Chapter 1728: Chapter 44: Vietnamese Girl

Water and sky as one, azure and ethereal, absolutely ideal weather for bombardment!

Facing the U-shaped natural defensive harbor, Tang Zheng fearlessly commanded the sea ship to continue forward.

Bang, bang!

The pirates began their attack, cannon shells shot down from the artillery batteries set on both sides of the cliffs, making water columns splash chaotically.

“Captain, we can’t get any closer, or we’ll be sunk.” The sailors pleaded anxiously, while the artillerymen remained unexpectedly silent, having witnessed the precision bombardment earlier, they knew the captain had a miraculous ability.

“Begin the bombardment!” Tang Zheng knocked on the ship’s side with his telescope and shouted.

Boom, boom.

The female musketeers erupted, solid shells smashed into the cliff, causing rubble to constantly fall.

In just one minute, the artillery batteries on both sides were taken out, thus the pirates’ small island base was revealed like a stripped girl, presented to everyone.

The sailors cheered loudly, their faces filled with greed and a desire for plunder.

In this world, even angels, ghost ships, and sea monsters appeared constantly, so the sailors were not surprised at all, instead believing they were blessed by the sea god, sending Tang Zheng to lead them.

“Turn the sea ship around, boys.”

Tang Zheng did not rush to land, but instead turned the ship’s side towards the pirates, fifteen cannons lined up began to roar, spitting out angry tongues of fire.

“I don’t want meaningless casualties, bombard them until they raise the white flag and surrender.”

Tang Zheng watched the island with his telescope.

The fenced-in base came into view, inside were houses made of reefs and thatch, constantly collapsing under the bombardment.

The pirates were panicked and running around the beach like headless chickens.

The ship that had fled into the harbor, thinking it was safe, was dumbfounded, and after a brief stupor, turned back to prepare for combat.

“Sophie, don’t sink it this time; I want the ship!” Tang Zheng shouted.

The pirate ship fired only three shots before it completely fell silent, as the fifteen shells from the female musketeers hit it, piercing its side and injuring a large number of gunners in the gun bay.

Between sea and sky, there was only one sound left, and that was the roar of the cannon.

“Captain, have a seat.” A diligent sailor brought over a chair and respectfully placed it beside Tang Zheng.

Much shorter than expected, the pirates collapsed and raised the white flag.

“Prepare the sailors for landing combat and clear out the remaining enemies.” Tang Zheng instructed Yin Shangwu, “You’re in charge of leading them, don’t let these guys hide too many spoils of war.”

“Understood.” Yin Shangwu nodded, turned to gather his subordinates, and prepared the small boat.

“Dong Zixuan, Tao Ran, guard the ship; shoot immediately if you spot anyone suspicious.” Tang Zheng ran to the side of the ship, then jumped into the air like a big bird.

Gravity rebounded, Tang Zheng shot towards the small island like a human cannonball.

Boom, Tang Zheng landed steadily on the beach, knees slightly bent to release the momentum.

The pirates waving white flags were dumbfounded at this scene, but a dozen ill-intentioned ones, seeing the enemy captain coming alone, directly pulled out hidden handguns and fired at him.

Gunshots rang out but were soon drowned out by surprised cries.

The pirates discovered that all the bullets stopped a meter before the opponent, unable to go further.

“Unrepentant!” Tang Zheng waved his hand, bullets reflected back into the crowd of attackers, directly knocking down a group.

Wails spread, blood flowed and soaked the sea sand.

“Who is in charge? Take me to find the treasure; if you can’t provide satisfactory spoils of war, you’re dead.” Tang Zheng’s icy gaze swept over them, and amidst absolute power, he no longer cared if his words would incite a rebellion.

Sure enough, the pirates’ faces changed drastically, noise rose.

Tang Zheng noticed they were all looking at one man, grabbed him single-handedly with gravity claw and brought him over.

“I’ll say, I’ll tell you everything.” The man’s legs kicked wildly and he was directly scared witless.

Tang Zheng’s ruthless behavior silenced the pirate leader, who revealed all secrets like spilling beans from a bamboo tube.

Twenty minutes later, Tang Zheng, holding a torch, followed him through an underground passage into a natural stone cave.

A dozen large iron boxes piled in the center, without waiting for the leader to unlock, Tang Zheng’s Lake Light sliced them open, gold coins spilled out shiningly.

Tang Zheng paid no attention to them, his gaze entirely drawn to the box placed at the top.

“That was stolen by our captain from a large merchant ship, reportedly belonging to a duke,” the leader explained, his face pale, and his gaze involuntarily fell on Tang Zheng’s weapon, which he regarded as a precious treasure.

“Where is your captain?” Tang Zheng remembered they hadn’t caught the main culprit yet and wondered if he was on the wanted list.

“He’s dead. His ship was sunk by you,” the leader said cautiously, fearing a beating.

“Damn it, the female musketeers were too harsh. We need to be more careful in the future.” Tang Zheng opened a small box and saw the map inside.

