The half orc Alton was sitting near the direction of the cabin at the moment, tightly tied around his waist with a hemp rope, tying his short body securely to the railing beside him.

He did not participate in any work on the deck, just sat there alone, playing the lute in his arms with focused concentration.

This was what the short-statured individual excelled at, and no one on site could possibly blame him for it.

Faced with such peril, having a minstrel who could stir the emotions of the crowd through musical notes was far more effective than if he were to haul cargo with his half-height body.

Not to mention, the notes flowing from the strings seemed to contain some sort of invisible energy, rejuvenating everyone’s stamina while lifting spirits.

The adventurers, as the core of the team, each went about their work; even without direct communication, they displayed remarkable coordination.

Unfortunately, their abilities were limited; there were no "Transcendent" or even "Legendary" strength figures on the ship, with the highest professional level only reaching Level 7.

Facing such a natural disaster, they might barely manage self-preservation but had no time to look after the ordinary crew members without supernatural power on the deck.

"Damn it!"

A tall and slender sailor, whose face was slightly immature, was almost crawling on the deck, struggling to move forward against the fierce wind and rain, heading toward the front cables.

Despite his youthful appearance, he was actually an old hand with three years of sailing experience, having survived several crisis moments, including more than five brushes with death.

But he never regretted it.

Everything, from the moment he first set foot on the Vengeance Blade Blade, he’d mentally prepared for.

Moreover, the generous rewards given by Captain Lorin helped him, a fisherman-born man burdened with huge debts due to family reasons, to resolve his immediate financial distress, allowing his family to live in a clean and decent new house.

He was willing to give everything for this fleet, which totally changed his life and brought light to his once grim existence.

But in the end, he was just an ordinary sailor.

Facing such a natural disaster, no matter how strong his willpower was, personal effort seemed so small and insignificant.

"Swish!"

A sharp gleam suddenly flashed in the corner of his eye.

A sharp short dagger, blown off some sailor’s body, was swept up by the strong wind, flying straight toward the direction he was crawling.

His pupils contracted suddenly, and he instinctively turned his body to the side.

The next second.

A small cut opened beside his cheek as he narrowly avoided this potentially fatal blow.

But before he had time to relax.

The sharp sound of a rope snapping from behind him caused his body to tense up.

Although he barely dodged the approaching dagger, the hemp rope tied around his waist was also cut as a result.

Rumble—

The Vengeance Blade Blade surged over a wave, plunging down from the crest.

With the sudden loss of control over his body’s gravity and the strong weightlessness as the ship plunged downwards, the sailor felt a soul-chilling panic.

His ten fingers tightly grasped the gap between the decks, nails turning outward.

Yet he didn’t hold on for even two seconds. As the wooden ship fell back onto the sea, a strong impact flung him entirely into the air.

In his vision, the fellow crew members he spent day and night with rapidly receded, and in the corner of his eye, he could already see the abyss-like, pitch-black sea surface beneath the ship. Despair arose in the sailor’s eyes.

And then, as if an invisible giant hand grabbed his flying body, yanking down hard!

Bang!

The body that was originally flying outward suddenly halted, as if attracted by a huge magnet from the wooden sections below, crashing down heavily on the deck.

The impact was so heavy that it left the sailor dizzy and almost fainting, yet it spared him from falling off the deck into the sea.

Seeing a crew member quickly rushing forward to reattach the hemp rope to the sailor who encountered the accident, Xia Nan finally dispersed the invisible gravity exerted on the other side.

He did not have the extensive sailing experience of other crew members on the Vengeance Blade, nor could he uplift morale like Alton with music.

But on the other hand, with his comprehensive attributes, battle skills, and specialties, he was the most agile and nimble person on the entire deck.

His ground-like swiftness was unmatched even by the Spotted Cat race moving between the masts.

Thus, just like his role in combat within the team.

Xia Nan once again became the Free Man among the crew.

Using [Gravity Control] to help fallen crew members regain their balance, assist in bailing water, securing ropes, tightening sails...

No matter where assistance was needed, he would appear there. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

As if he could be everywhere, his figure was visible in every corner of the deck.

In no time, under the concerted efforts of all, it seemed that weathering the storm on the Vengeance Blade was just a matter of time.

But as the dark clouds rapidly spread overhead, and the wooden ship gradually reached the storm’s core.

The shadows beneath the sea finally swam up to the ship’s side.

Hualala—

A Scorched Necked Shark, grayish-brown all over, leaped from the waves, biting tightly on the Vengeance Blade’s hull, leaving a hole the size of an adult’s fist.

Relative to the enormous hull of the Vengeance Blade, this was hardly a scratch, equivalent to leaving some white marks on the skin.

But what if there were hundreds, thousands?

When thousands of small holes gather, the damage that can be inflicted on the hull would reach a fatal level.

By then, even if everyone managed to withstand the sudden storm with great difficulty, if the wooden ship sank and plunged them into the vast sea, it would be tantamount to annihilation.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

Knowing the gravity of the situation, upon realizing the fish were drawing near, the crew members instructed by Lorin, who had been guarding the deck with crossbows ahead of time, began shooting toward the water.

They had undergone training on normal days, ensuring that their aim was anything but lacking.

Yet, standing on the constantly swaying deck, coupled with the atrocious visibility akin to night, facing fast-moving underwater adversaries, how could their shots be accurate?

Nearly relying entirely on luck, their first round of shots inflicted minimal damage.

Only after the adventurers in the team joined in the second round did things improve somewhat.

Thanks to comprehensive physical prowess, even though he wasn’t particularly adept at long-range attacks, Xia Nan still maintained quite decent accuracy.

Not hitting every shot, but he could guarantee hitting three out of five or two out of three shots.

With a hand crossbow in each hand, shooting alternately, then handing it off to a sailor beside to replace with a reloaded one.

The efficiency was extremely high!

Yet despite this, Xia Nan couldn’t help but feel the situation worsening.

His keen perception ability allowed him to clearly sense the commotion beneath the water surface.

He might be able to handle the Saw-tooth Shark gnawing on his side of the ship, but what about the other areas, the bottom of the ship?

By now, there must be thousands of Saw-tooth Sharks leaving one gap after another all over the hull.

How much longer could the Vengeance Blade hold?

Xia Nan was unsure.

Restricted by his combat characteristics, there seemed little else he could do.

To some extent, his passive specialty [Night Mother’s Gaze] of [Teeth Hunting] should have a good effect against such groups with relatively weak individual strength enemies.

However, given the tumultuous waves on the sea surface at the moment, replicating his previous surfing maneuver at Suo Yu Bay seemed impossible.

And if he accidentally failed to maintain speed on the water surface, falling into the sea.

Being inherently unsuited for underwater combat, how could he possibly fend off the frenzied fish group swarming around him?

Even the limited-time [Embers Resonance] might be futile.

Now, the only breakthrough left might be...

"Buzz!"

In the corner of his eye, a bright warm green glow illuminated the darkness like a lighthouse.

Chaotic magic particles in the air quickly gathered, emitting an energy-humming buzz.

Xia Nan turned to look at the source of the commotion.

He saw Druid Hai Yin, who had just been meditating, now standing atop the ship’s bow statue, undeterred by wind and waves.

Together with the embracing ocean siren statue, she was enveloped in life-infused, vibrant green light.