Chapter 268 Dralh Sea of Insanity
Dralh Sea!
One of the unique terrains on Sumatra Continent that was ink-black during the day, resembling tar. With an extreme amount of salt and other heavy minerals dissolved into it, the Dralh Sea's water was the densest on the continent.
It was so dense that drowning in it was virtually impossible for a human or any low-density creature. During the day, the water absorbs the sunlight and becomes boiling hot, too dangerous for anyone to touch it, not to mention swim in it.
Contrastingly, the night was the exact opposite. Not only did it cool down in a matter of minutes after nightfall, it became freezing cold, often having small glacier sheets forming on it. Moreover, the sea glowed during the night.
It wasn't a faint glow but radiated enough light to make it as bright as day. The transition phase between the day and night was termed the 'Death Hour.' As in this period, the sea would radiate all its stored heat, unleashing a heatwave capable of vaporising even Silver Grade Pranic Beasts.
After releasing all the heat during the Death Hour, the Dralh Sea glowed bluish-green, creating a picturesque sight. Spanning a length of 2480 kilometres at its longest and 1920 kilometres at its shortest, the Dralh Sea occupied a fairly large area.
With its recorded deepest point being 22 kilometres and shallowest point being 1.8 kilometres, it created a large aquatic kingdom for marine Pranic Beasts to thrive about, despite the harsh living conditions.
But that was only with respect to the native Pranic Beasts. For any foreigner, this place was a manifestation of 'From the frying pan into the fire.' After all, the Dralh Sea shared borders with the Guna Caves.
A human or Pranic Beast poor enough to escape from the Guna Caves would find themselves at the Dralh Sea for a short duration of peace before they become vaporised during the Death Hour.
The Dralh Sea was a major aquatic checkpoint on Sumatra Continent, for it had eight streams of water feeding into it from various regions of the continent.
There were eight such Channels, with the one leading into it from the Red-Draft River being called the Brask Channel. Spanning a breadth of six hundred metres at its narrowest point, the Brask Channel was a narrow stream of water connecting the Red-Draft River to the Dralh Sea.
And currently travelling through it, sustaining large numbers of teeth and claw marks was the Sumatra Ship. Piloting within it was a tired Inala, exhausted from fending off enemies.
Even though he used a Prana Bomb containing Fhoong Brimgan's Prana to ward off enemies, there were still plenty of Pranic Beasts that targeted the ship. The only ones that avoided the ship were Gold Grade Pranic Beasts, knowing very well the infamy built by the Brimgan Empire Royals for hounding any entity that dared target them for generations.
But Silver and Iron Grade Pranic Beasts targeted the ship occasionally. Well, occasional in the relative sense. There was an attack happening every two hours. It tired Inala as he hadn't had a peaceful rest since long ago.
They had been travelling on the Sumatra Ship for many months, finally reaching the end of the Brask Channel as Inala observed the surroundings through the Empyrean Zinger Commander posted watch over the front.
"We're reaching the Dralh Sea." He announced.
"Finally!" Gannala raised her hands up in cheers, "I can finally play around a bit."
She was currently five years old. They had been travelling on the Sumatra Ship for close to nine months. The pitstops were short, barely spanning one or two days every time, meant solely for gathering the resources necessary to continue their journey.
Inala observed the sky, 'Thankfully, it's still noon.'
He didn't wish to be stuck on the Dralh Sea during the Death Hour. Even the Sumatra Ship would be vaporised during that time. Hence, it was best to arrive at their destination before then. "We'll be speeding up."
"Asaeya, keep watch," Inala said and held his Sumatra Canon, ready to shoot any pesky Pranic Beast that approached the ship.
"I'll blind them all," Asaeya said and peered out from a vent at the top of the Sumatra Ship. She kept watch over her surroundings, radiating Prana outwards, remaining alert.
Two kilometres downstream the Brask Channel, the sea suddenly resembled tar, preventing any light from being reflected from it, ink-black in colour. The water bubbled due to the heat, causing the air to be hot and humid, with waves of steam flowing in erratic directions.
Inala pulled up the map of the region in his mind, created from the combined memories of Fhoong Brimgan and the Millinger. Fhoong Brimgan had a communication path established through the waterway.
From the Angan River into the Red-Draft River, followed by the Brask Channel, leading into the Dralh Sea. Exiting the region was through the Vrumsh Channel leading into the Brimgan Sea. There was a safe route established here, using which Fhoong Brimgan contacted his trustee in the Brimgan Empire once a century.
Inala decided to take that route, making an informed decision that this route was a tad safer than the land route which he had planned before obtaining Fhoong Brimgan's data.
Moreover, the Millinger's data had detailed information about the marine life in these regions, which allowed Inala to be prepared in advance. He was weak towards a direct conflict. But given some time to prepare, he could face difficult situations without much loss.
A pungent smell wafted out of the Sumatra Ship as it entered the Dralh Sea. The interior began to heat up, causing everyone to sweat buckets. The movement efficiency also dropped because of the ambient hot air, which required more energy than usual to compress air in the ship's lungs.
"How much further, Inala?" Asaeya asked in worry as she sensed dangerous waves of Prana wash over her detection range in short frequencies, "It hasn't even been ten minutes since we entered the Dralh Sea, but I already felt the Prana waves of three Gold Grade Pranic Beasts."
"Three?" Inala became worried in response as he unhesitantly equipped his Sumatra Canon into the ship's engine and caused the thrusts of air flowing out of its vents to grow stronger. As a result, the ship's sailing speed spiked, quickly pulling them further from the range of the three Gold Grade Pranic Beasts.
"They are following us…" Asaeya said as sweat dripped down from her forehead, "Do I…blind them?"
"Don't do anything that might trigger them," Inala said, "Every single Gold Grade Pranic Beasts here could easily kill us ten times over with a casual attack."
"Then, what do I do?" Asaeya asked, "Do I not use my abilities on them?"
"Just remain on your guard," Inala said, "Blind them only if they come within twenty metres. And target only two of them. Leave the third alone."
"Fine," Asaeya didn't understand the full picture, but since Inala was vastly more knowledgeable than her, she decided to trust his words and didn't ask for an explanation.
A stream of bubbles closely followed after the Sumatra Ship, gradually closing the distance between the two, not in the least frightened by Fhoong Brimgan's presence.
Just in case, Inala held a Sandy-Grey Bomb. Using that would obviously buy them enough time to get to safety. But unless absolutely necessary, he didn't wish to waste one here.
He kept alert as the distance between the bubbles and his ship continued to decrease, from hundred to fifty, and from fifty to thirty. Soon, it reached twenty metres as a head peeked out subtly, grotesquely spiky in appearance.
'Ten kilometres left to reach the closest island.' Inala sighed as he spoke, "Asaeya…"
"Blind it."
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