svetikya 56. The punch that melts the snow disaster
56. The punch that melts the snow disaster
Everyone rushed to the side of the ship.
The seawater around the ship was visibly freezing, with fine ice crystals spreading from the surface, connecting to form thin sheets of ice. These thin sheets of ice then rapidly thickened, turning into a milky-white layer of ice.
"Click—"
A cracking sound came from the bottom of the ship, and the White Pearl jolted violently, its speed noticeably slowing down.
"The ship is stuck in the ice!" the helmsman shouted. Similar cries came from other ships.
The entire fleet began to slow down on the sea surface and eventually came to a complete stop.
What's frightening is that the ice layer is still thickening!
From the initial few centimeters, to more than ten centimeters, and then to half a meter, the seawater under the ice is still flowing, but the surface has been completely frozen.
In just half an hour, the sea around the fleet turned into an ice field!
Snowflakes piled up on the ice, quickly covering it with a thin layer.
The temperature had dropped below zero, frost was forming on the deck, and icicles were hanging from the sails.
"This...this is..." On a boat carrying townspeople, an old man pointed tremblingly to the sky, "A snow disaster! It's a snow disaster!"
Winter has arrived early in Granville!
Panic spread like a plague.
"We're doomed! If we encounter a snowstorm at sea, we'll all freeze to death!"
The townspeople cried out; they knew all too well how terrible the snow disaster was.
In Granville, even those sheltered in insulated birchwood huts still succumb to the annual snowstorms, as it is simply too cold.
Now, they are at sea with no shelter, surrounded by ever-thickening ice and heavy snow!
"We must retreat back to the island! Only by returning to Birchwood Town and using those insulated wooden houses can we survive!" someone shouted.
"Go back? No way!" Norton, unfazed, grinned and said, "This is what makes it interesting!"
Although the island was no longer visible in the direction of Granville, the sky in that direction was even more overcast, and the snow was even denser.
The snowstorm started on the island and is spreading outwards. Going back now would be like heading to the coldest place.
Moreover, Norton is not afraid of a mere snow disaster!
"What should I do?" Fu Ning hugged her arms tightly, her teeth chattering. She wasn't wearing too little, but with such a sudden drop in temperature, ordinary clothes were simply not enough.
El and the Avenki warriors also gathered around. Their deerskin coats were warmer than ordinary clothes, but they couldn't withstand this level of cold for long either.
The ice had thickened further. The ship groaned under the strain.
"Norton!" Nami grabbed Norton's arm; her hand was icy cold. "Make a decision quickly! If this continues, people will really freeze to death!"
Norton closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"It's just extreme cold."
As soon as he finished speaking, a wave of heat spread out from him.
That wasn't a metaphor. It was a real, visible heatwave!
The air was distorted by the high temperature, and the falling snowflakes vaporized directly within three meters of Norton, turning into white water vapor.
The frost on the deck began to melt.
Centered on where Norton was standing, the ice in a circular area with a diameter of five meters melted into water, and then quickly refreezed due to the low temperature in the surrounding area—but the heat continuously released by Norton kept the area in a liquid state.
The people on the White Pearl were stunned.
They felt warmth—no, heat.
It was like jumping from an ice cellar into a hot spring. The surrounding temperature rose from below zero to twenty degrees Celsius in a few seconds and continued to rise.
"This, this is..." Sanji's cigarette fell to the ground.
"Control body temperature," Norton said. "The human body has unlimited potential; once you know the methods, you can do many things."
He spoke of it casually, but in reality, this ability was something he had gradually developed over several years after transmigrating to this world.
Through special breathing techniques and blood flow control, metabolism is accelerated to its limit, generating enormous amounts of heat.
After breaking through the human limiter, Norton was able to have perfect control over his body, which is why he was able to do this.
But that's not enough!
Norton raised his right hand and made a fist.
The muscles in my arms were tense, and my skin was slightly red from the heat.
He could feel his blood surging through his veins, as hot as magma!
The surrounding temperature continued to rise. Thirty degrees, forty degrees, fifty degrees...
The planks on the deck began to smoke.
The two sailors closest to Norton hurriedly retreated, their clothes so hot from being burned that they could not get any closer.
"Everyone, retreat to the cabin!" Norton ordered.
The sailors, as if granted a pardon, scrambled into the cabin.
The Avenki warriors were also led away by El.
Only Norton and a few officers remained on the deck, along with Nami and Funing—the two women insisted on staying.
"Not enough," Norton murmured.
He wasn't trying to melt the ice around the White Pearl, but the ice around the entire fleet, covering an area of hundreds of meters in radius!
