The *Dream of Salmon* was a very distinctive Wandering Ship.

It reeked of a deeply ingrained stench of blood, as if it were etched into the very iron of its hull. The smell mixed with the salty sea air and, combined with the various rust-stained yet enormous hunting tools on deck—all capable of easily harming giant sea beasts—gave Shi Ming the feeling of walking into a slaughterhouse.

Mottled crimson was everywhere.

Led by Chris, Shi Ming toured the Wandering Ship.

The *Dayun* was anchored on the sea half a nautical mile away, under his remote control.

Chris had thick brows, large eyes, and a square face. If he were a character in a TV show from Shi Ming’s past life, you would immediately peg him as one of the good guys. The fact that he was the commander of this Wandering Ship created a jarring contrast.

Shi Ming didn’t mind that Chris had recognized him on sight.

He had a few aces up his sleeve now.

As long as he didn’t have to enter a King-level Wandering Ship, he had nothing to fear.

Besides, out on the open sea, no one would be foolish enough to make an enemy of an unattached S-rank Awakened who could act with impunity.

’Truly professional.’

’Compared to firearms, these oddly shaped blunt instruments can inflict sustained damage. They’re more effective against giant sea beasts and more cost-effective.’

’And once embedded, the sea beast is practically tethered to the ship, with no chance of escape.’

After touring the Wandering Ship, Chris and his crew held a rather grand welcoming ceremony. Moreover, the captain, who was quite the people person, proactively doubled Shi Ming’s reward! Three-quarters of the blood from the hunted sea beast would belong entirely to Shi Ming, or he could take the cash equivalent after it was sold.

In addition, he could start learning about their experience in capturing large sea beasts right away.

"Brother Shi,"

"I hope you don’t find this compensation lacking."

"As long as you can help me capture that sea beast, you can take all the wealth on this ship!"

Shi Ming flipped through Chris’s hunting log.

He was only interested in the log. As for the wealth on this ship... ’It’s obvious there isn’t much wealth here, at least not compared to the *Chuiyan*. It’s a far cry. They’re both Golden Ships, but that Reinhardt sure knows how to live. And then look at this place—nothing but black steel, rust, and the stench of blood...’

Shi Ming grumbled internally as he casually skimmed the log.

The log contained years of accumulated experience and was remarkably detailed.

It was especially detailed on precautions for facing giant sea beasts, how to tell when they were about to swallow, how to maneuver the ship to avoid losses when facing colossal beasts, how to break through their thick, defensive layers of fat, and how to find their fatal weaknesses...

This experience, gleaned from countless slaughters, was very helpful to Shi Ming.

Before reading this log, if he had gone to hunt the Dusk Whale, Shi Ming would have used "Descent of the Titan," combining Phaseless Pure Ice with his tenfold power, to launch a frontal assault on the creature’s head, hoping to pierce its cranium for a one-hit kill.

But after reading the log, he realized his plan might have been somewhat flawed.

The whales of the current sea were not the whales of the Land Era. As mutated sea beasts, their heads were not their weak points. With their thick skulls and layers of fat, even if his tenfold power could pierce dozens of meters deep into its head with a single strike, the wound would be too small for a fatal blow. Instead, it would only enrage the beast!

Moreover, attacking the head made it easy to be swallowed whole.

Chris’s advice was to attack the spine if their strengths were comparable. The vertebrae located two-fifths of the way down the beast’s body were closest to the skin, which would allow for the most effective damage and could cripple its entire body with a single well-placed strike.

If the strength disparity was too great, a "stalling" tactic could sometimes allow the weak to overcome the strong.

The so-called stalling tactic involved using the sea beast’s own enormous body against it by inflicting multiple blunt-force injuries in specific locations to prolong the battle. Shi Ming wasn’t sure if this approach would be effective on the already-rotting Dusk Whale, but it at least offered a new line of thinking.

...

...

...

"Captain Chris, tell me the specifics of your target sea beast. Its size, weaknesses, and so on."

’Knowledge must be put into practice.’

Gaining experience was important, but real combat was also one of Shi Ming’s goals.

Chris pondered for a moment.

"The beast is only an A-rank sea beast. We discovered its location a month ago, in a sea region 27 nautical miles from here. We originally planned to set a trap and slowly wear it down. But just over ten days ago, we spotted another Wandering Ship that had traveled a great distance to get here. They’ve also set their sights on it. That ship is stronger than ours, but they haven’t made any rash moves either. It seems they’re also waiting for reinforcements."

"We felt we couldn’t wait any longer, so we changed our plan to a direct assault."

"You know how it is, Brother. Out on the sea, the strong hunt the beasts, and the weak are hunted by them. There’s competition between whaling ships, too."

"If this goes on, the *Dream of Salmon* will come away with nothing, and the prey we’ve worked so hard to stake out will become someone else’s. If we successfully capture this A-rank sea beast, after your reward, it could help at least two more of my brothers become A-rank Awakened. And..."

Chris paused.

He didn’t continue.

