Chapter 104

Sirens originated from ancient Greek mythology, where they were depicted as sea creatures with the face of a woman and the body of a bird. They flew over the sea, possessing an enchanting voice that they used to lure passing sailors, causing their ships to crash on the rocks and sink, with the sailors becoming the Sirens’ prey.

Some even believe that Sirens are the souls of sailors who died at sea and were unable to enter heaven. They are doomed to wander the endless ocean forever, searching for a living being to take their place as a seafarer—compared to mermaids, who also drag sailors into the depths, the Sirens, capable of flying and attacking from the air, are undoubtedly more threatening!

The deck of the Wind Fury was in chaos, the cries of sailors falling into the water mingling with the mournful songs of the Sirens, turning this stretch of sea into a literal hell—now, people finally understood that the Land of Extreme Cold and the Land of Extreme Heat were just the beginning. It was more likely that the pioneers had perished in this deadly sea, home to an unknown number of Sirens!

The crew frantically smashed their kerosene lamps, trembling hands lighting anything around them that could burn. Legends say that Sirens, as cold creatures, dislike fire, and the sailors who survived by holding torches proved this true. Once the initial panic subsided, people began a frenzied counterattack, holding their torches high.

Rick held a torch in one hand and a saber in the other. The sky was filled with falling feathers from the birds, which caught fire from the torches, emitting a nauseating stench. The wounded Sirens screeched and flapped their wings to escape, their blood dripping onto the deck and quickly freezing into blood-stained ice shards in the cold air.

Blades dulled, and guns ran out of bullets. People dropped their weapons. Beside Rick, Leoza, who had somehow arrived on the Wind Fury, stood with him. The two redheads, armed with Rick’s torch, were unstoppable—

When Rick couldn’t watch his back, Leoza leaped up and forcefully grabbed a Siren that was about to ambush him from the sky, cleanly snapping its neck. At the same time, Rick turned and used his torch to strike a Siren that was about to grab Leoza. The sea creature covered its face and fled with a wail. On the deck, the two red-haired men didn’t even exchange a glance before immediately returning to the fight, each looking disgusted with the other.

Miguel watched from the side, dumbfounded.

If he hadn’t been busy trying to stay alive, he would have loved to remind Rick that the goddess of love was descending (……).

By now, the pirates on the deck had regained their composure and were slaughtering the Sirens—people quickly realized that without their enchanting abilities, these creatures were just terrifying-looking beings. It was as if they had been transported back to that night in Mermaid Harbor, with the sounds of slaughter and angry roars filling the air. Cannons were set up, and the night was stained red with blood, painting the frost-covered deck!

Miguel held the Ghost Slayer, its blade now dulled, his hand numb from the cold and the impact. He mechanically swung his torch and dagger, fighting an endless swarm of Sirens—

At that moment, he was being dragged by a Siren with heavy facial tattoos toward the ship’s railing, about to be thrown into the sea—would he survive that?

The black-haired young man snapped into action, channeling his inner Leoza, grabbing the Siren’s bird-like leg and throwing it to the ground. He mounted it and began twisting its neck, struggling until he finally heard the satisfying crack of its neck dislocating. When the strong Siren finally died, Miguel stood up, spitting out a mouthful of feathers.

He looked down into the sea, and what he saw nearly made him fall in—a soaking wet Siren was clinging to the side of the Wind Fury, staring up at him with an eerie gaze.

Miguel recognized it—this was the same Siren that had tried to lure him into the sea by pretending to be Caesar.

But strangely, this time, the creature didn’t attack. Unlike its frenzied companions, it was eerily calm, as if it had been waiting for a long time. When Miguel leaned over the railing to look at it, the creature raised its hand, its long, human-like fingers pointing in a specific direction—Miguel followed its gesture and saw a massive natural glacier fissure. The opening was narrow, only wide enough for one ship to pass through. If not for the creature’s guidance, no one would have noticed this fissure in the dark, moonless, snow-filled night.

Miguel looked back at the Siren’s eyes.

The Siren stared back at him without flinching.

“…”

The black-haired young man scratched his head and understood.

At that moment, Zhizhi appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Miguel’s arm and leaning over the railing to make an ugly face at the Siren. The Siren was momentarily stunned, then expressionlessly flicked its mermaid-like tail and disdainfully dove back into the sea.

Miguel: “…Girl, can we not be so bold in someone else’s territory, okay?”

Zhizhi: “Sure thing, buddy, no problem. But it’s already gone. Should I chase it down and apologize?”

Miguel: “…”

Zhizhi: “Should I?”

Miguel: “No, you’ve done enough.”

Miguel returned to the command deck. As he directed the Wind Fury’s helmsman to steer the ship toward the fissure the Siren had pointed out, he was surprised to find that the Sirens launched even more frenzied attacks once they realized the ship’s direction—for a moment, Miguel thought he’d been tricked. But as the Wind Fury squeezed its massive hull into the glacier fissure with a creak, the Sirens didn’t follow—

They flapped their wings outside the fissure, baring their sharp fangs, their once-beautiful songs replaced by guttural growls. From these sounds, it was easy to sense the anger and fear within them!

The surviving sailors on the Wind Fury’s deck cheered, slapping each other’s hands in celebration of another day of survival.

As the leader of these rough men, red-haired Rick plopped down on the filthy deck: “…Saved—Hey, you there, brave soul, how did you manage to find this massive glacier fissure while we were busy fighting like dogs?”

Miguel: “…A Siren told me.”

