Chapter 379: Buying a Silver Level Warship
On the Divine Wind, someone publicly pointed out that Lan Zao had also killed members of the Bayonet Gang.
Lan Zao's heart sank, but his expression remained unchanged.
He had anticipated this situation, though he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.
“Looks like my cover's blown!”
“Should I go all out now and kill Bing Xiao?”
Lan Zao instinctively glanced at Bing Xiao.
Bing Xiao had been watching him the entire time.
When Lan Zao was accused of killing the Bayonet Gang member, Bing Xiao remained expressionless.
But when he caught Lan Zao's gaze, Bing Xiao gave a slight nod.
“Why are you nodding?”
“Want me to act faster?”
“Damn it... Taking Bing Xiao out now is nearly impossible.”
Lan Zao gritted his teeth inwardly, failing to grasp the meaning behind Bing Xiao's nod.
Now, countless eyes were fixed on him, every move scrutinized.
Lan Zao knew that at this moment, he could rely only on himself.
He didn't give up. He stood tall, his gaze icy as he glanced at the gang members accusing him, his attitude dripping with contempt.
“Today, I did kill quite a few people.”
“Even if I killed them, so what?”
“Daring to stand in my way—they asked for death!”
Lan Zao's expression was unyielding.
“You...” The accuser seethed, “You killed your own men! The gang rules are clear—you must pay with your life!”
Lan Zao snorted coldly, folding his arms across his chest in a posture of utter disdain.
Such arrogance incensed many of the gang members present.
Bing Xiao remained silent, instead turning his gaze toward the human ringleader.
Among the remaining three faction ringleaders, Xiong Ju was a fierce fighter, Spring Boxer was too young, and only the human ringleader, seasoned and astute, could grasp Bing Xiao's intent from a single glance or nod.
The human ringleader immediately smiled, defending Lan Zao: “The rules do forbid internecine conflict, but accidental killing by someone unaware is understandable.”
"Lord?" The gang member who had accused Lan Zao froze in shock, "Won't your words make us lose faith?”
The human ringleader merely smiled.
Lan Zao snorted coldly, “You're talking nonsense. I don't buy it. In that chaotic battlefield just now, there was no accidental killing of our own people!”
“I witnessed several instances of comrades slaughtering each other when fighting over ships.”
“If you seek vengeance against me, then come! Right here—we settle this in a duel!”
Lan Zao blustered through his lies, intent on eliminating any witnesses.
The accuser was merely a commoner, naturally too afraid to confront the bronze level Lan Zao.
His eyes darted nervously, unable to accept Lan Zao’s challenge. Instead, he glanced toward the nearby iron level battle qi cultivator.
The iron level battle qi cultivator, also a gang member, sighed and stepped forward. “You killed Lao Dong, yet you challenge an ordinary person to a duel? Isn’t that going too far?”
“I accept this duel.”
Lan Zao laughed heartily, “As if I'd fear you.”
Before he finished speaking, he drew his curved blade and lunged at the iron level battle qi cultivator.
Caught off guard, the iron level battle qi cultivator scrambled backward.
But the deck was crowded, leaving no room to evade. Lan Zao closed the distance in a few strides, landing several slashes.
The iron level battle qi cultivator urgently summoned his defensive battle qi, rolling repeatedly across the deck.
Surrounding pirates and gang members scattered to avoid the chaos, allowing the iron level battle qi cultivator to roll toward the mast.
His skin was torn open, blood streaming freely, but it was only flesh wounds. Rage surged within him as he seethed with hatred toward Lan Zao, bellowing, “You cowardly scoundrel! How dare you ambush me!!”
Lan Zao inwardly lamented the missed opportunity. That had been his finest moment, yet his own cultivation was too low and his condition too weak. He'd pushed himself to the limit but still failed to take down the iron level battle qi cultivator.
“You were the one who challenged me to a duel! How is that a sneak attack?” Lan Zao bellowed, "Die!”
He lunged at the iron level battle qi cultivator once more.
The iron level battle qi cultivator sneered savagely. Caught off guard before, he was now prepared and immediately counterattacked.
But in the next instant, Bing Xiao suddenly appeared between them. With a double push of his palms, he sent both battle qi cultivators crashing to the ground.
“Have you had enough?”
“You were just saved, and already tearing each other apart? Then you might as well die right here on the dock—at least you'll get to take a few enemies down with you!"
Bing Xiao growled, his face darkening.
“Old gang leader...” The iron level battle qi cultivator dared not move, crying out in protest, “This guy has no honor in combat! He ambushed me—look what he did to me!”
Covered in blood, the iron level battle qi cultivator had been about to retaliate when Bing Xiao stopped him, leaving him seething with frustration.
Lan Zao glared at the iron level battle qi cultivator, continuing his provocation: “Your worthless trash! If I were at your cultivation level, you'd be dead already!”
His sole aim was to escalate the situation, spark chaos, and divert everyone's attention.
“Enough! Keep arguing, and I'll toss both of you overboard,” Bing Xiao barked coldly.
The iron level battle qi cultivator had no choice but to shut up.
But Lan Zao's mind stirred.
Throw me overboard?
Perfect!
He immediately shouted, "Coward! If you've got the guts, keep fighting! Jump off the ship! Let's battle in the water!"
Everyone stared at Lan Zao in shock.
This bronze level battle qi cultivator was far too reckless. Even with the old gang leader intervening, he still dared to rant on?
'You're the weaker party here! Do you really need to be this bold?'
