Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 155 The Second Card: Carpenter Chen, you take down Mao Haifeng for me!

At this time, the secret military manual "Yangming's Art of Military Training: Cultivating the Mind and Remaining Unmoved" had reorganized the seven or eight warships behind it that had not fallen into chaos, with the Black Peak Flag core of the Santiago as its core.

A fierce, surging military aura descended from above.

Its coverage area was far greater than that of the [Martial Arts Training Technique - Seizing Opportunities] that Lu Yi possessed, encompassing several hundred people at once.

The sailors on these warships wore iron-colored, ghostly faces with varying expressions, their spirits merging with some kind of mysterious military soul, their aura surging, exuding awe-inspiring power.

Regardless of their original physical condition and mental state, their current level of elite troops is by no means inferior to the Imperial Guards protecting the capital.

Originally, "cultivating a calm and unmoved mind" was merely a state of mind, but after evolving into secret military manuals, it became a formidable and powerful skill:

"It can guide the 'Yangming military spirit' who once followed this Confucian and Taoist sage, quickly transform them into temple soldiers and ghost soldiers, and form an invincible military formation."

It not only enhances strength, speed, and endurance, but also allows one to fight tenaciously to the very last moment as long as their mind remains steadfast.

Therefore, no matter what your original background was, you can all become loyal and disciplined elite soldiers!

Even a emaciated peasant rebel army could fight against any regular army if it got its hands on it.

Although Mao Haifeng lost most of the Black Peak Flag's assets due to Wang Cheng's series of underhanded tactics, he still managed to retain at least a minimum of the [Gonghai Qunlong].

After being blessed by the formation created by the sage, the scales on the mist dragon's body became much more solid, and it moved more vividly.

Even the symptoms of being cursed by the witchcraft of the wooden puppet on Mao Haifeng's body have lessened considerably.

After all, "military remonstrance and rebellion" was the only antidote to the witchcraft scourge.

The more loyal and devoted troops under one's command, the stronger the ability to resist the witchcraft scourge. As long as the old emperor can be overthrown, the witchcraft scourge will naturally collapse on its own.

They then ran headlong into the mission's fleet.

The two were only a hundred feet apart, and the cold, knife-like gazes in the eyes of Wang Cuiqiao's two husbands almost exploded into sparks in mid-air.

Upon hearing Luo Wenlong's words, Mao Haifeng's facial muscles twitched involuntarily, and he retorted sarcastically without any mercy:

"Ha, a mere green-haired turtle dares to spout nonsense in front of me?"
Wang Cuiqiao sometimes calls your name in her dreams at night, wanting you to come and save her. So what? I know all of this.

But this woman can only have children for me!

Let me tell you plainly, your woman is very hydrated!

You, a painter who is utterly useless and only serves to amuse the powerful and wealthy, have never been worthy of this top-grade "Official Star Peach Blossom Pattern" from the very beginning.

You were lucky to escape Xu Hai's clutches back then, and now you dare to come to Yingzhou to die? Well then, I'll grant your wish!

A white mist dragon enveloped the fleet, which had shrunk by half, as it meandered across the sea, using the wind and water power to actively rush towards the envoy's fleet.

In Mao Haifeng's eyes, Wang Cuiqiao was not a person at all; the beautiful courtesan of Qinhuai was essentially just a human form of the "Official Star Peach Blossom Pattern".

They're not much better than beautiful objects or toys.

As long as he is the one destined for officialdom, his wife's beauty, ugliness, weight, or even life and death are completely irrelevant.

"Mao Haifeng—! I will grind you, you bastard, to dust!!!"

Which man in the world could bear such a humiliation?
What's more, he's a devoted husband like Luo Wenlong, who loves his wife dearly.
If the other party could take good care of her, that would be fine, but his wife, whom he cherished, was being treated like an object to be manipulated at will.

Luo Wenlong's already bloodshot eyes were now bloodshot and crimson.

"All soldiers, listen to my command! My Luo family may not have much else, but we have plenty of gold and silver."

Tonight, I will reward fifty taels of silver for beheading a person. Whoever can retrieve a limb of Mao Haifeng for me, I will recommend him to the court for the hereditary position of a thousand-household commander!
"Commander Li, regardless of the success or failure of today's campaign against the thieves, I, Luo Wenlong, owe you a favor. Whatever you ask of me, I will grant."

The soldiers in the delegation may not have been aware of the ins and outs.

But upon hearing Luo Wenlong's promise, their eyes reddened as if they too harbored a grudge against Mao Haifeng for stealing their wives.

Luo Wenlong's ability to rise from a mere painter to a high-ranking official responsible for drafting imperial edicts and decrees and conveying the emperor's will clearly demonstrate his competence; he mobilized the enthusiasm of everyone under his command with just a few words.

The lower-ranking soldiers wanted money, the officers above the rank of sergeant wanted a noble title, and even the highest-ranking Li Jingjiang had incurred the most valuable debt of gratitude.

