Sail Shadows in the Sea of ​​Fog

Chapter 30: Building a Friendship
Outside the Zhuniao Islands, a thick sea fog floated on the blue sea.

Any captain with a little experience would basically guess that the sea fog was most likely summoned by the Mirage Horn.

If they are a little more experienced, they can even judge the strength of the captain who summoned the sea fog by the area covered and the density of the sea fog.

But even the most experienced captain cannot judge from experience how many ships are hidden in any thick sea fog.

unless
Unless he has the ability given by the heart of the ship to see through the sea fog, or can disperse the thick fog.

Unfortunately, the captain of the Boylan Royal Witcher Group that was heading towards the thick fog was given the ability to dispel the sea fog by the heart of the ship.

"I smell it, I smell it!"

On the open-air bridge of the Royal Demon Hunter, the guiding siren pointed at the thick fog and shouted confidently, "That stinking ship must be in that fog!"

"We'll rush over to the upwind side on the right side of the sea fog!"

The captain of the demon-hunting ship, standing on the open bridge at the stern, confidently gave the order, "Prepare the port guns!"

"There's a ship heading towards us!" The magic mirror issued a timely warning in the thick fog, "They just hoisted the flag of the Boerland Royal Witch Hunters!"

"Could it be aimed at us?" Cheng Lang asked as he ran towards the open-air driving platform with a mirror in his hand.

"At least it's coming for our sea fog!"

The magic mirror replied in panic, "This ship is definitely hostile!"

"Send a signal and tell them to hide."

Before Cheng Lang finished speaking, the mirror hanging on the mast began to flash with dazzling sunlight.

A moment later, the Flamingo merchant ship and the captured Furnace responded one after another.

Compared with the Furnace, which raised its sails and anchored, the Flamingo chose to hide its hull on the spot, an ostrich-like response.

Cheng Lang had no right to laugh at the Flamingo. He also chose to hide the hull in advance and raised the sails. Not only that, he also blew the Mirage Horn, making the sea fog instantly larger.

This is also a reminder and a test. Normally, if the other party is not hostile, they will choose to bypass it.

But this arrogant demon-hunting ship had already seized the upper wind position, which was almost equivalent to declaring war!
"Prepare the guns! Increase the ship's speed first!"

Cheng Lang issued an order. It was meaningless to run at this time. Instead of escaping, it would be better to take advantage of the sea fog to fight back!

It is obvious that Lu Ting and Senfa have also realized the same crisis.

I just don't know whether they will choose to fight or flee.

Cheng Lang had no idea where the demon-hunting ship got the courage and anger to rush straight towards him so arrogantly!

As the captains of the three ships were on anxious alert, the sailboat flying the flag of the Demon Hunters was getting closer and closer to their sea fog, and everyone realized that a battle was inevitable.

At this time, Captain Lu Ting was almost certain that the demon-hunting ship was heading towards Cheng Lang.

But he was not sure whether the idiot Senfa would choose to stand by and watch or join the battle in a fit of rage. He only knew that if Senfa chose to join the battle, then he would have to stay and join the battle as well.

While he was struggling helplessly, the arrogant demon-hunting ship rushed towards him, cutting through the edge of the fog. At the same time, accompanied by a sudden strong wind, the thick fog with a diameter of one nautical mile disappeared strangely!

This scene not only stunned Cheng Lang, Senfa and Lu Ting, but also stunned the captain of the demon-hunting ship.

The three captains in front did not expect that the thick fog where they hid would disappear, and what the captain of the demon hunting ship did not expect was that there was only one ship in the thick fog!

After the four captains reacted, Lu Ting cursed his bad luck inwardly and without thinking, he commanded his Furnace to gallop away.

At the same time, the demon-hunting ship also turned and headed straight for the Furnace, which was less than a nautical mile away.

Are you going for Flamingo Trading Company?
At a certain moment, Cheng Lang looked at the Furnace which began to turn hurriedly beside him, and he even had the thought of running away.

