Goblin Heavy Dependence

Chapter 458 Dilemma
"Wow..."

The howling wind sounded like the mournful cry of some invisible demon; the torrential, icy rain seemed to seep into every wisp of wind, making even breathing difficult.

The world was shrouded in boundless darkness, with only the occasional fleeting bursts of thunder illuminating the deck and allowing one to see the oppressive, leaden clouds churning in the sky and the towering, dark ridges of waves rising from all directions like mountains.

"laugh."

Sharp claws emerged from the pads of the feet, and with just a little effort, they dug deep into the wooden planks, providing valuable support for the body.

Sasha is a spotted cat-human who walks upright on two legs and has a humanoid form. She is a genuine intelligent being and speaks Common Tongue more fluently than eighty percent of the adventurers on the docks.

However, it is undeniable that the spotted cat blood flowing in his veins, like the fluffy spotted fur on his body, endowed him with some of the unique behaviors of felines in his daily life.

When faced with danger, it will subconsciously arch its back and pant; when feeling happy and relaxed, it will make a gentle gurgling sound...

He also seemed to instinctively resist the liquid from an unknown source, worried that his fur would get wet, and even when walking on the Broken Wave Wharf, he had to carefully avoid the puddles on the ground.

But this does not mean that his fear of water is a weakness.

Just like those humans who are afraid of insects, many times even a single insect the size of a fingernail can make them scream and jump up from the spot. But when the time comes, the sense of urgency and pressure restrains the body's instincts, rationality returns to the brain, and crushing a small insect doesn't take much effort, at most causing a moment of nausea afterward.

The same applies to Sasha.

He may have subconsciously stepped back and moved away because of the water droplets on the grass carp, afraid that the fish would splash water on him when it struggled and thrashed.

Right now, as the storm descends and the Blade of Vengeance is in danger of capsizing, and as his fur is instantly soaked by the rain, his innate aversion to water is suppressed deep within his body.

call out--

Sasha's racial talent for agility allowed her to maintain her balance even in the midst of a raging storm. She moved like a nimble leopard, her long tail swaying as she weaved between masts, deftly adjusting the sails and cables to protect the ship's most important source of power.

"Buy me some time!"

Having begun preparations after noticing signs of an approaching storm, Druid Hein stood alone at the bow of the deck, near the figurehead.

As if they had reached a crucial moment, one hand gripped the [Practice Staff] tightly, with emerald green light swirling and gathering at the top of the staff, while the other hand, palm up, held several seed-like objects lying quietly in the center of the palm, shrouded in emerald light, unaffected by the external gale.

The twin warriors, Ryan and Gordon, who were in charge of the sailors on the ship, have now officially taken over the sailors' duties.

The extremely harsh environment significantly reduced the crew's work efficiency; only professionals like them could move freely in the storm.

With a dagger in his mouth, he climbed the incredibly slippery mast, which was swaying violently with the ship in the gale, and helped Sasha, the spotted cat, cut ropes. He personally performed those dangerous and tedious tasks while keeping an eye on the entire deck, using the shortest but most powerful commands to dispatch sailors to where manpower was most needed.

Arken, a tattoo enthusiast with exceptional strength and a robust physique, who plays the Barbarian class, demonstrates his role as a powerful frontline member of the team.

He rushed to the side of the deck and grabbed a rope that had broken and come loose in the gale, swinging in the air like a whip.

With arms thicker than an average person's thigh, he bulged and exerted force, relying on his own muscle strength to pull the rope back through the storm and use his body to brace it and re-tie it.

Captain Lorraine was standing in front of the helm at that moment.

Although he doesn't look like he possesses any great power, he is ultimately a powerful adventurer with a professional level of lv7, who has already traversed more than half of the path to "extraordinary".

Alone, he firmly grasped the helm in the storm, controlling the direction and center of gravity of the Blade of Vengeance.

Her extensive sailing experience and unwavering concentration allowed this woman, whose long, fiery red hair was already soaked by the rain and who had a extinguished cigarette dangling from her mouth, to seem able to sense every wave on the surrounding sea that might pose a threat to the Blade of Vengeance.

