Chapter 55
The sea is black.
Like a huge, boundless, black velvet cloth soaked in blood.
The "Divine Machine Ship" glided silently on this velvet fabric.
Tang Pu stood at the bow of the boat. The wind was cold, like a knife chilled to ice, scraping against his face, his neck, and every inch of his exposed skin.
But he couldn't feel it.
His blood was hot.
Like a pot of boiling molten iron, bubbling and gurgling.
He gazed at the distant, dark outline of the island, which in the night resembled a crouching, gigantic beast.
Dragon Tooth Island.
The lair of "Black Shark".
That cunning beast, that pirate king who killed countless Qin merchants and struck fear into the hearts of the entire East China Sea, was hiding inside the belly of that giant monster.
He probably thought he was safe.
He's probably embracing the woman he stole, drinking the wine he stole, and indulging in his wicked, filthy, and beautiful dreams.
A cold, emotionless, cruel smile curled at the corners of Tang Pu's mouth.
He took out the small, pure gold token from his pocket.
There was only one word on the token.
cloud.
He gently stroked the cold token engraved with the character "cloud" with his thumb.
He could almost feel her body temperature, her breath, and her heartbeat.
She is right here.
She was right beside him.
She looked at him.
"Pass down the order."
His voice was very soft, yet it was like a cold flash of lightning piercing the night sky.
"The appointed time has arrived."
"All-out attack, begin!"
...
"boom--!"
A deafening roar, like a muffled rage from the depths of hell, shattered the final, deathly silence before dawn.
The "divine machine ship" has moved.
It was no longer that silent, gliding, black phantom.
Like an ancient, steel behemoth that has been fully awakened, its power system, which is ahead of its time, unleashed its true, terrifying power for the first time amidst Master Lu's almost manic roar!
It did not raise its sails.
It was like a huge, red-hot battle axe, with an unreasonable, tyrannical, and unstoppable momentum, fiercely cleaving towards Dragon Tooth Island's seemingly indestructible outer defenses!
"Enemy attack!! Enemy attack!!"
The mournful, terrified, and distorted bugle calls finally rang out chaotically across the island.
Countless pirates, still hungover and disheveled, rushed out of their kennels.
Then they saw the most terrifying sight they had ever seen in their lives.
A ship.
A gigantic, black monster they had never heard of or seen before.
It was hurtling toward them at an incredible speed!
On the sides of that ship, those dark, devil-eye-like cannon ports were not spewing out cannonballs.
It is... death.
"put!"
Tang Pu pointed his knife forward.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—!"
Hundreds of thick, three-edged armor-piercing crossbows, with a sharp, deathly whistle that tore through the air, instantly covered the pirate ships that were hastily setting sail in an attempt to intercept them, like an impenetrable black cloud!
That wasn't a battle.
That was... a massacre.
The heavy crossbow easily tore through the thin, brittle planks of the pirate ships, pinning the pirates on deck, along with their ships, to the sea like skewers of candied hawthorns!
Blood, like free red ink, instantly stained the black sea in front of Dragon Tooth Island.
Screams, cries, and the sound of falling into the water mingled together, forming a death symphony that brought Tang Pu immense pleasure.
That concludes the appetizer.
...
"damn it!!"
Zhang Xuan, nicknamed "Black Shark," kicked over the table in front of him. His single eye was bloodshot, filled with an incredulous and insane rage.
"What the hell is that?! A government ship? When did the government start having such monsters?!"
Standing atop the highest watchtower of "Dragon Tooth Island," watching the massive black ship wreaking havoc on the sea, he felt his heart pounding.
He has lost before.
But he has never lost so inexplicably as he did today.
He hadn't even seen his opponent's face clearly yet.
"Boss! We can't hold on any longer! The brothers... the brothers are terrified!" A leader with a scar on his face scrambled up, his voice trembling with sobs.
"What's the panic!" "Black Shark" slapped the leader across the face, making him see stars. "I've been roaming the East China Sea for ten years, what storms haven't I seen! So what if a ship is a little fast and a little tough?!"
"Pass on my order!" His single eye gleamed with a fierce, vicious light, like a cornered beast struggling for its life. "Bring out all the 'Thunderbolts' on the island! Make all the ships spread out! From the flanks! Use rockets! Use oil! Burn them! I refuse to believe that something made of iron can't withstand fire!"
He truly deserves to be called a powerful and ruthless leader.
