In the Name of Empress-Chapter 338 - 232: Bloodied Misfortune?

Stepping out of the cabin, his gaze sharpened as Roland observed the astonishing changes outside.

The expected Sea Demon did not appear; instead, several large and astonishing tentacles stretched across the sea surface.

Octopus?

Squinting his eyes, Roland’s mind raced as he searched for relevant information.

Soon, a string of information surfaced in his mind.

Unexpectedly, this was likely the Demon Octopus, a super sea monster not belonging to any oceanic power, moving alone and devouring anyone it encounters.

Simply put, encountering such a creature was likely not a conspiracy, just sheer bad luck.

Roland thought of Alina’s predictions before their departure.

Indeed, she was quite accurate, he thought silently.

Before the fleet departed, Roland had consulted Alina to ease her anxiety, asking her to predict Lisa’s fortune.

Under the Angel Card, Alina saw that Lisa was shrouded in bad luck, followed by a crimson mist, obscuring any clarity.

Despite the inauspicious prophecy, Lisa resolutely refused to believe it and insisted on accompanying them.

Having Lisa around meant bad luck was bound to spread.

Facing the Demon Octopus, Roland did not rush to take action but instead handed over command to Bridges.

Let the professionals handle naval battles.

The Demon Octopus had appeared many times in history, and there were well-established methods to deal with them.

While giant octopuses may seem terrifying, the actual damage they cause isn’t substantial.

The tentacles cannot inflict fatal damage on ships built of hard oak.

As long as one isn’t so unlucky to be caught by a tentacle, the likelihood of being killed by the octopus is low.

Bridges calmly instructed the crew to prepare according to the anti-octopus combat procedures.

Surrounding the Monarch, several Second Class Battleships quickly dispersed to find suitable positions.

The Torrential Rain Celestial Fire Cannon was temporarily unusable; thankfully, dealing with octopuses didn’t require cannons.

The ship’s bow-mounted giant crossbow cannon was the real trump card.

Several crew members swiftly coated the giant crossbow arrow tips with paralyzing potion, readying them for launch.

At this tense moment, a tentacle from the Demon Octopus stealthily appeared on the Monarch’s port side.

"Watch out!"

An observant sailor on the deck spotted the tentacle and shouted in anger.

Unfortunately, his voice was swiftly muffled by the storm, and an unlucky sailor was snatched up by the tentacle and hurled into the air.

The unlucky sailor was flung at least dozens of meters high.

Gazing at the ominous sky, he let out a despairing scream.

Though not dead yet, his life was about to end.

Bridges spared not a glance at the unfortunate sailor, decisively issuing the command to fire.

With a crisp explosive roar, the Monarch’s bow crossbow cannon launched a massive arrow over three meters long at the defiant octopus.

The spear-like sharp crossbow arrow accurately struck the octopus.

At the instant the crossbow arrow fired, another spear flew from the top deck.

"Whew!"

The sharp sound of the metal spearhead slicing through the air was like a soul-stealing melody.

The rapidly spinning spear shot like lightning towards the unlucky sailor at the peak of his flight.

Only a few noticed this scene.

Bridges was among them.

The octopus struck by the crossbow arrow had its fate sealed, and Bridges naturally wished to see the sailor about to heroically land.

However, he noticed the spear flying from the top deck.

The spear precisely pierced through the sailor’s cloak, carrying him towards the mast.

"Thud!"

With a dull thud, the sailor, along with the spear, was pinned to the mast.

The haplessly screaming sailor soon realized he was enveloped in luck.

His savior was not the Goddess of Fortune, but rather Governor Roland.

The brazen octopus, struck by the crossbow arrow, was soon affected by the paralyzing potion.

The octopus, being highly intelligent, quickly deduced that this ship was not to be trifled with.

It discarded a tentacle and swiftly fled.

The enormous tentacle writhed on the ship’s deck, as if still alive.

Bridges exhaled in relief and shouted to the signal officer, "Inform the fleet to remain vigilant and leave this area at full speed!"

"Send a few men to bring down that lucky guy."

Having given his orders, Bridges swiftly ascended to the top deck to report the battle situation to Roland.

"I saw it all."

Roland smiled and raised his right hand, signaling Bridges that there was no need to elaborate.

Pointing at the tentacle still writhing on the deck, Roland smiled and asked, "General Bridges, how do you think this would taste?"

Bridges was momentarily taken aback, then spread his hands, half-jokingly saying, "Octopus is the delicious gift of the ocean, but the flesh of a Demon Octopus is too tough, I’m afraid..."

"I have a way!"

Lisa interrupted Bridges, her eyes full of anticipation.

"Roland, I know how to cook the Demon Octopus, do you want to try it?"

"If it’s octopus, how about teppanyaki?" Since Lisa was interested, Roland naturally wouldn’t kill the mood.

"Of course!"

Excitedly, Lisa leapt from the top deck, tapping her toes on the railing, then used the middle deck to launch herself again.

A distance of over ten meters was no obstacle for her.

Like a nimble bird, she quickly moved towards the tentacle.

Lisa pulled out the Magic Short Sword gifted by Anthony and forcefully stabbed it down, quickly cutting off the most tender portion.

