Chapter 230: Joining the Expedition (3)

Boom! With a loud bang, a pirate cannon hit the stern of the Su Family warship on the far right, instantly igniting a dazzling flame.

Before long, the Su Family warship also fired back, and for a time, the sound of cannons rumbled.

"They've engaged!" Yan Ge laughed with schadenfreude. "The world-renowned Su Family God of War won't just die at sea like this, will he!" Last time, Su Ling and that stinking woman destroyed his two whips; he hadn't settled that score yet!

It really was Su Ling, and she had come too. Mu Cang put down the telescope in her hand. After a long while, she said in a hoarse, dark voice, "Full speed to the left."

To the left? Wuji was startled and said urgently, "Leader! Which side are you going to help?" The pirates had no grievances with them, and they avoided the Su Family Army as much as possible. Why get involved in this muddy water?!

Mu Cang stood at the bow, her cold face revealing none of her thoughts, but her bright eyes were staring deeply in the direction of the Su Family warships.

The tribesmen hoisted the sails, and the large ship sailed toward the battlefield ahead. Yan Ge really couldn't understand the leader's intention and said urgently, "Leader, the Su Family Army has harmed us enough. Why do we always have to help them?" As Yan Ge spoke, he glared fiercely at Mu Yi, who had already walked to Mu Cang's side. It was all because of this enchanting man; ever since he stuck to them, the leader had become strange.

Wuji patted Yan Ge's shoulder hard and said in a low voice, "The leader naturally has her reasons for doing this. Go quickly and tell the tribesmen to prepare the fire stones!" To go over and save people, a fierce battle was inevitable. They didn't have the large cannons on the warships; he hoped the fire stones prepared on the ship would be enough to deal with the pirates' counterattack.

Despite having a hundred reasons not to want to, no one could disobey the leader's order. Yan Ge walked toward the cabin, muttering, "The gold matter has finally come to an end; why bother throwing ourselves into the net now! Besides, the pirates' firepower is so fierce, don't end up getting ourselves killed while failing to save anyone!"

Mu Cang heard Yan Ge's complaints clearly. Her eyes fixed on the front remained firm, but her hand subconsciously stroked the dark green small snake on her wrist—a gesture she only made when she was thinking or restless. Mu Yi walked slowly to her side, the gloomy look on his face already dissipated, and said in a deep voice, "The pirates are good at encirclement battles. To save the Su Family Army, it's best to cut in from the rear. This way, you won't be in danger of being attacked from both sides, and you can disrupt the pirates' offensive, winning a chance for the Su Family Army to break out."

The man beside her had red clothes and ink-black hair; even standing casually at the bow, he had already attracted everyone's attention, making it impossible to ignore him. An inexplicable anger rose in her chest. Mu Cang said coldly, "I don't need you to teach me what to do!"

His sword-like brows raised slightly, and Mu Yi smiled, "Fine, Leader, then I'll just watch!"

Although Mu Cang said she didn't need Mu Yi to meddle, when she gave the order, she still followed his suggestion. Mu Yi glanced sideways at her forever cold face, his thin lips curling into a soft arc. This woman's awkward and stubborn appearance was truly cute.

Mu Cang turned her back coldly, refusing to look at the man at the bow who was smiling in such an enchanting and bewitching way. She hated this kind of rogue-like man; she hated him very much!

Cannonballs exploded around the warship, and seawater splashed onto the deck. The ship shook violently, making it difficult for people on board to even stand steady. Su Ling shouted to Leng Xiao, "Protect her well!"

"Yes!" Leng Xiao rushed to Gu Yun's side and picked up a hemp rope tied to the railing for her to hold. Gu Yun finally managed to stand straight, secretly curious: how many minutes did General Su's warship need to load a cannonball? Why did the pirates' offensive seem never-ending? Why were they able to load their cannons so quickly?

