220: Mist python flag, raise!

Chapter 218: Fog Python Flag, Rise!

Under Tuoba Qingtong's death order, over a hundred fishing boats desperately charged toward the imperial navy.

Over a hundred cannonballs smashed into their ships, instantly shattering countless fishing boats into fragments.

Along with them, quite a few unlucky souls were torn apart by the cannonballs, kicking up giant waves several meters high.

"Get into the water! All of you, get into the water!"

Urged by a bare-chested brute among them, the burly men on the fishing boats each bit down on a scimitar and leapt headfirst into the lake water.

Having lived in Yunmeng Marsh since they were young, their swimming skills were exceptional.

Amidst the chaotic water battle, they darted around swiftly like fish, charging toward the imperial army.

On the other side, on the left flank of the Tuoba Family, another squad of naval forces was patrolling.

Several burly men were standing at the bow, gazing into the distance at the military formation.

"Big Brother!"

One of the burly men gazed toward the military formation and said confusedly, "The commanding general has issued flag signals, telling us to quickly wedge ourselves into the imperial navy and disrupt the continued firing of their Red Barbarian Cannon."

"What?"

Hun Jianglong couldn't believe his ears and said puzzledly, "How could General Tuoba Jiang, General issue such an order?"

"Didn't we agree before the battle that we are reserve troops, and our main role is to harass the rear while the two armies fight? Why are they asking us to lead the main attack now?"

"This… This little brother doesn't know either. It's possible that the order was given by that young master of the Tuoba Family."

"Damn it…"

Hun Jianglong cursed inwardly. He was originally a water bandit roaming the northwest of Yunmeng Marsh, carving out a domain as a king with over a hundred boats and a thousand brothers under his command, living quite a merry life.

But even so, he still had to secretly offer tributes to the Tuoba Family.

After all, the Tuoba Family was the heaven of Yunmeng Marsh.

Yet who could have expected that the Tuoba Family would actually rebel!

Consequently, their entire island had no choice but to surrender to the Tuoba Family; otherwise, total annihilation awaited them!

Fortunately, Tuoba Jiang, General, who commanded the army, could be considered a figure of note. He constantly courted them, and the main tasks arranged for them were primarily focused on harassment.

After all, being able to set up a stronghold in a place like Yunmeng Marsh and gather thousands of water bandit brothers, Hun Jianglong indeed possessed some genuine skills.

More than a year ago, having struck some unknown stroke of luck, he hunted a strange fish with a single horn on its head at the bottom of Yunmeng Marsh lake.

After eating it, he only felt his entire body burning with heat, and countless images constantly flashed through his mind.

The True Qi within his body surged drastically, and his martial arts strength actually stepped into the Innate Realm!

An Innate Realm Martial Artist—that was a Realm countless Martial Forest figures dreamed of day and night.

Unfortunately…

In front of the Tuoba Family, it still amounted to nothing.

"Big Brother, the flag signals are coming again. Are we going to execute the order?"

Hun Jianglong took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "Notify the brothers, prepare to move out."

"Big Brother!"

The subordinate said in astonishment, "This… This is sending us to our deaths! The imperial army has over a hundred thousand people, and there are so many Red Barbarian Cannons as well."

"I know, but if we don't execute the mission, the people of the Tuoba Family will definitely not spare us in the future."

Hun Jianglong whispered, "Later, you take the brothers and do this…"

After giving a few whispered instructions, the subordinate's eyes lit up abruptly, and he immediately hurried off to pass down the orders.

Soon, Hun Jianglong's water bandit unit began to act.

"Whoosh~"

"Whoosh~"

"Whoosh~!"

Amidst the violent movement of currents, over a hundred warships swiftly swept out from the left flank of the Tuoba Family, rapidly killing toward the imperial navy.

Though called warships, looking closely, they looked more like fishing boats that had been retrofitted.

The hull of each warship was very slender, resembling nothing more than a chopstick.

This shape made it difficult for them to withstand winds and waves, but it undoubtedly had its benefits.

