Chapter 43: Blazing Fury

The Hunters' back-climbing attack lasted for several minutes.

Standing on the back of the Fengshan Maru was like climbing a hilltop; aside from the occasional tremor, it was hard to accurately judge the Fengshan Maru's state of movement, so someone had to command and determine the timing of the retreat.

Seeing the Fengshan Maru, which had calmed somewhat due to exhaustion, begin to grow restless again under the Hunters' continuous assault, the Ship Group Leader decisively ordered the Horn Blower to issue the retreat command.

It was not yet time to fight to the death; battling the Fengshan Maru relied more on will and endurance, and as the commander, he absolutely could not be impatient.

"Doo—"

Hearing the command, the Hunters on the Fengshan Maru's back almost immediately sheathed their Weapons; shouting to one another, reminding surrounding comrades, and confirming no one had lost their head and ignored the signal, they successively ran toward the Fengshan Maru's tail.

The height here was lower, making it more convenient for them to leap safely into the Sand Sea.

The few Hunters responsible for the Back Bombs lingered slightly; they placed the Explosive Bombs in position and pushed them firmly closer to the Fengshan Maru's wounds.

Subsequently, under the command of a Great Hammer wielder, several Hunters pulled the fuses together.

What happened next required no command from anyone; everyone began running for their lives, and two Hunters confident in their leg joints even leaped directly off the Fengshan Maru's spine.

That was a height of over ten meters; even with soft yellow sand below, a slight error in the landing motion to dissipate force could easily break a leg.

Fortunately, aside from Aolang, who had entered via the "back door," everyone else was a veteran, and no accidents occurred.

While confirming the Hunters had detached, the Dragon-Hunting Ship and the surrounding Sand Ships simultaneously released the ropes of the Binding Bombs, scattering outward in all directions.

This was both to safely retrieve the Hunters who had jumped into the Sand Sea and to temporarily avoid the Fengshan Maru's impending fury.

"Boom-boom-boom!"

After a brief delay of a dozen seconds, several huge fireballs rose from the Fengshan Maru's back.

That was terrifying power far beyond what even Heavy Cannons could match; large chunks of Locke Armor were blasted away, revealing the charred flesh and tissue beneath.

This super-gigantic Ancient Dragon, over a hundred meters long with no rivals even in the treacherous depths of the Sand Sea, was nearly overturned by these specially made Explosive Bombs of astonishing power.

It stopped swimming, supported its body with its fin-like forelimbs, angled its Giant Tooth Pillar toward the sky, and let out roars that shook the Sand Sea.

"Roar-ho-ho-ho—!!"

"It's enraged! Good chance, use this opportunity to lure it off course, away from Locklak City!" The Ship Group Leader turned the helm, "Fire the Cannons! Draw its attention to the Fengshan Maru!"

"Boom! Boom!"

The Cannons, which had been silent for a while, erupted in roars once more.

The next second, firelight exploded on the Fengshan Maru; one shell struck precisely the massive wound opened by the Anti-Dragon Bomb, and without the protection of thick back armor or hard skin, the shell penetrated deep into the flesh before detonating.

Scattered shrapnel drilled deep into the muscles, and the gushing blood looked like a crimson rain showering over the Fengshan Maru's back.

"Roar—!"

Even if its sense of pain was not very sharp, the Fengshan Maru, which had shown no obvious reaction after being hacked at the wounds by the Hunters for so long, finally truly felt the pain this time.

Aolang, who had just climbed back onto a small Sand Ship, shook the yellow sand from his hair and gazed toward the Fengshan Maru howling incessantly in the distance.

The Ship Group's tactics were highly versatile, but the tactical core was inherited and summarized by generations of the Sand Ship Fleet.

Cannon fire on the back armor was to create breaches; the concentrated fire of Heavy Crossbows was to create footholds.

After exhausting the Fengshan Maru through reasonable tactical arrangements, each ship fired Binding Bombs to restrain it; then the Hunters performed the Celong Operation, further damaging the wounds while simultaneously placing and detonating Anti-Dragon Bombs.

Once the Fengshan Maru's Locke Armor defense was broken, the armament on the Dragon-Hunting Ship could inflict effective damage; what followed was a contest of endurance.

