Salted Fish Chapter 60.2: Who can tame the monster? (Part 2)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: GaeaTiamat

 

In the infirmary, Sergeant Bulwer was lying on the innermost bed. The curtain was drawn around the sickbed to prevent outsiders from prying.

“He ran out on his own in the night. In no way did we fail to keep an eye on him. I didn’t lock the door because I thought people with illnesses don’t have the strength to walk around,” the doctor tried to defend himself. “After he was sent back, his condition worsened.”

Duan FeiZhou lifted the curtain. Sergeant Bulwer cocked his head and opened his eyes slightly, but his pupils were unfocused. The lines on his arms were obviously deeper than before, like a crimson spider web covering his body. He said, breathlessly but with great fervor, “The day of His return is coming…Blessed are those who wait for Him…”

“Shit.” Duan FeiZhou’s brow furrowed. This was a sign of the Ether disease’s terminal phase. He had clearly been given the Beautiful Gaia’s secret medicine, so why did his condition still worsen? Was it because he had been injured? Or was his condition so serious that the medicine wasn’t enough healing?

“He calls for His companion to return to Him…Someone will bring it back to Him…Blessed is He who leads the way, and He will bless you…” Sergeant Bulwer’s voice trailed off.

Duan FeiZhou gently touched his carotid artery, and turned back to pass a regretful look to the doctor.

Duan FeiZhou brought the news of the death back to Z and Simon, who were somewhat dejected. Duan FeiZhou reassured Simon that Sergeant Bulwer had not been killed by him, but had died of Etheric disease. But the crying was good for him, because he cried himself to sleep.

Simon could sleep, but others couldn’t. Colonel Freeman was furious and demanded a thorough investigation of every corner of the airship, and all those close to Lieutenant Horn were scrutinized.

They were locked up in a small compartment and interrogated by Colonel Freeman himself. The next morning, however, the investigation and interrogation yielded few results. Lieutenant Horn’s personal belongings were searched over and over again without finding any evidence of collaboration with the enemy. The spy hadn’t left any trace of his work.

Simon’s fox had escaped, and was nowhere to be found. Colonel Freeman was now in a hurry to find both the man and the fox.

If there was enough time, the colonel might have turned the whole ship upside down, and interrogated all the crew from top to bottom. But by late afternoon the next day, they had crossed Greenland and arrived at what would later be named the Queen Elizabeth Islands. The islands had no official name at the moment.

“I can feel that Leviathan is around here,” the teenager said. “There must be a lake in the center of the island and it’s there.”

When they arrived at the place, Simon became the guide of the airship, and Colonel Freeman had to obey him instead. He asked the colonel to put down a dinghy, since he had to go to the island and the Leviathan himself, to “wake up” the Leviathan. Naturally,he was accompanied by Duan FeiZhou and Z.

The colonel wanted to send more people along, but Simon refused.

“Just let me escort you,” the colonel said. “What if you encounter more danger on the way?”

“If there are too many people, it will be disturbed,” The teenager said mysteriously. “And the other animals on the island will be disturbed as well. Let them live quietly.”

“At least let me escort you there,” the colonel insisted. “What if you run into any more danger on the way?”

Simon sighed and had to allow them to take two soldiers along. However, the colonel could only send them to the shore. The Arctic was extremely cold even in the summer. The six men changed into thick cotton clothes and boarded the two prepared boats. The hatch opened and the boats slid down the track into the sea outside.

Duan FeiZhou, Z and Simon took the other boat. The good news was that Simon didn’t bring his animal friends with him. It was summer in the Arctic, with extremely long days and short nights, but the temperature was still very low, mostly below 10C. The animal friends couldn’t adapt to such temperatures and had to stay on board.

Duan FeiZhou and Z dragged the dinghy ashore, and put it behind a rock to prevent it from being washed away by the rising tide. Then they grabbed their luggage and prepared to head for the center of the island.

Simon was excited to study the large group of Arctic hares lying on the beach. From a distance, they looked like scattered piles of cotton along the coast. The colonel only sent them to the beach. Originally the colonel wanted to set up camp on the shore, and wait for their return from the mission, but Simon refused.

“If there are outsiders on this island, the Leviathan will feel that its territory has been violated,” the teenager said. “The three of us are more than enough. You’d better go back.”

Colonel Freeman insisted on escorting Simon, but the teenager, uncharacteristically, refused him with great determination. The colonel had to row back to the airship with his two men in displeasure.

Duan FeiZhou and the others stood on the shore and waved goodbye to the colonel. The dinghy drifted away from the shore and towards the Wellington on the water. Just as the boat reached its midpoint, it suddenly rocked. The colonel got up abruptly, threw away the oars, and seemed to have an argument with his men.

“What’s going on?” Simon asked in fear.

Duan FeiZhou drew on his energy and used his psychic powers to listen to the conversation of the three men in the dinghy.

“When did you guys start?” Colonel Freeman stood at the bow of the boat and looked at his two men, “Are you going to do it to me now?”

