Jonah's question went unanswered. Hannah Stewart was not a hospitable host. Before she could draw her big gun and kill the annoying questioner, Danny stepped forward and knocked out the astrologer's apprentice with a stick. In fact. It doesn't take much force to knock him out. Just aim at the big purple bump on the back of his head and give it a little punch.
"Wait. It's like this again..." He muttered and fell to the floor. Jonah suddenly realized that he had missed too many things because of his coma.
After waking up again, the sun was still shining brightly. I didn’t know if it was the same day or whether I had passed out for the whole night. Jonah groaned and moved his body. The wound under the bandage on his arm was painful and itchy. When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was covered by three ropes. It was tied to the main mast. The place where each rope came into contact with the body was padded with thick linen to prevent fraying. It was obviously done by the kind-hearted Danny.
The three-masted sailing ship "Wind of Bactria" built on the sand-eating worm has now become the turtle of Bactria. It is slowly crawling in the endless sand sea. The sails are listlessly withering. The air is like a hot coal. .Not even a breath of wind.
"Hannah. Starboard. They're catching up." Danny Stewart yelled. "Can't you speed up a little more?"
"It's windless period now, you idiot. There won't be northwest wind until an hour later." Hannah yelled back not to be outdone. "How much ahead of them are you still?"
"Half the hull." My brother said nervously.
Hannah frowned. "Let's fire."
"What." Danny gasped. "Each reload of this cannon consumes 50 silver coins of magic crystal. My father was reluctant to use it back then. It is not the style of a sand pirate to pay for war. Sister. .”
"Fire. Even if you are hungry, you can't let the bastards of the Schmidt family take over." Hannah stood behind the wheel and shouted loudly. She reached out and took off the famous gun "Lame Henry's Prosthetic" from behind. She narrowed her dangerous gray eyes. Green eyes aimed to starboard.
It took the astrologer's apprentice who was confused about the situation five minutes to understand the situation of the battle. Behind and to the right of the three-masted ship sailing at a tortuous speed, there was a large ketch sailing at the same speed. Five square sails were hung on each mast. The bowsprit is mounted on the bow. Of course, each square sail hangs low and feebly.
There was a man standing on the bow of the boat shouting something. He was too far away and could not hear the sound clearly.
"Chichi...bang."
Hannah's long gun made a sharp sound of the valve releasing pressure and spurting out steam. The arm of the contemporary Stuart family owner trembled and his muscles bulged. With a huge mechanical impact, the gun fired a milky white cloud and a small bullet penetrated. The mist flew away so fast that it was difficult to see the trace.
The man at the bow of the boat behind him fell to the ground with a groan, covered his shoulders and shouted at the top of his lungs.
Danny covered his face: "Now I have to pay for someone's medical expenses again. This is the first time. Hannah."
"If you want to do as I say, just kill them secretly. The sandstorm at dusk will leave no trace." A terrifying smile appeared on the corner of the sister's mouth.
Danny Stewart sighed: "We are no longer Sand Pirates. We are Stewart Express. The so-called express delivery, you can't just pull out your gun and kill people. Otherwise, no customers would dare to discuss business with us. Speaking of which, last year The ordered ship's bow statue has not yet been paid for. Even though Aunt Biyanka is my father's old friend, I can't always be in debt to others."
"Fire." Hannah stared at her nagging brother.
"Look, look, Hannah, the distance is gradually widening. It seems that the orange peel disease of the Schmidt family has not been completely cured. There is still a lot of resistance." Danny pointed to the starboard side.
Jonah turned around and saw that the sand-eating insect under the seat of the ketch was slowly slowing down. Its big round mouth was swallowing the yellow sand feebly. The chirping creature seemed to be twisting in an S shape in excitement, and it was no faster than a human walking. At what speed can the opponent be thrown away at high speed?
"Ahem." Jonah couldn't help but say, "What are you doing?"
"Competition." Danny turned to look at the important cargo. "You wake up. Don't talk nonsense this time. Please. Two gold coins."
"What's going on at this speed?" Yona looked at the sand dunes around him that were receding at an extremely slow speed.
Danny glanced at his sister. Hannah was proudly waving a big gun to demonstrate to her defeated generals, not paying attention to them. "It's the calm period. In this unlucky season, the five hours before noon to dusk every day are perfect." There is no wind. You can only move forward by relying on the movement speed of the main body of the chatter. You have also seen that the sand-eating worm is a kind and lazy animal. Their top speed is only 2 to 3 knots. Having said that, this is what they do. The reason why they are willing to live with us is that sails can increase the speed of sand-eating insects to 15 to 20 knots. The total amount of yellow sand they swallow increases exponentially. The rich nutrition is greatly conducive to growth." Danny explained patiently.
