Chapter 367: Catching Small Fish

Only when actually operating it did Gao De know how much money going to sea really cost.

For a two-masted sailboat, the number of crew members required for cross-ocean sailing was around 20.

The most basic configuration was a captain, a first mate, a second mate, a third mate, along with about ten sailors including the boatswain, two lookouts, two to three helmsmen, and a cook.

The captain's monthly salary was usually around 40 Jin Quehua coins, the first mate was 28 Jin Quehua coins, the second mate 20 Jin Quehua coins, the third mate 16 Jin Quehua coins, the boatswain 14 Jin Quehua coins, the helmsman 10 Jin Quehua coins, the lookout 18 Jin Quehua coins, the cook 10 Jin Quehua coins, and ordinary sailors 8 Jin Quehua coins.

Adding these up, a two-masted sailboat sailing for a month, just the crew salary expenditure required at least more than 200 Jin Quehua coins.

This was just the configuration of a two-masted sailboat.

If it were that kind of large merchant ship, or a fleet directly, the crew equipped would start in the hundreds, and the salary would have to be turned up several times.

Apart from salary, there were necessary port docking fees, as well as material consumption including food and fresh water, which also required more than 100 Jin Quehua coins a month.

However, if there were mage apprentices who had mastered 【Create Water】 accompanying, only three were needed to save all the drinking and cooking water expenses.

In fact, for large fleets truly engaged in cross-ocean trade, a mage who had mastered the ability to create fresh water was also considered standard equipment.

After all, for humans, fresh water is the lifeline.

As the saying goes, "No food for three weeks, no water for three days."

Equipping a mage who has mastered the ability to create fresh water is equivalent to buying insurance for the fleet.

Fortunately, the wood needed for the northern realm could be purchased at a discount from the Harland Shipyard's raw material supplier, which saved Gao De a large sum of money.

However, Gao De didn't feel much heartache about the money spent now.

Because he knew that as long as this ship successfully arrived at Valar Bay in the northern realm, it could transport the materials prepared in advance by Phoenix back to the Jin Quehua Dynasty for resale, and one trip could earn back the principal and interest.

Under the moonlight, the calm sea surface shimmered with a deep and solemn dark green, as if it had a kind of cold and mysterious beauty.

It was just that the stench permeating the air destroyed this artistic conception completely.

This was the Ma Ke Ke district.

Occasionally, sea breezes blew, but they couldn't disperse this nauseating smell, and could only helplessly hit the dense shacks here, making a swishing sound.

The shacks were built crookedly, and their reflections on the water surface were shadowy.

Above the sea surface, the water waves rippled, and under the illumination of the moonlight, fine ripples were stirred up.

In the night, a human figure floated above the sea surface at an extremely unscientific speed, passing through the narrow and unplanned waterways quickly.

Wherever it passed, the water waves kept rippling to both sides.

The figure, which was Gao De, had eyes shining brightly, seeing the surrounding environment through the pitch-black night, and then pointing out the direction to Tuanzi through the mental link:

He first froze a small piece of water body through the trick 【Water Manipulation】 to form an ice surface large enough for him to stand on, then released Tuanzi, letting it push the ice block forward from behind after entering the water.

With such a simple operation, he achieved an effect similar to walking on water.

"Seven days have passed since I finished clearing the magic octopus, and those people in the shacks should be back..." While looking for the path to the shacks, Gao De thought in his heart.

According to what Sha Ma said, the seven or eight suspicious residents living in the shacks would disappear for a few days every once in a while and then return.

Combined with the speculation about their origins, it was actually not difficult to draw a conclusion: these people were highly likely to leave the Ma Ke Ke district temporarily to avoid the limelight every time a Hai Shao Bing mage took a water beast expulsion mission and came to execute the mission.

As for why they could know when the Hai Shao Bing mage would come, it was actually not a difficult thing.

After all, these missions were hung openly in the hall of the Sea Abyss White Tower.

As long as the mission disappeared from the board in the hall, it meant it had been taken, and then deducing the time for the mage who took the mission to arrive in Lagos City was even easier.

Gao De came to the Ma Ke Ke district to clear water beasts openly and did not hide his tracks, and even wore the Hai Shao Bing uniform directly.

So, as long as they paid a little attention, they should be able to know that he had completed the water beast clearing mission seven days ago.

Even if these people were very cautious, considering the possibility of his sudden return, but seven full days had passed, no matter what, they should have let down their guard and returned to the Ma Ke Ke district.

The next moment.

The ice block stopped under Gao De's signal.

The shacks were right in front.

Tuanzi was already eager to move.

