Chapter 458: Coastal Frontier Joint Defense

Several days later, Chen Dynasty, offshore Tai Prefecture.

Thick fog like gauze enveloped the sea surface, visibility under a hundred steps.

"Pacify Distant", a third ship of the Pacify Sea-class belonging to another patrol detachment of the Chen Dynasty Navy, was navigating cautiously in the fog, relying on an improved compass and the ship captain's experience.

All the sailors raised their alertness to twelvefold, and the lookouts stared wide-eyed, striving to pierce this white expanse of obstruction.

Suddenly, a faint sound of killing shouts and clashing weapons drifted over on the sea wind.

The ship captain immediately raised the spyglass and strained to look in the direction of the sound.

Through gaps in the fog, he vaguely saw the outlines of several ships entangled and colliding.

Two or three of them were long and narrow with tattered sails—exactly the pattern of that mysterious pirate gang mentioned in the earlier report!

Meanwhile, the three larger merchant ships being besieged by them had clearly insufficient escort strength.

The appearance of those merchant ships and the flags they flew……were False Song ships!

"It's that gang of water rats! They're looting False Song merchant ships!"

The ship captain made an instant judgment.

The atmosphere on deck instantly grew tense.

The deputy drew near and asked in a low voice:

"Ship captain, what… should we do? Go around?"

By ordinary logic, False Song is an enemy state; their merchant ships being robbed gives the Chen Dynasty Navy no reason to intervene, and they might even welcome it.

The ship captain stared at the bloody sea area, his brows furrowed.

He saw the pirates' brutal attack style, and saw the desperate resistance of the sailors and guards on the False Song merchant ships.

He also recalled the latest internal navy report, which mentioned that this pirate gang might have another background, their actions intended to stir up trouble.

"Damn……"

The ship captain muttered a curse, but his eyes quickly turned resolute.

"This bunch of scum is slapping the face of our entire coastal frontier! If we can loot them today, they'll dare to loot us again tomorrow!"

"Pass the order! Close in! Cock the crossbow cannon, ready the paddles!"

"Target—those pirate ships! Give them a hard beating!"

"Pacify Distant" surged forth like a beast breaking from the mist, suddenly accelerating and cutting into the battlefield!

Its appearance startled both sides of the engagement.

The pirates clearly hadn't expected to encounter a Chen Dynasty warship here, let alone such a huge new warship.

The people on the False Song merchant ships fell into even greater despair, thinking it was enemy reinforcements.

However, the next second, the starboard crossbow cannon of Pacify Distant let out a roar!

The specially made crossbow bolts were not aimed at the False Song merchant ships, but precisely covered the two pirate ships that were besieging the merchant vessels!

Pfft—Boom!

Wood chips flew sideways, and cries of anguish rang out.

One pirate ship's side was blown open with a large hole, seawater flooding in wildly;

another's rudder mechanism was destroyed, causing it to spin in place.

Suddenly struck by such fierce and precise blows, the pirates' formations fell into immediate chaos.

The people on the False Song merchant ships were stunned, then burst into cheers of having survived the disaster.

Although they didn't understand why the Chen Dynasty warship was helping them, at this moment that huge warship was their lifeline.

Seeing the situation turn bad, the pirate leader issued a sharp whistle; the remaining seaworthy ships began trying to break off from the battlefield and flee into the deep mist.

"Want to run?"

"Pacify Distant" ship captain gave a cold snort.

"Chase and strike! Don't let them slip away!"

"Pacify Distant" leveraged its speed advantage, grappled with a pirate ship lagging behind, and with alternating volleys of crossbow bolts and paddles quickly disabled it, causing it to lose power and slowly sink.

Several other pirate ships took advantage of the fog and vanished into the vast sea.

The battle ended quickly.

All that remained on the sea were floating planks, corpses, and those three False Song merchant ships still shaken from the ordeal.

"Pacify Distant" slowly approached the merchant ships.

The crew members of both sides gazed at each other across the not‑far sea, the atmosphere somewhat subtle and awkward.

The owner of the False Song merchant ship, a middle‑aged man in a brocade robe, plucked up his courage, walked to the rail, and gave a deep bow to "Pacify Distant", shouting in Mandarin with a heavy Jiangnan accent:

"Thank you……thank you for your righteous aid, noble ship! The grace of saving my life is unforgettable!"

