Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 559: Who Belongs to Whom

Zhao Changhe and Lady Three had not expected that their night spying would only leave them even more confused.

Even though Lady Three bore little resentment toward Hai Changkong, seeing him as just another person, she had never considered the possibility that he might actually be good.

However, he did explicitly order his men that she be shown no mercy and be killed no matter the cost. If it was all an act, and Lady Three really ended up dead, how was he planning to take responsibility?

Lady Three thought back to the past. Hai Changkong’s relentless pursuit had been anything but an act. He had genuinely intended to kill her back then. If it was not for her loyal subordinates sacrificing themselves to save her, she would have died.

The whole situation felt like a dense fog, impossible to see through. The two of them decided to stay patient, continuing to hide and observe until the banquet finally ended, and the generals of Penglai all went to rest. Nothing particularly significant happened afterward.

Lady Three glanced at the officer who had tried to sneak off to report earlier. She was tempted to go find him and ask questions, but everything felt so strange here that she worried her appearance might endanger him even more. So she hesitated, unable to decide.

“Patience,” Zhao Changhe whispered, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “We’re in the shadows while they’re out in the open. If we watch carefully, nothing will escape us. We can react accordingly.”

Lady Three felt slightly reassured and nodded. “What about Lai Qi?”

“If we don’t get involved, I can’t see how Lai Qi could refuse them. For him, it’s either death or being absorbed by Penglai.”

When they returned to Lai Qi’s guest quarters, they found him returning disheveled. Seeing them, Lai Qi looked embarrassed but still decided to be honest. “I tried to leave under the cover of night. The guards were quite courteous earlier, but they refused to let me go no matter what excuse I used. They wouldn’t let me get back to the ship.”

Zhao Changhe did not blame him for trying to abandon them. He patted Lai Qi on the shoulder and said, “Just surrender for now and see how things play out tomorrow. I doubt they can truly conquer your nation—not yet, anyway. But if you resist now, it’ll mean certain death, and I can’t guarantee we can protect you.”

As expected, Lai Qi wrestled with his thoughts all night. By early morning, he had finally made up his mind to offer his surrender to Hai Changkong, but loud commotion suddenly erupted from the shore.

Lai Qi hurried over, only to find Zhao Changhe and Lady Three standing side by side, hiding in the shadows to watch the spectacle.

On the shore, Hai Changkong coldly commanded, “If they refuse to submit, then they can’t blame me for being ruthless... Fire! Leave none alive!”

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Cannons roared from Penglai’s warships. Surprisingly, the ships were armed with cannons.

The cannons were, frankly, underwhelming. They barely made a dent in the enemy’s deck, their power not even comparable to the ballistae used by the Tang Clan. Still, Zhao Changhe was astonished.

Seeing firearms appear in this world was enough to make any transmigrator’s heart skip a beat. Yet, whether they could improve the firepower, how long it would take, or whether advancements to modern weaponry could one-day challenge gods and demons—that was a question for another day.

The opposing fleet was from an unknown small nation that had just arrived today. They were immediately asked to surrender by Hai Changkong. But soon after the negotiations began, a fight broke out.

The reason they dared to refuse was that they were much stronger than Lai Qi’s fleet. In other words, there was some confidence in their resistance. Not every nation was as weak as Java. The combined forces of these small nations still amounted to something formidable.

Both sides were now deadlocked offshore, and, given the huge gap in military capabilities, it was not long before the smaller nation’s fleet started to fall back under pressure.

Just then, another small nation’s fleet arrived in the distance, shouting from afar, “What’s going on?!”

The struggling fleet quickly responded, “Penglai is trying to annex our fleet and nation!”

The Penglai fleet offered no explanation. As they closed in, Hai Changkong personally boarded the opposing flagship, killed their general with one palm, and then casually returned to his own ship as if he were taking a stroll.

The newly arrived fleet was stunned. “Hai Changkong! Your ambition knows no bounds! Do you really think Penglai is invincible?!”