At this moment, another cannonball hit the stern. The solid wood stern instantly turned charred black, and flames spread along the railing toward the center of the ship. The choking smell of gunpowder and the smoke from the explosion filled the entire deck.

The stern had been blasted into a ruin. The pirates' firepower was basically concentrated on this ship. Qiao Linfeng said urgently, "Signal officer! Order a change in formation, line up vertically!"

"No!" Before Qiao Linfeng could finish, Su Ling shouted, "Line up horizontally, break out to the west!"

One was the garrison general, the other was the commander-in-chief. The signal officer stood there, stunned, not knowing who to listen to. Su Ling roared, "This is a military order!"

The signal officer shivered in fear and hurriedly gave the order according to Su Ling's instructions.

Qiao Linfeng looked at Su Ling and advised, "General, your safety is the most important thing!"

Su Ling picked up the telescope and stared intently at the situation of the pirate ships in the distance, ignoring Qiao Linfeng's words entirely.

Gu Yun grabbed Qiao Linfeng, who was about to chase after him to persuade him further, and said, "General Qiao, lining up vertically looks like it's protecting Su Ling, but it's not. With three warships lined up vertically, out of forty-eight gun platforms, only sixteen face the enemy. How could such firepower be a match for the pirates! When the lips are gone, the teeth are cold; by then, both warships will be sunk, and this ship will be left fighting alone, with no way to survive either."

Qiao Linfeng looked at the pirate ships surrounding them, then at the young woman in front of him who showed no fear. Even she wasn't afraid, so he would risk it too! Qiao Linfeng shouted to the artillerymen on the lower deck, "Break out to the west, fight with all your might!"

"Yes!"

Han Shu, Qiao Linfeng, and You Yi all went to help hoist the sails. Gu Yun had been standing on the deck watching the pirate fleet's movement patterns. They were constantly changing formations, and Gu Yun suddenly realized: their cannon fire wouldn't stop, not because the loading time was short, but because they were attacking in an staggered manner, covering and coordinating with each other well! No wonder they were used to group attacks! Gu Yun stared intently at the ships ahead and shouted loudly, "Leng Xiao, give me charcoal and paper."

"Yes." Ever since he discovered that charcoal was more convenient than a brush, Leng Xiao had always kept a small bag of charcoal and paper with him. After searching in his chest for a while, Leng Xiao handed the charcoal to Gu Yun. He opened the paper but found there was no place to put it. Leng Xiao rested his hands on his knees, bent down, and shouted loudly, "Write on my back."

"Good!" Gu Yun didn't dally. She placed the paper on Leng Xiao's back and painstakingly drew the pirates' sailing patterns on the swaying deck.

Su Ling put down the telescope, a sharp edge flashing in his eagle eyes. He said loudly, "Qiao Linfeng, pass the order: the artillery fire on the east side is to focus on the ship in the middle." He also saw the secret of the pirate ships' staggered sailing; the ship moving to the middle was the one that needed to reload, and at this time, that ship basically had no offensive power.

"Yes!" Qiao Linfeng went down to the lower deck to direct the artillerymen. The firepower of the three warships was concentrated on the middle ship. The result was as expected: the middle pirate ship was indeed sunk, but their own ships were also battered, with cannon marks and charred marks everywhere.

Just as they were preparing to attack the next pirate ship, Han Shu suddenly pointed to the western sea and asked, "What ships are those?"

Everyone turned to look and saw six ships, slightly smaller than the warships, silently circling behind the two pirate ships. There were no gun platforms on the ships, so they didn't look like warships. Standing at the very front of the leading ship was a woman.

Gu Yun whispered, "Is it her?" The green-clad woman who fought her in the rainforest. Following behind her were Wuji, Yan Ge, and—Mu Yi? Gu Yun was startled. She looked carefully and it really was him. Only that man with a clean-freak complex would dare to wear such enchanting and moody red clothes! Why would bandits appear at sea? How could Mu Yi be with them? Even stranger, were they here to help or to kick them while they were down?

