Chapter 1306: Misconception

There was no doubt that his strategy was correct: proactive offense was better than passive defense. Attack truly was the best defense. The recent combat results had already proven this.

Yet, unexpected situations always arose. Lu Ye hadn't anticipated that after the enemy ship's defenses were breached, its crew would flee, thereby significantly boosting the power of the two remaining enemy ships. He needed to find a way to resolve this, otherwise, it would be difficult to achieve a decisive victory.

Relying solely on the attack formations controlled by Qin Zong and Xiao Jianming was insufficient. Qin Zong's formation wasn't designed to target individual cultivators due to its low attack frequency; he could only activate its power twice at most during the brief period the enemy crew scattered. While Xiao Jianming's situation was marginally better, it was still limited. Therefore, what they needed now were more frequent and denser attacks.

Lu Ye immediately sent a spiritual message, transmitting detailed instructions to Haitang. Although it seemed the Long Dragon warship's crew would strictly follow his orders, Lu Ye still didn't fully trust them. This crucial assistance could only be entrusted to Haitang. His chances were dwindling. If he couldn't achieve the desired results in the next three encounters, he would likely truly follow in Haitang's footsteps, becoming permanently bound to the Long Dragon warship. This was not the outcome he desired.

After checking the Long Dragon warship's condition again, Lu Ye's gaze pierced through the void, looking ahead and waiting for the enemy ships to arrive.

A moment later, three warships appeared in his sight. Just as before, the Long Dragon warship, under Lu Ye's control, moved to intercept the enemy ships. As the distance closed, their attacks intertwined and crisscrossed. They still paid the price of having their defensive formation's strength halved, while the defenses of the enemy ship targeted by the Long Dragon warship became precarious.

At that moment, Lu Ye's spiritual sense surged, and he cried out, "Senior Sister Haitang!"

On the deck, Haitang, who was working with other crew members to activate the defensive formation, dashed out the instant Lu Ye's voice rang, heading to a position on one side of the deck. At that position, there was an unactivated attack formation! The Long Dragon warship actually had several other similar attack formations that had remained unactivated due to insufficient crew. Each formation had different characteristics and uses. The one Haitang rushed to this time had a very high attack frequency but limited power. Of course, its limited power was relative. Its power was negligible against warships, but it was perfectly suited for combating cultivators. In essence, this formation was specifically designed to deal with cultivators.

Just as Haitang took her position and activated the formation's power with her spiritual energy, the Long Dragon warship performed a 'dragon's tail sweep,' positioning itself horizontally in front of the enemy ship. Simultaneously, Qin Zong launched an incredibly powerful attack that struck the enemy ship squarely.

The defensive light barrier completely shattered. At that moment, formless black shadows swiftly darted out from the enemy ship. It was at this same moment that Haitang activated the power of the formation she controlled. Orbs of light suddenly flew swiftly from within the formation, spreading outwards. Many black shadows fleeing from the enemy ship were caught off guard, several of them colliding with the light orbs. In an instant, the orbs burst with lightning, enveloping the black shadows. Faintly visible, the black shadows writhed violently, seemingly struggling, but were unable to escape the lightning orbs' confinement, slowly dissipating. More orbs of light, like fireflies, flew out, and under Haitang's control, they decimated the enemy crew.

Lu Ye's attention was fixed on the situation, and seeing the good results, he finally relaxed.

The Long Dragon warship vibrated incessantly. While Haitang controlled the formation, the two remaining enemy ships weren't idle and continuously attacked. To better assist Haitang in eliminating the enemy crew, Lu Ye dared not make significant maneuvers. This resulted in the Long Dragon warship taking several fierce blows from the enemy, costing another 10% of its defensive light barrier's strength!

Daring not to continue, the Long Dragon warship once again maneuvered, trying its best to evade the enemy ships' attacks. Their three attack formations were still unleashing their power. Qin Zong and Xiao Jianming, as always, were the main force against the enemy ships. Seeing that the three surviving enemy crew members had been picked up, Haitang, realizing there was no longer a chance to kill them, then darted back to her original position, rejoining the sequence to maintain the defensive formation.

One enemy ship had been destroyed, and its crew almost completely annihilated. The Long Dragon warship now only had to contend with the remaining two enemy ships. Compared to before, the situation was undoubtedly much better. The only disadvantage for them was that the defensive formation's strength had decreased too much, now only about 40% of its peak. Relying on such a weakened formation to contend with the two remaining warships would undoubtedly be very difficult.

