Chapter 607: The Sea Meets the Brave: Victory Goes to the Bold

The island ahead grew closer; Pan Yun gripped the ship's rail with both hands, her eyes sharp as she stared at the dense, tree-covered island.

Hu Jing and the others stood behind Pan Yun, also staring intently.

The ship drew nearer, and they could now clearly see the simple wooden pier jutting from the shore.

A group of people sprinted out of the forest, leaping onto the ship with lightning speed; others jumped into the sea and swiftly pushed the vessel away, and a dozen small boats shot from the pier like arrows straight toward them.

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow, and a sword materialized in her hand.

A Xin and Chang Wenzhuan and Guo Dashan were steering the ship and didn't see it.

Hu Jing, standing behind her, twitched his eye corner—he was used to this by now and pretended not to notice.

Wang Cong asked nervously: "Little Master, what should we do?"

Pan Yun said: "Raise the pirate flag higher."

Wang Cong obeyed, pulling the flag to its highest point, but the others didn't slow—they rushed toward them even faster, their crew waving and shouting wildly.

Hu Jing understood Japanese; he stepped forward two paces, tilting his ear to listen carefully, but the distance was too great and the sea too vast—he couldn't make out a word.

Pan Yun listened quietly for a moment, then turned to A Xin: "Avoid them!"

A Xin immediately turned the helm with Guo Dashan; the large ship slowly pivoted before them.

Pan Yun seemed to sense their hesitation and said: "Don't worry about their lives."

A Xin instantly sped up; the large ship surged forward with a whoosh and slammed into the approaching small boats.

The men on the small boats screamed in fury but had to row desperately to avoid the large ship.

One boat dodged, but two couldn't avoid it; their crew leapt into the sea, surfaced moments later, and clung to the sides of the large ship, scrambling upward.

Pan Yun sneered, grabbed a bow, nocked an arrow, and shot—one arrow, one man—sending them straight into the sea.

The men sank, and soon a patch of seawater turned red.

Wang Cong clung to the rail, running back and forth along both sides counting: "Little Master, two left—they surfaced once and vanished. Could they be drilling under our hull?"

"Let them drill—if they do, A Xin, speed up more. If you can churn up the men beneath, good; if not, just shake them off."

Adjusted the sails; the wind filled the canvas and the speed increased.

Wang Cong felt he couldn't just stand by—even if Little Master didn't care about this ship, he wouldn't let it fall into the hands of these Japanese pirates.

He touched the ship; though it looked battered, it was big and sturdy—if he had a ship like this, he could sail to Korea, Japan, Siam, even farther…

Wang Cong picked up a sword and went to the ship's lower hold.

Pan Yun glanced at his back and said to Hu Jing behind her: "You go too—I entrust my nephew to you, Master Gu."

Hu Jing had spent far longer with Wang Cong than with Pan Yun; he truly liked Wang Cong—otherwise, during their solitary moments, he had countless chances to leave, yet never did.

Hu Jing gripped his knife and followed him down.

Wang Cong was scrambling wildly in the hold; Hu Jing grabbed the collar of his robe and yanked him sideways: "This way."

Wang Cong, bewildered, followed him; after five steps, he pushed aside a wooden panel, then ducked in first.

Only then did Wang Cong realize it was a door; he hurried after him.

Inside was a hidden compartment—tight and dark.

Both bent low as they descended; at the bottom, Wang Cong quickly heard thumping sounds. His eyes lit up as he turned to Hu Jing: "Master Gu—is this it?"

"Yes!" Hu Jing had mingled with sea bandits and knew ship construction well. He pulled Wang Cong aside, withdrew a wooden rod, pressed on a plank at the bottom, gave Wang Cong a look, then made a hand signal.

Wang Cong understood, drew his sword; Hu Jing yanked the plank up—Wang Cong thrust his blade sharply downward…

The sword met flesh; Wang Cong felt it. He didn't pull it out—he twisted the blade, then withdrew it.

The blade's tip dripped blood; Wang Cong beamed at Hu Jing.

Hu Jing covered the plank, resecured it, and called: "Come on, let's go up."

Wang Cong wasn't satisfied: "There's still one left, Master Hu—is there another panel down here?"

"Thank you, Master Gu," Hu Jing snapped: "The other hasn't moved at all—probably drowned. Do you think drilling through a hull underwater is easy? Can you hold your breath for a full minute?"

Wang Cong shook his head.

Hu Jing: "Neither can sea bandits."

Wang Cong muttered inwardly: But my Little Master could.

Both climbed up.

The sea had changed entirely.

The pursuing small boats drifted aimlessly, rocking helplessly in the waves, their crews gone.

Wang Cong blinked: "Where did the crew go?"

A Xin beamed: "All of them were shot into the sea by Master Sanzhu! Master Sanzhu is incredible—his arrows fly straight even in this wind, and he can shoot so far!"

Wang Cong: Of course—he's not just relying on strength and swordplay; he uses magic and Yuan power, after all.

Wang Cong ran happily to Pan Yun's side: "Little Master, the men hiding under the hull were stabbed too."

Pan Yun nodded, then turned her gaze toward Wangyue Island.

Wang Cong followed her look and saw two large ships emerging, heading straight for them.

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly as she praised him: "Well done. Go help A Xin—we'll lure the big ships farther out."

Wang Cong obeyed, helping A Xin and the others steer, raising and lowering sails to keep the two large ships at a steady, teasing distance.

Pan Yun opened a telescope; through it, she clearly saw the men on the distant ships.

There were quite a few…

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly.

She subtly shifted the lens—then froze. She turned the lens again, seeing more clearly: two cannons mounted on the ship.

Pan Yun turned to the other ship—also saw two cannons.

A surge of rage burst like fire in her heart.

These short, poor, ugly bastards—who knows how much they plundered from the coastal commoners before they could afford weapons like these.

Besides, the Wa Kingdom is in the middle of a great war—where would they get the resources to manufacture cannons?

These things might even have come from within the Great Ming.

If they weren't prepared and went ashore off guard, with just these four cannons firing down from above, no matter how high their martial arts or Daoist spells—whether great heroes or Daoist Priests—every one of them would be blasted to smithereens.

Pan Yun's eyes blazed with fire as she asked A-Xin: "Can you make them come a bit closer, then speed up quickly the moment I give the order?"

A-Tong said: "As long as the sea-sails can be hoisted quickly."

Pan Yun looked toward Hu Jing and Wang Cong.

The two nodded immediately.

Pan Yun then said to A-Tong: "Give it a try. It doesn't matter if it doesn't work—I can definitely keep you all alive."

She had the Three Treasures Cauldron in hand; at worst, afterward she could just pour some medicine into A-Xin and the others.