Pillars of Ita

When the impact arrived, the entire ship trembled slightly, as if dancing on the waves, and the hull and keel made a sound of being unable to bear the heavy weight, making people worry that it would break at the next moment.

The surging clouds seemed to have really formed huge waves. The bow of the Seven Seas Storm cut through a white wave head-on. The hull first rose sharply, then tilted to the left, and finally drooped.

All the unstable objects on the wall fell to the ground, rolling all over the place with a clanging sound, rolling from the back to the front, and rolling past the feet of Fang He and the other man.

But Fang He didn't even bother to look at it, and just stayed on the deck as if nothing had happened. He raised his telescope and looked forward - the Brittingen ship was also changing direction, and there were experienced people on board - he turned his vision to one side, and saw that the clouds on the other side were forming another lateral surge.

"Right rudder twenty." Fang He gave the order calmly.

The people from the second regiment pulled the mainsail to the other side, and the ship tilted to the right. They almost had to use their own weight to pull the cable and turn the mast.

The waves rushed onto the deck, and the strong crosswind blew people away and fell into the fishing net on the side. They quickly climbed up using their hands and feet and returned to the capstan.

"Someone fell into the water, from Group 4," Daryl whispered to him.

Fang He said nothing, just nodded.

It was almost impossible to rescue the person who fell into the water at this time. The wind element layer was violently disturbed. He couldn't even send out the lancers, let alone the small boat on the ship.

If someone loses too much starlight, they can compensate with the first appearance of the world's leaves afterwards.

The resurrected people quickly returned to their posts, but there were only four vacancies for the resurrection statues on the Seven Seas Storm every quarter hour, and if they exceeded the quota, they would have to temporarily reduce the number of personnel. Since the Second Regiment was short of manpower, every person missing would make the Seven Seas Storm much more clumsy.

Five minutes later, the second horizontal wave arrived.

The usually calm sea of ​​clouds became violent in the storm. The interlaced clouds looked like fish scales or dog teeth. The two ships zigzagged between the huge waves.

"Ed, we're getting closer to it."

Catherine's words came through the communication crystal, but the wind was too strong on the watchtower, so the voices seemed intermittent.

The Brittingen was having some trouble; they seemed to be very heavy, were slow to turn, and slowed down every time they encountered horizontal wind shear.

Finally, when the third cross-wave arrived, the Brittingen sailboat stopped and was blown around by the crosswind. When the fourth wave arrived, it began to capsize to one side.

Fang He saw someone falling from the boat.

Less than a cable's length away, the Brittingen sailboat loomed beneath the huge waves, and when it was pushed onto the crest of the waves, its tilted deck was clearly visible.

"Ed, hurry," Catherine's voice sounded again, "We can't let it sink."

Fang He naturally understood, but he had to be more careful at this time.

He calmly made the Seven Seas Storm turn again, and after passing two waves, it finally approached. The Brittingen sailboat had now half capsized.

The pirates on the ship saw the Seven Seas Storm and thought they saw the last ray of hope. They jumped off the ship and swam towards this direction.

However, only a few people can survive in this sea condition. Most people are blown away by the crosswind halfway and disappear after a wave. Usually only those who are extremely suitable for the wind element can escape.

The Seven Seas Storm had already stopped and shot out grappling hooks at the Brigantine sailboat, securing it with cables, while the men of the Second Regiment lowered rope ladders to bring the approaching pirates aboard.

However, after boarding the ship, the pirates were immediately disarmed and tied up. Of course, most of them did not carry any weapons at all. Who would care about this at this time?

They just wished they could swim faster.

After the two ships came together, Fang He and the sisters Alice and Alyssa boarded the ship to inspect it. The overturned hull made the task extremely difficult, and in the end they only checked the upper deck.

Because the wind element was becoming unbalanced, the magic cabin caught fire due to overload, forcing them to retreat from it. When they left the Brittingen sailboat, the fire had already spread to the deck.

