Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1338: Section 1339: Hunting Sea Demon

A night-ferry freighter cut through the sea.

Perhaps because it was near the doldrums, the sea lanes in this area had little night wind.

The sea was calm, and only the rumble of the freighter sailing and the occasional surge from the seabed could be heard.

The sailor on the night shift yawned on the deck. Maybe it was the night’s tranquility, coupled with the calm sea, that made his mind wander. He thought how there were no islands nearby, no risk of pirates, so he could take a sneaky nap in peace; then he thought of his wife and daughter back home, wondering if they were also asleep, if perhaps they would meet in their dreams…

As he mused, he felt his eyelids growing heavier.

Drowsiness enveloped him.

...
Suddenly, a buzzing sound echoed in his ears.

The sailor’s eyes snapped open as he quickly looked around, scared that something might have gone wrong while he was dozing.

But after looking around, he didn’t find anything amiss on the ship.

At that moment, a spout of water erupted in the distance, and a milky-white back surfaced in the sea. Upon seeing this, the sailor couldn’t help but smile: “It’s just a white whale.”

The white whale was a gentle species, huge in size but uninterested in ships sailing above, usually feeding on small fish, shrimp, and plankton.

The Whisker Sea was so named because of the large number of these white whales here.

For those making a living in these waters, encountering a white whale was not a disaster but often considered lucky.

Indeed, not long afterward, the white whale emitted a buzzing sound again, exactly like the one he had heard before.

Relieved, the sailor thought: With the white whale around, this voyage is sure to be safe.

With that thought, he leaned back against the mast again, half-closing his eyes. Because his head was leaning on the mast, it was tilted upward, and through his half-closed eyes, he glimpsed a bright light flashing across the sky.

Perplexed, the sailor opened his eyes wide. When he clearly saw what that light in the sky was, his pupils dilated in shock.

“What’s going on? Why would there be something like that in the sky…” the sailor rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t mistaken.

His legs trembling with fear, he rushed to the deck door where a companion was sitting on the ground.

“Wake up, look at the sky!” The sailor anxiously shook his companion but couldn’t wake him no matter how hard he tried.

A burp escaped and the sailor smelled a strong scent of alcohol. Only then did he notice a bottle of booze beside his companion. This guy had done even worse than taking a sneaky nap, not only had he drunk while on duty, he was completely plastered!

The sailor spit in disgust and hastened into the inner cabin, knocking on the nearest door sharply.

When the door opened, the sailor realized that the room belonged to the old navigator.

The old navigator was wearing pajamas, obviously already in bed. When the door opened, his expression was tinged with annoyance: “What are you knocking for in the middle of the night? Is there some kind of situation?”

The sailor quickly nodded, “There is a situation, no, I mean, not on the sea, but in the sky!”

“There’s a door in the sky!”

The old navigator followed the sailor outside with skepticism, and though there were no fierce winds, the cold air still made him shiver.

Enduring the cold, he looked up at the sky—

The night sky was clear, with sparse clouds, and a few shining stars occasionally visible.

Forget doors; there wasn’t even a bird in sight.

Faced with the old navigator’s skeptical and angry look, the sailor stammered, “I really did see a door appear in the sky just now.”

To emphasize his point, the sailor even imitated how he was leaning against the mast looking up at the sky.

“I clearly remember a door, it seemed to be glowing… That’s right, and there was a little ship that flew out from it, that ship was beautiful, with sparkling starlight, its curved body like the moonlight ship from a fairy tale,” the sailor recounted every detail of the scene, but the old navigator not only disbelieved, he grew even angrier.

“The captain assigned you guys to keep watch outside, and one of you gets drunk, the other sneaks a sleepy nap, and then wakes me up from my sleep to join in your madness! I tell you, I’m going to find the captain right now and make this clear!” The old navigator could immediately tell from the sailor’s leaning against the mast that he had been sleeping.

You’re dozing off, and then you wake yourself up from a dream, downright infuriating the navigator!

Angry, he turned and walked back inside.

But at that moment, a cry of anguish suddenly came from the nearby sea. The old navigator stopped in his tracks and turned to look, only to see the sea churning in the distance, and shortly after, the carcass of a white whale floated up.