“Haven’t you tried to find it before?” Opening the old parchment, a stench hit them.

“That’s Red Beard’s territory. Any pirate ship that enters is attacked,” the leader said with lingering fear. “He is the most ferocious and domineering pirate leader in this sea area, worth a million gold coins.”

“If I’d known, I would have gone straight to fight him. A million could buy the largest warship.” Tang Zheng put away the map and patted the leader’s shoulder, “Help me move them out. Also, you’ll have to humble yourself as a guide.”

“You’re not really going to fight Red Beard, are you?”

The leader received no answer as Tang Zheng left without looking back, while Sophie was leading a group of female musketeers to oversee the pirates moving the treasure.

As Tang Zheng and these pirates were mortal enemies, he didn’t recruit sailors from them. After setting the base on fire, he began the journey home.

“We struck it rich,” Yin Shangwu said, tossing a gold coin happily.

This time, although they hadn’t robbed a merchant ship, they had dug up a pirate’s secret base, with decades’ worth of wealth valued in the millions.

“We can add two large ships now. After repairing that pirate ship, we can form a fleet,” Dong Zixuan seemed to have taken a liking to playing pirate games. Since they were all villains, the policewoman with a strong sense of justice had no burden to kill them.

In the harbor city, the home of the ship dealer Old Man.

“You’re back to repay your debt so soon?” The Old Man looked astonished, finding his speed of amassing wealth incredible.

“I’m not only not repaying; I want to rent two more ships.” Tang Zheng snapped his fingers, and the sailors immediately presented two boxes filled with banknotes exchanged from gold coins. “No problem, right?”

“Sorry, that’s against the rules.” The Old Man refused, as that would give the kid seven warships, greatly disrupting the game’s balance.

“Rules?” Tang Zheng was puzzled.

“They said you are only allowed to rent once before earning the initial capital; after that, it’s not allowed.”

“Who are they?” Tang Zheng guessed it was Trojan.

“I don’t know either, but they are gods. They gave me everything I have now, so I must follow their instructions,” the Old Man replied, taking the banknotes and pulling out his model ship. “After repaying the debt and interest for this ship, you can buy another one.”

Tang Zheng had to compromise.

“Five ships now, amazing.” A day later, looking at the well-repaired sea ships anchored at the harbor, Jiang Xiuming was full of emotion. “Now, who can challenge us? Let’s set off quickly; I can hardly wait to sink other teams’ ships.”

“Only five ships? When can we form an invincible fleet?” Dong Zixuan sighed. The policewoman was clearly a devoted fan of the Age of Sail.

Although Dong Zixuan was dissatisfied, five sea ships with a total of over 120 cannons represented powerful firepower.

Tang Zheng didn’t understand naval battles, so he hired an experienced retired old captain to serve as first mate.

This guy was a drunkard, having squandered all his savings, or he wouldn’t have boarded a pirate ship. However, his professional skills were unquestionable.

Three days after setting sail, the fleet’s vanguard encountered the enemy.

“Hoist the sails, advance at full speed.” Dong Zixuan, with a captain’s hat, swung her right arm with great intensity.

To enhance the ship’s attributes, Tang Zheng reassigned group members, even sending Fang Zhiwen over despite her repeated refusals, leaving only Tao Ran on his flagship.

“Do we have a grudge against the pirates?” Through a monocular telescope, Tang Zheng saw the ship engaged in a fierce battle with Jiang Xiuming’s vanguard ship.

Although it didn’t hoist a flag, the numerous gun ports indicated it wasn’t a merchant ship.

“Report to the captain, four suspected pirate ships have been spotted approaching at full speed.” The lookout reported nervously.

“Damn, give me some more time, and I could have sunk it.” The Vietnamese girl was so angry she pounded the helm with a fist, looking at the clumsy sea ship, unwilling to give up but unable to.

“Why am I always the bait?” Jiang Xiuming complained, but his face was filled with smiles. He had already spotted the opponent, the Conquerors. “Five against one, you’re doomed.”

“Signal the policewoman ship and Yin Shangwu ship to intercept while Jiang Xiuming ship engages the opponent. Fang Zhiwen ship is to follow the flagship and capture the favorable position with full firepower,” Tang Zheng took a deep breath and summoned the female musketeers, ordering them to stand by in the gun bay.

“Captain, something is wrong. These guys are together.”

Listening to the crew’s report, the Vietnamese girl’s face changed.

“Impossible, the opponent is the Conquerors. How could they buy five ships at once?” The Vietnamese girl couldn’t believe it, but she had no time to probe the truth. The five ships formed a circle, evidently aiming to swallow her, “Could it be some rogue alliances?”

“Full speed retreat.” The Vietnamese girl didn’t dare to engage further, seeing the five warships rushing like sharks. She immediately fled for her life.

The Vietnamese girl couldn’t escape. To deal with such situations, Tang Zheng had bought a fast ship, which became Yin Shangwu’s vehicle. (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)