Chapter 75: Snake Rat Naval Battle (1)
The sea breeze was slowly brushing past, the sky was azure, however, the ocean surface had an austere ambience.
A confrontation between ships was imminent.
If one was watching from above, they would see the alliance was divided into two parts.
The 38 ships led by Guang Ke, Tan Qiu, and the priest were in the southwest. The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ 6 ships and the Deep Sea Monster Fish hidden on the seafloor were in the northeast.
On the other side was Rou Zang’s Bath Tub. Aside from the flagship, there were also groups belonging to Rou Zang that had a 21 pirate ships in total. This fleet was being trailed by thew Flower Wall Pirates. This pirate group had merged with Xi Cao’s men and ships, and had 19 ships in total.
These two pirate groups were in the middle.
Rou Zang had been captured by Gu Qiao, the rest of Rou Zang’s pirate group lacked the will to fight, and Gu Qiao just wanted to return to the Sheng Ming Continent.
The Flower Wall Pirates were controlled by Mo Kong, he wanted them to attack the Bath Tub and rescue Mo Kong, Rou Zang, and the others.
Meanwhile, Tan Qiu and the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps wanted to encircle and annihilate Rou Zang’s pirate group.
Gu Qiao wanted to avoid conflict and was forced to negotiate.
But as a believer in the Justice God, Guang Ke couldn’t pardon Rou Zang.
Guang Ke flew into the air.
His body emitted a white radiance, and as he flew, a two meter long tail of light trailed behind him.
“That’s right, that’s Lord Guang Ke’s battle skill – Light Tail.”
“It is a flight battle skill!”
Tan Qiu and the others were inspired.
Flying battle skills were relatively rare, and were at least gold level.
A bronze level magician could fly or float, while a fighter, without equipment, needed to be gold level to be able to fly.
This was because gold level battle qi could form outside the body.
Having a flying battle skill often gave fighters the initiative.
Guang Ge flew directly above the Bath Tub.
Gu Qiao coldly snorted and gave the order to fire.
The Bath Tub was an unusual magic ship, it had devastating close quarters firepower while its long ranged battle capabilities were quite weak.
To make up for this flaw, the ship was outfitted with gunmen and archers.
Although these people complied with Gu Qiao’s command, and fired upon Guang Ke, their morale was low and some even deliberately slowed their movements.
In the air, Guang Ke aimed a long distance battle skill at the Bath Tub.
A ball of light shot into the Bath Tub, causing its hull to shake and creating a hole in a ship deck.
The Bath Tub could only take this thrashing passively.
Without options, Gu Qiao was forced to fly into the air too.
“He has a flying battle skill too!” Zi Di’s gaze tightened.
Cang Xu followed up, “The Great Pain Temple is one of the ten greatest temples on the Sheng Ming Continent, it isn’t strange that Gu Qiao has a flying battle skill.”
Ther two looked at each other, then decided to withdraw.
They were magicians of lowly rank, one was bronze, the other iron.
IF their presence on the battlefield was too strong, it would cause Gu Qiao to kill them, a terrible fate.
A magician’s greatest fear was being ambushed by powerful fighters.
Of course, they had ways of preserving their lives. Regardless of whether it was the dragonman youngster and Zong Ge being a match for gold levels when acting together, the necromancy they controlled, or the Deep Sea Monster Fish.
But using these should be avoided if possible.
After all, they were not the protagonists of this naval battle, rather they were the higher ups of Snake Rat Island.
Tan Qiu and the priest were the ones who wanted to eradicate Rou Zang and his men the most.
No, to be more accurate, the protagonists of this naval battle were Gu Qiao and Guang Ke.
The outcome of their duel would decide the outcome of this naval battle.
This was the world of the strong.
In the air, Gu Qiao charged at Guang Ke, Guang Ke didn’t dodge away.
The two intertwined in the air, loud explosions echoed outwards from them.
Soon after, both sides turned around and charged at each other.
Gold battle qi surged through the air, but battle skills haven’t been used yet as both sides were probing each other.
Guang Ke didn’t want his fight with Gu Qiao to endanger Tan Qiu and the others, thus he decided to charge higher into the air,
Gu Qiao coldly snorted and pursed him unwaveringly.
“They’ve left.” Tan Qiu was watching from a telescope. When he saw the gold level fighters leave the battlefield, he immediately ordered, “Attack!”
The grand and mighty alliance charged at the pirate ships.
Rou Zang’s pirate ships lacked a leader, and their opinions differed.
“Should we make war?”
“The bald head said that as long as we reach the Sheng Ming Continent, he’d left us go.”
“If Tan Qiu and those guys capture us, we’ll be punished severely. We must flee!”
The pirates lacked the will to fight and sailed their ships towards the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
“Open fire!” Tan Qiu commanded.
The sailors had been prepared for a long while, and upon hearing that command, they immediately opened fire.
Bang, boom, bang…
White smoke wafted from the ships’ sides and bow.
Like a swarm of bees, several hundred artillery shells flew into the air, then descended, smashing into and around the Bath Tub.
Rou Zang’s pirate group was blown to bits.
However, these pirates were long familiar with naval battles and bombardment.
