Pillar of Yita

The storm swept across the foredeck, pummeling the canvas with a thumping sound, as the spray descended level by level down the stairs like a waterfall.

Fang Hong made his way through the cabin to the deck. As he opened the hatch, a gust of cold wind plunged down his neck, and the sound of the downpour and the wind came rushing at him, mixed with the sailor’s calls.

The air was thick with mist, and the ship was slowly tilting between the layers of clouds, surrounded on all sides by dense cloud walls, as if the heavens and earth had turned upside down.

It wasn’t until a flash of lightning illuminated everything that Fang Hong looked up to see a hundred-meter-tall cloud cliff ahead, bearing down with an unstoppable momentum in this direction.

This was his first time experiencing a storm in this world, which seemed several times more powerful than those on Earth.

Princess Briana’s anticipated storm finally arrived after a day and a night, descending over the sea area where the Berio was located.

The massive storm moved swiftly, catching up to the ship at speeds of over a hundred kilometers per hour and sweeping northward across Fenris Isle. Due to its huge size, the sailors estimated it would take at least a week to completely subside.

This was merely the periphery of the storm, yet looking out into the distance, terrifying lightning bolts, any one of which could shred the Berio to pieces, were already shuttling between the clouds.

Legend says lightning is the whip in the hand of Echis, an ancient deity who commands the strength of lightning and storms. Now, there are few tales about him, but some sailors still worship this ancient god, firmly believing that storms are the breath of the deity’s anger.

And indeed, the Cloud Sea seemed to be nurturing the might of a deity.

The fierce wind flowed above the clouds, lifting towering cloud waves and tilting the whole world slowly, bringing tons of vapor and hail crashing down against the bow.

The ship groaned as if it could collapse from the burden any moment, a sound that made one’s scalp tingle. Yet the veteran sailor beside Fang Hong, calmly puffing on his pipe, told him there was absolutely no need to worry—as this was merely child’s play.

Child’s play? Fang Hong could hardly believe his ears, thinking he had encountered a super-storm the likes of which came once in a hundred years.

”It’s nothing compared to the storms I’ve seen in the overseas of Osh. Not to mention this is just the edge of the storm,” said the old sailor.

The sailor told him that, for experienced sailors and navigators, the real threat of a storm came from the berserk Wind Element forming shear winds and turbulence.

That was the ”invisible threat.”

Crosswinds smashing against the ship could easily cause capsizing, while the turbulence vortex that often followed could form updraft shear zones, making recovery impossible once trapped.

Not to mention the hidden thunderclouds; even the most seasoned navigators could accidentally enter a thundery area amidst the storm, where the dangers were many times greater than outside.

”Hold tight, young man,” said the old sailor, his grey eyes almost submerged in crisscrossing wrinkles, as he called out and threw a rope over, ”Get ready to face the crosswind.”

Fang Hong quickly grabbed and held on as the Berio’s massive hull suddenly shook violently. The whole ship creaked under the strain as if it would fall apart, the sound chilling to the bone.

After the crosswind, a tens-of-meters-wide shear zone suddenly appeared ahead in the clouds, revealing what seemed to be a vortex filled with lightning beneath the gap in the clouds.

The deep vortex below appeared to lead to the very depths of Hell.

”Shear zone!”

”Hard to port—!”

As the Messenger Official cried out, the Berio began to lean slowly.

The sailors, calling out rhythmically, pulled on the ropes orderly:

”Give it all you’ve got, yo-heave-ho!”

”Golden Harp Liquor from Iron Candle Bay, yo-heave-ho!”

”Give it all you’ve got, yo-heave-ho!”

”Charming and sweet lasses, yo-heave-ho!”

Amidst the sailors’ calls, the airship finally passed sideways, narrowly skimming the cloud layer above the shear zone. Of course, the only one feeling the close call was Fang Hong, while the old sailor beside him looked utterly indifferent.

After letting go of the rope, the sailor knocked his pipe against the railing to clear it and, squinting towards the horizon, muttered, ”This storm might just cross the whole of the northern Fenris.”

”What does that mean?” Fang Hong wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, but the icy rain on his soaked head made it hard to distinguish sweat from water.

It was then he realized, sailing on the Sky Sea was not as simple as it sounded, and it was just as dangerous as the oceans on Earth.

Once it entered a frenzy, it even surpassed them in strength.

To conquer such a sea, besides a reliable ship, one also needed experienced sailors and navigators. Fang Hong looked at the old sailor before him, unable to imagine what kinds of experiences had forged such a colossal nerve.

”The Berio is a cargo ship, not capable of navigating in a storm. We might have to head to a sheltered harbor to the north here and wait for the storm to pass,” said the sailor.

”How long will we wait?”

”Perhaps a week, maybe longer,” he replied.

Fang Hong knew of the anchorage the old sailor mentioned.

The Cloud Sea is a semi-enclosed sea located beneath the several Floating Continents of southern and northern Colin Continent, Eldron (Ishurian), and Tarun.