Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 55 At the End of the Road, a Do-or-Die Strategy

"Guards! Guards!"

A group of elite guards quickly escorted Cui Sheng, the captain of the ship, into the cabin, away from the range of the ballistae.

At the same time, a group of fearless Japanese soldiers drew their swords and jumped into the sea.

They sped away, riding the waves.

It was none other than a group of the iconic temple army ghost soldiers, the "Haizhu Ghosts," under the command of Xu Hai, the "Great General Who Pacifies the Seas"!
It's unclear whether he was a former subordinate or a new recruit trained by the Five Peaks Banner after they acquired the corresponding supernatural abilities.

"Musketeers, form up to port!"

At Wang Cheng's command, more than twenty of the thirty-odd Tanka people on the ship, led by Zhang Wu, quickly rushed to the port side facing the group of Tanka ghosts.

He brandished a three-barreled musket filled with iron pellets.

Matchlock guns made in Western countries were too expensive, and most of them were second-hand goods discarded by others, and they might explode the moment they were fired.

Before leaving, Wang Cheng could only find a batch of three-eyed muskets that had been resold by the Zhao navy in the ghost market. They only had fuses and no triggers.

It consists of three single guns wound around the handle in parallel, forming a triangular shape, sharing a single breechblock.

The caliber of a single gun is about half an inch, and its total length is about one foot. It has an independent powder chamber and a touch hole, and can fire three shots in succession.

The optimal range of the three-eyed gun is about thirty paces, or 49.05 meters, which can penetrate heavy armor; beyond fifty paces (81.75 meters), it can severely injure unarmored targets; beyond one hundred paces (163.5 meters), its lethality diminishes to nothing.

In Wang Cheng's eyes, this kind of cold weapon that was larger than a firearm was too crude, but he could only make do with it for the time being. In group combat, the first three waves of concentrated fire were quite powerful.

After confirming that their opponents were a group of Seafowl demons, the group, under Wang Cheng's orders, poured incense ash and pre-prepared cinnabar powder into the gun holes to specifically break the Seafowl demons' demonic ability of "turtle head body".

"One hundred paces, eighty paces, fifty paces, thirty paces, single shot, fire!"

Upon receiving the order, the Tanka people's musket squad lit one of the fuses together.

boom!boom!boom!boom!
Flames shot out and smoke filled the sky.

The scorching iron sand transformed into a giant fan, instantly sweeping away the four or five Sea Demons running at the forefront.

Not only does it cause physical damage from the iron sand, but the incense ash and cinnabar powder it adheres to can also penetrate the body and violently break all the ghostly powers they possess.

"Ah ah ah ah ah"

One by one, they screamed as they fell into the sea.

In these weather conditions, an ordinary person falling into the sea would be instantly killed.

The Haizhu ghosts behind gritted their teeth and spread out, maintaining large gaps as they continued their attack, making it difficult for the musketeers on the ship to concentrate their fire.

Fortunately, Wang Cheng had prepared two sets of three-barreled muskets for the crew. After firing three shots, they would simply discard the musket and replace it with another one.

Amidst the swirling snow, the constant roar of muskets echoed, and sea monsters sank to the bottom of the sea.

Finally, the first mate, Tanaka, was the first to break through the enemy's fire and successfully stormed onto the deck.

The literal meaning of "倭" is dwarf.

In this Warring States period, many famous generals of the sixty-six kingdoms of Yingzhou were actually not as tall as the children of Dazhao.

Sometimes, even when riding on horseback, foreigners who witness this scene describe it as a monkey riding a dog.

The first mate, Tanaka, who has now boarded the Zhang Fushun, is a burly man standing at 1.4 meters tall, and is undoubtedly a genuine Japanese soldier.

The Japanese sword in his hand was almost as tall as him.

Despite his short stature, his eyes were filled with murderous intent, displaying the ferocity of a bloodthirsty beast. He unleashed a powerful diagonal slash at Wang Cheng, who was charging towards him, aiming to cut him in two.

As he swung his sword, he roared:

"Cassock Slash!"

Wang Cheng's swordsmanship was no longer what it used to be. His mind and eyes were fully open, as if he could foresee the future. He easily dodged the attack by simply leaning back.

"Reverse cassock!"

Haizhu Guitan wielded his Japanese sword in a burst of silver light, seemingly pressing down on the constantly dodging Wang Cheng, each move accompanied by a furious roar.

A downward slash from right to left is called the 【袈裟斩】 (Kesa-giri).
A vertical slash is equivalent to "A Thousand Rocks Collapse and Collapse";
Attacking with both the sword and its scabbard simultaneously is called "Twin-Headed Dragon Flash";
Even its roar has a specific move called "Ki-A".
If these intimidating-sounding move names were truly apt, that would be one thing, but the unknown school of "swordsmanship" this person used was really just a series of basic slashes.

After exchanging a few moves with him, Wang Cheng, who adopted a conservative approach, realized that in this country, even a cesarean section could be called an "imperial incision," so such over-emphasis was indeed not surprising.

