However, at that moment, Xu Hong walked to Happy with an unpleasant expression.
"Officer Happy!"
"Officer Xu, do you have any orders for me?"
"Officer Happy, things are very bad right now. We have truly encountered an unprecedented problem, and I have to tell you something."
Xu Hong's tone was very grave, and this caused Happy's heart to tense. 'Are you seriously telling me that this mechanism is a one-time thing?'
"You can go on ahead and tell me."
Xu Hong sighed. "This is how it is. The Murong Clan's mighty reputation has spread far and wide across the land, and we have never allowed anyone to blaspheme our prestige. For the safety of our cargo, we installed various powerful mechanisms in our fleet, but those mechanisms are all meant for normal pirates. We have never considered such a large-scale battle."
Happy did not say anything, but he had been expecting that.
What Xu Hong said was only right. If they continued to strengthen their sh.i.p.s, they would be turning them into national-level weapons. Forget the imperial court, even the Western Depot and Eastern Depot would not let the Murong Clan off so easily if they did that.
"The flying needles on the ship will only last us until we reach a rather wider area in front, but it's not that much bigger. The further we go forward, the narrower the river will get. That's why I've decided to head to the area in front of us and converge our fleet in a circle. We will work together and focus our firepower. Then, perhaps we will have a chance to destroy the enemies from Common Reed Bank! But this navy battle will be very dangerous! At that time, I might not be able to even protect myself."
When he heard Xu Hong's arrangement, Happy's eyes lit up.
"Officer Xu, don't worry, for the Murong Clan's glory, I will definitely do my best to help everyone hold off the enemy."
'We'll be facing the enemies with a circle formation in a wide area? If that's the case, the situation might not be as bad as I thought,' Happy thought.
Chapter 307 - Mysterious White Veiled Woman
The Murong Clan's fleet continued to travel slowly through the river.
The players at Common Reed Bank's banks—numbering more than ten thousand—still did not give up. They chased after the fleet on the sides, and their numbers just continued increasing. However, the increase had become marginal by then.
During that period of time, someone incited the crowd to attack the fleet again, but soon, they were all forced back by another round of flying needles. Their attacks came to a pause, and because they were wary, they did not dare to move forward again.
Once they entered an area that seemed like a small lake, they looked ahead and saw that the breadth of the river swiftly narrowed there.
"Haha!"
"This is our chance! The river in front of us is very narrow! The fleet will not be able to move quickly! Let them enter it!" Some of the people who had some degree of understanding toward marine navigation called out to the people to lay an ambush. "We can go in front and wait for them there!"
There were quite a number of people who thought that what they said made sense. They caught up to them and rushed forward together.
Happy could see all of that from the bow of the ship.
Many people swiftly appeared at the sides of the river in the distance—which had become much narrower—and some of them had even switched to bows and arrows. By the looks of it, they intended to wait for the sh.i.p.s to run into the trap and use long-distance weaponry to subdue the Murong Clan's fleet.
However, their plans soon fell through.
Once the Murong Clan's fleet entered the lake-like area, the ship in the lead changed direction. It drew a perfect arc with the fleet, and under the countless martial artists' surprised gazes, the sh.i.p.s swiftly formed a circle formation with the tail connected to the head in the river that was not exactly wide.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Chains as thick as arms were thrown out of the big sh.i.p.s. They landed on nearby decks and were quickly fixed in position by the armed escorts on guard. The twelve sh.i.p.s were quickly connected together and practically filled up the whole area. Sturdy boards were also placed horizontally between the sh.i.p.s to form paths.
*****
The Murong Clan acted swiftly. They quickly fell into the formation and established their defenses. An unshakeable military camp instantly revealed itself before countless players' eyes.
Behind the crowd was a group of players with uniform attire. They stood far in the back and were positioned at a slightly higher place to observe the situation from a distance. They could easily see then that the entire fleet took the formation of swimming dragons. Soon, they were ready for battle, and they released an astonishingly murderous presence.
The expressions of the players in the back changed slightly, revealing shock.
"As expected of a group quest that provides a reward of one million taels of silver. The commander of the fleet is pretty outstanding… When did such a strong pirate appear in Changjiang? The imperial court's navy might not be their opponents."
"This quest has been strange since the beginning. Logically speaking, it should be the army's duty to deal with pirates. The imperial court's navy doesn't have any other duties. Why then did they decide to reward us with one million taels of silver crumbs out of the blue for serving as militia to handle the situation." A woman with a white veil over her face in the crowd had a faint, mocking look on her face.
"Even stranger still is that the fleet has the Murong Clan's flag with them. If the Murong Clan's goods have been stolen, even the imperial court's navy would not dare to use the stolen goods as a reward. There are far too many holes in this."
"Lil' Sis Shadow, are you saying that they aren't pirates, but the real Murong Clan's fleet?!" A man nearby stroked his chin while staring at the fleet in the distance in disbelief.
"Has the imperial court decided to take action against the Murong Clan?"