Not even the pouring rain could put it out.

Fang He immediately ordered his men to cut the ropes and watched from afar the burning sailboat that was heaving in the waves. However, after some investigation, he finally understood why the other party was so clumsy:

The entire front cabin of this lighter Brittingen ship was hollowed out and a large ship-borne wind element detector was installed. No wonder it was top-heavy and difficult to turn.

This can also explain why the other party would rather abandon the more advanced escort boat and let this ship escape first. It was because they were worried that they would seize the wind element detector.

"What a shame," Alice smacked her lips as she looked at the flickering fire. "No wonder they were hanging behind us. It turns out this ship has been specially modified."

"Nothing to regret." But Fang He shook his head and replied. It was just an old model of wind element detector. It seems that the imperial people also know how to control costs.

Its only advantage is that it is large enough, but it is difficult to move such a large wind element detector to the Seven Seas Storm without going into the shipyard, not to mention that the Seven Seas Storm is not much larger than the Brittingen ship.

This kind of specialized modification does not take into account the lifespan of the ship. The fact that the ship capsized in this place is enough to illustrate the problem.

"Others found a batch of gold in the bottom cabin. It should be the activity funds. It's not much, about one or two kilograms," Alice said, "but they also rescued a batch of spare parts for Xs-1."

Fang He nodded. Now he was no longer moved by hearing about hundreds of thousands of miles of Sailer.

However, what made him feel a little uncomfortable was that it was not because the Seven Seas Travelers was too wealthy, but because such a small amount of money was simply a drop in the bucket for the transformation of the new Seven Seas Traveler.

He returned to the command post, and Eliza and Catherine quickly got new information from the pirates - the leader of these pirates, Isaac, was among them.

They also captured two craftsmen from the empire, who were the Chosen Ones. They had been resurrected once before, and no one was willing to consume two rounds of starlight in a short period of time.

They thought that the other party would not make things difficult for them. After all, they could not punish the Chosen One. Moreover, if that were the case, they would still have time to commit suicide.

Besides, there is no more suitable resurrection point nearby.

However, Fang He did not intend to embarrass the two people. Elisa only asked them some simple questions, and the two did not hide anything and answered them one by one.

However, the information obtained was not much. When asked a little more deeply, the two people knew nothing about anything. All we knew was that they were from the Seventh Regiment of the Black Legion.

"The Black Legion, what a chuunibunny name?"

"The Empire secretly formed a new army to fight the Great Council," Elisa knew all about it. "Its characteristics are the uniform black armor, flags and uniforms."

She looked at the two men's black alchemy coats and said, "The outside world knows very little about this legion. It is only known that there are a large number of Chosen Ones among them."

Fang Yu just remembered that he had seen those soldiers in black clothes and armor in Oshu. However, this legion was mainly active in the southern border of the empire, fighting with the parliament. How could it appear in this place?

"I asked them," Alisa replied, "The Seventh Squadron is an experimental unit, the elite among the elite. The Empire is making good progress in the rain forest, so they were transferred here."

"So the Imperials are using them to cause trouble for us?" Fang He frowned. The Black Legion was the elite of the Empire. The Empire had not yet ended the war with the Grand Council, but they had dispatched them to the Hill of the Giant Tree. What did this mean?

"Not entirely," Miss Nightingale shook her head. "The Empire has another mission here, but they don't know about it. There are other people dealing with us, and these two people are not the Empire's contacts."

"So the contact person is someone else?"

Alisa nodded slightly. "According to them, that person disappeared immediately. According to the pirate leader, the other party should be the one with the code name 'M'."

Or the Shadow Society.

This was not unexpected. Although the information was still somewhat scattered, Fang He had already roughly figured out the general situation:

The Imperials seemed to have other purposes in this sea area. The two Imperial warships they encountered earlier and the Black Legion seemed to be looking for something in the Candlelight Sea.

