Chapter 1005: Chapter 1004: Is This Ever Going to End?
After secretly "assisting" the sailors in patching up the leaking bottom of the ship with the help of Ratziel, Fang Zheng returned to his room to rest, thinking that Katie’s misfortune had come to an end.
But what Fang Zheng didn’t expect was that this was just the beginning.
Early the next morning, Fang Zheng woke up, but not naturally; he was awakened by the noise outside.
"Ugh... what’s happening?"
Hearing the arguing, Walnut also turned over and got up from the bed, rubbing her eyes. Fang Zheng shook his head, then reached out to push the door open and walked onto the deck. There, Fang Zheng saw the captain holding a whip, whipping a frail sailor fiercely.
"You idiot! What did I tell you to do?! You idiot!! Look what you’ve done?!!"
"What’s going on? Wait, why are you hitting him!"
Walnut also came out at this moment, and was immediately shocked by the scene. She hurriedly stepped forward to stop him, while the captain glared at the sailor before kicking him to the ground, sighing helplessly.
"Miss mercenary, you don’t know the situation. This fool was supposed to keep watch last night, but he fell asleep! And now, we’ve been pushed off course by some current coming from nowhere. In simple terms... we’re lost!!"
... Meow meow meow??
Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng’s eyes widened, and he silently glanced at Katie standing nearby...
Is the young lady’s Curse of Misfortune not over yet?
"Off course? What does that mean?"
At this moment, other passengers also came over, and upon hearing the captain’s words, they were all shocked.
"Hey, don’t you have any way out of this? You should have a compass!"
"The compass was lost during the storm earlier. I’ve sent people to look, but I don’t know if it’s still on the ship..."
"Sigh..."
Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng sighed helplessly, then stepped forward.
"I know a bit about magic, maybe I can help you..."
"Really? That’s great, Miss mercenary!!"
The captain did not doubt Fang Zheng’s words. Some mercenaries do know a bit of simple spells, and though they may not be as skilled as formal mages, they can sometimes work wonders. The captain himself had traveled the world for many years and seen many mercenaries, so when he saw the cute red-ponytailed girl in front of him claiming to know magic, he was delighted.
"Can you help us determine our position..."
"No problem."
For Fang Zheng, this was no issue. She stretched out her hand, muttered a few words softly, and quickly determined the direction. The captain then brought the sea chart and compared it with the magic Fang Zheng had cast, finally clarifying their current position, and immediately adjusted the direction, sailing back toward their destination.
Seeing the matter resolved successfully, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and returned to their cabins. After the storm yesterday and spending half a day fixing the leaks at the bottom of the ship, they were already exhausted. Now, after almost causing a commotion that could have led to a heart attack, those with nothing to do went back to their rooms to rest.
"What bad luck..."
Back in the cabin, Walnut muttered.
"I’ve been on boats before, but I’ve never seen anything like this, it’s so strange..."
...........
Upon hearing Walnut’s self-talk, Katie trembled, then lowered her head without saying a word. However, Fang Zheng could already see that the little lady was almost curled up into a ball at this point.
The rest of the journey was uneventful. Although the atmosphere in the cabin was somewhat gloomy, Fang Zheng making grilled fish and fish soup did help everyone relax. It might not have been gourmet, but enjoying grilled fish while looking at the endless sea was quite delightful.
By the way, the fish were all caught by Walnut, Kurumi caught none.
This shows that it’s a matter of luck.
After finishing their fish soup, everyone stayed in the cabin to rest and chat. However, it was evident that Katie was not interested in chatting, or rather, this young lady began to use her strong invisibility skills, and as they chatted, it felt like they couldn’t find Katie. Fortunately, the young lady didn’t move around, and they just needed to peek in the right place to find her.
Soon, the sunset, and the fiery red sun slowly dipped below the horizon, gradually dimming the world. This quiet day was about to end...
"Ding ding ding ding ding!!!"
The piercing and rapid bell sound shattered the silence on the ship. Hearing this sudden noise, Fang Zheng, Kurumi, and Walnut immediately jumped up, while Katie, feeling startled like a frightened hamster, looked around nervously. It wasn’t long before the sailors’ shouts pierced through the entire cabin.
"Pirates!!"
"Boom!!"
At the same time, as if to prove his words, a dull explosion sounded, causing the ship to tremble slightly, and someone else shouted again.
"The cargo hold is hit, it’s on fire! Someone, help extinguish the fire!!"
...........
Upon hearing this, everyone exchanged glances, then rushed out of the cabin again.
When Fang Zheng and his group reached the deck once more, they saw, as expected, a pirate ship tightly pursuing their ship from the aft side. Cannonballs were occasionally fired, flying toward them. Although most of the cannonballs missed due to insufficient range, some hit the hull, igniting raging fires.
"Put out the fire! Put out the fire! Damn it, return fire! Quickly, return fire! Over there, aim and shoot!!"
The captain was nearly crazed at this point, commanding the sailors to put out the fire while striding to the cannon, loading and aiming it at the distant pirate ship.
No one noticed that at this moment, Fang Zheng stood not far behind the captain. Her fingers trembled imperceptibly in the air, sketching magic runes, and then the mysterious power quietly and soundlessly traveled along the cannon barrel into it.
"Damn bastards, go to hell!"
The captain shouted and then pulled the lever with force. Suddenly, accompanied by a "bang," the cannonball whistled out, flying towards the distant pirate ship.
Yet, no one noticed the almost imperceptible dark red glow attached to the cannonball.
"Boom!!"
In the next moment, everyone saw the distant pirate ship suddenly explode, lightning erupting as the entire ship shattered like it had been hit by a missile.
Witnessing this, even the captain was stunned, and everyone else was dumbfounded. After a moment’s pause, they suddenly cheered loudly.
"Captain, you’re amazing!"
"A direct hit on their ammunition depot with one shot! Worthy of being the captain!!"
It was clear that everyone thought the captain’s volley had hit the pirate ship’s ammunition depot, causing the explosion. The captain himself was wide-eyed, slapping his own cheeks a few times, then grinning with pride.
"Ha ha ha, Goddess bless, this is Goddess’ blessing! When we land, I’ll treat all of you to drinks at the Pipe Tavern! A toast to this cannonball!"
"Captain, Captain...!!"
However, before the captain could finish his words, another sailor hurriedly approached.
"What happened? What now?"
"A whirlpool----!!"
The next moment, the sailor shouted words that sent chills down everyone’s spine.
"There’s a big whirlpool in our path!!"
"What?!!"
Hearing this, the captain’s expression changed instantly. He shoved the sailor aside with one push and stormed to the front in two strides, then lifted the telescope to look into the distance.
In an instant, his complexion turned deathly pale.
Not far away, Fang Zheng helplessly stretched out her hand to cover her face.
When is this ever going to end?