"Pirates!"
A crewman's scream echoed across the deck.
Su Ye narrowed his eyes and focused his gaze.
Thanks to his newly enhanced senses,
Su Ye could clearly see the scene aboard the pirate ship!
A band of arrogant pirates with disheveled hair, tattoos, and tan skin were roaring savage cries in some guttural language!
'Are they island natives?' Su Ye wondered.
The current mainstream of the Yao Guang Human Race consisted of descendants of colonizers from the central mainland's coast.
But the vast Yaoguang Islands had their own native peoples.
As descendants of the conquered, and also due to distinct differences in language and appearance,
these island natives faced severe discrimination and oppression within the territories of the Yao Guang Sect.
As a result, they often chose to become pirates.
Sometimes, entire tribes would take up piracy as their trade!
The harsh living conditions, scarce resources, and pervasive discrimination
made the native pirates all the more cruel and fierce!
...
At that moment, with the wind against them, the Flying Serpent was struggling to turn in time.
The distant pirate ship was cutting through the waves, and the distance between them was rapidly closing!
"No need to turn! Prepare for battle!"
Seeing this, Luo Qingjun made a swift decision, his tone grave.
Su Ye had no objection to this decision.
With an unfavorable wind and a pirate ship bearing down on them,
the Flying Serpent would be in a very disadvantageous position if it insisted on turning.
THUD.
Two Whale Hunting Crossbows were brought out from the cargo hold and mounted on the side of the ship facing the enemy, serving as ship-mounted crossbows.
"Draw the crossbows!" Luo Qingjun shouted.
WHIR!
Two Early-stage Qi Refining crewmen worked together to draw the massive crossbows, pulling the strings taut.
Meanwhile, another crewman was responsible for loading the Crossbow Arrows!
"First Mate, please take control of the other crossbow," Luo Qingjun requested while adjusting his own.
"Yes, sir!"
Luoguang River looked startled for a moment, but he dared not hesitate and stepped forward to adjust the other crossbow.
WHOOSH!
Forged from spirit iron and spirit wood, the sharp Crossbow Arrows streaked through the air at incredible speed, leaving two white trails behind them!
In the blink of an eye, the arrows from the Whale Hunting Crossbows covered a distance of over a hundred meters!
Su Ye squinted, watching from afar.
THWANG!
A Crossbow Arrow embedded itself deep in the deck of the pirate ship.
Its immense kinetic energy, not yet dissipated, caused the shaft to vibrate violently.
At the same time,
it also caused the still-warm native's corpse skewered on the arrow to twitch nonstop.
It was as if it were performing a dance of death!
"A hit!" Luo Qingjun exclaimed with delight.
However,
the other Crossbow Arrow unfortunately missed, slicing gracefully into the water.
"My apologies... I..." Luoguang River said sheepishly.
"It's fine..."
Luo Qingjun raised an eyebrow and said in a low voice,
"Keep loading! Kill them all!"
The purpose of the ship-mounted crossbows wasn't to sink the enemy vessel.
In fact, the hulls of large seafaring vessels were sturdy; sinking one with solid-tipped Crossbow Arrows was nearly impossible.
However,
you didn't need to sink the ship to achieve victory.
The reasoning was very simple.
An unmanned low-tier spirit ship posed no threat whatsoever...
And to fragile Qi Refining cultivators, the power of a Crossbow Arrow was fatal!
The strategy of naval warfare in this era was to inflict mass casualties on the enemy crew, thereby crippling their ability to fight!
Compared to land battles, where the greatest casualties occurred during a rout,
naval battles were often far more cruel and bloody!
Usually, by the end of a sea battle, the decks of both ships would be slick with minced flesh and bloody foam...
...
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
Two volleys!
The Flying Serpent relentlessly fired its crossbows, reaping the lives of the pirates.
It left several mangled corpses and severed limbs on the enemy's deck.
For cultivators in the early to mid-stages of Qi Refining, being hit by one of these crossbows was almost equivalent to instant death!
Even a graze, boosted by the immense kinetic energy, would result in a missing limb!
"Let these natives witness the power of civilization!"
Luo Qingjun laughed.
Due to the Yao Guang Human Race's technological blockade against the island natives, it was difficult for native pirates to acquire ship-mounted armaments like these crossbows.
Even if they managed to capture some, they would fall into disrepair for lack of skilled technicians.
And without a supply of Crossbow Arrows, they would quickly be abandoned.
They could only be sold as scrap metal to black market merchants in exchange for a few meager Spirit Stones.
And lacking crossbows of their own, the pirates could only take the beating!
However, just as the crew of the Flying Serpent was enjoying their bombardment, feeling quite pleased with themselves,
the pirate ship endured the casualties and drew closer and closer!
The distance between them was now just over a hundred meters!
"Strange..."
"They're not giving up? Are they still trying to charge in and board us?"
Su Ye's heart tightened, finding it odd.
'Are the natives really this fearless?'
"Bosun, be careful! This band of pirates is tough. Lead the crew, stay alert, and prepare for boarding!"
At that moment, Luo Qingjun also realized the risk and gave the grave command.
"Understood." Su Ye nodded solemnly, gripping his Blood-Drinking Spear and calling to the crew.
But what happened next
was somewhat unexpected.
The pirate ship didn't charge in to board them as Luo Qingjun and the others had anticipated.
Instead, it began to slow down and turn its hull!
"Huh? Why..."
Luo Qingjun was taken aback.
Then, as if he'd realized something, he cried out,
"Impossible!"
A look of astonishment also appeared on Su Ye's face.
"They're..."
"Trying to have a firefight with us?!"
...
Soon, the pirate ship completed its turn.
On the Flying Serpent, a crewman in charge of loading the crossbows had just finished reloading.
He looked up, ready to enjoy the sight of the natives scrambling and fleeing under their fire.
But suddenly, his expression froze, and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
"F-four of them?!"
Mounted on the pirate ship were a shocking four crossbows!
Not only did they have crossbows, they had a lot of them!
And at such a close distance, the crewman could even see...
the bloodthirsty smiles spreading across the native pirates' faces!
'You enjoyed bombarding us just now, didn't you?'
THWUMP!
The pirates pulled their triggers.
Four Spirit Iron Crossbow Arrows instantly tore through the air toward them!
THUD!
The crewman only felt a massive force slam into his chest, and he instantly lost consciousness!
The whistling Crossbow Arrow, its momentum unchecked, carried the mangled corpse with it and slammed into the ship's planks with a THUD!
Blood splattered everywhere!
"AHHH!!!"
An uproar erupted on the Flying Serpent.
"How is this possible... Damn these native pirates, where did they get crossbows and Spirit Iron Crossbow Arrows? These are restricted goods!"
"Who would be so bold as to defy the Sect's ban and sell these to them?!"
Luo Qingjun cried out in horror.
"Captain, get down!"
First Mate Luoguang River, his face fraught with anxiety, lunged forward and pushed Luo Qingjun down.
"These pirates actually have ship-mounted crossbows?" Su Ye frowned, sensing the scent of a conspiracy.
Just as he was thinking, his heart suddenly clenched.
An intense and overwhelming sense of crisis was screaming a warning at him!
'This is...'
'Is one of the crossbows aimed at me?!'