Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 185 - 22: Success

Chapter 185: Chapter 22: Success

On the giant ship that was like a mountain range, navy soldiers holding front-loading smoothbore guns ran back and forth, and the rumbling of cannon wheels filled the air. Blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners urged them on, as the large ship steadily crushed toward the direction of the pirates on all three sides.

Two Westerners in top hats and suits stood on the deck, one cursing excitedly about something, while the other leisurely used a telescope.

A few crows with beaks as big as fingernails perched on the mast, taking in the entire scene below.

On the raft of Quanlang Dou, there was no room for the two men to maneuver, but their swords and sabers clashed together, and Ruan Anming wielded his long sword so that not a single gap was left, while Li Yan used the Ring Dragon Sword with a heavy and vicious force.

Several times, Li Yan almost pierced Ruan Anming’s throat. And even when Ruan barely managed to block the blows, he exploited the openings to slash Ruan’s arms and thighs.

Ruan Anming was drenched in cold sweat, but he didn’t care about the wounds, for the “Great Ming King” blessing enabled them to stop bleeding quickly. What pressured him was Li Yan’s tricky and ruthless sword moves, which left him utterly defenseless.

Through years of fighting, his own sword skill had evolved into a simple and practical style, cleaving and swinging swiftly, using strength to break cunning. But today, facing Tianbao, he felt like he was struggling with every move, every slash countered by Li Yan, and what used to be a smooth and agile sword path was now full of vulnerabilities against the formidable Han Sword.

A seemingly ordinary strike from Li Yan caused numbness in Ruan’s palm, the force and speed exceeding even that of a typical Gaoli ghost!

…

Cha Xiaodao, thoroughly drenched from head to toe, followed a Gaoli ghost who carried a corpse on his back. They were about a dozen men who had silently boarded Lei San’s ship and scattered to get a grasp of the situation on board.

Cha Xiaodao and the Gaoli ghost behind him were now in the second level of the cargo hold of the freight ship, which looked small from the outside, but was quite spacious inside.

“Daozai, the rope.”

Cha Xiaodao took one end, tied it around the neck of the corpse, but then heard a shout by his ear.

“Who’s there?”

A shadow darted out, and the Gaoli ghost quickly countered. Both men’s hands held thinly bladed knives with a slight curve. In the time it took for one breath, the knives flashed back and forth, and the Gaoli ghost found himself at a disadvantage, his thigh slashed as he hastily retreated.

Cha Xiaodao took a closer look and saw a young man with caramel-colored skin and a red dot on his forehead. His eyes were dark and bright, and his nose was well-defined.

Sabla, threat level: Red — Deep Red

What unsettled them was that this man held a knife in his right hand and carried a two-foot-long black snake in his left, which continually flicked its tongue in a frightening manner.

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The man disdainfully glanced at them, then unexpectedly opened his mouth wide and bit off the snake’s head, chewing it like a big onion and swallowing it in a few bites. The Gaoli ghost behind Cha Xiaodao inhaled sharply at the sight.

Sabla eyed the two men, stuffed the rest of the snake into his mouth, making crunching noises while a small section of the snake’s tail still wriggled beside his mouth.

“Who sent you?”

“I say,” Cha Xiaodao started, “you eat snakes?”

“What’s the problem with that?”

“No problem, but eating it raw…”

Cha Xiaodao took out the cigarette from his mouth, pointed it at the man, “Are you looking down on chefs or what?”

All three fell silent for a moment.

The glint of swords revealed, and the light of blades burst forth.

…

It must be Madam Shi’s doing!

Chills ran through Ruan Anming’s mind. Among the South Seas pirates, Madam Shi was known as Queen Yan, her sorcery and witchcraft skills unmatched, even more notorious than a Demon Thief. He surmised that it must be Madam Shi’s sorcery that gave Tianbao such strength.

“Humph!”

Ruan Anming’s nostrils flared, and a violent wind whipped up, as two red flames shot straight out. The flames spread rapidly with the wind.