After the initial shock and chaos, "Black Shark" quickly organized the most effective and most frantic resistance.
In a short time.
The entire Dragon Tooth Island resembled a giant, enraged hedgehog, raising all its poisoned quills.
Hidden behind the reefs in the sturdy fortifications on the island, rows of homemade cannons, which "Black Shark" had acquired at great expense from the Westerners, began to emit a dull, angry roar.
Countless pirate ships, like a swarm of bloodthirsty mosquitoes, surrounded us from all directions, fearless and relentless.
Rain began to fall from the sky.
It's not water.
It's an arrow.
It was the kind of rocket that was tied with sulfur and kerosene, and had a long tail flame.
"boom!"
A shell struck the gunwale of the "Divine Machine Ship," exploding into a huge splash and sending wood chips flying everywhere.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
More shells fell.
On the sea, artillery fire and rockets flew everywhere. Shouts of battle and screams of agony shook the heavens.
The entire sea area looked like a pot of boiling blood.
For the first time, the "Divine Machine Ship" suffered a truly fierce attack.
Tang Pu stood at the bow of the boat, unmoved.
He could feel the deck beneath his feet shaking violently.
He could smell the pungent odor of sulfur and gunpowder in the air.
But he felt no ripples in his heart.
Because he knew.
The real show has only just begun.
He looked up and glanced at the highest point of the island, at the "Black Shark's" council hall, which resembled a snake's lair.
Then, he slowly raised his hand.
Just then!
An unexpected change occurred!
Just as "Black Shark" was commanding his fleet to surround the "Divine Machine Ship" from all sides, preparing to wear down this steel behemoth through a brutal war of attrition.
A deafening explosion, louder than all the previous artillery fire combined, resounded from within "Dragon Tooth Island"!
"BOOM—!!"
A gigantic, mushroom-shaped, blackish-red flame shot into the sky from the center of the island, from the largest arsenal that contained all the gunpowder and "thunderbolts"!
The violent explosion even made the entire island tremble!
"Black Shark" turned around abruptly, his single eye filled with bloodshot veins and an incomprehensible, extreme horror!
arsenal……
It exploded?
How is that possible?!
That was the place he guarded most tightly!
Before he could react...
On the island, the coastal defense batteries that were relentlessly unleashing firepower at the "divine machine ship" suddenly fell silent.
Immediately afterwards, the sounds of fighting erupted from all directions!
It's not aimed at enemies at sea.
It's...our own people killing our own people!
"Iron Face! You're fucking insane! You dare betray the boss?!"
"Brothers! 'Black Shark' is ruthless, don't blame us for being unjust! Follow Iron Face, and you'll have a chance to survive! Kill!!" [1-1]
Internal strife!
A long-planned, bloody, and deadly internal strife suddenly erupted at the most intense and critical moment of the war!
"Iron Face..."
As "Black Shark" chewed on the name, a chilling, bone-deep coldness shot from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.
He understood.
He understood everything.
This is a trap.
A deadly trap, tailor-made for him from the very beginning!
"ah--!!"
He let out a roar that was inhuman, desperate, and beast-like.
"Tang Pu! The Cui family! I'll haunt you even as a ghost!!"
However, there are no ghosts left to give him a chance.
"Now!"
Tang Pu looked at the towering flames on the island, exactly as he had predicted. His eyes, burning with fire, suddenly flashed with an unprecedented, chilling killing intent!
"Full speed ahead!!"
"Target: The 'Sea Dragon King'!"
"Smash it, you son of a bitch!!"
The "Divine Machine Ship," this terrifying steel behemoth that had been suppressed for so long, finally revealed its most deadly fangs.
Like a black, unstoppable, deadly lightning bolt, it tore through the chaotic array of ships, ignoring all futile attacks, and crashed fiercely, fiercely, into the flagship of the "Black Shark," the most magnificent and largest ship anchored deep in the harbor!
"boom--!!!"
A deafening roar, as if it could smash a hole in the sky, followed.
In the final, brutal boarding action.
Carrying his knife, Tang Pu trudged through the blood and corpses, step by step, until he reached the one-eyed tyrant who was now seemingly insane.
A flash of light.
A bloody, lifeless head, its eyes wide open in death, shot into the sky.
Then, it landed heavily on that dirty flag embroidered with a black shark.
"Black Shark" is dead.
A ruthless hero, now at his end.
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