novelraw Chapter 791 - 769 Naval Battle
Chapter 791 - 769 Naval Battle
On the third day of the voyage, only a few hours remained before reaching the Sannan Border. The soldiers wept with joy—they were finally about to dock. These long three days had felt like years; even Xie Jue thought they were endless. Seasick and unable to savor any food, he had been eating purely for survival, alternating between eating and sleeping, all the while yearning to reach the shore. Zhang Boxin, Lin Xiao, and other young nobles who had never ventured out to sea before felt the same. Upon hearing they were about to dock, their spirits were lifted.
However, the heavens were unpredictable. The weather at sea was erratic and difficult to gauge, even for the most skilled sailors. No one foresaw the sudden immense wind and waves, nor the dark clouds rolling in, followed by an immediate storm as they neared the Sannan Border. Although they had encountered mild swells over the past few days, it had been relatively calm and steady until now.
Xie Jue felt the violent jolting even in the cabin. Everything was thrown askew, and the massive waves crashing against the deck sent several unprepared soldiers sprawling. Luckily, someone with sharp reflexes immediately pulled them back, preventing anyone from falling into the sea.
The storm descended rapidly. The fierce wind and rain were so intense that the military flag was blown off. Though the ship could withstand such a storm, the constant rocking rendered the voyage extremely uncomfortable. Fang Chuning instructed the seasick soldiers to return to the cabin and avoid remaining on the dangerous deck. With just a few more hours until they reached the Sannan Border, this storm would not capsize their vessel.
However, calamity rarely comes alone.
Two massive ships appeared ahead, flying black flags emblazoned with an eagle. A crew member, pale with horror, shouted above the storm, "Pirates! Pirates!"
Fang Chuning’s brow darkened. Gripping the railing tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulged as his eyes fixed on the pirate ships that had suddenly emerged in the storm.
"Raise the military flag!" Fang Chuning commanded in a deep voice. "Now!"
The flag had just been blown off. With the storm raging, everyone had been focused on braving the elements, leaving no time to retrieve it. Fang Chuning remembered the sailor’s words: pirates usually did not dare to attack Jiangnan Navy vessels unless they were courting death!
"Yes, sir!" The most experienced sailors hurriedly scrambled to retrieve and raise the flag. But to their dismay, the pirate ships surged toward them at an alarming speed despite the storm.
Shouts of battle erupted!
"Brothers, the fat sheep has come—kill them all! The women, jewels, and cargo on board are all yours!" A booming, raspy voice rang out, followed by massive iron cannonballs hurled toward their ship.
Fang Chuning turned to look. Due to the intense storm, their ships had been forced to spread out. The ship he was on had sailed ahead, and now the iron shells crashing onto the deck instantly opened up gaping holes.
"Prepare for battle!" Fang Chuning roared.
The two sides clashed head-on. The pirate ship collided with the delegation’s lead ship, causing it to lurch violently. Almost immediately, pirates began throwing ropes onto the deck, using them to leap aboard. Wielding broadswords, they slashed mercilessly at anyone in sight. Fang Chuning warded off one pirate’s broadsword with his spear, then quickly cut another rope with his longsword, sending a pirate plunging into the sea as he impaled another through the chest with his spear and tossed him overboard.
Fang Chuning ordered the crew to retreat, creating distance between their ship and the pirate vessel. But as soon as they did, a hail of iron shells rained down, peppering the deck with holes.
Fang Chuning spun around and barked, "Counterattack! Immediately!"
Grabbing Lin Xiao by the collar, Fang Chuning’s drenched hair clung to his face in the torrential rain. His sharp gaze pierced through the storm. "Check if there’s water leaking into the cabin. Bring the Prince up here. Stay with his Shadow Guards and protect him at all costs!"
No sooner had he spoken than Xie Jue appeared. While the ship was indeed taking on water, it wasn’t yet too severe. Aware of the pirate attack, Xie Jue steadied himself on the railing as the ship violently rocked in the storm, nearly throwing him into the sea. Quickly regaining his balance, he said gravely, "Command properly! Don’t worry about me!"
It was a naval battle, for which Xie Jue had no experience. He knew Fang Chuning would worry about him, so he deliberately stood where Fang Chuning could see him to avoid distracting him. On land, Xie Jue could contribute with strategy, but at sea, he was utterly useless.
Seeing Xie Jue flanked by his Shadow Guards, Fang Chuning’s mind was eased. Several soldiers had already been tossed into the ocean, and Xie Jue, together with the Shadow Guards, threw down ropes to pull them back on board.
From the enemy ship, the continued cries of battle reached them as countless pirates dove into the water, swimming toward their vessel. Fang Chuning sneered, "Lin Xiao! Have the archers hold their positions—you’ve got moving targets incoming!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Zhang Boxin! Use iron balls to take down their masts and rigging. Once the mast is broken, the ship will lose all mobility. Aim carefully!"
"Understood!"
Though Zhang Boxin and Lin Xiao had been seasick for days, they responded swiftly to instructions. Fang Chuning’s mind remained clear. Having trained for several naval battles, he was the most experienced among the commanders present. It was assumed that Sannan would not deliberately provoke a conflict, so the Jiangnan Navy had not been assigned to escort them. These ships were manned by the Ningzhou Iron Cavalry, planning only to go by land on their return journey. They never imagined Sannan would make a move before negotiations even began.
Pirates generally avoided attacking naval warships. They never anticipated such an extreme scenario: the storm blowing down their flag, and now encountering pirates head-on. Moreover, the other ships had yet to catch up due to the storm.
Confrontation on this narrow path would only favor the brave. Retreat was not an option; there was nowhere to run at sea.
Arrows rained down like torrents from the pirate ship, relentless in their assault. The pirates’ naval combat skills were formidable; chain balls tossed from their ship continuously struck at their masts. Fang Chuning knew that even if one of their ships lost mobility, there were four others trailing behind. The top priority was for Lin Xiao’s archers to eliminate the pirates.
Lin Xiao and his mounted archers counterattacked quickly, targeting pirates on the enemy ship and those in the water.
The pirate leader, a burly man with a thick beard, growled with fury. His second-in-command yelled over the storm, "Boss! They’re not a merchant ship—how do they have so many archers?"
Naval battle supplies were incredibly hard to replenish. Watching the two sides exchanging volleys of arrows, Xie Jue frowned slightly and instructed Ying Liu, "Bring out that row of dummies from the cabin and set them up at the bow as decoys."
"Understood!"
Each ship carried a stockpile of dummies as a precaution against pirates. At night, the sailors would dress these mannequins in Jiangnan Navy uniforms and place them at the bow to deter pirates. In the dim light, it was difficult to tell they weren’t real soldiers, discouraging pirates from attacking. Some merchant ships even employed this tactic to ward off raiders.
The dummies were swiftly fixed onto the deck. As expected, they became prominent targets in the storm, drawing the pirates’ arrows. Soon, the dummies were riddled like pincushions. Following Xie Jue’s orders, sailors pulled out the arrows and continued using the decoys to draw enemy fire, thus solving the issue of arrow supply.
"Boss, it’s the Jiangnan Navy! We’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest—we need to retreat!" The second-in-command’s voice quivered when he finally recognized the rows of soldiers clad in Jiangnan Navy uniforms aboard the enemy ship. His heart sank as he noticed the military flag slowly being raised despite the storm.
"Don’t panic! It’s only one ship—it might just be a merchant vessel in disguise. We’re too deep in now to retreat! Keep fighting and kill them all!"