They immediately joined the battle against Penglai.

Zhao Changhe watched the scene unfold in bewilderment. Hai Changkong’s actions seemed utterly reckless. Last night, he was still acting somewhat reasonably with Lai Qi, but today? Just what is he thinking?

Sure, these other nations might be weaker, but collectively, they aren’t that weak. Fighting uncontrolled, messy skirmishes like this is bound to ruin everything.

Some of his men have already been hit and killed. They’re taking losses. Why is he doing this?

“Did you see that?” Lady Three transmitted her voice to him. “Those dead soldiers—did you notice how their spirits, souls, and yin qi seemed to dissipate, drawn into the void, to be absorbed somewhere? They’re carrying out a sacrifice, and they’re not only sacrificing enemy lives. He’s offering up his own followers as well. The bodies, once devoured by sea creatures, could even transform into new and powerful mermen.”

Zhao Changhe shot her a sidelong glance. Why is she so familiar with these evil rituals? Memories from back when they had gone to Beimang and gone to the Azure Dragon’s grave resurfaced in his mind, and Zhao Changhe began to wonder: Do the Four Idols Cult have similar sinister arts? Is their so-called resurrection of the Night Emperor hinting at something like this? If so, then it’s no wonder they’re called a demonic cult.

Lady Three, unaware of his thoughts, continued with her analysis, “I suspect that after our previous battle, the Sea God suffered unacceptable losses among his sea creatures. If he truly seeks revival, he can no longer afford to wait for faith to grow slowly. Carrying out sacrifices like this allows him to recover his power faster.”

Zhao Changhe said, “So, Hai Changkong’s oppression of other nations really is likely endorsed by the Sea God? Does that mean that whether it’s the faithful from these smaller nations or even his own people from Penglai, he plans to sacrifice them all in one go through this war? I mean, that would explain why he’s acting so recklessly. His sole purpose is slaughter, whether friend or foe. Otherwise, this behavior makes no sense.”

Lady Three hesitated, then eventually gave a soft “Mm-hmm” in agreement. “It seems Lai Qi, arriving earlier and being too pathetically weak, was spared from the direct assault. You could say he’s lucky, in a twisted way.”

Zhao Changhe asked, “If this is Hai Changkong’s strategy, is there still a point in fighting the pirates?”

Lady Three was puzzled by this as well. In the end, she replied, “”It would actually make more sense to subdue them properly and send them ahead as scouts against the pirates. They could’ve been a valuable asset. But now, they’re just fighting each other. Are they even going to fight the pirates?”

As the two spoke, more fleets arrived one after another. Since the agreed date was only a day away, most did not dare push the deadline and arrived early. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

The scene became increasingly chaotic. None of the various fleets knew what was going on, and things were quickly spiraling out of control.

Zhao Changhe suddenly thought, If the pirates launched an attack right now, they could very well wipe out the entire coalition right here...

Just as he was thinking this, the sound of horns blared from the distance.

A pirate flag appeared on the horizon, followed by two more, then three, and soon, the entire sky seemed to be covered in a sea of black flags.

A massive fleet of pirate ships approached the island like a dark tide surging forward.

“It’s the Furious Pirates! They’re attacking!”

“It’s the Heavenly Origin Pirates!”

Two different names echoed across the various ships, and someone shouted furiously at Hai Changkong, “Marshal Hai, now that things have come to this, are we still going to fight amongst ourselves?!”

“Fight? Of course, we fight! Why not?” Hai Changkong raised his hand, roaring, “Leave none alive!”

Everyone was stunned, including Zhao Changhe and Lady Three.

Suddenly, everything seemed to make sense. If Hai Changkong and the Heavenly Origin Pirates were actually on the same side, then all his actions would seem much more logical.

But this brought about a new question: if it was confirmed that there were sacrificial arrays on Penglai’s ships, and the intent behind starting this slaughter was clearly sacrificial, did the pirates know about this?

Could it be that even the pirates are followers of the Sea God?