The sea was covered with dark clouds, and the dark clouds were extremely low.
The air was heavy, and the wind was weak. It was clear that a storm that was very common on the black sea was brewing.
Even if it wasn't the summer when the storms were the most frequent and the largest scale, the black sea was constantly reminding humans of its coldness and ruthlessness!
In this foreseeable bad weather, a huge sail fleet had no choice but to rely purely on the ocean current to slowly float on the sea.
It was extremely difficult to determine the sailing time of a wooden sail ship that relied on the weather. In continuous windless weather or bad weather, it wouldn't be strange if it was delayed for ten days, half a month, or even longer.
What was worse was that the troubles they encountered did not stop there.
"Be careful! The monster is coming again! "
Boom!
At the edge of the fleet, a huge shadow suddenly rushed to the surface. It swung its giant tail and jumped high from the sea. It directly jumped over the forty-meter mast of a warship and dived into the water from the other side.
During this time, its appearance was also exposed to the sailors.
Hiss!
Everyone on the nearby ships gasped.
It was a giant fish with a mouth full of sharp teeth. Its body was nearly a hundred meters long. Its ferocious face was covered with iron-colored scales. It was like a mechanical monster made of steel.
Pa!
Just a gentle sweep of its tail made the thirty-nine-meter long fifth-level cruise ship tremble. Many crew members on the deck were shaken off.
"Ah! Help! "
"No-!"
Then, before they could struggle to escape back to the ship, they were directly swallowed by a giant mouth that was almost half the size of the strange fish.
As if it was playing with these land creatures, the wild sea monster Giant Water Wolf Fang Fish kept swimming under the fleet. The way it picked and picked was as if it wasn't a ship, but a delicious food box filled with little meat people.
It was just waiting for it to eat.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The guard fleet with the flaming flag gathered and lowered the muzzle of their cannons to continuously fire at it. Solid bullets and grapeshot bullets were fired one after another, and the green smoke had already formed a cloud of smoke.
There were powerful extraordinaire captains who threw out the special harpoons in their hands, but in front of the large sea monster's hard scales and high speed, the effect was minimal.
"Damn it! Keep firing! "
Without any means of attacking underwater, the cruisers could only rely on their dense gunfire to scare off the larger species.
Even the fourth-grade warships of the guard fleet would find it extremely difficult to focus fire and inflict heavy damage on it.
Until …
Boom!
It was as if a blazing sun had suddenly descended, dispersing the remaining slight chill of winter on the surface of the sea.
On a strange-looking warship at the front of the fleet, a yellow and white pillar of fire darted out and vaporized a large area of seawater after crossing a distance of almost two hundred meters, piercing through the head of the enormous sea monster easily!
Roar — —
The Giant Water Wolf Fang Fish, which was still arrogant and uncontrollable just now, died on the spot without any resistance and slowly floated to the surface of the water.
Even though its steel-like body kept twitching and swinging its tail, it was obvious that it was no longer alive …
A burnt smell mixed with the aroma of grilled fish filled the entire fleet.
"Return to the formation of the guards! Let's move on! "
A cold and hard voice spread across the sea like a thunderclap, causing all the crew members who were still in shock to quickly recover their spirits and reinvigorate their morale. As long as this lord was around, even the dangerous deep sea would not be a problem at all.
As the signal flag was waved, the fleet's formation slowly adjusted, returning to the formation of merchant ships with the guard ships on the outside.
The identity of this fleet was already obvious.
It was the treasure fleet of Shilius that returned every spring!
After the dust of the dispute over the Potosi silver mine on the New Continent was settled, they officially set sail and were currently returning to Shilius along the shortest route between the 'Golden Sea' and the mainland.
This was the largest return of a large fleet of the year, fully loaded with gold, silver, gemstones, tobacco, ink trees … The total amount of wealth was simply unimaginable to ordinary people!