Lu Ye controlled the warship with even greater focus, constantly executing intricate cooperations with Qin Zong and Xiao Jianming. A moment later, when their defensive formation's strength was down to its last 10%, the second enemy ship's defenses were also on the verge of collapse.

Having learned from the previous experience, Haitang acted without waiting for Lu Ye's instructions this time, quickly arriving at the position and activating the formation's power. The next moment, the second enemy ship's formation broke, and the same scene as before unfolded: the enemy crew again fled, heading towards the last remaining warship. Haitang activated the formation's power to intercept and kill, and Lu Ye tried his best to cooperate with her.

However, before Haitang could achieve significant results, the Long Dragon warship vibrated violently, and its defenses shattered! The last sight that entered Lu Ye's vision was a bright pillar of light erupting from the enemy ship! All efforts had been in vain!

In the nineteenth cycle, Lu Ye stood before the spherical control core, his brows furrowed. In the previous cycle, they had undoubtedly made their utmost effort. He, Qin Zong, Xiao Jianming, and Haitang had all performed well. To destroy two enemy ships while being outnumbered three to one was an astonishing result, but they still failed at the final moment. Their coordinated operations were flawless, so the only problem remained the overwhelming number of enemies.

How could they improve this? They couldn't spare more personnel to control additional attack formations. If they did, the defensive formation's strength would be proportionally weakened, potentially leading to more loss than gain. If Lu Ye had enough opportunities to coordinate more with his crew, he believed they could definitely win. But what he lacked now were opportunities. Including this attempt, he only had two chances left. He was on the edge of a cliff.

While contemplating, Lu Ye couldn't think of a better solution, but this didn't stop him from issuing orders to his crew again, instructing them to perform their respective duties. Haitang's voice reached his ears: "Junior Brother has done very well. This time, I will try my best to perform even better!" This wasn't comfort, but admiration.

Because in all the cycles where she had been captain, she had always been on the defensive; she hadn't even destroyed one enemy warship, let alone two. This led her to once doubt if anyone had truly passed the trials on this ghost ship. But now she knew that someone had definitely passed such trials. Her inability was due to her own lack of skill, not that others were also incapable! She was already trapped in the ghost ship, unable to escape. She feared it wouldn't be long before her essence truly vanished and she perished, and at that point, her figure would no longer appear on this ghost ship. Having suffered this fate herself, she didn't wish for others to follow in her footsteps, even if they were just casual acquaintances. That's why she had spoken up to warn Lu Ye during his first cycle. When Lu Ye later sought her out, she also shared her information without reservation.

"Senior Sister has done very well," Lu Ye replied, "It's my problem." The success or failure of warship engagements largely depended on the person controlling the warship, as the crew ultimately acted on his command. But how could he resolve the problem of the defensive formation's waning power at the last moment? Lu Ye couldn't immediately come up with a solution, unless he could control the warship better to evade enemy attacks. Even though he had some talent in this regard and had become familiar with warship control through repeated cycles, the total time was still short. He had now reached his limit and could not improve further.

"Enemy attack!"

The familiar shouts came again. Lu Ye quickly composed himself, focusing on controlling the warship. Although he knew that if he didn't solve the problem at the final moment, the situation wouldn't improve no matter how many cycles passed, he had no time for further thought at that moment. With enemy ships incoming, he had to fully immerse himself in controlling the warship. Even if he wanted to use a clone to control another attack formation, it wouldn't work. Most of the time, he could multitask, even when fighting strong enemies. But controlling a warship made it impossible. While controlling the warship, his entire mind was immersed in it, making it impossible to effectively control a clone.

Before long, the fierce battle began. The battle unfolded exactly as it had last time. When their defensive formation's strength was halved, one enemy ship was destroyed. Haitang quickly switched formations, eliminating the enemy crew. After dealing with this, she returned to the defensive formation. After another period of intense entanglement and clashes, when their warship's defensive strength was down to its last 10% and on the verge of collapse, the second enemy ship was destroyed. Haitang switched positions again.

If this continued, the situation would be the same as last time, with no changes. Lu Ye would inevitably enter the twentieth cycle!

At this critical juncture, Lu Ye suddenly had an idea, realizing a flaw in his thinking. Why was it necessary to kill the crew of the second enemy ship? The crew of the first enemy ship had to be killed, because once they were picked up and entered the remaining two enemy ships, it would significantly boost their performance. But perhaps the crew of this second enemy ship didn't need to be completely annihilated?