Chapter 609

Qu Le and other martial artists gripped iron claws, stepped swiftly up the hull, and flipped over the rail into the large ship; Zhang Weiyi and the others, unwilling to be outdone, slapped their talismans and seemed to have wind beneath their feet, grabbing and pushing off the ship's side, leaping over the rail like nimble monkeys…

A Japanese pirate ran past with a large blade, paused at the sight of them, let out a wild yell—before even finishing two shouts, he was cut down in one stroke…

Pan Yun, watching from the ship, raised an eyebrow and turned to ask the A Xin group: "Do you want to go over?"

There were so few of them on their own ship; after Pan Yun exhausted her arrows, they had already sailed away, growing ever farther from the two Japanese ships—how could they get over?

A Xin reminded them: "The wind and waves are against us; our small boat can't make it and might capsize. The large ship… is too hard to leap across."

"Don't worry about it. Just tell me whether you can get on or not."

If they could get on, of course they would—everyone was out here; naturally, they must earn merit!

Chang Wenzhuan rushed forward: "I volunteer to board and kill the pirates!"

Guo Dashan: "I volunteer too!"

Hu Jing stepped forward immediately: "I want to go over too!"

Upon hearing this, Pan Yun instantly slashed through the mast with one palm and shoved it away with another—the mast shot straight toward the Japanese ship where Qu Le and the others were.

The Japanese pirates had already noticed Qu Le's group boarding and were locked in fierce combat with them.

Seeing the mast hurtling toward their side, they realized their cannons at the bow couldn't turn far enough to aim back—so they kept firing arrows toward Pan Yun's direction.

As soon as the mast launched, Pan Yun seized Hu Jing and Wang Cong and hurled them out, roaring: "Go—!"

Hu Jing and Wang Cong arced through the air; in the vast sea, even the greatest skill made a person seem small and helpless.

Both felt a flash of panic inside, but soon a soft internal force flowed through their backs— their toes touched the mast, steadying them instantly; they immediately activated their lightness arts and flew toward the Japanese ship.

They could even twist their bodies mid-air to dodge incoming arrows.

A Xin was thrown out right after them.

Only then did Pan Yun grab Chang Wenzhuan in one hand and Guo Dashan in the other, stepping off the tail of the mast and leaping through the air.

One by one, they kicked off and flipped lightly onto the deck, immediately drawing the attention of countless Japanese pirates—greatly relieving the pressure on Qu Le's group.

Qu Le and the first to board, eyes bloodshot, guarded the boarding entrance, allowing their comrades to keep climbing aboard.

Soon, the number of surviving pirates and martial artists on the ship became nearly equal.

Pan Yun cut down one enemy after another, quickly meeting up with Qu Le: "Where are Seeing Miao Zhen and the others?"

Qu Le: "They're next. Heading for the other ship."

Pan Yun frowned—the other Japanese ship was still firing arrows at them and, after adjusting its sails, was retreating, showing no intention to come over and help.

Given the precedent, boarding that ship would be difficult.

Pan Yun slashed two pirates, stole a glance at Li Wenying's ship, and saw that in the storm, the small boat carrying Qu Le's group had been pulled back to the other side of the large ship—Seeing Miao Zhen and the others were disembarking.

The Japanese ship must have noticed too—they were now firing arrows at that side, adjusting their ship's direction and cannon angle—BOOM—the cannon exploded between the two small boats; both instantly flipped, their occupants vanished, and the farther small boat also capsized, though its crew soon surfaced, clinging desperately to the hull.

Seeing Miao Zhen and the others, just landed on the ship, rocked with the waves, their faces pale.

Seeing the Japanese ship still reloading, Pan Yun kicked the nearest pirate flying, CRACK—his body smashed into three more charging toward her; she spun and seized Hu Jing and Wang Cong: "We're going over!"

Her sword shot out with a WHOOSH—she leapt across the ten-meter gap, stepping twice on the blade; her speed was so great, those on the ship didn't notice the slight pause as she landed on the sword—they assumed she merely used it for momentum, unaware she had flown a short distance by sword-riding.

Pan Yun dropped Wang Cong and Hu Jing beside a cannon barrel; they reacted instantly, slashing down enemies the moment their feet touched the deck, while Pan Yun charged straight for the pirate leader.

The pirate leader shouted—a group of archers lining the rail immediately turned back to defend.

Pan Yun killed like chopping melons; Qu Le watched from across, burning with envy, shouting: "I want to go over too!"

Pan Yun fought ten men at once, still keeping watch over nearby Hu Jing and Wang Cong—she had no time to reply.

Only when Seeing Miao Zhen and the others boarded did their pressure ease.

Pan Yun's expression was grim, but Li Wenying soon arrived with reinforcements, and her expression softened slightly.

They quickly seized control of both ships.

Li Wenying handed command of one ship to Pan Yun, the other to Zhang Ning.

Chen Han, who had been by his side all along, finally asked: "Mr. Li, are you hiding someone in the cabin because you don't trust us?"

The martial artists in the forward cabin immediately turned to look at Li Wenying.

They hadn't known Qu Le's group was in the aft cabin—their shock was no less than that of the Japanese pirates.

Li Wenying smiled: "Young Master Chen misunderstands. It's not distrust—it's just a stratagem. I'm a Daoist Priest, not well-versed in military tactics, merely following orders."

Chen Han pressed: "Whose orders, may I ask?"

Li Wenying evaded: "Naturally, orders from above. Young Master, better not ask further—the clearer you know, the worse it is."

Chen Han's expression darkened.

One martial artist said: "As long as the mission succeeded, who cares if it was a trick?"

"Besides, thanks to the trick—who'd have thought these Japanese pirates had cannons? We lost many men."

Li Wenying immediately asked: "Have the people in the sea been recovered? Alive, bring them; dead, bring the bodies."

"Sigh—we pulled up three alive, four were stunned by the blast and dead when lifted, two are missing, swept away by the waves—we'll send more to search… this sea isn't land; if we can't find them, they're gone."

The martial artists boarded and charged straight in, killing—those from the same sect could back each other up; others mostly fought alone, occasionally helping allies, resulting in heavy casualties.

In contrast, the Tian Shi Fu disciples, though their martial skills weren't necessarily better, suffered the lightest losses.

Though many had known each other for less than five days, facing such massive casualties still stirred deep sorrow.

But grief faded when they saw even more Japanese pirates dead.

The martial artists regained their fierce spirit.

Qu Le couldn't help saying: "Indeed, soldiers aren't for ordinary men—if one faced such losses daily, the heart would break."

Pan Yun: "Have you ever seen a soldier fight every day?"

She said: "If soldiers truly fought daily and died daily, the world would be in chaos."

Li Wenying cut in: "Pan Yun, go help search—we're returning to the ship. We must strike the shore before they recover."