Chapter 174: Chapter 173: The Storm Approaches
Hearing the sound, the four wizards moved swiftly, “whooshing” to the door and pushing it open, only to find no one outside.
Puzzling over the situation, there was another loud “bang” from the top of the cabin. The four wizards looked up to see a large bird resembling a duck crashing against the top of the cabin, its feathers a dark purple-black and its beak long and pointed. The bird paused for a moment after hitting the cabin, then flapped its wings vigorously and flew off into the distance.
“Is this… a Storm Bird?” Siv said aloud.
“Or perhaps called a Misfortune Bird, though I personally prefer to call them Funeral Bell Birds,” Louis added.
“How could this be happening here?” Quinton frowned.
“I’m afraid the sea is not at peace,” Dempsey said, turning his head to look into the distance.
Soon after, dozens of Funeral Bell Birds broke through the night, striking the massive ship before rapidly flying off into the distance.
“So many of them!” Siv’s expression grew serious.
“It seems something is indeed going to happen,” Louis suggested.
“A storm?” Quinton’s eyes glittered as he inquired.
“It must be a huge storm for so many Funeral Bell Birds to appear. And I suspect this isn’t a natural storm, but rather a Magic Storm created deliberately to attack the ships at sea,” Dempsey explained.
“Could it be that…” Siv began to guess but didn’t finish his thought.
“It should be,” Dempsey nodded with certainty, “otherwise it wouldn’t have been so sudden, catching us completely off guard. However, they may have mistaken their target by encountering us. That said, this could be a good thing for us. Weren’t we just discussing a test? Now, the test has arrived.”
“Isn’t this too difficult?” Quinton spoke up, “Just dealing with the storm and the heavy rain is tricky enough, but if the students also have to fend off whatever is coming, I’m afraid the casualties could be significant.”
“Isn’t this exactly what we’re trying to achieve?”
“The problem is… the students with High-level Talent are also likely to run into trouble during such a test. And I highly doubt whether the students can handle what’s coming at all. After all, it’s far more dangerous than Pirates.”
After a moment of thought, Dempsey spoke, “If that’s the case, then let’s have our Apprentices get involved as well, to give them some experience. Keep a closer eye on the students with High-level Talent and try to ensure they don’t die, though a few injuries are not a concern. As for the poor performers, it’s up to them to make an effort.”
The other three wizards exchanged glances without a word, and Dempsey proclaimed his decisive order, “Alright then, let’s carry this out. Everyone, go and wake your Apprentices, then have them notify the students below deck.”
“Alright,” the three wizards agreed and walked towards another cabin.
Richard floated in midair, watching all this happen, until finally his eyes flickered, and he moved his thoughts, returning to the cabin.
Feeling a slight vibration, Richard sensed his Consciousness merging with his body, and the next moment the body lying in the chair opened its eyes and stood up.
After waiting a short while, Richard heard the sound of rapid footsteps and shouting outside his cabin door. Soon it turned very lively. The sleeping students were woken one by one and notified to head to the deck.
Richard waited a while, then stepped out at an appropriate time, blending into the crowd and making his way to the deck.
When he came back onto the deck and stood among the crowd, Richard looked towards the sea and noticed that, compared to when he had projected out of his body, there was no change.
The Wizard Apprentice maintaining Order instructed everyone on deck to wait patiently, but not a single Wizard was to be seen.
Richard thought about the wizard conversations he had overheard earlier, guessing what was to come.
It was certain a storm was brewing; the constant increase in humidity and the steady decrease in atmospheric pressure were solid evidence.
But the arrival of a storm wasn’t the danger itself. Surely, the so-called test wasn’t just to have everyone stand on deck getting soaked. According to the wizards, the real spectacle would follow the storm, and it was even more dangerous than pirates.
Some kind of demonized creatures?
As Richard pondered, he saw Gro approach. He waved him over, thinking about the conversation the wizards had in the cabin, and instructed Gro, “If we fight later, stay close to me; I’ll keep you safe.”
“Uh, okay, Lord Richard,” Gro nodded, agreeing without hesitation.
No sooner had Richard spoken than a glint caught his eye, and he suddenly saw Nancy approaching with two swords. She handed one to him and said, “I knew it; you still don’t have a suitable weapon. So, why don’t you take my longsword?”
“Uh…” Richard accepted the sword.
Nancy leaned in and cautioned, “During the fight, stay close to me, and I’ll keep you safe.”
“I don’t think you’re incapable, but this test is different from the others and very dangerous. I’ve been specifically warned, and you’ll be safer near me. After all, I’m still waiting for you to be my attendant.”
“Alright…” Richard was at a loss for words.
Gro, listening to the exchange between Richard and Nancy, looked at Richard, then at Nancy, and then down at himself, his expression a bit odd.
But before Gro had time to consider further, someone on deck with sharp eyes spotted something and suddenly cried out, “What is that?”
“Hm?” Immediately everyone looked in that direction.
They saw a silvery white light appearing on the distant sea, rushing towards the great ship at high speed. Some people took a defensive stance, while Richard simply blinked his eyes.
The silvery glow drew closer, and at a few dozen meters from the great ship, it suddenly split to the left and right, bypassing the vessel before rejoining and swimming off into the distance.
Visible to the naked eye, the silver light was a school of finger-sized fish.
After this school of silver fish passed, not much later, a red light appeared on the distant sea, also approaching the great ship rapidly, swimming past one side of it. It could be seen that they were palm-sized flat fish, emitting a red phosphorescence.
Then after that came a green light, a school of fish similar to flounder swam by.
Next were blue lights, then cyan lights…
Like a carousel, various colors of light flashed across the sea, school after school of fish passed by and moved away, drawing gasps of wonder from the people, who forgot their initial tension while gazing at the beautiful scene.
Richard’s eyebrows slightly furrowed.
Richard knew that the situation before him likely meant the approaching storm was causing the fish living in the water to sense danger, prompting them to flee in a frenzy.
Richard looked in the direction all the schools of fish were fleeing from.
The more urgently the fish fled, the closer the storm approached, so… what could be following the storm?
The reveal seemed imminent.