Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 457 The Storm Arrives
Visually, the gloomy, leaden gray hue at the edge of the distant horizon doesn't spread very quickly, and the distance is incredibly far.

Often, the thunder only arrives long after we've seen lightning flashing deep in the clouds.

However, this does not mean that the Blade of Vengeance can rest easy.

Anyone with even a little seafaring experience should know what it means when, on the open sea, with the storm and the wooden boat so far apart, the clear, spreading traces of leaden clouds can still be seen with the naked eye.

Just like the airplanes that flew overhead in Xia Nan's previous life, they looked no bigger than a fingernail and seemed to be slower than birds flying nearby, but in reality, they were huge machines carrying hundreds of passengers, traveling through the clouds at an exaggerated speed of hundreds of kilometers per hour.

The storm in the distance also appeared to be moving slowly, only a small patch of gray-black on the horizon, but its actual speed of spread was something that the Blade of Vengeance could not catch up with by any means.

How much preparation time do they have?

5 minutes? 10 minutes?

Nobody has time to answer that question right now.

Because the moment the storm was discovered, the entire crew of the Blade of Vengeance, including the professionals who formed the core of the team, were mobilized.

Boom!

The rapid footsteps almost blended together as the hatch was suddenly pushed open from the inside!

Her long, fiery red curly hair swayed and draped over her shoulders, and she even had a thin cigarette that had just been lit in her mouth.

Ashes fell sporadically, and the exaggerated speed granted by her professional-level physique allowed Lorraine, who had rushed from the captain's cabin to the deck immediately after hearing the news of the approaching storm, to be surrounded by several wisps of rapidly dissipating tobacco smoke.

"Lower the sails, clear the deck, and seal the hatches!"

The captain's status and authority were fully demonstrated at this moment.

The deck, which had been slightly disordered due to the distant storm, immediately returned to order after Lorraine appeared.

Clearly, there was a contingency plan in place, and this wasn't the first time they'd dealt with such an emergency. No detailed instructions were needed; the highly assertive female captain only needed to give a few words, and the crew members immediately began their preparations.

After taking control of the situation on the deck, Lorraine rushed straight toward the rudder of the Blade of Vengeance.

As the captain of this ship, she will personally steer it and maintain the ship's balance in the face of the impending storm.

Adjusting the ship's attitude during a storm is the prerequisite for everything.

Ideally, the boat should be tilted at a slight angle to the waves, allowing the bow to cut through the wave wall like a scimitar.

If the entire side of the ship were exposed to the oncoming waves, even a single wave could capsize it.

In a severe storm, if a ship capsizes, it is almost a death sentence for all ordinary crew members. Even professionals may not survive if they are unlucky.

Adventurers may be able to use their strength to swagger around in towns, treating ordinary people as tools and stepping stones to demonstrate their power and status, and riding on the heads of ordinary people with impunity.

However, when faced with a horrific natural disaster of this magnitude, one must either possess a corresponding ability to cope or break through a certain limit in one's own strength.

Otherwise, there is almost no difference between adventurers and ordinary crew members.

It was the same powerlessness to resist.

The brave sailors, without any protective gear, skillfully climbed the mast and tied up the mainsail, leaving only a small piece of canvas to use the wind to maneuver the ship.

When a storm comes, facing the terrifying winds that seem capable of blowing people off the deck, if the sails are open, the masts and sails can easily be snapped in half, or even affect the ship's balance, and with the help of the surging waves, the entire ship can be capsized.

In other words, they discovered it in time and have a relatively sufficient time to respond.

In extreme cases, if there is no time to furl the sails, it is common for sailors at sea to cut the ropes and let the sails fall down, or even cut the mast themselves.

The debris that was half-collected on the deck was quickly cleared away. Wooden buckets, ropes, cleaning tools... anything that could be gathered in time was hurriedly moved into the cabin and secured with hemp rope. Anything that was too heavy to move was thrown directly into the sea without hesitation.

The hatch was sealed with tarpaulins and wooden planks to ensure that the waves and rainwater would not be blown into the cabin by the strong winds, protecting the supplies and survival materials inside, and also minimizing the risk of the ship sinking.

