The sea was covered with lead clouds, and the black clouds were pressed very low.

The air was dreary and the wind was very light, and it was clear that a storm that was so common on the Black Sea was brewing again.

Even in the summer when the storms are at their most frequent and large, the Black Sea is always proclaiming its ruthlessness!

In the midst of the foreseeable celestial phenomena that were coming, a huge fleet of sails had to drift slowly on the surface of the sea, propelled by ocean currents.

It is extremely difficult to determine the sailing period of a sailboat that depends on the weather, and it is not surprising that it can be postponed for ten days and a half or even longer in the event of continuous windless weather or bad weather conditions.

And the misfortune is that the troubles they encounter don't stop there.

"Be careful!

Bang

A huge shadow at the edge of the flotilla rushed to the surface, flicking its giant tail and leaping high into the sea, directly over the forty-meter mast of a warship, and into the water from the other side. : :

During this time, its appearance was also exposed to the seafarers.

hiss

Everyone on the nearby boat gasped.

It was a giant sea fish with sharp teeth in its mouth and a body length of nearly 100 meters, its hideous face covered in iron-colored scales, like a mechanical monster made of steel.

syllable

Just the gentle flicking of the tail and the swinging torrent caused the hull of the 39-meter-long Class 5 cruiser to shake violently, and many crew members on the deck were shaken down one after another.

"Ahh

"No!"

Then, without waiting for the water to struggle and escape back to the boat, he was directly devoured by a huge mouth that reached almost half the length of the strange fish after it was opened.

As if to play with these land creatures, the wild sea monster giant water toothfish constantly swim under the water of the fleet, picking and choosing as if this is not a sea boat, but a delicious food box full of small meat people.

Just wait for it to feast.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The escort fleet with the flaming banner on the periphery gathered, lowered the muzzle of the cannon and fired at it continuously, solid shells and grape shells were fired repeatedly, and the cyan smoke of gunpowder had already formed a cloud of mist.

There was a powerful Transcendent Captain who threw his characteristic harpoon, but it had little effect in the face of the large sea monster's hard scales and high swimming speed.

"Damn it! Keep firing!"

There is no means of targeted underwater attacks, so these cruisers can only scare away the opponent with dense artillery fire when facing large species.

Even the fourth-tier ships of the convoy were extremely difficult to concentrate fire on, inflicting heavy losses on them.

until

Rumble!

It was like a blazing sun suddenly descending, dispelling away the slight chill left over from winter on the sea.

On a strange-looking battleship at the front of the fleet, a yellow and white pillar of flame shot out, spreading a large area of sea water across a distance of nearly two hundred meters, easily piercing the head of this huge sea monster!

Oh

The giant water toothfish, which was still showing off its might and no one could control it just now, was killed on the spot without any resistance at this time, and slowly floated to the surface.

Even though the steely body kept twitching and flicking its tail, it seemed that it was no longer alive

A scorching smell mixed with the smell of grilled fish filled the fleet.

"Restore the escort formation!

A clear voice resounded like thunder throughout the sea, and it also made all the frightened crew members quickly recover their spirits and regain their morale. As long as this adult is around, even in the dangerous deep sea, there is no problem at all.

While the signal flag was waving, the formation of the fleet slowly adjusted, and it returned to a marching queue with merchant ships and frigates outside.

The identity of this fleet is already obvious.

It is the same Cyrius Treasure Fleet that returns every spring!

After the dust settled over the dispute over the Potosí silver mines in the New World, they were returning home along the shortest route between the "Golden Sea" and the mainland of Hylius.

It was the largest return of the fleet, and it was loaded with gold, silver, precious stones, tobacco, and ink looted from the New World, a huge amount of wealth that ordinary people could not even imagine!

The total number of the fleet reached one hundred and twenty, of which one hundred and two were merchant ships, both official and Cyrius, and frigates were composed of eighteen warships of various colors of at least fifth rank.

The flagship led by the leader is also a battleship that has just killed the sea monster, named "Red Maple".

The bow mast is covered with the general's flag, the noble flag, the fleet flag, and the commander's flag, and as the flagship and lead ship, it leads the entire fleet forward.

There is no doubt that this is a powerful "quasi-legendary battleship"!

In terms of size alone, it is only slightly larger than a normal fourth-class ship, and the largest caliber shipboard gun is only 24 pounds, which is on the same level as the "Storm Horn".

But since it is known as a "quasi-legend", this "Red Maple" certainly has the strength to match its legendary name. It is also distinguished from its appearance, and the most distinctive feature is that the red sails on the ship are very brightly colored like burning maple leaves.

This ship is fortunate enough to have been blessed by the angels under the seat of the "Eternal Flame" (prayers are prayed for, not angels), and have achieved extraordinary speed comparable to legendary warships.

With a normal speed of 18 knots and a maximum speed of 22 knots, it achieves an unconditional base speed of 6 knots even in a completely windless environment.

Of course, this speed is not completely unconditional, and the premise of everything is that the outside temperature is above freezing, and when it falls below freezing, it will be immediately beaten back to its original shape.

In addition, the battleship is equipped with a powerful marine treasure to make up for its lack of firepower in pursuit of extreme speed.

【Secret Treasure of the Sea: Dragon's Breath Torch】

Effects: Outside of winter, it can be used three times a day, releasing a scorching flame with a range of up to 200 meters, within which even seawater can burn through. There are no drawbacks other than a slightly closer attack range.

As long as it is paired with the speed of the "Red Maple", it is definitely a nightmare for any enemy!

However, the disadvantage of this battleship, known as the [Red Judgment] within Sylius, is as obvious as its advantages, that is, it will be completely sealed in winter, and it is not much stronger than an ordinary fourth-tier ship.

