Chapter 76: Snake Rat Naval Battle (2)
The group commander, Zong Ge, was still expressionless.
He had painstakingly trained these sailors, and the thing he drilled them on the most was not in shelling or weaponry, but rather sailing.
Because he knew that it would be the most important fundamentals for naval combat.
Only when their movement was entirely within their element, could they hold the initiative, and go onto expand their fleet battle formations.
However, what was being accomplished today was not just the result of bitter training.
The greatest thing assisting Zong Ge was information.
The Deep Sea Monster Fish and the scouting birds allowed Zong Ge to receive intel on every directional adjustment the pirates as they did them.
Otherwise, if they were just relying on human eyes, they would easily overlook the initial adjustments, and thus waste time and be unable to respond in time.
The second reason was the shelling.
The closer both sides got, the more accurate the shelling was.
After Zong Ge’s training, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ bombardment level had reached standards, and put sufficiently heavy pressure on the pirate ships.
During every round of bombardment, the pirates had to lie down or hide in shelters.
The third reason was the gold level cannon.
It was precisely because this cannon was concealed that Rou Zang’s flagship, the Bath Tub, could not charge in wantonly, instead it was heavily protected by layers of pirate ships.
If it abandoned its protection, and rampaged about, it would be menaced by the gold level cannon.
The Bath Tub was only a silver level magic ship, it could not withstand a gold level bombardment.
Even if they lacked a gunner, Zong Ge could still use the gold level cannon to inhibit the Bath Tub.
Under normal circumstances, the magic ship would have already charged at the forefront, and did its best to make visible its master’s brutality.
Thus, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps’ constant obstruction pressured it too.
Through overt and covert pressure, the momentum of Rou Zang’s pirate group’s breakout was suppressed.
Soon after, the alliance, due to Tan Qiu’s repeated orders, did their best to catch up and reduce the distance between them.
The Flower Wall Pirates somewhat separated themselves from the fray and were now at the eastern fringes. They wanted to find an opportunity to save Rou Zang, but they unexpectedly turned into the alliance’s first target.
As the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps neared Stone Forest Island again, the alliance finally caught up to Rou Zang’s pirate group and the naval battle unfolded.
“The ships are back, they’ve come back!!” Xu ma happily jumped in the sand.
Previously, when the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps received the urgent transmission, there hadn’t been enough time to pick him up, and they sailed away in an effort to intercept the pirates.
Xu Ma had lost his head in fear, and nearly wanted to die.
The scouts couldn’t communicate, therefore, Xu ma didn’t know the truth.
To him it seemed that the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had doubtlessly discovered that the Bath Tub was lying in ambush and decided to retreat, marooning him here.
Being marooned on this island was disastrous!
There might be other pirates here too.
But if he fell into the brutal hands of Rou Zang…
“I’m putting my small life in danger!” Xu Ma was in such a frenzy that he nearly acted.
When the iron level village chief of Stone Forest Island saw how queer Xu Ma was looking, he promptly advised him.
After some handwrought persuasion, Xu Ma calmed down.
“Hold on, they are in battle! Is there another ship?” Soon after, Xu Ma saw Rou Zang’s pirate group being chased by the alliance.
The two fleets were fighting in close combat on the sea, and the ships were losing speed as they maneuvered within a small area.
“Now then, you believe what this old man has said, Lord Xu Ma?” When the village chief saw this, he found it difficult to conceal his alarm, but he also didn’t forget to continue placating Xu Ma. “This place has not been trapped by Rou Zang. Rou Zang and his men are over there.”
“Whew.” When Xu Ma recalled how he had just behaved, he felt someone embarrassed.
“We’ll go back.” The village chief was deeply worried as he urged, “If by chance they land or a stray projectile hits this place, wouldn’t it be bad luck?”
“Correct, let’s go back first!” Xu Ma repeatedly nodded, and was willing to follow good advice.
An alliance ship’s hard bow bore down at a pirate ship.
The pirate ship’s helmsman shouted out from the confusion, “Rudder fully to the left!”
The pirate ship swerved out of danger, and the hull and the bow brushed past each other.
The two ships; huss rubbed against each other in wheezing scrapes, and the forces in play pushed the pirate ship back out.
But the pirates remained standing on the tilted deck like sturdy lumber.
The level of incline, compared to how it got during rough waters, was child’s play.
The alliance’s ships were generally larger than the pirate ships, but they were slower.
The pirate ships all focused on agility and speed.
This was mainly to make maritime plundering more convenient.
How could one speak of robbery if they couldn’t catch up?
The alliance ships were mainly used for patrolling, and since the two ship types had different functions, they performed differently.
Taking advantage of the near proximity of the ships, the alliance sailors tossed their throwing hooks onto the pirate ship and affixed them.
Some brave sailors raised cutlasses and swords, then jumped across the sea to fight the pirates in close quarters.
Pirate ship decks were generally lower to the sea than the alliance ship decks, thus it was easy for the alliance sailors to land on it.
However, the pirates responded likewise.
Many pirates grabbed ropes, swung through the air with howls, then landed onto the alliance ship’s deck.
The two sides grappled bitterly with each other,
For a moment, blood flowed everywhere, and limbs flew.