On deck, crew members moved about nervously, and the originally crisp air seemed to become scorching with the chaotic footsteps and hurried shouts, which contrasted sharply with the calm sea and warm sunlight around the ship, which was in the last calm before the storm.

Lacking experience in dealing with storms, and having only recently joined the fleet, they hadn't had much time to integrate.

Right now, Xia Nan is like an outsider, with no one telling him what to do.

Of course, he couldn't just stand by and watch. Now that he had become a part of the team, he wanted to contribute his own strength in the face of the impending crisis.

Lacking seafaring experience and without any special training in dealing with storms, and worried that his rash actions would cause trouble for the crew, he chose a necessary and virtually foolproof task: helping the sailors move and secure supplies.

Thanks to his professional-level physical fitness, he was much more efficient than the average sailor. Even though he was limited by the cramped cabin environment and could not perform at his full potential, he could almost do the work of five or six crew members, greatly relieving the pressure on the entire team.

"boom!"

He single-handedly carried the freshwater barrels, which normally required the combined efforts of two or three sailors, steadily to the depths of the ship's hold and secured them firmly with ropes.

Xia Nan let out a soft breath. It was just simple moving work, so it wouldn't have taken much to exhaust him.

He quickened his pace, turned around, and stepped out of the cabin.

The cold sea breeze, which was noticeably more humid and stronger than before, blew across his cheeks, and he subconsciously turned his head to look at the front side of the ship.

There, the leaden-gray clouds that were just a moment ago hanging in the distance on the horizon have now swallowed up half of the sky.

As the rain fell, the intervals between lightning flashes and thunderclaps shortened considerably.

A storm is approaching.

It must be admitted that, although everyone on the Blade of Vengeance was behaving very professionally, as if they had dealt with many storms before, I was also doing my best to do what I could.

However, out of caution and to prepare for the worst-case scenario, Xia Nan had already begun to consider what he should do if things really went wrong.

With his current level of [Gravity Control] skill, it is not enough to support his flight or brief gliding, let alone his ability to breathe underwater.

[FangGar] is very fast, but even if he uses the deck as a runway to charge up and start, his speed on the water is far slower than the expansion of the storm, and he will be caught up in no time. Of course, given his personality, he would never abandon his teammates at such a critical moment.

All things considered, if the boat really capsized, it seemed Xia Nan would only be able to rely on his physical strength to hold on in the water… This made his heart sink. It wasn't that Xia Nan was pessimistic.

After all, even those modern ships from the previous life, which were designed with wind and waves and stability in mind, are not necessarily safe when facing storms of excessive intensity.

Not to mention the medieval three-masted sailing ship he was standing on.

He was almost certain that on the continent of Efala at this moment, or even in a private dock in Barracuda Bay, there were high-end magical energy ships powered by magic.

With the help of supernatural forces, its performance in storms may not necessarily be worse than that of technological creations from the previous life.

However, the Blade of Vengeance at present, at least for now, is clearly not related to magic or arcane power; it is simply a traditional sailing ship that has undergone professional modifications.

It may be more sturdy and durable than ordinary wood, but compared to the steel ships built with high-strength alloys and special composite materials in my previous life, it is definitely inferior by more than half.

Power, propulsion efficiency, positioning and navigation, range, and even anti-sinking design... not to mention, there is a gap of hundreds of years.

Having traveled on two different types of ships, any normal person would inevitably notice the difference and make a comparison in their mind.

Not only that.

Compared to his previous life, Xia Nan now faces more than just a simple storm.

Reflecting the blurry rain and leaden clouds in the distance, his dark eyes focused as he gazed at the sea ahead.

Beneath the increasingly violent waves, an ominous shadow was rapidly approaching the Blade of Vengeance with the storm.

If nothing unexpected happens, it will be a school of fish consisting of tens of thousands of spiral sharks.

Consider the frenzied way the shark devoured the ship's planks, which was recently destroyed by the Druid Hein.

Just like crops during a locust swarm or prey falling into the water in the eyes of a piranha, Xia Nan didn't think these spiral sharks, who had been provoked by something, would ignore the Blade of Vengeance.

