Chapter 55: Casualties and Gains (Patreon)

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Wang Shoujie immediately picked up his strong bow and sword and rushed out at top speed.

He arrived on the deck.

Wang Dinghai was holding a fishing harpoon with a hook and rope, directing the sailors to use long bamboo poles to rapidly strike the water's surface. Wang Zhong and Wang Yong, the two family retainers, also raised their strong bows, ready to shoot at any moment.

"Clan Leader, you've arrived just in time," Wang Dinghai said with a serious expression, trying to hold back a smile. "It's a lone East Sea Arrow Flag, probably swept into the freshwater by the tide. It shouldn't be too difficult to handle. Just pay attention to when it surfaces, and shoot it with an arrow at its vital points."

Generally speaking, aquatic ferocious beasts are not much easier to deal with than land-dwelling ones. When they're underwater, they're often extremely powerful and can easily capsize or shatter ships.

Wang Dinghai was a "veteran fisherman" with over a decade of experience, and he had his own way of dealing with aquatic ferocious beasts. The sound of the bamboo poles striking the water's surface could startle the beasts, making them hesitant to attack the ship, and also provoke their anger.

Except for a few species of fish, most fish, even ferocious ones, are generally less intelligent than land-dwelling ferocious beasts.

As soon as Wang Dinghai finished speaking, a large water splash suddenly erupted about 45 meters (147.6 feet) to the left of the ship's hull. A nearly 2-meter (6.6-foot) long aquatic monster burst out of the water, ferociously charging towards the ship.

Even with Wang Shoujie's dynamic vision, he could only see that the aquatic ferocious beast had a long, sword-like front spike and a triangular dorsal fin, resembling a sailfish on Earth.

However, its size and ferocity far surpassed that of a sailfish.

"Twang Twang Twang!"

Three bowstrings sounded almost simultaneously, and the arrows struck the beast. The difference was that Wang Zhong and Wang Yong's arrows penetrated about 7-8 inches into its body, while Wang Shoujie's arrow sank in over a foot deep.

The difference wasn't due to the bows or arrows, but because Wang Shoujie's Mysterious Qi attached to the arrow was of higher quality.

"You beast, you're brave," Wang Dinghai said, his body swelling with Mysterious Qi as he launched a fishing harpoon specifically designed for catching large fish. It struck the beast's side, about 2 feet deep, with a "whoosh" sound.

However, the beast's front spike had already struck a sailor, and it fell into the water, taking two more sailors with it as its tail swept them away.

"Boom!"

Accompanied by a massive water splash, the beast dragged the sailors into the water.

But it had Wang Dinghai's fishing harpoon stuck in its side, with a specially designed thick rope tied to the harpoon's end.

Before it could swim out about 10 meters (32.8 feet), the rope was pulled taut with a "creaking" sound. The medium-sized merchant ship was pulled to one side, its bow receiving a strong pulling force.

This was the human experience of dealing with large aquatic ferocious beasts on a ship. The East Sea Arrow Flag had made a fatal mistake, which would naturally lead to its demise.

The fishing harpoon and the rope's pull caused the beast immense pain, making it struggle and thrash about, but it couldn't escape. The more it struggled, the more severely it was injured, and the special rope wrapped around its body even tighter.

Next, it faced the long-range attacks from Wang Shoujie and the others' strong bows.

Even so, Wang Shoujie and the others had to shoot an entire pot of arrows before the East Sea Arrow Flag finally stopped struggling and flipped over onto its back. The sailors worked together to slowly drag it back.

By then, the sailor who had been pierced by the beast's front spike had already been swept away by the tide, and the sailor who had fallen into the water was only partially rescued, with the other one likely being taken away by the underwater currents and unable to be found.

Although they had killed a second-rank aquatic ferocious beast, they had lost two lives in the process, which cast a gloomy shadow over Wang Shoujie's face.

The sailors' morale was also low, as the dead were their comrades who had been with them through thick and thin.

"Wang Shoujie, our battle with the second-level water beast has been very smooth today, and this is a great victory." Wang Dinghai came over to pat Wang Shoujie on the shoulder, comforting him with a sentence before saying, "Even if some of our clan members and family soldiers die in battle, it's not impossible."

Wang Shoujie understood that although the second-level beast was of the same rank as the Qi Refining Realm's high-level, the beast was overall much stronger than those of the same realm. Moreover, this world was fundamentally different from Earth, and humans had always been competing with beasts for survival on land. Since humans lived on land, the land-dwelling beasts in human habitats had long been cleared out, making it relatively safe.

However, the clearing and development of land would inevitably result in many deaths, and no one could predict how many. But the situation was different in the water. Humans didn't live in the water, and rivers like the An River had vast sources and many tributaries, some of which led to unexplored and untamed waters, making it a paradise for water beasts.

