Chapter 18: Calm Belt and Chase

In between the West and North Blue, Fishmen Island and the other side of the Reverse Mountain is the New World.

The only way to get through to other seas is to have a connection with a Warlord, Marine or the World Government if someone wishes to pass through legally.

Other methods would be to get a ship coating and travel through Fishmen Island under the Red Line, travel back through the Reverse Mountain's path against the strong currents, find a way to scale the Red Line or simply risk going onto the Calm Belt where many Sea Kings dwell.

After hesitating many times, Alyssia concluded that it was far too dangerous to be travelling to Fishmen Island right now because of the changes that were taking place there and she did not possess the right tools to be able to cross or climb between the seas as Germa 66 do.

The next decision to make was which Sea she would visit first, but soon she remembered a place that would suit her for training perfectly, so she navigated the ship towards the West Blue.

In the calm belt, many dangers lurk underwater and without Sea Prism Technology, she would have to risk it to pass through with her crew.

However, that did not mean that she was unprepared,

The ship was able to slowly and carefully travel through the entrance of the Calm Belt and came to a stop because there was no wind hitting the ship's sails. However, all of a sudden Alyssia shouted. "Start the generator!"

An Electro and wind turbine-powered generator started up and soon the waterwheels at the back of the boat began to rotate and gather up momentum, pushing the boat forward.

Seeing that it was working, all the Minks on the crew began to jump towards each other to Garchu, but suddenly a warning voice yelled towards them. "Do not lose focus yet! Stay on alert and do not forget to get the weapons ready in case of an attack!"

Some of them had already run to arm the cannons and large harpoon guns that were on the ship, while others quickly went to get their own tools to help fight when a problem comes along.

Alyssia could be seen equipping a pair of protective metallic boots that came up her lower legs and stopped a little before reaching her knees. Throwing caution to the wind, she played around with the dial on it and turned it to max setting right away and then began to equip her staff with her scythe blades while separating the staff into two halves.

Carrot also equipped herself with her own pair of Electro Gauntlets while Nica was looking over the weapons and checking her sniper and placing a special bullet in the chamber.

Meanwhile, Tristan and the two males of the group assisted with steering the ship and arming the ship's defences.

Right away, Carrot climbed up high on the lookout to keep watch for any signs of activity, but so far, the only sounds that could be heard were from the boat paddling forward through the Calm Belt.

The dials on the gauntlets and greaves had several settings on them which were set to adjust the voltage released from her Electro to stun, knockout or kill a human or medium-sized beast and there was also an additional feature to amplify the Electro to a higher level to take down much larger creatures.

The ship continued to travel at a steady pace through the Calm Belt and was reaching more than halfway through until they were about to enter the West Blue.

Suddenly a change took place around the ship and then the calm and still sea began to show movement as a large beast appeared.

A large serpentine Sea King appeared which looked to be between the small or medium size for most Sea Kings. It had large teeth and a large body capable of destroying many large ships. Knowing the behaviour of the Sea Kings, she began to give orders.

"Keep a distance and go around it. I need someone by the Generator ready to change the Waterwheel's speed to maximum right away. Try not to provoke it."

She knew that they relentlessly pursue their targets and destroy them, but they give up when faced with a stronger strength or will.

They also possess the ability to communicate with each other and have an intellect of their own, so if she provoked it, then she would either have to escape or defeat it quickly so that other Sea Kings would not be called by it for help.

It lay there quietly on the top of the water far away as Alyssia and her crew went around from a distance and continued to pass by, but just as the ship was getting some distance from it and they sighed with relief, a change happened.

The serpent raised its head from the water and looked towards the ship that was leaving and its eyes locked onto it like it had found its prey and then suddenly dived forward, making a beeline for the ship.

Carrot, who witnessed its strange behaviour, immediately yelled from the lookout. "Danger! That big snake is coming our way!"

'I thought we were safe.' Alyssia closed her eyes in order to compose herself, then she suddenly opened her eyes with a look of clarity. "Full speed ahead! Our goal is to outrun it and reach the West Blue!"

Just as the mechanism was switched to its highest setting, the ship began to pick up speed and put some distance between them and the Sea King.

The Sea King did not give up its pursuit of the ship and increased its speed while slowly gaining on them with every passing moment.

In the sea, it could be seen on the top of the water making a serpent-like movement as it swam with half of its body floating above the sea and its face facing towards its target with its large mouth wide open revealing its large sharp teeth.

Carrot jumped down looking a little fearful and shouted. "It is getting closer!"

Alyssia looked towards the distance and then back at the approaching Sea King, then decided on the next course of action. "Man the cannons! I and Nica will take aim and the rest will help with firing and reloading them while one stays to control the steering."

The minks began to move swiftly as the Dog and Rabbit mink helped with the back cannons of the ship and the Bear mink was at the helm of the ship, keeping it going towards the West Blue.

Alyssia aimed the cannons along with a Nica and spoke. "Use ordinary cannonballs for now! The first warning shot ready to fire in Three, Two, One!"

Alyssia made full use of her Sniper skill, high Spirit base stat, Beast Sense and newly awakened Beginner grade Observation Haki to sense the changes and movements of the large serpent and aimed the cannon. "Fire!"