But soon, he gave the order, "Prepare to fire!"

As he spoke, he had already grasped the crossbow on the second deck at the bow and aimed at the white sail of the oncoming demon hunting ship.

At this time, the ship had begun to turn right, preparing to block the escaping Furnace.

"Left rudder 40!"

Cheng Lang issued the second order, and Gerta immediately turned the steering wheel and aimed at the side of the demon hunting ship.

After all, they were sailing into the wind, and both the Valkyrie and the Crucible were far less flexible than the Demon Hunter that had the upper hand.

But even so, at the moment the two boats crossed, Cheng Lang decisively pressed down the firing rod!
"Buzz!"

As the bowstring vibrated, the arrow shaft with five gunpowder barrels tied to it drew a parabola and hit the sail of the demon hunting ship.

However, the demon hunting ship reacted much faster than anyone expected. Before the arrow shaft hit the sail, its double-layer cannons on the port side began to unleash their power.

"Boom!"

Amidst the intense roar of artillery fire, shells pounded the Valkyrie's stern. These incredibly accurate shells not only broke the Valkyrie's concealment, but some of them even exploded!

This sudden attack instantly turned the Valkyrie's stern deck into a mess, especially the open-air bridge, waterline, and even the rear mast, which suffered devastating blows!

Suddenly, the Valkyrie's poop and rear sail caught fire, water began to fill the lower cabin, and the main mast of the demon hunter ship was also ignited by the gunpowder barrel that was hit.

But at this time, the Valkyrie also used inertia to circle around the stern of the demon hunter!

"Fire!"

As Cheng Lang shouted, the goblins on the gun deck poked the red-hot iron rod into the ignition hole at the tail of the gun!

“Boom boom boom boom—!”

Amidst a series of dense gunfire, shells with a diameter of 20 coins slammed into the stern of the demon hunting ship, destroying its rudder and tearing open the waterline of the ship!

But at the same time, on the stern of the Demon Hunter, several soldiers were shaking two six-barreled rotary cannons and began to spray dense ammunition at the Valkyrie!
These ammunitions immediately caused huge casualties to the vine goblins operating the sails!
This battle was a life-and-death battle from the very beginning. The Valkyrie and the Demon Hunter continued to move by relying on their respective inertia. At the same time, the sailors of the two ships were quickly repairing the damage and extinguishing the burning sails.

But the fatal thing was that at the last moment, the demon-hunting ship relied on the last bit of inertia to complete the turn of the ship!
Amidst the sounds of cannon fire, explosions, and even the screams of the goblins, the cannons fired from the starboard side of the demon hunting ship either hit the remaining sails, the gun deck, or the waterline, and exploded one after another!
In this artillery attack with an absolute generation gap, flames ignited everywhere on the Valkyrie, and the gun deck even exploded!

Not only the Valkyrie but also the Crucible was covered by artillery fire!

Compared to Cheng Lang, who was not so experienced in business, Captain Lu Ting on the Furnace was extremely calm when he gave the order to open fire.

What no one could have imagined was that the shells fired by Lu Ting’s Furnace also produced an explosive effect!
In the brutal bombardment, the Valkyrie's few remaining port guns also opened fire in the flames, firing a final round of shells at the Demon Hunter's starboard waterline!
At the same time, Cheng Lang stumbled back to the captain's office, panickedly took out the boat bladder he had just exchanged not long ago, put it to his mouth and began to blow hard.

"laugh--!"

Amid the sound of air currents that resounded throughout the ship, the hull in Cheng Lang's hand disappeared, and an almost translucent membrane filled the Valkyrie's lower cabin and cargo hold, followed by the burning gun deck and even the open deck!

At the same time, the Valkyrie seemed to have lost its buoyancy and quickly sank underwater.

"Blood of Poseidon! Use the blood of Poseidon quickly!" The magic mirror reminded loudly in panic, "Throw it on the floor!" Cheng Lang reacted immediately and took out the blood of Poseidon from his pocket and threw it hard on the floor.

