An Awesome Attack

Chapter 26: An Awesome Attack

"Why is the atmosphere so tense?"

Everyone on deck stared silently at Yug. He suddenly felt like the grilled fish on his plate had lost its flavor. However, this time, no one argued with him.

He tried to comfort them, "It's just a war, why are you so nervous?"

"I didn't expect Young Master to have this side of him."

The Captain snapped back to reality and was the first to try and smooth things over. Those words just now didn't sound like something their Young Master would say. Although the prediction sounded wild and unbelievable, when they followed his words and thought about it, they couldn't find a way to refute it.

It's just that...

The Captain glanced at Lily. She was lowering her head, hugging her shoulders with both hands, her body trembling slightly.

It was clear that his words had brought back her past memories.

Lily was from the Empire. She had a unique emotional connection to the identity of a Saint. When the Young Master "found" her on their first voyage, she was wearing clothes full of holes, covered in dirt, her skin riddled with scars. A group of human traffickers had captured her and were planning to transport her elsewhere like cargo.

Many people were already there.

The Captain felt that perhaps no one understood the meaning of those words better than Lily. She had crawled out of the abyss herself.

"Lily" was also the nickname Young Master Yug had given her. In the early days after she joined the ship, she never spoke to anyone. Almost everyone thought she was mute.

From then on, she had accompanied the Young Master as his maid.

Although Lily disliked talking about her past, the crew knew that she had once had a happy and fulfilling family with parents who loved her dearly. That was until the war between the Saints affected her hometown. When she crawled out from the rubble, the entire town had been reduced to ruins.

The ground was littered with corpses, and mangled limbs were everywhere.

In the early days on the ship, Lily woke up from nightmares almost every day. And the Saint who had destroyed her hometown was still an existence that countless people admired.

--Necessary sacrifice.

--Paying high tribute to the martyrs.

These were the most common phrases in the Empire. As long as people stood in the square and shouted slogans, they would quickly forget those who died in the war.

The Captain coughed lightly, pulling the conversation back. "I admit that Young Master, you have indeed grown a lot. But, you were definitely swindled out of those 20 Ice Arrow scrolls! You were swindled, no matter how you try to deny it!"

The crew immediately chimed in, "He was definitely swindled!"

"Bought 20 Ice Arrow scrolls for 30 Gold Lions."

"This should be written in the sailing log!"

Yug wasn't angry. Instead, a smile appeared on his face. "Since you're all so sure, let's make a bet. I bet Heisenberg didn't cheat me."

Heisenberg had mentioned that because the Three-in-One Ice Arrow Scroll was too powerful, he didn't recommend using it within towns. He also said that if there was a water source nearby, the power of the Ice Arrows would be enhanced to a certain extent. Their ship had already sailed away from the Empire's waters, and all they could see in every direction was blue.

There was no better place than this to test the Three-in-One Ice Arrow Scroll.

The chubby crewmate was the first to speak up. "Alright, what do you want to bet? I can put up 20 Silver Antelopes. Any more and my wife will scold me when I get back."

"30 Silver Antelopes!"

"I'll bet 50!"

"Whoa, whoa, hold on!"

Yug waved his hand. "This bet has nothing to do with money. Ultimately, Lily was the one who brought this matter up. If you lose, she will have to pay a price for it."

"What price?"

The black-haired maid frowned slightly. Yug smiled like a child making a bet, full of provocation, making her want to pinch his face like she did when she was little.

Young Master Yug's face had a surprisingly good feel when pinched.

After Yug and the Captain's antics, the gloom in her heart had lessened considerably.

"If I win, you have to tell me 10 jokes until you make me laugh. If I lose, I'll tell you 10 jokes."

What a... fool!

Yug's intentions were too obvious. However, there was probably only such a foolish Young Master in this world who would consider a servant's feelings and try to cheer her up.

Lily said, "You're bound to lose. Don't cry when the time comes."

"You're the one who's bound to lose. Don't underestimate the bond between me and Old Sen! You can start preparing your jokes."

Yug declared victory. He was determined to win this victory.

Of course, it wouldn't matter much even if he lost.

When he visited the bookstore on the first day, he had bought a copy of "Selected Empire Jokes," which would come in handy.

The group walked grandly towards the bow of the ship. The Captain and the crew exchanged glances tacitly, and a behind-the-scenes operation was already underway.

Their goal was to make the Head Maid happy, so even if the scroll could really be used as a three-in-one, they would pretend not to see it.

Young Master Yug was destined to lose this bet.

After all, even if three scrolls were combined and used, Ice Arrows were just slightly larger than ordinary Ice Arrows and had a bit more penetration. But now they were at sea, with no specific targets. How powerful would they be, wasn't that entirely up to them to decide?

"Accept your fate, Young Master!"

The crew watched as Yug took out three scrolls at once. Since the outcome was decided before the bet even began, the next part was their most anticipated teasing and mocking session.

The three scrolls emitted a faint blue glow. The portly crewman was the first to think of a taunt, "Look, Young Master Yug's Ice Arrow, the little ones are like chickens—"

A blast of cold air hit him, cutting off his words. He felt as though his teeth were freezing.

The portly crewman saw the Captain's expression.

The Captain had been ready to laugh heartily, to liven up the somber atmosphere, but now his mouth hung open, unable to utter a single sound.

This made the portly crewman realize that what he was seeing was no illusion.

The ship stopped its voyage.

Because an ice formation shaped like barbs blocked their path. This suddenly appearing ice mountain had split the sea, dividing the entire ocean in two. Endless ice spikes extended forward, and they couldn't see the end of the glacial formation.

Before long, they smelled blood.

It drifted into their nostrils with the sea breeze.

The remains of marine life, pierced and cut by the ice spikes, gradually surfaced. Among them, many dangerous Magic Beasts could be seen. Some ice spikes were stained with blood, or had simply impaled the corpses of Magic Beasts. The blood dyed the ice spikes red, but froze before it could drip down.

It was as if time itself had frozen here.

"Egg—"

After an unknown amount of time, the frozen time finally resumed its flow. The portly crewman's trailing syllable pulled everyone back to reality. He exhaled a breath of warm air, and everyone instinctively did the same thing—hugged their shoulders and curled up into a ball.

It was so cold!

The temperature had dropped by at least 30 degrees!

Even Yug stood frozen at the bow of the ship.

"What..."

The Captain voiced everyone's thoughts, "What in the blazes is that thing!?"

He didn't understand.

Could these three scrolls have even the slightest connection to Ice Arrow?

What kind of Ice Arrow looked like this?

Yug gazed into the distance for a long time. At this moment, he finally understood why Heisenberg had warned him not to use it in town.

His mind was now filled with the other's safety guidelines and all other instructions regarding Ice Arrow.

Yug turned his head hesitantly and answered the Captain's question, "A powerful attack."

It took him a few minutes to straighten his tongue. He instructed the Captain, "Turn back! Turn back immediately! As soon as we get back, have a magician from the Conglomerate come over. Have him set up Teleportation Magic at my mansion, I need to go to Fireplace Bay!"

He even forgot about the ten jokes Lily owed him, pacing anxiously back and forth on the deck.

For the first time in his life, Yug felt dissatisfied with the steam power. He personally stormed into the control room. They were all racing against time.

Although Heisenberg had said he would always stay in Fireplace Bay, what if others found out the power of the Three-in-One Ice Arrow Scroll and hired him away with a long spear?

The thought made him lose his usual composure. He yelled, "Is this even steam power? Why is it as slow as a snail?"