Castle of Black Iron

Every ship that could freely access the Oro Strait weighed tens of thousands tons.

So did Polar Light. With a length of 300 m, it could displace over 6000 tons of seawater when it had a full load. This was definitely the biggest ship that Zhang Tie had ever seen. Even in Huaiyuan Prefecture, it would be qualified as a huge ship.

At this moment, Polar Light was close to having a full load. Besides its over 4000 passengers, it also carried over 30,000 tons of materials.

Try to imagine the strength required to shock such a huge ship.

Most people inside the dining room were holding onto anything that was bolted down to secure themselves while Zhang Tie rushed outside at once.

”Peter, where are you going?” Sam screamed.

”Don’t worry, I’m just taking a look outside...” Zhang Tie replied as he ran.

”What a crazy guy!” Saying this, Gerri made a gesture towards Sam, ”Let’s have a look at that thing. If something really happens to our ship, it is same both in and out the dining room.”

Sam nodded as the 2 people ran towards the door of the dining room. Only a few stepped away after they moved, they were thrown onto the ground by another huge shock.

”F*ck...” Sam swore.

...

At this moment, Zhang Tie had already rushed out of the dining room. Before the second huge shock, Zhang Tie had jumped off the ground. After stepping onto the wall of the passage, he immediately landed on the corridor outside the cabin.

Many people rushed out after Zhang Tie.

About half of the 4000-odd passengers in this ship were pioneers. Some of them didn’t know what happened at all, they only wanted to see what was happening outside. Some of them were very bold. When they were told that Polar Light encountered an attack from some dangerous creature, they also ran out due to the excitement.

The north wind was whistling outside the cabin while waves were surging high. The moment Zhang Tie rushed out, he had heard a voice, ”It’s at the fore...” Zhang Tie then sped up towards the front of the ship before witnessing an extremely shocking scene.

Zhang Tie saw a terrifying tentacle stretching out of the sea which contained an immense number of suckers. It was dozens of meters in height and was twisting at the fore of the Polar Light. Shortly after that, it started to whip the board, causing the whole ship shake heavily like a fish being lashed.

Although the metal structure of the ship could not be easily broken, with this whip, Zhang Tie heard the jarring sound of twisting and squeezing iron and steel. At the same time, many buildings and facilities at the fore were broken by such an irresistible attack.

Broken materials flew in all directions, causing many people to wail mournfully. Some unlucky guys were even broken into pieces by the whip.

Although Zhang Tie was far away from that tentacle, he also suffered from the attack of some broken pieces flying towards him from the front. Thankfully, he dodged away from them.

After the tentacle’s attack, another huge tentacle stretched out of the starboard as it swept across the shipboard. As a result, another 5 or 6 onlookers were rolled up by the tentacle. With miserable shrieks, their skeletons were broken at the same time while their innards burst out. With fresh blood spraying in the air, they were pulled into the sea...

At the sight of such a scene, many people who had just run out immediately turned around and rushed back in. They were outside here only to be the dimsum of the monster. By contrast, it was safer in the cabins.

Even the thinnest part at the tip of the tentacle was wider than 1 m. It swept across a spot less than 10 m in front of Zhang Tie, breaking a row of windows on the left of the shipboard. After rolling up one person, the huge tentacle instantly made a knot over his body in less than 1 second, causing his eyes pop out of his face.

”Huge Deep-Sea Monster, Huge Deep-Sea Monster...” Someone shouted loudly on the deck above Zhang Tie when bolts were shot into the sea from huge steam-driven crossbows.

Zhang Tie didn’t know whether or not they had hit the huge monster with the bolts. The moment this question flashed across Zhang Tie’s mind, a surging wave had risen into the sky suddenly while another huge tentacle several meters in width stretched out from the bottom of the ship. In a split second, Zhang Tie saw a steam-driven ballista, debris of buildings and more than 10 people were swept into the sea. Meanwhile, a loud sound and some shrill screams drifted from the starboard...

The monster in the sea seemed having been irritated by the huge bolts.

After rushing out of the passage after Zhang Tie, Sam and Gerri saw a tentacle as wide as several meters shrinking into the sea along with those pieces and people, their faces turned pale at once. They then instantly turned around and escaped back towards their cabins as they realized that they were only targets by standing by the shipboard...

Zhang Tie also prepared to run back into this own cabin. At the sight of it, Zhang Tie had realized that it was out of his ability to deal with this huge deep-sea monster. Although he kept moving towards the north in the sea, he had not seen such a terrifying monster before.