One cup, two cups, three cups!
When all the blood of Poseidon in his hands was used up, the entire ship had sunk into the water, and a huge damage above his head, which was originally flooded with seawater, gradually closed.

The seawater did put out the fire on the ship, but the crisis was not over. The demon hunting ship, which had also lost power, was not only still exchanging blows with the Furnace, but also sailors with webbed feet and gills jumped off the ship one after another.

"Those grass carp bastards are swimming towards us!" the magic mirror shouted in panic.

“Fix the leak!”

Cheng Lang issued a new order and ran to the broken second deck. He just glanced at Gerta and Yafuso who seemed to be uninjured, then jumped off the Valkyrie with a strong jump and passed through the balloon-like waterproof membrane!
Looking at those mermaid bastards rushing towards him quickly, even holding gunpowder barrels in their hands, a black whip appeared in Cheng Lang's hand.

"laugh!"

As he swung the whip vigorously, it instantly grew longer and faded, and the surrounding sea water turned dark in an instant.

Even the black mold spots that appeared on the Valkyrie due to Poseidon's curse disappeared!

In just a blink of an eye, the sirens and hybrid siren sailors who rushed into the dark sea became motionless, their bodies withered and shriveled, and finally their flesh and blood collapsed, leaving only white skeletons that slowly sank to the bottom of the sea, making the range of the black sea even larger!
Not only the sea water, but even the whip in Cheng Lang's hand became a little longer!
As he swung his sword again and again, the Valkyrie was completely covered by the black sea water. The panicked sirens who were about to flee gradually stopped all their movements before being covered by the black sea water, and were eventually completely swallowed up!

But at the same time, Cheng Lang also felt unprecedented fatigue, and everything in front of him became more and more blurred.

After biting the tip of his tongue to regain consciousness, Cheng Lang, who was suspended in the black sea, finally didn't dare to swing the whip again.

On the sea, the Crucible struggled to distance itself from the demon-hunting ship. However, the demon-hunting ship repaired its damage at an incredible speed and then rushed towards the severely damaged Crucible again.

Just as the ship was about to bring the Furnace within the range of its guns again, the Flamingo, which had been hiding since the beginning of the battle, finally opened fire!

At this time, the ship's open deck, second deck, and even the bridge on the stern deck were filled with cannons of different calibers!
"boom--!"

With prolonged and almost completely overlapping gunfire, all the guns on the Flamingo's port side opened fire almost at the same time. The huge recoil almost overturned the armed merchant ship!

But the effect of this round of concentrated fire was also significant. In the continuous impact of those large and small shells, a terrible damage was torn at the waterline of the bow on the right front of the demon hunting ship, and the surging sea water immediately poured into the cabin.

Without waiting for the boat to stop rocking, Senfa had already turned the sailboat hourglass that Cheng Lang had given him.

With the help of this precious ship armor, the Flamingo immediately completed a 180-degree turn, and even the swaying hull stopped.

"boom--!"

With another drawn-out sound of concentrated fire, the second round of salvos once again hit the bow of the demon hunter ship around the waterline, causing even greater damage!

After this round of fatal blows, the stern of the demon hunting ship began to show signs of rising due to the backflow of seawater!

However, the Flamingo armed merchant ship, which had also broken out of its stealth mode, did not move. Instead, it started a new round of bombardment while the sailors were anxiously preparing!

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

In the chaotic bombardment, which was almost irregular and with different pitches due to different calibers, shells hit the deck, sails and even the poop of the demon hunter ship, or hit the area around the waterline without any order.

At this moment, the Crucible began to show its power again. Amid the interweaving sound of cannons, shells hit the upward-turning stern of the witcher.

Finally, in this chaotic bombardment, the bow of the demon hunting ship sank completely into the water, and the sailors on the ship jumped off the ship in panic and jumped into the sea.

But at this moment, the sea surface had been dyed black like ink.

Compared with the human sailors, the sirens and hybrids of humans and sirens on this ship stiffened the moment they fell into the water.