Gao De suppressed the somewhat restless Tuanzi through the mental link, and then jumped silently onto a platform extending from another shack nearby.

He stared at the shack that might be hiding the mastermind, waiting quietly.

Time passed minute by minute, and the night became deeper.

About half an hour later, the sound of a wooden door opening and closing sounded, appearing particularly clear in the silent night.

A figure walked out of the shack, his footsteps still somewhat dragging, seemingly sleepy.

He came to the edge of the platform outside the shack and stood still.

The next moment, the sound of water being released came.

And this was the moment Gao De was waiting for.

His eyes were instantly as sharp as an eagle's.

"Do it!"

Tuanzi, who had been waiting in the seawater for a long time, received the order and leaped up like a fish, breaking out of the water.

With a splash, Tuanzi's sharp teeth bit directly and tightly onto the figure's collar, and with the help of the powerful impact, it directly knocked the other party into the water.

Everything happened in a flash; the person couldn't react at all, and the dull, turbid, and foul-smelling water had already covered his face.

He struggled subconsciously, his hands reaching out of the water and waving wildly, and his feet were also kicking desperately in the water.

But a net made of water had already bound him firmly like a dead fish.

【Tidal Net+】.

Being in the water, he couldn't speak at all, and his body was bound, which was truly a case of calling heaven but getting no response, calling earth but getting no answer.

As time passed, consciousness and oxygen flowed away together, and a large amount of air bubbles surged up from his mouth and nose, his movements gradually became weak, and his eyes began to lose focus.

Soon, he completely lost consciousness and fainted.

However, it was only fainting; it would still take some time before death.

Gao De didn't want to kill the other party either, so after discovering that the other party had entered a fainting state, he lifted the 【Tidal Net】, used 【Water Manipulation】 to condense an ice surface, and let Tuanzi push him onto the ice surface.

It was also at this time that two more figures walked out of the shack, muttering as they walked: "This guy wouldn't have slipped and fallen into the water while releasing water, right?"

Clearly, they were attracted by the sound of their companion falling into the water just now.

After the two of them went out, they looked left and right, didn't find their companion's figure, and came to the edge of the wooden platform, trying to find the companion who might have fallen into the water, and immediately noticed the figure of their companion lying flat on the ice surface.

Because the ice surface was not large, and it was night, the ice surface was completely covered.

"What's the situation?" Seeing this, both of them were confused, and subconsciously shouted at their companion lying on the ice surface.

Pfft!

A vigorous figure leaped up from the water again.

"What is that?!" Both of them let out exclamations one after another, their voices full of fear and surprise.

This time it was no longer biting; Tuanzi was like a cannonball, hitting two with one shot, directly knocking both of them into the water.

Splash! Splash!

Two consecutive huge sounds of falling into the water instantly attracted everyone else remaining in the shack.

"What's wrong?!"

"Save me..." The two who fell into the water sent out a distress signal to the companions who surged out of the shack, but halfway through the words, they stopped abruptly.

Because two tidal nets had already bound them, their hands and feet couldn't struggle or shake, and their bodies sank accordingly.

The water surface quickly covered their faces, and the cold, foul-smelling seawater surged into their mouths and noses, choking them into violent coughing, so naturally, they couldn't call for help anymore.

"Save people!" The others who didn't quite understand the situation had the subconscious reaction of wanting to save their companions who fell into the water. They rushed to the edge of the platform, but before they could reach out, Tuanzi had already acted again.

Its movements were as fast as lightning, flying up, and in three or two strokes, it knocked everyone else into the water.

And as long as they fell into the water, what greeted them was a tidal net.

Water splashes rippled on the water surface, but soon returned to calm.

A total of seven people were all captured without a fight and had no sound.

It was much smoother than imagined.

I don't know what mage rank these people are.

Gao De's gaze swept over these people, thinking secretly in his heart.

Anyway, according to his judgment, being sent to this place to do this kind of thing, they were highly likely just mage apprentices, and at most would not exceed the first circle.

"Send them ashore."

Under Gao De's signal, Tuanzi pushed all seven people onto the wooden platform of the shack.

Subsequently, Gao De walked on ice, also boarded the wooden platform, and dragged the seven people who had fainted into the small shack.

Inside the room, the light was dim, and a kerosene lamp emitted a faint light.

Although this bit of light was enough for Gao De, who had evolved high dark vision ability through 【Adaptive】, out of long-formed habits, this dim light still made Gao De frown slightly.

He thought for a moment and snapped his fingers lightly.

Four light balls emitting soft light surged out from his hands, suspended in the air, emitting a faint light, illuminating the small shack.

【Dancing Lights】.

Subsequently, his gaze swept over the room.