Zhang Tie didn’t think he was a righteous swordsman, neither did he think that he could save others at the risk of his own life. If that huge monster destroyed the ship, Zhang Tie could escape by himself. However, he didn’t know how many people could he save.

Thinking of this, Zhang Tie really heard ’helps’.

”Help...” A guy lying on the deck 7-8 m away from Zhang Tie was screaming miserably while a sharp metal strip penetrated his thigh, causing him to unable to move.

Soon after his scream, another wide tentacle stretched out of the sea and swept over the deck like a mop that was used to clean the deck and the shipboard. As a result, with the cracking sound of metal, the metal guardrails of the shipboard and the deck rolled up like instant noodles.

In a wink, that huge tentacle had been less than 10 m away from the person. That guy’s face changed as he watched that terrifying black tentacle which rolled towards him like a tank with a despairing look.

At this moment, Zhang Tie rushed towards the man. He caught his clothes and rolled into a cabin on one side before the tentacle reached them...

After this round of attack, the door and the window of the cabin had been transformed and broken into pieces while one wall was cleaned. In the blink of an eye, the cabin had been destroyed as if it had been attacked by a tornado.

The moment Zhang Tie stopped rolling, he saw another surging wave from outside the shipboard while another huge tentacle stretched out of the sea, twisting in the air, and was going to hack downwards...

”B*stard!” With a furious, grim voice, a blue sun appeared outside the cabin. Being stimulated by that brilliant, blue sword qi, Zhang Tie slightly narrowed his eyes. At the same time, Zhang Tie’s heart palpitated while a powerful pressure rose from outside.

This powerful pressure reminded Zhang Tie of a familiar sense. Zhang Tie then immediately remembered the scene when he met the senior from Huaiyuan Palace on the airship. However, this person’s powerful pressure was different from that of the senior from Huaiyuan Palace. The latter’s powerful pressure was as steady as Mount Tai while the prior’s powerful pressure felt like being pricked by numerous sharp long swords.

‘Knight! How come a knight on this ship?’ Zhang Tie was a bit shocked as he let out a sigh almost at the same time.

Before that huge tentacle fell down onto the deck, it had become cut into pieces while its blood sprayed over the sky. Being influenced by this, the rest of the huge tentacles that were surrounding the Polar Light withdrew back into the sea, causing a 100-m high water column at once. Meanwhile, a baby’s high-pitched baby crying drifted from below the sea.

When that sound was produced, even Zhang Tie covered his ears with hands as he felt like vomiting.

Eyes widely opened, Zhang Tie watched the man standing in the air being covered with blue sword qi. When the knight shot into the sea like a bolt, Zhang Tie also made a decision and rushed out of his cabin.

Zhang Tie had never witnessed how a knight fought. As there was a chance, of course, Zhang Tie would not give it up.

Zhang Tie directly came to the fore of the ship and looked at the sea...

Huge tentacles stirred up the 100-m high water columns and surging waves, making the Polar Light bumpier. Among those water columns and surging waves, a huge black shadow which was 100 m in width was below the ship. At the sight of it, Zhang Tie felt chilly all over.

In a split second, the blue sword qi had cut off the tentacles of over 100 m in length which stretched out of the sea like cutting melons and vegetables like lightning bolts. After dropping into the sea, the twisting, broken tentacles also caused high sprays and surging waves. As a result, Zhang Tie was soaking wet.

At the same time, the monster uttered a shrill shriek.

There was a steam-driven ballista at the fore of the ship. Whereas, the sailor of this steam-driven ballista had already been hacked away by one tentacle. At this moment, when the blue sword qi was fighting the monster, Zhang Tie noticed that nobody was manipulating the ballista, therefore, he immediately ran towards it.

After rapily checking the steam-driven ballista, Zhang Tie found that only the defensive armor plate of the steam-driven ballista was dented and twisted. The whole ballista was still in good condition. The steam pressure of the ballista was normal while a 2-m long triangular crossbow had been in place. The ballista was ready for launch at any time.

Without saying anything, Zhang Tie instantly sat in the seat of the gunner. At the same time, Zhang Tie forcefully rocked the steering driving wheel and aimed at that monster. At the same time, he held the hammer and prepared to trigger the bolt. Narrowing his eyes, Zhang Tie adjusted his shooting angle along with the rocking ship. Through the reticle window of the ballista, Zhang Tie observed the fight as he waited for the right chance.

