Chapter 111 - Ship Battle on the Ocean
A ship of about ten meters was parked outside the entrance for ships to the port. It was a regular ship, smaller in size than the ships used for naval combat or for carrying large loads. Yet, at the same time, it gave unexplained pressure to the viewer.
Its black sail was extremely flashy, but what attracted the most attention was the giant purple spider drawn above. Under the spider was written HOPE.
It was Hei's artifact ship that was awaiting the arrival of Mo Songmin's ship.
In order to start their pirate career, Hei and his family were wearing the clothes brought by the pirate Mo Songmin.
Hei chose long black trousers that were neither too tight nor too loose, so as not to hinder movements. As for the shoes, he decided to remain barefoot instead. His fighting style with Beast Claw was truly complete only when he used all his four limbs for attacking. For the upper part, Hei was wearing just a white long-sleeved shirt. It wasn’t particularly cold, and since they had to fight, it was better to wear few clothes.
Lian also chose a simple style. She wore long brown leather boots with long, tight black trousers that enhanced the tone of the young woman's legs. Above, she instead had a simple white linen blouse. As for other accessories, Lian wasn’t the type to wear them. The only exception was the silver-white silk ribbon that she was wearing around her neck as a scarf.
Ye and Xing instead chose to wear accessories. Ye wore a red band on her head while Xing wore a hat with a white skull. They also wanted to wear an eye patch, but Hei forbade it with the excuse that it would hinder them in the fight.
As for who steered the ship, Hei had been mulling over that issue. The artifact ship had an automatic propulsion system that allowed it to go in a straight line as long as there was enough fuel. There was, however, a problem with naval battles. They couldn’t go in a straight line as in regular crossings but had to move the ship all the time to prevent it from being rammed. Given that it was smaller than the other ships, the artifact ship couldn’t stand a direct crash, but they had instead to aim for speed and avoid any direct contacts.
So, in the end, without other solutions, they hired an old longtime friend of the tavern host. He was a sailing master who had worked on the largest merchant ships for years but had been forced to withdraw due to a leg injury. However, after years of inactivity, he wanted to start driving a ship again.
Hei then offered him a deal - a daily wage and the artifact ship as a reward, once what Hei and his family had to do in the Forgotten Ocean was done. In return, the man would have to sign with Hei a blood pact of absolute secrecy. He couldn't reveal to anyone in any existing way what would happen during this period of collaboration for the whole course of his life.
The sailing master accepted it despite the severe restrictions. The pay Hei offered was more than inviting in itself. But the possibility of having an artifact ship all to himself was what attracted him most. With that, he could open a fast delivery service that would guarantee him a pension and kept his dream of sailing until his last days.
As for having to sacrifice the artifact ship, it wasn't a problem for Hei. Once they reached the Continent, it would no longer be necessary. Also, when they became spirit soldiers, he and Lian would be able to fly. As for Ye and Xing, he knew it was possible for them to fly. However, Hei didn’t know if flying was possible only for divine beasts or for all spirit beasts. Furthermore, he didn't even know when it would be possible for them to learn to fly. He could only hope that they shouldn't have to wait too long.
In any case, his little sisters were talented divine beasts. Being the Spider of Nightmare and the Serpent of Darkness’ daughters, how could their talent be low? So Hei didn't doubt that with practice, the two of them would be able to fly.
“Old Tohyon, the ship we're waiting for is coming. Get ready to go."
In the distance, a large ship was approaching them. It was Mo Songmin's ship.
When the large ship came to the side of the artifact ship, the first slowed down its run. From the bridge, above the wooden railing of the ship, Mo Songmin stood looking down on the artifact ship.
“We will guide you. You lead your ship behind us without getting lost. Alright? The designated point is about a day's sailing from here. We will travel nonstop, so be prepared. The other ships will join us in the morning at another point. Is it all clear?"
"Yes, I understand. Lead the way then. "
Mo Songmin nodded his head and got off the railing. Then he started giving orders to his men. Soon, the great ship passed the artifact ship.
“Old Tohyon, have you heard? I rely on you."