In fact, up to this point in the battle, it would not have been strange if the Fengshan Maru turned and left at any moment.

Some scholars have proposed such a speculation: the Giant Tooth Pillar, a landmark of Locklak City, is likely the remnant of an extremely massive Fengshan Maru from ancient times.

The Fengshan Maru can sense the lingering aura on that Giant Tooth Pillar; out of awe or affection, it comes here every Monsoon Season.

In other words, this is a behavior similar to "pilgrimage," but it inadvertently causes shock to Locklak City, so from the human standpoint, it must be driven back.

More scholars hold another view, believing this is simply the Fengshan Maru's migratory behavior; Locklak just happened to block its shortest path southward, which is why it assaults the city.

Regardless of which truth is correct, scholars agree on one point—the Fengshan Maru's own purpose is not to attack the city.

Therefore, after receiving sufficiently strong counterattacks, it will choose to retreat or take a detour.

Like a person hurrying along a mountain path who is suddenly attacked by a swarm of hornets; after being stung all over the head, their first reaction is certainly to run, not to find and destroy the hornet nest.

Of course, if that person has a short temper, they might kill a few hornets to vent their anger before turning to run.

The Fengshan Maru before them clearly belonged to the type with a bad temper; it swayed its streamlined body and began swimming through the Sand Sea again, its pair of Giant Tooth Pillars pointing directly toward the Dragon-Hunting Ship, the Fengshan Maru.

It intended to topple and crush that thing!

"It's targeting us!" On the Fengshan Maru, a younger crew member couldn't help but cry out in alarm.

"Don't panic!" the Ship Group Leader bellowed, "Full sail, accelerate! Exhaust its stamina and prepare for the next Celong Operation!"

"Yes!"

The crew responded in unison; the Stabilizer Rods on both sides of the hull were raised once more, the Sails were fully billowed, the Dragon-Hunting Ship turned its bow, and accelerated away along the Fengshan Maru's pursuit path.

"Roar!"

However, just then, the Fengshan Maru suddenly accelerated its body movements; despite being several times longer and potentially dozens of times heavier than the Dragon-Hunting Ship, the Fengshan Maru actually unleashed a straight-line speed faster than the Dragon-Hunting Ship.

The distance between the two was rapidly closing.

Aolang and the others, lingering in the distance and waiting for orders, grew tense upon seeing this; if the Dragon-Hunting Ship, as the main force, was overturned, their small Sand Ships alone could not drive back the Fengshan Maru.

Fortunately, the Ship Group Leader had a countermeasure ready.

He handed the helm back to the helmsman while shouting commands: "Prepare for full left rudder, prepare to lower the left Stabilizer Rod, everyone brace for an emergency turn! Wait for my command!"

Two hundred meters, one hundred meters, fifty meters...

The distance between the Fengshan Maru and the Dragon-Hunting Ship grew closer and closer; the Ship Group Leader, striding to the stern deck, could even see the pair of tiny eyes covered in blood vessels on the former.

"Now!" the Ship Group Leader shouted and waved his hand.

The helmsman immediately cranked the helm; the hull, moving at high speed, tilted severely, almost capsizing, but thanks to the simultaneous lowering of the left Stabilizer Rod, it finally stabilized its posture.

"Roar!"

The Fengshan Maru, chasing closely behind the Dragon-Hunting Ship, tried to turn left as well, but its massive size made it far less agile than the former, with a turning radius several times larger, so it could only watch helplessly as the Dragon-Hunting Ship escaped its collision path.

But the Fengshan Maru, burning with fury, would not give up so easily; its powerful fin-limbs flattened the sand dunes as it began to turn at full power.

The Ship Group Leader, who had fought the Peak Mountain Dragon for a lifetime, knew clearly that this was the moment when the Peak Mountain Dragon's posture was most unstable.

He swung his arm with force again, "Strike the great gong!"

The Hunter, short and stout, holding the Great Hammer, had been waiting for a long time; the instant the Ship Group Leader's command left his lips, he fiercely swung the Great Hammer and struck the giant gong, which was fully three or four meters in diameter.

"Kwang—"

The piercing metallic sound, accompanied by vibrations indistinguishable to the human ear, spread outward in all directions.