What Demon Octopus? This is clearly an ingredient, a very rare one.

The Magic Short Sword in Lisa’s hand is the Song of Lava, a famous weapon used by a notable Governor during the Magic Empire era. Although it’s not a Divine Artifact, it does possess some Divine Artifact traits.

This level of Magic Weapon is also called a Holy Artifact, usually only eligible for use by Senior Mages and Mages.

Anthony allowing Lisa to use a Holy Artifact somewhat goes against the ancestral rules.

Fortunately, he’s already the most powerful Mage in the Magic Association; with no one above him, he can secretly bend the rules.

If Anthony saw Lisa using a Fire Attribute Holy Artifact as a fish-filleting knife, who knows if his beard would tremble in anger.

Such an act, deemed blasphemous by orthodox mages, seemed only natural to Lisa.

Roland had said, tools are meant to be used.

She believed Roland was right.

The Song of Lava’s material is exceptional; even without activating the magic contained within, its sharpness surpasses most masterpieces by top craftsmen of this era.

Such a sharp knife, not using it to cut fish fillets would be a waste.

Lisa, with a discerning eye, looked at the Demon Octopus’s tentacles and only chose a few sections with the most succulent flesh and thinnest skin to slice.

Her cutting skills were precise, and she quickly completed the ingredient selection.

On the top deck, standing beside Roland, Bridges barely had time to call out "be careful" to Lisa before he saw her floating down like a flame.

He stared in astonishment as Lisa pulled out an unremarkable short sword and with a few swift motions, severed the exceptionally tough tentacles.

He knew how resilient those Demon Octopus tentacles were, requiring the most sharpened spear, fully charged with power, to barely pierce them.

Using just a short sword to slice so effortlessly, what kind of strength was this?

Bridges fell silent.

He knew the gap between individuals was large, but seeing Roland’s chef so formidable was still hard for him to accept.

He laughed at himself and found an excuse to leave the upper deck.

With a glance back, Bridges saw Roland showing no surprise, sighed, and headed to the command room with renewed spirit.

Although he might never have the chance in this lifetime, following Lord Governor and Her Majesty the Empress to create meritorious deeds was still a beautiful prospect.

Within less than a year of following the Empress and the Governor out to sea, he became a Baron.

Although this title was transitional, and he would never truly run to the Empress’s domain, becoming a vassal of the Empress’s private territory was still a great honor for him.

Following the Empress and the Governor provided ample opportunities to gain merit, and he wanted to advance further.

He aspired to become the Minister of the Navy and aimed to be a Count!

Everyone has things they long to achieve.

Lisa was the same.

She carried the most delicious tentacle slices into the kitchen, hoping to showcase her extraordinary culinary skills with this special ingredient.

Roland wanted to observe her cooking process, but Lisa firmly refused.

"This is not ordinary cooking; it’s a culinary challenge. I don’t want to be distracted."

Her reasons were compelling, and Roland couldn’t refuse.

But that was just the surface reason; the real reason was her lack of absolute confidence, prompting her to slice several pieces of tender tentacle slices.

These many slices were all materials for her trial and error.

She could make mistakes but didn’t want Roland to see her unsuccessful cooking.

Watching Roland leave, Lisa locked the door and began to cook while humming a light tune.

Narrowing her eyes and focusing on the tentacles, Lisa’s knife moved like lightning, quickly slicing a section into thin pieces of meat.

Her fingertips pulsed with flames, the iron plate quickly heating up, with temperatures rising.

No time to wipe away sweat, Lisa evenly spread the oil and arranged the meat slices.

"Sizzle!"

Carefully prepared seasonings were continuously sprinkled on, and the octopus slices emitted a tempting aroma.

Lisa stretched out her delicate fingers, picked up a meat slice, and tasted it.

The taste was good, but there was still room for improvement before it was perfect.

She didn’t intend to present this teppanyaki of octopus slices to Roland.

She placed the blade towards the second slice.

Soon, the third slice was also used by Lisa.

With each attempt, the flavor improved, yet she remained somewhat dissatisfied.

Lisa wanted to see Roland taste the delicacy and display an incredulous expression of amazement.

Although Roland had already given her a five-star rating, it was said that above the five-star rating, there was an extraordinary soul praise surpassing full marks.

Only food that touched the soul could receive such a review.

Ordinary ingredients and common cooking methods would definitely not suffice.

To achieve a soul praise beyond five stars, she had to showcase some extraordinary skill.

She turned her gaze to the final slice.

"Little Octopus, please, it must taste good!"

Lisa muttered, as she raised her knife and brought it down.

"Ah!!"

A scream echoed.

Roland, who was reviewing the nautical charts in the next room, heard Lisa’s scream, his face changed dramatically, and he even jumped out of the window without taking the door route.

Slamming his palm against the door, he discovered it was locked from the inside, and feeling anxious, he punched open the kitchen door.

Lisa mumbled, looking at the tentacle still wriggling on the ground, with fresh blood flowing down her fingers.

"Is it... is it still alive?"

Roland, looking at Lisa’s fingers, suddenly understood.

Could this be Alina’s prophecy?

Would Lisa be plagued by bad luck at sea, facing danger or even bleeding?

It turned out to be a false alarm after all.