Given their sheer numbers and the terrifying bite force that could leave a hole in the ground with a single bite... could a wooden ship like the Blade of Vengeance really withstand them? Xia Nan was skeptical.

Boom—

The echoes of thunder reverberated across the sky.

Sometime later, the once warm sunshine had disappeared, replaced by oppressive and gloomy gray-black clouds.

The sea breeze grew stronger and stronger, and you could even hear the howling of the wind overhead.

Suddenly, I felt a dampness on the tip of my nose.

raindrop.

The speed at which the storm swept through was unimaginable.

Just moments ago it seemed so far away, but when the wooden boat was finally swallowed up by the leaden clouds overhead, from the initial scattered raindrops to the final downpour that felt like a reverse flow of rain, it only took a few breaths.

The usually gentle, shimmering seawater has now transformed into dark, towering mountains, roaring down from the horizon; the ship, after much effort to adjust itself, is first lifted to the crest of a wave, then plunges down violently, giving one a sense of weightlessness in the midst of the force.

The raindrops were like ice needles soaked in seawater, densely piercing every inch of the face's skin as the gale swept them up; the deck beneath our feet tilted and bulged, the whole ship seemed to be suspended in mid-air by an invisible rope, rising and falling and swaying in the waves.

Lead-like clouds, gale-force winds, ocean waves, torrential rain... it was a scene resembling the end of the world.

It's hard to imagine that not long ago, this sea area was so warm and gentle.

At this moment, a rather disrespectful and strange thought suddenly popped into Xia Nan's mind.

No wonder the ocean goddess Ambori has the nickname "Queen of Shrewish Women".

While names may contradict each other, nicknames are rarely wrong.

Of course, this was just something to think about in one's mind. In reality, even the most foolish laymen who knew nothing about the ocean would never dare to address the great, beautiful, sublime, and revered goddess of the ocean in such a way at this moment.

When the storm hit, the deck became the main battlefield for everyone.

The number of crew members on the deck of the Blade of Vengeance is now much greater than it was when the weather was clear.

Contrary to common sense, staying on deck is actually a safer option during a storm.

However, this security comes with conditions.

Staying in the cabin, as long as you're careful not to get hit by debris falling with the ship's swaying and watch your step, seems much safer than being swept into the ocean by the waves at any moment on the deck.

However, if the ship fails to withstand the pounding of the waves and capsizes, the hatches, which were specially sealed to prevent flooding and only had a few entrances and exits, will be instantly filled with seawater.

The cabins below the deck would instantly become a massive, overturned trap.

Upside down, to breathe air one must rise to the top of the cabin where the water level is rising rapidly; to escape one must hold one's breath and dive through the cargo and tools-filled passageways to find an exit, much like a coffin gradually sinking into the water.

Even if you manage to find an exit through the complex underwater passageways and escape from the ship's cabin thanks to amazing perseverance and incredible luck, you'll most likely have already been carried to the deep seabed by the sinking vessel, where you can only stare at the sea above you in despair and suffocate.

In such situations, even if it seems much more dangerous, in order to avoid the extreme disaster of the entire ship capsizing, the crew will mostly choose to come to the deck to help maintain the ship's balance.

"Boom!"

Lightning flashed, followed closely by a deafening roar of thunder.

Another giant wave crashed against the ship, causing the deck to tilt at an exaggerated angle. Even the most experienced sailors would find it difficult to maintain their balance in the face of such an impact. Even if they clung tightly to the mast, they were thrown around in the tossing and turning, barely managing to stay upright by relying on the strength of their arms as they held onto the mast.

But at the same time, in stark contrast to the crew, Xia Nan's steady figure seemed to be rooted to the ground, requiring no support or grip.

With an agility attribute of 11 points, which affects reaction speed, balance and alertness, as a foundation, plus the balance bonus of the [Tidal Shaping] feat on unstable surfaces, and the silent increase in body gravity under the effect of [Gravity Control], Xia Nan can walk on such terrain almost as if it were flat ground.

The crew's preparations are complete, and when the storm truly arrives, it will be time for the adventurers to demonstrate their core role in the team.

(End of this chapter)