Chapter 456: Section 243: Battle of Matsukaze Sea 2
With the departure of the Iron Lump from the island, the pirates tore off their disguises and struck at full speed, initiating a sea battle near Songfeng Island.
Cang Xu, while full-heartedly maneuvering the Iron Lump, pondered the course to take.
“To the due east lies the Stinky Sky Pirate Group, with a fleet of 13 ships. Their flagship, the Stinky Tofu, has a low sailing speed and can be temporarily disregarded,”
“To the northeast is the Clapping Pirate Group. Their squad leader Hu Li combines forces with the clapping warriors, possessing aerial combat ability, which is a thorny issue. Additionally, their flagship, the Triangular Love Ship, is designed for long voyages. Equipped with Silver Level triangular sails, it can maintain speed even when sailing against the wind.”
“As for the southeast, that’s the territory of the Jidian Pirate Group. There are 7 ships in total, all with excellent sailing speeds. Their flagship is the Electric Grid Fishing Ship, a demonic energy fishing vessel that’s been converted to deploy electric nets.”
Information on the three pirate groups was easily collected.
Moreover, since the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had experienced the sea battle at Twin Eyes Island, they naturally had very detailed intelligence in hand.
After pondering, Cang Xu chose to navigate around the south side of Songfeng Island.
“Damn it!” Seeing the subsequent moves of the Iron Lump, the behemoth was furious.
Clearly, the Iron Lump had chosen to avoid the Clapping Pirate Group, preferring to face the trouble from the Jidian Pirate Group instead.
This choice was not wrong.
The Jidian Pirate Group’s ships were all able to sail fast, but they were ordinary vessels. The sole Black Iron Level demonic energy ship, the Electric Grid Fishing Ship, did not stand out in terms of speed.
For the Clapping Pirate Group, they could only pursue around the island. Moreover, due to the obstruction of sight from Songfeng Island, they would lose effective observation of the Iron Lump.
The behemoth was very worried: once other pirate groups captured the Iron Lump, his share of the spoils would be very small.
In stark contrast to the angry behemoth was Dian Wan.
This pirate group leader laughed out loud: “The prey has delivered itself to our doorstep!”
His fleet attacked from the southeast, and with the Iron Lump’s course, the Jidian Pirate Group was undoubtedly the closest.
There wasn’t even a qualified helmsman aboard the Iron Lump, leaving Cang Xu to begrudgingly take on the task.
This demonic energy ship, lacking confidence to navigate close to the island’s edges, could only flee in a straight, oblique line grazing the edge of Songfeng Island.
“Chase them!” Dian Wan shouted excitedly.
The Iron Lump’s speed was already slow, like an old bull being pursued by a pack of wolves.
The distance between both parties rapidly decreased.
Qing Xin became anxious: “Let’s start the sails right now!”
What she referred to as sails was the Feathered Snake sails.
Golden Level demonic energy ship components.
At this point, Cang Xu and Qing Xin, working together, had already set it up, forming a Mana Pool—sail pathway.
Not only that, they also wrapped a layer of white cloth on the surface of the sail, crudely camouflaging it as a regular sail.
However, once the Golden sails were activated, their golden aura would radiate out, and this camouflage would disappear in an instant.
Faced with Qing Xin’s suggestion, Cang Xu shook his head: “No, wait a moment.”
Soon, the distance between the two parties had halved.
Qing Xin suggested again: “Start the sails now!”
“No, keep waiting!” Cang Xu said calmly and indifferently, growing more tense in his heart.
A few minutes passed.
The distance between them had nearly closed to the limit, and faces on the opposing ships could be clearly seen.
Qing Xin grew frantic: “If we don’t start them now, this ship is finished!”
Cang Xu pressed his lips tightly, saying nothing, his gaze fixed on the side of the ship towards Songfeng Island.
Bang.
Suddenly, the sound of a gunshot startled both parties.
Dian Wan burst into rage: “Which idiot is shooting?!”
“What if they damage my ship, what then?”
“What if they break my stuff, what then? Can you afford to pay?!”
Already considering the Iron Lump as his own, Dian Wan’s words fell heavy.
Not just Dian Wan, everyone else stared intently at the person who fired.
The poor pirate quickly threw down the Firearms and raised his hands: “It wasn’t my fault. This damned firearm misfired!”
As his words fell, a Bone Arrow whizzed through the air, piercing the pirate’s throat.
The pirate stiffened for a moment, then collapsed backward, dead on the spot.
Whiz-whiz-whiz-whiz…
The next moment, a barrage of pale Bone Arrows flew in, forming a tightly knit arrow rain.
Numerous Skeleton Archers appeared within the dense pine forest.
Simultaneously, Cang Xu’s Communication Device relayed the Little Prince’s voice: “Newcomer, don’t be afraid; I am here to help you.”
“Hurry along!” cried the voice of Ku Feng.
“We will cover you,” added the Fin Spirit.
The Little Prince concluded: “Don’t forget, my Sorrowful Song Tombstone is on Songfeng Island, we can teleport, so you don’t have to worry!”
“We made it!” Cang Xu’s eyes sparkled with a flash of brilliance as he breathed a huge sigh of relief.
He had successfully involved the other members of the Undead Gathering.
And the means were quite clever.
He had not directly asked others for help because a formal plea might not truly succeed. Cang Xu was someone under suspicion; it would take a long time and process for others to gradually trust him.
So, Cang Xu chose to issue a warning, putting forth an attitude of not wanting to burden others nor rely on others’ strength.
This approach, in turn, made gaining trust easier.
