Close Combat Mage

Chapter 422 - Suo Jia Speedboat Pt. 1

While Duo Mei successfully organized a large fleet of eighteen merchant ships to run back and forth between Kabryna and other cities, Suo Jia’s party had successfully sold the sand. Since it was not originally theirs and they weren’t paying the 50% goods tax to the Thunder Pirates, Suo Jia earned a large sum of gold from this transaction.

Suo Jia had sold a hundred thousand barrels of sand at a price of four million gold each. The sales price was the same as that of the locally produced agate! This just proved how much money could be gained from golden transactions like this.

With four hundred billion merchant coins in his possession, Suo Jia headed straight towards the Terror Delta without break. The reason he did not head directly to Kabryna City to grab metal was because metal was too precious and…by heading out from this place, it formed a triangle with the Duofei - the origin of gems - and Kabryna. Although heading there directly would be faster, it was obvious to any merchant that making a trip empty-handed was extremely foolish.

As the origin of metal, Kabryna City did not need any goods. They only shipped goods out without taking any in. While everyday items and food were necessary, the ships that traveled to and from Kabryna usually always carried these things on the side. The profit from it was pitifully low.

When Suo Jia’s party entered the Terror Delta, they did not sense any terror at all. Originally…according to the information they had received, this place should have had countless pirates. The most extreme instance was when a merchant group had successively encountered eighteen pirate attacks within a single day. They had been robbed even of their underpants! This was why the area was referred to as Terror Delta.

It could be said that Terror Delta and Devil Delta were like heaven and earth. If Devil Delta counted as the territory of the local pirates, then Terror Delta was the shared hunting ground between local pirates and foreign pirates. There wasn’t a single pirate group that could occupy a specific section of the waters. The “countless pirates” was not an exaggeration.

In that case, if this area was so crowded, why did they all choose to stay there? The reason was actually very simple: although Devil Delta was on the agate route, it was impossible to separate Terror Delta from such discussion!

Terror Delta was not only the gems route, but also the precious metals route. Robbing any random ship could result in a heavenly fortune. In addition…this place was the third checkpoint where merchant activity flourished.

Among the goods on the Greater Trade Routes, the most expensive were the precious metals. This included rigid gold, black steel, dark iron, and red copper…there was a large supply with high value, as all products required them. The higher the risks, the higher the worth.

The second most valuable after precious metals were the gems: rubies, sapphires, opals, emeralds…various gems that had unimaginable prices. Although they were not as high as the precious metals - especially high grade ores like dark iron - these were still far more expensive than ordinary ores.

Thus, the intersection between the gems route and precious metals route formed the Terror Delta. Because this place had more pirates than one could ever imagine, few merchant groups dared to enter. Despite the dangers, the profits inside were too astounding. Bringing a single ship back would undoubtedly result in riches overnight. After all, how much did rubies, sapphires, and emeralds usually cost?

This time, Suo Jia did not commandeer a large ship. Rubies were not the same as agate. They couldn’t possibly bring 100 ships, or 100,000 barrels. If there were really that many gems, they wouldn’t be so valuable. The reason that gems were so expensive was actually because they were low in number and extremely beautiful.

Since their objective this time was to break through the pirates’ blockade and deliver a shipment of gems out, Suo Jia chose a small Vela ship, which was allegedly the fastest boat at sea. Despite being small in size, it could hold ten barrels of goods. This was enough for Suo Jia, as the members of Suo Jia’s party all had interspatial rings that could store gems as well. Their team now had five people in total: Xiang Yun, Nicole, Roger, Miya, and Suo Jia. Each one of them could carry ten second-generation interspatial rings, which meant a total capacity of five hundred cubic meters. As for Suo Jia’s third-generation interspatial ring that had a hundred cubic meters of capacity, it was being used to hold everyone’s food and daily items.

It could be said that as long as Suo Jia’s party could succeed in entering and then leaving, this business was a done deal. How many gems could be stored in five hundred cubic meters?

The Vela ship was a tiny, single-sailed boat. It only had a very sturdy sidesail and a small coursesail at the rear of the ship to help make turns. The body was not large; its cabin space was minimal.

The price of the ship was very low, only five million merchant coins. However, Suo Jia did not want to go out to sea just with this. In reality, these Vela ships were just black awning boats with a coursesail and two sidesails. It was indeed very fast, but it was extremely unsafe. A single storm could cause the ship to fall apart.