“Don't worry, Master Hei. This old man will not disappoint you."
The old sailing master began to spin the ship to follow Mo Songmin's ship. They were currently using the ship's regular navigation system. There was no need to consume spirit stones for the propulsion system. In any case, Hei had given the sailing master plenty of spirit stones to use the system for hours, not to mention his other reserve stocks.
Hei had the Secret Dimension and its resources, including the spirit stones inside. Although he kept them for cultivation, he could pull them out if needed and used them as fuel for the artifact ship or to buy pills or medicines.
Thus, the two ships sailed in the darkness of the night. As Mo Songmin said, at dawn, they met three other large ships. They were pirates under the Pirate General Ho Ri-Na’s command. Together, the convoy of five ships headed to the designated point to attack the pirate Hong Shin's drug ships.
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After they sailed for another day, they finally met the Pirate General Hong Shin's drug convoy. It consisted of about ten ships, of which at least half were merchant ships. That type of ship was more predisposed to the transport of goods than to attack and had few men.
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The four ships of the pirate crew Ho R-Na fanned out to surround the convoy. Behind them, hidden by their size, was the artifact ship of Hei. The plan was simple, while the pirates of Ho Ri-Na distracted the enemy's main fighting force, Hei and his team were supposed to infiltrate in the middle of the battle and board the merchant ships inside.
It wasn't necessary to kill all the enemies, just make sure to destroy the drugs they carried. Of course, if they managed to kill all the men in Hong Shin’s ships, it would be an added advantage for the future plans of the pirate Ho Ri-Na.
Thus, the battle began.
From the ships began to fall a rain of arrows and javelins while from the sides iron harpoon were being fired toward the enemy combat ships. In that way, the enemies wouldn’t escape the attack, and the merchant ships would have remained isolated if they had attempted to escape from there.
"At full speed!" Old Tohyon screamed in an excited voice. A lot of years had passed since the last time he savored the excitement of listening to the sound of arrows that swooped down from the sky and the sound of broken wood when ships rammed each other.
Hei's artifact ship popped up from behind the fan formation of the four ships. Taking advantage of the propulsion system, the artifact ship quickly crept into the chaotic battle.
When they reached the merchant ships, Hei jumped from the artifact ship. With his hands and feet's claws, he stuck his limbs on the wood of the enemy ship. He had one of Lian's ribbons on his belt as the girl wasn’t expert in climbing vertical surfaces. Ye and Xing were on Hei's shoulders instead, excited to fight.
Hei, therefore, began to climb the wall of the ship quickly. Lian wasn’t heavy, and the weight of his little sisters was almost nonexistent for now. So he was able to reach the ship's deck quickly.
At the deck, there were about fifteen fully armed men. They were taken by surprise by the arrival of the intruders.
Without letting them recompose, Hei and his family set off on the attack. None of the men aboard that merchant ship was dangerous. They were all between the third and fourth stages. So, there was a massive gap between the pirates and Hei and his family.
Peng! Crack! Stab!
Loud metal rumors colliding were resounding at that point in the ocean. Hei, Lian, Ye, and Xing were sweeping their enemies with ease. Given the difference in cultivation, none of Hong Shin’s men was able to stop them. They were all killed, and their blood had started to form a red lake on the bridge, making it difficult even to remain standing.
Without wasting time, after they cleaned up the men on the first ship, Hei got off the ship with Lian and his sisters in tow. Below, Old Tohyon was waiting for them. As soon as they landed on the artifact ship, the sailing master set off the ship in the direction of the next merchant ship.
Rather than burning drugs now and wasting so much precious time, Hei wanted to leave them intact so he could focus on Hong Shin’s men. If they wanted to attack him and annihilate his crew, they had to weaken his power as much as possible, even if it was just by a single man.
As in the first ship, the men of the second ship weren’t spared as well. The lucky ones were quickly killed by the clean cuts of Hei's spear and Xing's legs. The more unfortunate ones had to die slowly of asphyxiation from Lian's ribbons or be literally torn to pieces by the fangs of Ye, who had become even redder than the bandana she was wearing.
