World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 410 - 219: Rock Pirates, Older Brother? (1 update)

Chapter 410: Chapter 219: Rock Pirates, Older Brother? (1 update)

"Where is Gui Qinshao?" Turing Duo asked.

"Asleep," Suo Lun replied.

"How many naval forces do you have?" Turing Duo inquired.

"Two to three thousand provisional sailors, and several dozen warships," Suo Lun stated.

Originally, there were also county navies loyal to the king, but in the last Chaos Stone Island incident, almost the entire force was annihilated in order to preserve the Chaos Stone Island Salt Fields.

Now, Suo Lun could hardly find a single naval power to support him.

"Our interests align now, only if you win can I turn my fate around," Turing Duo said. "But for you to win... it’s even harder than ascending to the heavens. It seems my chances of turning my fate around are doomed."

Suo Lun didn’t speak. The last battle, fifteen thousand against thirty thousand, could be offset with tactics.

This time, twenty thousand against one hundred and ten thousand. As for the sea power, two to three thousand against sixty thousand.

Such a vast disparity in strength was beyond any strategy or warfare tactic to compensate.

Turing Duo said, "Suo Lun, take my advice: cut off your arm to save your body, give up Chaos Stone Island, and concentrate all your forces in Heavenly Water Main City. Twenty thousand against one hundred and ten thousand is still extremely disproportionate, but at least it’s not as hopeless as heaven and earth, and you still have a fighting chance."

Suo Lun remained silent.

From a strategic standpoint, what Turing Duo said was correct; Chaos Stone Island’s defenses were too weak to hold.

At sea, the power disparity was insurmountable, leaving no chance for battle.

All forces falling back to defend Heavenly Water Main City and holding out as long as possible to deplete the enemy was the only correct strategy. Even though it would almost certainly lead to defeat, it might hold off the enemy for about half a month.

Of course, the consequence would be losing the Chaos Stone Island Salt Fields, cutting off the Suo family’s only source of income. And beyond the main city, the entire Tianshui City Territory would be utterly destroyed, possibly even permanently.

The situation before Suo Lun was almost entirely unsolvable.

...

Inside the Princess’s mansion.

Suo Lun, Princess Zhuyan, and Duke Zhi Ting, the trio.

"Consolidate all our forces in Tian Shui Main City for the final battle," Duke Zhi Ting proposed. "By doing so, within two months we can still muster tens of thousands of troops to garrison Tian Shui City. Then five or six thousand against one hundred and ten thousand is manageable."

Although the aristocracy and lords of the Rage Wave Kingdom had all abandoned the king and sided with Zhi Li,

there had to be loyalist forces, and gathering a few tens of thousands of troops was still possible.

Suo Lun said, "Then the Chaos Stone Island Salt Fields will be lost, and the entire Tianshui City Territory will be completely destroyed."

Zhi Ting replied, "There’s no choice; sometimes a warrior must maim himself to survive. In terms of naval power, we are less than one-tenth of our enemy, and a sea battle would spell certain death. Luan Yang City and Yingzhou Island have the strongest navies of the Rage Wave Kingdom with no rivals."

After pondering for a moment, Suo Lun said, "There is one sea force in this world stronger than Luan Yang City and Yingzhou Island."

Duke Zhi Ting’s expression changed as he said, "You’re not thinking of the Rock Island pirates, are you?"

"Exactly, the Rock Pirates are the strongest naval force. They are natural wolves of the sea!" Suo Lun declared.

Duke Zhi Ting exclaimed hoarsely, "You must absolutely not consider this. To fight against the navies of Luan Yang and Yingzhou, at least there’s the possibility of a whole corpse. But if you encounter the Rock Pirates, they might chop the bodies into pieces and turn them into cured meat."

Zhi Ting’s statement was not an exaggeration. The rock people were indeed the most savage of human races, comparable to the Barbarian Tribes.

They indeed had the tradition of turning captives into cured meat, not necessarily for consumption but as a famine reserve.

Therefore, the war between Suo Lun and Zhi Li was at least civilized; there were intact corpses, and even surrender was an option.

