"WHINE—!"

The giant whale, harpooned thrice, frantically attempted to dive deep into the ocean. However, it was hindered by the ropes attached to the harpoons. These ropes were tethered to many empty oak barrels and ultimately connected to the small boats’ keels.

The immense buoyancy constantly tugged at it, preventing any chance of escape and forcing it to swim forward, pulling the three boats in a high-speed chase across the sea.

The intense exertion also accelerated its oxygen consumption.

Within minutes, the thrice-speared whale helplessly resurfaced to breathe again.

Seizing this opportunity, the other harpooners aboard the three boats launched another coordinated attack, deeply embedding three more harpoons into it.

SPURT! SPURT!...

Heavy blood loss and extreme fatigue considerably slowed the whale’s pace. The intervals between its surfacings for air grew shorter, and each time it breached, it faced a relentless barrage from the whalers.

After what seemed like four or five rounds of assault, the behemoth finally succumbed, floating motionless atop the ocean, its crimson blood staining a vast expanse of the water.

Despite its massive size, it was still merely a mortal creature; once its weaknesses were exploited, it had no choice but to resign itself to slaughter.

A professional whaling ship trailing behind [The Golden Deer] promptly caught up.

The bearded Hightins Bayfolk captain beckoned his crew to get to work, saying, "Lads, get started on stripping down the blubber and boiling the oil. And don’t you dare waste a single drop of the precious brain oil; scrape it all out clean."

"Understood, Captain."

Many sailors, knives clenched in their teeth, dived into the water and clambered onto the leviathan’s carcass, beginning the on-site butchering.

Inside the Leviathan Whale’s massive head lay a "spermaceti organ."

It was a large, deep cavity, encased in fascia and a thick layer of muscle, and filled to the brim with precious brain oil, capable of storing up to six tons.

Spermaceti is a pale rose-colored, semi-translucent liquid that solidifies into milky-white, wax-like chunks upon exposure to cold air.

It harbored the richest Source Material, containing immense energy.

Unlike blubber, it required no further refining and was already a top-notch alchemical material.

The less valuable blubber, on the other hand, would be cut away and packed into barrels. These barrels were then stacked in the suffocatingly foul and cramped hold of the whaling ship.

Another portion of the catch would be processed fresh on board, yielding the highest quality of oil.

"Boil it on the spot! We’ll render it right here. The ’Lighthouse Weekly’ said that only the freshest whale oil fetches top dollar."

Thrilled, the captain of the whaling ship rubbed his hands eagerly and conducted a meticulous inspection of every detail, ensuring no mishaps would occur.

Byron noticed that this whaling ship had constructed a large brick furnace right on the main deck, where several cauldrons were employed simultaneously.

Such an operation was rarely seen on whaling ships, which typically transported the blubber back to port for processing.

The main reason was that many sailors feared death, for the ever-burning furnace held the potential to ignite the entire wooden whaling vessel—an accident at sea from which there would be no escape.

Moreover, Leviathan Whale Oil’s explosive potential was nearly on par with gunpowder. A disaster involving it would be far more dangerous than incidents with ordinary whale oil.

Nevertheless, what did "a slight risk" count for in the face of "huge profits"?

One just needed to be more cautious.

Thus, a whaling ship transformed into a moving factory, able to complete the processes of whaling, cutting, rendering, and storage more efficiently, and naturally, amassing greater wealth.

A few such trips would earn enough hazard pay and Settling-In Fees for the crew to live comfortably; anything beyond that was pure profit.

But to whom would they sell?

Of course, they would sell to a subsidiary of the Pioneer Guiding Colonial Trading Company—the Standard Whale Oil Company.

Even if Byron did nothing, at least 10% of the whale oil harvested from the Chasm Trench would end up in his hands, as he had already laid the groundwork to become a whale oil magnate.

If he missed such an opportunity for fortune, Miss Catherine of [Mithril Dragon] would likely hang her wastrel brother and lash him with a cat-o’-nine-tails for three days and nights.

Witnessing the bustling scene before him, Magnate Byron nodded contentedly. "The selling point of our Standard Whale Oil Company lies in standardization.