Rick: “You flirted with another creature… I’m gonna tell the boss when I see him.”

Miguel sneered: “If I hadn’t flirted with that creature, you’d never see your boss again—how are you gonna tell him? With a message in a bottle? How romantic.”

“…Fine, let’s assume you found the right path,” Rick said absentmindedly as he wrapped a bandage around his hand, nudging Miguel with his shoulder. “But judging from the expressions on those Sirens’ faces, aside from being pissed off, they seemed to be saying something like ‘congratulations on your impending doom’…”

“You’re overthinking it,” Miguel said expressionlessly, holding up a wooden box in front of Rick’s eyes. “See this? The fish is swimming happily. From its expression, it’s clearly saying ‘congratulations on finding the right path’…”

“A transparent fish doesn’t have facial expressions.”

“You can read Sirens’ expressions, why can’t I read a fish’s?” Miguel squatted next to Rick, then suddenly remembered something and hooked his arm around the temporary captain’s shoulder, giving him a sly and gossipy smile. “Hey, speaking of that, I saw the intimate and harmonious teamwork between you and Leoza earlier—”

Rick was stunned, then pushed Miguel’s hand away, casually uttering two words: “Bullshit.”

Miguel: “I swear I saw the goddess of love floating above your heads…”

Rick: “There’s only Poseidon at sea, no goddess of love.”

Miguel: “I don’t care, I saw it—get together! Get together!”

Rick: “Not unless I die.”

Leoza: “Not unless I die.”

Rick: “…”

Leoza: “…”

Miguel: “…See? Might as well get together. Same gender, perfect for love.”

During dinner that night, to avoid suspicion, Leoza sat at one end of the table, and Rick at the other—they maintained the safest distance, but it was no match for the Wind Fury’s former Navigator, whose mind was filled with spring. As soon as he walked into the dining room, he whistled: “Wow, what a great spot, you can see each other just by looking up. How thoughtful.”

The two redheads froze, simultaneously looking up at each other.

Still as detestable as ever.

Both men at opposite ends of the table let out a sigh of relief.

Rick wanted to die at Miguel’s matchmaking.

Leoza felt the same.

……

Miguel’s spring fever wasn’t without reason.

It was likely because the moment he had been waiting for was finally about to arrive—though it hadn’t been long, just about twenty days. But to him, it felt like twenty years.

Some things, when you don’t have them, it’s fine.

But once you do, you can’t live without them.

……

It was another sleepless night, as the night of extreme cold seemed to never end. As the Wind Fury’s sturdy bow broke through the thin layer of ice on the sea, the ship creaked under the strain. For an entire night, the Wind Fury’s former Navigator stood at the bow, wrapped in a fur blanket he had taken from the captain’s cabin, holding a kerosene lamp, as still as a statue—

Until he saw another statue.

At that moment, the horizon was slowly turning gray with the first light of dawn.

There was still no sunlight, but a faint glow filtered through the ice, illuminating the glacier fissure. The Wind Fury slowly moved forward, and finally, the kerosene lamp in the black-haired young man’s hand flickered and went out after burning all night.

Miguel bent down and placed the lamp on the ground—his first movement in five hours.

After straightening up—his second movement in five hours—

A miracle happened.

The Wind Fury finally emerged from the seemingly endless glacier fissure. Before them was a vast expanse of open sea, still surrounded by towering icebergs. The sunlight refracted through the ice, casting a colorful glow. The deck fell silent, everyone stunned by the sight before them, holding their breath—

In front of them stood a colossal statue of the sea god Poseidon.

The statue was dozens of stories tall.

Its grandeur was so immense that it was hard to believe it was part of human civilization!

The statue sat on a chariot pulled by horses with golden manes and bronze hooves, holding a trident. It seemed as though it could summon storms and waves at will, shattering ships, shaking mountains, and causing earthquakes. When it was gentle, it could bring favorable weather. The colorful light fell on the statue’s right shoulder, as if draping it in a multicolored cape.

While everyone was awestruck by the statue, Miguel silently leaned over the railing.

As everyone began to chatter, Miguel plunged into the sea with a splash.

The crew of the Wind Fury was dumbfounded.

They rushed to the railing, shouting and throwing ropes and ladders—

But all they saw was their former Navigator swimming swiftly toward the base of the statue—

As the Wind Fury drew closer, they finally saw that at the foot of the massive statue, there seemed to be a person. Though it was just a small dot compared to the statue, every tiny movement it made sent the sailors’ hearts racing!

As Rick ordered the anchor to be dropped, Miguel had already swum to the base of the statue.

His lips were frozen like a ghost’s.

So when the man squatting by the statue reached out with a strong arm and lifted him out of the icy water like a kitten, Miguel didn’t hesitate to snuggle into that solid, warm chest, shamelessly smearing the man with cold seawater.

Miguel closed his eyes, contentedly rubbing his cheek against the man’s sturdy chest, almost meowing to express his satisfaction.

But a rough hand slapped his cheek, pushing him away. Caesar’s low, magnetic voice rang out above him, filled with indifference and displeasure—

“What are you doing here, trash? You all have a death wish?”

“…”

“Speak, have you gone mute?”

Miguel cupped the man’s face, his expression one of sheer joy after overcoming countless obstacles to finally meet the final boss: “It’s really Big Dog!”

The man clicked his tongue, raising an eyebrow: “…What nonsense are you spouting?”

“Wahhh, I missed you so much, Big Dog!”

“Get lost.”