Chapter 152: The Lucky One Blessed by the Sea God (Part Three)

In the eastern part of Moruent, near the ocean, lay an ordinary fishing village known as Benson Town.

Originally, it was the domain of the Benson family, the territory of a baron. However, the family had few heirs, and their lineage eventually died out entirely, vanishing decades ago.

Once the nobility departed, the town regained its former peace. A group of ordinary fishermen lived in this tiny place free from worldly disputes, occasionally traveling to distant major cities to sell pearls and other treasures they had gathered.

On this particular afternoon, old Evan and his granddaughter, as was their custom, headed down to the seashore. After the tide receded, various treasures were left scattered across the beach.

Old Evan was growing increasingly elderly and could no longer venture out to sea as he used to. He was limited to picking up ready-made catches along the shore and attending to odd jobs like mending fishing nets, which nonetheless provided enough for the grandfather and granddaughter to live comfortably without worry of hunger or cold.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, look over there! What is that?" Little Molly, who had just turned ten, suddenly cried out loudly.

"What is it?" Old Evan asked, looking confusedly in the direction of his granddaughter's gaze. Through his somewhat blurred vision, he spotted a massive lump sprawled motionlessly on the distant beach.

A surge of joy rose in his heart. As an old fisherman who had lived by the sea his entire life, he knew that sometimes ocean behemoths would accidentally strand themselves on the shore while hunting near-coastal prey and become unable to return.

Such a catch was an absolute fortune to them. Moreover, it hadn't been there when they arrived in the morning, which clearly meant it had washed ashore only recently and was still fresh.

The two of them hurried over, eager to see what kind of giant beast it was.

Once they drew closer, they realized this colossal creature was ten meters long, its body covered in a thick layer of scales, lying there completely motionless.

"What kind of monster is this?" Old Evan had lived for decades without ever seeing anything similar. The more he looked at it, the more he suspected that it was not a marine creature at all, but rather resembled one of those creatures that burrowed through the earth.

Still, it was a windfall. He instructed his granddaughter to run back and fetch help while he stood guard, claiming the discovery as his own found treasure.

With a monster this massive, just the two of them alone had no way of dragging it back. Sharing half of it with those who came to lend a hand would be more than enough.

After a short while, most of the villagers rushed over upon hearing the news. They gathered around the giant beast in utter amazement, clicking their tongues in wonder one after another.

"Heh heh. Old Evan, this thing looks like it's worth a fortune! When we drag it to the market to sell, you'll have to treat everyone to a hearty round of drinks!" said a middle-aged man with a beard cascading down to his chest. As he spoke, he licked his lips, seemingly stirred by the cravings of his inner booze-bug.

The people of the fishing village had spent many years together and were already as close as family, so there was naturally no room for greed or plots over sudden wealth.

Old Evan understood the ways of the world well. The wrinkles on his face bloomed like a chrysanthemum as he shouted, "Definitely, definitely! Everyone will get a share when the time comes!"

After confirming that the creature was completely dead, the village head, who had been elected by the crowd, began to direct operations: "All right, everyone, put your backs into it! Let's flip it over and rope it up so we can drag it back to the village first."

More than twenty adults exerted their strength together, turning the massive monster over and securing it with ropes.

Then, lifting it bit by bit, they loaded it onto the fishing village's largest wagon and hitched it to five oxen to haul it back to the settlement.

This giant beast weighed several tons. The meat alone, once harvested, would be enough to feed the entire village for half a year. If sold, it would fetch an unknown sum of money; even a small split would equal a year's worth of backbreaking labor.

Yet, when they began the butchering process, they ran into a problem—they simply could not cut through it!

Not even the sharpest cleavers could pierce the creature's scales. The giant beast's scales were as though cast from steel, and despite using all their strength, they couldn't pry off a single one!

"Good heavens, what on earth could have killed such a powerful monster?" A sense of dread began to ripple through the crowd. A creature of such terrifying resilience was nevertheless covered in injuries, with scale after scale shattered.

Even the fractured scales were entirely beyond their ability to pry away. Their sharp boning knives couldn't even puncture the tender flesh beneath!

"Let's open its mouth first and see if we can start from the inside," Old Evan suggested calmly.

Following this, the villagers drove iron rods bit by bit into the creature's long maw and used all their might to pry it open.

"Whoa, there's a person inside its mouth!"

The moment it opened, the sight within the monster's mouth gave the crowd a severe start, for lying inside was indeed a human being.

It was a young man with silver-white hair and striking, handsome features.

Though lying inside the monster's enormous jaws, he bore no injuries whatsoever, as if the creature had perished entirely the very moment it swallowed him.

"Goodness, he's actually still alive!" someone with sharp eyes noticed the slight rise and fall of the young man's abdomen and cried out in astonishment.

"This fellow must have incredible luck. He was swallowed whole and didn't die—this is surely the blessing of the Sea God!"

"Praised be the Sea God!"

Feeling as though a miracle had descended upon them, the villagers began to pray with profound piety.

Naturally, faith existed in this world, and as the saying goes, those who live by the water rely on the water.

Living by the sea, they dealt with the ocean every waking moment. Every voyage out brought terrifying perils, which naturally gave rise to a shared faith.

Thus came the origin of the Sea God, whom they regarded as their guardian deity, offering devout prayers before every departure upon the waves.

"Quickly, quickly, pull him out! This man must enjoy the protection of the Sea God and possesses unimaginable fortune," Village Chief Alva urged hastily.

Recovering their senses, two burly men stepped forward and, disregarding the choking, fishy stench reeking from the monster's mouth, carefully lifted the person out.

Old Evan knew a little bit about medicine. After examining the young man from head to toe, he said in a trembling voice, "He seems to be in no serious condition. It looks like he merely swallowed water and passed out!"

"Heavens, this must be the blessing of the Sea God!" the villagers exclaimed one after another, completely attributing the man's survival to a divine miracle.

How could an ordinary mortal be swallowed by such a terrifying beast and not die if not by a miracle?

Consequently, at Old Evan's insistence, this lucky soul blessed by the Sea God was carried back to Old Evan's home.

In his own words, he wanted to rub shoulders with a bit of that good fortune.

However, the lucky young man remained fast asleep for several days without waking, causing the steady stream of curious visitors from the village to dwindle significantly.

After five days of waiting, the carcass of the giant beast finally softened considerably, allowing the villagers to use various weapons to carve it up and strip away all the scales.

The material was harder than steel, and every household kept a portion, intending to forge them into shields and armor.

The remainder was taken to the city to be sold, where it was fortunately snapped up by wealthy merchants in exchange for a handsome sum of wealth.

As for the flesh and blood of the monster, it emitted an intense, foul stench. When someone tasted a tiny morsel, they immediately fell into a deep, heavy coma.

This terrified them so much that they dared not sell it at all. Instead, they dug a massive pit in a wasteland, threw the meat inside, and decided to wait until the flesh rotted away completely before digging up the bones.

After sleeping continuously for seven days, the lucky soul under the protection of the Sea God finally opened his eyes!