The strong wind howled at the bow of the ship, and the turbid water was churning with waves. The eastern continent was covered by dark clouds and disappeared dozens of miles away. Dark clouds shrouded the sky, and the gloomy sky seemed to collapse. A large group of petrels "woo-woo"
It screamed and fled to the north.
And more than ten miles away in the south, thick black clouds piled up into mountains, cutting off all the sea, connecting the sky and the sea! Looking from a distance, the rolling waves and clouds surged fiercely, with the light of lightning.
And the cry, like an abyss that swallows everything!
"O Lord! The real storm is coming!"
Bruno stood on the bow of the ship, his face turned pale, and he murmured. He looked at the cloud storm approaching rapidly from the south, and his heart was full of ominous premonitions.
More than a week has passed since the celebration of Epiphany. After regaining some morale, the expedition fleet continued to travel south for hundreds of miles. The desolate African continent still has no edge in sight, but the sand sea that stretches for thousands of miles finally finally
It stopped abruptly and was replaced by a green field full of life.
The changes in the scenery along the coast made the sailors on the ship quite excited. They were tired of seeing the undulating sand dunes and suspected that it was the end of the world. The appearance of green brought some hope. On the wilderness along the coast,
You can still vaguely see some grazing wild deer and goats, which is even more exciting.
"The dramatically changing scenery, the vast expanses of green vitality, and the exceptionally lush aquatic plants... actually herald heavy rains and storms..."
There was a wry smile on Bruno's face. He recalled the situation in recent days.
Three days ago, the expedition fleet had reached 33-34 degrees south latitude, which is still far away from the 40 degrees south latitude the captain promised to return to. However, the dark clouds on the southern sea covered the sky, and the continuous wind and rain seemed to be solidified. It seemed that it would never return.
will dissipate.
No one in the entire fleet knows that this is already the southern boundary of the Atlantic Ocean, a dangerous area where storms and thunder intersect all year round!
Here, the warm Mozambique Agulhas Current comes from the Indian Ocean, and the cold Benguela Current comes from the waters of Antarctica. The two meet at the southern end of the African continent, and collide with each other along the continuous land! The warm currents
When it comes into contact with the cold current, it turns into heavy rain that is difficult to disperse all year round. When the sea current encounters the side obstruction of the land, it forms huge waves. Coupled with the ten-level gusts of the westerly belt prevailing in the mid-latitudes, it is simply a terrifying area of wind and rain.
!
The fleet waited here for several days. The crew members were all excited and talking about it. They all said that this was the end of the world created by God. And going south would be an endless and terrifying abyss. It was better to return earlier...
Seeing this situation, Captain Dias did not hesitate and stepped forward. He decisively hanged several sailors who led the trouble and hung their bodies on the mast. He successfully influenced and convinced everyone. Then, he no longer waited.
, directly led the fleet to set sail, and resolutely headed towards the stormy southern seas.
"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!..."
The violent northwest wind swept in, blowing all the sails of the fleet and blowing the canvas into an arc. The Caravel sailing ship was like an arrow off the string, flying towards the wind and rain in the south. The speed was so fast that even the hull of the ship was blown.
They kept tilting to the left, and the bow of the ship was pressed down one after another.
Bruno grasped the cable and stared at the storm approaching rapidly in the south. He felt the wind on his face and determined that the speed of the boat at this time was far more than 20 knots, which had already reached the limit of the Caravel sailboat. Newcomer
The captain felt panic in his heart and shouted angrily at the sailors.
"Damn it! Damn it! Why don't you roll over to the right and put some pressure on the hull? Hurry up, pull the sails in, pull them in!"
Upon hearing the captain's order, the sailors quickly split up. A few elite sailors braved the violent wind to adjust the mast's sail yard and reduce the angle of the wind. Soon, the ship's speed was significantly reduced, and the ship's hull became slightly more stable.
During the rapid speed, the sailboat had already sailed into the edge of the southern storm. Dark clouds covered the sun, the sky darkened instantly, and the continuous wind and rain came oncoming, beating everyone into a drowned rat.
"Boss, boss! We can't go any further! Look at the situation, the storm ahead will only get bigger! Hurry up and send a signal and ask Captain Dias to return!"
The new boatswain Haroldo braved the strong wind and stumbled to Bruno, warning him in panic.
