Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 153 The Secret Transmission of the True Method: Shocking the Dragons!
Phew——!
At this moment, Wang Cheng's number one [Guardian Spirit General], the white-headed eagle Aji, had already arrived in the sky above the battlefield.

The towering flames, billowing smoke, fierce fighting, floating corpses in the sea, and crimson cannon fire were all clearly visible.

The footage was also broadcast live to Wang Cheng, Shen Yueye, Zhang San, Dong Piao, Huang Yuanzhou, Bald Donkey, and other members of their core team.

The Five Peaks Flag, originally the strongest warship in the hands of the Eastern Sea Kingdom, fell into the hands of the imperial court last year after the assassination of Prince Jinghai.

They all gathered on the Yun Jing, a level-five sailing warship specially prepared for Wang Cheng, with their respective flagships serving as its escorts.

The combined number of sailing warships and armed merchant ships controlled by the core group was only slightly less than that of Mao Haifeng, placing them second only to him.

With the cover of "openly repairing the plank road while secretly crossing the Chencang pass," as long as they don't launch an attack, they don't need to worry about being discovered.

"Naval battles are even more brutal than land battles; once a battle is lost, everyone on board dies with it."

It's already late at night, and the evil spirits in the sea have all come out because of the smell of blood and the negative emotions of people before they die.

There are so many names at a glance: dead, soul caller, beauty head, little cabbage, sea demon, Yama lighting the lamp, clay bodhisattva, and many more I don't recognize.

In this situation, if someone accidentally falls into the water, they probably wouldn't survive, right?

Unlike the others who had extensive experience in naval warfare, Shen Yueye was witnessing a scene of hundreds or even thousands of warships of various sizes clashing for the first time, and his face was filled with shock.

Psychological activity is more complex than facial expression:

'Now, in terms of the number of warships and cannons, it is questionable whether the navy of the 24 coastal guards of Dazhao can surpass that of the Five Peaks Banner.'

No wonder the Zhao court is so fixated on them, and their strategy of bestowing titles and dividing them is primarily aimed at them.

The emperor didn't have time to investigate whether a person had rebellious intentions; he only cared about whether they had the ability to rebel. If they did, they should be killed.

Even though I tried my best to overestimate Wufengqi, I still underestimated my junior brother's resources.

If we can eliminate the internal traitors this time and successfully recover and reorganize the fleet, then Junior Brother will have troops at his disposal, and our God of Wealth Shen family will have money again.

I think I've suddenly come up with a brilliant idea.

One day, the old man's injuries in Southeast Asia might just have a chance.

Because she had been living in such dire straits lately, Wang Cheng had long forgotten that her beautiful and charming senior sister was actually a rich and beautiful woman, and couldn't guess what kind of scheme she was plotting.

Looking at the bloodied and mangled images of the crew members who had fallen into the water being dragged away by evil spirits, he said calmly:

"These are just appetizers; the main event has only just begun."

Look, their three sailing warships are moving!

Ordinary hard-sailed Fujian ships typically employ traditional line-ahead tactics, advancing side-by-side, first bombarding with cannons at the bow, then seizing the upwind position, advancing with the wind, and approaching enemy ships for boarding action.

It was essentially a naval siege warfare.

Transplanting land warfare thinking to the sea: using ships as mobile fortresses, infantry to win, and fighting for control of the ships by utilizing their tall superstructures, bulwarks, small cannons, and muskets.

Despite the intense fighting, a single major battle would only sink a few ships.

The Great Zhao's "General of the Tower Ships" was created for this kind of battlefield, and the invincible fleet of the East Frankish Empire that traversed the seas also adopted the same tactics.

However, the warships provided by the up-and-coming East Bharata Company of the Netherlands were already different from those of the old-established First British Empire, allowing the Five Peaks Flag, which purchased all the warships and received training from the Dutch, to achieve a leapfrog development ahead of others.

"Starboard headwind - close to the wind! Take the wind!"

"Port side tack - sail close to the wind!"

The three sailing warship fleets under the command of Xu Weixue (the Peddler), Peng Laosheng (the Knife Seller), and Mao Haifeng (the Black Kirin) were simultaneously braving the wind on the sea.

Two against one, moving towards each other.

"Burn incense and worship the ship god!"

A plume of smoke rose from each boat.

The four guardian figures of the fleet—the lion head, the dragon eyes, the tail fin, and the loach tail—as well as the bow image imported from the West, all began to unleash their power.

In a short period of time, the speed of the three fleets gradually increased to 12 knots, far exceeding that of ordinary warships.

Or rather, this is the norm for regular armies to fight naval battles under the command of officers of the third rank.

The performance of the warship itself is only the foundation and the numbers on paper; the various talismans and protective charms in hand can also become the key to victory!
A quarter of an hour later, the three fleets were arranged with Mao Haifeng in the middle and the other two large ship prows on either side, resembling three parallel lines.

Under normal circumstances, a fleet with a fourth-rank official in command would never allow the enemy ships to seize advantageous positions so easily.

Both captains were greatly surprised and delighted, and the fleet erupted in jubilation, as if victory had already been secured.

"Hahaha, heaven is helping me! Mao Haifeng's health must really be failing."

"A short-lived wretch dares to try and seize the throne; he deserves this retribution!"

To catch the thief, first catch the king. Xu Weixue and Peng Laosheng drove their flagships and rushed towards Mao Haifeng's flagship, the Santiago.

They were originally powerful merchants and notorious bandits in the East China Sea, and they were not lacking in ruthlessness.

No matter how powerful the Black Qilin was, it was now unmistakably a sick tiger, so we had to strike while it was down. "Load solid shot into the port (starboard) broadside gun."

