Playing Tricks

Chapter 145 Playing Tricks

The serpentine missile grazed past his ear, and the giant serpent with fangs nearly touched the hull of their Starfish, only to plunge headfirst into the ice.

Its long tail disappeared beneath the ice, and it could even instantly incinerate the ice surface with a muffled explosion.

Their fortress was tossed about by the shockwave of the explosion, and nearly overturned entirely due to the aftershocks.

After the Starfish finally recovered, Langming clung tightly to the fixed object, his whole body shaking violently, looking utterly pathetic.

"Where's the investigator? Investigator, please report the situation!" Lang Ming slowly got up, brought his face close to the communication channel, and forced himself to turn around despite the dizziness.

"My lord, the hull is fine, only slightly damaged by the water pressure from the explosion."

"That's good—" Langming breathed a sigh of relief, rubbing his head as he continued to ask, "What about the others? We've even taken down our furthest ship, the Starfish. There's no reason not to deal with those who got closer as well."

The scout on the other side nodded, then continued to squint from the pigeonhole-like stilt house and carry out his observation duties.

Now that they were very close to the main battlefield, the scouts on the Starfish were able to see in even greater detail from the high tower where they could get a better view.

But the moment the surrounding scenery came into view, he froze, completely stunned.

The two Tier 2 fortresses were severely damaged, while the rest, along with the six others that arrived from a slightly further distance, were gutted.

The smoke billowed from above, rising into a strange, dark purple haze. It broke apart and collapsed, and the unblockable holes surged into the interior of the fortress, rapidly sinking downwards.

Some even cracked open from the center, and continued to be eroded by the purple mist, turning into dust and pale remains, creating a horrifying post-war ruin.

Their faces were filled with fear and despair.

He instinctively gasped, his breathing suddenly becoming heavy. "Lord Langming, run! Run now!" he roared. "If we don't run now, we'll miss our chance!"

"What happened? Explain yourself!" Lang Ming asked anxiously, pulling the brakes without hesitation and quickly turning the car around on the steering wheel.

"Dead, dead, all dead. That guy was just pretending to be stupid to fool people. With this kind of strength, he can no longer be considered a newly promoted second-tier fortress."

The scout's voice trembled as he asserted with absolute certainty, "This is a top-tier Tier 2 fortress! If we don't run now, we'll have absolutely no chance left."

"Damn it, we've fallen for their trap!" Lang Ming's face turned pale instantly, and his fists clenched tightly.

It was an absolutely extreme predicament, Langming concluded.

"Little bird, tell the workers to keep adding coal, don't hold back at all, we're about to fight to the death!"

"Huh? Didn't we agree to go for good luck? Lang Ming, you're not going again?" The little bird was very puzzled.

"Do whatever I tell you to do! Stop gossiping about me, now!" Lang Ming couldn't contain himself and suddenly roared at the little bird.

Or perhaps they heard the anxiety hidden in Lang Ming's voice, and combined it with the turmoil that had just occurred, even someone as naive as them could understand something.

Having shed his unruly nature, he has become remarkably composed.

"Understood, I will organize all available manpower on the fortress." The little bird's voice was calm, as if it belonged to a different person.

"Although it's the same old routine, the same things we say in the face of life and death, now I want to say that I'm counting on you."

""

Wan'er smiled, accompanied by a girl's comforting laughter.

After he finished speaking, Lang Ming could no longer hear anything.

"Watch this! We've come a long way through thick and thin. You want us dead? I can only say you're not ready yet!"

Lang Ming stared intently at the colossal body of the Azure, his blood rushing to his head, and he became incredibly excited.

To become a lord, one must master the skill of sailing a ship.

Therefore, a person who is good at sailing is not necessarily a lord, but a lord is definitely good at sailing.

The climate on the Arctic Ocean is highly variable, and no one can predict whether the next moment will bring a blizzard or hailstones the size of a human head.

Or you might encounter all sorts of events, whether it's plundering pirates or trading merchant ships. Without enough experience, you'll only invite trouble and lose your life.

All of these require absolutely mature experience.

Langming, a seasoned helmsman, could also discern subtle details from the characteristics of other fortresses.

Therefore, after the previous lord died, he naturally succeeded as the lord of the Starfish.

After turning around, Langming pulled out the periscope again to look at his colleagues who were barely clinging to life.