"Bang!" A cannonball was released and flew towards the serpent-like face of the Sea King but it landed just a little in front of it and splashed it with water.

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The Sea King instead of feeling intimidated or warned to back off, became more irritated and ignored that it was almost hit by a cannonball.

Alyssia sighed as she spoke. "As intelligent creatures, I figured that they would realise that we wish for no trouble and back off after the warning, but instead it has been provoked further. It must be of lower intelligence than the much older or larger Sea Kings out in the world. Nica! Adjust your cannon slightly to the left and be ready to fire in five seconds! Help me reload my cannon and set it up for another shot."

Although her control over her Observation Haki was non-existent and she had yet to be able to use it upon command, she still tried to train and hone it during certain times of combat or danger.

Now was also a chance to combine her stats and various skills and physics knowledge together so that she could make a more accurate shot from afar and hit the target, even if her Observation Haki did not always work.

The time had passed and suddenly there was another "Bang!" as the cannon fired another shot.

This one was not a warning shot, but instead hit the target directly.

The force from the shot and the heavy cannonball made the Sea King stop for a moment until it shrugged off the pain and the small injury caused to its body and then began its pursuit once more.

This time, they aimed to slow down its movements or make it give up.

It raised its head and let out an intimidating howl to the sky and just as it did so, Alyssia had taken aim with her cannon while guessing its next move.

The ship was still moving at a high speed and was getting closer and closer, but around ten minutes were still required to get to safety within the West Blue.

Another shot was fired upon the Sea King as it had not given up chasing them, this time hitting it in the side of the face before bouncing past its head and falling into the sea.

A determined look appeared in Alyssia's eyes and she pushed herself to the limit of concentration. "Up a little more and fire in 10 seconds! Reload my cannon and be ready to fire as soon as possible."

This pattern continued for another seven to eight minutes as they got closer. Sometimes the cannonballs hit dead on the target and other times it barely hit and only left a small scrape on its body as it hit its side and then passed by.

The serpent's eyes were now red with rage as it was going berserk chasing them down.

Luckily, they were able to create some distance each time they hit it dead on with a cannonball so it was not close enough to cause damage. It once again let out a howl, but this time it sounded a little strange.

Almost like guessing its intentions, Alyssia grit her teeth and yelled towards the Helm. "Set the power beyond its limits for the last couple of minutes and go into overdrive! I don't care if it's damaged! We can fix it later!"

She fired off another cannon and then said. "I think it is calling for help. These final minutes will show whether we are able to survive or we will be destroyed, so I want your full support!"

With each passing moment, the serpent was getting closer, and it continued to ignore the injuries that it was taking, and its cries began to attract several larger Sea Kings that were emerging from the sea.

Feeling a sense of crisis, her mind turned quickly and then shouted. "Do not aim for the big ones! We cannot afford to provoke them further, even if they chase us. Just aim for the serpent and keep it away!"

Nica took aim once again and got more adjusted to how the cannons were working and no longer needed Alyssia telling her how to adjust her shot.

As her cannonball hit the target and made the serpent falter a little again, she gave a cheeky monkey grin and spoke. "I estimate that this is our victory."

Alyssia shook her head. "Never use your calculations to determine things we have yet to understand. Do not lose focus until the end."

She took aim once again and fired another cannonball. "The cannonball supplies are depleting. What do we have left?"

Tristan checked and came back to report with slight worry in her voice. "We are running low and almost out after just this short journey. What do we do if we run out?"

Alyssia retorted. "It's worth it if we can hold them off and get across the Calm Belt in one piece. We may have to ready the harpoons if it gets any closer."

Carrot grinned as she watched the large sea creatures chasing them down with a look of excitement in her eyes instead of fear. "I wonder if they are tough…"

Nica turned to look at her for a moment as if looking at an idiot and replied. "They can stand up to a cannon with their thick skin and shrug it off and that is just a small to medium-sized serpent that has been chasing us. I would not dare to imagine the power and endurance the bigger ones would be capable of. I have to test to see if my bullets would pierce them later though… if they can't, then I need to improve them."

The crew all were surprised by the Sea King that had continued to chase and endure so many cannonballs, even Alyssia who had knowledge of this beforehand from the manga/anime couldn't help but watch these creatures in wonder and fascination.

The larger Sea Kings continued to chase behind, but they seemed to keep a certain distance so that they could try to assist the serpent to avoid the cannonballs a little better and help him catch his prey without taking its kill or chance at revenge.

Alyssia, who saw this, couldn't help but think. 'So, there is honour among Sea Kings? Or is it just them teaching the weak how to hunt?"

Not that she cared about any of that so long as it gave her the chance to escape without their interference.

As the ship went past its maximum capacity, it sped up and continued towards the location of the seas where she could see more frequent changes in weather and a more chaotic sea that was not as still as the Calm Belt.

Another order was given. "It's the final challenge. All we need to do is pass this final moment. Bring up the sails once again and get ready to enter the West Blue."

As if sensing their impending victory, the big Sea Kings had a look of boredom in their eyes and they gradually lost interest in the chase, so they slowed down a little.

The serpent continued to move forward in pursuit of them even after losing his support and howled again. However, the Sea Kings seemed to ignore its cries for help and looked on as it began to leave the Calm Belt along with the ship.

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