It was Zhao Feng who made the move. Since the start of the battle, he and Ge Dalong had been keeping a close eye on Zhang Shi's position, ready to provide him with fire support at any moment.
Chen Baomu crashed heavily to the ground, groaning in pain. His men, seeing the leader so badly wounded, immediately fell into disarray. Meanwhile, the soldiers on the island were greatly encouraged, shouting and fighting even more fiercely.
Zhang Shi gave Chen Baomu no chance to catch his breath. He strode forward, raising his old sword high, its blade gleaming coldly in the sunlight, and swung it down at Chen Baomu with a murderous intent. Chen Baomu's eyes widened, filled with fear and despair. He desperately tried to dodge, but his injured body wouldn't obey him.
At this critical moment, a figure suddenly rushed out from the side, shielding Chen Baomu from the fatal blow. It turned out to be one of Chen Baomu's men; he had used his own body to protect Chen Baomu, but was also deeply slashed by Zhang Shi's knife and died on the spot.
Chen Baomu looked at his trusted confidant who had died for him, his expression strange, showing neither anger, sadness, nor emotion, but rather a sense of fear.
"Zhang Shi, you're courting death!"
Despite his injuries, Chen Baomu struggled to his feet, gripping the black dagger tightly in his hand, and lunged at Zhang Shi madly, muttering, "There's no way out, Zhang Shi, you must die today!"
Zhang Shi snorted coldly, his eyes full of disdain. He easily dodged Chen Baomu's attack by turning to the side, and then kicked Chen Baomu in the knee. Chen Baomu's legs immediately went weak and he knelt on the ground.
“Your struggles are futile, Chen Baomu. You brought this all on yourself,” Zhang Shi said coldly, placing the old Duan sword against Chen Baomu’s neck.
Chen Baomu looked up at Zhang Shi, his eyes filled with hatred, but also with a hint of helplessness and despair. "Zhang Shi, do you think you're invincible just because you're the world's number one? Do you think killing me will solve everything? The people behind me won't let you get away with this!" he said viciously.
Zhang Shi's lips curled into a mocking smile: "So what? I'll send you on your way today, and I'll handle the rest." With that, he swung his knife forcefully, and Chen Baomu's head rolled to the ground, spraying out a torrent of blood that stained the surrounding earth red.
With Chen Baomu's death, his fleet completely lost its command, and the soldiers scattered and fled. The soldiers on the island pursued their victory and annihilated the fleeing enemy one by one.
After the battle, Zhang Shi stood on the beach, gazing at the smoke-filled sea, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He began to hesitate, wondering if opening the islands to the public was the right or wrong decision. Admittedly, the establishment of the sea station had brought him a great deal of wealth, but it had also brought all sorts of troubles. After the incident in Fog City, he felt utterly exhausted and had lost all interest in fighting.
Ge Dalong and Zhao Feng limped over to his side, remaining silent in tacit agreement, standing together under a tree gazing at the azure sea. After a long while, Zhang Shi sighed, opened his private chat, and notified Wang Wu's team to come to the island tomorrow if they had time, as he had something to discuss with them.
The development of the island must continue. Zhang Shi knew he was not alone; he had brothers and soldiers behind him, and for their sake, he could not stop.
"Bang!"
A loud bang came from the coast, followed by a second and then a third.
Zhang Shi looked into the distance and discovered that the explosions originated from Chen Baomu's fleet; they had all self-destructed simultaneously. Zhang Shi was taken aback, wondering if there were any survivors on board.
Moments later, the explosion stopped, and all the ships moored on the shore sank. The powerful explosion destroyed many facilities on the dock and even affected the sea station, causing cracks in many buildings. Zhang Shi had to send people to repair them, which would take up a lot of time.
After this minor incident, Zhang Shi immediately went to Wu Qing's botanical garden and personally inspected her room. Only after confirming there were no abnormalities did he call for reinforcements to seal the room and assign guards to watch it day and night, instructing them to report any unusual activity immediately. Later, Zhang Shi found the giant sunflower. This plant had developed sentience, and Zhang Shi worried it might become a threat. He hesitated about whether to remove it, but considering its considerable efforts in protecting the shelter, he suppressed the impulse.
...
In the days that followed, Zhang Shi returned to his daily life. After discussing with Wang Wu's team, the business at the sea station resumed as usual, although the number of customers had decreased significantly. Zhang Shi and Wang Wu initially didn't pay much attention, assuming it was due to the recent conflicts. Until one day, Liu Yu, as the leader of the Light Alliance, posted a video in the chat channel.
In the video, several survivors are piloting a fishing boat, seemingly heading out for fishing or hunting. Suddenly, dozens of giant lizard-like creatures dart through the sea, leaping onto the boat's deck in an instant. These creatures are human-sized, and when standing upright, they are even taller than humans. Without a word, these monsters attack the survivors.
But these survivors were clearly not pushovers. They didn't panic at all in the face of the monsters' sudden attack. They picked up their weapons and launched a counterattack. After a while, the monsters realized that these survivors were not easy to deal with, so they began to retreat. The leader of the monsters let out a scream, and a giant vehicle that looked like a turtle appeared on the sea in the distance. The vehicle was finely crafted and looked like a submarine.
The giant lizard-like monsters jumped from the ship into the sea and quickly swam to the vehicle, seemingly trying to escape. The survivors, of course, weren't going to let them go so easily, and each used their skills. One mage used an energy net to bind one of the monsters that hadn't yet escaped, capturing it alive.
The video ended there, followed by a text message from Liu Yu.
"Recently, our Light Alliance members have been frequently going missing. After investigation, it has been found that most of these incidents are caused by these lizardman monsters. We have interrogated the lizardman prisoners we captured and learned that the land we once lived on, which is now the seabed, has been occupied by these alien races. They have their own civilization and often come to the surface to plunder and kill. We urge all survivors to be aware and pay attention to safety during their voyages."
Zhang Shi frowned, finally understanding the reason for the recent sharp decline in passenger traffic. This was no small matter; it could even be considered a dangerous event on par with natural disasters. The appearance of alien races was often accompanied by bloody conflicts and battles, so it seemed the island needed to be on guard.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com