Chapter Eighty-Five: Kindred Stench

With a jubilant cry, the great sea turtle that had escaped death plunged back into the deep at top speed. The colossal whale, more than a hundred feet long, floated upon the sea; the ripples raised by its fall still struck wave after wave against the hull of the Sea Windmill. The ocean wind swept past, and Long City stood atop the giant whale with his robes flying, like some war god descended from legend.

“That man...” The pipe clamped in Lucky Jean’s mouth dropped onto the deck. His fingers spasmed, and for a long while he could not speak.

It was not only the old captain. More than three hundred sailors aboard the Sea Windmill were utterly dumbstruck. One man, one palm strike, and a one-horned mad whale was slain. Was this the power of a Heaven-Rank Knight? No—even a Heaven-Rank Knight would not easily accomplish such a feat. Perhaps one of the legendary Grand Heaven-Rank Knights could? But Long City clearly wielded only violet battle aura; he had not yet broken through to violet-gold!

A dozen afterimages flashed again. Long City leapt back to the prow and seated himself once more atop the head of the mermaid figurehead. Rubbing his right wrist, he frowned and said, “So this is the one-horned mad whale you were hunting? Interesting enough. Its hide is tough—I nearly twisted my wrist.”

Lin Qi stared blankly at the creature, whose entire body gleamed with a pale golden sheen, while its horn shone brilliantly as if cast from solid gold. In a dry voice he said, “That is not a one-horned mad whale. It is an evolved Whale King. A single Whale King is worth ten ordinary one-horned mad whales.”

Long City’s eyes lit at once, and he burst into laughter. “So this big fish is worth a fortune?”

Lin Qi nodded. Golden light was already blazing in his eyes as he declared forcefully, “Worth a fortune? It’s worth a king’s ransom! This treasure cannot be sold at market price—it has to go to auction. Even the drool on its body would fetch an astronomical sum!”

Clapping his hands hard, Lin Qi shouted, “Get it hauled up—quick, quick! Damn it, it’s a Whale King! With this, we’ve made a killing already—we can head straight back to Dunkirk! Blast it, how can our luck be this good? This must be because of me. Because of me, we saved a man and ran into a Whale King!”

The sailors instantly fell into a frenzy of excitement. Yes, this was a Whale King—an evolved Whale King! Leave aside the rest of its body; even its dung could be auctioned for a sky-high price. For its dung was the finest fertilizer, and many rare medicinal plants needed by alchemists, if cultivated with Whale King dung, would gain at least three times the potency.

Think of it: the vial of Tiger Demon Elixir Lin Qi had once taken had increased his overall strength tenfold out of thin air. If every herb in that potion had been cultivated with Whale King dung, then that same vial would have boosted his overall power at least thirtyfold.

Thirty times overall strength was enough to let Lin Qi challenge experts at the peak of Earth Rank.

A Whale King was no longer an ordinary sea beast. Its value could be measured against its weight in gold. With this giant prize, every sailor aboard the Sea Windmill would receive at least two hundred gold coins as a bonus—enough for a long season of revelry and indulgence.

Amid the soft humming of a magic array, a section of deck ten meters long and wide slid aside, and a bizarre machine rose from below. It was a goblin-made arcane cargo lifter; once supplied with enough magic crystals, it could move weights no human labor could hope to bear.

Several iron chains dropped from the lifter, and more than a dozen sailors jumped into the freezing sea, fastening them tightly around the Whale King’s body. The entire Sea Windmill shuddered violently. Deep below, the arcane furnace in the hold roared; the chains on the lifter clanged and rang, and the enormous Whale King was forcibly dragged out of the water. Yet at the same time, the Sea Windmill’s draft abruptly sank by another half foot.

Beaming from ear to ear at the sight of the priceless Whale King, Lin Qi cried hoarsely, “Uncle Jean, remember to note it in the ship’s log: in order to hunt this Whale King, we expended thirty-six arcane whaling harpoons!”

Long City, who had been smiling as he watched the sailors bustle about, suddenly pressed a hand onto Lin Qi’s shoulder. Raising a brow, he asked, “Arcane whaling harpoons? You mean those powerful bolts you said cost over a thousand gold coins each?”

Lin Qi shot him an impatient glance. With a giant beast worth untold wealth right before his eyes, how could he spare any attention for this man? He grunted and said, “That’s right. But they’re harpoons, not bolts.”

Long City nodded thoughtfully. Stroking his chin, he tilted his head and looked at Lin Qi. “I want half the money from selling this big fish. Agreed? Hm. When I was surrounded by those Odin Holy Guards, my money pouch fell off. I’m penniless now.”

Lin Qi, still drunk on the frenzy of riches, trembled all over. He whirled around and roared, “Impossible! Half? Don’t dream of such a thing!”

Long City curled his lip and gave a cold snort. “Then tell me—how many people does this ship need to make it back to the mainland? I kill everyone on board, and then both the ship and the fish are mine. What do you think?”

Lin Qi’s face turned deathly pale. At last he awakened to what a terrifying person this was. A monster who could kill a Whale King with a single palm strike—he even doubted whether his father, Blackbeard, could handle him. After hesitating for a while, Lin Qi’s hunger for gold overcame his fear of death. Through clenched teeth he said, “Twenty percent. Look—we saved your life. Otherwise, could you really have drifted all the way to the mainland on that iceberg?”

Long City frowned and let out a long sigh. “A true man keeps gratitude and grievance distinct. Forty percent, then. You see, I’m a man who enjoys life, but enjoyment is impossible without money. Once we reach that Dunkirk you spoke of, the first thing I’ll do is go cultivate some feelings with a few beautiful young ladies of noble birth. How could I manage that without money?”

Lin Qi shouted in irritation, “Aren’t you supposed to like killing, burning, plundering, and pillaging? If you’ve got no money, then you can... use force, can’t you?” In his mind flashed the faces of all the famous beautiful young heiresses of Dunkirk. Very well—not a single one of them had anything to do with him, so he need not worry over their fate.

Compared with their chastity, Lin Qi valued gold more.

“You little bastard.” Long City twisted his mouth to one side. He lowered his head, pondered for a moment, then shook it. “Actually, force may not be necessary. Back in the day, when I stood in the grand avenues of the Imperial Capital, who knew how many young maidens and married women threw themselves at me? My charm is enough to entice those fine ladies into offering themselves willingly. So—thirty percent. Not a bit less. A real man cannot go a single day without money.”

Lin Qi was still hesitating. Thirty percent was still an immense sum.

Long City frowned and said leisurely, “After all, I’m the one who killed this big fish, aren’t I? If you won’t give me thirty percent of the gold, then I’ll go plunder the whole of Dunkirk. Hm. At most, in consideration of your saving me, I’ll spare your family.”

At once, a horrifying vision sprang into Lin Qi’s mind: Dunkirk engulfed in a sea of flames. He smacked his lips. In the end, a little lingering affection for his homeland temporarily outweighed his greed for gold.

“All right. Deal!”

Lin Qi struck his palm hard against Long City’s.

Their eyes, both glittering with the luster of gold, met for a moment, and all at once a sense of mutual admiration arose between them.