As their bodies slowly sank through the dark water, just like their companions, only skeletons remained.

Finally, when the bombardment above the sea gradually stopped, Cheng Lang used the last bit of consciousness to clench the whip and absorb the toxins released into the sea water.

As the white whip turned black again, Cheng Lang, who was originally drowsy in the sea water, barely regained some strength. Even the Valkyrie was covered with black mold again.

As the sea water became clear, he also saw the slowly sinking demon hunting ship and the enemy sailors floating on the sea.

Before he could even make a move, he faintly heard the sound of gunfire coming from the sea. As the gunfire rang out, a pink hue gradually spread around the sailors floating on the sea.

After a moment's hesitation, he turned around and swam back to the Valkyrie, which was wrapped in the hull of the ship. He squeezed in with difficulty and was narrowly caught by a surviving Vine Mandrill and placed on the deck.

After taking a look at the corpses of the vine goblins on the deck, Cheng Lang turned the center of the ship and maneuvered it back to the surface.

At this time, a large number of corpses of the demon hunting ship sailors were still floating on the sea, and the fire on the Furnace in the distance had not been extinguished yet. However, the damage to the Flamingo was not serious, and it was now using the Mirage Horn to summon a cloud of mist with a diameter of several hundred meters.

Seeing this, Cheng Lang immediately moved the center of the ship and controlled the sea mirage, a ship armor he had obtained not long ago, and summoned a thick fog with a diameter of one nautical mile, which wrapped up their three ships again.

Captain Senfa immediately breathed a sigh of relief and quickly commanded the Flamingo merchant ship to slowly approach the Furnace. Although his ship was not hit by the fierce firepower of the demon hunter ship, the two rounds of salvos also caused heavy damage to the ship. Its keel even had fatal cracks due to the huge recoil.

On the deck of the Valkyrie, Cheng Lang was also trying hard to check the damage to the entire ship.

In this battle, one-third of the Fujixiao were killed, the stern and mast were severely damaged, the lower cabin also had many damages, and the only three cups of Poseidon's blood on hand were almost completely consumed.

The only thing to be thankful for was that the two new crew members, Gerta and Yafso, were not injured.

Fighting off the drowsiness in their brains, Cheng Lang, Gerta and Yafuso helped the gorillas carry their companions' bodies into the lower cabin and around the main mast.

After the Sea-Watching Vine growing on the main mast devoured the corpses, Cheng Lang took out the boat bottle again and poured a large amount of fruit wine at the base of the main mast.

It will take time for the fallen Vine Xiao to regenerate, but there is a lot of work to do on the ship. Even though the ship's core is responsible for the repairs, Cheng Lang and the other two are also doing what they can to speed up the repair process.

While they were busy, the leaking damage was repaired first, and the accumulated water in the cabin was drained out of the ship by Wanghai Teng and the surviving vine goblins through various means.

In the midst of this busyness, a letter flew off from the Flamingo merchant ship and landed beside Cheng Lang, flapping its wings.

He removed the glass bottle from Xin Weng's neck and pulled out the note inside. It contained only one sentence: "Salvage the spoils as quickly as possible, and be sure to take away all identifiable bodies from the demon hunter and blow up the wreck. After everything is over, we must leave here quickly."

"It seems we have established initial trust."

Cheng Lang muttered to himself, then issued an order, "Salvage the spoils and all the bodies!"

Following the command, the surviving gorillas immediately grabbed a vine and jumped into the sea.

While these gorillas were busy, cannons, shells and even corpses were salvaged one after another.

But what Cheng Lang never expected was that he could actually fish out living people from this demon-hunting ship that had sunk to the bottom of the sea, two living people with black hair!
"Dark Elf again"

The magic mirror sighed in Cheng Lang's ear, "Where did they get so many black elves?"

"Perhaps only the Dark Elves can give us the answer."

Cheng Lang sighed, waved his hand and said, "Yafuso, you and Gerta should send them back to their rooms to rest first."

(End of this chapter)