Chapter 627: The Two Saints

Thinking about it carefully, it was quite normal.

Because these factors were very difficult to control.

They couldn’t be too strong like Da Han or too weak like the Rope Pirates. Only by combining strength and weakness could Tan Mo remain safe while also appearing genuine enough!

After pondering for a long time, Tan Mo finally fixed his eyes on one report.

“Cong Mang, the Vegetable Pirates’ commander.”

“He is a druid that dual cultivates battle qi, he is proficient with the rod, has an irascible disposition, and once had a close relationship with the Wisteria Merchant Alliance.”

Tan Mo carefully researched Cong Mang’s military achievements, and after contrasting them with himself, he found that Cong Mang’s, he found that his personal combat strength nearly matched his own.

This meant that there was a lot of space for the performance.

Deliberately suffering defeat was also comparatively safe.

“The Vegetable Pirates’ ship is also ordinary and isn’t fast.”

“Although Cong Mang attached himself to Da Han and sails with the Icebound Pirates, there are still opportunities to exploit.”

Tan Mo saw the latest battle report on the Vegetable Pirates.

They had done several operations, looting many merchant ships, while Da Han’s Icebound Pirates, on the contrary, had very few gains. Yet obviously, they were sailing together.

Tan Mo was capable of analyzing information.

He quickly made a judgement: on the one hand, Da Han’s Icebound Pirates might look down on such trivial rubbish. On the other hand, this might indicate that the Vegetable Pirates actively separated themselves from the main fleet, then returned after they got done looting.

Furthermore, according to pirate rules, after Cong Mang returned to the main fleet, he would tithe a part of his plunder.

Therefore, Da Han didn’t need to act and could reap what he hadn’t sown.

“I could first lure Cong Mang away from his post and then have him confront me.”

“Even if we fight to a draw, I can still retreat and have sensible justifications as an outsider – I am worried that Da Han will provide assistance.”

“Hm, it’ll be him.”

As Tan Mo was reminiscing about Cong Mang, the latter was in the middle of combat.

“Charge, faster.”

“Hoodlum battle squad, follow me in!” Cong Mang roared, his voice like a giant drum.

He was a middle aged man who wore a dark green hemp garment, his legs wore leggings, and he had cloth shoes on his feet. He didn’t have hair and was bald, and although he was a druid, he dressed closer to a martial monk.

He took the lead, first to step onto the ship planks and advance bravely forth!

He held a long rod in his hand, slamming it into an enemy ahead of him and giving them a violent death.

Then he threw the corpse he pounded into two other enemies.

Cong Mang jumped down, and like a mountain tiger, he killed his way through the crowded deck.

Cong Mang crouched, and swung his rod around, sweeping the enemies away, felling them in a wide expanse with repeated wails of anguish.

He was the vanguard and the first to get a foothold.

Soon after, large quantities of shaved pirates followed onto the deck and charged in.

They were also bald, held long rods, and wore light green martial clothes.

This was the Vegetable Pirates’ Hoodlum battle squad!

The battle squad was over a hundred people large, and the huge offensive their flying rods created couldn’t be stopped no matter where they went.

From high in the air, the green clothed Vegetable Pirates’ battle squad was rapidly expanding in all directions as the enemy was destroyed like the autumn gale sweeping away fallen leaves.

Very quickly, there was only green on the entire deck.

But the battle still continued.

The first deck was only part of a ship, and there were still enemies gathered on the second deck, stubbornly refusing to admit defeat.

But Cong Mang wasn’t concerned with that.

He had abundant battle experience and knew that charging in now would greatly reduce slaughter efficiency. After all, the terrain below deck favored the defender.

Conversely, it would be better to dispatch ordinary pirates to watch over every ship’s ladder and easily suppress this part of the battlefield.

“Little ones, follow me!” Cong Mang roared, leading the Hoodlum battle squad towards another ship.

They quickly undertook another boarding action.

The other pirates were responsible for taking over the enemy positions they captured.

Cong Mang followed a set pattern and swiftly mopped up most of the merchant ships.

These merchant ships could barely resist, and the strongest person among them was only silver level. During the first battle, Cong Mang had charged into the flagship and killed them.

The battle quickly ended.

The pirates reported the results to Cong Mang.

The plunder was all ordinary goods, there was a lot of them, and it would be quite difficult to dispose of them.

But Cong Mang was satisfied.

“Da Han didn’t bother with this, because he is rich and powerful.”

“We are different, we cannot let any opportunity to strengthen go!”

“This is a good opportunity that is hard to come by little ones.”

“We are now attached to Da Han, and even if we encounter a saint level enemy, we have a chance of withstanding them.”

“This is why we give them a portion of our gains!”

“Our things aren’t easy to seize.”

Cong Man’s voice was loud, and that loud voice inspired morale.

He knew that recently, his sailors had grievances in their hearts. After all, they were the ones who went through the great trouble of looting yet had to transfer some over to Da Han’s Icebound Pirates.

Suddenly, a gentle laughter came from above Cong Mang, as if mocking him.

“Who?!” Cong Mang became furious, instantly gazing at where it was coming from.

A moment later, he saw someone squatting on the summit of the merchant ship’s tallest mast.

He was a dark elf, with dark skin and handsome features.

He had a tall build, a high ponytail, and ten slender fingers. Each of his fingernails was very sharp and glinted with blue radiance.

At that moment, he was looking down at Cong Mang indifferently, the corner of his mouth sneering.

Cong Mang’s look changed dramatically, and he forced his scowl into a smile, “Lord, Lord Qian Xing?!”

“Why…why did you come here?”

