Chapter 311: Interlocking Links

The pirates of Araby are all living men, and their ships are conventional wooden sailing vessels, which have little resistance to violent explosions. However, compared to the Tomb Kings who all sank without a sound, some lucky ones were still clutching driftwood and struggling toward the shore.

"Who can tell me, what on earth is happening?" Count Noctilus's voice spread across the sea island, amplified by magic; his original arrogance and elegance were gone, and sharp-eyed subordinates might have noticed their Admiral was trembling.

"Explosions, they're everywhere!"

"We've been ambushed!"

"There are enemy spies!"

The noisy responses made Count Noctilus very dissatisfied. He calmed down as quickly as possible; as a powerful being who had lived for a long time, he knew the top priority was to regain control of his fleet. If they remained a scattered mess while facing an enemy whose location was unknown, it would be no different from sticking their necks out to be slaughtered.

"All ships, close in on the Xuexing Lueduozhe Hao! Forget about those floundering in the water; the lucky ones with their bodies intact will join us again!" Count Noctilus tried to concentrate his remaining strength, but unfortunately, this was a wrong move.

The sea surface, which had just calmed down, was once again churned up by rumbling explosions. To ensure no pirate ship could sail away, Snuori had laid enough mines; using such weapons to weaken the enemy was far more cost-effective than filling the gaps with the lives of his clansmen.

"Damn it! A bunch of idiots!"

While moving, one of Count Noctilus's own direct warships also sank. The expanded losses caused by the incorrect order made this midnight noble bite through his own lip.

"The explosions are coming from underwater! Those bastards, can they actually dig holes on the seabed?"

However, this wave of losses was not entirely without gain; at least the surviving pirates discovered where the attacks were coming from. The situation during the first round of explosions had been too chaotic, and the Dreadfleet had been blindly taking hits from top to bottom.

"Hidden, skulking rats! Daring to oppose Count Nuotekelasi, I will surely suck dry every drop of your blood, then pull out your bones and hang them on the prow! You, go down and scout!"

Although Count Noctilus's words were vicious, when it came to actual action, he still dared not go into the water himself to face an unknown enemy. He pointed at his fleet's combat Admiral—his most reckless and capable subordinate—and ordered this Vampire to go underwater to investigate.

"Hehe!"

Sinuoli was hiding on the seabed; one must know that sound travels faster in water than in air. He heard Count Noctilus's plan clearly, and as his mind turned, a scheme welled up in his heart.

The combat Admiral was fully equipped and took a few breaths to compose himself before cautiously entering the water. After entering, he did not rush to act, but first stabilized his posture to observe his surroundings; he was clearly an experienced veteran.

"What is that?"

Having just adapted to the dim environment underwater, the Vampire saw a large round sphere floating not far away. Long experience in battle told him this was likely the source of the explosions.

"Winds of Death, heed my command!"

Following a brief chant and a string of bubbles, a mass of filthy, blood-colored energy appeared in the combat Admiral's left hand. Apart from the Blood Dragon family, other high-ranking Vampires all possessed a certain ability to cast spells.

He maintained the spell with one hand and gripped his Scimitar with the other, swimming vigilantly toward the sphere. The Vampire's focus was still very sharp; when he heard the sound of water breaking behind him, he twisted his neck extremely quickly.

"A statue attacked me?"

But unfortunately, his keen reaction could not save him, and this became his last thought before losing consciousness.

Sinuoli smirked and hid his figure again. He had laid an ambush in advance on the path the Vampire had to take between the entry point and the mines, and with one hammer blow from behind, he shattered the guy's head.

"Why is there no movement?"

Count Noctilus stood on the gunwale, staring fixedly at the sea surface. The five minutes from when his subordinate entered the water until now seemed the longest of his pirate career. Although this member of the Von Carstein family was skilled in both magic and martial arts, unfortunately, neither had reached perfection, and the seawater severely limited his detection abilities.

"Trash, another piece of trash!"

His face was pale, and he was cursing incoherently. The combat Admiral seemed to have been swallowed by the sea, leaving no further sound. Every Undead on the Xuexing Lueduozhe Hao who retained the ability to think knew he certainly hadn't stayed because he was lingering on the underwater scenery.

"You, and you, get down there! I want to see what exactly is under the sea!" After waiting for another moment, Count Noctilus turned around abruptly and pointed out two more subordinates from the front row.

"Captain, I, I don't..."

"It's the sea, it's the wrath of Mannan'en that swallowed Milainei!"

Having the combat Admiral's precedent, the two pointed-out Vampire Coast pirates naturally did not want to face the unknown seabed. As Undead who had escaped death, they were even more fearful of a possible eternal slumber.

"Gibberish! Those who shake the morale of the army, die!"

Noctilus picked up a Halberd and slashed one of them into two pieces directly from the shoulder. The other, seeing things were going badly, had no choice but to grit his teeth and jump into the water.

"Glug, glug!"

After a burst of bubbles, the second Vampire also seemed as if he had never appeared in this world. Count Noctilus finally couldn't hold it together; his expression was already somewhat out of control.

"Woo! Woo!"

Before he could make further arrangements, several melodious steam whistle sounds came from afar. The Dwarf fleet, running at full power and advancing at top speed, was approaching. This chain of unexpected events left the pirates numb.

"Prepare for battle!"

Count Noctilus roared with all his might. The Xuexing Lueduozhe Hao had been heavily damaged in the explosions, and the already slow castle-like pirate ship could not shake off the pursuit of the Dwarf steamships. Jumping into the sea to escape in the face of an unknown threat was clearly not a good choice; at this moment, all they could do was make a last stand.

"Splash, splash!"

Following a series of sounds of breaking waves, at the end of the horizon, the Ironclads appeared vaguely in the mist. The huge ship shadows were like terrifying sea beasts, mouths wide open, wanting to swallow the remnants of the Dreadfleet.

"Oh oh! Look at the sea, a group of heroes charging out of the mist!"

Sinuoli heard the sea shanty again under the water, only this time it was clearly his own clansmen singing in chorus. The so-called "Lost Sea Shanty" was widely circulated, and sailors were always willing to sing a verse before battle to boost morale and relieve pressure.

"Boom—!"

This was the main battery of the Dreadnought sounding off.

"Plop!"

Several shells hit empty space, and one even narrowly grazed past Sinuoli. It seemed that although the pirate ships were massive in size, shooting while moving at high speed was still a challenge for the gunners.

"Return fire! Broadside volley!"

This was the shout of the fleet's artillery master; Count Noctilus had developed a system of fleet official ranks to boost his subordinates' enthusiasm for work.

"Creak, creak!"

While the pirate ships were adjusting their direction to fire, there was also a strange movement underwater. A Necrolith Colossus and a Leviathan rose up shakily.

--------------------Author's Note--------------------

The school suddenly lifted the lockdown, and in the last few days, people have started having retaliatory parties...