Chapter 679: Sword of Time – Intertwined Sword Slash
Boom.
The pirate ship and the Ice Sculpture Kingdom's warship collided violently.
Then spells and grappling hooks flew across, entangling enemy and friendly vessels alike.
Boards were immediately thrown across.
“Charge!”
“Follow me!”
“Slaughter these damned pirates!”
Pirates bellowed defiantly, while the snow elves roared in response.
The cries of battle intertwined as assault teams stormed opposing decks, casualties mounting instantly.
Blades clashed, flesh and blood spattered.
Battle qi and magic intertwined, and few fallen humans or snow elves rose again.
The iceberg emitted a soft white light, like a gauze shroud draping over the snow elves.
This radiance provided healing, stamina restoration, and defensive effects.
The Li Jian Clan commanded the Second Naval Fleet, with its lower-to-mid-level naval officers all members of the clan. United as one, they never abandoned comrades, often forming defensive formations of varying sizes to execute hit-and-run tactics.
In contrast, the pirates charged like raging waves, crashing violently against the flesh-and-blood barriers erected by the naval forces.
Compared to the Kingdom's Second Naval Fleet, the pirates' equipment and military discipline were inferior.
Thus, after a brief boarding engagement, pirate casualties far exceeded those of the navy.
The first mate hurried to Da Han's side and reported, "Commander! We've detected alchemy components of gold level within every iceberg."
"Currently, the drifting icebergs have demonstrated the ability to defend against cannon fire, protect vessels, and deploy soldiers. We suspect it may possess certain offensive capabilities."
"The Second Naval Fleet is the Ice Sculpture Kingdom's regular army, its elite force. Now aided by the drifting icebergs and employing an uncommon naval tactic, they hold multiple advantages. Our vanguard is no match for them."
Da Han paused, still maintaining the time divine spell to project future visions.
After a long moment, he spoke slowly: “Have the Vegetable Pirates, Dread Firepower Pirates, and Ying Tou Pi charge forward.”
“Assemble the Ice Spike Squad, Ice Blast Squad, and Frost Archer Squad. Keep them on standby.”
“Order the magicians to prepare the spell, Light Snow. I want the entire battlefield covered.”
…
Da Han commanded with unwavering composure, issuing a series of orders.
The Vegetable Pirates, Dread Firepower Pirates, and others were all gold level pirate crews. Though smaller in scale than Da Han's Icebound Pirates, they couldn't handle the Ice Sculpture Kingdom alone. Yet they still sought to plunder it, so they temporarily aligned with Da Han.
These pirates formed the second wave of assault, and after their charge, the Li Jian Clan's maritime defenses visibly faltered. The once orderly defenses became jagged and disjointed under the pirates' onslaught.
Several icebergs collapsed in succession. Their alchemy components shattered within, causing the icebergs to slowly sink into the sea.
Without the icebergs for support, naval warships retreated in succession, regrouping around the icebergs further back.
Cong Mang wielded his long staff, crushing the skull of a silver level naval officer with a single blow.
He charged left and right across the warship's deck, reveling in the slaughter.
Behind him followed the signature squad of the Vegetable Pirates—the Hoodlum battle squad. Under Cong Mang's leadership, they inflicted staggering casualties.
The Dread Firepower Pirates fought differently.
Composed mainly of water pigmen, this pirate crew specialized in training elite naval combat units with formidable ship-boring capabilities.
Time and again, the hulls of naval ships were pierced by the water pigmen, but the holes quickly sealed shut with ice.
When their ship-boring attacks failed, the water pigmen didn't lose heart. They fully exploited another advantage—firepower!
A barrage of cannons, ballistae, and other weapons opened fire, weaving a dense, massive net of fire.
Under this torrent of fire, the snow elves moving on the deck quickly became corpses.
Ying Tou Pi roared with laughter: “Ram them!”
Though his flagship was only silver level, its ram was a gold level alchemy component.