The two Tier 1 fortresses that were visible were now completely dead, with no sign of any survivors.

The two slightly larger Tier 2 fortresses had clearly suppressed the erosion of the black mist, and the damaged parts had been repaired as quickly as possible.

With its massive size leaving it no escape, it has now aimed its cannons at the Azure ship, ready to fight to the death.

Now, the train, which was also paying extra for tickets, sounded its horn three times to indicate neutrality, but also to show that it was not a fish to be slaughtered.

If they continue their relentless pursuit, they might even launch a suicide attack on the Azure.

This is also the most rational plan.

"A level two fortress is tough; it might buy us a little more time," Langming reasoned simply, his gaze still fixed on the standoff.

"Don't be crazy. You don't want to make enemies with two Tier 2 fortresses for no reason, do you?"

He gasped, still hesitant to make a decision. "Maybe—"

Those top-tier Tier 2 fortresses are all ruthless bastards who don't care about human life.

Based on the information he has gathered about these second-tier fortresses, he can outline their general style of doing things.

When doing something, one must be ruthless. Those who defy the law must be killed without exception, especially since the Starfish was a group of thieves who wanted to take advantage of the situation to plunder the Azure.

You can pretty much guess what their anger is like.

Comparing the two second-tier fortresses in his memory, Langming felt only a sense of unfamiliarity with the guy in front of him.

He never sought any intelligence he had obtained on the Black Abyss Sea.

Unfamiliar yet powerful, possessing the ability to instantly kill them.

In that case, perhaps—it's not certain that negotiations are possible.

So he observed the battlefield situation while secretly raising his left hand to the whistle button as a last resort.

suddenly.

A powerful sound wave came from the rear of the fortress, not the sound of cannonballs exploding through the iron, but a harmonious and gentle female voice.

The choice of this particular voice might be an attempt to gain favor and increase one's chances of survival.

It was one of the Tier 2 fortresses, which was carrying out its two-person-high megaphone and making a lot of noise.

Although the words spoken were very formal, Langming still listened attentively.

But after a while, he got bored.

Because this person was mostly speaking in written language, either denouncing the Azure for not complying with the navigation regulations issued by the outpost and for carrying out an unauthorized armed attack on their ship.

The verbose language made me want to fall asleep.

"Idiot." Langming got annoyed and covered his ears with his hands.

"If it were truly a misunderstanding, would they indiscriminately attack all the surrounding fortresses?"

"Now they know to use the name of the outpost to intimidate others and raise a big banner, but it's no wonder it's not working. They start using these tricks when they can't win."

What kind of severe crackdown is this? The charges are just piling up, and they're just labeling people.

However, they completely absolved themselves of responsibility for their unwarranted intrusion into the Blue Ocean's navigation area.

However, Langming could also see that this was just a temporary expedient to delay things for the God-Man Fortress.

The fortress had a hidden propulsion engine at its front, and as they spoke, they stealthily moved it backward.

That's how they concealed their true intentions.

Perhaps truly stunned, the Azure showed no reaction whatsoever since that horrific attack.

They remained completely silent, their attitude elusive, and their every move shrouded in mystery.

However, none of this mattered to Lang Ming and his group.

At this moment, the Starfish had already turned around and was ready to speed back along the route it had come from.

"However, I also have to thank you. If it weren't for you, our Starfish might not have had any chance to escape."

Looking back at the stalemate, the Starfish was getting even closer to the Azure due to inertia.

Langming gripped the steering wheel tightly, having already set the speed gear to maximum. As long as it wasn't worn out, it would reach maximum speed in just a few minutes.

"Full speed ahead!" Lang Ming didn't hesitate for a moment, pushing the gear lever up to its maximum. "Damn it, we have to get out of here!"

The Starfish slowly increased its speed and began to race at breakneck speed.

Right now, the situation has suddenly changed.

With a sudden "boom," the imposing Tier 2 fortress inexplicably sank, as if entering an overflowing sandstorm, and the entire ship was sinking.

"There was no attack, but where did the explosion come from?" Lang Ming tensed, deep in thought. "The sound—it sounds like—from beneath the sea!"

"It's a torpedo! They actually used anti-submarine torpedoes on us! How arrogant!"

Thinking about it, he couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, they don't treat us like human beings at all, they're just playing with us."