It was precisely because of this complex water system that water beasts would constantly appear within human habitats. Otherwise, humans' annual hunting efforts would have long cleared out the water beasts in their habitats. This East Sea Arrow Flag was clearly a sea beast, and under unlucky circumstances, it was swept into the freshwater river by the tide. Moreover, it had no experience fighting humans. The sea was vast and hid many terrifying creatures that humans still couldn't fully understand.

Therefore, merchant ships usually had to be not only large but also extremely sturdy, and equipped with some siege weapons. And the city walls on Jinsha Island were naturally not just for preventing humans from trespassing...

The beasts in the sea were not to be underestimated either.

After calming down a bit, Wang Shoujie said, "Sixth Uncle, let's comfort those who need comforting and reward those who deserve it."

"That's natural," Wang Dinghai replied, "according to traditional high standards, each deceased sailor's consolation gold is 30 gold, which is 60 gold in total. I'll handle it personally." Wang Dinghai was used to such matters and didn't show much emotional fluctuation. "As for the remaining 20 sailors, each will receive a sealing fee and reward of 2 gold, which is 40 gold. We need to spend 100 gold."

100 gold was not a small expense, and the consolation gold for sailors was usually quite high. However, Wang Shoujie handed over the 100 gold to Wang Dinghai without hesitation.

The living sailors were overjoyed when they heard they would each receive 2 gold, and their morale greatly increased. Sailors' income was generally not bad due to the risks involved, but 2 gold was a substantial pure profit.

Their joyful emotions were palpable as they helped Wang Zhong and Wang Yong drag the beast's corpse onto the deck.

"We need to set sail quickly, Wang Zhong and Wang Yong. You'll drag the prey into the ship's hold and speed up the cleaning of the deck. We shouldn't linger here," Wang Dinghai immediately issued the next command, explaining to Wang Shoujie, "This waterside is not our clan's hunting ground, but belongs to the Donggang Zuo Clan. Let's leave early to avoid trouble."

Without a doubt, Wang Dinghai was a man who had lived on the water for a long time, and his decision was very wise.

After the ship sailed for over an hour, they encountered the Zuo Clan's fishing fleet, and the tide was rising, making it the best time for fishing in this waterside.

They saw a mid-sized merchant ship passing by, busy catching fish during the golden time, and didn't intend to ask questions. Merchant ships and passenger ships came and went frequently in the An River.

Next, they passed through the Zuo Clan's waterside without incident.

"Congratulations, Master," Wang Zhong and Wang Yong reported with joy, "that East Sea Arrow Flag is estimated to weigh over 1,000 pounds. After removing the inedible parts, there's at least 700 pounds left, a huge profit."

The fish meat of a second-level beast was several times more valuable than that of a first-level beast, and its effect on replenishing energy and blood was better. Just the edible fish meat was worth hundreds of gold.

The beast's skin was also highly valuable, and after special processing, it could be made into high-end water-repellent materials, increasing martial artists' Water Escape Technique and defense.

All edible parts, including fish intestines and liver, would be consumed.

The inedible bones and spines could be dried and ground into Spirit Fish bone powder, used for fertilizing spirit fields.

In short, a Spirit Fish as valuable and rare as this would not be wasted in any way.

The Spirit Fish's swim bladder was also extremely valuable, and after special processing and drying, it became the famous Spirit Fish gelatin.

This was the most valuable part of the Spirit Fish, and when consumed by postpartum women, it helped prevent postpartum bleeding and replenished energy and blood. Of course, only Martial Clan women who gave birth would have such precious items, and ordinary families couldn't afford them.

"Remember to note in the account book that the fish gelatin is stored in the clan's warehouse when it's processed, and it will be given to my sister as part of her dowry when she gets married," Wang Shoujie reminded.

"That's natural," Wang Zhong smiled and replied, "the Spirit Fish gelatin from the Crimson-Tailed Spirit Fish that our Master hunted is also stored, and it will definitely be part of Miss Luo Yi's dowry."

Wang Luoyi was the Wang Clan's eldest daughter, and naturally, she would have the best Spirit Fish gelatin as part of her dowry when she got married.

At the same time, Wang Shoujie didn't need to consider this for the Liu Clan's young lady. Because when the Liu Clan's young lady married into the Wang Clan, she would naturally receive high-quality Spirit Fish gelatin as part of her dowry, a token of her family's love, hoping she would recover healthily after childbirth.

The customs and traditions of the Martial Clan were deeply ingrained in every aspect of life.

[Heartfelt thankyou for the support! SlaySaga]

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Next Chapter ->Chapter 56: In the Years to Come, I Will Be the Green Emperor, and the Peach Blossoms Will Bloom with a Smile