"An A-rank sea beast is a treasure trove from head to tail, so competition is inevitable. However, the *Dream of Salmon* is one of the top Hunting Ships in Northwest Europe. When it comes to experience against large sea beasts, I doubt anyone surpasses you, Captain Chris. So, who is the competitor?"

"It’s the *Beheading Great Saber* from the Vortex Country."

"???"

’Of all the rotten luck.’

The *Beheading Great Saber*, a Golden Wandering Ship under the command of the Admiral-level Wandering Ship, the *Renhuang*. It specialized in hunting whale-type sea beasts.

"Isn’t the Vortex Country’s operational area around Fujing Mountain?"

Shi Ming was a little confused.

"We were puzzled too. But every Golden Wandering Ship has its own unique style, and that ship bears the Renhuang family crest. There’s no mistaking it."

Chris paused for a moment before continuing,

"The *Beheading Great Saber* arrived in this region thirteen days ago. It found the beast but didn’t take action. Instead, it’s been trailing the whale from fifty nautical miles out, apparently waiting for backup. To be honest, I hadn’t originally planned on seeking outside help for this hunt. Although the *Dream of Salmon* only has one A-rank Awakened, we’re very experienced in dealing with large sea beasts. We know how to use our small size to our advantage and turn the beast’s size into a weakness. It was only because of this complication with the Vortex Country that we were forced to find reinforcements."

"That’s understandable."

Shi Ming didn’t pay any mind to the fact that Chris had mentioned only one A-rank Awakened instead of two. For a Golden Ship, having even one A-rank Awakened was already outstanding.

He put away the log and notes Chris had given him.

As part of his payment, the log was his to keep.

He would need to read through it all slowly.

"I have a general understanding of the situation now. Captain Chris, when do we depart?"

He was in a hurry.

"When do you think is a good time, Brother Shi?"

"How about..." Shi Ming considered for a moment. "Now?"

The three-day period was up. Since he hadn’t killed a sea beast in three days, the deathly aura and the presence of the Extremely Evil Sanctuary on him had dissipated, so he wouldn’t scare off any beasts. Furthermore, they were so close to the Dusk Whale’s location that any delay could lead to unexpected problems. He didn’t want any abnormalities to interfere with his plans.

"Now?"

Chris was stunned for a moment.

His large, round eyes lit up.

’Now? Now is great!’

’Every day we wait is another day of risk. What if the *Beheading Great Saber* calls in powerful reinforcements tomorrow, like an S-rank expert from the Twelve Stars? What then? And we must remember, while the target is indeed an A-rank sea beast, it’s no ordinary A-rank sea beast!’

’To be honest, he suspected that once Shi Ming learned the true nature of that whale, he would covet it too. No one could resist its temptation.’

’But there was no better way right now.’

’The *Dream of Salmon* was weaker than the *Beheading Great Saber*.’

’If he waited any longer, he’d end up with nothing.’

’All he could do now was trust the person he chose to use.’

...

...

...

Roughly fifty-odd nautical miles southwest of the *Dream of Salmon*, a submersible Wandering Ship flying a flag with a vortex and a red sun was stealthily hidden beneath the surface. A single periscope broke the water, swiveling back and forth.

The *Beheading Great Saber*.

A Golden Wandering Ship personally helmed by Renhuang’s own son, Prince Wude.

"Your Highness, a message came from Renhuang two hours ago. He has sent confirmation that Captain Quert of the *Constantinople* will come to our aid."

"The old man still has some tricks up his sleeve."

Wude kept his eye to the periscope, scanning the ocean’s surface from within the cabin.

"Is this Quert reliable? How strong is he? He’s not going to do something underhanded and steal our prey, is he?"

"Rest assured, Your Highness," the attendant replied.

"Quert was the most outstanding Martial Artist from Italy during the Land Era. At the age of fifteen, he won the title of Spartacus in the Rome Cup World Fighting Tournament."

"His friendship with His Majesty Renhuang began back in the Land Era. Furthermore, His Majesty’s seventh Consort—the one he married despite strong opposition from the Cabinet Ministers, the foreign Consort who died in the early days of the Wandering Era—was Quert’s older sister. So, in a way, the captain of the *Constantinople* is your step-uncle."

Prince Wude snorted.

"Step-uncle?"

"Spartacus?"

"Still coasting on a Martial Artist title from the Land Era? All his skills are just because he got lucky and reaped the benefits at the beginning of the Wandering Era!"

It was dinnertime. A serving girl in Vortex-style attire brought over a plate of rich fish liver, a side dish, a cup of sake, and a bowl of thick paste.

"Take it away, take it away."

"Just the thought of having to eat the raw heart of a White Dragon Whale for over a year makes my stomach turn."

A White Dragon Whale was 65 meters long.

By calculation, its heart would weigh at least 600 kilograms.

Eating two kilograms a day, it would still take a year to awaken "Whale Fall." Prince Wude’s appetite wasn’t large, so a year was a conservative estimate.

"Is the intelligence from the Xirang Research Institute reliable?"

"Do you really have to eat the White Dragon Whale’s heart raw to awaken the ability?"

"If I finish eating the heart and don’t awaken any ability—"

"I’ll be sure to make trouble for them."