His tone was sincere, trembling with the aftermath of survival.

"I don't know……I don't know what noble ship you are……"

"Pacify Distant" ship captain stood on the poop deck, replied in a deep voice, his words carried over by the sea wind:

"Just seeing injustice and acting."

"This sea cannot tolerate such lawless brigands!"

He did not reveal his specific identity, but the other party, from the warship's appearance and flags, had already guessed seven or eight tenths of it.

That False Song ship owner, also a shrewd person, did not ask further, merely bowed again in thanks:

"A great kindness needs no thanks! If there is a chance in the future……"

"Hurry up and pack up, then leave this sea area!"

"Pacify Distant" ship captain cut him off, waving a hand.

"The fog is thick; please take care!"

He ordered the Pacify Distant Ship to turn, and without hesitation sailed away from this sea area, continuing his patrol mission.

It seemed as if everything that had just happened was merely an insignificant interlude.

False Song merchant ship captain watched as that huge warship disappeared into the mist, his feelings complex, he let out a long sigh, quickly commanded his subordinates to rescue the wounded, repair the damaged sails, and hurriedly left.

This incident was not officially recorded by any side.

The Pacify Distant Ship, in its post-event report, also merely mentioned lightly: "Encountered pirate looting of a merchant ship; our warship drove off the pirates; the merchant ship's nationality unknown."

On the False Song side, after the merchant captain returned to port, in response to the officials' inquiry he only said, "Fortunately, an unknown force assisted us, enabling us to repel the pirates," and did not dare explicitly state that the helper was a Chen Dynasty warship, fearing unnecessary trouble.

However, the news eventually spread through their respective channels to the ears of the Chen Dynasty's separate estate and some concerned individuals in False Song.

Chen Dynasty, separate estate.

Shi Dun, when reporting this matter, his tone carried a hint of strangeness:

"……The general situation is roughly as follows. The Pacify Distant Ship handled things appropriately at the time—it struck at the pirates and did not get entangled further with the False Song merchant ship."

"On the False Song side, they also seemed to choose low-key handling."

Zhang Cheng stroked his beard and pondered:

"Frontline soldiers making on-the-spot decisions, prioritizing the strike against the common threat—this move……might not necessarily be a bad thing."

"At least let those pirates know that this sea is not where they can do as they please."

Wang Ru then said:

"This also confirms our earlier speculation: this band of pirates is indeed a common threat targeting both us and False Song."

Chen Wen, after listening, did not directly evaluate the actions of the Pacify Distant Ship's captain, but rather said thoughtfully:

"In the face of a common threat, even potential adversaries will have an instinct to present a united front."

"This accidental tacit understanding, though minor, is also a signal."

"It indicates that, regarding the maintenance of maritime border stability, we and False Song perhaps share an extremely brief and fragile common interest."

He paused, then looked at everyone.

"This matter need not be publicized, but we should pay attention to it."

"If in the future the pirate threat worsens, this accidental 'joint defense' might perhaps provide us with some……unconventional ideas."

False Song, Hangzhou, Maritime Trade Bureau office.

Several officials were also privately discussing this matter.

"Assistance? Where did this unknown force come from? I'd say eighty percent it's the people from the Light Curtain side!"

"Would they be so kind-hearted? Probably they have ulterior motives!"

"But regardless, they genuinely helped us drive off the pirates, saving people and cargo……"

"This is suspicious; the pirates simultaneously attacked both sides, and the Chen Dynasty navy just happened to appear……we have to be on guard!"

The officials debated heatedly, unable to reach a consensus.

But a consensus quietly formed: this band of pirates, appearing and disappearing mysteriously and attacking both sides, has become a menace that must be eradicated as soon as possible.

As for that brief encounter and tacit understanding in the mist, it has been deeply buried, with no one bringing it up publicly anymore.

It seems as if it never happened.

On the maritime frontier, waves are treacherous and clouds mysterious.

An unplanned joint defense, like a stone cast into the deep sea, failed to raise huge waves immediately, but beneath the surging undercurrents it buried a tiny seed concerning "common interest."

Whether it will sprout, no one knows.

But it did indeed exist.