When the men of the second merchant ship were also killed, the remaining three immediately decided to flee. It mattered little if they had to abandon the rest of their companions, their life came first. Not to mention that they had to secure the drugs so as not to incur the wrath of their boss.
The five Hong Shin crew’s combat ship that completed the convoy were holding back the four Ho Ri-Na crew’s combat ship. Only Hei's artifact ship remained to threaten the three merchant ships. But since it was only one ship, there was no way that artifact ship could attack all three of them at once. In doing so, they would ensure the survival of two ships while the third would become the unfortunate sacrificial lamb of that decision.
Obviously, there was no way Hei would let his prey escape.
"Full speed, Old Tohyon."
"Got it, Master Hei."
With sudden acceleration, the artifact ship placed itself in front of the three merchant ships cutting their way.
"Lian, go."
Lian, who was on the other side of the artifact ship, quickly ran over the bridge toward Hei. When they were about to collide with each other, Hei joined his hands together and acted as a foothold for Lian's feet. Then with all the strength of his arms, he threw Lian upward in the direction of the merchant ship ahead of them.
High in the air, Lian began to rotate on herself as her two silk ribbons hardened and became like the blades of a rotating mill. From there, two small indistinct shapes were thrown at high speed, which landed on the remaining two merchant ships to the side. It was Ye and Xing. Meanwhile, Lian had also landed on the merchant ship in the center.
“Kill all of them! As soon as you're done, Old Tohyon will come to pick you up.” Hei yelled in their direction before turning to the old sailing master.
“Old Tohyon, bring me where the other ships are fighting. Then return to Lian and my spirit beasts and bring them back to me, okay?"
“All clear, Master Hei. Let it to me."
Tohyon commanded the ship to return to the epicenter of the conflict. There, fifth and sixth stage martial artists were challenging each other without sparing their energies. There were even some of the seventh stage.
As before, Hei launched himself towards one of the enemy ships. Then, he went up the wall to reach the point of the ship. Suddenly, the aura of a seventh stage temporarily froze the men present. They didn’t expect the arrival of a seventh stage at that time when the fight had already been going on for a while.
“It's one of us! Attack at full power! The merchant ships’ crews are dead. The victory is ours!” Mo Songmin shouted to his companions.
Apparently, Hei had boarded the ship attacked by Mo Songmin's crew. But that was fortunate because Mo Songmin's men became excited at the words of their captain and regained courage.
Spider Run, Four-legged Mode!
Running on all fours, Hei rushed at full speed against the seventh stage that Mo Songmin was facing. Instead of wasting time killing small fries, it was better to target the enemy boss in a situation like this.
Intent of the Spear, Spider Thrust!
Holding his spear with both his hands, Hei aimed at the heart of his prey.
Stab! Drip!
The spear penetrated the flesh as drops of blood fell to the ground. However, it wasn’t the seventh stage enemy but one of his men. That pirate understood that they would all die if their leader was killed, so he decided to sacrifice himself to save his captain from certain death.
Hei kicked the man's body impaled by his spear, making him fly several meters before he fell to the ground. All around, the pirates belonging to the Hong Shin’s crew looked at him with anger and hatred because the man hit by Hei was their first officer.
The first officer hadn’t yet died since it was a sixth stage, but the wound was too severe for him to survive without someone's intervention.
So the pirates were planning on going to rescue their first officer when they realized that Hei was about to attack their captain again.
Instead of finishing the wounded prey on the ground, he had preferred to attack the biggest prey still alive. It was because, if he chose to give the first officer the coup de grace, the enemy pirates would simply have to detain him while they brought their first officer to safety. By attacking their captain instead, he was forcing them to decide between saving their captain or their first officer. Regardless of their choice, the outcome wouldn’t have changed. Just the speed with which they would die.
Enemy pirates eventually chose the worst choice - save both. They divided the few forces available to protect both of their superiors. But they had forgotten that Hei wasn't the only one there. There were also Mo Songmin’s men. They took advantage of the fact that their enemies had split up to attack the smaller groups en masse.