Chapter 221: Section 9: Rou Cang
Ten days later.
A gale lashed the sea as a basin-sized cannonball tore through the sky, emitting a sharp whistling sound, then grazed the hull of the Grey Rat and splashed into the water.
Boom!
A tremendous explosion resounded as the cannonball hit the sea, spurring a wave as tall as three men.
Yihan Hui stood there, his face covered in cold sweat. His usually well-groomed, sleek gray fur was now sticky and clumped together.
It was a close shave with that cannonball; otherwise, the Grey Rat would have been severely damaged.
Boom boom boom…
The barrage from behind never ceased, with most of the cannonballs falling into the sea, creating columns of water.
The Grey Rat navigated through these pillars of water.
This ship was the apple of Yihan Hui’s eye, into which he had invested his entire fortune. The Grey Rat had been transformed into a Black Iron Grade demon energy ship, best known for its short-burst acceleration and sharp turns.
Under the direct steering of Yihan Hui, the Grey Rat had virtually become a slippery old mouse on the sea’s surface, evading most of the bombarding cannonballs with ease.
However, Yihan Hui felt increasing tension and pressure mounting in his heart.
The pursuers behind him far surpassed his strength, bombarding relentlessly and with ease, like a cat playing with a mouse, in control of the entire situation.
It was a warship like a huge whale.
The entire body of the ship was at least three times the size of the Grey Rat, with a rounded bow resembling a giant whale floating on the sea surface.
Unlike the Grey Rat and other pirate ships, this massive ship had no masts, with a three-story building in the center.
It was a tower ship.
On top of the tower ship, there was a huge bathtub.
The water in the bathtub bubbled, clearly boiling hot.
A man lay back in the tub, arms resting on the edges, leaning against the inside of the bathtub, with his eyes closed in repose.
Behind him were two beautiful women, massaging his solid shoulders with all their might. The steaming water and their strenuous efforts made the women sweat profusely, causing their clothes to stick to their skin, accentuating their shapely figures.
“Harder, even harder,” the man soaking in the tub demanded.
The two women gritted their teeth, trying to exert even more strength, but their efforts were in vain. The fact that they had persisted this far was already quite an accomplishment.
“Useless!” the man in the tub yelled angrily, and with a fling of his fat arms, he swept the two women aside with a gust of wind.
The women screamed shrilly as they were hurled through the air in an arc and fell from the top of the high tower to the deck, nearly dying on impact.
“Captain!” The First Officer ran to the top of the tower and instantly knelt on the ground.
The captain in the tub snorted coldly, cracking open his eyes slightly with displeasure, “Didn’t I say not to disturb me while I’m taking a bath?”
The First Officer’s body shook violently, his voice trembling with fear, “Captain, we have successfully encircled them. The Grey Rat will soon be captured!”
“Hmm? Very well,” the captain stood up, stepping out of the gigantic bathtub.
Thump, thump…
He walked barefoot on the deck, each step resonating through the top of the tower.
Amidst the steam, a pair of massive feet like millstones suddenly appeared.
The First Officer bowed even lower.
A huge shadow gradually enveloped him.
“This little mouse sure can run,” the captain stood before the First Officer, gazing into the distance and humming lightly.
The First Officer quickly said, “It’s all thanks to your strategic planning, sir. You cleverly arranged the other ships to form an encirclement. Yihan Hui is both laughable and pitiable, actually imagining he could escape from your grasp.”
“Is that so? Why do I remember that our ships couldn’t match the speed of the Grey Rat, and I got angry, so I sent messages for others to encircle from all directions?” the captain stroked his chin.
The First Officer broke out in cold sweat.
Just then, the lookout shouted, “The Grey Rat has entered the area of Sea Stone Corner!”
“Oh? Entered the reef group, huh? Hmph, still trying to escape!” the captain became displeased instantly, “Strange, why is there a large group of reefs here? Who planned this chase, so foolishly overlooking this reef area?”
The First Officer was in a state of panic.
This was clearly the Captain’s plan, but even if the First Officer had ten times the courage, he wouldn’t dare say a word at this moment.
But the Captain wouldn’t let it go, his face twisted with ferocity, his murderous intent chilling, “Was the pursuit plan your doing?”
