Chapter 839: Chapter 627: Pirate Movements
Tan Mo consulted the intelligence and began selecting the suitable pirates.
The first piece of intelligence was Da Han.
He is a Holy Domain Level magician, a member of the Firebeard Pirate Group, who founded the Icebound Pirate Group and is currently the fourth leader in the Firebeard Pirates.
This ranking is subject to change.
Tan Mo read the intelligence in hand: “Currently, Da Han is leading his Icebound Pirate Group, approaching Ice Sculpture Island.”
“Accompanying him are a large number of pirates, who depend on him, coming together to reap the spoils.”
“Indeed, he deserves the status of a Holy Domain Level.”
If the Golden Level is the backbone of the transcendent, with powerful individuals among them able to dominate a city or region. For example, the City Lord of Snowbird Port, or the former Island Master of Twin Eyes Island, Hun Tong.
Then, the Holy Domain Level is already the upper echelon of the transcendent. They often act as national-level forces. Any major action they take creates widespread impact, stirring the winds and clouds.
Just like Da Han now, although it seems like a personal action, it has led to other pirate groups following in his wake, especially stirring a vast wave that impacts the existing order of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom.
The strength of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom is formidable. Especially during the National Ceremony, the kingdom displays its power to the fullest. During this time, the Navy is dispatched more frequently.
According to previous ceremonies, the order of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom is unprecedentedly consolidated, with a significant increase in safety. Pirate groups that once thrived on Ice Sculpture Island would proactively retreat.
But this year’s National Ceremony has witnessed a change due to Da Han.
Da Han’s proactive strike has greatly negatively impacted the safety of the surrounding seas of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom.
Purely by numbers, the Icebound Pirate Group has only Da Han as a Holy Domain Level, whereas the Ice Sculpture Kingdom has three Holy Domain Level forces. The disparity in strength between the two is clear.
However, reality is complex, and simple comparisons do not suffice.
According to Zong Ge, this is the charm of military strategy! Military affairs are never just simple strength comparisons. If they were, there would be no need for war, no need for enemy and ally to engage in life-and-death battles. Just compare forces before the battle, declare the smaller force as the loser and the larger force as the victor, wouldn’t that suffice?
Obviously, this is not feasible.
Though the Ice Sculpture Kingdom has more Holy Domains, they are also more constrained.
The three Holy Domains of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom are the King, the Royal Family’s Grand Mage, and the White Dragon King.
Each holds high authority and weight, with their daily affairs. It would be catastrophic if they were to fall, even their disappearance or temporary leave would cause tremendous influence and potentially paralyze the organizational structure to some degree.
Thus, when confronted with Da Han’s invasion, the response of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom is never straightforward.
The kingdom has numerous concerns.
On the surface, it seems sending one Holy Domain to intercept Da Han could suffice.
In reality, just deciding who to dispatch presents a challenge.
The King?
As the ruler of a nation, how could he be moved lightly? He should by no means be the first to step onto the battlefield.
The White Dragon King? She commands the White Dragon Clan, but is merely an ally of the Ice Sculpture Royal Family.
The Royal Family’s Grand Mage seems most suitable. But he has countless daily affairs and needs to host the Warm Snow Cup, underpinning this grand event. He also has significant interests, especially with the exposure of the Ice Lake Array, which has given the Grand Mage unprecedented concerns.
Beyond deciding who to dispatch, safety must also be considered.
Could this be a luring tactic by the enemy? Using Da Han as bait to trick one of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom’s Holy Domains alone to the battlefield, then launching a Holy Domain Level ambush?
It’s a possibility.
Because the Firebeard Pirate Group is a Legendary Level force, not to mention their leader Firebeard, they possess several Holy Domain Levels.
Rushing alone to the front lines of course presents greater safety if just staying back at home base.
Even if they were to go, it should at least wait until the intelligence is clear.
How to clarify the intelligence?
The intelligence agency of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom has long been operating at full capacity, actively probing Da Han’s military operations.
Besides that, there’s the Navy.
If the Navy engages with the Icebound Pirate Group, they can gather substantial intelligence on the battlefield.
However, in doing so, the Navy fleet, without a Holy Domain Level in command, no matter how numerous the Golden Level or how advanced the warships, will find it hard to outright resist Da Han.
Once they engage, there’ll surely be some losses.
But this in itself is a normal process.
By sacrificing some of the Navy, enough time and intelligence can be exchanged to allow the Holy Domain to make more informed actions.
The regular troops of the Navy are elite, but their significance to the kingdom is far less than a Holy Domain Level. In the face of a Holy Domain Level, no matter how elite, they are mere cannon fodder.
All these factors have led to the current situation.
A lone Holy Domain Da Han, leading the Icebound Pirate Group, has deterred the entire Ice Sculpture Kingdom.
One reason he has vaguely gained the upper hand is that he holds the initiative.
The pirates cruise beyond the coast; they can fight or retreat, moving freely with ease.
Da Han would naturally strive to avoid an unfavorable one-against-many situation. So, if two of the Ice Sculpture Kingdom’s Holy Domain Levels went out in unison, he would retreat immediately!