And for these Undead Lives, could they really remain indifferent, watching helplessly as Cang Xu was captured?
Clearly, that was impossible.
Once Cang Xu had been captured, he might very well betray the rest of them.
Cang Xu was a newcomer, and this was their first meeting. Even if they had known each other for years, they might still betray their past friendships under torture and life-and-death trials.
From the perspective of the ship ghost, the probability that he would take the initiative to help was quite high.
First, he was at the Golden Level, while members of the pirate group were at most Silver Level.
Second, the ship ghost also had to consider his own reputation. Having helped Ku Feng, Little Prince, and Fin Spirit so much, whether out of genuine kindness or self-interest, he could not just stand by and watch Cang Xu be captured before his eyes.
If the ship ghost were this “cold-blooded,” how would Ku Feng, Little Prince, Fin Spirit, and the others view him?
The three of them would have similar concerns: being Undead, they were all ostracized by the world and hunted by powerful forces. If the ship ghost could save someone but chose not to, was he really as good as he appeared to be?
There was no doubt that such concerns would impact the ship ghost’s reputation.
Cang Xu was well-versed in the human heart, and on this basis, he made his cunning move.
Firstly, he knew he had already won the favor of other Undead because at the gathering, he had engaged in the most trade. He had completed transactions with benefits for everyone. Who wouldn’t like a generous and well-funded trading partner?
But starting the Gold Sail too early would make the Undead hesitant upon seeing the state of the Iron Lump.
Cang Xu chose to risk watching the Jidian Pirate Group approach, almost to the point of hosting a battle, just to place himself in danger.
Seeing himself in a dire situation, could the ship ghost and others refrain from acting?
The likelihood of them acting was quite significant.
And once one of them took action, it would inevitably spur the others to do the same.
Moreover, the ship ghost wouldn’t just stand by idly.
He was a Golden Level Undead Mage!
Cang Xu’s gamble paid off; he successfully leveraged the combat power of the other Undead with his personal wits!
This group of Skeleton Archers likely belonged to Little Prince.
Their coordinated firing was formidable, catching the Jidian Pirate Group off guard and inflicting heavy casualties.
Dian Wan was furious, “What’s going on?”
His first officer had already begun giving commands.
Boom, boom, boom.
The Jidian Pirate Group fired their cannons, targeting the group of Skeleton Archers in the pine forest.
The bombs shattered pine trees, scattering branches and leaves all over the sky.
Under the bombardment, the Skeleton Archers turned into piles of bone fragments, utterly powerless to resist.
However, Little Prince, hiding in the shadows, was not flustered but rather took pleasure in the chaos, muttering, “Kill, kill, these little skeletons; I can produce as many as I want.”
After a while of bombardment, the Jidian Pirate Group noticed that although many Skeleton Archers were killed or injured, new ones would emerge from all directions to fill the gaps in a timely manner.
The Jidian Pirate Group remained under a barrage of arrows, with their number of casualties steadily increasing.
The first officer stood next to Dian Wan shouting, “Commander, the enemy’s strength is unknown; this draw-out is very unfavorable for us!”
Dian Wan clenched his fists, grinding his teeth, “I hate Undead Mages! I didn’t expect he had arrangements here as well.”
Because of Little Prince’s aid, the Jidian Pirate Group had to retreat, increasing the distance between the fleet and Songfeng Island.
The range of Little Prince’s Skeleton Archers’ arrows was nowhere near as far as the cannons. Soon, they could no longer threaten the Jidian Pirate Group.
However, this delay meant the Jidian Pirate Group and Iron Lump had once again drifted farther apart.
Dian Wan was seething with anger, watching as the distance increased, his impatience getting the best of him, deciding then and there, “I’m going to charge over!”
“No, wait!” The first officer hurried to stop him, “The enemy’s strength is unclear, don’t rashly…”
The first officer stopped his exhortation.
Because Dian Wan had already charged ahead.
He had alchemy equipment, Water Stepping Boots, which allowed him to treat the sea surface as soft land to run upon.
The first officer watched as Dian Wan rushed away and let out a deep sigh before quickly ordering, “Quick, spread out the electric net!”
The flagship Electric Grid Fishing Ship’s bow cannon fired immediately.
It shot out a special kind of bomb.
The bomb spread out into the sky, forming a large iron net.
The iron net dropped onto the sea surface, spreading out and emitting scintillating blue electric light.
Dian Wan’s eyes lit up, and he stepped directly onto the briefly floating electric net.
Stimulated by Dian Wan’s fighting energy, the net suddenly burst forth with its full power.
Dian Wan was now the center of an electric current. His normally spiky blue hair stood even stiffer, and sections of electric light coiled around his body.
Combat Skill—Current Overload.
“Ah, I can feel the power coursing through my veins!” Dian Wan’s muscles swelled, and his originally agile figure immediately became more imposing.
Swoosh!
Dian Wan stomped fiercely, sinking the iron chain net into the sea while he shot toward the Iron Lump at an arrow’s speed.
Cang Xu and Qing Xin had long been ready for battle, casting their spells together.
Dian Wan, nimble in his movements, dodged Qing Xin’s Wind Blade, but then Cang Xu’s ghost immediately followed, lunging at him.
A large amount of negative energy instantly eroded Dian Wan, and memories from the ghost flooded into Dian Wan’s mind, mixing with his own memories!
Dian Wan’s momentum abruptly collapsed.
Plunge.
He plummeted on the spot, diving headfirst into the sea.
But the Water Stepping Boots were still in effect, causing him to hang upside down, his feet floating on the surface, looking like an upended onion.