Chapter 176: Sword Slashes the Giant Ship!

Meanwhile.

Above the surface of the Neijiang.

The dense roar of artillery fire continued; on one Iron-Clad Giant Ship after another, the muzzles on the hulls and decks kept spitting fire, though the frequency was much lower than before.

A moment later, the cannon fire gradually ceased. On the deck of a main battleship over a hundred meters long and ten thousand tons in displacement, a middle-aged man dressed in naval commander attire gazed coldly into the distance, while the mid-level officers beside him sighed with great regret:

"General Kawata, we have already exhausted three-quarters of our ammunition reserves over these past few days, yet those Great Jin people still cower inside the inner city, refusing to come out and engage in battle."

"Continuing like this is no solution. Shall we not take this opportunity to launch a landing operation and occupy Shangdu?"

"The Great Jin dynasty people are truly too weak; the so-called New Army of Shangdu is nothing but a facade. Their weapons, equipment, and combat proficiency are completely inferior to ours. If the Emperor's army were to launch a landing operation, we would surely crush them within three days, easily annihilating these people and bringing all of Shangdu into our possession!"

Kawata Ryuichi, serving as the commander of the Third Fleet, turned his head to scan his subordinates and said coldly:

"Stupid. Do not let vanity and immediate gains cloud your minds."

"Shenzhou is currently in the midst of a massive upheaval, and a monster that defies human understanding has emerged. Both the Shenluo People and the Sha'e are wavering and watching from the sidelines, so how could we personally enter the fray?"

"The Empire's current strategy is to support those Great Jin people as much as possible, letting them and the furious Han people slaughter and exhaust each other. Only when they are both severely wounded will it be time for us to consider formally stepping in to reap the fruits of victory."

"Of course, the prerequisite for everything is that the strong of the Empire, the Shenluo, and the Sunlight Country can find a way to deal with that so-called Immortal. Otherwise, even if we seize this vast land, we will face an enemy of immense threat, and the safety of those in high positions will be difficult to guarantee."

Behind him, several mid-level officers looked at each other, somewhat skeptically:

"General Kawata, is that so-called Immortal from the Martial Arts Tournament really as powerful and irresistible as the Immortals in legends?"

"The fact that this person can fly is indeed somewhat bizarre, but no matter what, he is only a single person. Our machine guns can blast an iron fortress into smithereens, our ship-borne cannons can level a mountain peak, and the will of our soldiers is firmer than steel and more scorching than the sun."

"Could it be that, by gathering the power of the Empire, we still need to fear such a person of unknown authenticity?"

The news sent back to the country by Ueda Masaaki and the others had indeed caused a massive uproar, and many officers throughout the military had long harbored doubts, but Kawata Ryuichi frowned and scolded:

"Bastards, do you think people like the Great Priest or the Ninja King would lie? It wasn't just them present, but also officials from the diplomatic mission; the intelligence gathered from so many people cannot be false."

"At the scene, Xici of the Great Jin dynasty specifically ambushed gunmen and even artillery to strike this person, yet failed to cause him the slightest damage. Such a bizarre existence, who also possesses high mobility like aerial flight, already has the capability to perform decapitation strikes against any army, even if our fleet is on the sea surface—"

Before he could finish his words, the mid-level officers behind him suddenly turned pale, almost simultaneously letting out screams:

"General, look!"

"What is that!?"

Kawata Ryuichi could not help but be startled. He turned abruptly and saw, amidst the gloomy sky in the distance, a golden stream of light piercing through the dim firmament like a meteor.

On the deck, almost all the officers raised the monocular telescopes in their hands.

Then, they were horrified to discover that the golden radiance was no meteor, but a figure glowing with golden light and surrounded by immortal aura!

"Oh no, it's that Lu Yuan!"

"All ships, alert! Enemy attack, enemy attack—!"

Kawata Ryuichi's roar echoed across the deck. The Rizhao Army officers of all ranks regained their senses and shouted at the top of their lungs as if facing a great enemy, soon causing the accumulated alarm sounds to resound throughout the Neijiang river region.

The Rizhao soldiers on the dozen surrounding battleships and frigates also discovered the golden meteor approaching from the horizon. Thousands of soldiers surged onto the decks with Short-barreled Machine Guns and Long-barreled Rifles, while others rushed to the anti-aircraft machine guns and cannons mounted all over the decks to turn their muzzles.

