CHAPTER 155: CHAPTER 144: DEFENDING LVCHUN ISLAND

Many wars aren’t determined solely by hard power.

At critical moments, the captain’s judgment of the battle situation, decisiveness, prestige, and the crew’s cohesion all play a crucial role.

Just like Fang Yu and the others before, once ambushed and destroyed a warship.

In terms of pure hard power, the warship’s combat strength far exceeded that of his mere cargo ship by an unknown margin.

But at critical moments, making a series of judgments, combined with the crew’s wholehearted cooperation and willingness to unconditionally trust the captain’s decisions, Fang Yu could manage a David versus Goliath scenario and sink the warship.

Even if any one link had failed, this achievement would have been impossible.

As for Zhang Haiyuan...

He made it onto the power rankings, but so what?

He probably can’t even manage basic crew cohesion. Having sailed smoothly without experiencing life-and-death crises with the crew, when danger escalates, he’s likely the one to fail at critical moments.

He’s indeed not part of the same circle.

The five never took Zhang Haiyuan seriously.

Now, without Zhang Haiyuan interrupting their conversation, Shi Jun couldn’t help but look towards Fang Yu before him, raising an eyebrow with a hint of inquiry in his eyes.

Seeing everyone’s attention on him, Fang Yu couldn’t help but smile, nodding as he spoke: "Okay, do we have a mission plan? I’m fine on my end and can do the ship-level mission together."

Ship-level...

It’s not a trifling matter.

Even someone as confident as Fang Yu had to be a little more grounded.

Teaming up with everyone offers better odds of completing this level of mission.

Doing it alone... it’s indeed quite challenging to finish solo.

Upon hearing Fang Yu agree, the four visibly relaxed, and a slight smile appeared on their faces.

"Great, with five of us together, our chances are even better."

Shi Jun nodded, stood up, and then spoke to everyone: "Tomorrow, we’ll meet at the military office to accept this mission together."

"There are many Sea Ore Islands currently lacking captains, but many ship-level captains are also teaming up."

"Let’s get there early tomorrow to prevent all the missions from getting snatched up by those ship-level captains, leaving none for us."

After hearing Shi Jun, everyone nodded slightly.

Then, they casually chatted about some non-mission-related topics, sharing some of their own sea experiences with each other before returning to their own vessels.

...

Early the next morning, the group met at the military office.

It was a lot busier at the military office than the last time.

A large number of captains wanted to participate in the richly rewarding main missions, so they frequently hovered around the office, hoping to see any suitable task released.

Surprisingly, not many people took up the group’s target mission.

It’s quite normal, considering their mission already falls under the ship-level captain’s purview.

Even for ship-level captains, it’s best to avoid risk if possible. When it comes to actual combat with the military, few captains are willing to take the mission.

The person posting the mission wasn’t Mr. Kong, but a young officer.

He glanced at them and then, slightly stunned, frowned and said: "I appreciate your determination to contribute to the Southern Island Sea Region’s battles, but this mission requires a military rank of at least E-rank sergeant to take up. It seems none of you have reached the sergeant rank yet."

The group was taken aback after hearing the officer’s words, then Fang Yu and the others blushed with embarrassment.

Fang Yu’s rank... is an F-rank senior soldier.

There’s a certain gap to E-rank sergeant, not meeting the mission’s standard.

This... is awkward.

They came enthusiastically to take up the mission, only to find out it was limited to E-rank sergeants?

So, all those ship-level captains can only stare blankly because they’re restricted by rank too?

But just then, suddenly, a silhouette among the five stepped forward: "Hello, officer! I hold an E-rank corporal’s rank, and these four are my subordinates. We should be eligible to take the Sea Ore Island defense mission, right?"

Everyone was stunned, turning their gaze to the speaker.

It was Shi Jun, smiling as he stepped forward to address the officer.

"How could I forget this part..."

"Shi Jun is the ultimate task fanatic, grinding missions like crazy."

"Whether it’s the Ocean Court or military force levels, Shi Jun should’ve grinded to E-rank."

Guan Xinxue and the others shook their heads, envy on their faces.

Even Fang Yu was slightly taken aback, looking at Shi Jun with more appreciation than before.

Getting into the power rankings as a civilian means you’re no pushover.

Fang Yu had done tasks for the Ocean Court; he knows exactly how difficult it is to grind an organization like that to E-rank.

A regular F-rank task’s reward maxes out at 3 or 4 points.

Getting from F-rank to E-rank requires accumulating 100 points.

Shi Jun didn’t have the dice, so to grind these levels, he had to progress one step at a time.

It’s hard to imagine how many tasks this guy must have done to grind both his rank and Ocean Court level to the current E-rank.

...

The officer, surprised by Shi Jun’s words, asked him to show his officer’s ID and, after confirming, scanned Shi Jun up and down with a strange look.

"Truly a..."

"Young officer..."

This officer was a sergeant, so technically higher in rank than Shi Jun, thus naturally speaking with a typical superior-to-subordinate attitude.

"Alright... since your rank has reached officer level, you’re indeed qualified for this task, but..."

The officer swept his gaze over the group, lingering for a moment on Fang Yu, feeling he looked familiar, but soon he withdrew his gaze, earnestly addressing the five:

"I need to warn you in advance."

"Military tasks aren’t like those from the Ocean Court or other guilds or companies, where you can do it halfway and choose to give up."

"Once you take a military task, if you quit midway, you’ll be treated as a deserter."

"You also can’t leave the guarded area without permission. If the Sea Ore Island you’re defending is seized, not only do you not get a mission reward, you’ll be penalized, and possibly demoted."

"If you really can’t hold out, you can apply to your superiors but can’t just leave."

"Only when your superiors issue a mission completion or a retreat order can you withdraw regularly."

"Understood?"

The officer’s gaze was stern, with a hint of warning in its depth.

Clearly, before Fang Yu and the others, a rash Blue Star Captain had pulled out midway after taking a military task.

Leaving the military personnel with a big headache.

"Understood, officer!"

Fang Yu and the others couldn’t help but respond loudly.

They didn’t have any objections in their hearts.

The military must have its own order and rules; it’s an iron law, whether in the Ocean World or the Blue Star World.

Before taking the mission, everyone was mentally prepared.

After hearing Fang Yu and the others’ assurance, the officer nodded slightly, then handed a task document to Shi Jun.

"This is the Sea Ore Island you need to go to. Based on your request, I haven’t chosen a critical island for you to guard; that’s beyond your capability."

"You only need to guard near this small island called ’Lvchun Island’ for a week to complete the mission."

"After that, I’ll send another batch of guards to relieve you."

"Alright, you have only three days. If you don’t report to Lvchun Island for the handover in that time, it counts as a mission failure, and your rank will be revoked then."