"Okay..." Looking at Ella and Amy who were gradually going berserk, Dust stretched out a hand weakly, "Then can I apply for a room change? Just arrange me to the fourth floor. , just let me live in the cage where the bear is kept. I don’t know why, but judging from your reactions, I feel it’s safer to hide in the cage..."
Before Ella could speak, there was an urgent knock on the door: "King of Sweden! King of Sweden, are you in there?"
Ella coughed and corrected in a rough voice: "It's Captain Blackbeard!"
"Captain Blackbeard!" The man outside the cabin said anxiously, "The fourth floor, which is the bottom floor, suddenly started to seep water! Come and take a look!"
"Water leaking?" Amy opened the hatch in panic, "What does water leaking mean? How could water leak? This is in the Atlantic Ocean with no anchorage at all!"
"Seepage...it means water keeps coming up from the bottom of the boat..."
"I know what water seepage means!" Amy grabbed the soldier's collar, "I'm asking, why did the Flying Zealander seep water? Did it touch a reef?"
"It's not a reef, it's a sea worm!" the soldier replied with a sad face, "The bottom of our boat was bitten by sea worms!"
Ella's face suddenly turned pale. It's not written in the book that big sea bugs can chew through the bottom of boats! Although she was the Swedish King of the Pirate Kingdom, she didn't have much sailing experience. When she encountered this sudden crisis situation, she suddenly felt at a loss.
They had sailed away from Ireland for more than half a month, and during this period they had not seen even a small island on the sea. In other words, the nearest emergency anchorage is half a month's flight away from them.
"It's okay, it's okay. We have a boat on board. We can put the boat down..."
Ella stood up unsteadily and wanted to take a step forward, but accidentally kicked over the table in front of her.
——Two small boats can only carry a maximum of fifty people. If those dolphins appeared, at most ten more people would be saved. There are currently thousands of soldiers on board the Flying Sealander!
Amy's navigation experience was no richer than Ella's. At this time, she was already furious, shaking the soldier who reported the news frantically: "Even the crossbow may not be able to penetrate the hull of the flying Sealander. How on earth could it be possible?" Bitten by sea worms? What did you do for food? How come you didn't find out until now?"
"The sea worm bites from under the boat. We can't see it at all before it's bitten through!"
"Can't waste any more time!"
Ella cheered up, pushed away the soldier who reported the news, and rushed out.
"Let all soldiers gather urgently! Put down the sails, stop sailing, and all the troops go to the bottom to scoop water and bring kettles and basins!"
Ella didn't know how high the water level had risen, let alone whether the water level could be lowered by relying on a thousand people to drain water back and forth. But this is the only way. Even if it means struggling to death, you still have to struggle.
"There are four levels from the bottom of the ship to the deck. Don't waste your energy by running back and forth. Let the soldiers line up in a long line and pour the water out in a solitaire manner!"
"Your Majesty, you don't need to go to the deck." Amy hurriedly followed behind and said, "There are open windows on the second floor, and you can drain water from there!"
"Yes, let's do it. Also, move the lumber out of the lumber room! Tell the whole army that if anyone can dive into the water and mend the bottom of the boat before the water is drained, I will reward you with a thousand Nomisma!"
When the water is not drained, sneaking into the flooded cabin with wood to repair the ship is a narrow escape, and it is worth the asking price of a thousand Nomisma.
"By the way, bring me my crowbar!"
"Crowbar?"
"It doesn't matter whether it's eighteen meters long or whether it's red and swollen when it touches the skin, I want to fight to the death with that big sea insect!"
"That...King of Sweden..." The soldier who reported the news seemed to have something to say.
"Don't stand still here! The water level will rise every moment! Pass on the order first!"
"That...actually..."
"I asked you to pass the order! Didn't you hear me?" Ella jumped anxiously, "Let our people prepare the tools to scoop water, and those who have the ability to prepare to repair the ships, and those who have the courage to prepare and The big sea insect fights, just pass it on, without missing a word! This is an order!"
"Okay, okay."
The soldier shut up obediently and went to deliver the order.
So, with determination to die and hatred for the sea worm, Ella led thousands of people, screaming all the way, and rushed to the bottom——
The bottom of the boat also looks fine, with no damage. There was indeed a layer of water, and a few soldiers working at the bottom were barefoot and bent over, groping for something in the water, just like rushing to the sea to pick up fish and shrimp at low tide.
Ella's face twitched.
Amy on the side squatted down, stuck her right index finger into the water, then raised her head and said, "Your Majesty, the water has just covered my nails!"
"Where's the big sea worm?" Ella turned around angrily to look for the soldier who just reported the news, "Where's the big sea worm you just mentioned???"
"King of Sweden, I'm talking about sea worms, not big sea worms." The soldier defended in a low voice, "The sea worms we are talking about generally refer to shipworms, which are like worms, long and like to eat wood. You see With all this water, the bottom of our boat must have been chewed through by sea worms.”
"The hole is too small, we can't find it!" A soldier searching in the water raised his head and said, "The bigger problem is that since there is a hole chewed through, there must be a lot of sea worms attached to the bottom of the boat. If we don’t handle it in time, our supplies will be destroyed!”
"The supplies have been damaged?" Amy confirmed aloud, "That means that although it has been bitten through, the ship will not sink for the time being?"
"It's just a small hole now. Just fill it up after you find it." A soldier replied, "But if sea insects are allowed to continue to bite the bottom of the boat, sooner or later the planks on the bottom of the boat will be soaked by the water that seeps in!"
This already involves Ella’s knowledge blind spot.
"Is this a creature unique to this sea area?"
"It's found in every sea area! New boats are better. Boats tend to develop these things after being soaked in the sea for a long time!"
"So, how did you deal with these sea worms in the past?"
"Sea worms live in seawater. Generally speaking, if you put the boat into fresh water and soak it for a few days, they will die!" A soldier replied, "If there is no fresh water, you can just let the boat run aground!"
"I remembered." Ella covered her forehead in pain, "Before going to sea, a sailor at the port said that the Flying Zealander had been soaking in the sea for a long time, and asked me to take a dip in fresh water. It turned out that this was the case thing!"
(End of chapter)
