Thousand Rock Army."

Yun Gui said to the passengers who had taken the boat, including Wang Yan.

Yunlai Sea is the sea area adjacent to Liyue Harbor, while Yunlai Outer Sea, as the name suggests, is the sea area outside Yunlai Sea.

This sea area is actually still a wild and untamed waterway, inhabited by many ferocious sea creatures.

However, as Liyue developed, the Thousand Rock Fleet gradually began to expand outwards from the Lone Cloud Pavilion area.

While the open sea is not quite tamed, sea monster attacks have been greatly reduced.

"If all goes well, we can dock at Liyue Harbor early tomorrow morning."

As soon as Yun Gui finished speaking, the other passengers who had boarded the boat with Wang Yan all smiled and beamed with joy.

Just as they were relaxing and laughing in Liyue Harbor, a deep, loud noise suddenly came from not far away.

'Boom!'

Suddenly, a merchant ship that had been following the fleet since departing from Mount Sumeru shuddered violently and tilted sharply, causing screams to erupt from the people on deck.

The next moment, the sea exploded open, and a bizarrely shaped giant beast leaped out of the deep sea, its waves crashing towards the fleet like a wall.

The giant beast was over twenty meters long, with a body resembling a whale, but strangely possessing four thick, short, scaly legs. Its head was enormous, with a protruding snout, and two rows of sharp, white teeth that reflected a cold light in the sunlight. A row of bone spurs also grew on its back. With its movements, it cut through the sea, leaving behind a trail of churning white waves.

It leaped into the air, its enormous body almost blocking out the sunlight, and then crashed into the already heavily damaged merchant ship with tremendous force.

"Snap—"

The sickening sound of breaking wood was clearly audible. A horrifying gap was punched through the side of the merchant ship, and seawater rushed in wildly. The voices on board became even more chaotic, with cries and pleas for help mixed in with the wind and waves.

Wang Yan subconsciously looked over and felt that the sea beast was somewhat similar to the dragon lizard prince Scylla in his memory, but there were also great differences in the details.

“A deep-sea dragon whale!” Yun Gui’s expression changed drastically as she recognized the ferocious creature at a glance. “This thing usually lurks in the deep sea and rarely attacks large fleets on its own initiative… something must have disturbed it.”

As soon as Yun Gui mentioned the name, Wang Yan immediately recognized it.

Deep-sea dragon whales are a type of dragon-like monster that generally live in the deep sea. Unlike dragon lizards, dragon whales do not receive the gentle elemental power of Teyvat, so they are more powerful, but also more chaotic and lack intelligence.

According to the harbor records of the Order Institute, most of the maritime accidents that occurred in Omos Port were caused by these kinds of monsters.

Compared to deep-sea dragon lizards, this dragon whale is more hostile to humans, or rather, to the established order.

However... what Yun Gui said is also true. These kinds of monsters usually lurk in the deep sea and only attack individual ships, rarely attacking fleets.

I wonder what the situation is with this deep-sea dragon whale.

Although the attack wasn't on the Flying Cloud Merchant Guild's ship, while Wang Yan was pondering, Yun Gui immediately gave the order, turning around and shouting sharply towards the ship's cabin:

"Activate the terminal! Aim at that beast and take it down!"

As soon as the order was given, the ship's well-trained crew and sailors immediately sprang into action.

In just a few breaths, the sound of a mechanism creaking came from below the bow deck. A heavy cover slid open to both sides, and a device shaped like a giant crossbow slowly rose up.

That is the time of death.

The fuselage is made of dark hardwood and metal components joined together by mortise and tenon joints. The surface is engraved with intricate cloud patterns and ancient seal script. There are no crossbows because it fires energy bullets.

A few years ago, the Returning Terminal was one of the few weapons that Liyue could use to fight against the Demon God, and it even needed the help of the Sage.

Now, the Thousand Rock Army has already been deployed on a large scale.

Despite being an outdated model that was only permitted to be equipped on private merchant ships and was three generations behind, the Feiyun Chamber of Commerce's aircraft still possessed an imposing presence that was breathtaking.

The two experienced gunners operating the return machine quickly took their positions. One bent down to adjust the elevation of the crossbow, while the other turned the side wheel. The machine then emitted a low hum, and a faint halo gathered at the front of the crossbow slot!

A terrifying power began to gather, and golden light shone before the terminal.

"Aiming complete!"

"put!"

At Yun Gui's command, the gunners slammed down the firing mechanism.

Three streaks of light shot out, leaving three pale golden trails in the air, precisely targeting the deep-sea dragon whale that was tearing apart the merchant ship.

