545 Flying (2/2)
Some distance away from the hurricane, everyone on the ship had almost been stunned by the horrifying scene. Every time they looked at the moonlight, they couldn't help but marvel. They had trouble imagining how much more he could achieve in battle in the future.
”Captain Igor, turn the ship around,” Ye Qingxuan's voice suddenly rang out.
”Pardon?” Igor was momentarily stunned. He turned his head back and looked behind the ship at the huge tornado penetrating both the sea and the sky. He couldn't help but gulp. ”Turn around? Are you kidding me? The charging of the keel is not done yet!”
”Listen to me, turn it around!” Ye Qingxuan raised his voice. ”Don't stand there like an idiot. I can't keep this up for much longer! We are already in such a dire situation, there's no more point in fearing death. To die early or to die later, isn't it all the same?”
Well said!
If Igor was not at risk of dying, he would have clapped in applause for Ye Qingxuan. For a while, he had a look of hesitation of his face, as he could not make up his mind.
The first officer steering the ship turned to him and asked, ”Captain...what...”
”Didn't you hear Mr. Ye's instructions?” Igor gritted his teeth, paused, then waved his hand with a look of anguish. ”Turn around! Get the lifeboat ready, worst case scenario, we abandon the ship.”
Turn around!
The first officer waved and the rudder turned wildly. In a flash, everyone on board felt a huge force acting on the hull, as if it was trying to throw them off.
Due to the centripetal force, innumerable rivets scraped against the ship plates, making piercing whines. Because of the sudden turn, the entire hull was almost bent into an arc, setting off a crashing wave in the sea of darkness. Then, with maximum horsepower, the ship shot forward towards the tornado that was sweeping through the sea and the sky, the steel ship charged fearlessly!
”Get ready to fire.” Ye Qingxuan's voice rang out. Together with his words came a perception thread of moonlight, which connected itself to the back of Igor's head. Immediately after, data from the other end poured into Igor's mind like a tide.
Wind speed, wind direction, the speed of the ship, its coordinates, the extent of engine overload, change in weight, loading stress… Igor only felt his vision turning black as data rushed into his mind nonstop, as if it was going to blow his head up. ”Mr. Ye, are you trying to kill me?!”
”Why are you so useless?” Ye Qingxuan seemed to sigh helplessly, making Igor so gloomy that he almost vomited blood. But soon, the flood-like data reduced significantly, having been sorted by Ye Qingxuan in terms of priority. In Igor's vision, they formed a dynamic mindmap that would only appear when he gazed upon it intently.
”Get ready, Captain,” Ye Qingxuan said. ”Other than the firing, you need not pay attention to anything else.”
Igor shook his head resignedly, having understood the plan Ye Qingxuan had in mind. He used the final seconds to gulp down some liquor from his bottle, and wiped his wet beard dry.
”I am old, Mr. Ye. You have ruined my boat, so at least be more considerate for the sake of my heart?” said Igor.
Ye Qingxuan did not bother to reply.
Igor muttered to himself, and strapped himself to the seat with leather rope. Finally, he pressed both of his hands on the handle. ”I didn't expect that I could be involved in such an exciting fight at this age. Even if I have to pay the price with this ship, it's worth it!”
Boom! The iron ship broke through the oncoming hurricane, riding on the huge waves and leaping between them. It moved up and down, sailing forward bumpily, but its speed was getting faster and faster. In the end, the engines weren't even needed anymore, as the violent pull of the tornado dragged the iron boat forward to its death.
The sound of steel plates being twisted rang out continuously. Rivets were ejected from the ship constantly, and with loud bangs, pieces of steel fell off from the ship into the sea, like the removal of burdensome clothes. The ship rushed forward, hugging its impending doom with its arms wide open!
In front of it, the appalling tornado that was gigantic enough to swallow an island whole was getting extremely close. Amid countless flashes of lightning and thunder, one could vaguely see the horrifying outline of the Mountain of Nomadism.
”You only have one opportunity,” Ye Qingxuan's strained voice rang out. ”Captain, you'll have to grasp it yourself.”
”No worries, no worries.” Igor cackled. ”I am the first artilleryman of the Islands of Illusion! I was the one who struck down the wall during the Battle of Placi in East India!”
”Then, I'll leave it to you.” As he finished his words, the vast moonlight broke through the huge body of the tornado, dragging hurricanes along.
Frenzied winds sucked the seawater up, forming freak waves, as if the Invisible Hand of God was lifting up endless seawater, temporarily setting up a bridge of waves that was constantly crumbling and collapsing.
The bridge of waves extended upwards, creating an incredible arc, directing everything towards the hurricane of destruction. The steel ship roared as it rushed forward in the torrent. It sailed forward onto the bridge, and was thrown into the air.
Everyone felt strong dizziness, their vision turning black due to the turbulent changes in gravity. When they could finally react, the steel ship was already flying in the air.
Flying!
They were flying!