The battle on the surface of the sea gradually became clear.
Relying on their numerical advantage, and with Rodat joining the fight, the Xiaoqi Regiment steadily suppressed the Ironborn sailors who excelled in naval warfare.
Lynn withdrew his gaze, his mood complicated. The difficulty of this battle had still exceeded his expectations.
Heavy losses were inevitable.
But this was war—this was the price of survival.
Lynn took a deep breath, clenched his fist, and his eyes hardened with resolve.
"Disengage!" he commanded.
The situation over at the harbor worried him just as much. There was no reason to linger here any longer.
The grappling hooks were quickly pulled back, and the pirate ship continued toward the fishing village harbor.
When the pirate ship reached the port,
the fighting on the docks was already nearing its end.
At this moment, only a little over a dozen Ironborn sailors remained, all crowded onto the final stretch of the dock corridor.
Behind them was the open sea. Even though the Ironborn were skilled swimmers, not a single sailor wanted to jump into the water to escape.
Because their opponents were in an even more tragic state than they were.
Of the entire Xiaoqi Regiment ambush squad, only seven were still alive.
Both sides had completely gone blood-mad, vowing not to stop until the other was utterly wiped out.
On the dock, the Xiaoqi Regiment maintained the last remnants of a formation, even though a formation made up of only seven people was incredibly loose.
Even so, the blood-soaked ranks of the Xiaoqi Regiment still carried a solemn, oppressive aura.
An Ironborn sailor standing at the front—a burly man—watched the Xiaoqi soldiers closing in for the final time. He wiped the grime from his face and spat.
"Fuck your grandmother, the entire eastern coast is full of monsters!"
"Hu—"
The Xiaoqi soldiers numbly raised their heavy, sharp weapons one last time, preparing to repeat a final short-distance charge.
In such a tragic battle, life itself became nothing more than a supporting role.
Only the final shred of loyalty to their master, Lynn, supported the seven remaining Xiaoqi soldiers as they charged forward with cold indifference.
For level-1 infantry to force Ironborn sailors—who were individually stronger, more vicious, and more ferocious—into such a corner was already an incredible achievement.
Goudan, who had gone from fear at the beginning to a numb indifference toward life and death in battle, picked up a harpoon with his single arm and raised it high, charging forward alongside his companions.
As he ran, his body seemed to undergo a kind of evolution.
Yes—he had broken through.
The gap between level-1 and level-2 "Baobing"—the Fearless attribute.
He had crossed that threshold.
At this moment, he possessed the fearless spirit of a level-2 Baobing, and he could clearly feel it: a more vigorous vitality than before, thicker and stronger power, and an even firmer courage.
It wasn't only Goudan, fighting desperately on the dock, who broke through. At this very moment, the entire Xiaoqi Regiment advanced in rank.
Standing on the slowly docking pirate ship, Lynn was completely shaken by the scene on the dock.
Without a moment of hesitation,
he opened the Baobing System. He did not choose to exchange for new troop types or equipment.
Instead, he used most of his experience points to exchange for a newly unlocked item.
[Baobing System Shop]
[One-time item: Beginner Promotion Scroll!]
[Instantly promotes the entire army from level-1 soldiers to level-2. Price: 800 points. Limited to no more than 500 level-1 soldiers.]
[Note: After the system upgrades to level-2, this is the only promotion scroll available for purchase.]
Lynn clicked the purchase button. As if sensing the surging vitality of the Xiaoqi Baobing, he suddenly felt that in this world, he was not actually alone.
His soldiers were his best companions.
A scroll that could promote 500 level-1 soldiers, used to promote the remaining 200.
A waste of points? Absolutely! But there was no time to worry about that now—the situation was urgent.
Lynn firmly believed that at this moment, he had more than enough reason to do this.
"Archers, prepare a volley—target the dock!" Lynn issued the order.
This was also the reason he had promoted the level-1 soldiers.
