Column (Ch9-Bracing toward the Strom)

Written by-Silver crown

Ch-9 Bracing toward the Storm

A soft sea breeze brushed my face while carrying a cold and salty sensation. I rubbed my bloodshot eyes with trembling hands. It wasn't because of the salty breeze making my eyes dry up, but because I'm having insomnia for some days after Shrimp's death.

It wasn't the first time I saw someone's death but it was my first time seeing a brutal killing sight at close range.

Even yoga meditation couldn't work its charm in my current mental condition.

Every time I closed my eyes, I recall some gruesome deaths. The most unbearable thing was the victim's face changes to my loved ones both from the past and present.

Sometimes it was one of my past life's parents, new family members, or acquaintances. Yet, most of the time, it was my elder sister who died unjustly in this life.

They appeared making anguish faces screaming for my help. I rushed forward to save them but the distance between me and them grew greater and greater.

I was unable to cross that short yet unreachable distance while watching my loved one's death. All I could do was blame myself for my powerlessness. The hunger for power was driving me so crazy that I couldn't sit or sleep.

I know something is wrong with my current condition. I want to stop thinking about these things, yet they never stop hunting me.

I don't know how long I have to suffer from this pain and guilt.

My head felt dizzy, and my body lightly swayed left and right. I'm barely controlling my limbs.

Preventing my body from collapsing is already my limit.

Because of Blue Robes standing in front of us, nobody dares to leave their position or spare a glance toward me.

I dazedly listened to what that handsome youth was talking from the helm.

"Today you will be entering a brand new world."

"Feel free to thank your undeserving luck mongrels."

"All of you came from the lowest of the low."

"Yet fate has offered you an opportunity that even some of the Royalty of the mortal kingdom were dying to get it."

"As I said before, you guys are going to be Labor disciples of the Oceanic sect."

"When the ship reaches ashore, I want to see neat and orderly disembarking. Understand?"

"…"

"Where is your answer mongrels? Are you mute? Answer me!"

"I Understand," I replied subconsciously. When I got a hold of myself, it was too late. I just anticipated my punishment.

I didn't dare to look at his face and lower my head looking at my shoes like there is some sort of heavenly profundity in them.

"When you address your elder or superior inside the sect,"

"Add senior or elder to your reply. This is your first-time mistake without learning but this is the last time that I forgive your offense."

His tone chilled me down so much that I forget about my drowsiness. He waved his hand and his subordinate cultivators stepped down from the helm area.

They stood in a line before us and gave a blue banner to the people standing at the first role. One after another we got a sect banner in our hand. Then we tied it on the forehead or visible parts of the body.

A glittering blue circle with an intricate pattern of surging sea waves and a yellow sandy beach is inscribed on the banner. After contemplating for a bit, I decided to tie it to my left wrist. It wasn't difficult to tie. First, make a bowline, then put it on my left wrist and pull one end to tighten it up.

I looked curiously at the ribbon which I tied on my wrist. It's quite baffling how blue sea waves still appear vividly in the same blue color ribbon.

The dangling extra ends of the ribbon started to shrink at a visible rate and disappeared together with a knot. Now it's more like a wristband with a circular picture in the place of a watch.

I looked around at what my fellow recruits were doing.

'Sanlang now has a blue headband whereas Zhou chi has a collar. or a choker? Look at his stupid face.'

'Dam! How senseless can you be, to actually tie it to your neck?'

'You don't even know how this thing works. What would you do if you couldn't take off in your entire life?'

'Plus, why is no one asking how this thing operates or just what this meant for?'

'You guys posing like you know everything without even posting a question.'

Although Million dollar questions were appearing in my head, I chose not to voice them out.

I looked at the proud senior standing in the Helm area with an expecting gaze.

He just raised an eyebrow and just stared back at my face.

'Why're you bullying me?'

' Aren't you supposed to be the one explaining about this banner? Why are you raising your eyebrow like a rock? '

Looking at my wrist wondering 'is this really just a piece of cloth'.

Come to think of it, I didn't see these oceanic sect members wearing similar banners like ours.

'Oh no! If something goes wrong, I might need to cut off my arm.'

My eyes wander around nervously. Then I saw these sect members take out different color medallions.

Some radiating pale blue, some red or gray color medallions, I assume that might be sect identification tokens. Of course, that Rock… opps... I mean that senior standing on the forecastle deck has a grey color light shining scarf on his neck.

I was expecting some kind of explanation but there was a commotion happening around me. They were pointing toward the distant horizon with horrified faces.

I shifted my head in the direction where they were pointing. My eyes widen to an extreme. Thick dark clouds are looming approximately around 3 to 4 km away from us.

Another horrifying fact was 'our ship is moving toward the direction of the storm with 10 knots speed =18.52 km/h according to my guess. It might only take more or less than 13 minutes to arrive storm parameter.

"Quick tie the safety rope at the pillar" I shouted not caring if I might get punished or not.

Life is more important than stringing pain in my back. Some listened to my advice but some just simply stood rooted on the deck. Strangely enough, none of the sect members care about what we were doing or didn't even take a glimpse of us. They leisurely watched the upcoming storm and turbulent sea waves.

I found it quite strange, but I firmly tied my safety rope. None of them were going to save us if we got dropped from the ship. Our ship's speed didn't even falter under rough sea waves.

She was cutting through one wave after another. The nearer the storm, the faster my heartbeat becomes.

We are intruding on a rock show at this storm theater.

A thick dark cloud with an occasional flash of red and violet lightning livens up the entire sky. Striking like a rock guitarist's hair, shaking the sky with destructive and black clouds with all its might.

Strong howling wind roaring like a rock vocal making a death growl into our eardrums.

A distinctive heavy drummer Mr.rain is stimulating the ocean with innumerable droplets of water and occasional thunderclap beat.

Like hyping audiences in a live show, the ocean hyped up creating rocking dark sea waves.

Lastly, my heart was beating like a low-pitched bass, nobody but me can appreciate this irregular heartbeat. The only thing missing was a keyboard player.

Our 300 m long Ship, didn't waver too much while passing through rocking sea waves. Water Dragon shape Bowsprit & bulbous bows started glowing with a light blue color. The same phenomenon happens to tokens, and banners in our bodies. A semi-translucent soft blue layer coated the whole ship hall.

All recruits were tightly holding wherever parts of the ship we could grab. I was grabbing a guardrail at one side of the ship. The ship started to accelerate toward the center of a violent storm. Passing through the waves like a ghost, it tore through everything in its path. Like that 4m high incoming giant wave.

There was a transparent protective cover around Oceanic sect members. They stood like super badass characters in movies.

Only newly recruited members like us who were left unprotected became drowning rats. It is a shame that background music and dancers didn't appear like those in the movie.