Following his flagship were over a dozen magic ships, each equipped with superior armor.
Ying Tou Pi's pirate crew relished nothing more than steering their ships to crash into anything in sight.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Ying Tou Pi's pirates sent the warships tumbling sideways, some capsizing instantly.
“These warships are too tough!”
“It's those floating icebergs causing trouble, what a pain.”
Ying Tou Pi gritted his teeth and cursed.
Every time his ship rammed into one, a layer of ice armor rapidly crystallized over the naval vessel's hull. The ice armor was controllable, capable of thickening to considerable depth in moments.
Ying Tou Pi's pirate ship had to shatter the ice layer first before damaging the warship itself. Much of the impact's destructive force was absorbed by the surface ice.
Some pirates slaughtered relentlessly, others were locked in stalemates, but overall they held the Second Naval Fleet at bay.
“The tactic of pairing new warships with floating icebergs gives us an advantage here.”
“But our mid-to-lower-ranking officers aren't a match for pirate captains, we've suffered heavy casualties.”
San Sha Man Tuo assessed the situation with tense concentration.
Pirates tempered themselves through years of combat. Those blessed with talent and luck rose through brutal elimination to become group leaders, ringleaders, and ultimately captains.
Such fierce competition naturally elevated only the elite of the elite to high positions.
In contrast, the navy's training intensity for mid-to-lower-ranking officers fell far short.
"The Li Jian Clan, to maintain control over the Second Fleet, practices nepotism, filling many key positions with their own kin. Combat prowess isn't the sole criterion; it's not even the primary one."
“Among pirates, however, might makes right...”
San Sha Man Tuo's thoughts diverged. Having joined the Li Jian Clan as an outsider, she had gained deep insight into its inner workings. Instantly analyzing the battle situation, she traced inward to uncover the true root cause.
Gripping her staff slightly tighter, San Sha Man Tuo realized: the time for her to act was approaching.
Sure enough, shortly after, Kong Pan issued the order for San Sha Man Tuo and her team to engage.
San Sha Man Tuo drew a deep breath, dispelled her spells, and deliberately revealed her aura.
As a magician, she had to protect herself. Especially in this chaotic battlefield, where the next moment was utterly unpredictable.
San Sha Man Tuo cast a debuff spell, instantly affecting numerous pirates. The nearby navy seized the opportunity to pounce and slay them.
Yue Qian quickly appeared in various spots across the battlefield.
He was a rising star of the Li Jian Clan, destined to become its future pillar. His Inner World bloodline ran thick within him, enabling him to cast racial magic that flashed him into short-range teleportation flashes.
This granted him exceptional support and evasion skills. The pirates cursed and raged, utterly unable to catch up to Yue Qian.
As a gold level, Yue Qian possessed formidable strength. He swiftly dispatched three silver level pirates and lightly wounded a gold level pirate.
With support from Yue Qian and San Sha Man Tuo, the naval forces barely stabilized their position.
But the respite was short-lived. At Da Han's command, the pirates' third wave of assault immediately surged forward.
“The defense line is about to collapse,” Kong Pan assessed the situation, sighing inwardly.
She drew a plate-shaped magic artifact, preparing to cast a spell herself to create a spatial barrier.
But in the next instant, an icy beam shot thousands of meters across the battlefield, piercing through it like a razor-sharp spear, heading straight for Kong Pan.
The alchemy artifact on her body flared with light, buying her crucial time.
Kong Pan dodged swiftly, evading the icy beam.
She immediately spat a mouthful of blood, forced to break her spell and suffer its backlash.
At the same moment, Da Han nonchalantly withdrew his index finger.
Just now, he had personally intervened!
Kong Pan was drenched in cold sweat, her face drained of color.
“How could this be?”
“I was just about to strike, yet Da Han reacted with such blinding speed!”
“No...”
"Da Han worships the Dusk God and wields the time divine spell. He must have used the time divine spell to foresee the next moment's events."