Casualties began to mount quickly and violently.
The alliance sailors had better equipment that conformed to them.
The pirates were more vicious and were experts at chaotic battles. The more chaotic a situation got, the more advantageous it was for them. They often cleverly used anything on a deck, like buckets, ropes, and the masts to help them fight.
On some ships the alliance was winning steadily and surely. On other ships, the pirates strutted about the beaten and broken alliance members.
The situation was deadlocked, and for a moment, neither side could secure the advantage.
“They really are Rou Zang’s pirates, ordinary pirates wouldn’t have such a vicious nature.” Captain Hei Fei lamented. He had seen many pirates that even upon facing death’s door, continued to insolently wave their weapons and never showed a trace of fear or timidness.
“The pirates that marshalled by Rou Zang’s side are just as savage.” The merchant alliance magician’s heart shivered.
The priest was concerned, “The other side’s formation is strong, and we cannot charge through.”
The city guard commander looked at Tan Qiu, “Feudal Lord, let us go out together.”
This was the world of the strong.
The gold levels were fighting high in the sky, and couldn’t attend to matters on the ocean.
The silver levels were the key to victory or defeat.
Now was certainly an opportune moment to enter the battle.
Especially when it came to silver levels, the pirates lacked them, while the alliance had many here.
But Tan Qiu hesitated, and after thinking about it, he shook his head and refused, “Let’s wait some more.”
Although Gu Qiao had been drawn away by Guang Ke, there was still Rou Zang.
Although he had been captured, wouldn’t the pirates on board go save him.
What condition was Rou Zang in?
Has he already been rescued and is now sheltering inside the Bath Tub?
If the alliance was dispatched out, would Rou Zang rush their magician and priest?
Even if he didn’t attack the magician and priest, he could be lying in wait within the ship hold.
Could the silver levels withstand the full strength of a gold level?
Tan Qiu didn’t want to take the risk.
Regardless of whether it was him or his subordinates.
The city guard commander was from his clan, and was a trusted aide.
It would be inconvenient for the silver level thief to leave her hiding place.
Regardless of which was lost, it would greatly damage his future administration of Snake Rat Island.
“If I was a gold level, I would charge straight in.” Tan Qiu sighed to himself.
When the city guard commander saw that Tan Qiu rejected his proposal, he couldn’t help but look anxious and disappointed.
Under the current circumstances, if the feudal lord did not take the lead in this assault, others wouldn’t charge in either.
After all, the one who benefited the most from this battle was the feudal lord, followed up by the priest.
The priest had already dedicated his resources as military capital. Furthermore, he was a caster, and couldn’t charge in first, there wasn’t enough protection on the battlefield.
“What’s going on?” Meanwhile in the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, Tripleblade pursed his brows, “Tan Qiu still hasn’t attacked yet?”
On another ship, Cang Xiu was covertly watching, and upon analyzing Tan Qiu’s misgivings, laughed grimly, “Ah, the hearts of men.”
“Although the alliance is numerous, it has many problems.” Zong Ge sighed to himself, “The number of people is secondary, only with unity can elite troops be trained. Even if there are only a few people, they can achieve an astonishing battle result.”
This was also the reason why he didn’t think the survivors had good prospects.
The survivors had natural divisions, they had too many races among them, varied origins, complicated social statuses, different religions, and substantially different live experiences.
Thanks to Zong Ge’s leadership and prior training, the Dragon Lion Mercenary was able to watch from the sidelines.
If they got close to Rou Zang’s pirate group, they could entangle themselves with the latter. If that happened, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps would be bearing the greatest attacks and be the ones facing the greatest risks.
Who knew what condition Rou Zang was really in?
If he had already been freed, it would be quite terrible.
There was no other way to say it, Zong Ge’s great contribution was quite magnificent!
The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps waited for the main battlefield to be decided.
If victory was in sight, they would advance.
If the battlefield was turning sour, they could also retreat easily.
They could advance or retreat, and firmly held the initiative.
At the moment, there was another group in the same situation as the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
It was the Flower Wall Pirates.
They had been trailing behind Rou Zang’s pirate group and were waiting for an opportune moment to stage a rescue.
Swordsman Xi Cao’s operation had succeeded, and the Flower Wall Pirate commander, Hua Dun, had wily slipped away, he knew he wasn’t the first target and had evaded the alliance’s spear tip force.
Naturally, Tan Qiu didn’t want to get entangled with them.
If they let Rou Zang’s pirate group get away, and let the main target break out in a clean getaway, they would be imbeciles.
Therefore, the alliance immediately ensnared Rou Zang’s pirate group.
They didn’t attack the Flower Wall Pirates off to the side.
Right now, 38 of the alliance ships were fighting 21 of Rou Zang’s pirate ships, forming the main battlefield.
In the main battlefield, murderous shouts shook the heavens, and casualties on both sides were constantly mounting.
On the outskirts of this, two fleets were sailing about.
One was the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, they were located in the north. They only had six ships, but harbored a gold level cannon. It was precisely because of that that they were able to faintly threaten the Bath Tub, denying it from charging forth.
On the other side was the Flower Wall Pirates, they had 19 ships, a far greater number. This was because this pirate group had merged with the ships and men of Xi Cao’s pirate group.