“We can’t let you back into the boat.” One of the soldiers said. He drew his gun and aimed at the colonel.

A shot rang out.

The colonel fell backward, and plunged into the icy Arctic sea.

The three men on shore were dumbfounded.

“Did I see it wrong?” Simon said in a daze. “did they…they murdered the Colonel…?”

Let alone the shot fired by the soldier. Even if the shot didn’t hit the vitals, the colonel had fallen into the sea. The Arctic sea was so cold, the chances of survival after falling into the sea were slim.

“Get out of here!” Z yelled. “Get off the coast! Go to the lake where Leviathan is!”

Duan FeiZhou took two steps, found Simon frozen in place, returned and dragged the teenager by the arm, and forced him away. The Arctic rabbits that had been laying on the shore, now disturbed by the strange two-legged beasts, pulled themselves up and fled around with their four long legs.

“How could this happen?” Simon muttered. “Weren’t they the colonel’s own guards? Why did they murder the Colonel…?”

Z’s brow furrowed. “I’m afraid those two soldiers have been turned.”

“Turned?!” Simon was horrified, and shivered like a small animal.

“There are foreign spies lurking on the Wellington.” Duan FeiZhou explained, “Previously we repeatedly encountered air pirate attacks, because the spy leaked the route of the airship. But I didn’t expect that even the Colonel’s own guard was turned…”

“Then…then what should we do?” Simon panicked. “The colonel is dead, the Wellington is controlled by the spy. Have we been abandoned?”

Z looked away from the dinghy with a serious expression. He was the only one of the three who had been in the army, and his knowledge of the military was much richer than that of the other two.

“Generally speaking, it’s impossible for an entire crew to defect. Spies aren’t that good. The more people he comes into contact with, the greater the chance of his own exposure. So the spies would only select a few key people; such as the ship’s senior crew, or Colonel Freeman’s personal guards. The colonel’s death can’t be hidden from the world. When the crew finds that he didn’t return, they’ll immediately know that he’s in trouble. Next there will be a mutiny on board. The mutinous side and the loyal side will fight for control of the Wellington. Then it will be up to whichever side wins.”

It was the same as the army, but naval ships were different from other troops. If a land army was attacked, soldiers could more or less survive if they fled into the field. But once a ship sunk, especially in the deep sea, the chances of the crew surviving were almost nil. All the people on board a ship were in a relationship of prosperity or loss. Therefore, the ship’s soldiers were required to be absolutely obedient, absolutely loyal, never question the orders of superiors, from top to bottom like a machine. Each person was just a cog in the machine.

However, in this environment, the soldiers’ spirit was also suppressed to the limit. A small spark could lead to an uncontrollable fire. Throughout history, there were many stories of ‘unpopular captains being overthrown by the first mate.’

“If the mutineers get the upper hand….” Simon’s face was white, which mirrored that of the Arctic rabbits not far away.

“The best-case scenario is that the Wellington leaves us behind and sets sail.” Z said.

“What about the worst case scenario?”

Z gave him a cruel smile. “You’ve seen the power of the Wellington’s guns. What do you think would happen if they bombarded the island?”

Simon stumbled, and almost fell face first to the ground, but Duan FeiZhou was quick to catch him. The teenager’s lips trembled. “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t let the Colonel go back…”

“It’s only the difference between ‘the colonel died at sea’ and ‘the colonel died on land’.” Z said indifferently.

Duan FeiZhou looked at Z. “So we can only hope that the mutineers will fail?”

“We can still hope for him.” Z looked at Simon askance. “As long as he can tame the Leviathan, we can just ride it back to London.”

“…Right!” Simon perked up a bit, and his eyes glowed. “I almost forgot. With the Leviathan, we don’t have to be afraid of the Wellington either!”

He was confident in the Leviathan, but Duan FeiZhou wasn’t so optimistic. No one had ever seen the Leviathan’s real appearance, and no one knew the Leviathan’s true strength. Could an ancient creature really stand up to the latest in modern crystal technology?

Moreover, whether Simon could tame Leviathan was still unknown.

Unfortunately, Duan FeiZhou could do nothing besides trusting in him.

It was a desperate gamble. If Simon succeeded, they would be able to get out in one piece. If he failed…Duan FeiZhou began to sketch the map of the North Pole in his head. Could they walk to Canada on their own two feet?

The island had no name, and in the summer, most of it was snow-free, covered with polar moss, heather and Arctic poppies, with the occasional animal sighting. Arctic rabbits with long legs poked their heads out from behind mounds every now and then. Unfortunately, they didn’t have reindeer here. Otherwise Simon could have tamed reindeer as mounts, which would have saved a lot of work.

After lunch, they set off without stopping. About 6:00 pm, they finally found the lake in the middle of the nameless island.

