Chapter 753: Bandit Chiefs Assemble

On the day of the showdown, the fleets of Jin Zhu and Han Wu also sailed into the Triangular Area.

Lan Ruobing dispatched all her flying boats, blockading the waters and guiding the enemy warships to the designated location.

These warships consisted of Level 1 Battleships leading a few Level 3 Battleships to clear the way, followed by the Super Warships, with various Level 2 and 3 Battleships surrounding them.

Bringing up the rear were the Level 4 and 5 Battleship squadrons; as for the small flying boats, they darted around the larger warships, relaying messages and gathering intelligence.

Each fleet was mighty and imposing, stretching for dozens of miles, a truly spectacular sight.

Ye Liuyun and the others were dazzled; they had never before seen such a massive armada of warships.

Even Du Yan had never before witnessed warships emerging in such huge numbers.

"If we actually fight, it'll be a blast!" Lei Ming exclaimed, seeing so many warships, unable to contain his excitement.

Ye Liuyun's Lan Ruobing bandit gang had already deployed their warships and set up their formation.

They were the hosts, so they had ample time to prepare.

The other two fleets, upon arrival, also began to deploy their formations according to the prior plan.

In each fleet, the Super Warship was positioned at the front, right in the middle of the fleet.

At this point, Ye Liuyun also noticed the differences between the two fleets.

Han Wu's fleet had a Level 1 Battleship on each flank of the Super Warship, while Jin Zhu's fleet had only one Level 1 Battleship.

On Lan Ruobing's side, without Ye Liuyun's Nether Ghost Ship, they too would have just a single Level 1 Battleship.

As for the Level 2 and 3 Battleships, the three sides were roughly equal; however, Lan Ruobing's side had an additional row of warships stationed ahead of the Super Warship.

These were the conscripted warships, tasked up front with charging or withstanding the enemy's first wave of attack.

They were commonly called the cannon fodder fleet!

Although only twenty or thirty Level 2 and 3 Battleships were lined up in a row, they still looked quite imposing.

Although their combat power was weak and they lacked experience, breaking through their line would be impossible without paying some price; at the very least, a few Level 2 and 3 Battleships would have to be sacrificed to cripple this cannon fodder unit.

From afar, Han Wu spotted the Nether Ghost Ship and, with a sour grin, told his subordinates, "Those conscripted warships dare to pose as combat power? They're just trying to bluff Jin Zhu."

His men all chimed in agreement.

"Boss, later I'll go blast him to pieces to vent your anger!" the man who had once intercepted Ye Liuyun, now standing beside Han Wu, said.

Because of that Nether Ghost Ship, he had taken plenty of flak; thus he harbored a deep hatred for it.

"Good! Then I'll give you a chance to redeem yourself through merit!" Han Wu said magnanimously.

In fact, it was he who originally said to let Ye Liuyun go, yet now he was blaming his subordinates instead.

That subordinate dared not retort, only able to repeatedly agree.

All three fleets had taken their positions, and the entire Triangular Area fell utterly silent.

The spectacular sight of the three major bandit gangs gathering together was something many had never witnessed before; merely the aura released by the numerous experts had already rendered the atmosphere in the area oppressively heavy.

Even lower‑ranked martial cultivators felt oppressed when they drew near.

"Jin Zhu, Han Wu, welcome to the Triangular Area!" Lan Ruobing, as host, was the first to welcome the arrival of those two bandit gangs.

"Hahaha," a hearty laugh rang out from Jin Zhu's Super Warship.

"Gentlemen, long time no see! I, Jin Zhu, have come again to join the fun!"

"You two are just spouting the same old nonsense. Since you're both after control of the Triangular Area, why don't we just get straight to fighting? It'd save us some time." Han Wu didn't even bother with pleasantries.

"Hahaha, Han Wu, it looks like you're determined to win this year," Jin Zhu chuckled.

"Don't think that bringing in an outside ally gives you the right to mock me! Are you sure your external ally is a match for the two of us?" Han Wu taunted.

Lan Ruobing also chimed in: "Jin Zhu, introduce your external ally to us."

"Look at how eager you two are! When it's time to meet, we'll naturally meet!" The external ally was Jin Zhu's trump card; he certainly wouldn't reveal it prematurely.

Upon hearing that, Lan Ruobing saw no need to press further, and loudly declared, "Let's just get started then! Since a battle is inevitable, there's no need for pleasantries."

"Exactly! Straight to the point is best!" Han Wu added, simultaneously ordering a squadron of warships to charge at Lan Ruobing's cannon fodder fleet.

Jin Zhu likewise dispatched a squadron of warships into the fray.

Both Han Wu and Jin Zhu had dispatched warships that were not their main combat forces, and the moves were probing in nature.

They both wanted to wipe out that cannon fodder squad first, so as soon as the battle began, they jointly launched an assault on Lan Ruobing's formation.

Just watching the clash of those dozens of warships made Lei Ming and the others' blood boil, and they shouted in exhilaration.

However, their fleet was clearly unable to stand its ground; right from the start, their formation scattered, and then each ship went its own way, being split apart by the enemy.

Ye Liuyun's Divine Sense enveloped the entire battlefield, letting him see everything with perfect clarity.

At this moment, he was not only observing the combat situation of that cannon fodder fleet, but also monitoring the state of Han Wu's entire fleet.

His initial task was to intercept a Level 2 or 3 Battleship.

The old ghost feared he lacked combat experience, so he didn't throw him straight into a fight against a Level 1 Battleship.

Ye Liuyun at this moment was searching for his attack target.

Soon, he locked onto a Level 2 Battleship on the flank of Han Wu's fleet.

He thought taking on a Level 3 Battleship would pose no difficulty and would not significantly affect the battle.

"Du Yan, is it difficult to take out that Level 2 Battleship?" Ye Liuyun still needed to consult the captain first, since Du Yan was more familiar with warships.

Du Yan assessed the situation and told Ye Liuyun, "Destroying it would be easy, but we ourselves would easily be surrounded by the surrounding Level 3 Battleships, after which the nearest Level 1 Battleship of the enemy would rush over to attack us."

"Can we simply ram through a Level 3 Battleship? How many rounds of their attacks can we withstand?" Ye Liuyun asked again.

"We can ram through! Defensively, we could probably endure about ten rounds," Du Yan mused, then asked Ye Liuyun, "After you blast that Level 2 Battleship, do you want to directly ram through the Level 3 Battleship and then put distance between us and their Level 1 Battleship?"

"Sounds good!" Ye Liuyun nodded. "We only have one warship, so we're relatively more maneuverable. We can strike and then withdraw."

"What if their Level 1 Battleship doesn't hit us head‑on, but instead swings around to intercept our retreat?" Du Yan raised a concern.

Ye Liuyun hadn't initially considered that possibility, but after Du Yan's reminder, he thought it over and then actually laughed.