In this cyberpunk era, why are you still playing the traditional villain?

At the knight commander's command, the men methodically began firing at the sea. With the help of the grenades they carried and the cannons on the warship, they quickly stabilized the situation and eliminated many of the frenzied fish.

The stench of blood in the sea breeze grew stronger, and the seawater became even more crimson.

As for the schools of fish that try to get close, there are dedicated guards on board, and as long as the small boat maintains a high speed, such suicide attacks will not have much impact.

Seeing this, Cheng Gujian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although he remained an observer, Xu Shi still had some conscience. While teaching them how to use weapons, he also shared some insights into naval warfare.

Or rather, it was based on his experience when facing the fish tide last time—breaking up his forces into smaller units and using the main ship as fire support.

To be fair, the biggest drawback of naval warfare is the lack of footholds. Once you fall into the sea, there's no way to save you. However, if you just gather on large ships, your mobility will be greatly limited. This method effectively alleviates this burden.

Breaking down a large group into smaller ones means attacking it piecemeal, which is a very effective tactic when facing a large number of fish that are agile but have low intelligence.

"Fire, fire!"

"Damn it, die!"

"Heaven creates all things to nourish humankind!"

"This thing is so cool, it's way better than a longsword!"

The initial victory greatly boosted the morale of the royal soldiers, and triumphant shouts immediately rose and fell across the sea.

To be honest, what everyone is most worried about is the lack of experience; no one has ever really faced such an opponent before.

But as time went on, everyone gradually shed their initial awkwardness and got into the swing of things.

This is undoubtedly a happy thing.

Of course, it would be even better if the Vatican could suffer a little more loss.

The lack of timely assistance from the Vatican officials initially left them somewhat overwhelmed.

However, none of them were pushovers. After a brief period of decline, they followed suit and replicated the royal court's tactics in their own way.

Then a hunched-over silver knight stepped onto the bow of the ship and swung his hands down forcefully.

In an instant, everyone felt the temperature drop significantly. Looking down, they saw that the sea around the Vatican had frozen solid, making it safe to stand on.

Wow, ice!

Once the battlefield issue was resolved, things became much simpler. At their command, a large number of priests and clergy jumped off the ship, brandishing their weapons and engaging in fierce combat with the fish.

The fighting style was very much in line with Xu Shi's fantasy of the Hualan Empire as a magical world—most of the priests wielded scepters, and with a wave of their hands, all sorts of colorful orbs of light would burst forth.

Of course, there are also those who are willing to engage in close combat, such as Luo Yu, who took the lead.

He then took up his longsword and began to fight the fish hand-to-hand. Wherever his sword went, it accurately took the lives of its opponents. The slightly weaker creatures shriveled up instantly and turned into dried-up corpses.

This is the benefit of the ability to devour. It is clear that he is turning the power of the fish into his own energy. So although he will get injured, he is becoming more and more courageous in battle and increasingly excited, showing a tendency to become bloodthirsty.

Another figure worth noting is Qin Yiyan, the Templar Knight Commander.

Compared to Luo Yu's precise and targeted attacks, her fighting style is even wilder—because she uses a greatsword! Each move has a wider coverage area; a single swing of the sword is like hitting a tennis ball, sending a school of fish flying. The resulting aftershocks can even shatter the surrounding ice, highlighting its immense power.

Ghost, you're the super-strong woman, right?

The key point is that she doesn't just swing one sword at a time, but ten or even nine!

This is closely related to her ability—a faint light appeared between her brows, followed by a phantom image remaining in place. This was not an afterimage produced by high-speed movement, but a real existence similar to a clone.

These are not weakened clones; each phantom is just as terrifying as she is. However, their actions are not merely imitations, but rather they truly seem to possess their own consciousness and even coordinate with each other.

The main ship also provided excellent support. Not only was the silver knight using ice doing his best to expand the battlefield, but he also had Lu Baiyan's cooperation behind him. If any mistakes were made, they could be repaired quickly.

"Little Luo Yu, well done!"

The Vatican's battles have also yielded excellent results, and Qin Yiyan took a moment from his busy schedule to offer a word of praise.

"Of course, Sister Qin!"

Luo Yu responded with high spirits, naturally pleased to have won the favor of the beauty.

"Oh ho, a clone?"

Xu Shi took in all of this and couldn't help but admire Qin Yiyan's abilities.

This is definitely an S-rank... The ability to create clones is one aspect, but he also knows that those phantoms are definitely not truly self-aware; rather, Qin Yiyan is multitasking, directing them to carry out attacks.

Being able to control about ten clones at the same time is undoubtedly a manifestation of super strong mental power. You know, most people have a lot of trouble drawing a circle with their left hand and a square with their right.

Xu Shi secretly sorted things out and was quite certain that the other silver-ranked individuals would be no match for her. Even Luo Yu was no match for her. This clone ability possessed both speed and A-rank, and had too many ways to play... No wonder she was able to sit in the position of Knight Commander.

Seeing this, Xie Qingyan, who was standing to the side, said with a half-smile, "Ha, so you still say you're not interested in her?"

