Chapter 764
Chapter 764
"My love, I don't think this is a good idea."
"What are you afraid of? Everyone on this ship is a woman. It doesn't matter what sounds you make."
"But... doing something like this before a battle is bad luck."
"My darling, why is that little head of yours so full of restrictions? Come now, my love."
A quarter of an hour later, Shen Lang was begging Mulan.
"My love, please, go slower. Slower."
At moments like these, Shen Lang always missed Xiao Bing and Ning Yan. Mulan was like the eighteen levels of hell to him, an ordeal from which he could never escape. Yet, with Xiao Bing, or even Ning Yan, Shen Lang couldn't quite assert such dominance.
*It's not that I'm not strong; my opponent is just too powerful. Isn't it impressive enough that I can fight this battle to a standstill?*
Shen Lang sat quietly, gazing at a map.
"My love, what are you doing?"
"Waiting to get pregnant."
*Huh? You want another one? You suffered so much giving birth to that little rascal, Shen Ye, you nearly lost your life.*
"This time, I'll have a daughter."
The door opened, and the female warrior, Wu Yue, entered with wine and steak. However, Shen Lang and Mulan were not yet dressed.
"Hmph!"
Seeing Shen Lang, she cursed inwardly.
*Shameless.*
She couldn't bring herself to look at Mulan, even though Mulan was covered by a silk blanket. Mulan was so beautiful that seeing her at a moment like this might have made even Wu Yue feel a pang of jealousy.
Shen Lang was examining the sea chart for that area; everything seemed normal.
"Young Master, next time you're not dressed, please give us some warning if you can."
Shen Lang replied to Wu Yue's remark.
"You didn't see anything, Wu Yue, so what's there to worry about?"
Wu Yue shot Shen Lang a glare and left the room. Though a woman, she was a staunch celibate. Besides, her body had been damaged by medicine she took as a child, leaving her with no interest in matters between men and women.
Mulan got up, moved onto Shen Lang's lap, and began to cut the venison steak with a knife. She fed one piece to Shen Lang and ate one herself. Then, she took a sip of wine, swallowing half and feeding the other half to Shen Lang from her own mouth. Their intimacy was almost nauseatingly sweet.
"Sister Wu Yue's cooking seems to be getting better and better. This venison is marinated perfectly."
"Indeed."
After replying, Shen Lang couldn't resist kissing Mulan's lips.
*What food could possibly be more delicious than my wife? If my body could handle it, I'd devour her ten times a day.*
"Husband, Yan Nanfei's movements seem suspicious. He's pretending to head north, but he's gradually moving east."
"This sea region is the Xue Clan's home turf. He's probably planning to lure us into some treacherous waters to annihilate our fleet."
"So, should we fall for his plan?"
"Of course. If we don't fall for their trap first, how can they fall for ours later? You can't catch a scoundrel if you're not willing to risk the bait."
Mulan giggled and asked.
"So, are you willing to risk your wife as bait?"
"Of course not. My wife is for me to devour all by myself. My love, why don't you let me eat you all up? I'll swallow you whole and keep you in my belly."
"More like I'll eat you up."
Soon, before they had even finished their meal, the two were lost in each other again. A quarter of an hour later, Shen Lang was pleading once more.
"My love, slower, please, slower..."
* * *
At dawn the next day, a thick fog rolled in as expected, blanketing the entire sea. Both fleets slowed their pace.
"Uncle, are you truly certain about this? If Shen Lang doesn't fall for it, we'll lose thirty ships for nothing."
Yan Nanfei replied to Xue Fan.
"How can you catch a wolf if you're afraid to lose the bait?"
Yan Nanfei then ordered the fleet to continue forward. Day was breaking, but the fog only grew thicker. The rudimentary searchlights used by the Xue Clan's fleet couldn't penetrate the dense fog, appearing only as faint points of light. Then, following Yan Nanfei's recent order, the fleet began extinguishing its lanterns and searchlights one by one. The entire process was carried out in silence and secrecy. Soon, of the nearly two hundred ships in the Xue fleet, only thirty kept their lights on, burning them even brighter than before.
It was a truly grand scheme. Yan Nanfei was using thirty ships, including his own flagship, as bait to lead Shen Lang's fleet to its doom. But how could they identify the flagship in the thick fog? That wasn't a major problem, as the flagship had a large searchlight mounted in a particularly high position. Sure enough, Shen Lang's fleet closed in on the flagship, and at that moment, another thought crossed Yan Nanfei's mind.
*Should I take advantage of the thick fog to form an encirclement? I could spread the fleet out like two wings and surround Shen Lang's fleet from the rear.*
However, he quickly abandoned the idea. It wasn't that the plan was unfeasible from the start. To form an encirclement, one had to spread out in a formation at least a dozen li in diameter to envelop the enemy. But how could they relay orders and command the fleet in this dense fog? With flag signals completely invisible, attempting an encirclement was nothing more than a fool's dream. The original plan was indeed the most sound.
Yan Nanfei's flagship led the bait ships toward the Yao'a Sea. The rest of the fleet dispersed to either side, while Shen Lang's fleet continued its hot pursuit. As they drew closer to the reef-strewn waters of the Yao'a Sea, both Yan Nanfei and Xue Fan found their breathing quicken instinctively. Although the other twenty-nine ships were all smaller vessels with most of their warriors already evacuated, his flagship was also part of the bait. If Shen Lang didn't fall for it, the ship would be sacrificed for nothing. Fortunately, Shen Lang's fleet was still in close pursuit, and they launched another deadly attack.