The sergeant stood at the hatch and relayed their orders to the lower gun deck. All the soldiers completed their preparations in an orderly manner, and the gunners gripped the already lit matchlock rods.

However, Mao Haifeng on the opposite ship, the San Diego, did not appear to be in a weak position at all.

His pale face contorted in a ferocious grimace; he had ceased his pretense.

"Xu Weixue, Peng Laosheng, get out of your grandpa's way!"

You two idiots are being used as pawns and you don't even realize it!

As his own fate teetered on the brink of collapse, the stubbornness brought about by his five taels and nine mace of bone weight also began to waver, allowing him to see things more clearly than usual.

Wang Cheng, who was originally seen as a simpleton and whom he could mold and manipulate at will, has become mysterious.

After all, one failed assassination attempt is a coincidence, but two failures are also a coincidence?

At this moment, he felt that the threat posed by Wang Cheng was even greater than that posed by these two long-time captains.

"It must be the wooden puppet with witchcraft in the hands of that scapegoat Wang Fugui that caused the problem."

Since we've already broken ties with Xu and Peng, there's no need to worry about the consequences anymore.

Only by killing Wang Cheng in the shortest possible time and achieving the "All-Encompassing Ocean" rank to ascend to the top three levels of "Living Ghost God" can I save myself.

Of course, Mao Haifeng was not naive enough to think that he could sway the two families with words.

Even he himself didn't believe that he wouldn't take action against these two troublemakers after he killed Wang Cheng and completed his promotion.

He personally took the helm and gave the order to those around him:
"Helmet, helmsman, fighter, anchorman, and firemaster, each take your place. Protect me!"

Sailing on the water always relies on the collective. In addition to experienced boatmen, firemen, and bowmen, a ship also has a group of workers with different skills working together.

The "helmsman" is responsible for steering the ship and controlling its direction at sea; the "sailman" is responsible for controlling the sail ropes.
The "fighting man" climbed onto the mast by the awning rope and was responsible for wind observation; the "anchor man" was responsible for raising and lowering the ship's anchor.

The secret Dharma transmission [Gonghan Qunlong] in the "Guide to Sending Off the Wind" states:

"The rudder is like the heart of a person; the rudder, the rudder, the anchor, and the fire are like the limbs of a person; the soldiers on the ship are like the bones of a person."

If the mind is properly guided, then all limbs and bones will function correctly; if the mind is not properly guided, then all limbs and bones will lose their proper function. Therefore, the success of a ship depends entirely on the helmsman.

Mao Haifeng affixed a cyan talisman to the helm, made a hand seal, and chanted:
"Summon the dragon to bring rain, gather the breath and smoke. The sun, moon, five planets, and the seven stars of the Big Dipper. Together with the Heavenly Emperor, issue this decree from the Supreme Mystery. Proclaim your might to the Three Realms, without delay! So be it!"

"Ow—!"

With a dragon's roar, a strong wind swept through, and wisps of white mist rose from the water, quickly wrapping around the [San Diego] and transforming into a giant dragon's head.

Then it spread rapidly along a single column of nearly twenty sailing warships, forming a long white dragon.

The hearts and minds of everyone in the fleet merged into one through this long dragon, giving it the great power to be lifted up by thousands of people together.

A misty dragon began to meander and swim on the sea surface like a living dragon.

This is one of the most powerful secret techniques of the Shui Ban lineage: [Surrounding the Dragons]!
By concentrating the power of everyone on a ship or a fleet to enhance the warship, even the evil dragons of the sea would be frightened away. Legend has it that when cultivated to the extreme, a wooden boat can transform into a dragon, stirring up clouds and spitting out mist!
Other Bai Shuilang lacked Wang Cheng's unique skill of "gathering beasts and birds, and enlightening all kinds of creatures," and could not easily enlighten inanimate objects.

However, once you learn this [Surrounding Dragons] technique, it may be possible to gather the power of many people to transform a warship.

Moreover, the San Diego was already alive, making it even more powerful!
Without warning, the mist dragon swung a claw at the flagships of Xu Weixue and Peng Laosheng, who were positioned on the left and right respectively.

call--!
The wind speed on both sides suddenly increased to 25 meters per second, the waves crashed back, the sails of both fleets rattled in the strong wind, and the topmast snapped with a crash.

The original battle line formation was blown into pieces, and the advantageous positions were completely lost.

The ideal wind speed for warships is generally between 10 and 40 knots. If the wind speed is less than 5 knots, even if the warship hoists all its sails and splashes water on them to "catch the wind," it still cannot sail.

When the wind exceeds 40 knots, or 24 meters per second (level 9), the topmast and mainmast are already at risk of being broken.

In winds exceeding 50 knots, almost all the main sails must be stowed, and the mast must be lowered to prevent the wind from tearing the sails and breaking the entire mast.

At this moment, thanks to the [Common Dragons], Mao Haifeng and his group, though clearly in the middle, simultaneously gained an advantage over both the left and right sides.

He ignored the two captains' shouts and curses, "When did you steal the old captain's 'Surging Dragons' technique?" and coldly gave the order:

"Fire!"

The ship's twenty 12-pounder cannons and twelve 6-pounder cannons opened fire in succession to both sides, and the other warships behind them, arranged in a single column, followed suit.

The two sides were only a few dozen feet apart, and they exchanged fire in a linear tactic as they moved, with huge roars shattering the night sky.

Mao Haifeng already had more sailing warships than the other two combined, and he also gained an extraordinary organizational boost from supernatural abilities.

After a round of firefights, the other two sides suffered far greater losses than Black Peak Flag, with cries of agony and screams echoing across the ship.

"Ahhhhh."

With the Black Peak flagship team in a favorable position, they could potentially crush the other two teams in just two more rounds!
(End of this chapter)