Chapter 363: Section 150: Legend Formidable Enemy
The fire continuously burned on the surface of the sea.
In the midst of the flames were the remnants of ships.
Bodies that initially floated nearby were hauled up, sharing the same fate of incineration as the ships.
The clean-up of the battlefield had already ended.
Through this battle, the Navy was completely annihilated, and the Justice Pirate Group was left with only one Black Iron Magic Ship and two Bronze Level Magic Ships.
Naval battles are extremely brutal.
In land battles, the defeated can still flee on foot in any direction.
But at sea, ships are the last bastions and homes, losing them means facing the devouring expanse of the endless waters, even if one escapes the battlefield.
The Fishman youth stood at the stern, watching the burning ships while listening to Zi Di’s report.
Zi Di still wore her mask and a black robe.
Since her awakening, she had taken over many responsibilities from Cang Xu, such as managing finances, calculating losses, and gains.
Pirates worked on the deck, some hammering at the mast, others sewing torn sails, some had climbed onto the crossbar, setting up new sail ropes. Others cleaned the deck with long-handled brushes and mops, using foam from potions, and finally rinsing with buckets of seawater until it was clean.
Though deck cleaning might seem a minor task, it was extremely important.
The sea was not always calm; when tossed by waves, sailors easily slipped on the greasy deck. A slip could result in death from the fall or drowning if thrown into the sea.
After a fierce battle, the deck was in terrible condition. Almost everywhere was stained with blood, and along with severed limbs and bodies, human fat was scattered everywhere.
The pirates worked diligently.
Some were still bandaged, marking minor injuries that still required their labor.
Those severely injured were treated in the cabins and then rested.
Without clergy on board, the pirates had only potions and some specific Magic Scrolls for treating injuries.
These Magic Scrolls were not only rare in type but also limited in number.
True expertise in healing and purification had always been wielded by the power of Divine Arts.
Despite the hard work, especially after a great battle, dragging their weary bodies to labor, the pirates’ morale was high.
“We defeated the Navy!”
“Man, I still can’t quite believe it.”
“Navy Vice Admiral Kan Qiao was a fierce man, but he was still killed by our captain.”
“Reliable sources say our captain faced Kan Qiao fairly and directly chopped off his head.”
“Silver cuts Gold, that’s really strong!”
The pirates quietly discussed, occasionally stealing glances at Zi Di and the Fishman youth at the stern.
Their looks towards the Fishman youth were filled with reverence and trust.
Most looked at Zi Di with respect, and of course, a small portion were curious.
For most pirates, Zi Di’s identity was a secret. Only a limited number of survivors from Mysterious Monster Island were privately happy about Zi Di’s awakening.
Zi Di performed exceptionally in the recent battle.
Her spells could be instantly cast and she was already at the peak of Black Iron strength. She also had a Silver Level alchemy Puppet, a Stone Statue Ghost, that reliably entangled two Silver fighters from the Navy.
Boom!
Just then, the collected ships suddenly exploded amidst the flames.
The rough framework of the ships remaining blew apart in the explosion.
Flames soared, then splattered many fireballs landing on the sea, continuing to burn fiercely.
Zi Di had mixed potions to greatly maintain the burning, until every object was completely or nearly completely incinerated.
The pirates startled for a moment, then burst into laughter.
The youth and Zi Di watched calmly, unsurprised.
The explosion was also a step in cleaning up the battlefield.
Normally, any enemy ships that could be towed away would be—selling them could fetch quite a bit of money. The truly immovable ones would be scuttled to prevent aiding the enemy.
For the Justice Pirate Group to go through the efforts of both burning and exploding was uncommon.
But it was necessary.
They faced the Imperial Navy, Imperial spies, and had to do so to minimize any clues or intelligence left behind.
After confirming the results of the explosion, the Justice Pirate Group began to speed up, officially leaving the battlefield.
Half an hour later.
A massive fleet of Navy warships raced across the sea.
As the flagship, the Golden Magic Ship Twin Swords led at the forefront, slowing its speed to coordinate with the main fleet.
As the captain of the Twin Swords, Vice Admiral Wei Sheng of the Empire and an earl, furrowed his brows, “I’m starting to regret bringing them along.”
The Twin Swords could easily surpass a speed of 20 knots.
Wei Sheng was eager to catch up with the Justice Pirate Group and initiate a siege.
“Report! It’s about the latest battle situation involving General Kan Qiao,” a navy sailor approached, carrying a sealed scroll.