“Da Han... he's moved out...” Kong Pan stared at the magic projection, her expression grim.
After striking, Da Han didn't stop. He slowly ascended into the air, diving toward Kong Pan's position.
Kong Pan had no time to hesitate. She immediately activated her alchemy components to teleport to another ship.
She had long since left her flagship, precisely to prevent Da Han from executing a decapitation strike.
This was the world of the strong.
The pirate faction, possessing saint level combat power, held a clear advantage.
Da Han soared high into the sky, surveying the entire battlefield below. From his vantage point, the ships resembled wooden toy cars.
Pirates and navy forces clashed fiercely, while those not yet engaged in battle collectively looked up, watching Da Han's every move with intense focus.
To the naked eye, Da Han had shrunk into an indistinct black speck high in the sky.
No one dared approach Da Han, but Kong Pan resolutely ordered the bombardment.
Yet the gold level shells, upon striking Da Han's saint domain, fell silent one after another.
Da Han prayed with sincere devotion:
“My Lord, your faithful servant Da Han pays homage to you!”
“You are the Dusk, the God of Time, the inevitable end all things must face.”
“You govern the passage of time, and all phenomena fade with You.”
“Please unleash Your divine might, letting our enemies taste the world's mercilessness.”
Unlike prayers in peacetime, those on the battlefield were often brief.
As Da Han finished his prayer, infinite rays of light streamed down from the sky, forming translucent blades known as the Sword of Time.
The blades rained down like a torrential downpour.
Snow elves struck by the blades spat blood and retreated, their attempts to wield battle qi and spells nearly futile.
Where the blades struck the magic ships, explosions erupted. magic power circuits were damaged, and alchemy devices failed one after another.
Time divine spell - Sword Slash: Intertwined Time!
The time within each struck target's body became severely disjointed. Some parts accelerated, others slowed.
This severely disrupted the channeling of magic and battle qi, magic-powered ships were no exception. In truth, these vessels were more rigid than even the transcendents themselves, forced to endure damage to their magic circuits without the ability for fine-tuning adjustments.
“Such a divine spell!” Kong Pan gritted her teeth as Swords of Time rained down from the sky.
She wasn't without trump cards, but her powerful tactics, new warships and floating icebergs, had all been nullified by the Swords of Time.
“Da Han foresaw the future, so he struck early, specifically casting this divine spell to suppress us!” Kong Pan sighed deeply, head thrown back.
Her fighting spirit plummeted to its lowest.
“Withdraw... withdraw the forces!” she ordered decisively.
Having fought this far, the Li Jian Clan could now account for their actions.
If Snow Bird Harbor City Lord understood the kingdom's delicate political landscape, how could Kong Pan of the Li Jian Clan be unaware?
When Da Han struck without any interference from the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, Kong Pan knew: she would not receive reinforcements from the kingdom's saints.
“We must preserve the clan's fighting strength!”
“Order all ships to enter the icebergs!”
With this command, the warships still capable of maneuvering crashed into the icebergs near them.
As they collided, a miraculous scene unfolded. The icebergs seemed like layers of light and shadow, merely rippling before swallowing the warships whole.
The icebergs' aura grew steadily stronger, each absorption of a warship adding a small surge to their power.
The Sword of Time's effect on the icebergs was greatly diminished.
"The drifting icebergs were constructed using vast quantities of time ice cubes as building materials. Its resistance to temporal magic and spells is truly remarkable."
Most warships, crew and all, vanished into the iceberg.
The drifting iceberg accelerated sharply, carrying the Second Fleet's main force as it made a decisive escape!
Da Han, however, made no further move.
He descended leisurely onto the flagship, the Icebound.
“Go chase them.”
“Go plunder them.”
“We are pirates!” he roared with laughter.
The pirates erupted in thunderous cheers.
Some pursued the drifting icebergs, smashing them apart and mercilessly slaughtering the naval forces. Others broke rank entirely, striking out alone toward the coastal towns of the Ice Sculpture Island.