"It's not the imperial court. That doesn't make sense. If my guess is correct, it should be someone with a high rank among the navy. That person doesn't want to mobilize his army so that he will end up as the subject of ridicule, so he mobilized martial artists."
"But the announcement can serve as proof as well."
"He can absolve himself from being responsible over it. As long as he says that the information he obtained was wrong, what can the Murong Clan do about it?" The woman paused for a moment before blinking calmly. "If we succeed in this quest and no one from the Murong Clan survives, who can prove that the people on the salt ship are from the Murong Clan instead of pirates?"
"Whew…" The group s.u.c.k.e.d in sharp breaths.
"I didn't expect that the NPCs will have so many complicated stuff going on between them. No matter what it is, the Murong Clan is still an aristocratic family, you know. Looks like these people have all been manipulated by the imperial court's navy!"
"Far from it." The veiled woman recomposed herself. She cast a glance at a few groups of people in the distance who had also not taken any action.
"We're definitely not the only ones who have noticed that something's strange. There's probably plenty of people who have noticed it. But the Murong Clan and the navy's conflict has nothing to do with us. As long as we complete the quest and obtain the benefits we should, it'll be enough."
"Lil' Sis Shadow, you're right."
Everyone smiled in a way that said that it was how they expected things should progress. They cast their gazes on the circular formation of sh.i.p.s formed by the Murong Clan while feeling very relaxed. It did not look that they were anxious that the players—numbering to more than ten thousand—impatiently rushing to surround the area would kill all the people and snatch all the rewards.
To them, the Murong Clan was an aristocratic family that had quite a lot of power and strength. If they defended themselves and counterattacked with all their might, they could deal a heavy blow toward the more than ten thousand players.
<
br /> They did not want to have their blood spilled there and end up as someone else's stepping stone.
"Let them rush forward. If the circle formation isn't broken, the Murong Clan's counterattack will be very terrifying. We just have to watch by the side. If we can't get any kills, we can just watch from the sidelines."
The woman with the white veil frowned slightly when she heard the man's words. She seemed to have a different opinion.
"Big brother, don't be so certain. Don't forget that the NPCs are not the entire reason behind why a storyline is triggered. This time, we aren't the ones who triggered the conflict between the Murong Clan and the imperial court's navy. It might be triggered by a player who is currently among the sh.i.p.s. The others might be worried about who can get more kills, but in truth, that person is the one who is the deciding factor for this quest."
"Are you talking about the Murong Clan's hidden forces?" The man frowned, and his expression grew stern.
The woman with the white veil nodded with certainty. "Over the past half a year since World of Martial Arts has been launched, the quests have always had a unique system to keep them in balance. Each quest has a certain degree of danger accompanying it. The fleet might seem very powerful, but anyone with eyes can tell that its strength is limited, and the momentum behind its attacks is not strong.
"Even the mechanisms have been shut down, which proves that they can't continue using them. What's left are just hundreds of people in the circle formation formed by the sh.i.p.s! The disparity in strength is great! So I won't believe it if someone says there are no hidden forces there."
The expression of everyone around the woman turned solemn.
Some of the things that she said were things that they saw themselves. Far too many people had taken up the group quest, so the fleet could not compare with them in terms of numbers.
"If that's the case, are you saying that it's actually a good thing that we haven't approached the sh.i.p.s?"
"There is no absolute good or bad in anything. Let's continue observing the situation. After all, the players are the ones playing the game. The ones who can truly determine the situation are us."
The veiled woman answered the question from the person beside her with nigh abnormal rationality. But her words were something that her companions could not refute.
However, at that moment, a commotion burst out in the area in front of them.
Within their field of vision was a man in Yellow Dragon Archer Gear. At some point in time, he had appeared at a high point of the lead ship and was staring straight at them.
His blue hero's bandana danced with the wind while he held a luxurious and noble-looking sword in its sheath. An enigmatic Bamboo Hat, which he had to have obtained from the royal mausoleum, was in his other hand, and he slowly placed it on his head.
Chapter 308 - Kill Without Mercy
"He's not an NPC, he seems to be a player!"
"How can this be?"
"He came out from the cabin! Could it be that this person is with the fleet?"
The appearance of a mysterious man and his attire that was much better than countless players' stunned everyone by Common Reed Bank. Even though the man did not say anything, his actions showed the confidence and demeanor of an elite!
The people who were right at the front came to a swift stop and sized up the person with sparkling eyes. His Yellow Dragon Archer Gear, Golden Gauntlet, Yellow Dragon Boots, Bamboo Hat, and his sword in its sheath seemed to all be extraordinary equipment. At the sight of the, the crowd's expression turned grave.
When they faced the person who stood on the bridge wing, they found that he appeared composed and relaxed despite facing countless martial artists. Hence, the players looked at each other at a loss. They did not quite know what to do then.
That was how people always reacted.
When they heard of something good, they would always rush to the front for it, but when they faced unknown dangers, they would want others to rush ahead of them first.