Zhi Ting continued, "And by what means would you have the Rock Pirates fight for you? Pay them with Gold Coins? If they knew you had gold and salt, they would likely rob and massacre you thoroughly first. No one in the world can command the Rock Pirates in battle as they live for plunder."

Duke Zhi Ting made a compelling argument, the salt pirates wouldn’t assist anyone or any force; their sole mission was to plunder.

Trying to enlist the Rock Islanders as auxiliary troops was like a cat in a fight with a dog, seeking aid from a vicious wolf after being overpowered by the dog.

Of course, the reason Suo Lun had this thought was that the king had once mentioned that among the salt folk, there might still be an illegitimate child of Count Suo Long. At that time, the rock woman who shared a few nights of joy with Count Suo Long was highly skilled in martial arts, and not to mention, beautiful, with what seemed to be no lowly status.

But without a doubt, even if there were a son of Suo Long among the rock pirates, it was nearly impossible for him to join forces with Suo Lun for the sake of so-called blood ties; such a possibility was almost zero.

At that moment, a white flying wingdeer arrived from the east and, after a cry, landed on the palm of Princess Zhi Yan.

Passing messages by wingdeer was almost the fastest method in the world. The last time Gao Ningshi went to Heavenly Water Main City, he had taken with him a wingdeer secret message team, which was stationed in Tianshui City and Chaos Stone Island.

Next, the wingdeer message service between Heavenly Water Main City, Tianlang Pass, Chaos Stone Island, and the king’s city was about to be established.

After Princess Zhi Yan unsealed the secret message, she noticed a prominent mark indicating it was for Suo Lun and immediately handed it over to him.

Suo Lun opened the secret message right away, as it was only in cases of extreme emergency that the wingdeer secret message would be used.

The letter was written in a bunch of gibberish, but Suo Lun could read it clearly.

"If matters at the king’s city are concluded, return quickly, important matters await. Don’t worry, we are unharmed!"

This secret message was written by Suo Ningbing, but she hadn’t specified what the matter was.

Suo Lun passed the secret message to Princess Zhi Yan.

After glancing at it, Princess Zhi Yan stated directly, "I’ll escort you back to Tianshui City!"

After pondering for a moment, Suo Lun thought since the Underworld Society had already failed in their assassination attempt, they would likely not stop a second one.

However, it was best not to take such a great risk, and Princess Zhi Yan’s martial skills were so advanced, she should be able to withstand any danger.

Thus, Suo Lun nodded.

A little over half an hour later, Princess Zhi Yan, disguised as a man, and Suo Lun rode back to Tianshui City on a Lion-Tiger Beast.

...

Two days and nights later, Suo Lun rushed back to the Heavenly Water Main City lord’s residence.

Princess Zhi Yan, thoughtfully, did not enter but stayed somewhere else inside the city, as sometimes Yan Nai’er would be at the lord’s residence, and she feared her presence might provoke the other.

At the first sight of Suo Lun, Suo Ningbing rushed forward, suppressing her excitement and said, "Suo Lun, we have another brother, and he looks very, very similar to you."

Suo Lun’s heart trembled and he asked, "Is it the pirate from Salt Island?"

Suo Ningbing was taken aback and asked, "How did you know?"

Suo Lun answered, "His Majesty the King has told me some past stories about our mother."

Following that, Suo Ningbing related her encounter with Yan Mo in detail.

Suo Lun thought to himself, this half-brother Yan Mo was actually a pirate leader commanding hundreds of pirate warships.

And he had broken with rock pirate tradition, sparing the Chaos Stone Salt Field, sparing Suo Ningbing,

Could he be drawn in as an ally?

Suo Ningbing said, "He also mentioned that as the future king of the rock pirates, he couldn’t come to meet you, and that you would have to take the initiative to seek him out."

Just then, Ye Jingyu rushed in from the outside, looking travel-worn. Upon seeing Suo Lun, she paused and then expressed her joy by saying, "Master, there has been a tremendous breakthrough with the Magic Mirror project in Secret Island, the first Magic Mirror has been created, and its effect is simply... unimaginable."

...

Note: I arrived at the hotel after 3 AM last night, didn’t fall asleep until 6 AM, and after waking up at noon, I immediately started writing to finish the second update. I’m going out for a meal, then back to the hotel for the second update.