Chapter 763
Chapter 763
For the next few days, Shen Lang's fleet relentlessly provoked the Xue Clan's fleet. Moreover, instead of advancing in a clear direction, they kept circling the same area of the sea. They would flee when pursued and harass the enemy when they stopped, a tactic that only served to further enrage the Xue Clan's forces. Now they finally understood why Shen Lang's ships were built so long and slender. It was for agility, for a swift escape, making them impossible to catch in the first place. For three long days and nights, one side gave chase while the other provoked, until the Xue Clan finally gave up the pursuit. Yan Nanfei ordered his fleet to continue north and attack Raging Tide City.
*Shen Lang's fleet is so shameless; I won't play these games with you any longer.*
However, just as the Xue fleet had sailed a little over ten li northward, Shen Lang's fleet was upon them again. This time, they came alarmingly close and unleashed a volley of arrows, causing over a hundred casualties. Yan Nanfei was on the verge of exploding, but having decided to head north, he was determined not to change course.
*Shen Lang, your forces can run, but the Leizhou Archipelago and Raging Tide City cannot, can they? We will first destroy your Raging Tide City, eliminate the entire Jin Clan, and then deal with you.*
At last, the Xue Clan's fleet ignored the provocations and raids from Shen Lang's fleet and charged toward Raging Tide City with murderous intent.
***
The next day.
The situation at sea changed dramatically. A thick fog suddenly rolled in, blanketing the entire ocean. It was a truly rare fog, reducing visibility to just a few dozen meters. The sudden change put Yan Nanfei on high alert. A man of Shen Lang's shameless character might very well launch a surprise attack under the cover of such dense fog. As expected, Yan Nanfei's intuition was correct. A short while later, an ear-piercing sound suddenly rang out.
*Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang.*
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
Shen Lang's fleet charged out of the fog, launching a frenzied assault.
*Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.*
A sky-filling rain of arrows descended. This time, Shen Lang's ships had approached very closely, making their arrow volleys devastatingly effective.
"Counterattack, counterattack!"
The order was given, and the Xue Clan's fleet attempted to fight back, but the fog was too thick to properly aim their catapults and large crossbows. Furthermore, Shen Lang's ships were small, making them incredibly difficult to hit.
*Thwack.*
A sudden loud noise made Yan Nanfei nearly jump out of his skin. Judging by the sound, it wasn't an ordinary arrow but something more like a large crossbow bolt. Of course, it wasn't a large crossbow; it was an oversized arrow fired by Mulan.
*Thwack, thwack, thwack.*
She didn't stop, firing three more shots in quick succession. An arrow struck the mast of one of the Xue Clan's warships.
*Crack.*
The mast exploded violently upon impact.
*Creeaak.*
The tall mast snapped in the middle and came crashing down.
*Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.*
Mulan continued to fire rapidly. A quarter of an hour later, another mast was struck by one of her arrows, instantly shattering and toppling over. The warships of the Xue Clan's fleet had either two or three masts. In any case, if two of a ship's masts were broken, the vessel was as good as useless. A warship that lost its masts lost its power to move, left to spin aimlessly in place.
*Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.*
This time, a volley of fire arrows rained down, all striking the sails, and the sails of the Xue Clan's warships began to catch fire. As one ship, then a second, and a third went up in flames, Yan Nanfei roared in fury.
"Continue north! Don't try to engage the enemy, just proceed north at full speed!"
Ultimately, the Xue Clan's fleet desperately tried to break through the battle, intent on disengaging from Shen Lang. But Shen Lang's fleet pursued them closely, continuing their relentless assault.
The thick fog instilled a sense of dread. At some point, two of Shen Lang's warships lost control and collided with a Xue Clan warship. Although they struck the Xue ship with their prows, the Jin Clan's vessels were much smaller than the Xue Clan's massive warships and suffered immense damage in the collision. One of the two managed to escape after the impact, but the other was so severely damaged that its crew had to abandon ship. Fighting in the dense fog was tantamount to a life-or-death struggle.
After more than four hours, the thick fog finally receded, and sunlight illuminated the sea. When Yan Nanfei assessed his losses, he felt as if he could weep tears of blood. He had lost nineteen ships. In comparison, Shen Lang's side had lost about one and a half warships. Several dozen li behind them, Shen Lang's fleet was preparing to deliver the final blow to the Xue Clan's straggling ships. It would undoubtedly be a brutal process. Those ships, with their masts or sails destroyed, had lost all power of movement and were just spinning in the water. Shen Lang's fleet could easily surround them, close in, and annihilate them completely.
***
Aboard the flagship of the Xue fleet.
"Commander, if my prediction is correct, we'll have thick fog for the next few days."
Yan Nanfei's brow furrowed deeply. Continuing like this would be disastrous. The foggy weather favored Shen Lang's fleet and was disadvantageous for a large fleet like the Xue Clan's. The biggest problem was that Shen Lang's archers were too formidable. Jin Mulan, in particular, was incredibly accurate with her bow within a certain range. While Shen Lang's other archers relied on instinct, loosing a sky-full of arrows to create a barrage, Jin Mulan's arrows seemed to pierce through the dense fog. Even in such thick mist, she could accurately strike a mast from dozens of yards away. Moreover, the massive arrows she fired would explode, shattering the thick masts. For a sailing warship, a broken mast meant the end; it could no longer advance.
