Witch, Fireball and the Evil God of Steam-Chapter 26: An Awesome Attack

"Why is the atmosphere so heavy?"

Everyone on the deck silently watched Yue, and he suddenly felt the grilled fish on his plate didn't taste good anymore, but this time, no one refuted him.

He comforted everyone, "Isn't it just war? What's there to be so nervous about?"

"I never thought you had this side to you, young master."

The captain snapped back to reality and was the first to lighten the mood. The words just spoken didn't seem like those the young master would usually say; despite the prediction seeming far-fetched, as they thought along the lines of the young master's words, they couldn't think of how to refute them.

However...

The captain glanced at Lily, who was hanging her head, arms wrapped around her shoulders, her body trembling slightly.

Clearly, those words had stirred her past memories. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom

Lily is a person of the Empire. She has unique emotions about being a Saint. When the young master "picked" her up during the first voyage, she was wearing clothes full of holes, dirty and covered with scars. A group of human traffickers seized her, intending to send her off as goods elsewhere.

Many people were already there.

The captain thought perhaps no one understood the meaning of those words more than Lily, who had crawled out from the abyss.

"Lily" was also a nickname given to her by young master Yue. In those early days when she first boarded, she never spoke to anyone, leading almost everyone to think she was mute.

Since then, she remained by the young master's side as a maid.

Though Lily disliked mentioning her past, the crew learned she once had a happy family, loving parents, until the battles of the Saints affected her hometown. When she crawled from the rubble, the entire town had become a wasteland.

Bodies lay everywhere, limbs scattered all around.

In those early days aboard, Lily would wake from nightmares nearly every night, and the Saints who destroyed her hometown remained revered figures.

— Necessary sacrifices.

— A noble tribute to the martyrs.

The most common rhetoric in the Empire, as long as one stands in the square and shouts, people quickly forget those who died in the war.

The captain coughed lightly, pulling the topic back, "I admit you've indeed grown, young master, but those 20 Scrolls of Ice Arrows, you were definitely scammed! Even if you talk until the sky breaks, you were scammed!"

The crew immediately jeered, "Definitely scammed!"

"Bought 20 Scrolls of Ice Arrows for 30 Gold Lions."

"This matter should be recorded in the voyage log!"

Yue wasn't angry; instead, he smiled, "Since you're so sure, let's make a bet. I bet Heisenberg didn't scam me."

Heisenberg mentioned not recommending the powerful three-in-one Ice Arrow Scrolls for use within towns, advising that if water sources were around, the Ice Arrows' potency would increase. Their ship already left the Empire's seas, and all they saw was vast blue.

No better place to test the three-in-one Ice Arrow Scrolls than here.

A chubby crew member was the first to express, "Alright then, what do you want to bet? I can wager 20 Silver Antelopes, any more and my wife will scold me back home."

"30 Silver Antelopes!"

"I'll offer 50!"

"Stop, stop!"

Yue waved his hand, "This bet isn't about money. Ultimately, it's Lily who revealed this, so if you lose, she'll have to pay the price."

"What price?"

The black-haired maid furrowed her brows. Yue smiled like a betting child, full of provocation, making her want to pinch his face like she did when they were young.

The young master Yue's face had a surprisingly good feel when pinched.

With these antics from Yue and the captain, some of the gloom in her heart had lifted.

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

Honestly... fool!

Yue's intentions were painfully obvious, yet perhaps this world only had one foolish young master considering a servant's feelings, trying to cheer her up.

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

"You're the one who's bound to lose, don't underestimate my bond with Old Sen! Better start prepping those jokes."

Yue declared victory; he was determined to win this.

Of course, even if he lost, it wouldn't be a big deal.

The first day he visited the bookstore, he bought "Empire Jokes Selection," just right for this occasion.

Everyone headed towards the bow of the ship, with the captain and crew silently exchanging glances, a secret operation already underway.

The goal was to make the maid happy, so even if the scroll could truly work as a three-in-one, they'd pretend not to see.

The young master Yue was bound to lose this bet.

After all, these Ice Arrows, even if combined from three scrolls, would merely be larger than ordinary Ice Arrows, slightly more penetrating, but now they're on the sea without a specific target. How powerful could it be other than what they say?

"Accept your fate, young master!"

The crew watched Yue pull out the three scrolls at once; since the outcome was decided before the betting started, the next part was their most anticipated jeering and mocking phase.

The three scrolls emitted a pale blue glow, as the chubby crew member was first ready with a mock, "Look, young master Yue's Ice Arrows, small like a chi—"

A blast of cold air cut off his words; he felt his teeth were going to freeze.

The chubby crew member saw the captain's expression.

The captain was ready to laugh loudly, to warm up that heavy atmosphere, but now he just stood there, mouth agape, unable to make any sound.

This made the chubby crew member realize everything he saw wasn't an illusion.

The ship had stopped moving.

Because a jagged glacier blocked their navigation path; this sudden ice mountain sliced through the sea, dividing the ocean in two. The continuous ice spikes extended forward, their end unseen.

Soon, they smelled blood.

With the sea breeze, it blew into their noses.

Marine creatures pierced, sliced by the ice spikes rose to the surface; among them were many dangerous monsters. Some ice spikes were stained with blood or outright pierced with monster corpses. Blood dyed the spikes red but solidified before spreading down.

Even time seemed frozen here.

"Egg—"

After an indeterminate while, frozen time started moving again; the chubby crew member's echo brought everyone back to reality. He exhaled warm air as everyone simultaneously made the same move—crossed arms, curled into a ball.

So cold!

The temperature dropped at least 30 degrees!

Even Yue was left dazed at the bow.

"This..."

The captain spoke everyone's mind, "What the hell is this thing!?"

He didn't understand.

These three scrolls, how could they even remotely relate to Ice Arrows?

Whose Ice Arrows looked like this?

Yue stared into the distance for a long time, finally understanding why Heisenberg warned him against using it in town.

Now he thought only about safe usage guidelines and all other instructions about Ice Arrows.

Yue sluggishly turned, answering the captain's query, "One hell of an attack."

It took him several minutes to straighten his tongue, instructing the captain, "Turn back! Return immediately, and as soon as we're back, have a magician from the consortium set up teleport magic in my mansion; I must visit Fireplace Bay!"

He even forgot about the ten jokes Lily owed him, pacing urgently on the deck.

For the first time in his life, Yue grew dissatisfied with steam power and rushed into the control room. They were racing against time.

Although Heisenberg said he'd remain at Fireplace Bay, but if others learned the power of the three-in-one Ice Arrow Scrolls and offered him a long-term contract to lure him away, what then?

Thinking of this, he lost his usual composure, shouting, "Is this really steam power? Why is it as slow as a snail?"

(Next week is the second round of testing waters, hope everyone keeps up with the reading daily. Continuous reading data will affect subsequent recommendations and exposure. If the first subscription results for this book are good, there will be 5 updates every day in the first month, at least ten thousand words, thank you all!)