The shabby long sword shone a bit brighter, enveloped in flames, its presence terrifying as it rolled towards Li Yan.

On the ship with the nine-star black sails, the demon thief pirates erupted in cheers. People of that era had an innate fear and reverence for things like flames, thunder, and yellow paper effigies.

Li Yan pressed his wrist down, and the Ring Dragon Sword burst into a sky full of dazzling colors, colliding with the fiery blade.

Swallow Through the Curtain!

As a visualization skill evolved from Honda Tadakatsu’s Demonic Eighty Strikes, Li Yan could use this move with both the Ring Dragon Sword and the Tiger Head Great Spear. However, the Ring Dragon Sword fell short when trying to execute moves like Tiger Rises, which were obviously intended for use with longer weapons.

Sparks flew in all directions as the Ring Dragon Sword sliced through the flames on the sword. Fire snakes moved about, falling down the shoulders of Li Yan and Ruan Anming.

Die!

A cold light flashed in Li Yan’s eyes as he lunged forward with the Ring Dragon Sword, aiming for Ruan Anming’s throat. But a glance at Ruan Anming’s expression made him sense something was amiss.

An evil wind, originating from nowhere, caused the scattered sparks to explode all of a sudden, turning the whole boat into a giant fireball!

Lei San’s eyes rolled, and he let out a wail.

“Ruan Anming has burnt Big Brother Tianbao to death, avenge Big Brother Tianbao!”

As he spoke, he gestured downwards!

Intense splashes echoed over the sea; over a dozen cargo ships with teal sails started moving restlessly, as if injected with the blood of chickens, and around seven or eight cannonballs, each weighing about ten catties, hurtled toward the ship engulfed in flames.

The scene immediately descended into chaos.

Some disregarded the saying “no fire weapons during Heavenly Mother Crossing the Sea,” and simply lifted their Bird Guns, or even set up cannons, while others who were still lucid, immediately tried to stop such actions.

The cargo ships with teal sails were the first to withdraw.

“Run! Run!”

Lei San whispered sharply. All old fishermen knew fire weapons shouldn’t be used during Heavenly Mother Crossing the Sea, but only a few understood why. Lei San was among the few who knew the reason.

Heavenly Mother Crossing the Sea, and nothing shall sink.

Submerged islands, shipwrecks lost in accidents, and gigantic sea beasts slumbering in the deep sea, would all stir and rise due to some disturbances at sea.

Such disturbances could include passing ships, sea wind, weather, the loud commotion of sailors, and so on.

Among these, wonders and disasters were fifty-fifty, leaving it all to luck. But once fire weapons, especially cannons, were used, they would attract these underwater shadows to rise up faster. Most of these rising shadows, nine times out of ten, were deadly disasters!

Seven or eight 12-pound cannonballs wouldn’t attract great calamities; the problem was minor, and escape was possible.

Lei San smirked coldly, anticipating both parties to clash over the uncertain fates of their leaders. Yet, it was the demon thief pirates who became disorganized. The old fishermen on their ships stopped the gunfire, and the pirates’ ships started charging towards the Red Flag Gang’s direction, seemingly preparing to grapple and board the ships.

But Lei San was shocked upon sight of the Red Flag Gang’s ships. They were retreating from the battle faster than his own. It seemed they had slipped away as soon as Li Yan had entered the fray, and the two large broad-beamed ships lagging behind to cover the retreat had also set sails early, following closely behind him. It was the demon thief pirates who were the slowest to react.

Just then, one of his subordinates rushed over in a panic.

“Boss, it’s bad, the east… the treasure is gone!!!”

“What?”

Lei San grabbed his collar in a flash, then pushed him aside and ran to the edge of the ship. Clutching the side, he looked over to see that the teal iron net had already been hauled up, shrunken and with a big hole torn in the middle. The gold in the water was long gone, not even a single scale remained!