The huge water bucket that had once attracted Gao De's attention was still there.

It was just that compared to the last time, this time the bucket was filled with turbid water.

The water presented a nauseating dark green color, and some unknown debris was floating on the surface.

Groups of strange-shaped, slender-bodied, dark green larvae were swimming wantonly inside, bringing up bursts of stench.

That smell permeated the entire room, making people want to vomit when they smelled it.

It was exactly the larvae of the foul-smelling water salamander.

"Sure enough." Gao De shook his head and then kicked the seven people who were unconscious.

But after a few kicks, none of these people woke up.

Gao De thought for a while and stepped heavily on the chest of one of them.

His eyes were cold, and his foot was merciless.

The force was so great that one foot down almost heard the sound of this person's chest ribs breaking.

But the effect was indeed significant.

That person immediately opened his mouth, spraying dark green sewage out like a fountain, mixed with disgusting debris, constantly retching.

That sewage splashed everywhere, and a more intense stench permeated the air.

After spitting out the sewage, he also recovered, slowly opening his eyes. Gao De's figure appeared exceptionally tall under the illumination of the light source, bringing him an indescribable strong sense of oppression.

"Who... are you?" The man couldn't help but ask, his voice trembling slightly.

He clearly hadn't seen Gao De's face, so he completely didn't understand why the other party attacked him in the middle of the night.

"Hai Shao Bing apprentice mage, Gao De, ordered to come to expel the water beasts in the Ma Ke Ke district." Gao De narrowed his eyes and looked at him, while saying unhurriedly.

Hearing Gao De's words, the man's pupils shrank violently.

A trace of fear was revealed in his eyes.

He finally knew why they were attacked.

"Didn't you finish expelling the water beasts and leave?" His voice was somewhat dry, and his lips trembled slightly.

"If you don't cut the weeds and remove the roots, the spring breeze will blow and regenerate," Gao De narrowed his eyes and said softly: "If I don't ferret out you masterminds, how could I just leave like this?"

"What do you mean by that..." A trace of panic flashed in this person's eyes, but he seemed to still want to be stubborn, forcing himself to be calm and saying.

"The physical evidence is all here. Who let you do these things? Are you prepared to confess honestly, or do I force you to confess?" Gao De gestured to the wooden bucket in the room and signaled.

The other party looked at the huge water bucket and then fell into silence.

Seeing this, Gao De shook his head regretfully.

He didn't try to persuade him with good words anymore, but raised his hand slightly, palm up.

A small green ball appeared in his palm. The next moment, Gao De flicked his wrist, and the small ball shot toward the latter's right leg.

【Acid Splash】!

The moment the small ball touched the other party's right leg, it burst, and the thick acid with strong corrosiveness spread rapidly.

Sizzle!

The other party's trouser leg was instantly soaked by the acid, and the fabric was quickly corroded into strands of charred fragments, drifting down one after another.

Immediately after, the acid began to erode his skin and flesh, and the originally healthy skin, under the action of the acid, revealed the bright red flesh underneath.

"Ah—!" A shrill scream sounded.

His body trembled violently, and his hands desperately wanted to grab something to support his crumbling body, but everything was in vain.

His right leg, under the continuous erosion of the acid, had its muscles gradually dissolved, revealing white bones.

The scream gradually became weak, and this person's body also became extremely weak due to severe pain and blood loss.

His eyes were full of fear and despair, tears and sweat intertwined, flowing down his cheeks constantly, and his body was twitching violently.

At this moment, the flesh below his right knee had disappeared, and without the rescue of a high-circle mage or high-level supernatural item, he should be a cripple for the rest of his life.

Gao De didn't speak, just silently triggered the spell model, and another acid ball appeared in his palm.

"Don't, don't, I'll say, I'll say, I'll confess everything!" The man looked at the acid ball in Gao De's hand, trembling and begging for mercy.

Gao De smiled slightly, not surprised.

Although in the novels and movies common in his previous life, in this situation, these "villains" would generally rather die than surrender, or even take poison to commit suicide, this was somewhat exaggerated by artistic processing.

The reality is that such loyal dead soldiers need at least two or three generations of effort, through careful cultivation and indoctrination of loyal thoughts, and providing generous treatment and security to be raised.

Therefore, only a small number of great nobles have such people under their command.

Good steel must be used on the blade.

If there were such dead soldiers, how could they be sent to do these "miscellaneous jobs"?

"Confess honestly, I will ask your other companions later," Gao De pointed to the other six people who were still in a fainting state and said calmly: "Don't blame me for not reminding you in advance. If the confessions don't match later, what you lose won't just be this lower leg."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 368 =====