**Chapter 220: Iceberg Queen**
The surface of the Southern Ocean was scorching under the noon sun, and the small wooden boat carrying Fisher and his companions had no shelter, leaving everyone exposed under the clear, cloudless sky.
Old Jack carefully removed all the bartender attire from his upper body and set up a simple canopy in one corner of the boat for Jasmine and Kalma to protect them from sunburn.
He stood at the bow of the boat, bare-chested, just like Fisher, looking towards the direction they were heading.
Since they had left Saint Nali, they had been sailing for a whole day and night. During this time, Jasmine had entered the water to catch some bizarre fish for food.
Fisher was not familiar with the marine life, the only seafood he knew was what he could buy at the Saint Nali market. At this moment, looking at the colorful fish in front of him, he couldn’t decide if it was safe to eat.
Jasmine said it was edible and not toxic, but Fisher felt that the physiological differences between the Whale Folk and humans were significant. He and Old Jack frowned as they tried a piece, and after confirming it was safe, they handed it to Isabel and the three little Mouse Daughters, sharing some with the little mice they brought along.
Since boarding the ship, Isabel had mostly kept to herself in a corner, silent and dejected. Fisher had vaguely seen her curled up crying in the corner at night. If Jasmine hadn’t encouraged her to eat, she might have starved on the ship.
Fisher didn’t push her to eat more, as he was preoccupied with his own thoughts about Elizabeth. He focused intently on the tasks at hand to escape the thoughts that lingered like a shadow.
“We’re almost near the route to Shivali,” Old Jack said.
Standing at the bow, he and Fisher scanned the surrounding ocean, which had remained unchanged. Old Jack had no concept of navigation, relying on Fisher and Jasmine to identify their approximate location.
Old Jack looked around but evidently found nothing of note. “How long have we been sailing? I have no sense of time on this boat.”
“About 27 hours, give or take. But I’m not sure of our exact location. We might be one or two nautical miles off the charted route, but merchant ships can’t strictly follow the plotted course. That demon said this ship would automatically look for land and islands. Now that we’re in this area, we’ll rely on it to guide us.”
Sir Book also floated up; he neither needed food nor sleep. Even after drifting on the boat for so long, he showed no signs of fatigue. Still, after spending some time with Fisher, he realized Fisher wasn’t a very talkative person, which made it hard for him, who loved to chat.
Old Jack wasn’t familiar with them, and the two ladies at the stern were in a bad state and unwilling to speak. His only opportunity to converse was with the three annoying Mouse Daughters.
Originally, he enjoyed interacting with them, but ever since they suggested ripping pages from their books to use as play money, Sir Book had no desire to engage with those three troublemakers.
“Whoosh!”
Emhart floated in mid-air, pretending to patrol the bow with Fisher and the others. However, before he could take a few steps, a strong sea gust suddenly hit him, nearly blowing him overboard. He tumbled twice and crashed hard against the stern.
“Damn sea wind!”
At that moment, Jasmine’s ears suddenly twitched. She lifted her nose and looked towards a distant direction. Panicked, she exclaimed to Fisher, “Wait! I think I smell a storm coming. I can’t be wrong; it’s right ahead.”
“Up ahead?”
Facing the fierce sea winds, Fisher gazed at the clear sky in the distance. As their little wooden boat continued forward, he finally spotted a small patch of blackness in the far-off sky. The black cloud was moving at a considerable speed, and within just a few breaths, it had already taken over a corner of the sky.
“It’s a storm!”
Fisher furrowed his brow, watching the advancing black clouds, and his thoughts raced.
The ocean’s storms didn’t reach the same ferocity as land storms and wouldn’t have a major impact on merchant ships on their course. At worst, the sailing would be very bumpy; otherwise, establishing fixed sailing routes would be pointless.
But the trouble was that the above assumptions applied to larger merchant ships. It was uncertain whether their small wooden boat could withstand a storm.
“Boom!”
As the sky collected thunder, the sea beneath the wooden boat became increasingly choppy. Waves began to rise and fall, and thick moisture mingled with the chaotic winds, resembling steaming vapor.