These ship-borne weapons were originally designed to deal with aerial strike forces like the Shenluo People's Steam Airships; no soldier had ever imagined that one day they would be used against a person.

Just like that, in a mere ten-odd breaths, tens of thousands of soldiers emerged on the dozen iron-clad battleships of varying tonnages and quickly prepared for battle, displaying quite high combat proficiency.

And just as all the Sunlight People were facing a great enemy, the golden meteor in the distance was no more than five miles from the fleet. Kawata Ryuichi, standing on the deck of the main battleship, roared without hesitation:

"Fire—!"

Bang bang bang bang bang—

Flags and signals were issued. In an instant, on the dozen battleships, thousands of Rizhao soldiers howled as they launched attacks toward the sky. Thousands of rifles and cannons, and even machine guns and cannons specifically for anti-aircraft use, spat flames. Regardless of whether they hit or not, they wove a barrage of death, enveloping the meteor that was rushing toward them.

However, to everyone's surprise.

Before the rapidly approaching meteor could be intercepted by the violent, overwhelming rain of bullets, they suddenly lost track of the meteor in their sight.

"Where is he!?"

On the deck of the main battleship, Kawata Ryuichi gazed at the sky with shock and suspicion, searching in all directions, but found no trace of that figure in the air or on the sea, as if he had vanished into thin air.

Recalling the rumors they had heard, the surrounding Rizhao officers could not help but feel a sense of unease, and they stepped forward one after another:

"General Kawata, it's dangerous here!"

"Leave the combat matters to us, please return to the command room to take cover!"

Kawata Ryuichi's expression was grim. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard an extremely sharp, piercing sound, as if steel metal were being violently sliced open.

What sound was that?

Whether it was Kawata Ryuichi and the other officers, or the thousands of Rizhao soldiers on the main battleship, all felt their scalps tingle involuntarily. Then, soldiers at the edge of the left deck leaned over to observe and let out a roar of sheer terror:

"The hull is cracking!" "The hull is cracking!"

The shrill cries spread across the deck, drowning out even the sound of artillery and machine guns. Kawata Ryuichi and the other officers felt their heads buzz at the sound, then sprinted to the left side of the deck and leaned over to look.

Immediately, they saw a massive crack, fully twenty zhang long, appearing at the bottom of the waist of this main battleship, which had iron armor plating up to 300 millimeters thick—as if it had been sliced open directly by some incomparable sharp weapon!

And even more fatal was that, at this moment, a massive amount of seawater was pouring in through that huge crack, causing the entire main ship to begin tilting and sinking bit by bit!

"How could this be..."

"When did this happen!?"

In an instant, everyone on the deck, from top to bottom, including Kawata Ryuichi and the Rizhao officers and soldiers, had their eyes split with rage and let out incredulous screams.

The Iron-Clad Giant Ship earned its name from the iron plate armor welded to both sides of the hull.

This main battleship had a displacement of twelve thousand tons. Such a behemoth, with 300-millimeter-thick armor welded on, had defensive capabilities as solid as a fortress. Ordinary artillery fire could at most cause minor damage; only a duel between main ship cannons of the same level could possibly break the armor and cause massive destruction to the hull.

Like the Jin-Sunlight Naval Battle over half a year ago, this main battleship had withstood artillery fire from several Great Jin Navy New Army ships without harm, and had even fiercely counterattacked and sunk the enemy's main ship, earning great military honors.

But now, without even seeing what the enemy looked like, this main battleship, which had experienced countless bloody battles and honors, had suffered a fatal wound!

And regardless of what Kawata Ryuichi and the others were thinking.

The next moment, that sharp sound of steel tearing, as if it were slicing through one's soul, rang out again. The Rizhao soldiers on the right deck let out terrified screams:

"General, General!"

"The right side of the hull is cracking too!"

"Look over there quickly!"

"The escort ships too, they are..."

"This, what on earth is going on here?!"

The entire main battleship began to sink slowly. Kawata Ryuichi and the group of officers on the deck were struck as if by a thunderbolt. They stared stiffly, accompanied by cries of fear, and immediately saw that on the surrounding escort ships and other battleships forming the battle formation, cracks at least ten-plus zhang long were appearing one after another at the bottom, as if an invisible enemy had struck with the sword of a Heaven god.

In just a brief moment, almost every warship had two or three huge gashes appear at its bottom, causing seawater to rush in rapidly, and the huge, heavy hulls began to tilt and sink gradually!