That was extremely fast speed, and moreover, extreme agility.

"Boom!"

"Boom boom!"

The imperial army quickly discovered this batch of warships, and immediately dozens of cannonballs were fired toward them.

But these ships quickly scattered apart, doing their best to dodge the cannonballs raining down from the sky.

Although unfortunate souls were constantly struck by cannonballs, most of the warships still managed to evade the bombardment.

Constantly maneuvering across the broad surface of the lake, they gradually approached the imperial army.

On the Tuoba Family warship, Tuoba Qingtong watched the movement trajectory of this group of water bandits and clapped in praise, saying, "Well done!"

"This way, we can attract the attention of the imperial army, and all the remaining navy…"

"Young Master!"

Tuoba Jiang, General couldn't help reminding, "Hun Jianglong is a surprise force and should be patrolling outside the battlefield, looking for an opportunity to slay the enemy's major general. Now that the battlefield is chaotic, we…"

"Shut up!"

Tuoba Qingtong frowned and said, "Your tactical method is for dealing with ordinary troops. Right now, what we are facing is the imperial navy equipped with artillery. Maintaining distance and fighting step by step is pure suicide. The best method is to charge into their formation at the fastest speed and engage in boarding combat."

"Only in this way can their artillery be restricted to the maximum extent."

"Listen to my command, the entire army, charge!"

"As long as we find the flagship where the imperial commanding general is located, we will strike immediately and annihilate this scoundrel!"

Tuoba Jiang, General let out a long sigh and could only say helplessly, "Yes, Young Master!"

Subsequently, under his command, flag signals were transmitted one after another, and the entire Tuoba Family naval formation accelerated once more.

Disregarding the artillery bombardment, they charged toward the imperial formation like a landslide and tsunami.

However, Tuoba Jiang, General was after all a veteran of many battles. During the charge, he intentionally placed the ships of other water bandits and fishermen at the very front, letting them bear the brunt of the artillery attacks.

Meanwhile, the core fleet belonging solely to the Tuoba Family was hidden in the middle, rapidly approaching by relying on the charge of the suicide squad.

Although there were quite a few incoming cannonball attacks, compared to the suicide squad at the very front, the losses of the Tuoba Family's core fleet were tolerable.

At the very rear, he also left a squad of reserve ships to act as reinforcements.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

Amidst the roaring sounds of huge cannons, Hun Jianglong's ships had already approached the imperial troops.

Tan Yunlong stood atop the watchtower to observe carefully, his expression changing slightly, and then he quickly leapt down from above.

"General! Those ships are bizarre; they are covered with a large amount of cowhide and goods. We must guard against deception."

Meng Guang also discovered something through the telescope. This fleet was moving very fast, and after approaching the artillery range, many people actually jumped straight into the lake water and swam away.

Only a large number of ships continued to charge forward by relying on their momentum.

Meng Guang said, "Incline the artillery, do not let them approach."

Soon, another round of artillery struck.

A large number of artillery shells blasted into the water, but quite a few cannonballs also hit these ships.

"Boom!"

In an instant, the ships struck by the artillery also exploded violently, with fierce flames soaring into the sky.

"That is… gunpowder!"

Meng Guang's pupils constricted: "The Tuoba Family also has gunpowder!"

"Quick! Continue the bombardment, don't let them approach…"

Meng Guang's order was given, but it was already too late.

The remaining dozen or so ships loaded with gunpowder finally approached the imperial fleet and exploded with a bang, instantly engulfing three large ships and dozens of small boats within.

Quite a few people began to scream miserably, with flames shooting up into the heavens.

"Thud!"

"Thud thud!"

"What sound is that?"

"Beneath the ship! There are water ghosts chiseling the hull!"

"Get off the ship quickly!"

Many naval soldiers shouted loudly. Beneath their ships, a massive number of water ghosts from the Tuoba Family had actually appeared.

Relying on their superb diving and swimming abilities, they sneaked to the bottoms of the large ships and began to chisel the hulls.