The total number of ships in the fleet was 120, of which 102 were merchant ships, both official and civilian. The guard ships were made up of 18 warships of at least the fifth-grade.
The flagship in the lead was also the warship that had just killed the sea monster. It was called 'Red Maple'.
The bowsprit was hung with the flags of generals, nobles, fleet, and commander. As the flagship and the vanguard ship, it led the entire fleet forward.
Without a doubt, this was a powerful 'quasi-legendary warship'!
In terms of size, it was only slightly larger than a normal fourth-grade warship. The largest caliber of the ship's cannon was only 24 pounds, which was on the same level as the 'Storm Horn'.
However, since it was called a 'quasi-legendary', this' Red Maple 'naturally had the strength to match its legendary name. Even from its appearance, one could tell that it was different. Its biggest feature was the bright red sails that looked like burning maple leaves.
This was because this warship had been fortunate enough to receive the blessings of an angel under the 'Eternal Fire' (a ritual prayer, not an angel's descent), which gave it super speed that was comparable to legendary warships.
Its regular speed was 18 knots, and its maximum speed was 22 knots. Even in a completely windless environment, it could reach an unconditional basic speed of 6 knots.
Of course, this speed was not completely without conditions. The premise was that the temperature outside was above zero. If it went below zero, it would immediately return to its original speed.
Apart from that, this warship was also equipped with a powerful treasure of the sea, which made up for its lack of firepower due to its pursuit of extreme speed.
[Treasure of the Sea: Dragonbreath Torch]
Effect: Can be used three times a day outside of winter. Can release a scorching flame with a range of 200 meters. Within this range, can even burn through seawater. Apart from the attack range being slightly short, it had no other shortcomings.
As long as it was paired with the speed of the 'Red Maple', it would definitely be a nightmare for any enemy!
However, this warship, known as the 'Red Verdict' within Shilius, had as obvious a weakness as an advantage. It would be completely sealed during winter, and was not much stronger than an ordinary fourth-grade warship.
This was also the reason why it was not sent to the frontlines to support the battle for Potosi despite being known for its speed.
In the captain's cabin, which was simply decorated like the residence of an ascetic.
"Sir Commander! The aftermath has been dealt with. Although the hull was damaged, the ship did not capsize. We lost a total of 52 people.
In addition, we are about to enter the 'Eye of the Black Sea'. We don't have any islands or naval bases in this area.
How should we deal with the storm that may come at any time? Please give us your instructions! "
"I understand. Let's continue forward. Just strengthen our defenses.
The main route of this kingdom is in the middle ridge of the Black Sea, and there has never been a record of a fleet capsizing due to a storm.
As long as we pass through here in a week, even if there is damage, we can repair it at the naval base on the other side of the Soviet Islands. "
The red-haired fleet commander, who looked very young but was actually over 60 years old, rubbed the hilt of the longsword at his waist and issued his order.
According to past experience, there was no problem with this decision.
The adjutant thought the same and did not raise any objections. After bowing, he turned around and left.
"We're almost halfway through the voyage. It's been a year since we left the kingdom. This time, I must go back to the Holy City of Novigrad to listen to the teachings of His Holiness the Pope and cleanse my soul. "
Looking at the back of the adjutant, the commander muttered to himself.
The captain of the 'Red Maple' was also the commander of the Treasure Fleet, Lieutenant General Doyle Griffith. Although he was a peak grand Knight belonging to the kingdom's military.
However, he was originally from the Volcano Knight Order of the Church of Eternal Fire. He was a devout believer of the Church of Eternal Fire and even retained a teaching position in the church.
He had already become a grand Knight before the age of 30. He became famous at a young age and was entrusted with important tasks. Coupled with the influence of the radical style of the Church of Eternal Fire, Lieutenant General Griffith was famous for being a hardliner even in the domineering Shilius.
To be more precise, he was the pro-war faction. One of his proposals was to strictly block the route with strong military power and monopolize the interests of the colony!
