Raine looked towards the azure sky, and the towering giant tree in the distance.
After a long silence, Raine didn't answer the Sea God's question. He looked far away, and said faintly,
"Once someone told me, what's broader than the sea is the sky, and what's vaster than the sky is a man's mind. If there are huge waves ahead, then set sail and stand on the pinnacle of the waves. If there is an abyss ahead, then spread your wings and fly high, galloping in the abyss. Nobody can stop my steps except me!"
The Sea God squinted slightly, put down his coffee, and looked at Raine. His words suddenly made him look at this young man in a new light.
From the no man's land, breaking the hundred-year taboo, and entering the Sky class sea area, without his iron will and firm determination, he couldn't have made it.
"The person who told you those words..."
"My father," Raine said with a helpless smile. "I used to think he was irresponsible, but now I understand that he carried a greater responsibility."
After a moment of silence, the Sea God suddenly said, "The World Tree will open two paths this time, one leading to 'heaven' and the other to 'hell'. But... between heaven and hell, there's just a thin wall. I'll do my utmost to help you find the right path!" the Sea God said seriously, "I'm sure that the other fleets will follow you. Who will eventually get the Sea God Fruit is yet to be determined."
Raine nodded, "Thank you, Sea God. I've told my crew that if we can snatch the Sea God Fruit, we will. If we can't, we won't fret over it."
The Sea God asked curiously, "Aren't you going to be commanding on the spot?"
Raine smiled slightly, "When the time comes, I'll let Trajan and Avril take command. They are also excellent captains. I'll have to trouble you then."
"Young brother Raine, you don't have to worry about that. No matter which fleet I'm with, I will do my best to assist them. Besides, I quite like your fleet."
Time passed quickly, and as the final moment approached, the atmosphere between the surrounding fleets grew tenser.
No one was walking around the island anymore; everyone was waiting for instructions on their warships.
Raine noticed that some of the fleets' warships seemed very advanced. For instance, the Thunder fleet had about ten main ships equipped with huge long-barrel cannons. Similar weapons could be found on several other large fleets.
However, the Sea God assured Raine not to worry, because once they entered the World Tree, all fleets were not allowed to fire. If the World Tree collapsed, it could possibly lead to an unknown disaster.
At that time, it might affect the entire sea area! To compete for the Sea God Fruit, the key would still be decision-making, and the competition among the crew!
Two days later, waves started to ripple on the sea surface, gently swaying at first, then gradually increasing in amplitude.
"The World Tree is about to open." The Sea God stood at the side of the ship, looking at the changing waves, "We're setting off!"
In a moment, thousands of warships appeared on the sea, a multitude of boats competing, all heading towards the towering World Tree.
…………………
As they drew closer to the World Tree, everyone was astonished at the magnitude of this tree!
Its massive roots, like hundreds of serpentine dragons, coiled around the immensely sturdy World Tree. All ships had to slow down and carefully navigate between these gigantic roots.
After passing through a large number of intertwined roots, the Sea God suddenly said, "The entrance is inside one of these roots. Everyone, get ready. We're almost there!"
True to his word, they soon came across an exceptionally large root, half of it exposed above the water, the other half submerged beneath.
This root was different from the others. Its end was open, like a giant cave, about 150 meters wide, with an exposed height of seventy to eighty meters.
"My God, just one root is this huge! Sea God, are you sure we have to go in through the roots?" Avril asked.
"I'm sure. The surface of the World Tree is covered with sharp spikes with toxic slime on them. We can't get near. The only way up is from the inside. Make sure your warship has enough horsepower. We have to go upstream!"
Avril took a deep breath, they were about to enter the World Tree. She turned to look at another ship, where Raine was at that moment.
To be precise, Raine was the only one on that ship! Trajan saw Avril's concern and patted her on the shoulder, "Avril, we have to do our job!"
Avril nodded heavily, "I understand."
The Dad was the first to enter the tree hole, closely followed by other fleets. All the fleets knew that the Sea God was in their fleet, and following them was the wisest course. Large numbers of fleets entered the World Tree one after the other.
The waterway inside the tree hole was dark and narrow. Avril and her team turned on their lights, and constantly used their radio equipment to maintain contact with the other captains to avoid any ships getting left behind.
The Sea God was sitting cross-legged in the control room, his eyes half-closed, as if he was trying to establish a connection with the World Tree.
After about ten minutes, a fork in the road appeared.
"Be careful, the left is the road to heaven, leading to the upper layer of the World Tree. The right is the gate to hell, leading deeper into hell. Don't take the wrong turn!"
Avril's heart tightened. She controlled the ship to take the left fork and then quickly rushed to the cabin window, her eyes fixed on the other ships. Sure enough, Raine took the right fork.
The Sea God seemed to have noticed something and rushed over. Upon seeing the ship, he asked angrily, "What's happening? Didn't I say to take the left path? What are they doing?"
He didn't know that before they entered the World Tree sea area, Raine had already formulated a strategy.
The crew would take the road to heaven, while he alone would explore the gate to hell!
"Sea God, that's our captain's ship, he..." Fancy's eyes welled up with tears.
"What?! Didn't Raine hear what I just said? You must make him turn back. It's too dangerous down there. Even I can't sense what's there!"
Trajan patted the Sea God on the shoulder, "Sea God, the captain knows where that leads."
The Sea God's eyebrows knitted together in shock, "He... he knows..."
Now the Sea God finally understood what Raine meant when he said that Avril and Trajan would be commanding at that time.
"He deliberately chose the gate to hell? He wants to... explore the source of the World Tree? Raine, you madman..."
