"Captain, bad news! The Dayun has run aground!"

"Hmm?"

Upgrading the Formless Pure Ice had taken too much time.

From the initial preparations to using the Brain of Creation’s Spiritual Power for the upgrade, Shi Ming had remained completely focused.

As a result, the Formless Pure Ice had been exposed for about thirty minutes. The captain’s cabin was relatively isolated, situated on the side of the ship facing the sea. The chill it emitted caused the temperature on that side of the hull to plummet. After reaching a critical point, it had actually frozen the seawater—a feat normally considered difficult...

Shi Ming put away this treasure, ranked 48th, and walked out of the captain’s cabin.

’It’s just some ice. I just need to break it.’

It was now nearly 7 p.m.

Dusk...

The reflection of the orange-red sunset shimmered on the boundless sea. The layer of ice refracted the blood-red evening clouds, creating a desolate, indescribable beauty.

"It really is frozen solid."

"No, wait,"

"Why does this feel so strange?"

Shi Ming’s heart suddenly skipped a beat.

His senses had always been sharp.

His gaze swept across the distant horizon.

The sea breeze blew past, carrying with it a faint, almost imperceptible stench of rot!

’This smell?’

’The Rotting Whale from Greenland?’

’No way. We’re too far apart!’

"Prepare to accelerate! Full speed south!"

He leaped onto the ice. Unleashing his A-rank skill, Ice Annihilation, at full power, he caused the solid sheet of ice to explode violently, shattering into countless fragments that no longer obstructed the Dayun’s path.

"Faster!"

Although he hadn’t confirmed it yet, with this kind of thing, it might be too late by the time he could—

He was all too familiar with this stench of decay. It belonged to the Rotting Whale he had encountered before—an S-rank sea beast with an overwhelming presence, one half perfect and the other half rotten. At 230 meters long, it was twice the size of a Deep Sea Titan!

Rotting Whale was just a nickname Shi Ming had given it.

Its true name was the "Dusk Whale."

Even at the peak of his power, Shi Ming would have had to avoid a direct confrontation without intelligence or backup.

Now, with "Descent of the Titan" and "Embrace Death" on cooldown, relying only on his Arm of Power, Black Tortoise Shield, and his A-rank skill Ice Annihilation, Shi Ming wouldn’t face it head-on, no matter how confident he was.

Not to mention, he had a ship full of people with him.

RUMBLE... The Dayun was already restarting its engines.

He jumped back onto the ship, took out the Map of the Endless Sea, and injected his S-rank awakened power into it, studying the map with a grave expression.

’Just as I thought!’

A black dot was moving rapidly toward his current position in the "Northern Ireland" region!

The Map of the Endless Sea had a scale of 1:30,000,000, where one centimeter on the map represented 162 nautical miles in reality. Right now, the black dot was only three millimeters away from him.

It was a good thing Shi Ming was so perceptive!

The Dayun rumbled, pushing to full speed!

’I guess the sea beast must have sensed the Formless Pure Ice from afar not long after I took it out.’

’I never expected it to be so sensitive to the Formless Pure Ice. It was the same last time. How could it possibly sense it from such a great distance?’

Shi Ming frowned, deep in thought.

The two seemed to have a powerful connection.

The Formless Pure Ice, hailed by the Brain of Creation as a "perfect crystal," was used to awaken a skill called [The Third Law], which seemed to involve entropy reduction in thermodynamics.

The Rotten Whale, half-pristine and half-decayed, likely represented the "Second Law" of thermodynamics—"entropy increase"—which dictates that things inevitably and irreversibly descend into decay and rot.

’Could that be the connection between them?’

Shi Ming’s head was throbbing; this was a massive headache.

’Things have already come to this. I need to figure out how to escape first!’

The Rotten Whale’s target was clear: it was after the Formless Pure Ice. Even though he had put the artifact away, the beast continued its relentless pursuit. It seemed to have locked onto its target and wouldn’t give up until it succeeded.