The First Officer stuttered.
Boom!
The next moment, the Captain lifted his foot and stomped the First Officer straight into the flooring of the rooftop.
The First Officer was of the Black Iron Grade in Cultivation, desperately summoning his Fighting Energy, but it was to no avail; he was directly crushed into a bloody pulp by the Captain.
“Where’s the Second Officer?” the Captain roared.
The Second Officer scrambled to the top deck, almost entirely falling onto the rooftop, “Cap, Captain, I, I, I’m here, at your summons!”
“Speak, who is behind this pursuit plan? Who put the Grey Rat right inside the reef group!” the Captain shouted angrily.
The Second Officer wailed, “Captain sir, all this was your plan.”
“Hmm?!” The Captain frowned immediately, his face clouded over, “How do I not remember this?”
“Captain sir, you deal with countless matters every day, it’s quite normal to forget such trivial things.” The Second Officer, feeling death looming, suddenly had a flash of inspiration and blurted out, “Your plan was too perfect! Now the Grey Rat has no choice but to hide inside the reef group, allowing our men to surround the reefs with ease, they surely won’t escape.”
“But how do we capture them?” the Captain frowned, “My Bath Tub can’t get in there!”
The Second Officer quickly said, “We can use small boats, lifeboats to get in. The Grey Rat might also be in trouble itself; when we arrive, it might have already run aground and be sinking.”
“Hahaha.” The Captain suddenly laughed out loud, his previous fury completely dissipated, as if everything had been an illusion.
“That’s the plan! Lads, we’re going to be covered in dust, but we’re taking the treasure. I want my name, Rou Cang, to hang at the top of the Holy Tablet!” the Captain bellowed.
“Yes!!” the pirates in the ship roared back in response.
The Grey Rat was indeed in a dire situation.
“Throw, throw out the water and food, and the cargo. We keep only the weapons and wound medicine!” Rou Cang roared continuously, his voice turning hoarse.
Barrels that stored rum, that stored foodstuffs, were all thrown into the sea.
One by one, crates filled with goods were tossed into the water.
Without these things, the Grey Rat’s waterline dropped rapidly, and the body of the ship rose, providing more possibility to prevent running aground.
Rou Cang was extremely anxious.
He well knew that even so, the Grey Rat was in grave danger and could run aground and wreck at any moment.
Because this was the notorious Cape of Sea Stones.
The reefs here were incredibly hard, jutting out from the sea. Their surfaces were not smooth and rounded, but jagged and strange, as if they were chiseled and cleaved by an axe, extremely sharp.
Years of rising and falling tides had not worn down these reefs’ edges. This was because the material of these reefs was very special, of high Grade, reaching the Holy Domain Level. But they were exceedingly difficult to mine; forcibly mining them was costly and not worth the effort.
The bad news was that Rou Cang’s pirate ship was only of the Black Iron Grade.
But the good news was that the Bath Tub, Rou Cang’s ship, was of a higher spec, a Silver Level demon energy ship. Now, intimidated by the notorious Cape of Sea Stones, Rou Cang’s crew chose to stop the pirate ship and used small boats to enter here.
“Captain sir, their ships are here!” the lookout shouted.
Rou Cang strained his eyes and saw the ships belonging to Rou Cang encompassing the Cape of Sea Stones from all directions. If the Grey Rat tried to escape, it would surely be entangled by these pirate ships, making the likelihood of a successful breakout extremely low.
Rou Cang quickly averted his gaze.
He wasn’t worried about these pirate ships.
Because they, too, had stopped outside the reef group.
What he was most concerned about was Rou Cang.
“Sir, they’ve launched the attack,” the lookout shouted again.
“How many of them?” Rou Cang’s heart tightened, and he quickly inquired.
The lookout immediately replied, “Many, at least a hundred pirates came down from the Bath Tub. Rou Cang is at the forefront. Besides, many small boats have rowed over from other pirate ships, filled with pirates ready for battle.”
Rou Cang took a deep breath, forcing himself to command in as calm a tone as possible, “No more advancing, anchor here. Use the cannons and blast fiercely, hold nothing back, fire all the bombs!”
“Yes!!” The pirates were cornered, but their morale remained high. Rou Cang always commanded great respect among his crew.