Chapter 19 What's Wrong?

"What's wrong?"

Hong Ji-ge was always the fastest. He sprinted a few steps and arrived in front of Xiahou Aotian.

This scion of a prominent family, who fancied himself the protagonist, now had a completely bloodless face and a blank stare. Fear lingered in his eyes, as if he hadn't recovered from the shock.

This made everyone both curious and solemn. Whatever had scared this chuunibyou to such an extent must be terrifying indeed.

Eagle of Freedom, Yunmeng, and Xia Shu Zhi Lian quietly tensed their muscles.

Facing the solemn gazes of his companions, Xiahou Aotian took a deep breath and said, "The seabed is full of sunken ships. In the center of the sunken ships, there's an especially large ship, about four or five times the size of our ship. These sunken ships surround the large ship, forming a very strange array. Although the robot's searchlight had limited range, I didn't see the entire array clearly, but I'm certain there's a large array at the bottom of the sea."

"That array is very strange. I've never seen anything like it, and it would be extremely difficult to break."

"That's nonsense. It's an array set up by ancient cultivators. They have inherited techniques. Their array-laying skills are definitely higher than those of Lingjing Xingzhe. It's the difference between intermediate and advanced mathematics," Zhang Yuanqing said. "And then?"

If it were just that, it wouldn't have scared Xiahou Aotian so much. Xiahou Aotian said in a low voice, "I piloted the underwater robot to the large ship in the center of the array to investigate. Just as the robot approached, I suddenly saw a woman in white floating out of the cabin, a fleeting glimpse. I quickly adjusted the camera angle to chase the white figure, but I couldn't find her no matter what. Instead, I discovered… I discovered…"

At this point, his face turned ugly. "I discovered that the seabed was full of corpses of those who had died in battle. There were tens of thousands of them, standing on the seabed, standing at the bow of the ship, looking up at me, with pairs of dead, white eyes…" Hong Ji-ge and the others imagined the scene, and a chill ran down their spines.

Yin Ji and Zhang Yuanqing, being Night Watchers, remained calm. They were used to it. Xiahou Aotian continued, "They seemed to have transformed into water ghosts or yin corpses, but they didn't attack the robot."

"The exploration of the large ship ended abruptly. As soon as I turned the camera, I saw a woman's face. She had somehow swam right in front of me. And then the connection was lost. Damn it, scared the hell out of me!"

After listening, Yin Ji's tone was somewhat grave. "We can't go into the water. The bottom of the sea is full of water ghosts. If we fall into the water, we'll have a nine-in-ten chance of dying. We need to get through this sea area as quickly as possible." Hong Ji-ge and Xia Shu Zhi Lian's faces immediately turned ugly. They didn't have the ability to fly, and they weren't Night Watchers. The ship beneath their feet was their only support. Xiahou Aotian glanced at the two of them and raised his chin. "I have several jetpacks. If you two beg me, as the protagonist, I'll definitely be kind enough to help you… But, alas, the jetpacks have limited power and can't fly all the way to Yashan Island. I can't help you."

"So, what's the point of you saying all this nonsense?" Hong Ji-ge's mouth twitched.

Zhang Yuanqing thought carefully. Currently, they could confirm that falling into the sea would likely mean certain death. So, their next task was to protect this warship and successfully land on Yashan Island. The other possibility was that they had to actively enter the water and fight a grand battle with the underwater water ghost army.

If they made the wrong choice, the entire team would be wiped out. The fault tolerance of an S-class dungeon was too low. This was where the importance of a strategy guide became apparent. He voiced his thoughts. Yin Ji said in a husky voice, "There's no need to think about it. In Transcendence-realm dungeons, puzzle-solving is more important than combat. But in Saint-realm dungeons, combat is the main theme. Many crises can only be resolved with hard power. The strong live, and the weak die." This sentence was directed at Zhang Yuanqing. He was the only one present who was a newcomer to the Saint realm. "Thanks for the information!" Zhang Yuanqing accepted Yin Ji's kindness.

"Right now, this ship is our only support. The underwater water ghost army gives me a very eerie feeling. We should cross the sea as soon as possible. Hopefully, nothing unexpected will happen." Xiahou Aotian turned and walked toward the stern of the ship, his steps hurried.

Suddenly, he stopped again and said, "Let me perform a divination to see if we can successfully reach Yashan Island. This is much more accurate than the astrology of star officials." The Saints present immediately looked at him with anticipation.

Xiahou Aotian greatly enjoyed this feeling of being the center of attention. With a smug look on his face, he took out a palm-sized, aged tortoise shell from his inventory. He covered the front and back openings of the tortoise shell with both hands and shook it vigorously. As he shook it, the patterns on the tortoise shell lit up, shining brightly.

