World-Ending Demon Emperor
Chapter 459 - 243: Naval battle, the great decisive battle!_2

Chapter 459: 243: Naval battle, the great decisive battle!_2

Indeed, although the Tianshui City Territory is coastal, its coastline is not long, and the port conditions are poor, so it has not developed into a massive maritime power like Luan Yang City.

"Tian Shui City the Suo Family does not value maritime dominance, hence this bay remains unnamed. Please, Zhi Li His Highness, give it a name," said Gui Xingfu.

Zhi Li replied, "We are playing the role of pirates, landing here to strike the final chord of annihilation for the Suo family and even greater figures. Let’s name it Devil’s Bay."

"Devil’s Bay, a fine name indeed. Let us act as the devils from hell for a while!" everyone laughed and said.

Zhi Li declared loudly, "In this battle, our power is ten to one, and we will obliterate the Suo with an overwhelming force. It doesn’t matter what tactics we use, how we fight, we must win. Therefore, I emphasize once again that the sole objective of this battle is the total annihilation of the Suo Lun Fleet and the killing of Suo Lun. Everything else must stand aside."

"Yes, sir!"

Zhi Li gazed into the western sunset.

"Night is about to fall; you set out!" he said.

Since they needed the guise of a pirate fleet, they concealed their movements somewhat, only marching after nightfall.

Hence, the crowd escorted Zhi Li to the dock.

Zhi Li poured a cup of wine, but did not drink it. He placed it before the shore, saying, "I’ll leave this cup here, awaiting your triumphant return, to toast with Suo Lun’s head."

Lord Luan Yang, Tuli Ming, City Lord Gui Xingfu, and others expressed their sentiments: "We are willing to swear a military oath that within five days, we will behead Suo Lun and annihilate the entire Suo family fleet!"

Zhi Li smiled and said, "Duke Turing and I will await your good news here."

"Yes, sir!"

Tuli Ming, Gui Xingfu, Hai Wuyan, Hai Na’er, A Shi Zhuo, Turing Chen, and all the others boarded their respective flagships.

Then, the flags of all the ships were raised, all bearing the skull and crossbones, the emblem of pirate power.

It was indeed a grand joke; pirates commanding thousands of ships and an army of tens of thousands did not exist in this world.

It was like the Emperor’s New Clothes, or hoodwinking oneself—it was nothing more than that.

The sound of a conch horn pierced the air.

Thousands of ships, tens of thousands of troops, an overwhelming force moving southwards along the East Sea, hurtling towards the waters of Tian Shui City.

...

On the docks of Tian Shui City.

One hundred ships of the Queen’s Island Fleet had gathered, ready for action.

Yes, just one hundred ships.

Suo Lun’s various warships, including those captured, amounted to around one hundred sixty in total.

But now, only one hundred were dispatched to face the enemy’s thousands of vessels.

"Princess Zhi Yan, Nai’er, the defense of Heavenly Water Main City is in your hands," Suo Lun said.

Princess Zhi Yan replied, "I will do my utmost."

Nai’er remained silent, just looking at Suo Lun.

"Xiaoxue, you go home with sister, once the battle is over, mother and I will come home to find you," Suo Lun said to Princess Yan Xue’er.

"Okay," Yan Xue’er nodded vigorously with her large eyes fixed on Suo Lun.

Suo Lun and Yan Chuo’er turned and boarded the flagship of the Queen’s Island Fleet.

The trumpet sounded.

The Queen’s Island Fleet slowly set sail, heading north.

On the dock, Princess Zhi Yan bowed deeply and did not rise for a long time.

She knew that this battle was fought not only for the survival of the Suo family but also for her crown and for the kingdom of the Zhi Family.

...

On the vast expanse of the sea!

A thousand ships and tens of thousands of soldiers of the extermination force moved southwards with great momentum.

One hundred ships, seven thousand Rock Pirates of the Suo Family Naval Forces, boldly headed north.

The two fleets were on the same course, seemingly set to collide head-on.

From the moment they set out, the two sides were two thousand five hundred miles apart.

At this pace, within two days and one night, the two fleets would collide.

Where Suo Lun’s fleet passed, not a single ship could be seen, not even a pirate appeared.

