Heroes' Prison

Chapter 665 - 639: I’ll Go and Hold Them Back

"Boom!" Just then, a violent roar of artillery fire cut through Huang Yi’s thoughts, as the distant warship fired its third salvo!

This volley was unprecedentedly powerful, like a thunderclap exploding right beside everyone’s ears, sending a shockwave clearly barreling towards them, immediately blowing everyone to the ground!

This time, the cannon fire finally hit the Divine Ship, but it struck the ship’s flank, causing the vessel to spin several times on the surface of the sea. Fortunately, the material of the Divine Ship was extraordinary, otherwise, an ordinary vessel would have been shattered to pieces by the impact!

"One of the battleships has gone to pick up Miyamoto Musashi and his group, now only one is pursuing us! We must seize this opportunity to shake them off! Otherwise, if both warships come after us, we’re as good as dead!" At this moment, a bedraggled hunter from the Hero Guild’s Hunter Hall, Dragon Soaring Nine States, scrambled up and urgently surveyed the situation with his sharp, eagle-like eyes.

Once again, everyone got up and turned to look, and indeed they saw one of the battleships going to meet Miyamoto Musashi and his team. Only one battleship continued to chase after them. This was indeed the best opportunity, as it would be dangerous once the other battleship caught up.

"I have some bad news!" Just then, the Thunder God emerged from the cockpit, his face grave, and announced to everyone, "The Divine Ship just got hit on the flank by that last shot and is severely damaged; we’re grounded! However, the ship still has a backup energy source. Once it’s activated, it can’t be turned off, or else we won’t be able to start it again. There’s only one chance. Everyone must decide whether to return to Hero’s Continent or continue to the Land of Dongying to rescue others."

Upon hearing this, everyone’s faces trembled slightly. Now they truly had to make a choice between two options, with no other alternatives! If they returned to Hero’s Continent, they could save their lives. But if they turned back to the Land of Dongying, even if they managed to rescue Qin Shiyu, the Divine Ship couldn’t be restarted. Then they would face an attack from the entire nation of Japan and wouldn’t be able to withstand the power of an entire country; they would only die here! Even resurrection would happen on the soil of Dongying!

With Miyamoto Musashi’s cruel tactics, and the war weapon that was the Magic Cannon, they could be killed back to level 1! Even the protection of the Respawn Point barrier would be useless! The Magic Cannon could still shatter it!

And sending a Deep Sea Battleship or a Dragon Fang Battleship as a transport ship for rescue wasn’t realistic either. In these times of the Holy Domain, transport ships were very fragile. For instance, the Dragon Fang Battleship could only withstand an attack from a Mid-level Sanctuary Expert for just over a minute. Even with enough Magic Stones to power it, it could only last three minutes, and the Dragon Fang Battleship was much slower than the Divine Ship. A collision from the battleship of the Martial Arts Guild would easily destroy it. Sending one would be futile!

It could be said that anyone who stayed in the Land of Dongying was truly dead!

The ocean breeze, carrying the stench of blood as if it were stained with fresh blood, was filled with the scent of death!

"Whoo!" Just then, the battleship headed towards the shore sounded its horn. On the coast, Miyamoto Musashi and a group of masters had already used their flying tools and were flying towards that battleship. Once they got on board, the ship would set sail towards them!

Meanwhile, the other battleship was also adjusting the angle of its guns, preparing to fire at the Divine Ship once more! The cannon’s barrel glowed brighter and brighter, a cannonball brewing inside, emitting an increasingly oppressive aura!

Now, the situation had reached a critical moment!

"Everyone! You guys go back first!" It was then Huang Yi finally spoke. His face was a picture of resolve, as if he had made a certain decision, and he began to walk step by step towards the stern of the ship, moving farther and farther away from the people!

"Huh?" The people on the deck were slightly surprised, all watching the back of Huang Yi. Yun Sihai took a few steps forward, asking with concern, "What about you?"

"I’ll hold off Japan!" Huang Yi dropped these words, then transformed into the White Dragon Form and flew towards the Land of Dongying!

At that moment, his silhouette with spread wings was etched between the sea and sky, creating an eternal image!

In the vast sea, he was like a moth flying towards the boundless Land of Dongying. Compared to that land, he was so insignificant as to be almost negligible. Yet his flight was so resolute, like a moth to a flame, without a thought of turning back!

Everyone watched, heads tilted back, following the increasingly smaller figure of Huang Yi in flight. Yet, somehow, that shrinking figure seemed to grow more magnificent. In everyone’s ears, it seemed his last words still echoed—I’ll hold off Japan!

One man, against an entire country!

How heroic was this act? To ensure everyone’s safe return to Hero’s Continent, he had decided to sacrifice himself! Once they left the Divine Ship, he would have to face the attack of the entire Land of Dongying alone! It was a hopeless struggle, a path leading only to death!

