CHAPTER 1731: CHAPTER 47: TREASURE STRUGGLE

The bombardment continued, with both sides still engaged in fire exchange, but Beads Man’s side was clearly at a disadvantage.

"It’s only been less than ten minutes since the battle started!" The Indian woman initially wanted to crush her opponent and rake in a profit, but her ambitions quickly faded as she realized preserving strength was more prudent against such formidable foes.

"Signal with flags, Jiang Xiuming Ship and Fang Zhiwen Ship as meat shields to block the opponent’s route, other sea ships seize the windward position!"

"Again I’m the meat shield?" Jiang Xiuming grumbled, yet he strictly executed the orders, knowing that in this battle he might lose his ride, but definitely wouldn’t lose his life.

Fang Zhiwen wasn’t as bold, her lips trembled, unwilling to act.

"Sophie, target Fang Zhiwen Ship, fire a shot!" Tang Zheng frowned, the white, rich, and beautiful indeed lost her nerve.

Sophie, wearing knee-high boots, kicked the cannon body, the muzzle shifted direction towards Fang Zhiwen Ship, and then pulled the firing rope.

Bang, amidst the billowing smoke, the cannon shell smashed onto the deck.

"Captain, quickly give the order, otherwise we’ll be sunk by the flagship," the Boatswain urged, having witnessed the flagship’s miraculous artillery skills, they couldn’t muster any resistance.

"Follow the orders." Fang Zhiwen looked crestfallen.

In fact, the white, rich, and beautiful had no decisiveness at all, Tang Zheng made her the captain merely to boost the sea ship’s attributes.

From a bird’s-eye view, following Tang Zheng’s command, eight sea ships split in two, with two of them fiercely crashing into Beads Man’s fleet, intending to divide them into three, cutting them apart.

The other six carved curves, circled a large loop, seized the T-junction.

The female gunners were extremely effective, with three rounds of volley, eighty percent of the cannon shells hit one of the Indian woman’s ships, riddling it like a beehive.

The sea ship visibly sank, sailors screamed, like dumplings being cooked, leapt into the seawater to escape.

"No retreat, maintain formation!" Beads Man’s flagship signaled with flags, instructing each ship to move quickly, ensuring firepower projection.

"The damaged ship isn’t yours?" The Indian woman initially hesitated, but after seeing the enemy’s fourth round of volley, which smashed one of her ships thoroughly, she couldn’t hold on, "What are you waiting for? Retreat, hurry off the battlefield."

"Captain, Indian Ship ran away." The first mate holding the telescope observed the battlefield and upon noticing the sudden change, immediately reported.

"Those bastards, I knew they were unreliable." Beads Man didn’t hesitate at all, issued the retreat order, he didn’t want to cover the retreat.

"Catch up, let them know how terrifying it is to mess with the Warhammer team." Jiang Xiuming roared, his ride galloping on the sea, nothing compared to the thrill of chasing down enemies.

The main sea ships of both sides had similar speeds, attempting a tail chase wasn’t easy, Yin Shangwu Ship was not slow, but lacked firepower, making it difficult to hit the opponent during such high-speed movement.

Tang Zheng activated antigravity, shot over a distance of more than a thousand meters, landed on Yin Shangwu Ship, summoned female musketeers to bombard the enemy.

The female gunners unleashed their power again, sinking a sea ship, though it only took five minutes, it still slowed down the pace, Beads Man’s fleet was already disappearing on the horizon.

"Keep chasing."

Even if not killing the Conquerors, as long as sinking the sea ships, scores were given, Tang Zheng didn’t want to miss the chance to beat the fallen enemies.

In single-ship pursuit, Tang Zheng didn’t dare to be too aggressive, should he break away from his fleet, allowing them enough time to swing back in counterattack, even with more cannons, he couldn’t face one against six, after all, once the weapon platform sea ship was sunk, the female gunners completely lost their advantage.

The weather at sea was like a child’s face, changing too quickly.

Dark clouds surged, in an instant, the storm hit, faced with the forces of nature, humans were as small as ants.

Waves raged, thunder clapped, seawater rolled by wild wind forming more than ten-meter tall waves, slamming onto the deck.

"Drop sails, stabilize the balance." Tang Zheng grabbed a sailor nearly thrown into the seawater by the waves, everyone was trying hard, resisting the storm.

An hour later, the clouds dispersed, the rain stopped, the sun hung out again, scorching the earth.

After being ravaged by storm sea waves, the sea ship looked like a maiden abused by thugs, scarred all over, Tang Zheng saw even the shadow of his fleet was gone, gave the order to return.

The European man avoided the storm yet encountered Beads Man baring snarling fangs, without suspense, before he even had time to escape, he was blasted to the seabed to nourish seaweed.

Tang Zheng’s fleet docked in a disguised shipyard at the harbor, undergoing supply and maintenance operations, he and group members went to the tavern to gather information.

"Hey, have you heard? Recently several pirates discovered treasure in Red Beard’s territories, went exploring, only to be brutally killed by him."

