Chapter 95: Great Sorrow and Great Joy

The Sea Windmill slowly docked at the berth. Before the gangplank was lowered, several middle-aged men, confident in their agility, climbed up a rope thrown by a sailor onto the deck. These middle-aged men were the minor shareholders of the whaling company that owned the Sea Windmill. They were eager to find out how much prey the Sea Windmill had brought back this time.

The Sea Windmill had returned to Dun Er Ke in less than a week. Had it coincidentally encountered migrating frenzied unicorn whales and achieved a great harvest, or had it unluckily run into an accident and returned to port? The large hole at the stern was not a good sign. The hull of the Sea Windmill was extremely sturdy, and anyone could imagine the terrifying power of the blow that had torn it apart like that.

Lin Qi swiftly swung down a rope to the dock. He brushed the dust off his hands and waved cheerfully at Lucky Joe Arjang on the ship. “Uncle Joe Arjang, make sure to tidy everything up properly!”

What Lin Qi meant by “tidy everything up” naturally referred to the remaining whaling harpoons. With Colonel Neville’s official document as proof, those whaling harpoons could be removed from the Empire’s list of controlled items. On a dark and windy night, these treasures would quietly find their way into the Black Tiger Family’s secret warehouse, waiting to one day unleash a dazzling flash of light in the chest of some powerful being.

Snow and wind swirled around. Joe Arjang, whose hair and beard were grayish-white, waved his pipe at Lin Qi with a smile. Of course, he would take good care of those little darlings—they were valuable items that could serve great purposes. With these treasures, perhaps when the shipping routes resumed operations next spring, some of the Black Tiger Family’s subordinates could successfully raid a few more armed merchant ships.

“They’re all plump, juicy sheep!” Joe Arjang smacked his lips and smiled contentedly.

Enzo and Long Cheng slipped off the ship. Lin Qi had already warmly embraced Blackbeard.

Blackbeard rubbed his rough, bearded face vigorously against Lin Qi’s cheek. With tears streaming down, he cried out, “Oh, Lin Qi, my child, my Lin Qi! Why did you go to sea? Do you want to make your poor old Blackbeard father worry? It’s a pity you’ve grown up; otherwise, I’d really have to spank your bottom!”

Lin Qi coughed weakly a few times, then smirked proudly. “Oh, don’t worry, respected father. I just took Enzo to see the sights at sea. All you honorable gentlemen should understand that for an inland person, not having seen the sea is such a sad thing.”

The dignitaries of Dun Er Ke burst into laughter, bending over with amusement. It seemed that poking fun at Enzo, the “inland country bumpkin,” gave them great satisfaction. Yes, these bumpkins who had never seen the sea—unlike these dignitaries who dealt with the ocean every day.

Gripping Lin Qi’s shoulders firmly, Blackbeard shouted, “Well, my little Lin Qi, tell your father, you didn’t cause any trouble for poor old Joe Arjang, did you? Huh? You didn’t cause them any trouble, did you? What was your prey?”

The dignitaries all fell silent at once, obediently straining to hear Lin Qi’s reply. There was no helping it—the departure of a whaling ship always stirred emotions. Every whaling ship was like a glittering gold mine; if there was a harvest, its shareholders would receive substantial returns.

The Sea Windmill was a brand-new whaling ship. Its construction cost was extremely high. Not to mention its sturdy, iron-clad hull, just the arcane furnace that powered it had cost a fortune. That arcane furnace alone had cost the shareholders over a million gold coins.

But it didn’t matter. If the Sea Windmill could bring back just two frenzied unicorn whales this time, all the costs would be recovered! If there were a few additional catches—which were almost inevitable extra spoils, such as hammerhead shark fins and other marine products—then this voyage would yield a small profit. And the next time the Sea Windmill set sail, everything it brought back would be pure profit!

Lin Qi pouted smugly. He gestured with his thumb toward the Sea Windmill and boasted with a proud smile, “Ah, only one, honored ladies and gentlemen, only one trophy. On this voyage, Enzo and I worked together, and we personally took down that big fellow!”

Enzo bowed modestly to the many dignitaries. His face was slightly flushed, as if he were quite shy.

The dignitaries clicked their tongues in admiration. Truly a simple, bashful young man—these days, such honest and sincere youths were rare. Compared to their own frivolous, wasteful scoundrels, a young man like Enzo was like pure, unpolished gold.

Long Cheng sneered nearby. Enzo’s blush was surely due to shame, right? Lin Qi had shamelessly claimed credit for Long Cheng’s achievements again.

After praising for a while, the dignitaries suddenly let out a unified exclamation, “Wow!” What? Had they misheard, or had Lin Qi misspoken? Only one prey? Damn it, only one prey? Even if a single frenzied unicorn whale sold for a high price, all the profits would only amount to about half the construction cost of the Sea Windmill!

In other words, the shareholders of the Sea Windmill would only recover their costs around this time next year, and it would take two more years before they saw any returns!

Some of the dignitaries smirked with a hint of schadenfreude, mocking the bad luck of certain individuals. The Divine Descent Festival was approaching—the major holiday marking the end of the old year and the beginning of the new on the Western Continent. During the Divine Descent Festival, whaling ships could not set sail. After the festival, the weather would become particularly harsh, making it impossible for whaling ships to go out.

As for after spring, sending a whaling ship deep into the North Sea would be equivalent to suicide—the fierce naval forces of the Five Great Archipelagos would devour the whaling ship, flesh and bone! So, this time, those shareholders of the Sea Windmill were going to be heartbroken!

As for the shareholders of the Sea Windmill, the major shareholders still wore faint smiles, but the minor shareholders—those who were counting on this voyage’s earnings to cover their holiday expenses—their faces turned extremely grim.

Just one frenzied unicorn whale? Good heavens, weren’t you harming people, Lin Qi?

Dozens of minor shareholders, whose wealth was not vast, glared furiously at Lin Qi. It was this guy who had suddenly made their lives tight! Damn it, how could he do this?

Just then, the middle-aged men who had just climbed onto the ship rushed joyfully to the ship’s railing. Together, they lifted high a golden horn over four meters long.

“A Unicorn Whale King! Young Master Lin Qi and Mr. Enzo teamed up and killed a Unicorn Whale King!”

The entire dock erupted in exclamations. What a joke—a Unicorn Whale King?

A Unicorn Whale King that was worth more than ten or twenty frenzied unicorn whales? They had struck it rich this time, truly struck it rich!