"When I heard such an imposing name, I thought I could 'buy' another decent sword technique."

This is such a waste of everyone's time.

In just a few swift moves, Wang Cheng seized the opportunity and used his mental eye to see through the flaws in his opponent's swordsmanship.

Dodge! The hidden dragon twists its body!
With a draw-and-strike stance, like a dragon reaching out with its claws, he grips the sword with both hands and suddenly slashes sideways, unleashing a flash of dazzling light. *Crack!*

Before onlookers could even react, Tanaka's meticulously crafted dagger, made of tamahagane steel, was severed in half by the treasured sword Chiwen and fell onto the deck with a clatter.

Before the terrified Hai Zhu Gui could even roll away, the frost-white blade light that followed stung his eyes.

"Yameh!!!"

Bright red blood gushed from the artery, splashing a large blood circle on the deck.

Stab it--!
His lifeless head slammed heavily to the ground.

The item I randomly bought from him this time was ordinary, not some kind of special skill or trick, but rather a Japanese language that I was proficient in—I could hear, speak, and write it.

This will make dealing with Yingzhou easier in the future.

Seeing that the vice-captain had been easily killed, the other sea monsters, who had already suffered considerable losses, were finally frightened away and turned to flee.

The true strength of a sailing warship does not lie in hand-to-hand combat. These Japanese were simply out of their minds due to Wang Cheng's provocation, and suffered a defeat right from the start.

The Tanka people crew, who had been trembling with fear, were greatly encouraged and cheered with fists raised.

Choi Seung roared:

"Gunners, load me with my cursed stone bullets! Fire freely! Sink them!"

Two sailboats chased each other through the swirling snow and wind, from day to night, and then from night to day again.
The roar of artillery fire wasn't as intense as it had been at the beginning, but it never stopped.

If it weren't for the help of [Majesty] and the daily [Ghost Wind], even with the low hit rate of the cannons, a small fishing boat would have been riddled with holes long ago.

A flyweight fighter versus a heavyweight champion—Zhang Fushun is like dancing on a knife's edge; one wrong move and he'll be overpowered and utterly crushed.

The nerves of everyone on the ship were gradually stretched to the limit.

Boom!

There was another loud noise.

The ship Zhang Fushun suddenly shuddered as a cursed stone shell bearing a crimson rune pierced the stern deck from one side and exploded with a bang.

They tore a hapless Tanka boatman's boat into a bloody mist.

Without a thick oak hull and ribs that are half a meter or a meter thick, Fujian ships are not durable at all, and it is not surprising that they can be easily penetrated by a 12-pound cannon.

Wang Cheng, who was standing at the command post on the aft deck, dodged a sharp rock that was shot at him by turning to the side in advance.

Although he looked haggard and hadn't slept well for several days, his eyes and demeanor were sharp and piercing.

His bloodshot eyes swept around. After several days of desperate escape, all the crew members were in the same boat, physically exhausted, but their consciousness had quietly undergone a transformation, and they had acquired some of the foundation of a strong army.

However, the sterncastle of the Zhang Fushun was pierced, and the hull was not seriously damaged because it was close to the watertight compartment after being hit by a bullet earlier. The sails had several holes.

Even ballistae break and break after only a few more uses due to their high intensity.

Even with all his efforts, Wang Cheng could not hide the fact that the ship had reached a dead end.

Perhaps asking his master to burn incense and perform rituals to "sell official positions" for him could solve his current predicament, but after much hesitation, he still didn't dare to gamble with his future.

"Brothers, hold on for one more day; tonight will be the decisive moment."

From the very beginning of his escape, Wang Cheng had been brewing an audacious plan, calculating the days, and tonight was New Year's Eve.

He raised his binoculars to observe the situation on the other side.

After several days of chasing each other at sea, even the Japanese sailors on the warships, working in three shifts, were inevitably exhausted.

During this period, although the Zhang Fushun ship did not have cannons, its crossbow was extremely powerful, and with the assistance of Wang Cheng's mental eye, its lethality was astonishing.

Anyone who dared to show their face on the open deck risked being nailed to death; the lookouts on the mast had long since disappeared.

Apart from the men who raised the composite shields to protect the backup helmsman, few others dared to appear on the deck.

Coincidentally, tomorrow is the first day of the Lunar New Year.

The cultures of the 66 kingdoms of Yingzhou were greatly influenced by China, and they also celebrated the New Year.

At the bow, Cui Sheng was already directing the crew to come and go, and taking out the wine and meat stored on board to reward the crew, preparing to take down the Zhang Fushun ship in one fell swoop tomorrow.

That same night, the snow, which had stopped for a few days, started falling again, just as the guests on the Ziying ship were enjoying themselves.

Wang Cheng, dressed in sharkskin slingshots, quietly slipped into the sea.

At this point, he only had one last desperate measure left—assassination!

(End of this chapter)