As the rudder turns, the bow is always aligned with the direction of the incoming waves, allowing the ship to navigate through surging waves and minimizing the possibility of capsizing.

Meanwhile, Xia Nan and his companion, who were newly added temporary members of the fleet, were also playing their roles.

"Ding-dong..."

The stirring and melodious piano music suddenly rang in the ears of everyone on the deck.

It seemed to have no melody, yet it resonated with the storm and the waves, with bass chords exploding as the bow plunged into the trough of the waves, and rapid notes swaying with the torrential rain.

It was precisely these disordered tones that, at this moment, seemed to dispel the oppressive and dull atmosphere.

An invisible force is quietly gathering.

Exhausted from battling the storm, the sailors rekindled their fighting spirit. With their hands gripping the ropes tightly and their palms raw and bleeding, the crew members subconsciously gritted their teeth, squeezing out the last bit of strength from deep within their muscles.

Alton, the halfling, was sitting near the cabin, a rope tightly wrapped around his waist, binding his small body to the railing beside him.

He didn't participate in any work on deck; he just sat there, intently playing the lute in his arms.

This is something that small players excel at, and no one on the court can possibly blame him.

Faced with such a perilous situation, the presence of a bard who could stir up emotions through music was far more effective than him dragging his half-human-sized body to carry miscellaneous items.

Not to mention, the notes flowing from the strings seemed to possess some kind of invisible energy, invigorating the spirits and restoring the energy of everyone on stage.

The adventurers, who were at the core of the team, each performed their duties, and even without much communication, they seemed to have a remarkable tacit understanding.

Unfortunately, their abilities were limited, and there were no "extraordinary" or even "legendary" level experts on the ship; the highest professional level was only lv7.

Faced with such a natural disaster, they might be able to barely protect themselves, but they had no time to care about the other ordinary crew members on deck who did not possess supernatural powers.

Damn it!

A tall, thin sailor with a slightly immature face lay almost prostrate on the deck, struggling forward towards the rope ahead against the fierce wind and torrential rain.

Despite his youthful appearance, he is actually a seasoned sailor with three years of experience and has experienced many crises, including at least five brushes with death.

But he has never regretted it.

He had already mentally prepared for all of this when he first entered the industry and stepped onto the deck of the Blade of Vengeance.

The generous reward given by Captain Lorraine helped him, a fisherman who had accumulated a large debt due to family reasons, to get out of his immediate predicament and allow his family to move into a clean and decent new house.

He was willing to give everything for this fleet that had completely changed his life and brought light back to his gloomy existence.

But he was ultimately just an ordinary sailor.

Faced with a natural disaster of this magnitude, no matter how strong one's will is, individual efforts are so small and insignificant.

"call out!"

A sharp, cold glint suddenly flashed in his peripheral vision.

It's unclear which sailor it was blown off, but a sharp dagger was swept up by the gale and plunged straight into the direction he was crawling.

His pupils contracted sharply, and he instinctively turned his body to the side.

next second.

With a small cut on the side of his cheek, he narrowly escaped a potentially fatal blow.

But before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, the sharp crack of a rope snapping behind him made his entire body stiffen.

Although he barely dodged the oncoming dagger, the hemp rope tied around his waist was also cut in the process.

Boom—

The Blade of Vengeance once again surged over a wave, plunging down from its crest.

The sudden loss of his center of gravity and the intense feeling of weightlessness as the ship plunged downwards made the sailor feel like his soul was about to die.

Their ten fingers gripped tightly between the deck plates, their nails curling outwards.

But he didn't even last two seconds. As the wooden boat fell back into the sea, the powerful impact sent him flying.

In their line of sight, the crew members they had spent every day with were retreating rapidly. Out of the corner of their eyes, they could even see the dark, lightless sea below the ship, which looked like an abyss. A trace of despair appeared in the sailors' eyes.

At that moment, it was as if an invisible hand pulled his body, which had been thrown into the air, downwards!
"boom!"

His body, which was flying towards the deck, suddenly stopped, as if he were being attracted by the wood below, and he crashed heavily onto the deck.

The force was so great that the sailor was dizzy and nearly fainted from the impact, but it also prevented him from falling off the deck and being swallowed by the sea.