If it's destruction, then it's simple.
However, controlling the force to melt the surrounding glacier with body heat is extremely difficult.
Norton closed his eyes and focused.
He could feel the heat accumulating inside his body!
The heart pumps scalding blood throughout the body like a pump, and every cell is burning energy. The skin begins to glow a dark red, like red-hot iron.
Temperatures continue to soar.
Seventy degrees, eighty degrees, one hundred degrees...
The deck beneath Norton's feet smelled of burning, and the planks were beginning to char. But he controlled the heat, allowing it to radiate upwards and outwards, rather than being conducted downwards—otherwise, the entire ship would have caught fire.
Strictly speaking, this is already a realm that only Devil Fruit users can reach!
But Norton achieved superhuman ability through perfect control of his body!
"Norton!" Nami shouted, drenched in sweat, her clothes clinging to her body, "That's enough! If this keeps up, the ship will catch fire!"
Seemingly hearing Nami's call, Norton opened his eyes, sparks flying in them.
He assumed a punching stance, but not aimed at any person or ship...
Instead, it faces the sea!
Pull your fist back to its limit, and compress all the muscles in your body like a spring.
Throw a punch!
Without touching anything, the fist stopped a meter away from the body, but the force of the punch poured out!
The air ionized due to the instantaneous extreme heat, emitting a blue-white electric light. The space in front of the fist twisted and deformed, like a shattered mirror.
Wherever the shockwave passed, the snowflakes instantly vaporized!
The ice layer, up to a meter thick, melted like butter in the face of the high-temperature shockwave. White water vapor shot into the sky, forming a steam column tens of meters high.
The shockwave continued to advance.
The ice around the second ship melted.
The third one.
The fourth one.
Norton's fist trembled slightly; the energy consumed by this strike was beyond imagination, and he felt his body heat rapidly draining away. But he didn't stop.
The fifth, the sixth... the tenth...
Steam enveloped the entire fleet, appearing from a distance like a wall of fog suddenly rising from the sea.
The ice around the last ship has also melted.
Norton withdrew his fist, the sweat that had just appeared was evaporated by the high temperature on his body, and his whole body was enveloped in white steam.
The temperature began to drop.
But the ice layer is gone.
The sea surface within a radius of 500 meters around the fleet completely melted, and the seawater began to flow again!
"Raise the sails..." Norton said breathlessly, "Full speed...get out of this area..."
"Raise the sails! Full speed ahead!" Nami snapped out of her daze and shouted at the top of her lungs.
The order was passed down. Sailors rushed out of their cabins; although it was still cold outside, at least the ice had melted. They frantically adjusted the sails, and the helmsmen desperately turned the rudder.
The fleet began to move slowly.
It was slow at first because the seawater at the edges was still refreezing.
But as the ship increased its speed, the icebreaking effect became apparent. The bow cleaved through the thin ice, heading towards the open sea, which was not yet completely frozen.
One nautical mile, two nautical miles...
After the fleet sailed five nautical miles, the ice layer became noticeably thinner. Ten nautical miles away, there were only scattered ice floes on the surface.
The red glow on Norton's body quickly faded, his skin returned to its normal color, and he felt icy cold all over—that attack had almost exhausted all his stored heat.
This is different from fighting.
Exhaustion swept over me.
"Norton!" Fu Ning rushed over and took off her coat to wrap around him—even though the coat was also soaked.
"I'm fine..." Norton waved his hand, "I'm just a little...cold."
That's the truth. He felt like he was standing naked in the snow, with heat leaking from every pore.
The intense heat we just experienced came at the cost of overdrawing our bodies.
"Quickly, help him into the cabin!" Sanji and Zoro supported Norton from either side.
"Have the ship's doctor prepare hot soup and blankets!" Nami ordered a sailor. "No, have all the ships bring out their stockpiles of spirits! Everyone should have a sip to warm up!"
...
...
The fleet continued sailing through the gradually thinning snowflakes.
Looking back, the direction of Granville Island was completely shrouded in a white blizzard. It was a real snow disaster, a harsh winter that had arrived two months early.
But the fleet had already sailed out of the most dangerous area.
Inside the White Pearl's cabin, Norton, wrapped in three blankets, held a steaming bowl of broth. The broth was heavily seasoned with pepper and ginger, and drinking it felt like a fire burning in his stomach.
"What you just did..." Nami sat on the edge of the bed, hesitant to speak.
"Scared?" Norton took a sip of soup.
"A little," Nami honestly admitted. "I knew you were strong, but I didn't expect... you could even fight against natural disasters."