The Shadow Society mobilized some of its power to deal with them, but the question is, why did the Shadow Society know he was here?

The glance he had received then at Silverwind Haven must have come from one of the Dark Saints, but Luminia and Ubraia had shielded him from that fate.

Even if the Shadow Society knew that 'D' died at his hands, they had no reason to know his true whereabouts - Catherine and her ship had never appeared on the front line of the battlefield during the entire Grey Disaster.

The Seven Seas Traveler is currently still in Silver Wind Harbor.

But as soon as they arrived here, the pirates had already made advance arrangements, which could only mean that the enemy had already known about the Seven Seas Storm after it went to Roshar and turned to the Gulf. How did the news leak out?

"The pirate leader named Mara Isaac also told us some news," Alyssa continued, "Our news was not told to them by the Empire. The Shadow Society also got the information from other people."

Because of the Star Gate regulations, they cannot use charm or mental spells on the Chosen, but they have no such concerns for the pirates.

Luo Yu directly used a mind-confusing spell on the pirate leader, and Isaac readily told them everything. It was a group of mysterious people who contacted the Shadow Society and took the initiative to inform them of their information.

And he happened to recognize the clothing style of those people. "Mara Isaac, like Miss Daryl, was an outlaw from Lotao, so he recognized the language and clothing of those people."

"The other party is from the Pivotal Flame Oath Court."

"The Pivotal Flame Oath Court?"

"Yes, Luo Yu used the same spell on other pirates, and the confessions he obtained can corroborate this information. In addition, we also obtained information about 'M'. The pirates said that it was a man who looked a bit like a woman."

"A man who looks like a woman, looks like a zombie, and has phosphorescent lights in his eyes from time to time?"

Fang He couldn't think of what that image was, but how could the Shuyan Oath Court be involved? He had nothing to do with them.

He suddenly thought of the merchant ship of the Shuyan Oath Court that he had seen in Qianzhu Port. Could it be that the other party recognized them at that time?

But Fang He shook his head. The timing didn't match. The Blood Shark Pirates and the Shadow Society must have come to this place more than a day or two ago. The former wanted to take revenge on him, and the latter wanted to use the former.

And why would the Shuyan Oath Court take the initiative to cooperate with the Imperials?

And there is a difference between cooperating with the Empire and cooperating with the Shadow Society. He racked his brains but couldn't figure it out, but fortunately, something else interrupted his thoughts immediately -

Daryl and Catherine soon brought back a new situation.

"Ed," Katherine pushed the door open, "the thunderstorm is approaching."

The process of approaching and salvaging the pirate ship took about half an hour.

During this period, the storm at sea continued to intensify, and the Brittingen sailboat had previously fled in the direction of the storm, so they were actually very close to the edge of the storm.

At present, the pirates have been taken into custody and pose no threat for the time being, but the biggest threat is the furious Kong Hai himself.

As a female pirate leader, Catherine certainly knew how terrible the storm over the sky sea was. When it was raging, even the empire's fleet had been destroyed.

She licked her dry lips.

"Ed, it's unlikely that we can completely avoid it from now on. We only have two options now. One is to find a safe haven nearby."

"Theoretically, there are quite a few floating reefs in this area. If we are lucky enough, we can find a large enough floating island before the center of the storm arrives completely."

"And if there happens to be a suitable anchorage on the leeward side of that island..."

Fang He shook his head. This proposal didn't sound very reliable. There were too many coincidences, but they didn't have much time left. "What about the second one?"

"The second option is to avoid the storm along a tangent line, provided that the storm's expansion speed does not increase further and it continues to pass over the Volaticus Islands in the established direction."

“What if it changes direction midway?”

"Then we will be sucked in, and if it changes direction too much, it may cover our route, making it difficult for us to get out of it."

Upon hearing this, Fang He came to the window and looked in that direction. The first thing approaching was a thunderstorm cloud. The clouds flashing with lightning were pressing down like a wall.