How far was it to Raging Tide City from here? A full four thousand seven hundred li. Yes, it was even farther now. Chasing Shen Lang's fleeing fleet had only increased the distance to Raging Tide City. The Xue Clan's fleet could travel at a speed of about fifty li every two hours, covering a total of six hundred li a day. That meant it would take another eight days to reach Raging Tide City. If there was thick fog every day for the next eight days, it meant they could be ambushed like this by Shen Lang's fleet for eight more days.
With the thick fog, neither fleet could see a thing. However, it seemed Shen Lang's fleet had slightly better visibility than Xue Che's completely blind fleet, and Jin Mulan, in particular, appeared to be able to see through the mist. If this continued, the Xue fleet would suffer terrifying losses before even reaching Raging Tide City. Even if they made it to the Leizhou Archipelago, they would have lost most of their combat strength.
"Shen Lang, that man is shameless to the bone."
The heir, Xue Pan, couldn't hold back a cold curse. Yan Nanfei said nothing, standing before a large map and beginning to think. Right now, there were only two options he could try. The first was to immediately dock the fleet at a port and wait for the foggy weather to pass. But it was still winter, and the end of the foggy season seemed a long way off. Besides, they didn't have the luxury to wait.
As Xue Che had said, an earth-shattering event was about to occur in the empire. If they hadn't eliminated the Jin Clan, captured Raging Tide City, and sealed off the eastern sea of the State of Yue by then, this whole endeavor would be a failure. Since waiting for the fog to clear was not an option, he had to take a risk. He could no longer be passive; he had to be proactive.
But how to be proactive? Yan Nanfei wracked his brain. What advantage did he have at the moment? It was his knowledge of these waters. This was still the Xue Clan's home sea. Yan Nanfei knew it like the back of his hand—where the whirlpools were, the hidden reefs, and so on. Moreover, this was all classified information that had never been leaked. The locations of the reefs and whirlpools had been discovered at the cost of lives. Since Shen Lang's fleet was like a mad dog, constantly chasing and biting, and since they loved to attack in the thick fog, then... what if the Xue fleet led Shen Lang's fleet into a hellish sea?
Yan Nanfei's gaze fell on a corner of the map.
*The Sea of Fangs!*
That was the name Xue Che had given it. That area of the sea was filled with countless reefs that jutted out with extreme abruptness and sharpness. In clear weather, one could see those reefs from a great distance, but in the current dense fog, they would surely be invisible. If he could lure Shen Lang's fleet into the Sea of Fangs in this thick fog, their hulls would be smashed against the reefs, and the sea would swallow them whole.
However, to use this method, the Xue Clan's fleet would also have to take a huge risk. Yan Nanfei knew where the Sea of Fangs was, but in such dense fog, it would be extremely difficult to navigate around the reefs. He absolutely could not let his own fleet be damaged while trying to eliminate Shen Lang's. Yan Nanfei quickly made a decision. He would use thirty ships as bait to lure Shen Lang's fleet into the Sea of Fangs and destroy them. This bait would even include Yan Nanfei's own flagship. Shen Lang, that scoundrel, was too cunning; he had to put up a sufficient stake to deceive him.
Yan Nanfei ordered lanterns to be hung on every ship. A short time later, the nearly two hundred warships of the Xue Clan's fleet were densely covered in lanterns. As darkness fell, the lanterns on the dark sea shone like stars, creating a magnificent sight. Not only did they hang lanterns, but they also set up a hundred searchlights. Of course, these were rudimentary searchlights. They burned oil inside, and a concave mirror gathered and reflected the light. They were no match for modern searchlights, but in the pitch-black darkness, they could certainly illuminate a certain distance.
To intimidate Shen Lang's fleet, all one hundred-plus searchlights were concentrated on the thirty ships he would use as bait. It seemed to be a warning to Shen Lang: "I'm watching everything, so don't even think about a surprise attack." For a while, it seemed as though the two fleets had found peace and weren't fighting. But in reality, Shen Lang's fleet was closely tailing the Xue fleet from two or three thousand meters behind, refusing to let them go. They were waiting for the next day of thick fog. When the dense fog rolled in, the light from those searchlights would not be able to penetrate it.
***
Yan Nanfei led his fleet and continued to sail toward the Sea of Fangs. Sacrificing thirty ships to completely crush Shen Lang's fleet was a very worthwhile trade. The two groups of ships continued to advance in silence.
"Uncle, will Shen Lang really fall for it?"
Xue Pan asked. Yan Nanfei replied.
"Does he know there are reefs in these waters?"
"He can't possibly know. We only discovered the reefs in this area a few months ago. Before that, almost no one had passed through this sea."
"Then that's all that matters."