If facing other enemies, this tactic would have a high probability of working.

But what the Tuoba Family was currently facing was the Great Yu navy, which also originated from water bandits.

With a single command, thousands of soldiers immediately stripped off their garments, grabbed long sabers, and leapt down.

Soon, beneath the surface of the lake, things began to churn, and a large amount of fresh blood gushed out.

Not long after, corpse after corpse floated up from the bottom of the lake.

Among these corpses, the vast majority were bodies of the Tuoba Family's water ghost unit, with only a tiny fraction being bodies of the navy.

The reason was very simple.

In order to chisel through the navy's large ships, they had dived into the water more than a hundred meters away.

Having swum for so long, and then diving and chiseling at the bottom of the lake, their physical strength had long been considerably depleted.

Meanwhile, the Great Yu navy awaited them at their ease, and it was very easy for them to slaughter them.

As a result, the Tuoba Family's first wave of offensive lost at least several thousand people.

However…

Tuoba Qingtong's predetermined goal and objective had already been achieved.

The Tuoba Family's army of over a hundred thousand troops and naval vessels had already closed in and engaged in boarding combat with the Great Yu Dynasty navy!

"Kill!"

Countless cables were thrown out from the Tuoba Family's naval vessels, tying onto the masts of the Great Yu navy, and countless members of the Tuoba Family swung across.

However, what awaited them was not the steel sabers of the Great Yu navy, but line after line of muskets that had been waiting for a long time.

"Open fire!"

"Open fire!"

"Bang!"

"Bang bang!!"

In a flash, countless flashes of fire burst out from the water mist, and densely packed bullets easily tore apart the bodies of these Tuoba Family rebels.

"Ah!"

Accompanied by miserable screams, countless Tuoba Family rebel troops plummeted from mid-air, fiercely smashing into the lake water.

"Open fire!"

"Continue firing!"

Under the commands of their respective team leaders, lieutenants, and captains, squads of naval soldiers guarded the surroundings of the ships and the upper, middle, and lower three decks, continuously shooting down at this group of Tuoba Family rebels attempting to board the ships from a commanding height.

Squad after squad of rebels were pierced through the body by firearms and fell into the lake water, but a small fraction of people also managed to fortuitously break through the firearm blockade and smash into the navy warships.

The Great Yu navy, having waited for a long time, quickly pounced forward and slaughtered them.

As time went on, the originally dense gunfire became sparse, replaced entirely by harsh battle cries and the clashing of weapons.

Right under this chaotic environment, the warship carrying Tuoba Qingshan and Zhao Qingshan also approached the chaotic battlefield.

Flames soared into the sky from countless large ships, and people were fighting everywhere on the warships still anchored on the lake surface.

Hun Jianglong hid in the lake water, continuously ambushing and killing the naval soldiers who had fallen into the water.

Meanwhile, Tan Yunlong, Shentu Kui, Sun Hui, and others were also hidden among the navy, seeking opportunities to ambush and kill the rebels.

Overall, the Great Yu navy still held the advantage, after all, they had the benefit of firearms.

As for the rebels of the Tuoba Family, they were merely fighting with a surge of hot blood.

Looking at the chaotic battlefield, Tuoba Qingtong said, "Qingshan, it's up to you."

"I know, Big Brother."

Zhao Qingshan acknowledged, and then with a backhanded grab, a grayish-white triangular flag was snatched into his hand.

With a casual throw, this grayish-white flag actually floated up into mid-air.

His hands quickly formed hand seals, and he muttered words under his breath. Waves of obscure Spiritual Qi fluctuations emanated from his body.

And that grayish-white triangular flag also swelled rapidly against the wind, instantly transforming into a huge flag about three meters long.

"Whoosh,"

"Whoosh whoosh…!"

Waves of violent wind suddenly came from the flag, and thick mist once again enveloped the surroundings.

Faintly, a ferocious white giant python was rolling within it.

"Fog Python Flag, go!"