Seeing a crew member quickly step forward and re-tie the rope around the sailor who had suffered the accident, Xia Nan then dispelled the invisible gravitational pull he had been exerting on the man.

He lacked the extensive seafaring experience of the other crew members in Blade of Vengeance, and he couldn't boost morale with music like Altona did.

On the other hand, his attributes, combat skills, and specialties combined make him the most agile and quickest person to move around on the entire deck.

The effortless ease with which it moved was unmatched even by the spotted cat people currently weaving between the masts.

Therefore, his role in the team was the same as his role in battle.

Xia Nan has once again become a free agent in the team.

Using [Gravity Control], they helped fallen crew members regain their balance, bailed water, tied ropes, and tightened sail lines...

He would appear wherever manpower was needed.

Like a clone, his figure could be seen in every corner of the deck.

In an instant, with everyone working together, it seemed only a matter of time before the Blade of Vengeance weathered the storm.

But as the dark clouds overhead spread rapidly, the wooden boat gradually ventured deeper into the heart of the storm.

The shadows beneath the sea finally swam up to the side of the boat.

wow-

A grayish-brown, scorched-necked shark burst from the waves and bit down hard on the hull of the Blade of Vengeance, leaving a gap the size of an adult's fist.

Based on the massive hull of the Blade of Vengeance, this injury wouldn't even qualify as a minor wound; it would be more like leaving a white mark on the skin.

But what if there are hundreds or thousands?
When thousands of small holes accumulate, the damage they can cause to the ship's hull can become fatal.

Even if everyone manages to survive this sudden storm, if the wooden boat sinks and falls into this vast and boundless sea, it will be no different from total annihilation.

"Boo! Hah! Hah!"

Knowing what was important, the crew members, who had been on guard on the deck at Lorraine's command, began firing their crossbows at the water as soon as they noticed the fish approaching.

I've trained regularly, so my accuracy is by no means bad.

But standing on the constantly swaying deck, with visibility as poor as night, how could one possibly fire accurately at an enemy swimming rapidly underwater?

It was almost entirely due to luck, and the damage caused in a round was minimal.

Things only improved slightly after the adventurers in the team joined in the second round.

Thanks to his well-rounded physical abilities, Xia Nan still maintains considerable accuracy, even though he is not usually good at ranged attacks.

While I wouldn't say it's 100% accurate, I can basically guarantee 3 out of 5 or 2 out of 3.

Holding a crossbow in each hand, they would fire with both hands, and after firing, they would hand it to the side, whereupon a sailor would bring over a crossbow that had already been cocked.

Extremely efficient!

Even so, Xia Nan's heart sank, and he felt the situation was getting worse.

His keen senses allowed him to clearly perceive movements beneath the surface of the water.

I might be able to deal with the spiral shark that's gnawing at the hull on this side, but what about the other parts, like the bottom of the ship?

At this moment, there are probably already thousands of spiral sharks leaving gaps all over the ship's hull.

How much longer can the Blade of Vengeance hold out?

Xia Nan didn't know.

Limited by his own combat characteristics, it seemed that he could do no more.

To some extent, his passive ability [Night Mother's Gaze] should actually be quite effective against groups of enemies with relatively weak individual strength.

However, given the exaggerated scene of the waves crashing against the sea, he simply couldn't replicate his previous wave-riding maneuvers at Suyu Bay.

However, if one is not careful and loses speed on the water, they may fall into the sea.

He is not good at fighting in the water, so how should he deal with the frenzied schools of fish rushing at him from all sides?

It's likely that even the time-limited [Echoes] won't be of any use.

Right now, the only remaining way to break this deadlock is...

"Buzz!"

Out of the corner of my eye, a bright, warm emerald light seemed to illuminate the darkness like a lighthouse.

The chaotic magical particles in the air rapidly converged, emitting a buzzing sound of restless energy.

Xia Nan turned around and looked toward the source of the commotion.

Just moments ago, the druid Hein had been concentrating with her eyes closed, but now she disregarded the wind and waves and stood directly on the figurehead.

The wooden statue of the siren embracing the ocean was enveloped in a vibrant, life-giving emerald light.

(End of this chapter)