Pirate Kingship

There is a principle known to all Navigators: "Clear waters are shallow, deep waters are green, expansive waters are blue, and abyssal waters are black."

In the neighboring Ekdna Triangle, the Sea of Monsters brims with darkness year-round. It is as profound as the Sea of Origin Matter on the fringe of the collective human subconscious, seemingly a bottomless abyss. For those suffering from deep-sea phobia, a single glance might scare them to death.

Although the Sapphire Sea here was far less dangerous than the Sea of Monsters—where venturing often meant no return—it was also no place for lightly armed merchant ships to tread. Not, at least, until an expedition vessel had established new colonies and charted a relatively safe maritime route.

However, should they discover products on the New Continent that could rival or even surpass Spices in value, then no obstacle would remain an obstacle. Even if fireballs rained from the sky or if it poured sharpened blades, nothing would stop the Colonizers from advancing, one after another.

"Look quickly! There's a huge whale over there, with marks of suction cups on its body. A single suction cup is larger than a carriage! What kind of deep-sea leviathan could have left such marks? Reality is far more wondrous than the limits of my imagination!"

"And there's a moving small island over there—no, that's a giant clam covered in Barnacles and seaweed!"

"..."

As they delved deeper into the Sapphire Sea, heading further south, the Source Tides grew more active. All kinds of Demon Monsters and Sea Monsters frequently emerged, drastically escalating the danger. Moreover, they were already at the edge of the Serpent of the World · Celestial Current; navigational mistakes were easy if the Navigator wasn't professional.

It is well known that the farther one travels from the Old Continent, the closer the ecosystem gets to mythology and the further it strays from reality. According to those Adventurers who, having taken an arrow to the knee, had to retreat from the Celestial Sphere Circulation back to the Bantaan Archipelago, the creatures active there were almost indistinguishable from those of the legendary Mythological Era. Creatures extinct on the Old Continent since before the Silver Era also made appearances:

Beautiful Sirens who could mesmerize sailors with their enchanting songs and consume their flesh;

Harpies that liked to abduct sturdy sailors in groups, seeking mates to continue their Species;

The Abyssal Maw that, by merely opening its mouth, could create great whirlpools in the sea to swallow everything...

Some even claimed to have witnessed a Giant Dragon, a creature at the pinnacle of Mythical Creatures! Compared to such beings, the giant sea turtles, giant crabs, and giant starfishes commonly found on the Tayman Archipelago were not even fit to tie their shoelaces.

However, the most dangerous were not these visible and tangible Extraordinary Creatures.

As they ventured deeper into the Sapphire Sea, drawing ever closer to the Celestial Sphere Circulation and the vicinity of Silvergold Island, Byron routinely convened the reserve officers under his mentorship for a lesson.

"Everyone knows that the People of Castilia were the first to usher in the Great Nautical Age. Yet the name 'Serpent of the World · Celestial Current' comes from us, the North Bay Folks, inspired by the world-encircling Earth Python. Strangely enough, no Naturalist or historian can clarify who exactly was the first to coin this term. Let's not dwell on that question today. Instead, I want to ask you: within the vicinity of the Celestial Sphere Circulation, aside from those Demon Monsters and Evil Spirits, what is the greatest danger?"

"Could it be the Ghost Ship that ferries the dead to another world?"

"Incorrect."

"Is it the elusive Blue Holes that appear and vanish?"

"That's not it either."

"The Ghost King Tide? The Beheading Wave?"

"Still wrong."

Just as the young reserve officers were pondering, Nature itself answered the question for them.

The perennial northeast winds that usually prevailed over this sea had suddenly vanished without a trace. The Golden Deer, which had been sailing at full speed, gradually came to a halt after losing wind power.

"What's happening?"

The confused crew members peered over the bulwark, looking out to sea in all directions, but they found nothing.

Only Byron, who possessed Weather Intuition, had anticipated this. He clapped his hands and crisply revealed the answer, "This is the most dangerous thing in the Celestial Sphere Circulation—the Doldrums!"

The reserve officers mulled over the term: "The Doldrums?"

Considering the scene that had just unfolded, they immediately understood the terror it implied.

"Exactly, the Doldrums. Within 5 degrees north and south of the equator, at the center of the Celestial Sphere Circulation, lies an 'absolute windless zone,' which is the graveyard of all sailing ships powered by wind. There, cries to Heaven go unanswered, and pleas to Earth are ignored. Once trapped within, waiting for death is the only option. Unless you can fly."

At this moment, Captain Byron, who truly could fly, showed no sign of anxiety. As a Meteorologist, an Incarnation of the Tower Sequence, he smiled and explained in detail the principles behind the Doldrums' formation to his crew, who were nearly frightened to death.

"The Doldrums refer to a narrow zone between 5° north and south of the equator, overlapping with the Celestial Sphere Circulation and encircling the world. Because here the Sun is almost directly overhead year-round, it is the zone with the highest average annual surface temperature on this entire spherical world beneath my feet. The temperature distribution is too uniform, and the horizontal atmospheric pressure gradient is very small, so the east-west winds necessary for sailing do not form. Instead, ascending air currents predominate, which is why it's called: the Doldrums."

In fact, according to meteorologists, the 5-degree belts around 30 degrees latitude, both north and south, are also doldrums. They are referred to as 'Horse Latitudes' or, more descriptively, as 'Dead Horse Latitudes.' This is because the earliest Adventurers found it extremely inconvenient that the Bantaan Archipelago had no large livestock, leading them to carry cattle and horses on their voyages. However, upon encountering windless weather en route, other cargo might have been fine, but the horses and cattle, with their enormous fodder consumption, could not endure it and died in droves. Because of the mass deaths of horses and cattle in this place, it earned this peculiar name.

It wasn't until they discovered the 'First Circulation Zone' that they could leverage this major maritime transport artery, and the impact of wind power was no longer so fearsome. The name 'Dead Horse Latitudes' gradually faded from sailors' memories. But no one could bypass the equatorial Doldrums.

"The equatorial Doldrums are likely one of the most active regions in the world when it comes to Source Tides. Influenced by this, this windless belt is not only absolute, with no gaps or breaks, but it also occasionally expands suddenly in certain areas, reaching as far as 15° north latitude. Fortunately, such expansions last for a very limited time, typically dissipating within one to two hours and returning to normal. This time, it should only last half an hour."

Currently, it wasn't completely windless at sea; rather, the area was largely dominated by updrafts. This was the very thing Byron feared the least. As long as he activated 'Son of the Storm' to negate gravity, he could soar directly into the sea of clouds, shoulder to shoulder with the Sun.

As for other sailing ships daring enough to venture deep into the Doldrums in an attempt to traverse the Celestial Sphere Circulation, they would find a way to procure a Sea Monster. When there was no wind, they could have the Sea Monster pull the ship, ensuring they wouldn't be stranded and perish in the vast sea.

The predicted location of Silvergold Island was on the edge of the Celestial Sphere Circulation, so the risks were still within a controllable range.

However, just as the crew members were being influenced by Byron's composure and preparing to wait in place for half an hour, they saw their captain's expression suddenly change. He ordered solemnly, "Level 1 combat readiness! All hands to battle stations! Load the cannons! Initiate Deep Sea Leap!"