"He really has a lot of items…" Even Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but sigh at this scene. He thought to himself, "How could the Scholar profession even form a Lingjing family? This is simply unreasonable. Don't the various organizations want to rob Scholar families?"

But then he thought about it again. The Lingjing families had the backing of the Five Elements Alliance and the Taiyi Sect, which made sense. Once they became vassals of the imperial court and made regular tribute, these troubles would naturally disappear. At this moment, Xiahou Aotian stopped. The light from the tortoise shell patterns faded. Under the eager gazes of everyone, he carefully poured out three copper coins.

Xiahou Aotian's face changed drastically when he saw the coins.

"How is it?" Hong Ji-ge asked anxiously, seeing that his expression was wrong.

"A very ominous sign!" Xiahou Aotian raised his head and said to his companions, word by word, "I divined whether everyone could successfully land…" A chill rose from the Saints' spines, bringing a scalp-tingling terror.

"So, the probability of us all falling into the water is very high. I'm a Night Watcher and have the Yin-Yang Robe to protect me, so the danger is lower. But Hong Ji-ge and Xia Shu Zhi Lian, who aren't good swimmers, are probably…" Zhang Yuanqing quietly activated his Star Eyes and looked at the two of them.

He saw that the black clouds between their eyes had dissipated a lot, replaced by scarlet blood light. This meant that their mortality rate was extremely high, higher than others.

Yin Ji glanced at Yuan Shi Tianzun and said softly, "The divination and astrology are bound to show the worst possible outcome. There's no chance of a good omen."

She also saw the facial features of Hong Ji-ge and Xia Shu Zhi Lian. This was a hint for him not to speak recklessly. Disrupting the morale of the army before a battle was a very bad thing. Zhang Yuanqing instantly understood Yin Ji's meaning and said, "Let's get the ship moving. Don't waste time. The longer we stay in the sea, the more dangerous we'll be."

Yin Ji nodded slightly. Yuan Shi Tianzun was a very clever person. He understood her meaning with just a glance.

At this moment, everyone heard a rumbling sound in the distance. The next second, a streak of ghastly green flame streaked across the night sky, illuminating the sea with a ghastly green light. *Boom!*

The streak of flame accurately hit the ship, stirring up violent air currents that tore the ship's superstructure into pieces. Countless broken pieces of wood flew in all directions.

The entire warship suddenly tilted to the side, showing signs of capsizing. The Saints on the deck were caught off guard and were thrown off their feet. Only Yunmeng, with her Wood Sprite's superior balance and agility, instantly stabilized her body, her feet rooted on the deck like tree roots. She raised her head to look in the direction of the fire.

Her pupils rapidly contracted into slits, and her eyeballs turned amber. Her bestial eyes granted her the ability to see in the dark.

She saw that on the sea surface tens of meters away, a number of huge warships had appeared, connected end to end, forming a tight defensive line on the sea, blocking the Saints' route.

Dense shadows stood on the decks of the warships, silently watching the ship. *Boom boom boom*

Cannons were mounted on the sides of the warships, spewing ghastly green flames, launching a second wave of attacks on the ship where the Saints were.

Streaks of meteor-like green flames streaked across the night sky, howling as they crashed down. Yunmeng, the Qinghe clan girl with silver rings in her hair and a delicate face, felt a chill in her heart and screamed, "It's coming again! It's the ghost ships! The ghost ships are attacking us!"

If this wave of cannonballs hit, their ship would be instantly sunk. Everyone would fall into the sea. And if they were unlucky enough to be hit by a cannonball burning with green flames, even the Saints would be in mortal danger.

Hong Ji-ge ran wildly to the side of the ship, making a lifting motion with both hands.

With a whoosh, balls of scarlet fire instantly condensed, blazing fiercely in mid-air.

He thrust his hands out violently, and the fireballs rose against the sky, meeting the ghastly green fireballs, forming a somewhat inaccurate interception net. *Boom! Boom! Boom!*

The sky was filled with dazzling firelight. Orange-red flames and ghastly green ghost fire intertwined, like dazzling fireworks. But several cannonballs still penetrated the protective net and smashed into the ship.

At the critical moment, the Eagle of Freedom rushed to the side of the ship. Cursing "fuck" he spread his arms and lifted them violently. With a booming sound, a wall of water dozens of meters high rose, swallowing the cannonballs.

*Splash!*

Tons and tons of seawater fell, white foam churning. The ship swayed like a small boat.