The sinking of the warships was a foregone conclusion, and the speed of the capsizing was extremely fast. In such a bizarre situation, the Sunlight soldiers on each ship, who had previously been on high alert, were either panicked or furious, descending into total chaos.

The main ship, which had been attacked most recently, was sinking the fastest; in an instant, it had sunk nearly halfway. Several officers on the deck, both shocked and furious, grabbed Kawata Ryuichi and said, their hearts and gallbladders shattered:

"It's no use, the main ship is sinking!"

"General Kawata, leave quickly!"

"The life rafts have already been deployed, we will send you up!"

However, on the slowly sinking deck, Kawata Ryuichi still could not believe everything that had happened in these few moments, and he roared as if insane:

"No, I am not leaving!"

"As the commander of the Fearless, if the ship lives, I live; if the ship dies, I die!"

"This is all an illusion; the fleet of the Great Sun Empire is invincible!"

"Come out, you monster! If you have the ability, come out and duel me; what kind of skill is it to hide and skulk about!?"

The shrill, even frantic roars echoed amidst such a chaotic scene. The surrounding officers were also filled with grief and indignation. Just as they were planning to forcibly send Kawata Ryuichi onto a life raft, they suddenly heard an indifferent and grand voice resound above the main ship:

"A duel?"

"Interesting, I will grant your wish."

Everyone looked up in horror, only to see that above their heads, at some unknown time, a light wheel shone and immortal light swirled. A figure like an immortal or a god looked down from above, revealing a playful smile.

Seeing such an incredible existence at close range, Kawata Ryuichi and the surrounding Sunlight officers all fell into a state of stupor and terror.

Clang—!

Before even the time it takes to blink, the Seven Star Dragon Abyss in Lu Yuan's hand bloomed with a brilliant, fierce radiance, condensing into a huge sword beam that was lifted lightly and then fell lightly.

All the Sunlight officers who witnessed this scene felt a pain in their eyes, and what followed was a brilliant, domineering, and merciless sword beam, over ten zhang long, descending into the human world.

In Kawata Ryuichi's terrified eyes, everything around him seemed to slow down; the chaotic deck and the surging river surface flashed by like flowers seen from horseback as if time had slowed down.

In his eyes, only that vast sword light remained, spanning the horizon like a thunderbolt striking down. Whether it was him or the entire sinking warship, everything became so powerless and so insignificant.

Crack!

In an instant, the sword light fell, and an earth-shattering cracking sound erupted. The deck of this main battleship immediately split straight open, the entire hull appearing as if it had been severed from the middle! As for Kawata Ryuichi and the other officers who had been in that position, they were instantly shredded into severed limbs and broken arms by the aftermath of the sword light without even a groan, scattering all over the ground!

"General—!"

Such a terrifying scene was seen by the soldiers on the deck and even on other warships. They let out screams of terror, grief, or hatred; some even raised their rifles and cannons like madmen, firing wildly at Lu Yuan, who had revealed his figure in mid-air.

However, after advancing to the middle stage of Refining Essence into Qi, ordinary bullets could not break through the defensive power of the dual blessings of Generating Light and Obstacle Clothing. Lu Yuan, standing in the air, looked at the Sunlight soldiers attacking him from the deck and other locations below, expressionless:

"As expected, this efficiency is still a bit slow."

"I'll go to the trouble of sending you on your way a bit faster."

As he spoke, he formed a hand seal, and clear Dharma Power surged. Immediately, an invisible gale emerged from around his body, becoming increasingly fierce and vast until it covered a range of several dozen zhang around him, as if a small storm had formed with him at the center!

Swept by the storm, hundreds of Sunlight soldiers on the battleship were violently lifted up. The already surging river surface churned and echoed even more fiercely, rapidly turning into raging waves that struck violently, which, combined with the furious hurricane, overturned and submerged this damaged main battleship in just a few moments!

Under the storm and raging waves, not only did the main ship capsize, but thousands of Sunlight soldiers on it fell into the sea. Even those who were excellent swimmers could not control themselves and were buried in the churning river water, dying in an incredibly stifling manner.

This shocking scene was witnessed by He Yuanzhang and the Shangdu New Army, who had brought a small group of soldiers to scout and provide support, worried about the situation. Every one of them had their mouths agape, staring at all of this in a stupor, having lost the ability to speak.