Chapter 375: Misunderstanding
Ten minutes earlier.
Lan Zao had just reached the rocket assault boat and was about to slash at the black chest with his blade when a group of people rushed over.
Their leader, an iron level battle qi cultivator, shouted threats at Lan Zao: “Freeze! This is our loot!”
Lan Zao was only bronze level, while the group numbered nearly ten. Not only were they outnumbered, but their leader was iron level.
The old Lan Zao would have been contemplating retreat by now.
But now, mistakenly believing his end was near, the iron level battle qi cultivator’s warning felt like an invitation.
An invitation to perform a final, dazzling display of life before death arrived.
Especially when Lan Zao noticed the iron level battle qi cultivator wielding a long-handled, square-headed war hammer. His mind made a calculation.
Thud.
The next moment, Lan Zao plunged headfirst into the water.
The iron level battle qi cultivator assumed his threat had worked—after all, the opponent was merely bronze level.
But soon after, a gleaming blade pierced the boat's bottom. With a swift pull, it left a gaping hole.
Seawater gurgled through the crack, flooding the vessel.
Before anyone could react, the blade reappeared elsewhere.
This time, it stabbed clean through some unlucky soul's sole.
The blade withdrew, and the victim let out a piercing scream, clutching his wounded foot as he toppled backward.
These men were crammed into a small boat. Its hull was low and thin, the space cramped—barely suitable for fishing at sea.
The iron level battle qi cultivator instantly realized Lan Zao was behind this. Enraged, he roared and slammed his square hammer down onto the deck.
Damn it!
His single blow shattered the plank, creating a hole far larger than anything Lan Zao had managed.
Where two small cracks had previously allowed water to gurgle in, this massive hole now let seawater pour in with a roaring rush.
The boat sank visibly with each passing moment.
Lan Zao had sensed danger long before and dodged the hammer blow.
Failing to strike his target, the iron level battle qi cultivator took a deep breath and leapt into the sea himself.
Clearly, he had no intention of letting Lan Zao off so easily.
Spotting the enemy entering the water and closing in, Lan Zao immediately dove deeper.
The iron level battle qi cultivator gave chase, but instead of closing the distance, he found himself falling further behind.
Watching Lan Zao move with unnatural agility through the water, he could only abandon the pursuit, filled with both anger and frustration.
The iron level battle qi cultivator surfaced and swam with all his might toward the rocket assault boat.
This development was precisely what Lan Zao had anticipated.
From the moment he first saw the iron level battle qi cultivator, he knew this human was no seafarer.
Advance when the enemy retreated, retreat when the enemy advanced.
Lan Zao swam back.
Halfway there, the iron level battle qi cultivator heard agonized screams echoing behind him.
The human fighter whipped his head around, his expression a mix of shock and fury.
He hadn't pursued Lan Zao relentlessly; he had let him go. He never expected Lan Zao to dare return!
The small boat was nearly submerged. The others aboard were also swimming, their destination the same rocket assault boat.
Their strength was weak, and their swimming skills couldn't match Lan Zao's. He disposed of them with ease.
One by one, they became corpses floating on the sea surface.
The iron level battle qi cultivator hesitated but chose not to return for support. Instead, he continued toward the rocket assault boat.
They were guards belonging to the same merchant guild—merely colleagues, not sworn brothers bound by life-and-death loyalty.
Lan Zao quickly disposed of everyone else, leaving only the iron level battle qi cultivator standing.
“My physical condition is better than I expected.”
He had been running a high fever, his entire body burning hot, but the icy seawater cooled him down, bringing waves of comfort.
He was surprised himself: “I seem to be quite adept at naval combat?”
Before, he had merely been a boatswain on merchant ships. Though he had experienced naval battles before, none had felt as exhilarating as this one.
His bloodline had been purified, now being 100% Fish Bladder bloodline. All those “ailments” were merely symptoms of his body undergoing drastic transformation by the bloodline.
The changes brought by the bloodline were beginning to show.
Soon, Lan Zao caught up to the iron level battle qi cultivator again.
The latter still hadn't managed to board the rocket assault boat.
He had no choice but to fight Lan Zao in the water.
