The more Du Xingchuan thought about it, the more dispirited he felt.
After Lin Xun obtained the protection of the river, the five Violet Hero Battleships were rendered useless. Since they had lost the help of such great killing weapons, how would they be able to compete with their target in terms of strength?
A few days ago, thousands of their cultivators had been utterly defeated and many of their blood dyed the river red!
No one could stop their target!
Additionally, in recent days, they had consumed a huge amount of resources. Consequently, many cultivators lost their fighting spirits. In that situation, what else did they have to fight their target?
Du Xingchuan believed that Xu Qianjing, the master tactician of the younger generation, also wouldn’t be able to turn their situation around.
“Boss, we just received a message that the target launched a surprise attack and destroyed the military base thirty-seven miles away. Not one of the nineteen comrades there managed to survive!” a loud cry suddenly rang in the distance. It was nothing but bad news.
Du Xingchuan, Xiaomu and all the cultivators present turned ashen-faced.
It hadn’t been long since the last attack, but their target had already started to act again!
“He’s so hateful!”“Why didn’t you seize the opportunity to kill him with the Violet Hero Battleships?”
“Nonsense, didn’t you hear that the target launched a surprise attack? Who knows where or when he would appear? Or what method would he use to attack? Although the Violet Hero Battleships are powerful, it’s impossible to lock on and kill the target instantly, right?”
“Then what should we do?”
Many people couldn’t help but curse out loud, venting their fear and annoyance. The atmosphere turned chaotic.
Du Xingchuan finally confirmed that, as he had guessed, their target intended to destroy their bases along the river one by one!
Du Xingchuan felt a chill run down his spine and he let out a hoarse, hysterical roar, “Shut up! Hurry and inform the rest to quickly gather here!”
Immediately, all the cultivators sprang into action.
“Boss, if you do that, the target can easily escape from the bottom of the river,” Xiaomu reminded him in a deep voice. “Are you sure about this?”
Du Xingchuan’s face was overcast as he said bitterly, “Use the Violet Hero Battleship and wind shadow hawks to locate and monitor the target. We have lost too many troops. We can’t let the situation worsen.”
Xiaomu sighed and didn’t say anything else.
Late in the night, many forces withdrew from different areas along the great river and gathered with Du Xingchuan and the others.
However, when Du Xingchuan counted the number of people, he felt his head spin and the sky was about to collapse on him. He couldn’t help but cough up a mouthful of blood.
Four hundred and nineteen!
They had only four hundred odd people left on their side, including those on the Violet Hero Battleships!
“We had three thousand elite troops, six Violet Hero Battleships, huge amounts of materials, resources and equipment, but now there are around four hundred people left on our side!” Du Xingchuan uttered, his voice tinged with bitterness and indescribable anger and sorrow. “All this is caused by a teenager…who would believe it? Who would dare to imagine it?”
Xiaomu looked deeply concerned and didn’t know what to say.
He glanced around and saw that the other cultivators were all in low spirits and had lost their fighting spirit. They looked like their souls had left their bodies. Lin Xun seemed to have become an invincible demon in their hearts and made them feel unprecedentedly powerless and frightened.
If Lin Xun appeared, they would immediately flee in terror. How would they fight against him?
Du Xingchuan could tell what they were thinking, so his chest felt so tight that he couldn’t breathe.
What to do?
In truth, Du Xingchuan already had the answer deep in his heart. He was just hesitant to act because of Chi Cangmei’s order.
Should we retreat?
……
Deep in the night, Lin Xun silently leapt out of the river like a shadow and darted towards the distance.
Soon, he appeared in an open area where a Violet Hero Battleship was stationed.
From afar, it looked like a giant beast sleeping on the ground.
“An opportunity...is right in front!”
As the night deepened, Lin Xun drew a deep breath. He had been waiting for a long time for the Violet Hero Battleship to moor.
It wasn’t a reckless move. He knew very well that Violet Hero Battleships could fly for a maximum of four hours before the high-grade aeth crystals in the aeth engine had to be replaced. Otherwise, the battleship would lose its power and fall from the sky like a bird that lost its wings!
Swoosh!
Lin Xun quickly came to the rear of the battleship, and with a somersault, came to the deck. He constantly whizzed forward in the dark like a ghost.
Lin Xun was incredibly familiar with the Violet Hero Battleship because he was the one who designed them!
Suddenly, a figure walked out from a corner. Before he noticed Lin Xun, a huge hand had twisted his neck and he silently collapsed to the ground.