Qian Xing sneered, “Why? Am I not welcomed?”

“Your arrival honors our entire pirate group!” Cong Mang gave an exaggerated laugh.

Although Qian Xing was a loner, his cultivation had reached the saint level and Cong Mang was not his equal.

A second later, Qian Xing lightly fell onto the deck, “I have come to take your ship.”

“To return to the Icebound Pirates, I want to look for Da Han.”

Cong Mang showed a difficult expression, “But I haven’t cleaned up the battlefield yet.”

“Eh?” Qian Xing blankly stared at Cong Mang.

Cong Mang suddenly seeped with cold sweat.

But a moment later, Qian Xing clapped his shoulder, “I don’t want to make things difficult for you. Have your flagship set sail, the others can stay behind to clean up the battlefield.”

Cong Mang was overjoyed and repeatedly gave thanks. Then he personally led Qian Xing onto his flagship.

Not long after, he took control of the steering and guided Qian Xing back to the main fleet.

In his mind, Cong Mang was guessing why Qian Xing suddenly appeared and why he wanted to meet Da Han.

“Both Qian Xing and Da Han are saint levels, yet they are actually getting together. Could it be that Fire Beard has plans for the Ice Sculpture Kingdom?”

I wanted to land secretly on Ice Sculpture Island and excavate the Wisteria Cache. If this happens during a war, won’t the destruction be advantageous for me?”

But the truth was not what Cong Mang thought.

Qian Xing’s goal was simple; it was finding Ba Qi!

At the time, he was attracted to Flower Skirt Island by Shuang Tu, the main reason was that Shuang Tu was masquerading under Ba Qi’s name and had asked him for help.

But on Flower Skirt Island, Qian Xing noticed Great Master Fan Sheng Za Zhong’s inheritance and fought Cai Jing and Da Bei for it.

Although the other two were gold levels, thanks to their sufficient preparations, they were able to teleport out when they lost.

Before leaving, they managed to take away Great Master Fan Sheng Za Zhong’s inheritance.

Qian Xing was naturally unreconciled, and after the event, he flew alone and looked around the surrounding sea area.

Regretfully, he was a loner and lacked manpower. He also lacked information, and it was like fishing a needle from the sea, and so he failed.

Cai Jing joined the Ice Sculpture Kingdom’s Alchemy Guild and became one of their elders. When this information was learned by Qian Xing, he had given up his search for Cai Jing.

At this time, he was pacing back and forth through the ocean looking for Ba Qi.

He had yet to succeed in that.

Qian Xing actually found out that Ba Qi had been taken prisoner in some naval battle.

But because Zhou Zhang had used a divine spell, and disguised things well, he didn’t make any gratifying discoveries.

After a few hours, Cong Mang’s flagship and the Icebound Pirates converged.

“Hahaha, Cong Mang, why did you return with just one ship?”

“Did you meet with a powerful enemy that you could only flee from?”

“Just ask us for help, the price won’t be low though, can you afford it?”

The Icebound Pirates’ experts jeered and made fun of the returning Cong Mang.

Cong Mang was solemn as he appeared on deck and shouted to Qian Xing that they had arrived.

In a split second, the jeers and insults vanished.

The arrogant and obstinate pirates snapped to silence, and they became serious and solemn.

By the time Qian Xing calmly emerged from the captain’s room, and appeared before the masses, the Icebound Pirates’ eyes widened, then they promptly gave their greetings.

Being a saint level was enough to gain such seriousness.

The Icebound Pirates’ auxiliary commander personally greeted, “Lord Qian Xing, our commander is in the middle of prayer, please have some tea first.”

Qian Xing was expressionless, “My time is limited. Where is the prayer room?”

The auxiliary commander looked distressed.

But a moment later, Qian Xing smiled, “Found it.”

He disappeared from where he stood instantly.

The auxiliary commander’s face changed radically, and he turned around and scampered into the ship’s lower decks.

At that moment, in the prayer room, Qian Xing’s figure appeared behind Da Han.

The prayer room was not spacious, and its facilities were very antiquated, including the consecrated divine statue that felt ancient and worn by change.

This wasn’t due to Da Han, rather it was because he believed in the God of Time and Dusk – Inching Time.

Despite Qian Xing’s impatience, when he saw Da Han in the middle of prayer, he stayed his words and chose to remain silent.

“Grand Dusk God, I recite Your divine name and pray under Your divine statue.”

“You are the guardian of time, Your power crosses eternity, Your wisdom sees all things clearly.”

“You guide the steps of the cosmos, and Your finger ignites the dance of Your believers’ lives.”

“You reveal the mysterious meaning of time to the perplexed and foolish. Time is so valuable and can’t be replaced, it is a gift to our existence and reminds us of how weak and short our lives are.”

“Dusk and Time God Inching Time, please continue to show me the way as I continue to sail the River of Time. Help me transcend procrastination and waste, help me embrace each moment of life.”

“Under your guidance, I learn to treasure every feeling and pleasure.”

“I hope your radiance illuminates my spirit eternally…”

Da Han’s prayer finished, and he slowly turned around to look at Qian Xing.

He was a middle aged human male, with ordinary features and there was a hint of anxiety on the tip of his brows.

He wore a white gown and had a strong body that looked sturdy like a door.

His hands were very coarse and had many calluses.

At this moment, he was stroking his fingers and looked at Qian Xing with rapt attention, his eyes seeping with tranquility, “My life still has 89 years, 305 days, 23 minutes, and 51 seconds.”

“Time is so precious and isn’t allowed to be squandered.”

“Qian Xing, tell me your purpose in coming immediately.”

“Please don’t say any superfluous words, thank you.”