Raine looked towards the azure sky, and the towering giant tree in the distance.
After a long silence, Raine didn't answer the Sea God's question. He looked far away, and said faintly,
"Once someone told me, what's broader than the sea is the sky, and what's vaster than the sky is a man's mind. If there are huge waves ahead, then set sail and stand on the pinnacle of the waves. If there is an abyss ahead, then spread your wings and fly high, galloping in the abyss. Nobody can stop my steps except me!"
The Sea God squinted slightly, put down his coffee, and looked at Raine. His words suddenly made him look at this young man in a new light.
From the no man's land, breaking the hundred-year taboo, and entering the Sky class sea area, without his iron will and firm determination, he couldn't have made it.
"The person who told you those words..."
"My father," Raine said with a helpless smile. "I used to think he was irresponsible, but now I understand that he carried a greater responsibility."
After a moment of silence, the Sea God suddenly said, "The World Tree will open two paths this time, one leading to 'heaven' and the other to 'hell'. But... between heaven and hell, there's just a thin wall. I'll do my utmost to help you find the right path!" the Sea God said seriously, "I'm sure that the other fleets will follow you. Who will eventually get the Sea God Fruit is yet to be determined."
Raine nodded, "Thank you, Sea God. I've told my crew that if we can snatch the Sea God Fruit, we will. If we can't, we won't fret over it."
The Sea God asked curiously, "Aren't you going to be commanding on the spot?"
Raine smiled slightly, "When the time comes, I'll let Trajan and Avril take command. They are also excellent captains. I'll have to trouble you then."
"Young brother Raine, you don't have to worry about that. No matter which fleet I'm with, I will do my best to assist them. Besides, I quite like your fleet."
Time passed quickly, and as the final moment approached, the atmosphere between the surrounding fleets grew tenser.
No one was walking around the island anymore; everyone was waiting for instructions on their warships.
Raine noticed that some of the fleets' warships seemed very advanced. For instance, the Thunder fleet had about ten main ships equipped with huge long-barrel cannons. Similar weapons could be found on several other large fleets.
However, the Sea God assured Raine not to worry, because once they entered the World Tree, all fleets were not allowed to fire. If the World Tree collapsed, it could possibly lead to an unknown disaster.
At that time, it might affect the entire sea area! To compete for the Sea God Fruit, the key would still be decision-making, and the competition among the crew!
Two days later, waves started to ripple on the sea surface, gently swaying at first, then gradually increasing in amplitude.
"The World Tree is about to open." The Sea God stood at the side of the ship, looking at the changing waves, "We're setting off!"
In a moment, thousands of warships appeared on the sea, a multitude of boats competing, all heading towards the towering World Tree.
…………………
As they drew closer to the World Tree, everyone was astonished at the magnitude of this tree!
Its massive roots, like hundreds of serpentine dragons, coiled around the immensely sturdy World Tree. All ships had to slow down and carefully navigate between these gigantic roots.
After passing through a large number of intertwined roots, the Sea God suddenly said, "The entrance is inside one of these roots. Everyone, get ready. We're almost there!"
True to his word, they soon came across an exceptionally large root, half of it exposed above the water, the other half submerged beneath.
This root was different from the others. Its end was open, like a giant cave, about 150 meters wide, with an exposed height of seventy to eighty meters.
"My God, just one root is this huge! Sea God, are you sure we have to go in through the roots?" Avril asked.
"I'm sure. The surface of the World Tree is covered with sharp spikes with toxic slime on them. We can't get near. The only way up is from the inside. Make sure your warship has enough horsepower. We have to go upstream!"
Avril took a deep breath, they were about to enter the World Tree. She turned to look at another ship, where Raine was at that moment.
To be precise, Raine was the only one on that ship! Trajan saw Avril's concern and patted her on the shoulder, "Avril, we have to do our job!"
Avril nodded heavily, "I understand."
The Dad was the first to enter the tree hole, closely followed by other fleets. All the fleets knew that the Sea God was in their fleet, and following them was the wisest course. Large numbers of fleets entered the World Tree one after the other.
The waterway inside the tree hole was dark and narrow. Avril and her team turned on their lights, and constantly used their radio equipment to maintain contact with the other captains to avoid any ships getting left behind.
The Sea God was sitting cross-legged in the control room, his eyes half-closed, as if he was trying to establish a connection with the World Tree.
After about ten minutes, a fork in the road appeared.
"Be careful, the left is the road to heaven, leading to the upper layer of the World Tree. The right is the gate to hell, leading deeper into hell. Don't take the wrong turn!"
Avril's heart tightened. She controlled the ship to take the left fork and then quickly rushed to the cabin window, her eyes fixed on the other ships. Sure enough, Raine took the right fork.
The Sea God seemed to have noticed something and rushed over. Upon seeing the ship, he asked angrily, "What's happening? Didn't I say to take the left path? What are they doing?"
He didn't know that before they entered the World Tree sea area, Raine had already formulated a strategy.
The crew would take the road to heaven, while he alone would explore the gate to hell!
"Sea God, that's our captain's ship, he..." Fancy's eyes welled up with tears.
"What?! Didn't Raine hear what I just said? You must make him turn back. It's too dangerous down there. Even I can't sense what's there!"
Trajan patted the Sea God on the shoulder, "Sea God, the captain knows where that leads."
The Sea God's eyebrows knitted together in shock, "He... he knows..."
Now the Sea God finally understood what Raine meant when he said that Avril and Trajan would be commanding at that time.
"He deliberately chose the gate to hell? He wants to... explore the source of the World Tree? Raine, you madman..."