Soon the chance arrived. Only after 1 minute, when the monster lost 2 tentacles, the seawater where it stayed instantly became as pitch dark as ink.

”You want to escape? Go die!” With a loud reproach, he hacked a crescent brilliance higher than 20 m into the sea.

In a split second, the seawater was frozen. Being split by that crescent brilliance, a 100-m long and deep vacuum groove was produced in the pitch dark water while a hill-like ferocious head of the monster was seen above the water...

Before being shocked by that knight’s great strength, Zhang Tie had already stricken onto the trigger key with his right hand.

With a quake, a 2-m long huge bolt was sent flying towards the head of that monster from the ballista along the vacuum groove. When the crescent brilliance struck its head, the bolt also entered the monster’s head.

Zhang Tie didn’t know about the result, he only felt that his huge bolt directly entered the huge wound on the monster’s head which was caused by that crescent brilliance.

After that, the seawater refilled the groove. Besides constant wind and waves, everything became quiet again...

After the blue sword qi disappeared, the person was standing still in the air above the sea where he had fought the monster.

Dozens of seconds later, an isle-sized body floated above the water while its lifeless tentacles started to bump over the sea.

It was 20 m higher above the sea although it was only a small part of its body.

The man standing in the air then flew back to the fore. After lowering his head and glancing at Zhang Tie, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he walked towards the top deck where the VIP zone of the Polar Light was located.

Watching that man’s back, Zhang Tie found he was an old man whose age was unidentified. That man looked like a bit older than 50 years old. However, he had no wrinkles. He also looked like he was 70-80 years old as he seemed to have experienced a lot. Besides well-combed silver-gray hair, his silver-gray pupils could bring a great pressure to people. Additionally, he had a raised forehead and a tall figure with a long sword in a sheath hung on his waist. All this radiated a great and sharp power.

When Zhang Tie recalled that old man’s strike with his crescent sword qi which had even split the seawater and reached 100 m under the water, Zhang Tie felt that he was in a dream. If he stood in front of such a powerful person, the strike would have destroyed Zhang Tie 100 times.

’Is this the fighting strength of a knight?’ Zhang Tie watched the old man’s back with an admirable look. He didn’t know when he would have such a powerful fighting strength——with only one strike, even gods and monsters would run over 100 m away.

”Star and Moon Sword Sage! Is that Samaranch, the Star and Moon Sword Sage?” Someone shouted on the top deck.

’Samaranch, Star and Moon Sword Sage!’ Zhang Tie remembered this name.

At this moment, Polar Light had already anchored. The moment the crisis was solved, all the others staying in their cabins had run out while the sailors and seamen on the ship started to clean and repair the ship.

At the sight of the dead body of the terrifying deep-sea huge monster and the damaged parts of the ship, they were all struck dumb with astonishment. The whole fighting process lasted only 3-4 minutes from the deep-sea huge monster’s appearance to its death. However, within such a short period, many people on the ship had experienced life or death situations.

From the hill-like part above the sea, Zhang Tie thought it was a mutated and evolved huge cuttlefish after observing it for a short while.

Zhang Tie then left the fore.

”Castle Lord, could you please collect a bit of its flesh? Just a finger-sized piece of it is enough!”

A familiar voice sounded in Zhang Tie’s mind directly. It was Heller, the steward of Castle of Black Iron.

Zhang Tie was not used to talk with Heller in this way.

”Is that you, Heller?” Zhang Tie asked in mind.

”Yes, it’s me, Castle Lord, I’m talking with you through the teleportation door of Castle of Black Iron. In this way, nobody could hear our conversation except for you. With increasing spiritual energy, you will get used to this way of communication. If you increase your spiritual energy a bit more, you will be able to talk with me directly without having to enter Castle of Black Iron!”

Hearing this explanation, Zhang Tie was reassured. ”What will you use it for?”

”I will explain it to you when you come back. As the flesh of the huge deep-sea monster contains it’s mutated and evolved gene, which is very valuable. This might be useful to Castle Lord. The gene can only survive for several hours after. Therefore, you have to send it into Castle of Black Iron before it loses its activity!”

...

When the Star and Moon Sword Sage destroyed a tentacle of the deep-sea monster, he cut it into many pieces which scattered everywhere on the ship. Therefore, on his way back into his cabin, Zhang Tie casually picked up a piece of glutinuous flesh which was as size as half a fist and teleported it into Castle of Black Iron by putting it into his pocket.