Typically speaking, these types of small boats were only used for short trips between shores. The instant a storm was imminent, one would have to immediately dock the boat, bringing it onshore with them to hide. Its resistance to waves, winds, and attacks was basically zero. Suo Jia’s target destination was Duofei, out in the depths of the sea, so he couldn’t follow the shoreline the entire way.

However, this was no difficulty to Suo Jia. Within a week’s time, Suo Jia used the interspatial ring storage to duplicate the Vela ship using the materials bought from the Greater Trade Routes.

The shape was the same, as was the size, but…Suo Jia did not use ordinary wood. For the body, Suo Jia had precious Neptune Wood. This wood was not only sturdier than steel, but it would never sink. Even if it was broken into pieces, the shards would float in the water. Though how could the Neptune Wood that was stronger than steel be easily destroyed?

In addition, the moment Neptune Wood touched water, it would come to life. Unlike wood from normal trees, it could grow. Even if it had scars from attacks, it would repair itself. In other words, unless something instantly smashed the entire frame, this little boat would never be eliminated.

There was no material more suited to build a ship’s body than Neptune Wood. However…Neptune Wood was not only expensive, but also incomparably rare. All the material Suo Jia had on him was only enough to make one Vela ship.

As for the sails, Suo Jia used Wind Dragon wingskin. This leather was beyond durable, and similarly possessed self-restoration ability. Most importantly, with the help of the Wind Dragon wingskin, the driving force that the boat could receive from the wind was doubled! Its speed therefore doubled as well.

The boat was small, but the sail was not. Suo Jia used up ten Wind Dragon wingskins to just barely complete three sails. Then came choosing the keel.

This selection was extremely critical. The keel had to be hard yet pliable. Otherwise, it would snap like steel, and under the might of Mother Nature, nothing was impossible to break.

For the keel, Suo Jia chose Water Dragon backbone. The Water Dragon was a magical beast that possessed smaller wings to glide short distances across the water. They were rank ten peak-grade existences. While small in stature, they were well-known among water mages.

Suo Jia had spent a billion merchant coins on the Water Dragon backbone at a local auction. It was just the perfect size to be used as the keel of a Vela ship. It simply needed to be embedded into the Neptune Wood. The bottom of the boat was the Water Dragon backbone, while the body and sides were the ribs of the Water Dragon!

As a peak-grade water magical beast, the Water Dragon had bones that were tough, flexible, and most importantly, could repair itself. Moreover, while in the water, it could reduce a large amount of water resistance, further increasing the boat’s speed! While it was not to the point of doubling it, the improvement was still shocking.

There was the choice of mast as well, though there wasn’t much to say about that. It just needed to be sturdy. Suo Jia chose Wind Dragon rib, which was strong. And, like the Wind Dragon wingskin, it could boost the driving force for the ship!

Lastly, there was the boat canopy. This was even simpler. It was all good if he just bent the Water Dragon bones back as the frame and used the Wind Dragon wingskin to form the covering. Like this, the invaluable masted, miniature Vela boat was finally born!

The entire boat was shaped like a duck’s beak. It was flat, elegant, and completely closed. The only exceptions were the storage’s openable cover, the adjustable main mast, and the two sidesails for modifying the wind direction to move the boat.

As a whole, the Vela ship was a covered boat with three upright masts. On the outside, no one would be able to see the people. Suo Jia’s party of five sat inside the cabin with one person responsible for steering while the other four could sit and cultivate. They could also lie down on the beds off on the sides of the ship.

The ship was approximately six meters long and over two meters wide. It had a flatter structure. While in the water, the only things visible were the masts and the small body. If the sails were up, it would be impossible to spot even at close quarters.

After filling the storage with food and water, Suo Jia and the others excitedly entered the creation that he called a Suo Jia Speedboat. Through the crystal windows in the front of the ship, Suo Jia adjusted the angle of the sails and…the small boat set off, slowly speeding up from its previous static state.

In the past, steering a boat this fast would have definitely required an experienced sailor. But now, with Suo Jia’s sensing ability, he could probe out the wind power that the sails were under and automatically change the sails’ angle. Only when the sails were under the greatest amount of propulsion did he set their position.

Even the most skillful sailors couldn’t adjust the sails to their most optimal position. However, Suo Jia’s abnormal spirit power allowed him to use an absolute and insane sensing ability. While he probably could not sense the minute changes in the air pressure at greater distances, he definitely could when he was so close.

Under Suo Jia’s control, the Suo Jia Speedboat began to accelerate. In just a few seconds, it reached an astounding speed and…this was just the beginning.