Of course, for Da Han, his actions also bear risks.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t engage in this way. But now, the period is truly exceptional—the Pirate Throne has appeared. Whoever seizes this seat becomes the King of Pirates, the God of Pirates!
Now, which pirate wouldn’t be tempted by this?
“Obviously, Da Han is ambitious. He wants to plunder the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, seize a great loot, and raise his ranking again on the Holy Tablet of the pirate ship.
“The Ice Sculpture Kingdom will not sit idly by; they are just waiting for enough intelligence to act.”
“The Ice Sculpture Kingdom hosting its National Ceremony, and Da Han causing this scene, is practically pissing on the kingdom’s head. If they can’t maintain the peace within their territorial waters and protect the various factions coming to the ceremony, the Ice Sculpture Kingdom’s international prestige is bound to plummet to rock bottom.”
“The previous Ice Sculpture King was at the Legendary level and could rely on personal power to stabilize public sentiment. But the current Ice Sculpture King is only at the Holy Domain Level. More than his grandfather, he needs to maintain this international prestige!”
“This game will inevitably be at the Holy Domain Level.”
“I’ll just watch the excitement from afar. There’s no way I would get involved.”
Tan Mo flipped through Da Han’s report and looked at the second one.
“Qian Xing…”
This pirate is also at the Holy Domain Level and is a member of the Firebeard Pirate Group.
But the difference is, he is a Lone Ranger and doesn’t have a pirate group of his own.
“He once appeared on Flower Skirt Island and competed against Cai Jing and Master Da Bei. In the end, although he defeated his opponents, he didn’t obtain the Prosperous Hybrid Master’s legacy. He even allowed Cai Jing, Master Da Bei, and others to escape!”
“According to the latest intelligence, Cai Jing has already joined the Ice Sculpture Kingdom’s Alchemy Guild, becoming an elder, currently presiding over the excavation of other heritages of Prosperous Hybrid Master.”
“As for Qian Xing himself, he has been missing for some time now.”
Even if he were around, Tan Mo would never involve him in this “show.”
Qian Xing is even more inappropriate for this “performance” than Da Han.
Because he acts alone, unlike Da Han, who takes care of his subordinates, Qian Xing has no subordinates and is incredibly strong.
The level of trouble is far beyond that posed by Da Han.
The third piece of pirate intelligence described pirate merchant Qian Guanzi.
He is a Water Pigman, Golden Level, and the squad leader of the Firepower Fear Pirate Group.
He is a famous arms dealer, and one of the pirate group’s features is an abundance of cannons.
Tan Mo evaluated and thought: Although Qian Guanzi is only at the Golden Level, with combat power similar to his own, he is not a suitable candidate for cooperating with his act.
On one hand, the Firepower Fear Pirate Group has quite a few Golden Level members. On the other, their long-range firepower is too fierce.
The fourth piece of intelligence had Feng Lian’s name on it.
The latest intelligence indicates that Feng Lian, operating the Divine Wind flagship, approached Snowbird Port and successfully aided the Saber Gang remnants. In the ensuing retreat, they engaged in battle with the Kingdom’s second Navy fleet.
Feng Lian’s recent personal activity involved a sea beast’s lair. What is certain is that this sea beast is a Holy Domain Level Chicken Champion Grain Snake.
Tan Mo quickly ruled out Feng Lian as an option.
“Never treat Feng Lian as an ordinary Golden Level.”
Long ago, Feng Lian escaped from the Holy Domain while being a Golden Level. In the latest intelligence, Feng Lian directly confronted the Holy Domain Level Chicken Champion Grain Snake, displaying remarkable might.
“Even though there is no information on his Bloodline Concentration, judging from his equipment and actual combat performance, Feng Lian’s Bloodline Concentration should be very high.”
“Such combat power exceeds the ordinary by a significant margin; it should be boosted by a high concentration of bloodline.”
“He is very likely a Holy Domain seed!”
Tan Mo sees utilizing Feng Lian in the act as risky. Moreover, if Feng Lian promotes to Holy Domain Level in the future, offending a Holy Domain pirate would be unwise!
The cost would be too high.
Tan Mo does not want to bear it.
Another reason is the astonishing speed of Feng Lian’s Divine Wind Pirate Group. Their ships are all specially-crafted demon energy vessels from Gear Island, with guaranteed quality.
“If chosen for the battle, what if the Treasure Chest can’t escape in time?”
Failing to escape would be extremely embarrassing.
Tan Mo continued to flip through the intelligence.
He saw the Rope Pirates.
“This is a newly organized pirate group.”
“The squad leader and vice-captain are respectively the Cloud Piercing Archer and the Live Rope Magician. The two were once famous bounty hunters.”
“Now they have abandoned their previous way of life, turning into pirates.”
“There are only two Golden Level members… their strength is not enough to ‘defeat’ me.”
Tan Mo gave up on them too.
Looking through the subsequent intelligence, Tan Mo found the Haotian Pirate Group.
“This pirate group might work, the squad leader Ba Qi is very strong; personally, I’m no match.”
“Unfortunately, since refueling once on Flower Skirt Island, they haven’t appeared again.”
The intelligence was finished.
Tan Mo’s brow furrowed.
Despite so many pirates, he couldn’t find a suitable candidate.