Norton shook his head. "It's just a shortcut. A real snowstorm could cover an entire ocean area and last for days. I just cleared a path temporarily. If the snowstorm doesn't stop, we'll eventually have to find a place to land."
"But at least we're safe now," Funing said. "And... King, you saved everyone!"
Norton didn't say anything, he just continued drinking his soup.
Footsteps sounded outside the hatch, and Al came in. He was also carrying a bowl of soup, but he didn't drink it; he just looked at Norton.
"The Aivenki owe you a life," Al said. "No, many lives."
"I'm going to be a king," Norton chuckled, "and a great king at that!"
El was silent for a few seconds, then said, "From this day forward, the warriors of Avenki will fight for you. Until you no longer need them, or until they are all dead."
This is a very important promise.
Norton nodded. "Go and let your people have some hot soup too. It might be cold for the next few days, so make sure everyone is prepared."
After Al left, Nami asked softly, "Are you really going to take them all with you? The Avengi people, the townspeople, and our original pirates... this fleet is getting bigger and bigger!"
A large fleet is more expensive to maintain, and it needs a constant supply of Berries and other resources.
"The bigger the better. You can't survive alone in the New World. I need power, I need an army, I need enough strength to take what I want." Norton clenched his fist.
He was powerful enough on his own, but his subordinates were not a burden.
To become a king, what you need to maintain your rule is a sufficient number of talented people!
Outside, the snow gradually stopped. A gap opened in the clouds, and sunlight streamed down, illuminating the fleet as it sailed. The ice had completely disappeared, and the sea had returned to its deep blue.
...
...
Seven days later, the outline of an island appeared on the horizon ahead of the fleet.
It was a green island, with several low hills visible in the center, their peaks covered in a light mist.
"That's Bell Ringing Island."
Nami, referring to the sea chart, said, "The climate is warm and humid, and it's spring all year round. There's a special bell-shaped flower on the island that makes a sound when the wind blows, so it's called Bell Island."
Norton stood at the bow of the ship, observing the island through binoculars.
Lingming Island is shaped like a crescent moon, with natural bays at both ends.
Getting closer, you can see that the island is clearly divided into two areas—
The outer perimeter near the coast is a cluster of low, haphazard buildings, mostly wooden huts and shacks.
On the inner side of the island, in the higher areas, there are neat streets, white stone buildings, and even a few manor-style villas.
The difference between the slums and the rich areas is immediately apparent.
"The port is in the slums," Nami pointed to the map. "The rich people on the inner island have their own private docks, which are not open to the public. If we want to dock, we can only do so on the outer island."
"Then dock." Norton lowered his binoculars. "Get all ships ready for battle."
"clear."
The fleet slowly sailed into the outer harbor of Lingming Island.
Despite being called a port, the facilities were actually quite rudimentary: a few dilapidated wooden piers, several warehouses that were half-collapsed, and the shoreline piled with fishing nets and discarded wooden barrels.
Dozens of small fishing boats were moored to the shore, swaying gently with the waves.
When the residents of the slums saw the massive fleet arrive, they all rushed into their houses.
A few daring children peeked out from behind the shed, but were quickly pulled back by the adults.
As the White Pearl docked, Norton noticed a figure on a lookout tower at the edge of the harbor looking in their direction with binoculars.
The man was wearing a navy uniform.
"Naval branch," Funing said. "It seems Morgans was right; there is a naval presence on this island."
"Shall we make a move?" Zoro's hand was already on the hilt of his sword.
"No rush," Norton said. "Let's see how they react first."
As the fleet gradually docked, nearly four thousand people disembarked, and the entire port became crowded.
The Avenki warriors set foot on the land of Spring Island for the first time, curiously looking around at their surroundings.
The temperature here is much higher than in Granville, and the air is humid, carrying the smell of the sea and some kind of floral fragrance.
Soon, a small team came running from the streets of the slums.
The leader was a naval captain, probably in his twenties, with a tense expression. Behind him were about a dozen soldiers, their guns slung over their backs but not raised.
"Who...who are you?" The colonel stopped ten meters away from Norton, his voice trembling slightly. "This is the jurisdiction of the Bell Island Naval Branch. Please identify yourself!"
Norton looked at him but didn't say anything.
A soldier behind the colonel whispered, "Colonel, that flagship... I think I've seen it on the wanted poster..."
"An arrest warrant?"
The colonel's legs began to tremble.
Of course he knew who Norton was—the "Fifth Emperor," the notorious pirate with a bounty of one billion Berries, who had been widely reported by the World Economic News recently. His wanted poster was still plastered in the branch's meeting room!