Clang, clang, clang, clang.
"Enemy attack!"
Thwack, thwack, thwack.
The mast of one ship was struck by one of Jin Mulan's arrows and immediately splintered and broke. The ship lost its sail power and began to spin aimlessly on the sea. Jin Mulan was truly formidable. A second ship was then hit, its sail bursting into flames. A moment later, a third ship was struck. Gritting his teeth, Yan Nanfei continued to lead the bait ships into the Yao'a Sea, increasing their speed. Shen Lang's fleet pursued them relentlessly, closing the distance, and soon, the Xue Clan's fleet entered the treacherous waters.
Crash!
Just then, a ship shuddered violently as it struck a reef. A large hole was torn in its hull, and seawater poured in relentlessly. Soon, a second, a third, and a fourth ship ran aground on reefs, confirming that Yan Nanfei's bait fleet had entered the Yao'a Sea. Once inside, everything was left to fate. If they were lucky enough, they might cross these waters. If not, they were finished. Colliding with a reef meant only one thing: sinking.
A moment later, Yan Nanfei heard a different kind of bell ringing, unlike the one from the earlier attack.
Ding, ding, ding, ding.
"This is bad! It's a trap! There are reefs here!"
The voice came from Shen Lang's fleet.
Crash, crash, crash.
A series of loud crashes followed. Yan Nanfei was ecstatic.
*Shen Lang's fleet pursued so quickly and blindly rushed into the Yao'a Sea. Now, all that's left for them is death.*
"Abandon ship! It's going down!"
"Aaaargh!"
From within the thick fog, wretched screams echoed from the direction of Shen Lang's fleet. Xue Fan was overjoyed.
"Hahaha, Shen Lang fell for it! He's finished, completely finished! That bastard was so arrogant, thinking his wisdom was almost supernatural, but he couldn't escape his own greed. His fleet is doomed! We've achieved a great victory!"
Yan Nanfei gave an order.
"The bait fleet will continue forward slowly and exit these waters. Have the swimmers enter the water and guide the way from the front."
Crash, crash, crash.
The reefs in this area were so dense that collisions were unavoidable. So, no matter how cautiously Yan Nanfei's bait fleet moved, even with swimmers guiding them, they couldn't help but constantly strike the reefs. However, as if blessed with extraordinary luck today, Yan Nanfei's flagship managed to navigate the Yao'a Sea unscathed.
*Just how devastating must the damage to Shen Lang's fleet be?*
Yan Nanfei and Xue Fan were dying of curiosity. Even moving cautiously, more than sixty or seventy percent of their thirty bait ships had struck reefs and sunk. Shen Lang's fleet, on the other hand, had charged in so arrogantly, completely unaware. It was highly likely their entire fleet had been wiped out. Unfortunately, the fog was still too thick to see the situation. But at the very least, Shen Lang's fleet was no longer in pursuit.
* * *
More than two hours passed before the sun finally broke through the dense fog. Yan Nanfei witnessed a scene of utter devastation. The waters of the Yao'a Sea were littered with the shattered remains of a fleet. Countless wooden fragments and pieces of sail drifted everywhere. Most of the ships had already sunk to the seabed, while a few were wrecked upon the reefs in a particularly gruesome state.
*Hahahaha! Shen Lang has suffered a massive loss.*
Yan Nanfei gave an order.
"The fleet will regroup and search for any remnants of Shen Lang's fleet."
* * *
Two hours later, the Xue Clan's fleet had finished regrouping. They originally had two hundred ships, but now only one hundred and seventy remained. Still, they presented an imposing and formidable sight. The entire fleet then spread out and advanced at full speed to the northeast, searching for any trace of Shen Lang's surviving ships. And an hour after that...
"We've found the remnants of Shen Lang's fleet!"
So they had found them. About a dozen li ahead, Shen Lang's fleet was fleeing desperately. The once-majestic fleet now looked like a ragged band of beggars. Of their thirty-nine ships, only eighteen remained; the rest were nowhere to be seen. Yan Nanfei was impressed.
*Shen Lang is lucky. To think that eighteen of his ships managed to cross the Yao'a Sea. But the surviving ships look to be in a wretched state.*
One of the ships was visibly listing, even to the naked eye. It had clearly struck a reef and was taking on water, but had not yet sunk. Another ship had its bow severely damaged, while a third had its stern smashed in, clear signs they had collided with each other. The pitiful condition of each vessel had significantly slowed Shen Lang's fleet. Seeing this, Xue Fan and Yan Nanfei were overjoyed.
*Shen Lang's fleet is finished. Utterly finished! We have one hundred and seventy ships, while you have a mere eighteen. Our ships are intact, but yours, Shen Lang, are so battered they look like a strong gust of wind could shatter them and capsize them all. You bastard, Shen Lang, no matter how deviously clever you are, today you've fallen for my, Yan Nanfei's, stratagem. You and Jin Mulan will not see tomorrow's sun. First, I will annihilate your fleet, then I will charge back to Raging Tide City and uproot your Jin Clan!*
Triumphant, Yan Nanfei roared.
"Full speed ahead! Annihilate every last one of Shen Lang's ships!"
At his command, the one hundred and seventy ships of the Xue fleet charged ferociously toward Shen Lang's remaining forces, their killing intent soaring to the heavens.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
The thunderous sound of war drums began to roll across the sea, shaking the very sky.
*Shen Lang, I used to seethe with indignation because of you, but now, your final day has finally come!*