Gu Yun was still guessing their intentions when the six ships led by Mu Cang had already surrounded the two pirate ships on the west side. Although their ships had no large cannons, there was a row of weapons like small catapults on the deck. Explosives were thrown out just like that. The power wasn't as great as cannonballs, but the explosives falling and exploding on the deck and in the cabin were equally formidable.

The pirate ships on the west side were besieged, and the three ships on the east side were reduced to two, but they still refused to give up, concentrating all their firepower on the ship they were on, attacking without defending. Qiao Linfeng whispered in surprise, "Are these pirates tired of living?" At this point, they had no chance of winning. Shouldn't they retreat back into the reef group? Why bother entangling themselves so bitterly?

Su Ling sneered, "They are coming for me." Su Ling had always suspected they weren't just pirates. The moment they engaged, he knew his guess was right. These people had a clear goal: to sink this ship and take his, Su Ling's, life.

Just as the two sides were fighting fiercely, a soldier on the watchtower suddenly shouted loudly, "General Qiao, five large ships have been discovered ten miles away, sailing toward us."

"Are they pirate ships?" Qiao Linfeng's heart went cold. If other pirate reinforcements arrived, they would definitely lose this battle.

"No, they are... they are ships from Juling Island!" He wouldn't mistake the ships from Juling Island: dark hulls, ink-black sails, no flags hanging from the bows, but the dark, chilling aura emanating from the ships was something no one who had seen it once would ever forget.

Far away, the five large black-sailed ships were arranged in a wedge shape, approaching them rapidly like a bat.

The people from Juling Island were actually coming to join the fun. Qiao Linfeng slapped the mast hard and cursed, "Damn it, either they don't come, or they all come at once!"

Why did Juling Island come this time? Su Ling looked at Gu Yun not far away. She was still intently drawing the pirate ship formation map. Su Ling suddenly turned back and said to Qiao Linfeng behind him, "Attack the two pirate ships on the west side with full force. Find a gap and retreat at full speed immediately."

"Yes." Qiao Linfeng breathed a sigh of relief. He had thought General Su insisted on fighting to the death!

The Su Family Army wanted to retreat, but the pirates didn't give them a chance, pressing forward step by step. The black-sailed ships of Juling Island were also getting closer, lined up in a row, their dark cannons aimed in their direction.

As long as they fired at the same time, General Su's already battered warship would be sunk immediately. Su Ling pulled Gu Yun to the other side of the ship and said coldly, not allowing her to refuse, "If the warship is sunk later, you and Leng Xiao jump into the sea together and swim to Mu Yi's side. He will save you!"

Gu Yun shook her head, clutching Su Ling's hand tightly. She took a deep breath to calm herself and said, "Now is not the time to say this. The pirate ships are between us and the Juling Island ships. We can keep the pirate ships in a straight line, then..."

Before Gu Yun could finish, the sound of cannons boomed. But what was hit wasn't them, but—the pirate ships? Hit by more than a dozen cannonballs at once, the pirate ships were instantly engulfed in flames, and even the sails caught fire. The people on board, unable to bear the fire, jumped into the sea one after another.

The battle situation reversed instantly. Qiao Linfeng couldn't react for a moment and whispered, "They actually helped the Su Family Army? Strange!" Having guarded the East Sea for years, he would occasionally encounter ships from Juling Island. Usually, they minded their own business, but if the imperial court issued a warrant, they had to pursue them. However, the people of Juling Island lived on the island and relied entirely on ships to enter and exit. They were also dragons of the sea, and the Su Family Army had suffered many losses because of them.

The black-sailed large ships sailed toward them. Gu Yun squinted and looked. The black-clad man at the bow of the main ship had silver-white hair fluttering wildly in the sea wind. That person—so familiar! Grabbing the telescope from Qiao Linfeng's hand, Gu Yun looked carefully. "Ao Tian?" Why was he here too?

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 231 =====