Chapter 1082: Stealing the Ship

Wulu deliberately used these life-saving ships to entice them to attack. He was prepared to fight any number of opponents, whether a small group or a large force.

“No need to hurry, just wait a bit longer.”

He Lingchuan poured himself a cup of hot tea and slowly drank it in ten sips.

As everyone eagerly awaited, He Lingchuan put down his teacup and finally nodded:

“Weigh anchor, full fleet ahead!”

This massive fleet extinguished its lights and advanced towards the land under the cover of darkness and thick fog.

After sailing ten li, the fleet split, sending thirty large ships towards Luding Beach to prepare for the evacuation of the Bailong refugees. The remaining ships proceeded at full speed towards Storm Bay!

If there had been any other option, He Lingchuan would not have wanted to land at Storm Bay. That would be right under the enemy's nose. However, due to the peninsula's topography, the fleet could not find a better landing point. Storm Bay was the only inlet large enough to accommodate so many ships landing simultaneously; other areas were rugged with reefs, making it difficult even for small boats.

Therefore, the first challenge of this operation was the beach landing of the Yangshan Guard. The enemy wasn't blind. Even with the cover of thick fog, with such a large number of ships and so much activity, how could casualties be minimized during the beach landing?

He Lingchuan had already realized that Wulu did not believe the enemy had additional naval reinforcements, or that any such reinforcements would be significant. After all, their own merchant ships were insufficient for even the nearest major port, Blade Port, and by all calculations, there were no stronger armed forces nearby. When leading troops in battle, one cannot account for such unreliable, low-probability events.

Consequently, the Yaguo forces were primarily deployed in front of Luding Beach, effectively cutting off any chance for Lu Qingbang and the Bailong people to rush forward and seize ships.

Although there were fewer than 1,700 of them, the Bailong warriors showed immense fighting power when pushed to desperation. Wulu had to concentrate fully to suppress them, which inevitably left Storm Bay's defenses thin, with only five hundred men left to guard the ships.

Five hundred men was, in fact, not a small number. If Lu Qingbang and Wan Qitong sent small teams to infiltrate and steal ships, they would first have to get past these five hundred guards.

Wulu's troop deployment was very reasonable.

Wulu had chosen an excellent vantage point for himself. Although not on the highest peak, he could oversee most of Storm Bay and the entirety of Luding Beach. The latest developments from Luding Beach were relayed to him in real-time.

Although the Bailong people were known for their fighting prowess, the tenacity they displayed this time still exceeded his expectations. For twenty hours, these Bailong people, like stray dogs, had actually held out for a full twenty hours on the unfavorable terrain of Luding Beach! This kind of hopeless battle was precisely what could break an army. Why hadn't the Bailong people's will been shattered yet?

He had also considered whether the desperate situation was actually fueling the Bailong people's fighting spirit. So he specifically ordered the Yaguo army to feign opening a gap, or a vulnerability, hoping the Bailong people would exploit it and flee. If there was a way out, they wouldn't need to fight to the death like cornered beasts, and they wouldn't necessarily remain united.

However, the Bailong people did not fall for it!

Was it because of the elite Bailie soldiers led by Lu Qingbang? This thought flashed for only a second before Wulu immediately dismissed it. He hadn't personally dealt with the Bailie army's standard, but the Yaguo people certainly knew. If he subdued the Bailong people today, Lu Qingbang of Bailie and his several hundred men would just be an added bonus. After all, few in the Lu family were capable fighters. Wulu would incidentally clear an obstacle for the Yaguo Western Front, which would be a merit in itself.

Soon, a report came back from the front line:

According to a captive, Young Chieftain Wan Qitong and Lu Qingbang had been continuously encouraging everyone, saying that reinforcements from the west would soon arrive!

Reinforcements? Wulu bared his teeth in a grin, but made no sound. Bailie had already arranged ships in Storm Bay to meet the Bailong people. So, what was so strange about them having another trick up their sleeve? Even if there were reinforcements, how long would they take to arrive, and what would their numbers be?

He thought for a moment, then raised his hand to summon his golden eagle. He ordered it to expand its patrol range and thoroughly check the surrounding sea for any anomalies. The sea was foggy, and visibility was poor, but this golden eagle possessed "fiery golden eyes" (supernatural sight). Although it couldn't see completely through the mist, its visibility was several times greater than that of an ordinary person. An ordinary person's visibility in such thick fog might only be ten zhang, but it could see thirty-five to thirty-six zhang.

However, before Wulu could assign its task, new intelligence arrived:

The Bailong people were seizing ships in Storm Bay again!

Why "again"? Previously, Wan Qitong had twice sent people to infiltrate Storm Bay and seize ships, both times failing. Now Wan Qitong was gravely wounded, yet the Bailong people were not giving up and wanted to try again?

Wulu didn't initially pay it much mind, casually intending to order the shore guards to execute the intruders. To his surprise, the messenger's next words were: "Three large ships have been taken! Ah, make that four!"

Wulu was startled. He rushed to the cliff edge to look down, but milky-white thick fog was surging inland in waves, covering everything in Storm Bay. The army's primal energy could penetrate celestial phenomena caused by divine or strange arts, but for a natural phenomenon like sea fog, primal energy was useless.

So Wulu had no choice but to take out a long tube-shaped spyglass and put it to his eye. This spyglass not only had telescopic and magnifying functions, but could also see through thick fog, illusions, miasma, and so on. It was an excellent item for military campaigns, which Wulu had unexpectedly acquired from a certain battle. With the aid of this magical artifact, he could see three large ships in the bay already moving away from the shore, and a fourth was also turning its bow and heading out.

How was this possible?!

The five hundred guards he had left in Storm Bay had not been attacked, because he could see them running around on the shallows, holding torches. There was only one long-abandoned pier here. Most large ships had deep drafts and couldn't dock, so they had to anchor in the bay. For safety, he had even left crew members on each large ship to guard them, to prevent the Bailie people from stealthily taking them.

Had all the guards on the ships been killed?

He adjusted the spyglass, magnifying his view. He found that the four escaping ships not only had people at the bow and stern, but also a strange creature. It resembled a giant python or a giant moray eel, but had shoulders and four arms. It was pitch black, with some specimens having white stripes. Its body was larger than that of a human.

What in the world was this thing?

Looking again at the busy living people on the ships, they indeed looked like Bailong people, several of them with their characteristic loose braids. So the Bailong people from Storm Bay had infiltrated, and with the help of these monsters, had finally succeeded in stealing ships?

So Lu Qingbang's "reinforcements" referred to these monsters?

As he watched, two more large ships were stolen. This time, he finally saw how they were operating—

The snake-people did not come from the land pier, but emerged directly from the sea, climbing up the hull to the deck. Their way of moving was like snakes, truly illustrating what "slithering" meant. The slanted angle of the ship's hull posed no obstacle to them at all. Each snake-person also carried three or four humans. It seemed these monsters also possessed astonishing strength. They slipped onto the ships from the blind spots of the pier and ship guards, quickly launched their attack, and immediately seized control of the vessels.