"Young Master, all the cannons have already been focused. Please give the order."
Zhou Long walked up to Ye Tian, his expression solemn as he spoke.
Ye Tian waved his hand and said with a bitter smile, "Let the brothers rest for a bit. Yuena is carrying the Silver Dragon Spear—she went over by herself."
"Miss Gu Yuena truly wants to help Young Master." Zhou Long sighed.
He picked up the telescope in his hand and looked toward the distant cliff.
On the silent cliff, the stationed troops of the Star Luo Empire were already in complete chaos.
"Are we not going to seize the port while the opportunity's here?"
Zi Zhenzhu, having learned of the situation, came over.
Ye Tian smiled with confidence. "We have too many ships. If we dock at night, there's a high chance of running aground."
"Let's wait until daylight."
With the two cliff-mounted soul-guided cannons gone, the Star Luo Empire fleet docked in the port posed no real threat.
Zi Zhenzhu pressed down her pirate hat and nodded slightly. "Alright, I request to take the lead tomorrow."
She was raring to go—since she had already decided to side with Ye Tian, she had to do something substantial.
Otherwise, she would feel uneasy inside.
Ye Tian could roughly understand Zi Zhenzhu's mood at the moment. He pressed his hand down and said, "Alright. Uncle Zhou, use the firepower of the left-wing fleet to cover Zi Zhenzhu."
"Understood." Zhou Long agreed solemnly.
At dawn the next day—With the rising sun, Zi Zhenzhu commanded more than thirty pirate ships to raise their sails and launch an assault on the port.
Inside the port—
The Star Luo Empire's Eastern Fleet, as if facing a great enemy, quickly formed a vertical defensive formation.
In truth, it wasn't exactly "quick."
Back the previous night, Zhu Yi had already ordered the fleet to form a defensive line inside the port.
That whole night, the Eastern Fleet didn't sleep, fearing a surprise attack.
When Zhi Zhenzhu blew the horn of attack, Zhu Yi actually let out a sigh of relief.
Finally, there was no need to guard against a hidden strike.
On the flagship, Zhu Yi drew the saber at his waist.
His bloodshot eyes swept over the surrounding sailors as he shouted hoarsely with all his might:
"Great navy brothers of the Empire! The port is our final stronghold!"
"We have nowhere left to retreat!"
"If the ship lives, we live! If the ship dies, we die!"
"If the ship lives, we live! If the ship dies, we die!" The soldiers were quickly stirred by Zhu Yi's momentum, shouting in unison.
That surge of morale drove them, blood boiling, into their battle stations, fully prepared for Zi Zhenzhu's fleet.
The ships under Zi Zhenzhu were all equipped with ballistae, which had a very short range.
So they could only fight once they got close.
This meant Zhou Long behind her couldn't help much.
On the sea, the margin of error for cannon fire was huge—one careless shot could harm their own side.
Although Zhou Long couldn't contribute much—
The morale under Zi Zhenzhu was extremely high.
First, because of yesterday's great victory.
Second, because they outnumbered the enemy.
Zhu Yi's Eastern Fleet of the Star Luo Empire had only six warships at this point.
Even adding the civilian vessels requisitioned overnight from the port, they had at most sixteen ships.
Zi Zhenzhu, on the other hand, had thirty-seven warships!
"Pass my order—ignore all attacks, board them and kill them!"
As the distance between the sides shrank, Zi Zhenzhu gave the final pre-battle order.
Boarding meant charging to the enemy ship, hooking it with iron grapples to connect the two vessels—
Then crossing the boarding plank for close-quarters combat.
This was undoubtedly the simplest and most brutal method.
Once the ships were connected—
It meant a fight to the death.
This was exactly what Zi Zhenzhu wanted—the Star Luo navy before her had to be annihilated!
Only then could they make a name for themselves in the Tianxing Province and draw the refugees to join them!
Without question, doing this would greatly increase casualties.
But casualties no longer mattered to Zi Zhenzhu.
"General Zhu! They—they're going for close combat with us!"
On the Star Luo flagship, the first mate was already scared stiff.
He had never imagined that this unknown enemy would choose such a suicidal tactic!
"Prepare to give your lives for the Empire!" Zhu Yi's expression darkened as his Hell Spirit Cat martial soul manifested in full.
As a direct descendant of the Hell Spirit Cat family, he could not and would not abandon his subordinates and flee.
If he did, even if he somehow made it back to Star Luo City, he would have no face to see his friends and family.
The first mate shivered, trembling as he summoned his Greedy Wolf martial soul.
He knew there was no retreat.
Thinking this, he gritted his teeth, his face hardening. "Fight! Kill!"
The enemy ship was already very close—
Iron chains had even been thrown over.
With the Greedy Wolf martial soul's excellent stability, the first mate dashed forward along the chain onto the enemy ship.
With one claw, he toppled the soldier who had thrown the chain.
"Die, bastard!"
"You dare kill my brother? Taste my blade!"
The pirates under Zi Zhenzhu had long lived by licking blood off the tip of a knife.
In terms of combat experience, they had far more than the Star Luo first mate.
When they got vicious, they were utterly reckless with their lives.
At that moment—
One martial soul after another flared to life, and almost at the same time, they all attacked the first mate.
Zhu Yi's situation was even worse.
Zi Zhenzhu personally selected twenty elite soul masters to cross the boarding planks onto the flagship.
"Who exactly are you people? Why attack my Star Luo Empire?"
Zhu Yi held a longsword crosswise, staring at Zi Zhenzhu in vigilance.
"You talk too much." Zi Zhenzhu gave no courtesy at all.
With a pirate commander's saber in hand, she walked forward leisurely.
The aura of a Soul Saint quietly blossomed beneath her feet.
This put Zhu Yi on high alert. To seize the advantage, he launched the first strike.
"Third soul skill—Air Slash!"
Ten claw-like blades of air instantly condensed at his fingertips in midair, crossing toward Zi Zhenzhu to cut her down.
Zi Zhenzhu's lips curved in a faint smile. "A speed-type martial soul, yet you insist on using such a heavy-handed strike—"
"Such a waste of your speed!"
As she spoke, Zi Zhenzhu's expression abruptly hardened.
Her saber swept out in her hand—
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of sonic booms erupted in the air—
She actually blocked Zhu Yi's soul skill with ease!
"You're clearly only a Spirit Saint—how could you break my attack!" Zhu Yi's eyes widened, staring in disbelief at the scene.
But his hands did not slow.
Zi Zhenzhu was right—
The Hell Spirit Cat was a speed-type martial soul, and he should exploit its specialty.
Bending low, Zhu Yi sprang like a coiled spring, leaping into the air.
"Sixth soul skill—Hell Shadow Clone!"
As soon as the skill was activated, Zhu Yi's figure in midair instantly split into three!
This was a hereditary soul skill of the Zhu family.
Every direct heir of the Zhu family possessed it.
At different levels of cultivation, the number of clones varied.
More importantly, each clone could be considered a physical entity with attack power.
At this moment, the three clones appeared to Zi Zhenzhu's front, left, and rear—
All carrying the pressure of a Spirit Saint!
Zhu Yi smiled confidently. "Let's see how you break my 'One Qi, Three Purities'!"
"Fifth soul skill!!"
(End of chapter)