Waves churned as they traded blows, fighting to a stalemate.
The iron level battle qi cultivator was unskilled in aquatic combat. His bronze level long-handled square war hammer proved awkward and cumbersome in the water.
Lan Zao, however, moved like a fish in water. He avoided direct confrontations, constantly maneuvering around his opponent.
A few minutes later.
His opponent was ultimately one level above him. Even as Lan Zao fought fiercely, the iron level battle qi cultivator managed to swim onto the rocket assault boat.
“Come on! Watch me smash you with this hammer!” The iron level battle qi cultivator, dripping water from head to toe, stood on the boat, shouting defiantly without bothering to wipe his eyes.
Lan Zao kept only his head above water; bloodshot eyes fixed silently on the iron level battle qi cultivator.
The iron level battle qi cultivator felt a chill run down his spine under that stare.
Their earlier clash had made it clear: “This bronze level battle qi cultivator is no ordinary foe—he's ruthless!”
But the next moment, Lan Zao submerged his head and swam away.
The iron level battle qi cultivator remained on guard. After waiting over a minute without seeing Lan Zao resurface, he relaxed slightly and turned his attention to the black chest.
Lan Zao hadn't given up.
Paddling with arms and legs, he swam faster and faster until he reached a floating corpse.
He reached out, groping the body until he found an alchemy crossbow.
He continued searching, pulling several arrows from the breast pocket.
Lan Zao moved away from the corpse and continued clearing the battlefield.
Among the shipwreck debris and bodies in the water, he found numerous arrows, along with several muskets and bullets.
Most muskets were waterlogged and unusable, but one possessed waterproofing.
His precise search was entirely guided by Zi Di's direction.
Zi Di's true form remained stationed aboard the Deep Sea Monster Fish, conducting meticulous battlefield reconnaissance. Through alchemy devices, she relayed the precise locations of these ranged weapons to Lan Zao.
Though alchemy puppets existed within the Deep Sea Monster Fish, deploying them was risky—the magician tower monitored the entire dock battlefield.
Lan Zao swiftly returned to the vicinity of the rocket assault boat, deploying crossbows and muskets to fire at the iron level battle qi cultivator from a distance.
The iron level battle qi cultivator made several attempts to smash the black chest but only drew Lan Zao's attacks.
He had no shield, and the rocket assault boat offered no cover.
He tried to retreat into the cabin, but it was occupied by the black chest.
The iron level battle qi cultivator could barely fend off arrows and bullets with his long-handled war hammer.
The effect was poor.
Soon, he took numerous hits.
He had no choice but to activate defensive battle skills, barely holding on.
But quickly, his battle qi plummeted to dangerous levels.
Sensing trouble, the iron level battle qi cultivator had no option but to dive into the water to escape.
Lan Zao pursued relentlessly, firing shots in his wake.
Had the iron level battle qi cultivator seized the rocket assault boat to make a last stand, he could have held out longer.
Instead, in his panic, he chose to dive into the water and swim away—a move that was nothing short of suicide.
“Spare me! Spare my life! I swear I'll never oppose you again!”
“Look behind you! A group boarded the boat! They're after your cargo!”
The iron level battle qi cultivator begged for mercy in his final moments.
Lan Zao wore a cold expression as he riddled the iron level battle qi cultivator with bullets, turning him into a beehive without the slightest mercy.
After dealing with the man, he hurried back to the rocket assault boat.
While he'd been pursuing the iron level battle qi cultivator, another group boarded the vessel.
Their roles were clearly defined. Some stood guard while others worked inside, seemingly figuring out how to extract the black chest or simply pry it open.
“Friend, hold your fire! Whatever we retrieve, we'll share with you,” the leader of this group shouted as Lan Zao swam toward them, his expression shifting abruptly.
“Get lost. These belong to me,” Lan Zao retorted bluntly.
The leader's face darkened, a cold smile spreading across his lips, "Killing an iron level must have taken a toll on you. You're only bronze level. We have three bronze level cultivators here."
“Being polite to you doesn't mean you can push your luck.”
“Truth is, there's no need for us to fight to the death. These fleeing remnants of the Bayonet Gang are all bounty targets.”