At the moment the mysterious man put the Bamboo Hat on his head and covered it, the eyes of quite a number of female players in the crowd sparkled. They instantly forgot their goal for the trip.
Some people left quietly.
There was no other reason for it, but that the Murong Clan's fleet was already a difficult target. It would have been easier if they were commanded by an NPC, but if they were commanded by players, the battle would definitely be much more horrifying than what they had expected.
However, the brief moment of pause did not stop the others from attacking from the other directions of Common Reed Bank!
Countless arrows shot out from the crowd and flew toward the other sh.i.p.s. The sound of air being sliced through could be heard nonstop, and quite a number of players broke through the sh.i.p.s' defense line under the cover provided by the archers' great power. They shifted near the sh.i.p.s, and some even jumped up in preparation to slaughter their way to the sh.i.p.s.
Happy frowned.
Without another word, he quickly vanished from the bridge wing.
He activated Phantasm Body Movement Skill and moved through the paths between the sh.i.p.s like lightning. In the blink of an eye, he appeared on the ship that was under the strongest fire.
Originally, Xu Hong's ship had lost quite a number of armed escorts because of Water Rascal's attack. Hence, it was the ship with the weakest defense among the fleet. Happy's original intention was to split some of the pressure that would fall on the leading ship, but he did not expect that the leading ship would not be attacked, and the other sh.i.p.s would first fall under fire.
'Let's hope that the leading ship won't be attacked just yet!'
Happy could only place his hopes on Xu Hong for the time being. As an officer for the Murong Clan, he should possess some abilities.
When Happy landed on the ship he aimed for, he saw that even though the helpless situation of all manpower on the ship being killed because of countless players boarding it had not happened, quite a number of armed escorts had died under the hands of a man with two hatchets. The surviving armed escorts had given up on using their repeating crossbows, and with the protection provided by their metal armor, they blocked off the attacks from the martial artists who boarded their ship from everywhere.
"Ah!"
"This old man is good! Kill him first!"
No one noticed Happy's arrival. Around a dozen martial artists were either blown into the river or fell on the banks again from the second level in a very pathetic manner. But they swiftly got up again and called out for more people to surround an old man in a brocade robe on the second level.
The old man had a cold glare in his eyes and showed no fear!
"You bunch of rebels!"
While he roared in anger, he used his palms to move at ease among Mystical Realm players. Occasionally, someone would be thrown off the ship by an astonishing force.
"Haha! Again! Again! This money is coming at me so easily! Haha!"
The man with the hatchets had clearly obtained the rewards for his kills after taking out multiple armed escorts. He was filled with boundless enthusiasm as he jumped on the deck to head to another two armed escorts while laughing nonstop.
Whoosh!
Right when he charged in front of the two armed escorts, the sound of air being sliced apart rose beside his ears, and he scowled.
'You're actually thinking of stealing my kill?'
He spun with his hatchets and delivered a slash boldly.
"Fourth, careful!"
Quite a number of people had jumped on the ship at that moment, and they were just in time to see the newcomer's attack, to which they shouted a warning in fear.
But they were too late.
The black hatchets spun around and sliced at the air in a full circle at lightning speed, but they did not manage to hit their target. The man's heart then let out a loud thump, and he quickly realized that the situation was bad for him. His mind worked quickly, a
nd he looked around. In the blind spot of his vision, he saw a man with a Bamboo Hat whose face could not be seen clearly. He moved freely, and he had one hand against against the sheath while the other was placed on the sword's hilt. An astonishing sword glare rose swiftly, and it was a classic sword draw technique!
Clang!
A pleasant sword w.h.i.n.e rose, and the man shuddered. He took three loud, continuous steps backwards, and a line of cracks formed on the deck. Fortunately for him, however, he did not die.
Happy took three steps backwards and stared at the blood trickling out of the man's mouth, as well as his armor. He let out a barely audible gasp of surprise.
'He actually managed to withstand 80% of Seven Stars Sword Style's power and not die? It's no wonder why he managed to kill so many armed escorts so quickly. As expected, there are a few players with outstanding abilities in this group!'
But Happy did not know that the man in front of him had already been filled with fear…
His Black Bear Silver Armor could increase defense by 600. With his high-tier body fortification technique at the eighth realm and activated Mystical Realm, his defense could reached more than 1,500 points. Even when he faced multiple elites who had martial arts at Grandmaster Realm and were at Mystical Realm, he could handle them with ease. He thus did not expect that he would be injured by a stranger on this ship!
"Are you alright?"
Four men and one woman appeared beside the man. When they saw the blood at the corners of his lips, their expressions changed, and when they looked at the mysterious man with the Bamboo Hat, their gazes turned grave.
"Sir, you are…"
"I don't have time to waste on idle chatter." Happy looked around. The situation was becoming more and more perilous. His tone also immediately became much colder than before. "If you want to live, get out of the ship. If you don't, I will kill all of you without mercy!"
His words were not targeted at the six only. Instead, he spoke to all the martial artists who attacked the ship!
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