The Saints on the deck finally had a chance to catch their breath.

"This is the chained ships of the Yashan naval battle. Zhang Hongfan used this trick to defeat the Southern Song navy," Xiahou Aotian said loudly.

"Now's not the time to show off your historical knowledge!" Hong Ji-ge cursed angrily. "The cannons are too dense! I can't stop this many by myself! If we get hit a few more times, we're done for!" He spun around anxiously.

The opposing side was an entire fleet. They only had one ship, and there were no cannons on board. They were passively taking a beating. With the power of the ghost cannons, it would only take two or three cannonballs to sink the small ship beneath them. Xia Shu Zhi Lian's eyebrows furrowed tightly. "Our ship is small. We're fast and maneuverable. How about we try to avoid them?"

"They're not one ship, they're an entire fleet. You can't avoid all of them. It's like ten people pointing guns at you. No matter how agile you are, you can't dodge all the bullets. And we don't even have the martial crystals to fight back." Zhang Yuanqing stared intently into the distance. He sensed a strong yin energy from those warships.

"The shadows on the decks aren't human…" Even Yin Ji frowned at this point. As she spoke, the cannons in the distance roared, and dozens of ghastly green flames rose, another round of dense fire attacks. "Damn it, here it comes again!"

Hong Ji-ge used the same trick, creating balls of fire half a meter in diameter and pushing them to meet the barrage of ghost cannons. Xia Shu Zhi Lian took out a large-caliber pistol and fired it, hoping to destroy the cannonballs.

At this time, the Night Watcher's weakness of lacking ranged attack skills was exposed. Zhang Yuanqing summoned the Yin-Yang Robe, shook it, and draped it over his shoulders. Then, he aimed a single palm at the sky and launched fireballs the size of human heads, cooperating with Hong Ji-ge to intercept the cannonballs.

He saw Xia Shu Zhi Lian's actions and couldn't help but think, "If Guan Ya's rifle was here, it would be great. With Xia Shu Zhi Lian's insight, she could blow up a cannonball with one shot… But with the cost of that broken gun, Xia Shu Zhi Lian would probably be the first to be taken out."

Yin Ji summoned spirit servants, manipulating them to turn into yin winds and sweep toward the cannonballs, trying to change the trajectory of the fireballs. However, as soon as those spirit servants touched the ghastly green flames, they screamed and were instantly annihilated.

In just a few seconds, she lost seven or eight spirit servants. *Boom!*

At this moment, a cannonball successfully broke through the interception net and slammed heavily onto the deck. In an instant, the air surged, broken pieces of wood flew in all directions, and Zhang Yuanqing and the others were knocked over. Hong Ji-ge, who was standing by the side of the ship, was directly blown away and fell into the sea.

Seeing this, Zhang Yuanqing ignored the pain in his body and rubbed a ball of fire, throwing it out.

The fireball exploded with a boom, and the flames solidified into Hong Ji-ge wearing a short shirt, shorts, and slippers. "Thank you, thank you. I almost lost everything."

Hong Ji-ge was extremely grateful.

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire ship shook violently. Without Hong Ji-ge's interception net, a cannonball hit the right side of the ship. Immediately afterward, everyone felt the ship begin to slowly tilt. "The bottom of the ship has been blown open! It's going to capsize!" The Eagle of Freedom rushed to the side of the ship, leaned over to look down, and shouted anxiously in Chinese.

"Can't you speak Chinese? You banana!" Hong Ji-ge loudly rebuked.

"Is this the time to complain about that? I can't believe I'm stuck with these teammates…" Zhang Yuanqing felt a sinking feeling in his heart. If there was really no other way, he would have to jump into the sea.

At this moment, Yunmeng, the Qinghe clan girl, ran to the side of the ship and scattered black seeds.

The next moment, these seeds adhered to the ship and rapidly grew into vines. The vines, like tentacles, intertwined with each other, sealing the gap blown open by the cannon fire.

The ship's tilt was immediately alleviated. *Phew…*

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Zhang Yuanqing immediately said, "The two attacks were thirty seconds apart. We don't have time to avoid the fleet at all. After a few more rounds, our ship will be destroyed, and we'll all be killed. Everyone, quickly use whatever trump cards you have! Now's not the time to hide anything." Xia Shu Zhi Lian said anxiously, "I can only resist eight more waves, and then I'll run out of spiritual power." The others looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.

"Is this what an S-class dungeon is like?" The slightly overweight Eagle of Freedom felt a sense of powerlessness in his heart. They had encountered such a terrible crisis just as they set sail. "I can carry two people and fly over there," Yin Ji said silently in her heart, "But I can only take one teammate at most."

