Extraordinary Voyage-Chapter 783 - 674: Defeated and Returning & Major News

Chapter 783: Chapter 674: Defeated and Returning & Major News

Woo woo woo...

On the southeastern outskirts of the "Broken Star Islands," the chaotic sea wind blows unpredictably, leaving one utterly baffled.

However, a colossal warship like a sea fortress doesn’t mind one bit, crushing its way directly towards the interior of the islands, majestically surging forward. The underwater currents are turbulent, surprisingly requiring no assistance from the wind.

This is a massive, deep blue battleship, comparable in size to a Navy Level 1 Battleship, with its material resembling solidified water rather than wood.

Its overall structure is not much different from a regular battleship, just appearing more streamlined.

The most remarkable feature is the three fin-like masts on the deck, tilted backward, identical to fish fins, bearing sails that seem like white clouds ever in motion. And at the head of the ship, instead of a ship’s figurehead, there’s a protruding, bubble-like spirit body resembling an "octopus head."

This belongs to Aiven’s temporary possession, the [Legendary Battle Armor: Sea Soul].

At this moment, in the captain’s quarters below deck.

Jelos seems somewhat dazed, subconsciously stroking the wall of the "Sea Soul," muttering:

"This... seems, sort of, possibly the third legendary battleship, right???"

Jelos has seen the [Crown of Miracles] and the [Jade Coronet], but the half-complete "Theseus" in dire straits has long envied Aiven’s extremely rich heritage.

Yet he never expected that upon being invited again for joint action, he’d encounter the third [Sea Soul]!

Beside him, Aiven sits in a delicate chair, casually playing with the [Warship Key] black pearl pendant in his hand, nonchalantly placing his foot on the table before him, showing no concern over this precious legendary battleship.

"Oh, you mean the ’Sea Soul’? It got wrecked previously, only recently repaired and brought back after a few days.

Actually, I don’t particularly like the slow-moving style of traditional battleships, and its design completely clashes with my aesthetic.

If it wasn’t for its unique legendary battleship skill still having some merits, I wouldn’t choose to place it in my 300-square-kilometer [Witchcraft Garden], it’s simply too space-consuming."

Upon hearing this, Jelos rolls his eyes to the sky, silently giving him 32 middle fingers in his mind.

’You’re rich, you get to call the shots...’

Now, the [Sea Soul], delayed for half a year before being retrieved, has been fully restored.

It’s 72 meters long, with a normal displacement of 3,500 tons when sailing on water, featuring three decks of cannons, and a total of 110 shipborne artillery. Besides the ten coral cannons on each side of the ship capable of firing [Bomb Cyclones], the other artillery is conventional firepower, only able to launch ordinary high-pressure water bombs.

Aiven prearranged with Jelos living on the edge of Celebes Island, directly using the [Legendary Battleship Skill: Dream Cruise] to remotely deliver the entire [Sea Soul] to the edge of the "Broken Star Islands."

Then began the exploration work over the last hundred kilometers.

With a depth of 8,000 meters, where sea monsters lurk, the "Sea Scar," with its chaotic currents, wind directions, geomagnetic fields, celestial phenomena... and other harsh sea conditions have no impact on Aiven.

Now the entire ship only carries the two of them, considering the notorious reputation of the "Broken Star Sea," he didn’t bring any of the women from home until the dangers are confirmed safe.

Originally, he intended to bring Milan, but for some unknown reason, Milan seemed to have anticipated something ominous and took leave to return to the mainland early.

However, this might not be a bad thing.

With a powerful legendary battleship in hand and two great wizards joining forces, they can afford to be a little adventurous in the vanguard.

Thus, with the throbbing "Adventurer’s Blood," the two of them agreed in a heartbeat and quickly conceived a bold idea.

Directly passing under the outskirts of the islands to observe the real visage of that place, claimed to be forbidden territory, a dose of [World’s Favor] is undoubtedly in store.

Snap—!

Aiven snapped his fingers lightly.

"Let’s go, the earlier we explore, the sooner we return, and I’ve got dinner plans to get back to tonight. Command: ’Sea Soul’ activate [Legendary Battleship Skill: Underwater Stealth]!"

Then the octopus head-like "ship spirit" at the head of the ship emitted bubbling sounds, and the three inclined masts on the "Sea Soul" transformed into actual "fish fins," making it dive gracefully into the water like a fish.

Whoa la la...

The walls of the captain’s cabin have turned transparent, offering a full view of the underwater scenery. Initially populated with various flourishing corals, algae, and fish..., but as the depth increased, the surroundings soon became only dark cold seawater and... eerie silence.

Under the light of the lighting technique.

The two laid out the [Ocean Treasure: Ancient Scroll] on the table, closely examining it.

Looking at the dense conglomerate with its perimeter and core totalling at least fifty thousand islands forming the "Broken Star Sea," they couldn’t help but frown. Even with their strength, at least a quarter of the outlines are marked red, indicating potential enormous dangers.