“Everyone grab hold of the side of the boat, Isabel! I’m talking about you!”
Hearing Fisher’s command, Isabel finally snapped to attention.
At that moment, her dazed state began to crumble as she saw the dark clouds approaching. The pampered princess had never encountered such a scene. As the boat began to sway, fear overcame her, and she hurriedly followed Fisher’s order, gripping the side tightly and closing her eyes.
Old Jack rushed towards the three Mouse Daughters. Kalma and the others quickly climbed onto Old Jack, like a soft, automated set of armor. They buried their heads in Jack’s chest, their tails quivering behind them. Old Jack leaned against the boat, using an unloaded handgun to brace himself as if it were a safety belt.
“Fisher! Come back!”
Emhart anxiously floated in the air, searching for a place to hide. He initially planned to fly towards Fisher, but seeing him standing still at the bow, he reluctantly scuttled behind Old Jack.
“Grandpa, that book is behind your butt.”
“Squish in! Hurry up! You three little brats, be quiet!”
The distant storm approached swiftly. In an instant, the entire sky seemed enveloped in darkness, pouring rain obscured their vision, crashing onto the wooden boat like bullets, causing it to rock violently.
Fisher didn’t lean to the side because a heavy downpour could fill the boat with water, and even if it didn’t capsize, it might sink. Thus, he had to stand up and continuously scoop water out.
“Patter!”
Fisher summoned his Fluid Sword, transforming it into a water scoop to frantically bail out water.
Yet, even with Fisher’s efforts, the rain was too heavy, and nothing seemed to help. He could only watch as the water inside the boat increased.
“Jasmine, you have to get in the water and push us out! Staying here will eventually sink the ship.”
Jasmine at the stern nodded, her tail swaying. She jumped into the water, supporting the boat’s underside as she pushed it toward the storm’s edge.
The sudden acceleration caused the boat to sway again. Amidst the booming thunder and pouring rain, Fisher blocked the rain pouring towards him with his hand.
“Oh no! Help! Emhart is going to drown!”
The rising water level in the boat drowned out Emhart’s screams, but Fisher had no other options; he could only pray they would quickly break free from the storm.
However, when Fisher managed to open his eyes, the storm appeared endless, the surroundings drowned in rain and thunder.
Wrong direction?
“Whoosh!”
As the little boat continued forward, Fisher leaned at the bow and suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold wind rush towards his face, as if he had stepped from a steaming sauna into a freezer. The sudden cold made him shiver and retreat back into the boat.
“Crack!”
The cold didn’t let up, with sharp sounds of ice cracking ringing out. The winds of the storm suddenly ceased, as if someone had seized control of their flow mid-air.
“Fisher, the sea surface and the rain have frozen!”
The little wooden boat came to a halt. Jasmine, who was pushing from the back, felt the cold and quickly covered herself, surfacing, but the sudden emergence startled her.
Behind the small boat, the rain continued, but in front of the boat, a pervasive cold mist covered the sea. Where the mist passed, the sea solidified into ice, and the raindrops in the air transformed into tiny ice crystals.
“What is happening?”
Those who felt the surroundings calm down turned their heads to look ahead, where a gigantic cold shadow began to emerge from the cold mist continually advancing towards them.
“Crack! Crack! Crack!”
The next moment, the shadow behind the ice mist drew closer, effortlessly breaking through the ice in front, ensuring an unobstructed passage.
In front of Fisher and his companions, a massive, deep green ship broke through the ice. Above the mast, a solid blue flag waved, featuring an inverted hammer symbol.
Fisher recognized it as one of the Four Great Pirates’ ships, named the Iceberg Queen!
And her captain was—
Fisher looked up to see a tall, stunning woman with skin as white as snow and an expressionless face, gripping a sword-like icy spear. Her long silver hair was elegantly swept back in a ponytail, enhancing her noble beauty.
Her temperatureless expression changed slightly as she looked down at the man standing at the bow of the wooden boat, a hint of disbelief dawning on her face.
“Fisher?”
“Captain Alagina, long time no see.”