After the first round of shelling, the surviving pirates emerged from their shelters. Some were hanging sails, some were cleaning up the deck, and others were observing the situation.
Bang, boom, bang…
The pirates’ cannons were also firing.
But their primary target was not Tan Qiu and the others, rather it was the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
“Get down!!” The Dragon Lion mercenaries had trained for this, and one after the other, hunkered down in bunkers or pressed up against the deck, both hands protecting their heads.
Hundreds of artillery shells hit the hulls, and many more pounded the ocean around, lifting white plumes of waves.
In the captain’s room, the dragonman youngster didn’t bat an eye as he observed the battlefield.
His detection equipment was not only a telescope, but also the Deep Sea Monster Fish’s reliably powerful means.
Not only that, but there were also alchemy puppet scouting birds flying and hovering in the air.
All kinds of information were constantly being compiled by him.
Reports on how damaging the bombardment was had been quickly delivered.
The first round of shelling had equally damaged the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ six ships, but the damage was minor. The most serious one was that a shell had broken through a hull, causing three casualties.
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had been on their guard.
They knew they had been tasked with barring the way, and since they had fewer ships, it had been almost certain that Rou Zang’s pirate group would charge towards them.
Thus, the six ships were comparatively scattered.
The dragonman youngster didn’t act blindly or thoughtlessly, he was waiting for Zong Ge’s orders.
The dragonman youngster was unfamiliar with naval combat, but the half beastman was a versatile military man.
This was the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ first fight, so the dragonman youngster oversaw the general situation while Zong Ge was responsible for conducting the battle on the front lines.
Zong Ge’s eyes flashed fiercely, “The pirates are already panicking.”
If it was him, at that distance, he wouldn’t have given the order to open fire.
Too far a distance meant that accuracy was low.
Only when Rou Zang’s pirate group had gotten closer did Zong Ge unhurriedly give the order, “Return fire.”
The ensign waved the flag, and alchemy devices communicated it.
Flags and other signals were sent out simultaneously.
Bang, boom, bang…
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps counterattacked.
The bombardment was far more effective than the one Rou Zang’s pirate group did.
Some pirates were blown to bits, and even a pirate ship’s mast was splintered to pieces.
Zong Ge did not show delight, his expression was unperturbed as he assessed, “A passable shelling. We don’t have enough cannons, we need to get more. More crucially, we lack true gunners. The gold level cannon cannot display its real impact.”
This was all the result of bitter training.
If it had been the people from before, then perhaps the bombardment would instead make the enemy laugh heartily and grow relaxed.
“Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps!” A pirate gnashed their teeth.
“They were the ones who wounded Captain Rou Zang. Otherwise, how could the captain have lost to that bald head?”
“They have a gold level cannon. Where have they hidden it this time?” Many of the pirates worried.
Last time, Rou Zang had been struck by the gold level cannon.
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had treacherously hidden the cannon inside a ship and caught Rou Zang off guard.
Currently, the gold level cannon hadn’t been spotted on any of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ six ships.
During the return cannon fire, it hadn’t been exposed.
“Don’t worry about that. Our pursuers are catching up!”
“Rush through, there are only six ships.”
“Even if there is a gold level cannon, there is only one!”
“Whoever gets hit by it is the unlucky one, hehehe.”
“Charge!”
The pirates laughed, and stuck out their chests as they charged into the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps without a second thought.
“These guys…” Zong Ge clenched his teeth, he despised pirates but also recognized reality clearly.
“Although we can fight them directly, that is unnecessary.”
If we press our luck and intercept them, our side will take disastrous casualties.
“Let’s proceed according to what we decided previously.”
Zong Ge transmitted his order shortly after.
The six ships slowly moved, sailing while bombarding Rou Zang’s pirate group, yet still blocking their path ahead.
“What is going on with the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps?!” When Tan Qiu saw this, his immediately became gloomy.
He whispered to the city guard commander at his side, “We took the pains to chase the pirates here. But the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps is letting this opportunity slip by for no reason. If this continues, how can we catch up to the pirate ships?”
The ocean was very empty and wide.
The alliance couldn’t surround them from all directions.
Nor could they hem them in.
After all, there were only so many ships. If they dispersed in a large area, their formation would be flimsy, and it would be easy for an enemy to counterattack or break through.
The pirates could sail in every direction,
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps needed to cut off these people as much as possible, and tangle them up in battle.
Otherwise, if they maintained their distance, the pirates would have the space to maneuver.
It can be said that there was only one chance to entangle them.
Their ambush had already failed.
The pirates seized that opportunity to adjust their course, and they skillfully manipulated their ships to pierce their way through.
But the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps also adjusted their course, and blocked their path ahead.
The pirates adjusted again, yet still remained blocked.
“What’s going on?”
The pirates refused to believe this abnormality, yet every time they adjusted course, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was still intercepting their path forward.
“I didn’t expect that the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was so skilled at sailing!” Even though the church priest couldn’t comprehend sailing, even he could see how good they were.
Tan Qiu’s face immediately turned from gloom to happiness, “Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps! Great job, transmit the order now, it’s time we chase down this pack of bilge rats!”