The male supporting character was actually myself.

Don't you see how quickly they've caught up with our shipbuilding progress?

If he were to absorb this small league, he could probably reclaim the top spot in the standings.

He hurried downstairs and ran into the excited Nightshade in the hallway. "Are we about to have a skirmish with Jiang Yuan? Captain, please don't interfere. I'm going to personally throw this guy onto an island so he can't live or die!"

Chapter Thirty-Three: I've Become Useless...

As expected, the ship girls are the best!

Jiang Chen nodded with satisfaction, "Alright, you're in charge of tonight's battle."

"That's fantastic!" the little white cat praised, giving a thumbs up. "As expected of someone who was trained by the host (even this isn't enough?), you really came through in the crucial moment!"

While the large yacht was speeding along with a large number of boats of varying sizes, thirteen or fourteen other boats were paddling furiously against the current on the vast, dark sea.

Their best ship was the leader's enormous five-masted, five-sailed sailing vessel, while their worst was merely a regular wooden boat.

Most of these survivors encountered the sea monster attack immediately after entering the Burial Grounds following the update.

Although they managed to escape, they nearly exhausted their inventory in the process.

They encountered other high-level survivors, applied to join the alliance but were rejected, so they could only stick together for warmth and support with those of similar strength.

Even so, he could not escape the fate of being targeted by the plague god!

"I'm so tired, Alliance Leader, keep going! If I stay, I might buy you some more time." A woman in her forties said in the Alliance chat channel, panting heavily, "I really can't scroll anymore, you guys should go now."

"Sister Wu, hang in there! Keep going, we'll definitely be rescued!"

"If you're tired, take a rest first. We'll paddle ahead and help you."

"Eat something and rest first. I can hold on. I'll definitely be able to get you away!"

……

The others encouraged her, and she didn't stop what she was doing.

After all, although the leader can lead the followers' ships forward, his role is only to prevent them from falling behind and drifting to other places.

If we want to escape, we can only try our best to row forward with the leader.

Otherwise, not only will the overall speed slow down, but if the leader exerts too much force and can't hold on, he might be pushed by the current towards Jiang Yuan who is chasing after him!

"Why is our life so bitter!" The woman surnamed Wu said, her arms numb, as she gritted her teeth and rowed the boat, her voice trembling with tears. "Before, although life was hard, we were able to survive."

Suddenly, an update was released in the middle of the night, and my ship crashed right into the mouth of a sea monster.

I barely escaped being eaten, and all that was left was a hammer. Luckily, I found an island and got some wood to start over.

Exhausted, cold, and frightened, I developed a high fever but miraculously survived.

I haven't fully recovered from my illness, and now I've run into this plague!

I curse Jiang Yuan's ancestors for eight generations!

She cursed angrily, then seemed to regain her strength, rowing the boat with all her might and panting heavily.

A few minutes later, Sister Wu, who was at the very back of the group, suddenly shivered and exclaimed, "It's over! Jiang Yuan has caught up! I have a very bad feeling!"

"Sister Wu, if it really comes to it, I'm going to exile you. Just hang in there a little longer!" Alliance leader Zhang Lin, a young man in his early twenties, was rowing hard, and his muscles were trembling slightly unconsciously. He wiped the sweat from his brow and reminded her, "This is the last resort."

I haven't experienced what exile actually would do; I only know that it would take you directly to another sea area.

As for whether it's good or bad, I can't guarantee it.

But I think it's worth it as long as I can avoid Jiang Yuan's clutches.

"Alliance Leader, then exile me. We'll meet again someday!" Sister Wu looked at the dark sea and the thin mist behind her, her heart filled with despair, and said in a mournful voice, "Thank you all for your help along the way, thank you so much!"

"The alliance leader has exiled us all, what are you going to do?"

"Why don't we fight Jiang Yuan to the death! I refuse to believe that a group of strong men like us can't beat one of him!"

"Let's risk it! If we can kill this menace, we'll have done a good deed!"

……

Zhang Lin gasped for breath as he struggled to row the sailboat, feeling as if his lungs were about to burst into flames.

He swallowed hard, his throat dry and sore. "Don't worry about me, you all get ready. As soon as Jiang Yuan's ship comes up, I'll exile the last few first."

We'll completely cut off contact then, so please be careful.

It would be best if we could stay together and look out for each other.

If not, try speaking in the global chat channel; I'll keep an eye out for you!

Several emotional female members choked up. The atmosphere of parting and the fear of the unknown enveloped this small alliance that had struggled to stick together. They didn't know if they would ever see each other again.

At that moment, Jiang Yuan was driving a large yacht upstream at an extremely high speed.

"Heh, can't run anymore, huh?" He grinned maliciously when he saw the few black dots on the compass that were almost no longer moving. "What good would it do to ask Jiang Chen for help?"

Surely you're not so naive as to think he's your savior?

Don't rush, wait until I take over your ships one by one, and after upgrading my equipment, I can wipe him out in one fell swoop!

"After tonight, I, Jiang Yuan, will be number one on the global rankings, the sole god of the Chaotic Burial Sea!"

"Leader, I'm ready." Sister Wu has always had a keen sense of danger. Although she couldn't see it, she could feel a lurking beast in the darkness, ready to pounce and tear her to pieces!