At this moment.
A finely carved wooden box was placed at his feet. It was the silver ingots refined from Potosi Island No. 1 and Island No. 2 by the craftsmen working overtime. It was a total of 100 kilograms. Although it was not much compared to the total reserves, it had an extraordinary symbolic meaning.
It was also a gift from the colony's upper echelons to King Philip II.
Glancing at the precious gift that started a war and even paid a huge price in exchange, Lieutenant General Griffith snorted.
"Humph! If you listened to me, how could you let those hyenas gradually grow in the colony? Even the kingdom had to compromise?
Over the years, His Majesty the King has been getting further and further away from the will of God. He even fantasized about a marriage with the Hapsburg family that inherited the crown of the Holy Rosa Empire and naturally obtained the supreme throne.
When I return, maybe in the kingdom, I will need more like-minded companions … "
Then, the storm came as expected.
.....
Whoosh whoosh whoosh …
Woo woo woo …
Creak … Creak …
The entire fleet had been sailing for three days in the storm.
Although the strength was not enough to capsize the ship, it was still very uncomfortable for the crew. Fortunately, most of the sailboats were filled with goods and had enough weight to lower the center of gravity of the sailboats. So far, there had been no incidents of ships being overturned by the storm.
If the time was shifted to summer, it would be hard to say.
But even so, their return trip wasn't as smooth as they had expected.
Crackle —
Flashes of lightning cut across the sea.
As the leading ship, "Red Maple" shouldered the most important reconnaissance mission. The lookout who tied himself to the mast in the storm saw something and suddenly shouted.
"Not good! That's … the Great Whirlpool! "
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The alarm bell was rung and echoed far away in the storm.
A huge whirlpool with a diameter of one kilometer suddenly appeared on the sea in front of the fleet.
Without hesitation, the fleet commander had already issued his order.
"Full left rudder!"
"Yes sir! Full left rudder! "
Behind "Red Maple", the fleet in three rows turned together. They had discovered it early enough and had enough time to avoid it.
However, the next moment.
One, two, three, four … A total of nine huge whirlpools that were not smaller than the first one had formed around them.
Whoosh —
It was as if a huge monster at the bottom of the sea had suddenly opened its mouth.
No! That was really a huge mouth!
With the help of the flashing lightning on the sea, the crew on the deck looked at the bottom of the whirlpool with their mouths agape. It was a passage of flesh and blood filled with ring-shaped sharp teeth. That was the passage to hell …
"Eternal Fire above!"
In the last prayer, the dozens of meters long sailboat had been sucked into the whirlpool and swallowed like biscuits.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
Holding the "sea monster pointer" that was spinning so fast that it seemed like it was about to explode, Doyle Griffith's face was livid. "The wild child of the sea god, 'Great Whirlpool' Charybdis!"
Legend had it that "Great Whirlpool" Charybdis had once competed with the "mother of sea monsters" and was one of the most powerful sea monsters in the Black Sea.
No one had ever seen its true form. They only knew that the legendary powerful sea monster of unknown size had ten mouths. When it opened its mouths, it could create a huge whirlpool that could swallow any ship.
Anyone below the legendary warship would definitely die if they saw it!
At this moment, Griffith watched as the sailboats around him were swallowed by the whirlpool without any resistance.
His eyes were red as he roared an order, "Full speed ahead, 'Red Maple'! Let's charge out!"
Crack! Crack! …
Amidst the crisp sound of biscuits being chewed.
In the end, only the "Red Maple" was enveloped in a dense transcendent spiritual light. With the blessing of the angel, it successfully escaped the range of the whirlpool and escaped alone …
The rest were buried at the bottom of the sea.
After a long time, when there were no longer any traces of ships on the surface of the sea.
"From today onwards, the Eye of the Storm is the same as the Summers Trench. It is also a forbidden zone for human ships!"
A loud roar came from the turbulent whirlpool. It seemed to be a human voice.
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