At this time the sun was still hanging in the sky, spilling bright daylight. The lake was sparkling, like a crystal set in the middle of the island. This lake at the end of the world was so clean.No one had ever set foot there; it was never polluted. It was beautiful and lonely, like a forgotten mournful song, that echoed alone in this world, but with no one to listen.

Three people stood on the shore of the lake, taking in the beauty.

“Leviathan is sleeping in the lake?” Duan FeiZhou asked.

Simon nodded, “I can feel it. It is said that its former owner was a vanished Forerunner. It was created by the Forerunner as a servant, and slept here after the Forerunner left.”

The obscure sentences recited by Sergeant Bulwer before his death echoed in Duan FeiZhou’s ears. He calls His companion back to His side…Someone will bring it back to Him…Blessed is the one who leads the way, He will bless you…The “He” in the mouth of the Etheric patient must be the Second Forerunner, the Great Lord of Light. Then was Leviathan the companion of the Great Lord of Light?

And who was the one who led the way? Simon? Simon came here on the orders of Carter to bring Leviathan back to England to increase the deterrent effect of the army, not for the sake of the coming of the Lord of Light. Could Simon guide the Leviathan to return to the Great Lord of Light? But wasn’t the Lord of Light already dead?

Duan FeiZhou closed his eyes and stretched out the tentacles of his powers to explore towards the lake below, through the icy waters, into the lightless bottom of the deep, and he did come into contact with something.

Something huge, something completely irrational from a biological standpoint, was lurking in the water. He could hear its breath and heartbeat, heavy and slow, like a dying old man. For a moment, Duan FeiZhou thought they shouldn’t disturb this massive creature. Just let it lie where it likes. But it was their task to wake and tame Leviathan. They had to do it.

“How are you going to tame it?” Duan FeiZhou asked Simon. “Do you have to perform any rituals?”

“No. I’ll just walk over and talk to it.” The teenager smiled confidently. He walked faithfully to the shore of the lake, and opened his arms as if to embrace the whole water. “Wake up, sleeping Leviathan,” he said softly to the wind. “I come to meet you with peace and sincerity. I wish to be your friend. To share with you all the joys and pains.”

His voice was subdued, as if he was singing.

Well, it really was a Disney princess, Duan FeiZhou thought in amusement.

Simon recited his declaration of friendship several times. Just when Duan FeiZhou thought nothing would happen, the lake rippled a little.

Simon’s eyes lit up and he took a few steps closer to the lake. “My friend, you heard my call!”

The surface of the lake rippled more and more. Then there was a deafening bang. The lake exploded, and the splashing water drenched Simon from head to toe. In the middle of the broken lake rose a long neck, followed by a body covered with black scales and a spiny back. A pair of bat wings were attached to its back, and when they unfolded, Duan FeiZhou instantly felt that the sky was much darker.

The thing opened its crocodile-like mouth, to reveal a mouthful of snowy-white sharp teeth, each one taller than a man. From deep in its throat came a long roar. The sound resounded like a trumpet from ancient times, roaring from the age of slash-and-burn to the age of whistling steam.

“…There really are monsters.” Duan FeiZhou had seen many incredible sights in his life, but this scene in front of him was definitely and deservedly the first. He was mentally prepared for the mission to fail. At the North Pole sleeps the Forerunner’s pet or something, the whole thing had  sounded absurd.

But everything was true.

Simon greeted it ecstatically, “My friend, I finally met you! Please listen to my heartfelt words, I hope…”

“Wait. I hear a strange sound!” Duan FeiZhou hurriedly interrupted him.

Not from under the water, but from the sky. The roar of spewing smoke, the screech of gears grinding, the hiss of steel crashing into each other…Duan FeiZhou recognized the sound – it was the sound of an Ether crystal-powered steam engine running.

A small black dot appeared in the sky. The steam airship was bathed in the polar sunlight, like a Valkyrie on the march, as it sped towards them.

Z squinted his eyes and stroked his silver hair, which had been blown around by the cold wind. “It seems that the struggle on the ship has come to an end.”

Would the winner be the mutineers, or the loyalists?

Duan FeiZhou certainly hoped that the loyalists had won. However he had a vague sense of foreboding. The spies on board the ship wouldn’t have made a move on Colonel Freeman without being fully prepared. Since they dared to murder the colonel at sea, it meant that the spies had a full grasp of the rebellion. However, it didn’t matter if the mutineers won. As long as it was a human who was in control of the airship, it was the best news for Duan FeiZhou.

He would rather fight with a whole ship of rebels than face some ancient Leviathan! The huge figure of the airborne ship blotted out the sunlight and cast a heavy shadow.

The monster in the lake craned its long neck and turned its sea serpent-like head toward the monstrous man-made craft in the air. The Wellington simply hovered over their heads, without even the slightest hint of descent. The hull rotated and aimed its flanks in the direction of the lake.

The brass-colored hull swung open like a lotus flower, revealing a whole row of turrets.

Wait, the Wellington was not going to…

“Get down!” Z yelled. He grabbed Duan FeiZhou with one hand, and forced him to the ground.