SPLASH!
The Spiritual Boat crashed against the sea, sending up a spray of water.
Six Spiritual Boats, carrying a total of thirty-six people, rowed toward the Gray Ridge Whale!
Driven by greed, the demon hunters were determined to challenge a behemoth over forty meters long on the vast, open sea with the harpoons in their hands!
'This is really... a full-scale deployment...' Su Ye thought, standing on the Spiritual Boat and gripping his Blood-Drinking Spear.
Aside from the dozen or so people needed to operate the Reversing Confusion Array and maintain the Flying Serpent's basic functions, every available combatant had been dispatched!
And this only made Su Ye more uneasy.
Compared to the experienced and steady first mate, Luo Jing, his impression of Captain Luo Qingjun... wasn't good.
Inexperienced, impetuous, overeager for glory, and desperate to prove himself.
However... life is unpredictable, and more haste often means less speed.
'I hope I'm just being pessimistic...' Su Ye thought, shaking his head.
After all, based on the numbers, the odds of succeeding in this hunt weren't low.
Su Ye's gaze shifted to Captain Luo Qingjun's Spiritual Boat, not far away.
More precisely, it shifted to the bow of the Spiritual Boat.
A large, exquisitely crafted ballista, shimmering with spiritual light, was mounted securely on the bow, personally operated by Luo Qingjun.
The Whale Hunting Crossbow.
Its destructive power was terrifying!
Aside from being troublesome to maintain and needing to be kept in storage and used sparingly, it had no other weaknesses.
As for the fact that its special Crossbow Arrows were incredibly expensive...
That wasn't a flaw of the Whale Hunting Crossbow, but a flaw of the Luo Family.
'Thirty-six crewmen deployed, plus the Whale Hunting Crossbow... the chances are pretty good.' Su Ye narrowed his eyes.
'But that has little to do with me.'
In any case, Su Ye had already decided to prioritize his own survival this time. He would blend in when he could, slack off when possible, and absolutely not stand out.
The profits from hunting a whale were indeed high.
But what did that have to do with a hired hand like him?
Even if they succeeded, he'd only get a few dozen extra Spirit Stones.
Risk his life for that pittance?
Not worth it.
After all, with Su Ye's current strength, it wouldn't be too difficult for him to focus solely on protecting himself.
But if he performed too conspicuously and drew the whale demon's aggro, it would be extremely dangerous, even with the aid of his 'panel'.
What's more, revealing the formidable power of a Whale-Hunting Spear would attract unwanted attention and lead to troublesome questions later.
"So, at most, I'll just add some icing on the cake..." Su Ye muttered to himself.
...
"Keep rowing!"
Luo Qingjun stood at the bow, activating his Spiritual Eye Skill to gaze at the Gray Ridge Whale in the distance.
At this moment, the refined, sickly young master had rolled up his sleeves, his face flushed red with excitement and tension!
"This is the range!"
Luo Qingjun roared, aimed at the Gray Ridge Whale, and pulled the trigger, activating the Whale Hunting Crossbow!
SHHIIING!
An ear-piercing sound of something tearing through the air rang out as a special Crossbow Arrow, as thick as a baby's forearm and glinting with a cold light, shot out in an instant and hit its target!
"Oooooo—"
The Gray Ridge Whale let out a cry, its body twisting in agony as blood seeped out, staining the seawater red!
The Whale Hunting Crossbow was so powerful that not even a thick-skinned whale demon could ignore it!
"Yes!" Luo Qingjun pumped his fist, his spirits soaring!
Just then, the injured and enraged Gray Ridge Whale thrashed its body, parting the waves as it charged toward Luo Qingjun's command boat!
"Hmph... Flying Serpent, activate the Reversing Confusion Array!"
"Reverse the senses of 'front' and 'back'!"
Luo Qingjun waved a flag, signaling the Flying Serpent.
