Chapter 339: Section 126: Captain’s Inspection
Zi Di had been in deep slumber for quite some time and was oblivious to many matters.
She was well aware: after surviving the ordeal on Mysterious Monster Island, they were no longer welcome in the Empire.
She was naturally astonished upon hearing that they were to enter the Empire’s secret harbor for supplies.
Instantly, the youth informed Zi Di of the major and minor incidents that had occurred.
After hearing a few words, Zi Di was visibly moved.
Cang Xu advised, “Captain, we should continue this conversation as we move. You haven’t made a public appearance in a long time.”
...
“Yes, I should inspect. It’s my duty as captain!” the youth accepted Cang Xu’s good suggestion and then looked at Zi Di, “And let you see our current crew members.”
“That would be advisable,” Zi Di nodded, pondering, “but perhaps I should stay disguised.”
After all, Zi Di was the Chairman of the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce, a role with extensive ties. If her identity were revealed, the remaining Purple Vine Guild would undoubtedly suffer a fatal blow.
Shortly thereafter, the trio left the Core Cabin.
The damaged section of the Core Cabin had been repaired.
“This cabin, no, this entire area must be heavily guarded and off-limits to others,” the youth said gravely.
Zi Di had already donned a mask, “No amount of increased defense would be excessive. However, I suggest minimizing live guards. We should utilize the Tower Spirit to create some Alchemy Puppets. I know that War Merchants have a vast collection of puppet blueprints, many of which are high-end. I also remember that we took a valuable batch of Alchemy Materials from Mysterious Monster Island, all of which are high-end.”
Zi Di’s words brightened the spirits of the other two.
The girl had greater authority than the youth, especially in communicating with the Tower Spirit in the Alchemy Central Tower where she learned of many treasures stored in the spirit’s memory.
The youth was unaware of these.
Cang Xu nodded in agreement, “That’s a good plan. It’s hard to ensure the loyalty of living guards, and the secrets here must be tightly kept. Do you have Golden Level puppet blueprints?”
Zi Di replied, “Of course, in fact, we have more than ten Holy Domain Level puppet blueprints. But for now, it’s better to focus on crafting Silver Level and Golden Level puppets.”
The youth frowned, “The combination of the Tower Spirit and Alchemy Puppets with the sturdy cabin and narrow passageways would indeed form a formidable and tight defense. We can be self-sufficient in terms of materials for creating Alchemy Puppets, but who could manufacture them?”
Via the Empire was evidently not an option.
Cang Xu and Zi Di were only of Black Iron Level; though they had dabbled in alchemy, the former specialized in Soul Crystal creation while the latter in potions.
Their life tiers were relatively low, making the possibility of producing Silver Level or Golden Level Alchemy Puppets nearly zero.
Cang Xu said, “As I know, on the Molten Lava Continent, there are Dwarves and Goblins who are experts in puppet creation.”
Zi Di then said, “Holy Bright Continent has many alchemists, and the Purple Vine Chamber of Commerce has contact details for many of them. But it won’t be easy to persuade them. Wait… perhaps, he could do it…”
Zi Di mentioned the name of an alchemist called Fu Jiu, who was severely injured and no longer prominent. Once famous, he now lived in poverty.
“We have the green fluid produced from the Green Jade Gold Coffin and Soul Crystals, which have powerful healing abilities for both body and soul.”
Zi Di pondered, “Perhaps we could use this point to recruit him.”
“We could try that in the future,” the youth nodded.
They indeed needed an Alchemist.
Actually, Cang Xu had mentioned this suggestion to the youth quite early on.
The youth first arrived at the belly of the ship.
This area had once been hit, creating a massive hole, but it had now been repaired.
There were three Alchemy Puppets reinforcing the area.
One of their arms lifted a steel beam while the other was a gun barrel.
Alchemy Arrays were engraved on both the inside and outside of the gun barrels, which, upon activation, consumed the Mana inside the Alchemy Puppets to produce a crimson scorching ray.
The ray moved smoothly left to right and up and down, quickly welding several steel bars back to their original places, reinforcing them once more.
Droplets of seawater still seeped in through gaps around the edge of the hole.
Deep Sea Monster Fish was traveling at its maximum speed underwater. The high water pressure made some water infiltration normal.
“The battle at Sea Eye damaged the defense arrays on the exterior of Deep Sea Monster Fish. It is estimated that the fastest we can repair the Magic Shield will be in at least five more days,” said Cang Xu with worry, “This is our weakest point.”
