The Storm Approaches

The sky had only been clear for a day.

The next day, dark clouds gathered again, and it looked like it was going to rain again.

Soren stood atop the mast of the Speaker of the Dead, gazing at the turbulent sea ahead. To the side of the Ghost Ship was a massive black shadow, bobbing up and down in the waves, appearing only as a blur. He silently watched ahead, seemingly waiting for something. Soren had always been a very patient person, so he waited calmly, only occasionally glancing up at the sky.

Rumble!

A thunderbolt streaked across the sky.

Accompanied by the rumbling of thunder, raindrops began to fall, starting as a drizzle but quickly turning into a downpour.

"Deep Sea Navigation!"

A smile finally appeared on Soren's lips, but it was cold and Cruelty. With a gentle wave of his hand, the Undrowned Undead on the deck moved swiftly. Amidst the eerie whispers of the Wraith Sea Monster, the Speaker of the Dead began to descend, gradually sinking to the bottom of the sea. Seawater surged towards the deck from all sides. Soren lightly leaped to the helm, then let the surging Seawater completely engulf him. Seawater filled the hull, and Soren's hair was scattered by the Seawater. As the Speaker of the Dead finally sank to the bottom of the sea, he looked up at the sky. The waves on the sea were even larger, and a stunning bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.

Rumble!

A violent storm raged over the sea, with streaks of lightning flashing across the sky. It seemed as if the storm had only just begun, and the tempest was only a temporary pause.

The sea surface is turbulent, but the seabed is quite calm.

The pitch-black depths of the sea could not obstruct Soren's vision. The Speaker of the Dead was submerged hundreds of meters below the surface, calculating the enemy's location. He had already gathered a wealth of intelligence before setting sail.

Given his current reputation Pirate King of the South Coast, the Thieves' Guild would rather offend the Southern Island Nation than offend him.

"Ascend 300 meters!"

Soren surveyed his surroundings. A reef appeared before him, along with some schools of fish, but due to the death energy, almost none of them dared to approach the Speaker of the Dead. Mutated Killer Whale provided escort. While the North Coast wasn't as treacherous as the South Coast, it still harbored some Deep Sea Behemoth. These Deep Sea Behemoth seemed largely unaffected by the Goddess of the Sea's blessing. This was unavoidable; other Deity in this world had ties to the Ocean Domain, such as the Vrykul's Deity, who originated from the Pirate Domain and extended their influence to the Ocean Domain.

The Vrykul worship a Barbarian God.

He is probably the only Deity with a ' Pirate Portfolio,' but one of his Portfolio is ' the Vrykul Pirate God,' and very few other pirates worship him.

This Portfolio arose because the Vrykul were born pirates who made a living by plundering other merchant ships.

"Ascend 100 meters!"

Soren surveyed his surroundings, observing the movements on the sea. Once he had risen to a height where the sea was faintly visible, a cold glint appeared in his eyes, and he commanded in a deep voice, "Summon Mist!"

"Those Undrowned Undead will scuttle their Warship!"

In the pitch-black Seawater.

A group of hideous, Undrowned Undead appeared, carrying tools for shoveling boats, slowly swimming upwards towards the surface of the sea.

Rumble!

A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, and the wind and waves made the ship rock.

Damn it!

A middle-aged man in naval uniform cursed, then grabbed a corner of the ship and shouted, "Give it your all! I'll treat you to drinks when we get back to port!..."

"This damn weather."

"I told you the storm wouldn't end anytime soon. No fleet would set sail in this weather; there's no need to send us out on patrol."

A wave crashed over us.

The Warship rocked slightly. Seawater washed ashore, causing a sailor to lose his balance and crash into a wooden barrel. He wasn't seriously injured, only wincing and trembling in pain.

Where is the South Sea?

The middle-aged man looked around. He noticed a mist had somehow risen around them, and he couldn't help but curse again, "This damn weather! Dancing in a storm!"

"Someone come here."

"Light the torches, don't get separated from the escort fleet."

The weather is very strange.

Logically speaking, fog shouldn't appear during such a storm, so it was the intuition of the middle-aged officer, who had spent years at sea, that sensed something was wrong. He shouted, "Everyone, be alert! This fog is strange! We might have encountered some Sea Monster!"

"Ah!!!" Before he finished speaking, a naval sailor screamed in fright.

Upon hearing his voice, everyone else jumped in fright, and the middle-aged officer immediately shouted, "What are you yelling about? What did you see?"

Boom!

