The fog shrouded the sea level, the sound of the waves rolling in the ears from time to time, the squeaky of the deck from the turbulence of the wind and waves, although it was already March, but there was still no trace of the sun on the sea, this was already the seventh day of the voyage, according to the old captain's experience, the ship should have arrived in the delta of the mouth of the Pollack River on the morning of the fifth day after departure, and then at noon in the tavern of the city of Sagos could drink malt wine and celebrate with the dancing girls in their arms.

But this is the seventh day, and there is still no information about the continent of Calradia, and the crew can't help but feel a little lost and worried, but the old captain is still very calm, and the commanding slaves are paddling hard and skillfully maneuvering the rudder so that the hull will not hit the ice floes on the sea, because these boulder-sized ice floes are enough to knock over the hull and bury the crew at the bottom of the sea.

The crew members sat listlessly on the deck because they had not drunk fresh water or eaten fresh food for several days, and this group of more than 20 people composed of refugees, tax evaders, mercenaries, barefoot doctors, and missionaries,

Seven days ago, they set foot on this merchant ship bound for the continent of Calradia, dreaming of where to find wealth, honor, and power. And now they didn't even see the shadow of the Calradia continent, so everyone looked annoyed and disappointed, but even so, they didn't dare to complain in front of the captain, the old captain had absolute rights and prestige in this small boat.

The old captain was a man in his fifties, with traces of long-term erosion of the sea breeze everywhere on his hands and face, and his gray hair made this weather-beaten captain look particularly old. For more than thirty years, he has traveled between the continents of Calradia and Yamuna, exchanging goods between the two places. He has a lot of experience in going to sea, and it is said that the boat he pilots has never been in an accident, which is why so many people are willing to follow him to sea.

Originally, merchant ships traveling between the two places did not begin to trade until April, because with the arrival of the monsoon, the weather warmed and the sea ice began to melt, so that navigation could become smooth and proper. However, the old captain decided that it would be better to wait until April when the spring flowers bloomed and he was plundered by countless pirates (killers of merchant ships in both places). It's better to take a little risk and go to sea half a month early. According to the old captain's experience, these Nord cousins (pikos) would leave the island where they had gathered in a sailboat at the beginning of April. Raiding the northern coastal areas of the Calradia continent and passing merchant ships, and even landing ashore to harass coastal towns and villages, often burning, killing, plundering, and committing all kinds of evil everywhere they went. The entire northern coastal area of the continent of Calradia has not been spared. Locals talk about pirates. All of them are deeply disgusted. The local lords also sent troops to fight against the pirates. But these pirates are as cunning as foxes, so that the regular army cannot even find their shadows. Therefore, these pirates have always been the most serious security hazard in the local area. Therefore, the old captain decided to go to sea in advance, but he did not expect to encounter a big storm at sea, and the guide zhì sailing ship deviated from the original course, and the sea surface was endless fog in the next few days, which made the crew who had deviated from the course even more confused.

The sailboat continued to sail through the fog for the day, and I was idle when it was getting dark. So he came to the captain and asked him, "Captain." It's been a few days, and we haven't reached Calradia yet, so how do you get your way in the fog? ”

The captain turned around, looked at me, and said, "Don't worry, I'll take you to Calradia, and I'll take your money, and I'm not going to break my word." ”

In the face of the captain's answer, I think he must have thought that I was afraid that he would break his promise and ask him to return the ship. So I said, 'You are mistaken, I am going to sea for the first time, and I really want to know how you can find your way without the sun at sea.' ”

"Ahh

I had to be justified when the captain said this, but I forgot to answer his question.

"Young man," the old captain called out to me, and then asked me, "Tell me, why did you go to Calradia?" ”

I said, "I haven't thought about it yet."

The old captain hesitated for a moment, then looked at me and laughed, and then said to me, "Young man, you have abandoned your homeland and risked being swallowed up by the waves to go to Calradia. But I don't know why I went to sea, you look at these people on the ship, there are mercenaries, merchants, missionaries, slaves. Of course, the slaves needless to say, they worked for me, but the others were either looking for power, or acquiring wealth, or preaching some kind of God to him. And you don't know why you're going to Calradia, and this is the first time I've heard of it. ”

I listened to it and retorted, "There's always one who can't find a direction, I just can't see fate yet." ”

"Fate," said the old captain, "listen to me, young man, you must know that fate is bought by your own hands and sweat, don't listen to those rotten missionaries who say any nonsense that God has arranged for man, your birth may not be changeable, but I believe that fate can be changed." ”

After listening to the old captain's words, I replied: "Oh, captain, how can you become a missionary?"

The captain laughed when he heard this, and I think he must have thought I thought he was too wordy

"Captain, look, land," a sailor called out loudly, pulling the cable in one hand and pointing ahead with the other

When the people on the boat heard the news, they all exploded, and everyone looked in the direction of the water fingers, and sure enough, the land came into view, but it was a cliff, and the waves crashed against the shore with a loud sound. I've never seen such majestic cliffs.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Loire Cliffs, look at those steep cliffs hundreds of meters high, how spectacular, but no matter how difficult the environment is, it will not be difficult for us Nords, and the continent of Calradia will one day be our Nords." ”

As soon as the captain finished speaking, there was a loud cheer from the people on board, which I know is a special pride of our Nords, and whenever we hear uplifting words, we Nords always give this cheer to show that we will never back down.

"All right, bastards," said the captain, "from here you will reach the plain of Lausanne a few dozen kilometers to the east, and two hundred kilometers to the west. Our mortal enemy?? The territory of the Virgians, where is the only main city in the north of Virgian?? Decades ago, the leader of our Nords, Okadin Haruibrex, died there. The Virgians hung Gangdin's body in large pieces on the gates of Živakor to show off their victory, but they rejoiced too soon, and one day we would drive the Virgians out of Calradia.

Kidin Herebrex, in my mind's eye, my grandfather used to mention this name countless times, and the Nords said that he was the son of the god of war, the pioneer of the kingdom of Caladianod. Gangding was originally a prince of the Gondor Kingdom on the continent of Yamuna, because he was the second son of the king, he had no right to inherit, so he gathered a large number of Nords, crossed the ocean, came to the continent of Calradia, conquered many areas in the north of the continent, and founded the Nord Kingdom, after which the Nords came to Caladia in a steady stream, and continued to follow Gangding to create hegemony, my grandfather also followed Gangding back then, and later lost his combat effectiveness due to injury, so he returned to Yamuna. (To be continued......)