At this moment, the level-2 archers stood in neat ranks on the deck of the pirate ship entering the harbor. The promotion had granted their arms far greater strength. The dock area that had previously been beyond their bow range—
now, thanks to the increase in power, was completely exposed within their firing range.
The maximum range of level-1 archers was generally around 150 meters, with an effective range within 80 meters.
Now, it had directly increased to 100–180 meters.
Just as the surviving Xiaoqi ambush squad, battered and bloodied, was about to launch a final, mutual-destruction charge,
Goudan suddenly looked up. In the sky ahead, a dense rain of arrows arced from the distance, whistling down.
The Xiaoqi soldiers instantly halted their steps.
Across from them, the Ironborn sailors tensed and lowered their bodies. They were ready to receive the Xiaoqi Regiment's final ripple of attack, and then send their respectable opponents on their way.
However, the sudden stop of their enemies left them confused.
The leading, burly Ironborn sailor suddenly sensed something. He instinctively looked back.
In that instant, his face turned ashen.
Reflected deep within his pupils were countless black dots—his vision filled with despair.
The next moment—
an arrowhead easily tore through his fur cloak, pierced into his abdomen, ripping apart the organs inside and causing massive arterial bleeding. The burly sailor's eyes instantly reddened as he clutched his wounded stomach and collapsed to his knees.
He tried to struggle.
But more arrows rained down, covering his back.
The remaining Ironborn sailors on the dock fell in an instant.
"We survived… we won!" Erdan's muttering sounded amid the soft thuds of arrows striking the dock. The volume wasn't loud, but it awakened the other six surviving companions.
"Long live the master!"
"Long live the lord!"
The seven of them roared with all their might on the dock, their voices hoarse as they unleashed all their pent-up emotions.
Lynn stood at the bow of the ship. A gust of sea wind blew past him. He took a deep breath and caught a damp, soft fragrance within it.
The sky above was still clear, as if nothing had happened. But at the edge of the sea, clusters of dark clouds burned like black flames. From time to time, thick purple lightning tore through the clouds, as though a demon were briefly opening its eyes.
On one side was night.
On the other, day.
This was the prelude to a storm. Was the storm coming?
Lynn looked up at the sky, frowning.
The pirate ship fully docked within the harbor. Thick ropes and heavy iron anchors fixed the hull in place.
The docking spot was occupied by an Ironborn ship, so the Xiaoqi archers on the pirate ship used grappling hooks to latch onto the wooden posts of the dock.
Following the hooked ropes, they lowered several more ropes in succession, forming a temporary floating bridge leading to the dock.
Lynn turned to the archers beside him and said, "Leave a few people behind. Wait for Rodat and Harry Kane to lead their men back and regroup. Inform them to stay on the ship and wait for orders from the horn. The rest of you, follow me back to the city."
"Yes, master." Everyone nodded in acknowledgment.
Lynn walked down from the ship along the swaying rope ladder, like a swing. At the end, he stared unblinkingly at the furious sea behind him.
"A real storm is coming."
Accompanied by the distant roar of surging waves,
Lynn led the Xiaoqi Regiment's 55 archers and the remaining 7 ambush soldiers back to the fishing village harbor fortress.
Without a moment's rest, Lynn went straight up to the city walls. The distant sea grew more and more restless, black clouds gradually pressed toward the coastline, and day and night seemed to switch places in mere seconds.
Violent wind and torrential rain arrived without warning.
Afraid, afraid…
...
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Here are a few fan-fic titles that I've recently uploaded on my Patreon:
"Game of Thrones: Dragon Prince"
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"The Game of Thrones Upgrade System"
"Game of Thrones: Lannister Kingdom"
"Game of Thrones: Godzilla vs. Dragons"
"Game of Thrones: Ruler of the Deep Seas "
"Game of Thrones The Glory of a Knight"
"Game of Thrones: The Most Powerful Dragon Queen"
" Game of Thrones: From the Elden Lord to the Young Wolf"
"Game of Thrones: Rise of a Lord with the Army-Building System"
(End Chapter)