The main objective of their exploration this time isn’t to seize as much [World’s Favor] as possible, but to understand the limits of the so-called red danger levels, to determine a safe boundary for others’ landing.

The destination is located on the southeastern side of the "Broken Star Islands," surrounded by the outermost of a group of inconspicuous small islands, a red medium-sized island.

As for why they chose to go underwater instead of using the more convenient dream realm or employing the [Mind Network] to scout?

[Dream Cruise] does possess innate advantages, yet it doesn’t guarantee invincibility. Imagine leaping between dreams and suddenly landing in an evil spirit’s dream realm!

It’s a nightmare within a nightmare!

And as relayed by Jelos, early experiments conducted by the wizards of Celebes Island showed that those below Tier 3 hardly qualify to roam freely in this sea area; a multitude of brutal predators would quickly teach such arrogant folks a lesson.

Having lost their corporeal constraints and needing no oxygen, the "Seagull Spirit" might hover almost indefinitely at 30,000 meters altitude, close to 90% of the atmospheric total.

But don’t even consider flying at even 300 meters high here, as you’d lose sight of the islands or the ocean below; it’s as if even light here is chaotic, intentionally or unintentionally obstructing any external observation.

Gulp... Gulp...

The "Sea Soul"’s [Vortex Maneuver] can only reach a maximum speed of forty kilometers per hour, which is 22 knots, while its underwater speed is only 20 knots.

They had been sailing for two and a half hours, successfully passing through dozens of yellow and orange islands, with one-third of the distance remaining to reach the target island.

However, staying in the deep sea for a long time, the dark and deathly silent scenery made them feel a bit anxious.

Clap!

Chatting with Jelos to relieve the annoyance in their hearts, they casually opened their "Golden Compass."

Aiven suddenly realized that the pointer on the "Golden Compass" had been unwaveringly pointing in one direction since entering the "Broken Star Sea."

"Huh? This is..."

"That’s the direction of the ’Golden Kingdom’ guarding the Gate. After entering the Broken Star Sea, the Golden Compass only points there when there’s no danger, without hindering its original use."

Experienced Jelos also took out his own "Golden Compass," pointing in the exact same direction.

"Oh, I see. It will be a couple of years before we should consider it, it’s still too early now."

However, just as they were about to put the "Golden Compass" back away, they saw its pointer suddenly shift sharply toward the three o’clock direction.

Their expressions changed instantly.

Both adventurers were very aware of what that meant, the "Golden Compass" was signaling them to run toward the three o’clock direction.... to escape!

As the captain, Aiven shouted out:

"Not good! ’Sea Soul,’ change course!"

At the same time, the previously normal [Ocean Treasure: Ancient Scroll] suddenly turned a vast crimson!

Rumble...

The next moment, an extremely raging, tsunami-like terrifying vortex struck the "Sea Soul."

Within a few breaths, the deafening "creak!" "creak!" sounds caused both of them to drastically change their color.

Aiven dared not hesitate any longer.

Roar——

[Bloodline Plugin: Cosmic Dragon!]

After Dragon Transformation, the [King’s Rook Castle] in full operation engulfed the entire ship into the void.

At the last moment, Aiven glanced back for a fleeting glimpse, seeing something enormous and black, indistinguishable in the chaotic current that even the "Sea Soul" could not withstand, brushing past them without paying them any mind.

Perhaps it was... an undersea mountain range?

The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is the fear of the unknown.

The water of the "Broken Star Sea" was evidently deeper than they initially thought, and the abyssal depths were not as safe as assumed, but at least they knew now before it’s too late.

Bang—!

Spray splattered.

The "Sea Soul" had surged back to the sea surface again, but they had neither pierced the outer barrier nor had they completely left the "Broken Star Sea."

Escaping with their lives, with the terrifying shadow lingering in their minds, the repeated question resounded: Who am I, and where am I?

The first exploration ended in an unceremonious retreat.

Both lay on the deck for a moment to recover.

"Next time, we should still..."

Just halfway through speaking, Aiven suddenly had a thought and said to Jelos:

"Sorry, I need to take a call."

With a teasing wink:

"Your sister-in-law, want to chat as the brother-in-law?"

Jelos retreated repeatedly.

While lying on the "Sea Soul" deck, taking a pot of tea from the [Witchcraft Garden], he first took a sip to calm his nerves, then connected to the signal from the [Mind Network].

Since the trans-oceanic communication lines had been opened, Liweina would often call Aiven for long chats, covering topics like astronomy, geography, military, and politics, leaving nothing unspok... yet this time, the image projected onto Aiven’s retina of Liweina solemnly stated one thing:

"Aiven, the time is almost here."

Aiven’s expression instantly became serious as he sat up promptly.

"Alright, I will make a trip these days."

Turning to look at the curious Jelos beside him, Aiven relayed the news like a clap of thunder for him:

"Our exploration plan might need to be postponed for a while because Her Highness Stephanie and Her Highness Liweina’s mother, our Queen, is going to... abdicate!"