Chapter 945: A Tune to Capture the Enemy

"This divine ability is used just at the right moment." He Lingchuan still had the presence of mind to offer a compliment.

Indeed, there is no such thing as a useless divine ability in this world; it only depends on the occasion in which it is used.

"Can we go around it?"

"Yes!" Min Tianxi hadn't even had time to wipe the blood splattered across half his face, making him look particularly ferocious. "But taking the detour will take an extra quarter of an hour."

"It doesn't matter, go around." There was no point in acting as a mountain mover here; it was better to take the detour.

The so-called long way around was actually to bypass the foot of the mountain and approach the outlet of the Centipede Cave.

This outlet was quite hidden, and there was a large rocky beach on the perimeter that made it very easy to twist one's ankle while walking.

By the time the five hundred men reached the rocky beach, panting, they saw two speedboats sailing out from the belly of the mountain, sliding rapidly toward the open sea.

Min Tianxi's intelligence was very accurate; taking the detour did indeed take an extra quarter of an hour.

This quarter of an hour was enough for Yue Pinghe and the others to jump onto the boats inside the Centipede Cave, cast off the lines, and row away from the shore.

These pirates were skilled sailors; they started the boats in no time and left the island for the water! The speedboats passed in front of the rocky beach, with the distance between the two sides being less than thirty zhang. But they could no longer be caught, so He Lingchuan and the others had to slow their pace.

Yue Pinghe stood at the bow of the boat, pointing downward and cursing loudly:

"Min Tianxi, Huang Zhao, you two bastards, you bootlicking dogs! I usually treated you like brothers, and now that you've found a backer, you turn around and bite me? Watch out, or this little brat will slaughter you later and chop you into seventeen or eighteen pieces to feed the fish!"

Before dawn, Yue Pinghe's full-throated curses echoed across the rocky beach.

The more he cursed, the more spirited he became, and the pirates on the boat joined in the clamor.

Hearing their insults becoming increasingly unbearable, Qiu Hu raised his bow and fired an arrow.

With a "whoosh," the one who was cursing the filthiest and most energetically had his mouth pierced by the arrow.

Now both sides realized what was happening and began to raise their bows to shoot at each other.

The rocky beach was empty and exposed, putting them at a disadvantage in a ranged exchange, so everyone hid behind Zhu Xiuer and the Ghost Ape. He Lingchuan also gave the order: "Retreat twenty steps."

Seeing the pursuers retreat, a burst of laughter erupted from the pirate ships.

Huang Zhao spat on the ground: "Look at that bastard Yue's face."

Watching the pirate ships sail away, Zhu Xiuer raised a claw and wiped its mouth: "What's the rush?"

In fact, when the two sides were within thirty zhang, it could have sprayed spider silk to stick to the hulls. The Earth Cave Mother's spider silk was much tougher than cables; as long as it was tied to a few giant rocks, the ships might not even be able to move.

But He Lingchuan specifically did not let it do so.

For one, boarding battles easily lead to casualties, and since the enemy would have nowhere to retreat, they would surely fight like cornered beasts; for another, there was still a main event tonight.

Watching Yue Pinghe's ships drift away, with only mocking laughter carried on the wind, Qiu Hu asked for instructions: "Young Master, the time is almost right."

He Lingchuan nodded, casually took out a flute, and brought it to his lips to play.

As soon as the flute music began, Min Tianxi and the others nearby felt the hair on their backs stand up: it was too sharp, like a swordsman drawing his blade with raised eyebrows, like a warrior setting out never to return; within ten miles, there was nothing but the sound of slaughter.

Yet, this melody carried a touch of sorrow amidst its high spirits, and hidden within the clanging notes was a sense of regret. The more one listened, the heavier one's heart became, even to the point of welling up with tears.

The morning breeze blew, carrying this song of mourning far out to sea, as if to pierce the darkness before dawn.

This was one of the first pieces He Lingchuan learned, because it was "Heroic Souls," played by the soldiers of Panlong City for their fallen comrades. Whenever a great battle ended, someone would play it at the edge of the battlefield to bid farewell to the heroic souls.

This was also one of the basic melodies that people of Panlong City were required to learn, and it was even included in the curriculum for children.

For Panlong City, the concept of finding life in death had to be cultivated from a young age.

He Lingchuan playing this piece now was, of course, not a whim.

As the flute music reached the sea, the water on the left side of the pirate ships suddenly exploded. A massive, pitch-black creature leaped out from the sea, slammed violently into the ship, grabbed two pirates who were still in a state of shock, flicked its tail, and slid back into the water.

This was a Yin Serpent four zhang in length.

Immediately after, four or five more Yin Serpents emerged to attack, either jumping onto the ships to grab people or shaking the hull from below. The ship rocked as if it had encountered a Category 17 hurricane; how could the pirates stand steady? Several fell off the boat on the spot, and the rest stumbled as if they were drunkards.

"Yin Serpents!" Yue Pinghe roared, "Get the long forks, hurry, get the long forks! Throw the Magic Sound Thunder!"

He quickly smeared medicinal juice onto the spearhead, grabbed the long spear, and threw it, piercing it fiercely into a Yin Serpent.

With true qi infused, the spear shaft sank in a foot, and the Yin Serpent hissed in pain, turning around to pounce on him.

Living in the waters of the Yangshan Archipelago, they were neighbors with the Yin Serpents who saw each other every day; occasionally encountering them at sea, they inevitably had to exchange some pleasantries. Through years of practice, the pirates had figured out a set of methods to deal with Yin Serpents, such as White Flame Grass mixed with Black Abyss Insects to make an antidote for Yin Serpent venom, or that the best weapons for fighting them were long forks and spears coated with White Flame Grass juice, as well as Magic Sound Thunder that could explode with powerful sound waves underwater to stun them, and so on.

The pirates' movements were not slow; no sooner had Yue Pinghe finished speaking than several heavy thunder-orbs were thrown into the water. They exploded violently a zhang below the surface, pushing powerful shockwaves and sound waves in all directions.

These were Magic Sound Thunder specifically tailored for Yin Serpents; once in the water, they could usually stun nearby Yin Serpents, and others would flee after suffering a few times.

The problem was that the Yin Serpents besieging the ships now were all elite-level, more than twice the size of their ordinary counterparts; usually, it would be remarkable to have even one in a group. However, at He Lingchuan's request, the King of Yin Serpents had sent a force consisting entirely of giant serpents for the first time. This kind of Magic Sound Thunder could at most make their ears ring and shake their heads before they could continue their attack.

Watching the two pirate ships teetering in the Yin Serpents' attack, the people on the shore cheered while secretly feeling a chill.

Island Master He could actually summon an army of Yin Serpents! The agreement he reached with the King of Yin Serpents seemed to go far beyond mere good-neighborly relations.

But everyone was also a little relieved: the Yin Serpent army was indeed terrifying; fortunately, they were on the same side.

Amidst the lingering flute music, amidst the human screams and the hissing of the Yin Serpents, one ship was pried over by more than ten Yin Serpents working together and capsized into the sea.

The other ship had a large hole gouged into its hull...

With this, the song ended.

The last note faded away, and the slaughter at sea ended simultaneously.

Everyone didn't know what to say. Island Master He hadn't done anything, just stood on the beach playing the flute, and the pirates' escape had turned into a bubble?

Where in the world was there such a leisurely pursuit?

(End of chapter)