The steam spear at the bow became increasingly agitated, scattering the sailors on deck who feared the scalding steam might injure them.
As the violent hissing of steam erupted over the sea, the sea ghost ahead seemed to sense something; in the next moment, it let out a soft shriek, the Vortex on its back gradually shrinking as its body began to sink.
It was preparing to escape from the surface of the water.
But clearly, the Iceberg Queen was not about to give it that chance.
"All hands! Grip your weapons and the railings, prepare for the hunt!"
Pahetz, standing at the edge of the deck, put down her telescope and shouted the command to everyone on board.
By this time, many sailors were below deck in the cabins, responsible for piloting the ship and operating the warship’s cannons and other weapons, while the rest gripped firearms and blades, standing by on deck.
Following Pahetz’s command, the roar of steam from the bow peaked, and the giant spear began to rotate gently, targeting the sea ghost that had just started to sink.
The next second, the spear shot out, wrapped in steam, and the enormous recoil lifted the whole warship slightly.
All the sailors gripped the nearby railings tightly; Fisher also braced himself against the railing with one hand, but because of the sea ghost’s movement, the restless waves easily surged over the railings, crashing heavily onto the deck.
Old Jack and the three Mouse Ladies were below deck in the cabins, with Isabella helping out, while those who remained were seasoned sailors under Alagina’s command. Even as the ship began to tilt, they calmly clung to the neighboring railings, intently watching the prey ahead.
The next moment, the thunder-like, swiftly rotating Ice-breaking Spear penetrated the sea ghost’s shell. But because its exoskeleton was exceedingly tough, the spear didn’t fully pierce it and instead lodged inside its flesh.
At the same time, as the tip of the spear entered its body, the tip unfolded into an umbrella-shaped barb while rotating.
The steel barbs expanded, firmly clinging to the muscle under the sea ghost’s tough outer skin, much like the hook of a fishing line being fixed within its body.
In pain, the sea ghost instinctively sank toward the Sea Floor; the entire ship abruptly dipped a little amid the violent waves, but only by a small margin.
Even a sea ghost in its prime couldn’t drag down a warship of the Iceberg Queen’s tonnage, let alone now when it was weakened after days of depleted Physical Strength.
The sea ghost let out a pitiful roar underwater; failing to drag the Iceberg Queen down, it instead got pulled back to the surface again.
At the same time, its struggle further enlarged the wound on its back, and a large amount of blood flowed into the Ocean, making it seem as if the Iceberg Queen was sailing in a sea of blood.
Alagina was in the Captain’s Room, commanding the sailors below who piloted the ship. Under her orders, the Iceberg Queen did not slow down but maintained full power, just slightly slower than the fleeing sea ghost.
This principle is the same as fishing. After spearing the sea ghost, the Iceberg Queen needed to maintain a slightly slower pace, rather than halting completely.
If the speed difference was too great, it would result in violent resistance, adding the risk of capsizing. Following at this not-too-fast, not-too-slow speed would exhaust it eventually, causing it to die from sheer exhaustion and excessive bleeding.
The North Realm people are well-versed in the tradition of sea hunting; after all, the ancestors of the Sardinia Female Country could hunt giant sea ghosts driving wind-powered wooden ships even before the era of steamships.
The hunting went smoothly; the power unleashed by the steam industry seemed more than adequate to handle such oceanic giants.
There was really no need for Fisher to help, leaning against the railing as if he were just there to observe, wanting to witness this spectacular hunting scene from the closest distance.
The surrounding sailors took up their firearms and approached the railings, laughing loudly as they fired at the sea ghost, with dense bullets entering the water and splashing up like raindrops.
At that moment, the ship’s cannons were also ready; with a deafening sound, both the sea surface and the back of the sea ghost were blown open, spewing a mix of blood and sea water.
The renewed pain caused the sea ghost to struggle wildly again, but it could not escape the Ice-breaking Spear deeply embedded in its flesh.
The Iceberg Queen’s Ice-breaking Spear was ingeniously designed to keep its barbs fully retracted before entering the enemy, minimizing the contact area to ensure penetration.
After that, it would deploy the barbs, using the enemy’s tough outer skin to anchor the spear, ensuring it won’t come loose.
Under this mechanism, the sea ghost became a moving target, utterly at the mercy of the Iceberg Queen.
Not only that, but the cannons onboard the Iceberg Queen were unlike those on other North Realm ships.
Its cannons were not made in the North Realm but rather taken from Schwali ships; Fisher had learned of this since his first conversation with the tobacco merchant on the ship back to Nali, and Schwali’s firepower was recognized as the most formidable among the nations.