Chapter 1109: Setting Sail
Lin Li had sailed on The Star in the world created by Geresco, so there was not much novelty left in the sea for him. However, the others felt different. Other representatives of the top forces like Joseph were only hegemons on the land of the Breezy Plains. They rarely had the chance to go to sea. Hence, when they were really on the Endless Ocean, they couldn’t help but be amazed when they felt the ripples of the Endless Ocean.
However, such emotions did not last long. No matter how majestic and spectacular the scene might be, they couldn’t stare at it for long. In the Endless Ocean, the boundless sea was everywhere. Anyone would be annoyed in the long run.
The Star left Ortland Port and sailed on the sea for three or four days, during which time there was rarely anyone who would run to the deck to appreciate the unchanging scenery of the sea. Only Cardson, who saw the Endless Ocean as a food treasure vault, would scurry to the deck all the time to see if there were any rare marine magical beasts out there.
The worst thing was that the Endless Ocean was a world of water elements where other types of magical elements were scarce, thus making it impossible to kill time with meditation. Unless the mage specialized in water magic, his efficiency of meditation would be incredibly low in such an environment. Even if he meditated for a day, it might not be more fruitful than an hour of meditation on the mainland.
However, at this time, as the captain of the s.h.i.+p, Lin Li did not slack off. Even though The Star had already been tested once, there would still be various problems and issues that surfaced. After all, Lin Li had no way to replicate The Star of Geresco’s world, and could only take reference from the real The Star and the alchemical battles.h.i.+ps of the Gilded Kingdom to build the current The Star.
Although the voyage had been smooth during the test, and seemed to have reached the point of perfection, there might be problems that would never be exposed unless they sailed the s.h.i.+p across a long distance. During the three or four days of the voyage, a variety of problems on The Star gradually emerged. Although they were not major problems, Lin Li had to personally find out and resolve them.
While adjusting The Star, Lin Li and the representatives of the various forces of the Breezy Plains also exchanged some information about the Gilded Kingdom. Although those forces of the Breezy Plains had not been in contact with the Gilded Kingdom for a long time, they had gradually gained a better understanding of the Gilded Kingdom through cooperation in various fields and business channels.
Although the Gilded Kingdom could be considered the best in Anril when it came to alchemical battles.h.i.+ps and nautical technology, it was not as well-known as the Rotterdam Kingdom that was famous for their Alchemy Colossuses. In the Gilded Kingdom, both magic and martial arts were developed in a fairly balanced manner, and there was no bias.
In such an environment, both magic and martial arts had been developed extremely well. Although the development hadn’t reached the extent that Legendary-mages and Legendary Sword Sages were rampant, the power of those two aspects was definitely not negligible.
The greatest force in the Gilded Kingdom was the Illuminati, whose status was akin to that of the Supreme Council in the world of magic. Every decision made by the Illuminati would have a huge impact on the Gilded Kingdom, and their influence was far greater than that of the king of the Gilded Kingdom.
Hence, during the trip to the Gilded Kingdom’s founding celebration this time, the people had to consider not just getting in touch with the Gilded Kingdom, but also how to handle the relations.h.i.+p with the Illuminati. Otherwise, no matter how friendly they were and how well they got along with the Gilded Kingdom, the Illuminati might be able to change things easily.
While the voyage on the sea was boring and mundane, it also gave the representatives of the forces of the Breezy Plains an excellent opportunity to communicate. After all, when in the Breezy Plains, they each had their own things to get busy with. Unless necessary, they wouldn’t sit down together to communicate. However, they were now in an environment full of water elements, which was terrible for practicing and meditation. Apart from communicating, there was nothing else they could do to kill time.
However, when The Star had been sailing for nearly 10 days, an extraordinary storm swept The Star without warning. It was considered sudden because even the Black-beard Julio whose family had been making a living in the Endless Ocean for numerous generations did not notice the signs of the storm.
In fact, even Lin Li, a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse who had a mastery of the World Laws, did not notice the abnormal changes in the s.p.a.ce Laws before that. Everything happened all of a sudden, and it was as if The Star had moved from one world to another.
Such a situation was not considered common in the Endless Ocean—it was extremely rare. Sailors who wandered on the Endless Oceans called the sudden descent of the storm the Fury of the Sea G.o.d as they believed that they had to have done something to anger the sea G.o.ds that warranted a punishment. That was the most terrifying bit about the Endless Ocean. Compared to that, the threat of the marine magical beasts was nothing. After all, the marine beasts had their own territories, and wouldn’t wander about in the sea. Hence, there were safe routes.
However, there were no laws to the Fury of the Sea G.o.d, and the so-called safe routes could not avoid the attack of the Fury of the Sea G.o.d. Those who made a living at sea could only make sacrifices to the Sea G.o.d through various methods when going out to sea. They were actually just trying to seek psychological comfort.
That storm was completely beyond the perception of those people on The Star. It was as if the Endless Ocean was showing them its majesty. The firmament which had been as blue as the normal sky already became incredibly gloomy in the blink of an eye. It would only light up occasionally due to the lightning. On the surface of the sea, the wind lifted dozens of waves that were hundreds of meters high. When they landed, they would roar loudly as if the ground was crumbling. In such a storm, even the marine beasts would be crushed into bits.