Lin Xun moved another ten feet forward and stopped right in front of a hatch that led to the control room.
He brought out the Flowing Light Blade and repeatedly made several stabbing motions around the hatch. Following a series of crisp clicks and a snap, the hatch automatically swung open.
It was a complex mechanism. Even a Spirit Sea cultivator wouldn’t be able to open the hatch with force.
However, it was incredibly easy to open once a person learned the tricks in the mechanism.
Swoosh!
Lin Xun moved through the hatch with a flash and it quickly snapped closed again.
The control room was dark and not a cultivator was inside. Lin Xun investigated the room and found that the rune treasure steering wheel on the Violet Hero Battleship could be activated at any time. A smirk came to the corners of his lips. The cultivators are too stupid.
In his original design, when the Violet Hero Battleship was moored, the rune treasure steering wheel should be locked right away using a unique method. That would prevent enemies from operating the Violet Hero Battleship even if they managed to sneak into the control room. It could also stop the Violet Hero Battleship from being used for personal uses.
However, the cultivator driving the Violet Hero Battleship had overlooked this detail.
Perhaps, it never crossed their mind that someone in the world could easily unlock the mechanism on the hatch door and sneak into the control room?
As Lin Xun tightly clasped the Flowing Light Blade in his hand, his eyes turned indifferent and lost their warmth. He pushed open the door on the side of the control room.
The door led to the core area of the ship.
If Lin Xun guessed correctly, the cultivators driving the Violet Hero Battleship were there.
After a few minutes.
Lin Xun returned to the control room unscathed, but corpses were strewn across the core area.
“Finally it’s my turn to attack...” Lin Xun sat down in front of the rune treasure steering wheel, a cold glint flashing across his jet-black eyes.
He was the one who designed the Violet Hero Battleship, but his enemies had used them to deal with him and made him almost lose his life.
Now, it was time for him to regain control of it and fight back!
……
“Xiaomu, we might as well withdraw the troops,” Du Xingchuan finally squeezed out those words from his mouth after a long struggle.
He felt a rock lift off his chest after saying that.
However, he inexplicably felt a sense of loss.
“Boss, we still have five Violet Hero Battleships,” Xiaomu exclaimed in shock.
He had never thought that Du Xingchuan would choose to withdraw at that moment. What was the difference between withdrawing and admitting defeat?
Admitting defeat meant that their operation would be a complete failure!
And Chi Cangmei wouldn’t spare Du Xingchuan if she knew about this!
“No. The Violet Hero Battleships have consumed a huge amount of high-grade aeth crystals already. It wouldn’t be long before we fall into a difficult situation. If the target appeared at that time, what can we do?” Du Xingchuan said solemnly.
“The most important thing is that since the target knows about the Violet Hero Battleships, why would he show up?”
“Boss…”
Xiaomu wanted to persuade Du Xingchuan, but he was interrupted with a wave of his hand. “It’s decided. At this point in the battle, we have already lost. The result will be even worse if we continue to struggle.” Du Xingchuan sounded determined.
Xiaomu sighed. Even if he was reluctant to do so, he had to agree.
Rumble—
However, just as Du Xingchuan and Xiaomu were about to issue a withdrawal order, a thunderous roar resounded.
It startled everyone. They looked up and saw a Violet Hero Battleship soaring into the sky like a sun rising in the darkness.
Has the target been spotted?
After a few seconds, another Violet Hero Battleship soared into the sky.
”Boss, it seems that the target has exposed his traces. It’s not wise to retreat now,” Xiaomu persuaded.
“Then...let’s wait a minute.” Du Xingchuan sighed, his expression changing.
He knew that waiting would be futile. There was no use in dispatching the Violet Hero Battleships because it would be the same once the target dove into the river.
“Huh? Boss, look at that Violet Hero Battleship. Its cannons have been activated. It has locked on the target!” Xiaomu exclaimed, pointing to the distance.
Du Xingchuan’s eyes went wide. He couldn’t believe it was true. Why would the target be so stupid to expose himself to the Violet Hero Battleship?
A group of cultivators cheered. The fear, panic, depression and helplessness that had accumulated in their hearts for many days completely broke out.
Rumble—
Under everyone’s blazing gazes, the Violet Hero Battleship launched an attack. A beam of dazzling light streaked across the sky, ripping apart the night!
The power was shockingly terrifying!
However…
When they saw that the beam of light was heading towards the other Violet Hero Battleship, everyone’s jaw dropped and the looks of triumphant, hope and excitement froze on their faces.
What...what the hell is going on?