"So, who are they? Why are they competing?" Jonah's questions popped up one after another. The more he learned about it, the more difficult he felt to understand this continent.
"They are the Schmidt family." My brother spat. "Like our family, they are also Zawi people who crossed the river from the Western Continent and came here to make a living more than ten years ago. When they were working as sand pirates, they competed with us everywhere. Now we have switched to express delivery, and they have also switched to express delivery. What a haunting guy... If we run the same route, they will definitely provoke us. Over time, it becomes a race of speed. Whoever reaches the destination first will win. The winner. The prize for the winner...is a huge sense of psychological superiority."
Jonah didn't quite understand this inexplicable competition. But this time he didn't delve into it, because the faces of his partners came to mind again. "By the way, Danny. You really didn't see my partners. A tall man A knight. A female..."
Danny interrupted him with a frown on his face: "Indeed not. I haven't seen any of them. I haven't heard anything about them. Friends... goods."
"Then at least tell me the relationship between Hannah and Mr. Henry." Jonah asked.
"Who is Mr. Henry?" My brother asked doubtfully. Then he patted his thigh: "The Henry you mentioned as 'Lame Henry's prosthetic limb'. He is a celebrity. I always thought he was just an ordinary lame man who lost his prosthetic limb."
The astrologer's apprentice opened his mouth wide: "I don't know. Then why did you stop me from asking Hannah."
Danny shook his finger: "I'm saving your life. Cargo. That gun was obtained by our father through very secretive events. Don't ask this question in the future. I can't guarantee that I will knock you out in time every time." faint."
At this time Hannah Stewart shouted from the bow: "Look at the weather, brother."
Danny raised his head: "Well, yes. The weather is very nice. Sister, if we can find a good shelter, we should enjoy a relaxing picnic."
There was a bang. A stone hit his head accurately. "I mean, look at the horizon. Isn't that cloud a little strange?" My sister pointed to the northeast.
Jonah also saw the cloud. An ordinary cotton-like cloud floating on the horizon. There was nothing special about it.
Danny Stewart covered his forehead and took a look. His face immediately turned pale: "If I'm not mistaken, according to dad's long-term teaching... this is a storm cloud."
"Yes. And I think it's a tornado." Hannah nodded.
"Judging from the shape and size...half an hour. Lower the sail." Danny jumped up and gave the order. In fact, he was the one who carried out the order. Jonah, who was tied to the mainmast, watched him hurriedly untie the cable. , lowering the main mast, mizzen mast, fore mast, and jib. I was so busy that I was sweating profusely.
The apprentice astrologer couldn't help but say: "If you untie the rope from my body, I think I can help."
Danny took a moment to look at him with disdain: "It's not that I look down on you, my friend... cargo. Sailing is a profound knowledge. Only children like me who grew up on boats can do these jobs well. On the boat. Although the work seems simple, it is actually full of potential dangers..." Before he could finish his words, a folded mast that was separated from the cable swept over and knocked the speaker upside down. "...Just like this." Danny He lay down calmly on the ground and ended his speech.
"Damn it. They're catching up again." Hannah yelled.
The Schmidt family's ketch approached the starboard side again. The sandworm was squirming hard and appeared to be very excited. The man on the bow picked up a huge crossbow and aimed it cursingly. Danny Stewart took a look. . Instead, he jumped up and laughed and said: "That's right, that's right. Shoot me an arrow. We'll all be even. We won't have to pay for the medical expenses."
Hannah said angrily: "We have to get rid of them. They must have used stimulants on the big insects. These are inhuman things."
The brother grabbed the last cable and gasped: "The tornado is coming soon. Don't worry about the competition at this time. Just worry about how to survive, sister. About four miles south from here, there is a natural shelter formed by a huge rock. .If we can arrive in time, we may be able to minimize the loss."
Jonah looked around and asked doubtfully: "What kind of wind are you talking about? Isn't it a windless period now?"
Danny slapped his forehead: "Lord God Luta. You are such an ignorant countryman. The desert tornado is the most terrifying disaster, the most powerful weapon, and the greatest miracle on this continent. If it happens in the plains. It can easily destroy a city. The endless sand tornado at the turn of spring and summer is more likely to appear. That tornado cloud is a sign. Once you have seen it once, you will never say "what kind of wind" lightly again. That’s bullshit. Hannah, what should I do now? With Chi Chi’s speed, it’s hard to reach the safe haven. Should we just anchor down?”
"...Raise the sails." Hannah Stewart's tall figure stood at the bow of the ship and her voice was firm.
"What."
Danny glanced at the sail that had been lowered with great effort. His lips were trembling helplessly.