Stormy Seas

Sodoma was standing on the stern deck looking back when suddenly someone shouted, "Commander Sodoma, watch out!"

Sodoma turned his head and saw a huge wave crashing onto the deck, the seawater rushing towards him. Sodoma quickly grabbed the sail rope beside him.

The seawater swept him directly off the deck at the stern. He clung tightly to the sail ropes, narrowly avoiding falling into the sea. The decoy fleet was now speeding along at full speed, and if he fell in, he would likely not be able to return.

At this moment, the captain, First Mate, and others of the Wavebreaker rushed over and together pulled the sail ropes to bring the Sodoma, which was swaying at the stern, onto the deck.

Sodoma, who was pulled onto the deck, immediately knelt down and coughed. The captain knew he had choked and quickly patted his back.

However, Sodoma quickly stood up, blocking the captain's hand to indicate that he was alright.

When he was washed off the deck by the sea, several wooden barrels from the deck were also carried by the seawater, which hit him along with the current, and he accidentally choked on a few mouthfuls.

Sodoma pulled open his clothes and found several large bruises on his chest, which must have been where he was hit. He touched them all over and breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they were all hard injuries and his ribs were not broken.

The captain, first First Mate, and others looked at him with concern, thinking the commander was injured. Sodoma quickly explained, "It's nothing, just a scratch, no bones are broken."

The crew breathed a sigh of relief, and the captain quickly said, "Sodoma, you don't need to keep watch at the stern. We have lookouts now."

Sodoma didn't care about the captain's title. The captain of the Wavebreaker was an old sailor who had come to the Northlands with him and worked together in the Coastal Defense Fleet.

Sodoma explained, "I am the commander, and I should have firsthand information."

Seeing that the captain was about to say something in anger, Sodoma quickly replied, "Alright, I won't do it anymore. I'll go back to my seat."

Hearing Sodoma say this, the captain and First Mate finally breathed a sigh of relief. If the fleet commander had been seriously injured because of this oversight, it would have greatly affected morale.

Sodoma looked at the dark clouds gathering in the sky and muttered to himself, "The weather changes so fast. How come the wind has suddenly picked up? It looks like a storm is coming soon!"

Just moments before the decoy fleet accelerated again, the sea suddenly changed. The Sun was obscured by dark clouds, strong winds howled, and the waves surged, making visibility poor. Otherwise, Sodoma wouldn't have gone to the stern to observe.

"Commander, should we slow down? The wind direction hasn't changed, but our mainsail is already fully inflated, and even the ribs are deformed. I'm worried that if this continues, it will directly damage the mainsail."

The First Mate suggested to Sodoma that he had just discovered the location, but hadn't had time to deal with it because Sodoma was in danger. He said he could ask Sodoma for advice now.

Sodoma looked up at the mainsail, which was filled with wind and making a whooshing sound; the ribs were indeed bent badly.

"I estimate that all ships are in this situation, and we really need to deal with it quickly."

Sodoma looked at the captain. "How much longer until we reach our destination?"

The captain glanced at the nautical chart in his hand and the distant sea, and estimated in his mind. "At the current speed, we should arrive in about fifteen minutes."

"It seems there is still time. Pass down the order: all ships should lower one set of sails, form a dense formation, and try to get as close as possible to the Wavebreaker."

Such winds and waves bring many variables, making it even more difficult for those unfamiliar with this sea area to spot the traps in the reef area.

However, it would also affect the safety of the decoy fleet. After all, even Sodoma would find it difficult to accurately judge the situation below the surface and find a safe waterway in this situation. He ordered the fleet to move closer together in the hope that they could rescue each other as soon as possible if problems arose.

At this moment, the noble fleet that was chasing behind also noticed that the enemy fleet ahead was slowing down, and they knew that it was probably affected by the big storm.

Some noble fleets began to slow down, such as the Red Hemp fleet, while other noble fleets paid no attention at all, instead seeing it as a good opportunity to catch up with the decoy fleet.

Coupled with Sodoma's previous order to discard miscellaneous items, they thought the enemy fleet ahead was easy prey, and that as long as they were the first to catch up, they could claim the greatest credit.

On the flagship of the Red Hemp Red Horn, the Red Horn, Young Master Totti had already run out of the cabin. After the big storm, the cabin was filled with debris, and he couldn't stay there any longer, so he had to come up to the deck again.

Seeing that his fleet had slowed down again and was getting further away from the noble fleet ahead, he immediately ran to Captain Van Dyke's side.

At this moment, the old captain was directing the sailors to lower the sails and tighten the rigging to prevent the sails from being damaged by the strong wind.

"Can you help me out here..."

Pull it tighter over there, but don't pull so hard...

Don't stand on the mast, or a big wave will come and you'll fall off—that'll be so cool!

At this moment, he noticed Young Master Totti running over, but simply nodded as a greeting and continued to keep his eyes on the busy sailors.

Seeing that Captain Van Dyke was ignoring him, Totti angrily shouted, "Captain Van Dyke, why are you slowing down again? Our fleet will soon be out of sight of the enemy!"

Van Dyke didn't answer immediately. He continued watching the sailors busy themselves until he felt there were no problems before speaking, "Young master, the weather at sea is unpredictable. Look at these waves; there might be a storm later. We must be careful."

As for pursuing the enemy, don't worry, can't you see the Great Oak Territory's fleet is still behind us?

Totti was enraged by Van Dyke's nonchalant attitude. "We're here to fight, to gain merit, shouldn't we be competing with the most aggressive fleet?"

What's the point of comparing ourselves to the fleet of Great Oak Territory?

Van Dyke looked at Totti with a very serious gaze. "Young Master, the fleet commander of Great Oak Territory is Viscount Sonanda, who is the most outstanding naval officer on our eastern coast."

He once followed Count Black in fighting against the invading fleet of the East Sea Alliance and achieved great success.

I also worked with the master and Viscount Sonanda back then. He told us that in battles at sea, one must follow the natural order and prioritize the preservation of oneself and one's ship, since the only thing that can stand against this vast ocean is the ship beneath our feet.