The wind howled at the bow of the ship, and the turbid water churned into waves. The continent in the east was covered by dark clouds and disappeared dozens of miles away. Dark clouds covered the sky, and the gloomy sky seemed to collapse. A large group of petrels screamed "wuwu" 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 into one! Looking from a distance, the roiling waves and clouds surge fiercely, with the light and cry of lightning, like an abyss that swallows everything!
"O Lord! The real storm is coming!"
Bruno stood at the bow of the boat, his face turned pale, and he murmured. He looked at the rapidly approaching cloud storm from the south, filled with an ominous premonition.
More than a week has passed since the celebration of Epiphany. After regaining some morale, the expedition fleet continued to travel several hundred miles south. The desolate African continent still has no visible edge, but the sea of sand that stretched for thousands of miles finally stopped abruptly and was replaced by a green wilderness full of life.
The changes in the scenery along the coast made the sailors on the ship quite excited. They were tired of looking at the undulating sand dunes and suspected that it was the end of the world. The appearance of green brings some expectations. In the wilderness along the coast, you can vaguely see some wild deer and goats grazing, 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..."
Bruno had a wry smile on his face. He thought back to the past few 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 where the captain promised to return. The dark clouds on the southern sea covered the sky, and the continuous wind and rain seemed to be frozen and seemed to never 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 in from the Indian Ocean, and the cold Benguela Current comes in from Antarctic waters. The two met at the southern end of the African continent, and collided with each other along the continuous land! When warm currents come into contact with cold currents, they turn into torrential rains that persist throughout the year. When ocean currents encounter lateral obstructions from land, huge waves form. Coupled with the level 10 strong winds prevailing in the westerly belt 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 further south, there is an endless terrifying abyss. It is better to return early...
Seeing this situation, Captain Dias stepped forward without hesitation. He decisively hanged several sailors who took the lead in making trouble, hung their bodies on the mast, and successfully influenced and convinced everyone. Then, he no longer waited, and directly led the fleet to set sail, resolutely heading towards the stormy southern waters.
"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!..."
A violent northwest wind swept in, filling the fleet's sails and blowing the canvas into an arc. The Caravel sailboat is like an arrow off its string, flying towards the wind and rain in the south. The speed was so fast that even the hull of the ship kept tilting to the left, while the bow of the ship was pressed downwards.
Bruno grasped the cable tightly and stared at the storm approaching rapidly in the south with his eyes wide open. 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. The new captain felt panic and shouted angrily at the sailors.
"Damn it! Damn it! Why don't you roll over to the right side and put some pressure on the hull of the ship? Come on, pull the sail in, pull it 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 slowed down significantly, and the ship became a little 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 dimmed instantly, and 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 to ask Captain Dias to return!"
The new boatswain Haroldo braved the strong wind and stumbled to Bruno, warning him in panic.
This time he went to sea, he was transferred from chef to boatswain by Bruno. After all, he had a history of poisoning, and even though he was an old brother who had done great things together, Bruno didn't dare to eat the food he cooked.
Unexpectedly, Haroldo actually took the position of boatswain and successfully conquered all the sailors by some means. As for the evil rituals he took the sailors and performed secretly, the pious and kind-hearted Bunoru never heard of it and never participated in it.
"Signaling?..."
Hearing this, Bruno looked towards the front of the fleet, where the flagship "San Cristobal" was taking the lead. The other party also took in some sails, but still sailed straight to the south. Not far away, the horizontal sail supply ship followed the flagship closely without stopping at all. Bruno hesitated for a moment, and then he trembled suddenly when a wave of six or seven meters high hit him.
"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, cold seawater washed over his face and poured straight into his eyes and mouth. After the wave passed, the new captain no longer hesitated, spitting out the water in his mouth and shouting repeatedly.
"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, there was an additional sailor at the stern of the flagship, mercilessly waving the flag in response.
"No return allowed, continue southward!!"
"No return allowed, continue southward!!"
Bruno stared, and in the dim light of the sky, he saw the reply from Dias' flagship, and his heart suddenly felt cold.
"Crazy...crazy!...Captain Dias is absolutely crazy!"
Strong winds come from the northwest, and the sea current surges to the southeast. In fact, by this time, the entire fleet had run out of options. The direction of the wind is consistent with the current, and will continue to push the fleet towards the center of the storm ahead, making it impossible to return.
"Wow!"
Another big wave hit, with a majestic momentum that hit the entire sailboat and pushed it backwards. What is even more shocking is that in the wind and rain ahead, there is roaring thunder, and lightning falls from the dark clouds! 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 and exploded hundreds of meters to the right, shaking everyone's eardrums. Bruno's eyes suddenly lit up, then darkened again, and he was instantly shaken and couldn't open his eyes. Big raindrops formed a line and hit his face heavily, making his whole face numb.
"Lord! Please protect me!"
After a long time, Bruno came back to his senses and reluctantly 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 unsteady on their feet. He lowered his body, wrapped his arms tightly around the cable, hooked his legs on the ship's board, and roared hysterically.
"Damn it! Damn it! Ignore the orders from the flagship! ... Lower the sails! Lower the sails!"
Amidst 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!"
Upon hearing the order, a sailor staggered, took out the dagger from his waist, and cut the rope hard. The rope was saturated with water and became tough and slippery. The boat was undulating so violently that it was difficult to exert force at all, and for a while it was constantly cutting. Another sailor looked anxious when he saw it and 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 deep sea beast!
Bruno turned his head to look, his face suddenly turned pale, and his whole body was trembling with fear. The sailors on the boat turned around and looked, frightened and helpless, and even fell to the ground to pray in despair.
"Merciful Lord! Please, please!..."
Ad hoc prayers have 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 part of the huge wave is like a towering cliff, and the back part is like a gentle hillside. With the power of covering up the sky, it is pressing down like a mighty Titan mercilessly! In the face of such huge waves, the Caravel sailboat, which is more than 20 meters long, is just a toy in the hands of giants and has no way of resisting.
"Lord! Please..."
"Boom...boom!!"