"Oooooo—"
As the spiritual light of the Reversing Confusion Array flared, the whale's suddenly scrambled senses threw its movements into chaos!
A smile touched the corners of Luo Qingjun's lips.
Compared to the various colossal sea beasts of this world, humans could not compete in swimming ability or physical prowess.
But... intelligence was humanity's greatest advantage!
Limited by the shackles of their species, demons could only attain human-like intelligence upon advancing to the third tier and reaching the realm of a Demon King!
Luo Qingjun let out a long breath.
"All boats, maintain distance and attack in turns with your harpoons!"
"Flying Serpent, shift the array! Reverse the senses of 'left' and 'right'!"
"Watch the rhythm! Just like that!"
"..."
Under Luo Qingjun's command, the Spiritual Boats carefully controlled their distance.
They relied on the Reversing Confusion Array's support to kite the Gray Ridge Whale, making it charge back and forth.
But it was all in vain; the whale only succeeded in rapidly depleting its stamina!
'His commanding... isn't half bad.'
Su Ye nodded to himself, his impression of Luo Qingjun improving slightly.
As a direct descendant of the Luo Family, Luo Qingjun had received a complete captain's education. He wasn't a total incompetent; his skills were at least at a passing level.
He simply lacked experience and seniority and possessed the sort of impatience common among young men.
But suddenly, the Gray Ridge Whale stopped moving, threw its head back, and let out a long cry!
BZZZT!
A layer of faint red light materialized around its head.
Bloodthirst Skill!
A natural Magic of the demon race!
And after casting the Bloodthirst Skill, the Gray Ridge Whale's eyes became veiled in a deep crimson!
This caused the spiritual light of the Reversing Confusion Array to dim!
Relying on the stimulation from the Bloodthirst Skill, the Gray Ridge Whale had actually managed to partially break free from the Reversing Confusion Array's influence!
"Not good!" Luo Qingjun's expression changed drastically.
"OOOOOO!!!!"
The Gray Ridge Whale's eyes blazed crimson, its ferocity laid bare. Its massive body tore through the waves and slammed viciously into the nearest Spiritual Boat!
CRASH!
Against the forty-meter whale demon's mountain-toppling, sea-overturning force, the Spiritual Boat had no power to resist and was sent flying before being overturned!
The six crewmen aboard were spun around countless times, thrown into the sea in a dizzying, world-spinning blur!
And that wasn't the end of it!
The Gray Ridge Whale hated these disgusting insects and wanted nothing more than to wipe them all out!
Just as the crewmen, clinging to the wooden wreckage of the Spiritual Boat, struggled to surface, what they saw was a colossal whale tail blotting out the sun as it came crashing down!
SMASH!
Then, silence.
It was clear that the six men from that boat were more likely dead than alive...
Su Ye's pupils contracted, and he drew in a sharp breath.
In the seven months since the Flying Serpent had set sail, they had only lost a total of six crew members!
And now, six were wiped out in a single blow?!
'The terror of a whale demon is even greater than I imagined...' Su Ye took a deep breath, tightening his grip on his Blood-Drinking Spear.
"Captain?"
"Captain? What do we do?"
At that moment, seeing the Gray Ridge Whale's terrifying display of power, the crewmen were all struck with fear and couldn't help but look toward Luo Qingjun.
But all they saw was Luo Qingjun's pupils quaking, his hands trembling unnaturally.
For a moment, this direct descendant of the Luo Family, the captain of the Flying Serpent, was as if struck by lightning, unable to utter a single word!
Lacking experience and possessing only theoretical knowledge, it was easy to 'freeze up' when faced with an emergency.
However... the Gray Ridge Whale wasn't about to wait!
After destroying one Spiritual Boat, its crimson eyes glinted as it turned its gaze toward Luo Qingjun's command boat!
The earlier shot from the Whale Hunting Crossbow had inflicted a pain that pierced to the marrow, and the wound was still bleeding profusely!
"Captain? Captain! It's charging toward us!"