Just as Zhang Lin was about to click "Exile," a message suddenly popped up on the Alliance page.

"Hold on, everyone! Jiang Chen is nearby. I just submitted my application to join his alliance. If it gets approved..." Before he could finish speaking, he received the other party's approval!

Almost simultaneously, their alliance page suddenly refreshed.

The original alliance information disappeared, replaced by a large alliance information belonging to Jiang Chen!

Even the Alliance's protective shield strength has increased by 75%!

"Thump!" The next second, Wu Jie's boat at the back of the group was hit violently. Her simple wooden boat, which was 6 meters long and 4 meters wide, rocked a few times but then stabilized.

Before she could react, a huge fireball suddenly flew from the darkness directly in front of her and crashed towards the back of her ship!

"Splash!"

The shell hit the water, creating a huge splash that drenched Sister Wu, who was feeling dizzy on the boat.

"What's going on?! I've always been a crack shot!"

Having seized control of the yacht, Ye Misha jumped up in anger and cried out to Jiang Chen in a wronged tone, "Captain, it's bad enough that my energy is restricted, but why can't I even aim anymore? Waaah... I've become useless!"

"It's not your fault. It's most likely that Jiang Yuan's escape tool worked and was directly transferred elsewhere by the world's will." Jiang Chen quickly wiped away her tears and gently comforted her.

Xueye carefully examined the instruments and nodded in agreement, "Captain is right."

Jiang Yuan can no longer be seen on the positioning radar.

Just as he entered the weapon's firing range, the instant Yemisa launched her attack, he and his ship vanished.

That's infuriating!

"Isn't it my fault?" Ye Misha pouted, her beautiful phoenix eyes filled with resentment, even the beauty mark under her right eye looked pitiful.

"No, no. Even though we missed, Jiang Yuan must have wet his pants in fear!" Jiang Chen teased. "Next time we run into him, I'll let you deal with him. Now we need to go check on the new members of the alliance; they don't seem to be doing very well."

Chapter Thirty-Four: Embracing a Golden Thigh

"What just happened? Am I dead? Or am I dreaming?" Sister Wu was clearly still in shock. She stared blankly at the aftershocks of the shells exploding in the water behind her. "Jiang Yuan clearly rammed my boat. I even saw his face!"

"It's alright, Sister Wu, we're saved!" Zhang Lin, who was no longer the leader of the alliance, drifted to her side with the sail, panting, and said, "I've applied to join Boss Jiang Chen's alliance."

Their alliance's protective shield is at a very high level.

The reason your ship didn't fall apart when Jiang Yuan rammed it was because the protective shield absorbed most of the damage.

Life will be much better from now on; we're lucky we've hooked up with a powerful patron!

Sister Wu wiped the water from her face, looked down at her small, dilapidated boat, and hesitated, "Won't they look down on me because my level is too low? Maybe they're just rescuing me temporarily, and they might make me leave later for the sake of overall development..."

"No matter what, Jiang Chen saved us. It's understandable if they don't take us in later. I'll still bring everyone with me, and we'll develop slowly!"

They were gathered together discussing when a small boat slowly emerged from the darkness, breaking through the thin mist.

A handsome and tall young man stood on the boat;

Sitting behind was a beautiful young woman with fair skin and delicate features, wearing a purple dress.

The two men didn't row, and the small boat sped over like an arrow and stopped beside them.

"I am Jiang Chen. May I ask who was the leader of your small team before?" Jiang Chen carefully examined the dozen or so people.

Apart from seven or eight strong men, the rest were women ranging in age from their twenties to their forties. Judging from their boats and their condition, they were in a very poor state of development.

Zhang Lin stepped forward and said loudly, "I am the former leader of the alliance, my name is Zhang Lin. Thank you, Great God Jiang Chen, for saving my life!"

"Yeah, if it weren't for the expert sending out a warning message, we would definitely be dead by now!"

"Thank you, thank you!"

"We don't know how to repay your life-saving grace. You see, we don't have anything to offer..."

Jiang Chen smiled and waved his hand, saying, "You guys are really lucky. You just happened to be within the range that my ship could detect. Otherwise, even if I wanted to help, I wouldn't have been able to get there in time."

In a moment of panic, I fired a shell. It wasn't very damaging, but it made quite a commotion.

Did I scare you?

"No, no, I just don't know what happened, Jiang Yuan's boat suddenly disappeared!" Sister Wu patted her chest in lingering fear and asked, "Was it destroyed by a cannonball?"

"No, I didn't hit him. As far as I know, Jiang Yuan has a gadget that can help him avoid danger. It escaped from my hands once before, and he escaped again this time."

In the heat of the moment, you chose to apply to join the alliance. Do you want to discuss whether to follow me or leave?

If you decide to follow me, I will have your ships positioned.

If you're planning to leave, I suggest you rest for a couple of days first.

Zhang Lin asked cautiously, "We... all belong to the unlucky group. We all started over after updating into the Chaotic Burial Sea. Our ships are low-level and we have little inventory."

If you don't mind, we...we all want to join your team...

As he spoke, he looked at his companions, whose eyes were filled with hope.