The iron level battle qi cultivator gritted his teeth in fury.
The human ringleader snorted coldly, pointing at Lan Zao, "You brat, you'd better know your place.”
Bing Xiao also looked at Lan Zao, softening his tone to soothe him, "Alright, calm down.”
The iron level battle qi cultivator glanced at Bing Xiao, thinking: Old gang leader, could you please not make such an obvious distinction in your tone and attitude toward us two?
Lan Zao couldn't care less about such things. He was preoccupied with thoughts of being thrown overboard.
This chance to escape had unexpectedly been handed to him on a silver platter.
Naturally, Lan Zao seized it with all his might.
But just as he was about to continue his rant, darkness suddenly engulfed his vision. He lost consciousness, collapsing onto the deck and passing out.
Everyone was startled.
Bing Xiao rushed over to check on him.
He first confirmed Lan Zao was still breathing and breathed a sigh of relief. But when he touched Lan Zao's forehead, it was scorching hot.
Bing Xiao immediately called out to Feng Lian for help: “Lord Feng Lian...”
Feng Lian nodded and barked, “Summon all ship's doctors to tend to the wounded!”
The three pirate ships led by the Divine Wind, having docked for over half an hour to evacuate all the Bayonet Gang members, finally sailed away leisurely.
As they departed, the magician tower unleashed several purple lightning bolts that exploded behind the Divine Wind and the other ships, seemingly declaring they had done their utmost but were hindered by insufficient range.
The Snow Bird Harbor City Lord had his own plans, while the dragonman youngster had already begun his covert operation.
He used an alchemy puppet disguised as himself, while he personally piloted the Deep Sea Monster Fish, secretly departing from the ocean depths to trail the Divine Wind.
That night.
A small fleet entered Snow Bird Harbor's dock.
Among them was the decommissioned warship purchased by the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
Zi Di and the alchemy puppet disguised as the dragonman youngster boarded this vessel.
The warship was entirely white, measuring 112 meters in length with an average width of 31 meters. Its hull was nearly twice the size of the Deep Sea Monster Fish.
Two masts stood: the central mainmast and the aft mast.
The lookout towers atop these masts were meticulously engineered alchemy assemblies—the mainmast housing a silver level spellcasting platform, the aft mast an iron level long-range firing platform.
The mainmast bore square sails, while the aft mast carried triangular sails.
74361
The warship boasted 74 gunports: 36 on each side of the hull, and one each at the bow and stern.
The cannons in these gunports were all common items—not a single bronze level one among them.
In fact, the same applies to the sails.
Originally, the warship's sails were all silver level, and its cannons were all alchemy cannons. However, these components had been dismantled and either repurposed for new warships or used as military supplies.
The primary subject of the transaction was this warship itself.
The alchemy components within the warship primarily comprised four elements:
The Grand Seal Kinetic Reactor, the Ice Elemental Magic Pool, the Cold City Armor, and the Snow Honey Energy Storage Tank.
After thorough inspection, Zi Di and the 'dragonman youngster' formed their assessment.
“The Grand Seal Kinetic Reactor is an enhanced version of the Seal Kinetic Reactor. The latter is used in assault ships, emphasizing acceleration, but its performance in top speed, endurance, and energy consumption is mediocre.”
"The Ice Elemental Magic Pool has considerable capacity, specifically converting ice elements into magic power. The advantage of such specialized elemental magic pools lies in their higher conversion efficiency for a single element."
"The Snow Honey Energy Storage Tank is for attrition. ‘Snow honey’ is a peculiar resource. Humans can consume it, not only to satisfy hunger but also to replenish battle qi. Additionally, it can be used for ships—deploying them into magic pools can also convert them into magic power, though the conversion rate is lower than that of ice elements."
Zi Di now possessed extensive intelligence on the Ice Sculpture Kingdom.
Snow honey wasn't considered a specialty resource, but due to its high practical value, it became standard equipment for the kingdom's army and navy long ago.
"Among the four primary alchemy components, the most valuable is undoubtedly the Cold City Armor. This alchemy technology represents the Ice Sculpture Kingdom's third-generation military innovation, consistently demonstrating stable performance on the battlefield. Primarily providing physical defense, it is rarely sold separately on the market."
Beyond that, the platforms for spellcasting and archery on the two masts were also alchemy components, though secondary and easily removable.
In truth, they functioned as battlefield consumables.
Zi Di gradually grasped the vessel's tactical role.
“Snow elf warships only have 74 gun ports—far too few for a ship of this size.”
“They rely primarily on onboard magicians for long-range assault.”
“For us, it's actually not very suitable.”
“First, replace all the standard cannons. Then purchase two wind sails—at least iron level.”
“Could we use this ship to pursue the Divine Wind Pirates?”
A thought flashed through Zi Di's mind.
But she dismissed it immediately.
A mercenary crew would need time to familiarize themselves with an unfamiliar warship before unleashing its full potential.
Installing gold level cannons would consume significant labor hours.
At least they now possessed a silver level magic ship. The Cold City Armor could safeguard the gold level cannons, preventing them from being easily destroyed by enemies as before.
Yet Zi Di felt little joy over acquiring the new ship.
Her thoughts were occupied by the dragonman youngster: “Ah, I wonder how things are going over there?”
Indeed, trouble had struck the dragonman youngster's side.
He had followed the Divine Wind and the other ships until midnight.
Suddenly, a fleet appeared and successfully ambushed the Divine Wind and two other pirate ships!