The wind speed at the moment was about over thirty knots, and the Seven Seas Storm did not dare to fully sail. The center of the thunderstorm cloud was less than twenty miles away from them, and it was so dark that it seemed like a mountain pressing down on their heads.

He shook his head. The barometer was still dropping further. There was a high possibility that the storm was still in its growth stage. It was almost certain that it would expand again.

Moreover, the storm is passing through the Volaticus Islands. The temperature difference between land and sea, friction with the land, and mountains between islands may cause the storm to change direction.

He raised the telescope and looked through the glass lens at the clouds where lightning was flashing, and suddenly another possibility occurred to him.

"It's too late to turn back now." Fang He replied. The Seven Seas Storm was just an old merchant ship converted into a warship. Its condition would not allow them to survive the storm for too long.

Catherine looked at him quietly without refutation. As the captain, she certainly understood that absolute authority was needed at this time.

"There may be a warm current hidden on the squall front," Fang He put down the telescope and looked in that direction. "I suspect there is an occluded front there."

An occluded front over the sky and sea is a trap formed by two cold fronts, which lifts the warm air mass to the upper atmosphere. If they can ride on that updraft, they may be able to pass through the thunderstorm cloud from above.

Catherine hesitated.

This idea is feasible, but it is too bold and a little scary. Although the wind boat is stronger than most aircraft with the blessing of wind element, it is still a life-threatening experience to pass through a thunderstorm cloud, even for just a few minutes.

She fancied herself a desperado above the sky and the sea, but she was nothing compared to this.

"Have you thought about it?"

"I don't know," Fang He shook his head, "but I plan to confirm it first and bring the pirate leader up first."

Catherine was silent for a moment, looked at the other party and nodded. If she didn't have the adventurous gene hidden in her bones, she would not have set foot in this sea of ​​clouds like her pirate father.

Her life was a legend in the eyes of ordinary people, but legends were often created by boldness and decisiveness. She glanced at Fang He and saw the same kind of aura in him for the first time.

He has always been more than just a shy boy, but also an adventurer with terrifying ambitions. They are all the same kind of people - the darling of the sky and the sea, the child of the waves.

When Isaac was brought up, his face was still terribly pale, as if he had just experienced a serious illness. It was obvious that the mind control spell was not so pleasant.

He looked at the people in front of him with some fear. He thought that the female pirate was the leader, but he didn't expect that the one who spoke was the gentle-looking young man.

The question asked by Fang Yu also surprised him. He pointed to the back of the thunderstorm cloud and asked, "What's behind that?"

"San Tenites Island, Your Excellency... One of the largest islands on the northern edge of the Sandesitadal Island. It, together with Dafirmante Island and Sandesitadal Island, forms the southernmost section of the Volaticus Island Chain."

Isaac thought about it and answered truthfully that it was not a secret.

Fang He was certainly clear about it, but in the floating reef area, the standard information on the map might not be accurate. The islands on the empty sea were not like those on Earth. The floating islands would flow with the tides, and their positions might change to a certain extent.

As a 'local', Isaac's information was much more reliable, of course - Leila cast a small detect lies spell as a barrier on the side.

The effect of this spell is not as good as the Realm of Honesty, but at least it can determine the credibility of the other party's answer.

She confirmed the effect of the spell feedback and then nodded to Fang He.

"Order the Seven Seas Storm to change direction," Fang He put down the telescope, turned around, looked in the direction of the storm, stretched out his hand and pointed downward, "Go straight in that direction, we are entering the thunderstorm cloud."

Mara Isaac's eyes widened. "Wait, are you crazy?"

"Mr. Isaac," Fang He said quietly, "I know you still have some confidants. If you want to survive, you'd better join us."

"Tariel, take him down."

Daryl took a look at the poor guy, and regardless of whether he objected or not, he picked him up by the collar and carried him out.

...(End of chapter)