During this trip to sea, he was transferred from chief cook to boatswain by Bruno. After all, he had a history of poisoning. Even though they were old brothers who had done great things together, Bruno did not dare to eat the food he cooked.
Unexpectedly, Haroldo actually took the position of boatswain and successfully subdued a group of sailors by some unknown means. As for the evil rituals he pulled the sailors and performed secretly, the pious and kind-hearted Bunoru never heard of it.
, and never participated.
"Signaling?..."
Hearing this, Bruno looked towards the front of the fleet. The flagship "San Cristobal" was taking the lead. The other party also lowered some sails, but still sailed straight to the south. Not far away, the square-sail supply ship followed closely.
The flagship never stopped at all. Bruno hesitated for a moment, until a wave of six or seven meters high hit him, and he shuddered suddenly.
"Foda-se! Signal! Uh..."
"Wow!..."
The turbulent waves came oncoming, crossed the bow of the ship, and soaked Bruno's head and face. The salty and cold seawater rushed into his face and poured directly into his eyes and mouth. After the waves passed, the new captain no longer hesitated and spat out.
The sea water in his mouth kept shouting.
"Bah, bah! Raise the flag and request to return! Quick, quick!"
Soon, an elite sailor walked to the bow of the ship, waved two bright flags, and asked the flagship to return. After a while, an additional sailor appeared at the stern of the flagship and responded mercilessly with flags.
"No return allowed, continue southward!!"
"No return allowed, continue southward!!"
Bruno stared, using the dim light of the sky, to see the reply from Diaz's flagship, and his heart suddenly felt cold.
"Crazy...crazy!...Captain Dias is crazy!"
The strong wind comes from the northwest, and the sea current surges to the southeast. In fact, at this time, the entire fleet has no choice. The wind direction is consistent with the sea current, and will continue to push the fleet towards the center of the storm ahead. There is no way
Return.
"Wow!"
Another big wave hit, with such majestic momentum that it knocked the entire sailboat backwards. What was even more shocking was that in the wind and rain ahead, there was roaring thunder and lightning falling from the dark clouds.
! And the northwest wind became stronger and stronger, carrying the sailboat straight towards the lightning in the depths of the storm!
"boom!"
A bolt of lightning suddenly fell down and exploded hundreds of meters to the right, shaking everyone's eardrums. Bruno's eyes suddenly lit up, then darkened again, and he was shaken for a moment and couldn't open his eyes. There were huge raindrops.
They formed a line and hit him in the face heavily, making the whole face numb.
"Lord! Please protect me!"
After a long time, Bruno came back to his senses and barely opened his eyes. The small Caravel sailboat was heaving violently in the wind and waves, and the barrels on the ship were rolling around, making everyone unstable. His body was lowered.
, his arms tightly wrapped around the cable, his legs hooked on the ship's board, and he roared hysterically.
"Damn it! Damn it! Ignore the orders from the flagship!...Lower the sails! Lower the sails!"
Amid the captain's roar, several brave sailors staggered to the mast and began to operate it hurriedly. The strong wind blew the sails and tightened the cables, but it was difficult to untie them for a while.
"Idiot! Cut it off!"
After hearing the order, a sailor staggered, took out the dagger from his waist, and cut the rope with all his strength. The rope was saturated with water and became tough and slippery. The ship was heaving so much that it was difficult to exert force at all. For a moment, it was
The cutting continued. Another sailor saw it and looked anxious, so he stepped forward to help.
"Buzz...Boom!..."
A terrifying sound of waves came from the side and front hundreds of meters away, like the roar of a giant beast in the deep sea!
Bruno turned his head to look, and his face suddenly turned pale, and his whole body was trembling with fear. The sailors on the ship turned to look, and they were all frightened and helpless, and even fell to the ground in despair and prayed.
"Merciful Lord! Please, please!..."
The temporary prayers had no effect. Within a moment, a huge wave, like a mountain, rose from the side and front of the sailboat!
This huge wave is 15-20 meters high and more than ten miles long! The front of the huge wave is like a towering cliff, and the back is like a gentle hillside, with the power of covering the sky, like a mighty Titan
The pressure is merciless! In the face of such huge waves, the more than 20-meter-long Caravel sailboat is just a toy in the hands of giants, and there is no way to resist.
"Lord! Please..."
"Boom...boom!!"
This chapter has been completed!