Genshin Impact: I Am a Slime

Pantalone's cold command struck the first mate behind him like a thunderbolt, freezing him instantly.

"Meet...meet them head-on?!"

The first mate's voice was distorted with extreme shock and fear.

Just now, he saw it clearly through the high-powered telescope made in Fontainebleau.

The approaching warships were covered with cold, forest-like cannons along their sides, and several gigantic, menacing crossbows with faintly flowing elemental energy stood on their decks.

These ships are pure war machines.

The Yermak they were on was a completely unarmed civilian merchant ship; it couldn't even find a decent self-defense musket, let alone a mortar.

What's even more chilling is that the ship's so-called crew members are almost all veterans who retired from the Fools' advance team and debt collectors.

They were either physically disabled or suffering from injuries and illnesses, and were no longer as brave as they once were.

Before boarding, Lord Pantalone painted such a warm picture for them: to board this homecoming fleet laden with mora, carrying the glory of winter and generous pensions, and return to their beloved homeland to live out the rest of their lives in peace.

These veterans, who had shed their blood for winter, boarded the deck with boundless longing and solace for their hometown. Touching the ship's side and deck, they were filled with emotion, saying that the smoke of war had cleared and they were finally able to return home.

Who would have thought that this ship, which carried peace and hope, would be disguised as a coffin leading straight to hell?

Pantalone's actions were despicable. He not only regarded these wounded veterans as mere pawns, but his deeper calculations were to test the bottom line of the Liyue Sept.

If Ningguang dares to openly attack this unarmed ship full of wounded soldiers, the condemnation from the Seven Kingdoms will surely flood Liyue like a tidal wave.

However, this method is so despicable and dirty that it is utterly contemptible.

"Sir...sir!"

"We...we're just a merchant ship, we don't have any weapons! How...how are we supposed to fight back?"

The first mate, standing to the side, was pale-faced and his voice trembled as he tried to speak, his eyes filled with pleading and disbelief.

Pantalone simply turned his head calmly, his eyes, peering through his glasses, sweeping over the first mate without a ripple of emotion.

There was no rebuke, not even a superfluous expression, but the absolute will and chilling intent contained in that calm gaze instantly froze all the first mate's courage and doubts.

The first mate gritted his teeth, swallowing all his fear and resentment, straightened his body, gave Pantalone a winter's salute, and roared:

"Yes, Lord Pantalone!"

He immediately turned around and shouted hoarsely toward the watchtower:

"Signal! Notify all ships to prepare for boarding action! Full speed ahead!"

The flag bearer on the lookout tower, his arm heavy but not hesitant, quickly waved the signal light, relaying this almost suicidal order to the other six equally frail merchant ships.

Without the firepower of gunboats, but with Pantalone's orders as ironclad as law, they were left with only one absurd tactical option.

Using these six merchant ships, laden with wounded veterans, they charged at full speed towards the heavily armed Southern Cross fleet, engaging in a doomed and futile boarding maneuver.

On the lookout tower of the Southern Cross fleet's flagship, the Death Star, Xu Liushi almost burst out laughing.

He clearly deciphered the light signals frantically waved by the flag bearer of the Yermak. They were the most basic, universal flag signals, completely unencrypted, and their meaning was simple and direct: "Prepare for boarding action! Full speed ahead!"

"Pfft..."

Xu Liushi suppressed a laugh and quickly reported down through the megaphone, his tone filled with disbelief and sarcasm.

"Boss, they've given us a signal! They're going to board us, they're speeding over!"

Upon hearing this, Beidou on deck was first taken aback, then let out a short, loud sneer, a wild, disdainful grin spreading across his lips. "Ha! Boarding action?!"

The sea dragon king seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world.

"That old fox Pantarone, he seemed quite shrewd when he was stirring up trouble in Liyue Harbor, but how come he becomes as stupid as a headless sea monster at sea?"

"Attention all gunnery positions! Target locked, enemy fleet's lead ship, awaiting entry into firing range."

Beidou turned its head, and a loud sound like the beating of war drums instantly spread to all ships.

Several days ago, Ningguang mysteriously told her that tonight's ambush was against one of the most dangerous Executors of the Fatui, Pantarone, who could turn the world upside down and had drained Liyue of its wealth.

Beidou was originally on high alert, expecting a fierce battle and possibly even encountering the Fools' hidden tricks.

Unexpectedly, this financial behemoth was so incompetent in naval warfare, attempting to engage in a bloody boarding maneuver with a few bare ships that couldn't even fire cannons.

Even more ridiculous is that the ships' orders were transmitted using undisguised flag signals, as if they were afraid the enemy wouldn't understand their suicide plan.

Beidou patted the cold, heavy Guizhong crossbow beside her. The complex elemental runes on it shimmered dangerously in the moonlight. Her voice carried absolute confidence and a hint of bloodthirsty excitement.

"You've had your fun tonight, but too bad, the target is too small, not even enough to fill a tooth gap!"

Back then, Beidou put in a lot of effort to acquire this batch of top-tier weapons from Ningguang.

These return machines and heavy artillery were prepared to blast those ten-million-ton deep-sea monsters in the Cloud Sea into dust.

If she can't even handle a few merchant ships that are barely better than paper, wouldn't Ningguang laugh at her for the rest of her life?

"listen!"

The Big Dipper roared like thunder, pointing towards the vanguard of the Yermak fleet, which was growing larger and larger in the field of vision.

"First salvo! Bomb that idiot leading the charge to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish!"

The command, like an invisible current, instantly activated the entire fleet.

On every warship of the Southern Cross fleet, the gunners, with sharp eyes and precise movements, moved their cold cannons slowly, following the pre-calculated lead, and locked onto the merchant ship charging ahead of the Yermak.

The muzzle of the Returning End Ballista began to gather blinding elemental light, and the breech of the Black Rock Heavy Cannon closed heavily. In the deathly silence, only the hum of energy accumulation and the hiss of the burning fuse remained, like the whisper of death.

The cold sea breeze carried the salty, fishy smell of gunpowder, and the deck of the Death Star was filled with the grim atmosphere of an impending great battle.

At the very front of the ship, the traveler gripped his blunt sword tightly, the tip pointing diagonally at the sea. He leaned forward slightly, his eyes fixed intently on the approaching enemy ship, ready to intercept any boarding attack.

Little Paimon clung tightly to the traveler's clothes, shrinking behind her, his eyes filled with tension as he watched the several dark figures looming over him like giant beasts, his body trembling slightly.

In a relatively open area of ​​the ship's hull, Zhongli stood quietly.

He crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze deep and unwavering. His golden eyes, like ancient wells, reflected the gradually clearer outlines of enemy ships in the distance and the tense figures of sailors preparing for battle nearby, their depths unfathomable.

No one knew what this guest of the Hall of Rebirth was thinking at that moment; his detached calmness formed a strange contrast with the tension around him.

At the command center, Beidou stood like a rock beside the ramming bow, her roar like thunder, issuing clear and precise orders to every gun position and combat post.

Ningguang, standing beside her, did not focus her gaze entirely on the approaching enemy ship.

Her insightful crimson eyes, carrying a subtle depth and probing, remained lingering on the steady, mountain-like figure at the hull of the ship.

Zhongli's existence was like a huge mystery, preventing her from completely looking away even on this battlefield where life and death hung in the balance. (End of Chapter)