"By establishing a set of standard processes for hunting, procurement, refinement, transportation, and storage, we ensure that every can of whale oil produced by the company is of consistent quality!

"Only when the various industries that rely on whale oil thrive will consumers truly appreciate the significance of the word ’standard.’

"Once the special leeches used for whale oil extraction go online, our efficiency will increase exponentially.

"Our goal is to become the monopolistic Whale Oil King!

"By integrating related upstream and downstream companies, we’ll form a massive whale oil monopoly trust. At that point, just a stamp of my foot in Whale Song Town will send tremors across the Old Continent.

"Monopoly isn’t friendly to other countries, but as long as it’s good for me, that’s enough."

After indulging the crew in a whale hunt, Byron was about to order the return home when, upon turning the ship around, he unexpectedly sensed something deep in the waters nearby drawing him in.

"What’s wrong, Byron?"

Noticing his unusual behavior, Violet stretched out her hand and tugged at his sleeve.

This Grand Artificer, usually engrossed in research, had been forcibly dragged out by Byron for a change of scenery.

It was perfect timing because she had just captured a Virtual Ship Spirit—a being with the knowledge of a Fifth-order Legendary Artisan—that could assume the bulk of her workload.

Though the spirit had inherited all the knowledge of a Sailboat Collector, it lacked the vivacity of a normal human, which, in Byron’s opinion, was actually an advantage.

Probably influenced by the overwhelming research tasks from the day before, it had turned into a merciless research machine devoid of self after signing a contract with Byron.

Beyond its research, it even stopped touching its favorite sailboats.

When Byron placed a [Blue Dragon King] and [The Golden Deer] before it, the spirit didn’t even spare them a glance, reassuring Byron completely.

With the aid of this spirit, Violet naturally wouldn’t have to be so busy.

Moreover, in just one day, the spirit had already presented a rudimentary "Specific Boiling Point Distillation Extraction Method," ensuring that the whale oil of various qualities they purchased could be separated into a uniform final product.

And this invention was, naturally, credited to Violet.

Byron focused his senses and said with some surprise, "Underwater... it appears to be a Crystal Skull? Yes, that’s right, it’s the Thirteen Crystal Skulls."

He now had seven Crystal Skulls in his possession: Number One [Heavenly God], Number Two [Earth Mother God], Number Three [Corn God], Number Five [Sun God], Number Six [Moon Goddess], Number Eight [Feathered Serpent God], and Number Twelve [Polar Star God].

The whereabouts of the remaining six were unknown.

The Number One Skull Byron wore on his head could sense the location of other skulls within the territory of the Taya Empire.

However, once outside the Empire’s borders, this sense was greatly diminished, only allowing precise perception if they appeared within a few kilometers.

From [Hundred-Headed Dragon Mother Tiamat] and [Slumbering God Kraken], Byron knew that many Heretical Cults had profited from the chaos when the Taya Empire collapsed.

It wasn’t surprising that they took the most valuable treasures to the Southern Continent amidst the turmoil.

Byron was very much looking forward to the moment when all Thirteen Crystal Skulls were assembled, enabling the [Flower Mountain Celestial Kingdom] in his mind to truly take shape. Then, it would not only be able to hold souls but also allow the entry and exit of matter.

An Earthly Heaven, akin to a god’s domain!

Carrying a small world as blissful as Heaven itself was an unimaginable luxury for every ocean-faring Adventurer.

Violet, the Witch, also sensed something.

"That should be the Chasm Trench," she said. "It just so happens that we haven’t yet explored the Secret Realms of those whale-folk. Whale Song Town is just a whaling outpost; a considerable part of their wealth is probably still hidden underwater."

Spurred by her words, Byron immediately brightened.

He first sent down Hugin and Munin, his two Ravens, to scout and confirm the absence of insurmountable dangers.

Then, after notifying the others, he scooped up Violet—the only one who could move freely in the Deep Sea—and leapt into the air, landing atop the large head of the ammonite.

Together, they parted the waves and plunged into the Deep Sea.