“Of course, if you insist on fighting us to the bitter end, we won't back down. At worst...”
Whoosh.
Before the leader could finish, he was cut off by an arrow fired by Lan Zao.
“Hmph! Let's see if you can even get up here!” The leader was enraged, but he didn't rashly dive in to fight Lan Zao head-on.
He'd just witnessed Lan Zao hunting down the iron level battle qi cultivator and knew Lan Zao's aquatic combat skills were exceptional. The leader didn't have that kind of confidence.
He retreated to the inner circle.
Five or six ordinary men guarded the outer perimeter.
Along with the leader, three bronze level cultivators remained in the inner circle.
This put Lan Zao in a difficult position.
Charging forward wasn't hard, nor was killing one or two ordinary outer defenders. But afterward, he'd face the coordinated assault of three cultivators of the same level.
The slightest misstep meant certain death in battle.
Zi Di saw the danger Lan Zao faced.
This time was different from before.
Previously, when Lan Zao faced the iron level battle qi cultivator, though risky, he had maintained control throughout.
Now, attacking would be far too dangerous.
Zi Di urged Lan Zao to back off: “If it's impossible, then let it be.”
“We can't just give up. How will we know without trying?” Lan Zao retorted.
He submerged once more, scanning the surface around the rocket assault boat with intense focus, searching for defensive weaknesses.
Zi Di was startled, "Why has Lan Zao become so bold and aggressive?”
She could only urge him to be cautious and avoid recklessness before her attention was drawn elsewhere—to the dragonman youngster.
Over there, the dragonman youngster had closed in on another rocket assault boat.
On board were Xiong Ju, Bing Xiao, and four other high-ranking members of the Bayonet Gang.
Just as the dragonman youngster was about to leap aboard, Bing Xiao activated his backup plan.
The rocket assault boat erupted in a blinding flash of light.
When the light faded, so too did Bing Xiao and his companions.
Lan Zao was searching for the enemy's defensive weak points when he suddenly witnessed the rocket assault boat erupt in intense light.
The blinding light quickly dissipated, and Bing Xiao and his group were teleported over.
The original group were not members of the Bayonet Gang and had never anticipated such a turn of events.
Caught off guard, they had no choice but to engage Bing Xiao and his group.
The two factions engaged in chaotic combat aboard the rocket assault boat.
Lan Zao spotted Bing Xiao and his group arriving and prepared to retreat, only to witness both sides locked in a fierce, deadlocked battle.
Though Bing Xiao's group possessed higher levels, their condition was abysmal.
Not only were their physical states dreadful, but they were also completely unarmed, practically empty-handed.
Xiong Ju was the worst off, utterly incapable of combat.
“An opportunity!” Lan Zao spotted the opening and grew excited.
“Kill these men and clear the way for the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps!”
“This is likely the greatest contribution I can make to my Lord.”
With this thought, Lan Zao charged forward.
Bing Xiao and his group were too preoccupied with their own struggles.
They had been forcibly teleported here, leaving them unable to counterattack as Lan Zao charged.
Lan Zao swung his blade at Bing Xiao, but his foot slipped, striking the bronze level leader instead.
Bing Xiao was startled.
Lan Zao took a deep breath and swung again.
But another bronze level intervened, stabbing him in the back leg with a dagger.
Gritting his teeth against the excruciating pain, Lan Zao continued his attack, his resolve to slay Bing Xiao unwavering.
But fate dealt him a cruel blow—a sudden dizzy spell overtook him. His vision darkened, and he nearly collapsed unconscious.
When his sight cleared, he saw his blade had already flown from his grasp. The bronze level battle qi cultivator now bore a gash across his chest, blood gushing forth as he glared furiously at Lan Zao.
“Die!” The bronze leader, enraged beyond measure, abandoned Bing Xiao and charged at Lan Zao.
This finally gave Bing Xiao an opening. He drew his flintlock and shot the bronze leader dead.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Several more shots rang out, taking down several more men.
The rest scattered in panic, diving into the water to escape.
Bing Xiao didn't pursue them. Instead, he helped Lan Zao to his feet and called out to Xiong Ju and the others, “Quick! Get ready. We're teleporting again.”