The giant beast seemed to sense something and tried to dodge, but the beams of light fired by the Final Strike were too fast. One beam pierced the gap between the scales on its side, while the other two embedded themselves in the base of its raised forelimbs.

Then, it exploded with a bang.

"Roar--!!!"

The sea monster let out a painful and furious roar, and was directly blown away.

Even so, it did not die. It shook its head violently, abandoned its continued attack on the damaged merchant ship, paddled on all fours, and turned to charge towards the Flying Cloud Merchant Guild's flagship, the Wavebreaker.

It moved so fast that it carved a deep trench in the sea, as if the water was bowing down to it!

It must be admitted that these monsters in the deep sea are indeed more terrifying than those on land.

The Dark Sea bestowed upon them enormous size, powerful vitality, and primal elemental control.

If it were a one-on-one fight, perhaps only someone like Beidou could slay such a behemoth.

"It's coming at us!" a crew member exclaimed.

"What's the panic!" Yun Gui stood at the bow of the ship, his expression cold and stern, about to continue the attack, when he saw several golden streaks of light streak across the sky like shooting stars and plummet down, their target none other than the raging deep-sea dragon whale.

The light was extremely fast, arriving in an instant.

The massive body of the creature—back, head, side abdomen… each strike precisely hit a vital point, exploding with dazzling energy ripples.

"Roar--!!!"

The deep-sea dragon whale let out a mournful howl, the sound piercing the sea breeze and making people's eardrums ache.

It twisted its body wildly, its four legs slapping the surface of the sea, creating huge waves.

The scales on the wound shattered, and dark red blood gushed out, quickly staining a patch of seawater red.

It struggled, its massive body tumbling in the sea, trying to dive into the deep to escape, but more light arrows arrived, bombarding its body relentlessly.

The dragon whale's struggles visibly weakened, its movements becoming increasingly sluggish. Finally, after another unwilling roar, its massive head slowly drooped, crashing onto the sea surface, creating one last high splash, and then it remained motionless.

Only then did the outline of a massive warship slowly emerge at the horizon where the sea met the sky, approaching from afar.

The ship was several times larger than the "Breaking Waves," with its hull lines as rigid as mountains, its bow high, and its masts like a forest. Most striking were the several crossbow-like devices on the deck, which were even larger than the Flying Cloud Chamber of Commerce's Return Machine, with a faint golden glow still lingering at the muzzles.

Yun Gui was taken aback, stared at the ship for two seconds, then her tense expression completely relaxed, revealing a genuine smile: "It's the 'Death Star'!"

The Death Star, the flagship of the Southern Cross fleet, is also the uncrowned dragon king and the mount of the Big Dipper.

Before long, the ships passed each other.

A lithe figure leaped directly from the Death Star onto the Wavebreaker.

"Oh, it's Yun Gui. Is the attacked ship yours?"

Since everyone here works at sea, Beidou also knew Yun Gui, the manager of the Feiyun Chamber of Commerce. He smiled heartily and asked.

Yun Gui shook her head: "No, it's on the same route."

"On the same route? Oh, then please help them out. Also, tell them to tally up the losses and go back to the General Affairs Department for compensation," Beidou said casually.

"Looking for the General Affairs Department? Is this related to the General Affairs Department?" Yun Gui asked, puzzled.

"Hey, Qixing ordered the maintenance of the trade route and the clearing of the monsters in the outer sea. This monster escaped, and now that something's happened, of course they should compensate us." Beidou waved his hand and said matter-of-factly, then looked at the others behind Yun Gui, "Hmm... this one looks a bit unfamiliar?"

Beidou doesn't know all the people in Liyue who can board the Flying Cloud Merchant Guild's ship, but he has met most of them.

Wang Yan, on the other hand, was a complete stranger. The key point was that although he clearly looked like a Liyue native, he was wearing the scholar's robes of the Order of the Liyue.

"Oh, this is Mr. Wang Yan, a scholar of the Intellectual School of the Order of Teachings. He's back for the Lantern Festival," Yun Gui introduced.

Wang Yan nodded to Beidou at the opportune moment: "Captain Beidou, I've heard so much about you."

"Haha, am I that famous?" Beidou chuckled, then asked, "Are you from Liyue? Where are you from?"

Why would you ask that?

I don't believe you when you say you have no connection with the authorities.

Wang Yan inwardly complained, but still smiled and said, "Just a country bumpkin."

“The mountains and fields of Liyue are full of renowned immortals. You are very confident.” Beidou’s eyes flickered, but she did not ask any more questions. She looked at Yun Gui again and said, “I will leave this place to Feiyun Merchant Guild. I still need to continue clearing out the sea beasts. Goodbye.”

“Okay, leave it to me.” Yun Gui nodded.