For nearly all maritime powers, all sea merchants, all pirates knew that an unprecedented naval battle would soon take place in these waters.

Of course, it was also a battle of unprecedented disparity between the forces involved.

In the pirate havens, bets on this battle had been open for days.

Yet, no matter how high they set the odds, no one was willing to bet on the Suo’s victory. Therefore, this betting pool never really got going.

However, the previous day, a mysterious guest had appeared.

He directly took out a hundred thousand Gold Coin notes and bet on the Suo Family Naval Forces to win. Naturally, the bets were placed by those sent by Suo Lun.

Instantly, countless famished wolves swarmed over, each eagerly placing bets on the complete obliteration of Suo’s army.

This was a gamble within a gamble and didn’t require odds. If Suo Lun lost, then the hundred thousand Gold Coins they had placed would go to the opposing bettors.

But if Suo Lun won, all the stakes placed on the annihilation of Suo’s forces would be devoured by him.

So, how many Gold Coins were wagered on the obliteration of Suo’s forces?

A total of two hundred and sixty thousand Gold Coins. Pirate Harbor truly lived up to its reputation as the richest place in the world, where oceans of Gold Coins flowed everywhere.

Of course, aside from betting on Suo Lun’s victory or defeat, most bets were on how many days it would take for Suo to be completely defeated.

Almost everyone bet that the Suo Family Naval Forces would be entirely annihilated within three days.

...

Time slipped away by the minute and second.

Night fell, then dawn broke, and night came again!

At this moment, if there were eyes from above, they could clearly see that the fleets of both sides were merely less than two hundred miles apart.

The north’s fleet set to annihilate Suo stretched out like a massive beast.

While to the south, the Suo Family Naval Forces seemed so feeble and vulnerable.

A real force ratio of ten to one!

At this time, as the sun rose once more in the east, Suo Lun climbed out of bed. After washing up, he headed to the deck.

At this moment, Yanchuo’er (Queen) was already standing against the wind.

The strong wind whipped her silver cloak around her mountainous curves, revealing a magically seductive silhouette.

"They are right ahead, I can feel them!" proclaimed Yanchuo’er.

Not only Yanchuo’er could feel it; all the Rock Pirates did as well.

They had ceased their screaming and howling, now sitting quietly on the deck, either wiping their scimitars, sharpening their arrows, or simply sitting motionless.

The entire fleet emanated a deathly stillness.

Of course, this silence wasn’t due to fear but because of excitement.

Each pirate’s gaze glowed with a bloody red light, filled with a desire to kill.

Some, even started using daggers to slice their chests, then licked their own fresh blood.

The madness of these people was utterly beyond reason.

"Huuh..."

The sun climbed higher.

A strong wind rose.

The sea fog started to thin.

In an instant, Suo Lun’s eyes widened dramatically because ahead by tens of thousands of meters, a vast fleet, like demons from hell, gradually revealed their ferocious and massive figures under the sunlight.

Thousands of ships were arrayed across the sea, a sight both magnificent and astonishing.

Suo Lun took a deep breath.

All Rock Pirates stood up, their eyes suddenly bloodthirsty.

Suo Lun raised his hand.

Instantly, the samurai of the Suo uncovered the massive tarpaulins on deck.

This was his first secret weapon.

A new type of catapult, each ship equipped with one or two of them.

This world had witnessed catapults for thousands of years already, but only the primitive, manually or tension-powered ones, with weak killing power and limited range.

However, the catapults Suo Lun had made were of the most advanced lever and counterweight variety from Earth’s medieval battlefields, vastly superior in killing power.

Regarding the catapults, Suo Lun had started their production after capturing Tianshui City, originally intended for city defense.

Then, the great naval war approached.

He had intended to use these catapults to launch fireballs and win the naval battle.

However, during actual testing, he found that the launching distance and accuracy were major issues. It was perhaps possible to catch the enemy unawares and inflict heavy losses with these catapults, but eradicating a foe ten times in number was out of the question.

Now, he would use these new catapults along with fireball projectiles to launch the first battle, catching the enemy totally by surprise!

To give the enemy a great shock!

...

Note: First update delivered, ask for support, I’m off to the train station to pick up my wife and baby.