All the people stood motionless, gazing up at the dragon-form of Huang Yi, likely witnessing the God of Slaughter for the last time. A divine figure was about to fall here, and the last words he left to the world were—I’ll hold off Japan!

"God of Slaughter, you’re sacrificing yourself for others!" In that moment, the Guild President of the Guild of Famous Generals, Lv Bu, who had a history of conflict with the Hero Guild, couldn’t help but murmur while looking towards the distant Huang Yi. Huang Yi’s spirit of sacrifice deeply moved him.

"Since the God of Slaughter is willing to stay behind to cover our retreat, let’s hurry back to Hero’s Continent! Let’s not fail to live up to his kindness!" Thunder God looked deeply at Huang Yi, knowing that he must have his reasons for acting this way, and decisively returned to the cockpit, deciding to start the backup power and return to Hero’s Continent.

"Everyone, the God of Slaughter has done so much for us, and this time he is truly in a dire situation. But we must contribute our meager efforts." Yun Sihai, in his capacity as rescuer of the Alliance Hierarch, spoke gravely to the crowd, "Currently, on the Land of Dongying, players opposing Miyamoto Musashi are not in the minority, and his act of taking hostages has been scorned by people all over the world. So we can ignite the flames of public outrage. All of us should mobilize the forces under our own banners, and join together to rally for the God of Slaughter, making public opinion stand with him and pressuring Miyamoto Musashi to see if he will release the hostage! I will call upon the forty million members of the Xuanyuan Guild to support at the forums!"

"Our Sun Guild’s thirty million members, unconditionally support the God of Slaughter!"

"Our Styx Sect Guild’s twenty million members, unconditionally support the God of Slaughter!"

"Our Guild of Famous Generals’ twenty-five million members, unconditionally support the God of Slaughter!"

"I will rally all players of Dragon Nation to post on the forums!"

"The ten million voices of Eternal Myth will all be heard in support of the God of Slaughter!"

...

In an instant, the presidents of various guilds stated their positions!

They were unable to help Huang Yi with force, so they could only do their bit through public opinion. Posting on the forum is a matter of minutes; the power of one post may be weak, but if hundreds of millions of people post at the same time, it would be unimaginable! They were the top guilds of China, and to some extent, they represented all players of China, which is the largest player community in the world. United, even an ordinary person could be sculpted into a god!

Moreover, there were many Huang Yi fans in other countries, as well as those who were already displeased with Miyamoto Musashi’s hostage-taking. They would all join in on the public opinion pressure.

Not only that, the whirlwind of public opinion would quickly spread to television stations, radio stations, websites, and other platforms in the real world—penetrating every nook and cranny.

At times, the power of public opinion can be more terrifying than the power of arms! Under such intense pressure, Miyamoto Musashi might very well collapse!

At this moment, Huang Yi was flapping his wings and speeding toward the nearest battleship. Actually, his original plan was for his real body to leave the Land of Dongying first, and to use his incarnation to rescue Qin Shiyu. His incarnation had not boarded the ship but was hidden in the forests of Dongying.

But just now, he changed his mind and decided to have his real body stay as well, to go all-out in the Land of Dongying without holding back any longer!

Soon, Huang Yi reached the airspace above the nearest battleship.

Now, observing the battleship from close range, its ferocity seemed even more pronounced. The glowing cannon ports along the ship’s side indicated their intent to launch several shells in one stroke, aiming to completely destroy Thunder God’s divine ship!

The next moment, Huang Yi descended swiftly, landing on the deck of that warship!

"To dare board the ship I guard!" Just then, a domineering voice resounded. Huang Yi turned his head to see that behind the cabin lay a huge octopus. It had noticed him as soon as he landed, flailing its tentacles fiercely, lashing at Huang Yi with great force.

This octopus was the guardian of each ship. Huang Yi dodged repeatedly, but hindered by the Slaughter Curse—which weakened his attributes by 50% when facing NPCs—he couldn’t dodge at all. The octopus was a 157-level Advanced Holy Domain Expert, having overcome the significant level divide at 150, and it was in perfect condition; Huang Yi was no match for it.

"Absolute Invisibility!" Huang Yi decided not to clash head-on, immediately utilizing the skill that came with his Legendary Cloak, and vanished into thin air.

Seeing Huang Yi disappear, the octopus’s eyes suddenly emitted a red light, attempting to see through Huang Yi’s stealth mode. But it was met with an empty view, void of any figure.

Huang Yi’s Absolute Invisibility, after being reformed, could not be detected by any stealth detection skills; one could only attempt to force him out by using force. However, by that time, he had already taken the opportunity to quickly rush into the battleship’s cabin and disappeared from the deck. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Starting Point (qidian.com) to cast your Recommendation Ticket and Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)