Coming to his senses, he suddenly slammed his fist into the center of the helm, his eyes momentarily glazed over.

"Reporting, Captain, except for the fortress a little further away, all the other Black Viper Streamer bullets have hit their targets."

"Yes, the Three Seas are still too difficult to control. It's quite excellent to have achieved this level."

Li Ran stood at the edge of the deck, holding onto the railing and feeling the wind, and said calmly.

"Wow, the level of a Tier 2 fortress is truly terrifying." The soldier swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.

"If I were them, I don't know how desperate I would feel."

"Life and death are preordained, wealth and honor are determined by fate. Since they have committed such acts, they should bear the punishment they deserve."

Li Ran turned his head, paused, pointed to the mess in front of him, and continued speaking.

"See, the lord told us to do it ourselves, and we completed the task just fine, didn't we?"

"Lift the ban and let everyone come over and see that even without the lord, we can still protect our homeland with our own hands."

-

"Yes, sir!" The soldier, his expression excited, saluted Li Ran resolutely and jogged towards the inner space of the fortress to announce the good news.

Li Ran nodded happily, enjoying the gentle breeze that brushed against his face, which carried the smoky smell of burning corpses and the pungent aroma of gunpowder.

It made him tremble uncontrollably.

Of the eight fortresses, six were scrapped and two were struggling to survive.

This is their current strength.

Such terrifying suppressive power! Although the current situation in the Black Abyss Sea is unclear, the sheer strength of this attack is astounding.

To be conservative...

He could almost certainly conclude that the Azure's strength was close to the mid-level of a second-tier ship.

"You won?"

A weary voice drifted into his ears on the wind, making him instinctively guess who it was.

"No—but soon," Li Ran stated.

"I told you there was no need for you to be so nervous. I'm sure of the Azure's current capabilities; it poses no threat whatsoever."

"My lord, aren't you going to rest?"

He Feng yawned, still sleepy-eyed.

"Isn't this because I'm worried about you guys? So you won't say I'm putting on airs and not doing anything."

"Yes, yes," Li Ran replied, scratching his head somewhat awkwardly.

"However," He Feng glanced at the desolate and decaying battlefield, pointing to the Starfish in the far distance, still frantically changing course.

"Oops, I forgot one."

"My lord, I will immediately order the next round of attacks."

He Feng waved his hand, "No need, keep him. As for the other two, you can—"

Before He Feng could finish speaking, one by one, the second-tier fortresses that had withstood the shimmering bullets started rambling on about random things.

First, he told his elder brother that he was the victim who had been harmed, and finally he made some shameless attempts to make peace.

Just hearing these unspeakable words made He Feng's eyebrows furrow.

Finally, as if he had made up his mind, he said calmly and without any hesitation.

"Get rid of it, it's too noisy."

Li Ran nodded vigorously, and just as he was about to leave, He Feng added another sentence.

"Stop using the Black Viper Streamer Cannon, use torpedoes instead, those will be more than enough."

"Yes, my lord, I'll have someone arrange it."

Li Ran respectfully clasped his hands in greeting to He Feng, then strode away to make arrangements.

In this world, almost all fortresses have heavy armor plating on their outer walls.

The thicker the bottom layer, the less likely it is to be broken by the ice layer, and the greater the safety.

With an absurd thickness of several hundred millimeters, ordinary explosives could not even leave a dent on it.

Armor-piercing shells are undoubtedly the best choice.

The principle is to convert the intense impact force into ultra-high heat energy, instantly melting the outer wall of the armor. Everyone who uses it says it works well.

The firing pins used inside armor-piercing projectiles are mostly made of metals such as cobalt and uranium.

This is something that simply cannot be found in this world.

In this world, torpedoes can only be made by stuffing them with explosives, a method that uses immense force to send them flying. Even the torpedo technology blueprints in his hands describe this method.

However, He Feng has now found other unorthodox methods.

The solution is how to manufacture the high-temperature resistant metal used to melt the armor at high temperatures.

The premise is high temperature, which is a problem that is easily solved.

When the lava core encounters high temperatures, it releases a huge amount of heat stored inside.

Extremely high temperatures can instantly vaporize any metal below the level of second-grade precision forged steel.

If placed inside a cannonball, this unconventional enchanting method would be put to good use.