"Can't we figure out the main problem? This isn't about observing and recording this group's abilities."

Xu Shi sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation. "Being jealous of everything will only hurt you, okay?"

"Do you believe it?"

The dog-woman looked at Xia Wuyou and asked with great interest.

"It's hard to say."

Xia Xiaomao started to act cheekily, spreading her hands and making a strange expression as she agreed.

"You two are in cahoots again?" Xu Shi was so angry he wanted to laugh. He wished he could grab these two right now, pull down their pants, and spank them so everyone could see who the real hand drum master was.

He simply ignored the two's sarcastic remarks and, seeing that the battle was gradually stabilizing, turned to Pan Ling, who was watching from the sidelines, and said, "Come here."

"Ok?"

The foolish apprentice was startled and quickly shook his head in denial, "I didn't mean that, Master."

She dared not read Xu Shi's mind, but she could guess a little. Her master was probably going to use her as a punching bag... Meow meow.

"Who cares what you think?"

Xu Shi rolled her eyes at her. "Let's have a pop quiz. What should we do now to further expand our advantage?"

"Oh……"

Upon hearing that she wasn't going to be spanked in public, Pan Ling breathed a sigh of relief and shook her head as she began to think seriously.

A short while later, she pursed her lips and gave her answer.

"Should we... lure our enemies, no, our enemy fish, over there? Is that right, Master?"

"……Ha ha ha ha!"

Xu Shi paused for a moment, then laughed and patted the little girl on the shoulder with satisfaction.

"Good apprentice, you're not far from completing your apprenticeship!"

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 232 Despicable outsider, that's enough!

This child is teachable; this child is teachable.

Hearing Pan Ling's answer, Xu Shi's face lit up with immense satisfaction.

That's exactly how it should be done! The intensity just now wasn't enough. It seems my silly apprentice has finally learned a little bit of my skills. Good for him.

This scoundrel is like this: he says nice things, that he wouldn't care if his apprentice acted like a kind, saintly person, but in reality, he prefers to guide the girl towards his own personality and is naturally more willing to see her develop that kind of thought.

This also illustrates another point: she has subconsciously completely regarded her Luo Yu as a stranger, or even, to put it more bluntly, as an enemy.

At least between Xu Shi and Luo Yu, she would choose the former, and she would be more willing to ponder and act according to her master's ideas.

If one had to nitpick, it might be that she herself is from the Hualan Empire, and now she's helping outsiders like Xu Shi fight against the empire, which seems a bit inappropriate...

But thinking about it the other way around, her background is also quite complicated. She is not from the main territory of the empire, but from the surrounding Silver Pine Island. You consider yourself a citizen of the empire, but whether the other party recognizes you is another matter. Before, she forced them to go to their deaths without saying a word, and even involved the sisters' father. She was inhumane first.

Then don't blame them for seeking revenge later.

"This...this should be alright, right?"

However, the little girl was still a bit uneasy. Even after hearing Xu Shi's approval, she still whispered a confirmation.

The result was that no one objected at all. To be honest, who among those present hadn't seen her master's even more outrageous methods? Compared to that, Pan Ling's idea was child's play. It was just normal operation, so what was wrong with it?

Xie Qingyan even gave her a thumbs up, saying, "This little girl has a bright future."

Even her own sister, Pan Feng, didn't say much upon hearing this—in fact, everyone had already realized that although this child seemed strong, she was actually less opinionated than her sister, much like the relationship between the swordsman and the sword itself.

Previously, it was Pan Ling who had comforted and consoled her. Now, when facing Luo Yu and the Vatican forces he belonged to, Miss Xiao Feng also gradually became indifferent.

"What's wrong with that? Just don't let any opportunity to thoroughly punish your opponents slip by!"

Xu Shi chuckled. The truth is, he would have done it even if Pan Ling hadn't said so. Does she think he would just help her just because she offered to? Whose master are you or mine?

It's even better that the apprentice has finally grasped the concept.

"What are you waiting for, Ms. Hoshikawa? Let's turn on the sonar!"

He immediately ordered, "Prepare the decoys as well, let them see what a despicable outsider really is."

"Yes!"

The adjutant's response was crisp and efficient, yet also subtly tinged with excitement.

Well... climbing into Xu Shi's bed to find a chicken encounter was certainly one of her goals, but undeniably, following Xu Shi himself was also quite fascinating to her.

The reason is simple: Xu Shi has no qualms about doing bad things, while her boss, Tang Shuang, is relatively upright and many of her instructions don't align with her own ideas... In comparison, Xu Shi is much more to her liking.

Otherwise, why would she have taken the initiative to cooperate with the other party and be willing to contribute to the riots?

That's what they call birds of a feather flock together.

She thought this to herself with great joy.

……

"call……"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ships, Qin Yiyan, having dealt with most of the fish attacks, finally had a moment to breathe a sigh of relief.

Her abilities are definitely top-notch, and she can handle such an offensive with ease. However, the number of fish is too large, and their reckless, suicidal attacks make it impossible for her to be completely unaffected.

Even catching several thousand pigs is a difficult task. (Image: [Image file name])