’Maybe I can take the She Ri, carry the Formless Pure Ice, and use its extreme speed to lead the beast away?’

That would effectively prevent any damage to the Dayun. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Shi Ming mentally calculated his next move.

He looked at the map. The Dayun continued south, while the Rotten Whale’s speed seemed to have slowed down.

’Is it getting tired?’

’Or is the water temperature here not suitable for it?’

’Maybe there’s still a chance.’

Theoretically, heading for the Twelve Stars’ location was the safest option. But the sea beast was currently just over thirty nautical miles directly north of them, while the Twelve Stars were over four hundred nautical miles to the northeast. Taking a detour to the Twelve Stars was extremely risky.

It was better to head straight south!

This Rotting Whale was a Polar Circle creature.

The farther south they went, the more disadvantageous it would be for the beast. It definitely wouldn’t be able to keep up the chase for long.

ROAR...

Shi Ming once again heard the whale’s cry in his ears.

The sound wasn’t like something produced by vocal cords; it was more like a high-frequency vibration created by energy interacting with the seawater. In that instant, a tragic, apocalyptic vision of dusk filled his mind: gods falling at twilight, and new gods being born from it...

Strangely, however, the other crew members couldn’t hear it at all.

They also couldn’t smell the stench of decay in the air. But following the captain’s orders was never the wrong choice.

Shi Ming leaped onto the She Ri and soared into the sky.

The surface of the sea was deathly calm.

The lingering sun of dusk was identical to the day the gods fell in his vision.

The beast didn’t surface, merely pursuing them relentlessly in the deep. Even so, the atmosphere on the sea’s surface was heavy and oppressive. Closing his eyes, Shi Ming could even feel the entire sea region transforming into a desolate battlefield of death, piled high with corpses—an apocalypse of blood and steel...

Its speed had dropped slightly, as if it was not accustomed to the temperature here.

It dove back into the depths.

But it was still in hot pursuit!

Refusing to give up!

...

...

...

「Five hours later.」

???

’What incredible stamina! If I had known, I would have detoured north to the Twelve Stars from the start and let you witness the power of a King-level Wandering Ship!’

’I put the Formless Pure Ice away long ago, and you’re still chasing me?’

Under the brilliant, starry night, the Dusk Whale trailed a dozen or so nautical miles behind the Dayun.

It was like a wild dog chasing a fleeing piece of fatty meat, refusing to let go.

Shi Ming took a deep breath. He had been on edge this entire time, constantly monitoring the S-rank sea beast’s movements in the deep. He had originally thought this Rotting Whale would be like last time, giving up the chase after a few minutes and returning to its lair to sleep.

But perhaps because the Formless Pure Ice had been fully repaired, its allure had increased exponentially, making this Rotting Whale exceptionally persistent.

It had actually chased them all the way from the Northern Ireland region to the Greece region!

If the Deep Sea Titan of the Olympus Ruins hadn’t already been killed, the two S-rank sea beasts might have had an epic showdown to determine which was superior.

’A normal wandering ship would have been devoured by you long ago.’

’However,’

’if you can’t increase your speed, the tables are about to turn!’

He had already used the Brain of Creation to upgrade the Dayun by another level, giving it a slight speed boost. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to break the stalemate and shake off the tenacious sea beast.

What was once a dead-even race was about to change!

"Keep accelerating!"

’I refuse to believe that a creature from the Arctic Circle can chase me across the Mediterranean Sea and all the way to the Northern Tropic Line!’

Besides,

even if this whale truly has that much willpower,

’chases me past the Northern Tropic Line and across the Equator, there’s no way I’m giving it the Formless Pure Ice!’

’If it pisses me off, once my skills are off their 24-hour cooldown, even if I’m not completely confident, I’ll still show it,’

’who the true king of Europe’s sea beasts is!!!’