The most shocking revelation was that the white-bearded whale’s head had an extra hole, from which a copious amount of blood sprayed out, dyeing the seascape even deeper under the night sky.

The sailor trembled as he pointed at the white-bearded whale, “That seems to be… the one from before?”

The old navigator scrutinized the wound on the head of the white-bearded whale, seemingly remembering something, his pupils suddenly constricted, “Bad news, it’s a whale-hunting sea demon! Quick, inform the crew, turn the ship immediately!”

The sailor nodded hastily and ran haphazardly towards the direction of the crow’s nest, where there was a platform that could communicate directly with the control room.

However, before he could reach the crow’s nest,

a mere hundred meters from the freighter, a surge of waves suddenly rose, and a male sea demon wielding a trident emerged from the surf!

The old navigator stared at the sea demon’s blood-red eyes, brimming with cruelty and bloodlust, and couldn’t help but freeze in horror, murmuring involuntarily, “We’re doomed…”

Whale-hunting sea demons are generally male. They have a humanoid appearance, but their ears are shaped like fish fins, with gills behind them. Their upper body resembles that of humans, but below the waist, they possess either a fish tail or a snake tail.

While they are called “whale-hunting” sea demons, it doesn’t mean they only prey on whales.

This is merely a reference; being able to hunt whales in the Whisker Sea signifies that they stand at the very top of the Whisker Sea food chain!

…

Above, on a gondola concealed by an illusion technique.

Popota was still in a daze, one moment they were in the windless belt, but then Angel suddenly waved his hand, summoning a door. Next thing they knew, they were outside the windless belt?

“Is this, is this your creation of magic? But, why would it be from the Space Series?” Popota looked at Angel with astonishment and confusion.

However, Angel didn’t respond, his face pale, looking utterly exhausted.

Angel had not expected that merely transferring a few nautical miles would completely deplete his Magical Core!

According to his calculations, this shouldn’t have been far.

The effect of the Gate Model was meant for short-distance spatial displacement, and while “short” distance implied a range within a hundred miles or so,

his own Magical Core, though not fully charged, was nearly ninety percent full.

The result was that a mere few nautical miles of transport led to the depletion of his Magical Core, something Angel had not anticipated at all.

According to the feedback he received from the Gate Model, this was clearly abnormal.

Angel lifted his head and looked towards Popota—who was still in shock across from him—

Could it be because of the spatial displacement this time that involved other people?

Angel couldn’t know for certain at the moment and could only make this guess. The true situation would require gathering more experimental data to ascertain.

But what Angel felt fortunate about was that fortunately, the Magical Core was only depleted, not yet exhausted or overdrawn. Those latter two scenarios would be akin to injuries, and if more severe, it might even lead to a shattered Magical Core.

“Indeed, any trick, even those on the Witchcraft Slot, must undergo rigorous testing before being put to use in practice,” Angel reflected inwardly. Using it so carelessly, he almost harmed himself.

As Angel was contemplating, a scream echoed from below.

Angel looked down curiously, only then noticing that a whale-hunting sea demon was controlling the sea and attacking a freighter with a trident.

Seeing that Angel was unwilling to answer, Popota intelligently stopped asking.

He too noticed the situation below and said softly, “That is a male sea demon, the most lowly existence among sea demons, with very weak strength, barely able to control the waves. But both male and female sea demons have one thing in common—they enjoy eating humans, and to them, the taste of human flesh is considered a delicacy.”

“Not all sea demons eat humans,” Angel muttered in response, while his mind conjured the image of Silver Star.

Silver Star, as a serpentine sea demon, not only abstained from eating humans but even bore a deeper fondness for humans than humans had for themselves.

After a moment’s silence, Popota said, “I’ve never encountered a sea demon that doesn’t eat humans. Even if there are some, they must be a minority. But this group of people is unlucky; they’ve encountered a human-eating sea demon.”

As they looked upon the horrific scene below, Popota sighed, “I’m afraid it’s too late to save them.”

Angel, “Not necessarily.”

Popota blinked, then realized what Angel meant, “You plan to save them?”

Angel nodded lightly, “Exactly, and I want to test out a trick.”