“It’s finally been reported,” Wei Sheng quickly took the scroll.
Previously, he had ordered Kan Qiao and Tan Mo to act together to pursue the Justice Pirate Group. Then, he personally took action, leading a massive navy force from the Big Military Port, deploying almost the entire force.
Shortly after setting sail, he received follow-up military intelligence.
Tan Mo and the City Lord of Dun Dao City were ambushed and couldn’t strike. Kan Qiao’s fleet, however, successfully deployed and started the pursuit.
“What exactly is the situation?” Wei Sheng quickly skimmed the contents of the scroll, his expression changing abruptly, his gaze becoming extremely sharp in an instant.
“Defeated?”
“Has Kan Qiao’s fleet been completely annihilated?”
“Wait, maybe not entirely. After all, most of the ships in the fleet are still resting at Knife Harbor.”
“No, Kan Qiao died in battle, and all the elite forces of the fleet were annihilated. What use is it to have some warships left? This fleet is essentially destroyed!”
Wei Sheng clenched his teeth, “Damn Justice Pirate Group!”
He reviewed the contents of the scroll again, quickly heading back to the captain’s quarters.
When he returned to the captain’s quarters, he had completely mastered the intelligence contained there, reciting it from memory.
He approached the tactical table.
On the table lay an alchemy sea chart, where simulated seawater flowed in curved lines. On the sea, apart from islands that stood immobile, numerous fleets were navigating.
Wei Sheng focused his attention on one corner of the map where the Justice Pirate Group’s ships were located.
“The Justice Pirate Group has Black Iron Magic Ships and Bronze Magic Ships, which are low in performance and negligible. The most threatening one is that Golden Magic Ship capable of underwater navigation.”
“A big part of Kan Qiao’s demise lay in this ship.”
Kan Qiao was killed in direct combat by the Fishman youth, but the circumstances of this battle had already been scouted by naval warships. Therefore, the related intelligence was all in the scroll that Wei Sheng held.
“Fishman Divine Son Long Fu!”
“Divine Bloodline, Legendary Combat Skill, Holy Domain Level Fighting Energy.”
“The underwater combat context provided a great advantage.”
“The tactics were very clear, aiming first to break Kan Qiao’s back armor, fully exploiting the speed advantage.”
“The Golden Magic Ship assisted, firing two shots from Golden Level canons costing about 5000 Gold Coins each, just considering the bombs’ costs apart from mana and other expenses!”
“As for Kan Qiao’s fleet…”
“The fleet’s condition was abysmally poor, with most warships left at the harbor, bringing only a few to pursue.”
“The fleet retained its elite forces, but at the Silver Level, the Justice Pirate Group was equally strong.”
“After the death of Kan Qiao, lacking an equal in combat strength, the Fishman Divine Son easily dominated the battlefield.”
“The greatest failure of this naval battle lay with Kan Qiao!”
Wei Sheng clenched his fist.
“Was it his reputation as a fierce warrior that the Justice Pirate Group exploited?”
“Kan Qiao himself harbored complacent thoughts. After all, the Justice Pirate Group did not have a Gold Level force publicly.”
“I’m partly to blame as well. After all, I didn’t provide Kan Qiao with all the facts.”
“What a pity, that’s all the intelligence we were able to gather…”
Wei Sheng shook his head slightly, carelessly throwing the intelligence scroll onto the table.
He analyzed: In a normal battle, Kan Qiao had the capacity to engage the Fishman Divine Son and delay time. But his personality was manipulated, dragged into combat in water where the Fishman Divine Son got the chance to completely suppress him, preventing him from using Combat Skills to alter the situation.
“His death wasn’t of much value.”
In Wei Sheng’s view, sacrifices in the navy were inevitable, and dying on the battlefield was a warrior’s honor. Though Kan Qiao sacrificed himself, the intelligence gained was negligible, causing Wei Sheng great dissatisfaction.
“However, it doesn’t matter.”
“According to my arrangement, Bi Tong’s fleet has already arrived nearby.”
“The Justice Pirate Group can’t escape.”
“Ordinary Black Iron Magic Ships have a max speed of about 13 knots.”
“Golden Magic Ships vary in speed but also can’t exceed 30 knots.”
“Bi Tong’s warship, Impact Needle, isn’t describable just by its speed.”
“Faced with a Legendary Level adversary, the Fishman Divine Son really can’t compete.”
“This time, we will definitely unearth the real details of the deity Mei Lan!”