"Not done by Red Beard, heard there’s a big Monster guarding the treasure, very powerful, besides gold coins, there’s also a legendary sea ship."

"It’s said obtaining that ship can dominate the entire ocean!"

"Aimlessly hunting is not a solution, must think of a plan to improve efficiency." Dong Zixuan drank a cup of juice, wishing to capture and hang these pirates.

"I do have one," Yin Shangwu laughed, "but I think Tang Zheng has already found it."

"Testing me?" Tang Zheng took a sip of beer and lowered his voice, "Go find the Information Merchant and buy news about which ocean companies have gone to sea recently."

"Then go threaten the homes of those company executives to get further intel?" Yin Shangwu nodded, "Looks like we’re on the same page."

"So what are we waiting for? There’s no time to lose." Jiang Xiuming ate up the steak, reeking of alcohol as he left the tavern.

William was an executive of the East India Company, knowing the routes and cargoes of merchant ships. After finishing his routine work, he bought a big cake to celebrate his mistress’s birthday at her home.

After dinner, William pressed his mistress onto the bedroom floor, tearing her clothes, making a wild charge, and the room was filled with the sound of heavy breathing.

"You two seem to be having fun!"

The sudden voice startled William, almost deflating his excitement. In a crisis, all he thought about was himself.

Grabbing his mistress’s long hair, William pulled her close as a Meat Shield, reaching with the other hand to the clothes thrown on the floor for the Handgun inside.

The next moment, William’s body froze as a muzzle was pointed at his forehead. He glanced sideways to discover a ridiculously beautiful female Musketeer standing beside him.

Finally, the naked mistress saw the figure sitting by the window, just about to scream when her neck was hit hard and she fainted.

"Who are you people?" William raised his hands, speaking.

"Shut up." Marilyn gave William’s lower half a disgusted look, raised her knee-high boot, and kicked fiercely.

Instinctively bending forward, William’s scream was stuck in his throat as Marilyn kneed his chin, stifling the cry.

"Tell me the merchant ship routes of your company and the expected return time," Tang Zheng waved his finger, "Don’t rush to answer, think it over, you only get one chance."

William planned to deceive these people at first, then report to the police. Hearing this, he remained silent; he wasn’t a selfless man, he had to consider his life.

Marilyn drew the dagger, deftly slicing William’s skin, causing him to scream, only to be kicked in the mouth again.

"I’ll tell you, I’ll tell everything." Without integrity, William poured out everything he knew like bamboo shoots falling out of a tube.

A full five minutes passed with no response. Only then did William notice the people had left. He hurriedly stood, initially aiming to call the police. However, he suddenly stopped; if the company found out he leaked secrets, he’d surely lose his job.

"Forget it, anyway, pirates are rampant, merchant ships may also get robbed." William comforted himself psychologically, glancing at his mistress, relieved she didn’t hear his words.

At midnight, Jiang Xiuming and his team gradually returned to the flagship anchored at the harbor.

"How were the war results?" Tang Zheng dispatched everyone, even Fang Zhiwen and Tao Ran weren’t exempt. Even if they failed, they had to undergo training.

"OK, visited five executives, got a bunch of intel." Jiang Xiuming made an OK gesture, dug out a note from his pocket, and handed it to Tang Zheng, "Hopefully it will lead to a fortune."

"Group Leader, sorry." Fang Zhiwen apologized; she couldn’t muster the courage to infiltrate enemy residences.

Tang Zheng ignored her, looking at Tao Ran.

"Two." Black Long Straight handed over her report card; though weak, she had gained some game experience.

"Fang Zhiwen, you better take care of yourself." Tang Zheng didn’t bother lecturing anymore.

The group studied the intel and picked three merchant ships with the earliest return times to set sail at dawn.

Three days later, Tang Zheng didn’t catch the merchant ships, but had a skirmish with a pirate ship instead.

"What, you’re heading to Red Beard’s Territories to snatch treasure?"

A pirate overboard made a desperate bid for survival, claiming to know a big secret, leaving Jiang Xiuming stunned after listening.

"Half the city knows by now, pirates, merchants, everyone is sailing to Red Beard’s Territories. If you’re late, you’ll get nothing." The pirate ingratiatingly said, "With a Captain as skillful as you, you’ll surely grab the treasure."

"Apparently someone has the same idea as us and spread the secret around." Yin Shangwu sighed, "Can’t use borrowed knives anymore, we should go too, follow the game’s rules, most likely there will be treasures, we absolutely can’t let anyone else get them."

"Set sail, target Redbeard Island, full speed ahead." Tang Zheng disliked such chaos, as it made him feel out of control.

In just a day and a half of sailing, Tang Zheng witnessed six sea battles, and the closer to Redbeard Island, the more frequent the combat.

Buddha Bead Man reappeared, and in a few days had recruited new members, further bolstering his fleet to a terrifying fifteen ships.

"Why not attack?" A captain saw Buddha Bead Man unwilling to fight Tang Zheng, immediately signaled to ask.

"Tell him, if he wants to die, charge alone." Buddha Bead Man returned to his composed demeanor. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users should visit m.qidian.com to read.)