The ship suddenly shook, and many people on deck lost their balance and fell overboard. One sailor slipped and almost fell into the sea, but luckily his ankle was caught by a rope.

"A black... shadow!..."

The sailor who had initially yelled was now filled with terror, exclaiming, "What a huge dark shadow!... bigger than the ship!... It's... underwater!... I couldn't see what it was!... but there's something on the seabed!..."

The middle-aged officer's heart skipped a beat, and his expression turned somewhat frightened. He muttered, "Could we really be so unlucky as to encounter Sea Monster?"

Rumble!

The boat rocked again.

Now everyone could see it; there was indeed a huge black shadow wandering in the mist, and the ship was rocking because it had bumped into it.

"No!... Something's wrong!..."

Another cry of alarm rang out, and a soaking wet sailor ran out, shouting, "The cabins!... The cabins are flooding!..."

Rumble!

The ship rocked again, and a sailor was thrown into the sea with a scream. He only had time to let out a shrill wail before disappearing into the rolling waves.

Buzz!

Rumble!

The storm seemed to be getting worse, and the Warship was tossed and turned in the waves, the spray making it look like a small boat that could capsize and sink at any moment.

Click!

The sound of the Dragon Bone breaking came from the ship's hull, and then the Warship shook violently before capsizing in a huge wave and slowly sinking to the bottom of the sea.

On the sea.

Sharp bone spikes emerged, and an enormous black shadow swam in the Seawater. In the distance, a blurry silhouette of a dark Warship could be vaguely seen in the Seawater.

"Help!..."

"Help!..."

"Someone, please save me!..."

The sinking Warship didn't immediately kill the sailors. In fact, many of them were low-level professionals whose tenacious Hit Points allowed them to swim back to the surface after sinking into the sea. However, at that moment, dark cables shot out from the Seawater, making the dark hull of the ship on the seabed increasingly clear. The cables tightly Constrict the sailors who had fallen into the sea, dragging them into deeper waters. Indistinctly, some humanoid monsters covered in seaweed appeared nearby. They grinned ferociously and pounced, mercilessly Butcher the survivors.

Dragon Bone Island.

This is an island occupied by the Viking Pirate. Legend has it that Dragon was once buried here, hence the name Dragon Bone Island.

The island isn't very large, probably smaller Serpent Island, but it has a semi-natural harbor, sheltered from the howling sea winds by a steep cliff. A lighthouse stands on the island; almost every port city has a landmark lighthouse to guide ships. In some places, lighthouses even guide ships away from reefs, greatly improving the safety of navigating at night.

Why haven't they come back yet?

Above the lighthouse, a young man dressed in typical aristocratic attire frowned as he gazed into the distance, and said in a deep voice, "Judging by the time, they should have returned long ago."

Rumble.

A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.

Lightning illuminated the distant sea, revealing that the waves were growing larger and larger.

"Your Highness"

Behind the young man stood an elderly man with a white beard, dressed in an exquisite robe. He said in a deep voice, "They haven't returned under these circumstances; I'm afraid they've encountered some trouble!"

Prince Hans's expression immediately turned grim upon hearing this, his face turning ashen as he said, "A standard patrol fleet, one large Warship, and three escort Warship. Even if they encountered trouble, how could not a single one return? Could it be that the Arendelle fleet attacked them?"

"Wrong!"

"We just joined forces with the Viking Pirate to severely damage the Arendelle navy last time; I'm afraid they don't even have the ability to set sail now."

This was one of his most triumphant victories.

First, they used the Viking Pirate to attract the attention of the Arendelle navy, making them think it was just pirates raiding, and then they swaggered out to deploy their fleet to deal with these Viking Pirate. However, what they did not expect was that near Dragon Bone Island, they also encountered the main navy of the Southern Island Nation, namely the fleet led by Prince Hans.

The outcome of the battle was self-evident: facing an enemy force nearly twice their size, Arendelle's navy was almost completely annihilated.

Arendelle has suffered such a severe blow that it will be difficult for them to reassemble their fleet and set sail again.

Near the port.

With each wave, a piece of broken deck drifted to the edge of the harbor. The nearby garrison seemed to have spotted it and immediately began shouting.

There were more pieces of wood nearby, washed ashore by the waves.

Rumble!

Another bolt of lightning streaked across the sky.

Under the dark, heavy clouds, the waves on the sea were even more terrifying. In the deep night, it seemed as if a monstrous beast was silently watching the island, waiting to devour everything on it.

(P. S.: That's all for today.) (To be continued~^~)