"Also, if I take a teammate, my agility will be greatly reduced. If we encounter a barrage of fire in the air, the consequences would be unimaginable." Xiahou Aotian gritted his teeth and hardened his heart. "Give me two minutes!"

Without waiting for the others' reactions, he quickly reached into the void. In an instant, there was a light, rustling sound. A pile of black parts smashed onto the deck. There was a thick, long cannon barrel, two meters long and ten centimeters in diameter, a base half a person tall, an energy pack engraved with spells, a sight, and hinges, and so on.

"Are you going to assemble a cannon on the spot?" Xia Shu Zhi Lian was stunned.

But Xiahou Aotian ignored him. He lifted the heavy base, came to the side of the ship, found the fixed spikes, grabbed a hammer, and began to bang away.

"Putting the cannon there is a bit dangerous…"

Yuan Shi Tianzun's heart skipped a beat. He took out the Lucky Necklace and threw it over, saying, "Wear this. It can make you lucky." Xiahou Aotian reached out and took it, glancing at Yuan Shi Tianzun with some surprise, but he didn't say anything and continued to busy himself.

At the same time, the sound of cannons roared again. Waves of ghastly green flames attacked once more, like a grand meteor shower. The world was bathed in a ghastly green light. Yuan Shi Tianzun and Hong Ji-ge, who were wearing the Yin-Yang Robe, created fireballs to intercept the overwhelming barrage.

The spirit servants then used a water ghost's item to help the Eagle of Freedom manipulate the waves and water walls, swallowing the cannonballs.

During this time, another cannonball hit the bow of the ship, blowing people off their feet, but Xiahou Aotian was lucky enough to avoid the impact of the blast and continued to assemble the cannon in an orderly manner. Finally, after enduring a harrowing seven rounds of cannon fire, the exhausted Saints heard Xiahou Aotian roar, "Done!"

"My cannon is assembled! It's time to fight back!"

A black cannon filled with a high-tech feel was assembled on the side of the ship. It had a base one meter high, and the mouth of the two-meter-long cannon extended out of the ship. The 100mm caliber gave people an endless sense of danger.

At the end was a handle for controlling the direction. The barrel of the cannon was inlaid with an energy pack engraved with spells, connected to the cannon with cables as thick as two fingers.

"Look forward to my secret weapon doing its work, you supporting characters!"

Perhaps affected by the Lucky Necklace, Xiahou Aotian became even more chuunibyou. He manipulated the handle, adjusted the direction, and aimed the muzzle at the fleet lined up in the distance. He stepped on the trigger.

The spells under the energy pack quickly lit up. A strong energy poured into the cannon. *Boom!*

A golden fireball resembling a miniature sun shot out from the barrel, passed through the dark, deep sea, and flew into the fleet. *Boom!*

A ball of golden light rose on the sea. The sky and sea brightened. Everyone, shielding their eyes from the glare, saw two huge warships swallowed by the golden light. The explosion lifted huge waves, scattering the fleet that was lined up. "Damn!" Xia Shu Zhi Lian was stunned and said, "Why didn't you take out such a powerful weapon earlier?" The others' faces were somewhat blank.

Xiahou Aotian laughed wildly, "The protagonist always has to appear last! Damn undead, accept my wrath!" Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the energy pack and said, "That thing must be very expensive." "Of course!" Xiahou Aotian laughed wildly. "This is the energy pack forged by the Overlord! It cost forty million to make! It can fire a total of ten times, four million per shot!"

As he laughed, he started to cry.

"Oh, no wonder you were reluctant to take it out earlier." Everyone suddenly understood. *Boom! Boom! Boom!*

Xiahou Aotian, with a ferocious expression, stepped on the trigger, firing miniature suns one after another, turning the distant sea into an ocean of light. The waves that were lifted spread out, causing the ship to shake like a small boat.

"Four million for one cannon shot… Wouldn't two cannonballs be equal to the cost of an intercontinental missile? The cost-effectiveness is a bit low… But intercontinental missiles can't be brought into the Lingjing, and they don't seem to have automatic tracking and aiming functions. It's impossible to hit anything at all." Yuan Shi Tianzun mentally assessed the weapon's threat to him.

"The power is great, but the practicality and cost-effectiveness aren't high… But using it here is simply a godsend. It's just too expensive. Ordinary people can't afford eighty million." Qiu Yuyan kindly reminded.

"N-no need to remind me!" Xiahou Aotian gritted his teeth.

When the last two suns were fired, the energy pack was completely dim. The sea in the distance was turbulent. There was no trace of the fleet anymore!