This is also the reason why it was known for its speed, but it was not sent to the front line to support the battle for Potosi.

Simply decorated in the captain's quarters, like an ascetic's dwelling.

"Your Excellency, Commander, the aftermath has been dealt with, although there is damage to the hull of the ship, no ship capsized, and the total loss of personnel is 52 people.

In addition, we are about to enter the 'Eye of the Black Sea', where we do not have any islands or naval bases to dock into.

How to deal with a storm that may come at any time, please instruct!"

"I see, just move on, just be on your guard.

The kingdom's main route was in the middle of the Black Sea Ridge, and there was no record of a storm capsizing a fleet.

It only takes a week to get over here, and even if there is any damage, we can repair the naval base of the Soviet Islands on the other side. ”

The commander of the fleet, who looked very young with red hair and was actually over sixty years old, rubbed the hilt of the long sword at his waist and gave his own order.

In the light of past experience, there is certainly no problem with such a decision-making.

The lieutenant thought the same thing, saluted without any objections, and then turned to leave.

"I'm almost halfway through the voyage, and I've been away from the kingdom for a year. This time I will definitely go back to the holy city of 'Novigre' to listen to the hadith of His Excellency the Pope and cleanse my soul. ”

Looking at the back of the departing adjutant, the commander muttered to himself.

Vice Admiral Doyle Griffiths, the captain of the Red Maple and the commander of the Treasure Fleet, is a pinnacle knight who is part of the kingdom's military.

However, the Volcano Knights, who were originally born from the Church of the Eternal Flame, are a devout follower of the Eternal Flame, and even retain their position in the Church.

Before the age of thirty, he had already broken through the great knight and became famous at a young age, and was entrusted with important tasks, coupled with the influence of the radical style of the "Eternal Fire" church, this Lieutenant General Griffitz was a notoriously hardliner even among the domineering Cyrius.

More precisely, one of the propositions of the main war faction is: to strictly block the shipping routes with strong military force and monopolize the interests of the colonies!

At this time.

At his feet was an intricately carved wooden box, a hundred kilograms of silver ingots extracted by craftsmen from the islands of Potosi I and II, which was small compared to the total reserves, but had an extraordinary symbolic meaning.

It was also a gift from the colonial elite to King Philip II.

Glancing at this expensive gift for starting a war and even paying great benefits, Lieutenant General Griffitz snorted lightly:

"Hmph! If you had listened to me, how could you have allowed those hyenas to grow bigger and bigger in the colony?

In recent years, His Majesty has become more and more distant from the will of God, and even delusionally wants to marry the Habsburgs, who inherited the imperial crown of the Holy Lothar Empire, and naturally obtain the supreme emperor's throne.

When I get back, maybe I'll need more like-minded companions in the kingdom."

Then, the storm came as scheduled

Whoa, whoa, whoa

Woooooooo

Squeak, squeak, squeak

In the midst of a raging storm, the whole fleet has been sailing for three days.

Although the strength did not capsize the ship, it also made the crew very uncomfortable, but fortunately, most of the sailboats were full of cargo, and there was enough weight to keep the center of gravity low enough, and so far no ships have been overturned by storms.

If you move it to summer, you can't tell.

But even so, this return trip did not go as smoothly as they expected.

Crackling

Flashing lightning pierced the sea.

On the "Red Maple", which is the lead ship and shoulders the most important reconnaissance mission, the lookout who braved the wind and rain to tie himself to the mast saw something and suddenly shouted:

"Oh no! that's the maelstrom!"

Bell!

The alarm bell was ringing like a fate, echoing far away in the wind and rain.

Directly in front of the fleet, a huge vortex with a diameter of one kilometer suddenly appeared on the sea.

Without hesitation, the commander of the fleet had already given his own order.

"Left full rudder!"

"Yes!

Behind the "Red Maple", the fleet in three columns turned en masse, spotting early enough for them to have plenty of time to evade.

However, the next moment.

One, two, three, four, a full nine huge vortices no smaller than the first had already spawned around them.

Bang la blah

It's as if there is a behemoth at the bottom of the ocean that suddenly opens its abyssal jaw.

No, that's a real giant mouth!

With the electric light shining on the surface of the sea, the crew on the deck stared in amazement at the bottom of the vortex around them, the flesh passage full of ring-shaped sharp teeth, which was the passage to hell

"Eternal Flame is above!"

In the final prayer, the sailboat, which is tens of meters long, has been sucked into the vortex and swallowed like a biscuit.

Click, click, click! click!

Pinching the "Sea Monster Pointer" that was spinning rapidly as if it was about to explode, Doyle Griffiths's face turned pale: "Son of the Wild Sea God, 'Great Vortex' Calybdis!"

Legend has it that the 'Great Vortex' Carybdis once competed with the "Mother of Sea Monsters" and was one of the most powerful sea monsters in the Black Sea.

No one has ever seen it in person, except that the legendary mighty sea monster of unknown size has ten mouths that can create a huge whirlpool and swallow any ship when they open their mouths.

Under the legendary battleship, you will die if you see it!

At this time, Griffitz watched as the sailing ships around him were swallowed up by the whirlpool without the power to resist.

His eyes were red, and he almost roared and gave the order: "The 'Red Maple' is moving at full speed, let's rush out!!"

Click!

The crunch of chewing biscuits.

In the end, only the "Red Maple" was shrouded in a rich transcendent aura, and with the blessing of the angel, it successfully escaped from the scope of the maelstrom and escaped alone

The rest perished at the bottom of the sea.

After a long time, there was no trace of a ship on the surface of the sea.

"From today onwards, the 'eye of the storm', like the 'Summers Trench', is also a forbidden area for human ships!"

There was a huge roar from the turbulent water vortex, like a human voice.