Chapter 2: The Great Disaster Of Teraldis
It was raining...
Raining...
And continuously raining...
It was probably the first time ever in human history that such rain had occurred. The sky was covered with dark clouds. It was thundering continuously. It felt as if the sky was roaring as the sound was more than enough to make the earth tremble.
It seemed as if it was the last day of Earth, and probably was some sort of bad omen as believed by others. The lightning was even striking the ground, causing small fires where there were many dried and dead trees left.
The fire started to spread rapidly even in the rain. It seemed as if all logic was being defied at that specific moment. The sea was roaring too, and its level was rising rapidly.
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"Hold onto the ropes! Don't let them go!!!" A dominating voice filled with authority escaped the captain's lips. Naturally, his order was followed.
The gigantic ship's endurance was put to the test today as it tried to ward off the storm.
It was indeed a black day, such a ferocious storm seemed to be the first of its kind, its ferociousness sending chills down one's spine.
"Aye aye, captain!" shouted two of the crew members while pulling the ropes with all their might. Veins popped up on their hands as their breath became hazardous; they pulled on the rope as if their lives depended on it.
'Damn... why now...? The sea was so calm... Has lady luck turned her face away from us?'
The sea was unpredictable. This was a universal law; every pirate was aware of it. However, facing such a deadly storm, with a level of ferociousness never recorded in the history of pirates, could only be summed up to bad luck.
The captain sighed helplessly once again as he massaged his forehead. Unlike how one would normally visualize a pirate, he didn't have an eye patch or a wooden stick for one of his legs. Did those things make one look scary? Maybe, but other than that, they were of no practical use. He wasn't like those pretentious bastards who would cripple themselves just to grasp the so-called true essence of a pirate.
On the contrary, he possessed quite an impressive build, with a lean body and muscles in proper proportion. With the amount of strength he possessed, taking on a shark twice his size was as easy as batting his eyelids or snapping his fingers.
Though such feats sound impressive, the seas were much more dangerous than that. In the seas, there lived creatures ten times more gigantic than such puny sharks. These humongous entities could destroy a large ship with a single breath; there were even rumors that some creatures had the strength to summon storms or flames from the sky.
"Uh..."
A total of three ships with 450 crew members, including the red-haired man, were facing this disaster, trying their level best to survive.
With seawater in their stomachs and dizziness blurring their vision, many were still standing firm with a will of steel.
The captain took a deep breath to calm himself, and was successful in doing so. He then carefully trailed his eyes, looking around. As far as his gaze could travel, only darkness was present. The only thing that emitted the tiniest bit of light were so-called crystalites. Some were engraved into lanterns, while others were engraved into walls.
Using crystalites in such a manner could only be termed as extravagant behavior. These could have been an excellent source of light, replacing fire torches that could be extinguished due to heavy rain and storms.
However, it was a pity; no ordinary man could buy them. If an ordinary one wished to do so, then he'd have to sell himself first.
"Sigh, instead of trying to survive, those f*ckers are..." He cursed under his breath as he looked into the depths of the darkness, spotting the outlines of other ships. Ships that weren't part of his three-ship crew.
The darkness, along with the foggy stormy environment, made it difficult to grasp what was going on. But the captain, with his iron-hard vision, got a basic gist of what his enemies were trying to pull.
The moment he realized what was going on...
Shit!
'BAM'
A deafening sound erupted as a trail was left behind. Just the shockwave alone sent a tremor through the sea. The next second, a quarter of the red skull ship shattered as if it was made of frail glass. The smoke that came out of the ship, however, wasn't visible for too long as a result of the storm.
This cannon shot was indeed strong. After all, unlike the other minor cannons, this was the main one, which required a lot of explosive material.
The captain clenched his fist as he felt a wave of helplessness. No! It was a storm of helplessness that was drowning him from the inside.
He possessed some of the best warriors on that ship who had been with him in life-and-death situations. Seeing them being slaughtered like pigs, burnt by the flames, lost in the sea, and caught in the storm with the sinking ship was equivalent to crushing his heart and spirit.
Suddenly a thunder strike crackled, bringing him back to his senses. Now wasn't the time to mourn their deaths!
"Fire!" He roared at the top of his lungs! A cornered lion had to have a rational mind.
There was no use in panicking, as dangerous situations called for a mind as tranquil as water.
He was one of the strongest pirates in the history of the seas! Someone who had 5,000 strong warriors under him. Most of them had betrayed him! Those who stayed loyal to him were being slaughtered like a bunch of pigs.
He was chased throughout the seas, cornered at this place called the center of all seas, the origin of mysteries.
Those who laughed at me, for my peaceful ambitions just wait. As you all have given me a new one, an ambition that'll burn you all, haunt you all even in the depths of hell!
'BAM'
At that moment, another cannonball landed on the Red Skull ship, marking its end as the sea sunk.
He slowly walked towards the main cannon's control room. Thanks to the mysterious ability he possessed, his aims were one hundred per cent accurate.
The enemy fleet slowed down, trying to get out of range of this particular ship operated by the fearsome pirate. While getting out of range, they started attacking the other ship.
"They're cautious indeed..." The man thought. Suddenly, he felt all the hairs on his body rising as a weird sense of uneasiness washed over him.
Amid the chaotic storm, he could hear the faint screams of his crew members. His vision outside being limited in this room forced the pirate to go out.
The moment he did so, all the expressions on his face disappeared.
Blank...
Completely blank...
"Oh my Lord...!" One of the crew members gasped in horror as he looked at the terrifying scene in front of him.
A tornado that reached the sky was heading towards them. The terrifying thing was that from the depths of the fog, many more horrifying tornados emerged, probably hundreds...
All this was nothing but bait. Bait to end him over here, those fleets were a part of the conspiracy.
"Ha..." Finally, the blank expression on the captain's face crumbled.
"Hahahahahaha!"
An eerie crazed laugh echoed through the place. "Good! Good! All disasters strike at once!"
The second disaster of Teraldis. These black words would forever be recorded in the pages of history.
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Thanks for reading the chapter.
I hope you enjoyed it. Do let me know what you think about it.