After the Storm

Victor followed Blox out of the cabin and onto the deck. The moment he pushed open the cabin door, the salty sea breeze mixed with raindrops rushed into his mouth.

Victor looked back in the direction he had come from, where the inky black storm wall lay a dozen nautical miles behind him, obscuring the entire horizon.

The entire fleet has now sailed into the boundary between light and shadow at the edge of the storm. Here, the leaden-gray clouds have cracked open, and beams of sunlight pierce through the clouds, illuminating the entire deck with extraordinary brightness.

The entire deck was a mess—the bronze figurehead on the foredeck was severely exposed, and several sailors were trying to right it.

The canvas, torn into flakes by the storm, hung taut on the mast, and the bundles of ropes that were once bundled up covered the entire deck.

Blox smiled and said to Victor, "Sir, fortunately, this storm only brought heavy rain and did not cause much damage to the fleet. At least we did not lose a single ship."

Victor looked at the deck piled high with miscellaneous items, and the sailors busily tidying them up and repairing the sails and masts.

Although I could sense the state of the ship from inside the cabin, it wasn't until I stepped onto the deck that I understood the extent of the ordeal the ship had endured.

He said to Blox, "You and Sodoma should quickly assess the damage to the fleet. If there are any problems, try to repair them. If they can't be repaired, you can abandon ship."

Inspect the ships transporting serfs, check their condition, and give everyone, including the serfs, a cup of hot chamomile tea.

Chamomile tea is a favorite drink of fishermen and sailors at sea. It has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, and can also relieve seasickness. Without it, the casualties during the previous serf transport missions would certainly have been much higher.

"Yes, sir, I'll arrange it right away."

No sooner had Blox finished answering than the roar of Sodoma came from the stern.

"Lord Victor, are you alright?"

The Wavebreaker approached, and Sodoma, shirtless, swung right over.

Victor was pleased to see Sodoma arrive, not because his men were there to check on his safety, but because he was glad to see his important subordinate safe and sound.

"I'm fine. Sodoma, it seems you're doing well too. How's the Wavebreaker?"

Sodoma carefully examined Victor, and after confirming that her lord was not injured, she quickly replied.

"This little storm is nothing; I've seen plenty of it when I was in the Coastal Defense Fleet. But Captain Brox, it seems your men still need some more training."

Sodoma looked at the messy deck and the sailors busily cleaning up, and shrugged at Blox.

Blox blushed. Most of the sailors on the ship were newcomers, and they were too slow to react when the storm hit. Even when he assigned tasks to them one by one, they did not cooperate well.

Even lowering the sails was a few steps slower, and the mainsail was damaged by the strong winds. Several sailors are still on the mast repairing it.

"Alright, Sodoma, Blox has a lot of new recruits under his command. This is their first time experiencing such a storm, unlike the veterans of your Coastal Defense Fleet."

Victor helped explain to Blox, just as a sailor ran over.

"Captain, and two other gentlemen, the Golden Transport No. 5 just sent a message via flag signals. Their ship is more severely damaged than the Blox, and there have been considerable casualties among the serfs they were transporting. They are hoping to receive support."

Upon hearing this news, Victor immediately ordered Blox to sail the ship over.

Sodoma didn't linger; he returned to the Wavebreaker and joined the journey to the Golden Transport No. 5.

"The bottom compartment of the Golden Transport No. 5 is flooding!" the observer shouted.

Victor saw that the old sailboat was listing at an odd angle, but fortunately, several surrounding boats had secured it with ropes and chains, so it had not yet completely capsized.

Victor knew that the Golden Transport No. 5 was one of the first merchant ships purchased by the Golden Sunflower Territory. This old-fashioned sailing ship with a carrying capacity of over 100 tons had traveled this route many times.

Unexpectedly, we suffered a severe blow in this storm, and we don't know if there is any chance of recovery.

Blox personally led a few boatmen across in a small boat, while Victor was left behind. Blox said that the lord should not risk his life, and besides, Victor could not be of any help.

Soon, under the direction of Blox and Sodoma, shipwrights from several ships were gathered on the unfortunate old vessel, and they attempted to repair it.

The serfs on the Golden Transport No. 5 were also transported to other ships, and dozens of serfs were even sent to Victor's ship.

Victor then led the ship's medical officer to treat the wounded.

A young serf was screaming in agony as he clutched his broken left arm. Victor used both hands to set the fracture and then used a splint and bandages to immobilize it.

After doing all this, the boy said gratefully to Victor, "Sir, thank you for saving me."

Victor patted him on the shoulder, "Take good care of yourself, we'll be at our destination soon, don't worry."

The losses were quickly tallied. The ship didn't carry much cargo; it mainly transported serfs and some grain. The grain had all been discarded during the emergency response. Because of the ship's damage, more than thirty serfs and sailors were thrown into the sea and are presumably fish food.

By dusk, the situation on the Golden Transport No. 5 had finally stabilized, thanks to the new human-powered piston pumps that the Two Rivers Territory had provided for these ships.

After Sodoma and his crew plugged the breach underwater, Blox and his men manually pumped out the water, finally beginning to right the Golden Transport No. 5 little by little.

"My lord, we have accomplished our mission and rescued Golden Transport No. 5." Blox and Sodoma returned together to report to Victor.

"Thank you for your hard work. I may not be able to pay you back right now, but you can inform all the sailors and boatmen who participated in the rescue. I will distribute the rewards to everyone after I return to Two Rivers Territory."

"My lord, I believe everyone will be very happy, after all, your reputation is impeccable."

"Blox said happily."

Are the other ships in the fleet alright?

Victor asked another question that concerned him.

Fortunately, Blox and Sodoma had already finished their statistics. The two exchanged a glance, and finally Sodoma stepped forward to report to Victor.

"Of the 26 ships in the entire fleet, only one, the Golden Transport No. 5, suffered serious damage. The other ships were basically undamaged, and the Golden Transport No. 5 has already been repaired and will not affect the rest of the voyage."

However, in the storm, 16 crew members and 38 serfs went missing, and some cargo was lost, though its value did not exceed 200 gold.

"Is there any hope that these missing people will survive?" Victor asked a question that no one expected.

Sodoma and Blox looked at each other, and finally Blox replied, "My lord, given the weather before, the chances of survival are extremely slim."

Sodoma added, "Even I would have had a hard time surviving those storms without the help of tools."

After listening, Victor sighed. "Well then, since we've left the storm, let's rest here a bit more, and each ship can undergo another inspection and repair. You should also send your best sailors in small boats to search the surrounding area. Let's do our best and leave the rest to fate."

"Yes, sir." ×2