When Lin Li was in the world created by Geresco, he had also brought The Star with him to brave the sea storms, but he had never encountered a storm of such a scale. Lin Li had no idea if the real The Star would be safe in the storm, but he knew that his s.h.i.+p was definitely in danger.
The Star was huge, and was three or four times the size of the alchemical s.h.i.+ps of the Gilded Kingdom, and it was a ma.s.sive steel fortress that was sailing very smoothly in the sea. The wind and waves simply could not shake it at all. However, the steel fortress clearly couldn’t suppress the waves now as it was being shaken up and down like a canoe.
At the same time, perhaps because The Star was built with magical metal, the lightning in the sky was attracted to The Star in large quant.i.ties, as if it had encountered a huge magnet. The smallest bolt of lightning had a radius that was as large as that of a bucket, and power contained in it was not inferior to the full force of a Legendary powerhouse.
That scene was just as intense as when Lin Li and the others had fought with the Dragon of Destruction’s dragon corpse, except that they were natural forces created by the power of the Laws contained in the Endless Ocean. Actually, the opponents that Lin Li faced were almost equivalent to the Endless Ocean.
Of course, to The Star, the power of the Fury of the Sea G.o.d was incredible, but it was nothing in the Endless Ocean.
When the endless lightning blasted down on The Star, Lin Li also hurriedly activated all the defenses on the vessel, and pushed the power of the defenses to the maximum immediately. As a high-level Sanctuary powerhouses who had a good understanding of the World Laws, Lin Li had a very clear understanding of the power of the endless lightning in the storm. He knew very clearly that with the defenses of The Star, it was impossible for them to have any restraint when faced with the attacks from the world.
All of a sudden, all the defensive mageweaths on The Star radiated dazzling rays of light. The light shrouded the entire s.h.i.+p, and it was just like a sun that landed on the sea in the dim s.p.a.ce.
Almost at the same time as the activation of *The Star’*s defenses, the endless lightning storm also came cras.h.i.+ng down, surrounding the s.h.i.+p and attacking it. Under the power of the attacks, The Star began revolving, and the defenses were blasted away.
When encountering this storm, the sailors on The Star were almost desperate because it seemed that no one had ever heard of anyone being able to escape from the Fury of the Sea G.o.d since the most distant past. Although the sailors were strong and competent, their strength was simply insignificant in the face of the Fury of the Sea G.o.d. A single bolt of lightning would be enough to turn the sailors into ashes.
However, at this moment, Julio suddenly dashed out of the cabin and seemed to have nailed his legs onto the deck of the s.h.i.+p that was shaking vigorously while yelling at the sailors who were hiding everywhere, “d.a.m.n it! Are you just going to wait for your deaths here? Get up and start working. Move the s.h.i.+p out of the area affected by the storm!”
Although the roar of thunder outside was deafening, the sailors could also hear Julio’s roar. At the very beginning, none of the sailors moved at all. After all, with their knowledge, any struggle would be futile when encountering a storm like the Fury of the Sea G.o.d. However, they soon realized that the defense around the battles.h.i.+p actually blocked the destructive lightning.
The sailors were not those of the Gilded Kingdom, but those who followed the merchant s.h.i.+ps along the coast of the Breezy Plains. They never knew of any s.h.i.+ps that could persist under the attack of the Fury of the Sea G.o.d. However, even though the s.h.i.+p was still shaking violently now, it made the sailors see some hope surviving.
In particular, when they saw that the bearded man who had just roared at them was now desperately adjusting the helm of the s.h.i.+p, and seemingly trying to steer the s.h.i.+p out of the stormy area, they couldn’t help but think, Even if we die, we have to put up a fight before dying. Otherwise, it’d be too frustrating.
None of the sailors who could be on the Endless Ocean were incompetent fools. The reason that they gave up on resisting at the beginning was because they felt that they had no power to struggle in the face of a storm like the Fury of the Sea G.o.d. However, Julio had now taken the lead, and when the sailors saw that the defenses hadn’t been broken immediately, they had some hope again.
At this moment, The Star was like a roller coaster that was violently undulating and rocking on the ocean. However, the sailors had lived on the sea for many years, and would not be shaken off. Even though they seemed to have a very hard time moving around the s.h.i.+p, they nonetheless inched towards their posts step by step. Once they did, they immediately got to work.
Amidst the deafening roar of thunder and the huge waves, the yelling of the sailors also sounded on The Star. Under the joint efforts of the sailors, The Star, which seemed to have lost its ability to resist because of the storm, finally began to move towards the outer edge of the storm with great difficulty.
Seeing such a scene, Lin Li put away his Domain World. In fact, the storm that was known as the Fury of the Sea G.o.d was only terrifying for the ordinary people. Most merchant s.h.i.+ps would definitely be destroyed when they encountered this storm. However, as a high-level Sanctuary powerhouse, Lin Li was already an existence that was close to the level of the G.o.ds. It would not be difficult for him to protect The Star and break free.
The reason Lin Li didn’t do it at the beginning was because he wanted to put The Star and the sailors to test. After all, the sailors had been recruited from the Breezy Plains. Although they were experienced and competent, The Star was still too different compared to other s.h.i.+ps. The experience they had gained from sailing on other vessels might not be useful on The Star.