Chapter 453: Dilemma

"Splash..."

The strong wind whistled, like the shrill hiss of some invisible monster; the icy rainwater pouring down seemed to seep into every strand of the flowing wind, making even breathing difficult.

Between heaven and earth was boundless darkness, only the occasional fleeting thunder illuminating the deck, also allowing people to see the oppressive leaden clouds rolling and swirling above the sky, and the pitch-black wave ridges as high and towering as mountains from all directions.

"Chi."

Sharp claws protruded from the paw pads, and with just a little force, they dug deeply into the wooden boards, providing precious support for his body.

Sasha was a Catfolk, walking upright on two legs, possessing an anthropomorphic form, and was a proper intelligent creature; he spoke the common language more fluently than eighty percent of the adventurers on the docks.

But it was undeniable that the Catfolk blood flowing in his body, just like the furry spotted fur on his body surface, endowed him with some behavioral habits unique to felines in daily life.

He would subconsciously arch his back and hiss when encountering danger, and make a steady purring sound when happy and relaxed...

He also seemed to instinctively resist liquids of unknown origin, worried about his fur getting wet, and even when walking on the Broken Wave Pier, he would carefully avoid the puddles on the ground.

But this did not mean that "fear of water" became his weakness.

Just like humans who are afraid of bugs, many times, perhaps just one the size of a fingernail could make them scream and jump up from the spot, but when the necessary moment truly arrived, the sense of urgency and pressure would suppress the body's instinct, rationality would return to the brain, and crushing a small bug wouldn't take much effort, at most feeling disgusted for a while afterward.

It was the same for Sasha.

Perhaps he had just subconsciously retreated and stayed away because of the water droplets on the Grass-Spine Fish, afraid that the sea fish would splash water on him when it struggled and flopped.

At this moment, when the storm descended and the Oath-Breaker fell into the crisis of capsizing, when his fur was soaked by the rain in an instant, those water-hating instincts from his bloodline were also suppressed to the deepest part of his body.

Whoosh—

The racial talent of the Catfolk in agility allowed Sasha to maintain his body balance even in the storm, and the whole person was like a nimble leopard, his long tail winding and swaying, shuttling between the masts, flexibly adjusting the sail suspension ropes, protecting the most important power source of this ship.

"Buy me time!"

Druid Haian, who had already made preparations after discovering signs of the storm's arrival, was standing alone at the front of the deck near the figurehead at this moment.

As if she had reached some critical moment, one hand was tightly gripping the 【Practice Staff】, emerald green light was condensing and gathering at the tip of the staff, and the other hand was palm up, holding several things similar to seeds, which lay quietly in the center of her palm under the cover of the emerald light, not affected by the strong wind outside at all.

The twin warriors Ryan and Gordon, as commanders of the sailors on the ship, had officially taken over the work of the original sailors.

The overly harsh environment caused the efficiency of the crew's work to drop significantly, and only professionals like them could move freely in the storm.

Biting daggers in their mouths, climbing the masts that were shaking violently in the strong wind and were incomparably slippery with their bare hands, helping the Catfolk Sasha cut the ropes; they did dangerous and trivial things with their own bodies, while paying attention to the entire deck, using the most concise and powerful instructions to dispatch sailors to places where manpower was urgently needed.

Aken, the tattoo lover who held the 【Barbarian】 profession and had outstanding strength and a sturdy and tough body, also showed his role as a powerful front row for the team at this moment.

Rushing to the side of the deck, a hemp rope that had come loose and broken in the strong wind, whipping in the air like a long whip, was grabbed firmly in his palm with just one reach.

His arms, thicker than an ordinary person's thighs, bulged with force, and he actually relied on his own muscle strength to resist the storm, pull the rope back, and use his body to press it down and tie it up again.

Captain Luo Lin was standing in front of the ship's helm at this moment.

Although she didn't look like she possessed any powerful strength, she was, after all, a powerful adventurer with a professional level as high as lv7, having already walked more than halfway on the road to "Transcendence."

Just by herself, she firmly controlled the helm in the storm, grasping the direction and center of gravity of the Oath-Breaker.

Her incomparably rich sailing experience and focused mental will allowed this woman, whose fiery red long hair had already been soaked by the rain and who had a cigarette butt extinguished in her mouth, to seem capable of sensing every wave that might pose a threat to the Oath-Breaker in the surrounding sea.

As the helm turned, she kept the bow of the ship facing the direction from which the waves were surging, crossing wave after wave as it rose and fell, avoiding the possibility of the sea ship capsizing to the greatest extent.

At the same time, Xia Nan and the other temporary members who had just joined the ship team were also playing their part.

"Ding-long..."

The impassioned, high-pitched lute sound suddenly rang in the ears of everyone on the deck.

It sounded like there was no melody to speak of, yet it catered to the storm and the waves; the bass chords exploded as the bow plunged into the wave valley, and the urgent notes tilted continuously with the heavy rain.

And it was precisely these messy notes that, at this moment, seemed to disperse the oppression and stuffiness in the air.

Invisible power was quietly gathering.

The sailors who were exhausted from fighting the storm rekindled their fighting spirit, and the crew members whose palms were blurred with flesh and blood from tightly pulling the cables subconsciously gritted their teeth, squeezing out the last bit of physical strength from deep within their muscles.

The Halfling Alton was sitting near the cabin at this moment, his waist tightly wrapped with a hemp rope, tying his small body tightly to the railing on the side.

He didn't participate in any work on the deck, just sat there alone, focusing on playing the lute in his arms.

This was something the little guy was good at, and it was impossible for anyone on the field to blame him.

Facing such a dangerous situation, having such a bard who could mobilize the emotions on the field present, the effect produced by those high-pitched and impassioned notes was far stronger than him dragging his half-human-tall body to move miscellaneous items.

Not to mention that those notes flowing from the strings seemed to possess some kind of invisible energy, which, while inspiring, also allowed the physical strength of everyone on the field to truly recover.

The adventurers who were the core of the team performed their duties, and for a time, even without much communication, they appeared exceptionally tacit.

It was a pity that their abilities were limited after all, and there were no "Transcendental" or even "Legendary" level powerhouses on the ship, with the highest professional level being only lv7.

Facing such a natural disaster, they might be able to barely protect themselves, but they had no energy to take care of other ordinary crew members on the deck who had no supernatural power.

"Damn it!"

A tall, thin sailor with a slightly green face almost crawled on the deck, facing the strong wind and heavy rain, struggling to move toward the rope cables in front.

Don't look at his young appearance; in fact, he was already a veteran with three years of sailing experience, having experienced many crisis moments, and his experience of brushing shoulders with death was no less than five times.

But he had never regretted it.

All of this, as early as when he first entered the industry and stepped onto the deck of the Oath-Breaker, he had already prepared himself mentally.

And the generous reward given by the generous Captain Luo Lin helped him, who was born a fisherman and owed a large debt due to family reasons, solve his urgent needs, allowing his family to live in clean and decent new houses.

He was willing to give everything for this ship team that had completely changed his life and allowed his originally gray and dusty life to regain its light.

It was just that he was only an ordinary sailor after all.

Facing this level of natural disaster, no matter how firm his will was, individual effort was so small and insignificant.

"Whoosh!"

A sharp cold light flashed in the corner of his eye.

Not knowing where it was blown from a crew member, a sharp dagger was rolled up by the strong wind and inserted straight toward the direction he was crawling.

His pupils shrank, and he subconsciously tilted his body.

The next second.

Accompanied by a small wound cut on the side of his cheek, he narrowly avoided this fatal blow.

But before he could breathe a sigh of relief. ===== CHAPTER 454 =====