To repair these arrays, a lot of Magic Material was required.
Moreover, it was necessary to replenish large amounts of steel, wood, screws, and more. To repair the large hole, these standard reserves had almost been depleted.
“If we had time, we would need to dismantle and rebuild this section,” Zi Di observed for a moment, her brows furrowing, “This piece is just an emergency measure and structurally unstable.”
Cang Xu shrugged, “No choice, we’re short on hard copper and had to temporarily substitute steel as the main structural material.”
Upon saying this, Cang Xu looked towards the Fishman youth, “Also, Deep Sea Monster Fish’s Mana Pool has sounded an alarm.”
“We need a large number of elemental crystals to transform mana and to increase our mana reserves.”
Fighting the Chill Shadow Giant had drained most of their mana.
Operating the alchemy puppets for repairs, as well as during the repair process itself, also consumed mana.
In fact, since leaving Mysterious Monster Island, the mana pool aboard the Deep Sea Monster Fish had been replenished only a handful of times.
Zi Di and Cang Xu were unable to manually infuse mana.
They were only at the Black Iron Level, with too little mana. Not to mention the Fishman youth who had just embarked on the path of magic cultivation.
Elemental crystals contained pure elements that could be transformed into mana.
The Deep Sea Monster Fish had an excellent performance transformation device on board. It had survived the battle and was quite well preserved.
Compared to it, many other devices had not been so fortunate.
The trio then moved to a few cabins where the injured were gathered.
“Captain?”
“Long Fu… sir…”
Seeing the Fishman youth, the members of the Justice Pirate Group hesitated.
In the presence of everyone, the youth activated his Blood Core, transforming from his Fishman Form into a Dragon-man Form.
Suddenly, the gaze of the injured changed, and they all visibly relaxed.
On the battlefield, many had seen the Fishman youth carrying Mei Lan as he rushed into the Deep Sea Monster Fish.
Cang Xu had already disclosed the identity of the Fishman youth to these people beforehand, preparing them psychologically.
“Take good care of your injuries; our voyage ahead will not be smooth,” the Dragon-man youth said, not elaborating on his abilities as there was no need for explanation.
But maintaining this mystery made others perceive him as more powerful.
This was very beneficial for the stability of the pirate group.
Members of the pirate group deeply respected the Dragon-man Captain, and they were also curious about the strange Mage who had recently appeared beside their captain.
Some of the elders who had survived from Mysterious Monster Island quietly recognized Zi Di’s identity but did not publicize it.
“Our healing scrolls and potions—it’s all been used up, but some of the injured have severe injuries like amputations.”
“Regeneration of limbs is a Golden Level Divine Art.”
“But fortunately, the condition of these people is mostly stable,” Cang Xu reported.
With a mournful tone, the Dragon-man youth softly sighed, “Our losses this time are grievous.”
Indeed.
The Justice Pirate Group had been decimated, with scarcely one in ten surviving.
Originally with ten pirate ships, nearly all were destroyed, with only the Deep Sea Monster Fish managing to escape.
At the end of their visit to the injured, the trio met with Zong Ge.
Sanda was guarding him.
“Golden Level?” Zi Di exclaimed in surprise, sensing Zong Ge’s weak aura.
Cang Xu shook his head gravely, “His condition is the most serious!”
After checking, the Dragon-man youth’s expression also turned serious, “It’s a Bloodline Conflict, indeed…”
Zong Ge was a Half-Beast, and currently, two types of bloodlines within him were in conflict.
One was the Human Race bloodline, and the other was the Beast Race bloodline, both of which were of quite high grades.
This caused the conflict to be more intense and irreconcilable.
Cang Xu said solemnly, “Zong Ge must have faced a life-threatening crisis during the battle, leading to a Bloodline Awakening and thus instant advancement to the Golden Level.”
“His newly awakened Beast Race bloodline is fiercely resisting the more concentrated Human Race bloodline.”
“His situation is a hundred times more dangerous than that of the Big guy!”
The Big guy’s Human Race bloodline was very ordinary and could easily be overthrown by the awakened Giant Bloodline. However, although the Human Race bloodline in the Half-Beast was lower, its concentration was higher, while the newly awakened Beast Race bloodline, although higher in grade, had a lower concentration.
Both were at a stalemate, using the Half-Beast’s body as a battlefield for their struggle and slaughter.
Tricky.
Very tricky.
The youth, Cang Xu, and Zi Di were, for the time being, unable to find a solution.