[General of the Warship] Li Jingjiang's unique skills are clearly more suited to naval warfare than those of peddlers or itinerant knife sellers.

He activated his [Xialou Liancheng Curse] once again.

He gathered his fleet of warships and a group of lower-ranking warship generals, linking his own navy into a maritime Great Wall with five-masted ships at its core.

In the colorful, hazy glow of the sunset, the ten hard-sailed warships truly transformed into a majestic city wall, sweeping majestically towards the misty dragon opposite.

A group of soldiers, who had been eager to fight, grabbed bows, crossbows, and muskets and climbed the tall ship tower that resembled a watchtower of the Great Wall, aiming down at the enemy.

"Kill the thief! Kill the thief! Kill the thief!"

As the deputy general of Yu Zhifu, the commander-in-chief of the anti-Japanese forces, Li Jingjiang was an outstanding figure among the young and strong of the Twenty-Four Guards. Naturally, he not only trained his own ghost soldiers in the temple army, but also possessed a secret military manual.

Its ability comes from the "Complete Formation for Pacifying the Barbarians" in the Song Dynasty's "Complete Essentials of Military Strategy". It is best at using multiple types of troops for defense, and uses ranged troops such as archers and crossbowmen as the core of firepower.

As the temple soldiers, clad in cotton armor and wearing rattan helmets, took their positions on each ship, the entire fleet, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, took on an iron-colored hue, their imposing presence not much less than that of their opponents. *Whoosh!*
They collectively drew their bows and nocked arrows, and countless arrows, amplified by the military formation, transformed into a dark cloud that shot straight at the misty dragon opposite them.

They might not reach the 1500-step (approximately 2500-meter) range of Wang Cheng's "Shooting the Halberd at the Gate," but they could easily penetrate the surrounding fog and pin the sailors on the open deck to death.

At the same time, shipborne guns, which were much smaller in caliber than the Wufengqi guns, also opened fire.

"Fight back!"

Mao Haifeng brandished a pair of Iron-Spine Horizontal Maces, deflecting two arrows that seemed to have eyes and were specifically aimed at him.

With a slap on the rudder wheel in front of him, the scales on one side of the Mist Dragon burst open, revealing the cannons of each warship.

Flames erupted, streaks of crimson fire shooting towards the Great Wall at sea.

The rosy glow of the sunset rippled across the city walls, reducing the power of the cannonballs by more than half. By the time they hit the warships, they were hardly able to penetrate the deck.

One side was strong in defense but weak in offense, while the other was strong in offense but weak in defense. However, the fleet's warships were half a generation behind the Black Peak Flag, and their consumption of Heart Light was far greater than that of the latter.

Wang Cheng and his group, who were watching from the sidelines, could see that the stalemate would last at most half an hour before the envoy's fleet gradually fell into a disadvantageous position.

Of course, this is on the premise that Mao Haifeng's body can hold on for another half an hour.

Wang Cheng glanced at Xu Weixue and Peng Laosheng, who had long since disappeared. After suffering a great loss once, they dared not come again in order to preserve their strength, and now they could no longer be relied upon.

"Now that reinforcements have arrived, there's no need to keep playing the piecemeal game. Let's take matters into our own hands and pluck the peach from the Black Peak Flag."

Zhang San, Dong Piao, and Huang Yuanzhou were ordered to return to their respective ships, and the entire fleet was ordered to enter a state of combat readiness.

He then lit an incense stick, and the wisps of smoke transformed into the image of the carpenter, Chen.

The background behind the other party was actually Mao Haifeng's Qingxiang Palace.

Ever since Mao Haifeng moved to the water village, Wang Cheng ordered the carpenter to move in directly and perform rituals face-to-face with the [Witchcraft Wooden Figure].

"Carpenter Chen, I've stalled for you for so long, it's almost the seventh day, why isn't Mao Haifeng dead yet?"

The carpenter, whose face was somewhat haggard from years of performing rituals, explained meekly:

“Lord, Mao Haifeng has already activated the third-grade ritual, and is only half a step away from becoming a living god. I'm afraid seven days won't be enough to kill him.”

I've given it my all.

Wang Cheng naturally knew this, and continued:
"Isn't it said that as long as the carpenter performing the ritual is willing to pay the price, the curse can be made to take effect faster?"
"Use your full power and stop at nothing to kill Mao Haifeng! I believe in your abilities!"

"Ah I?"

The carpenter naturally understood the implied meaning of "at all costs," and his survival instinct made him want to resist.

But the square coin-shaped hole that appeared in his eyes easily suppressed his will to survive.

Absolute loyalty allows no room for selfishness!
All we can do is shout:

"For the sake of the Dharma Lord!"

He brandished his magic sword, exhaling large gulps of the vital energy he had painstakingly accumulated over the years, causing the "clay-sculpted divine embryo" within his body to rapidly wither.

The joints of the wooden figure on the altar were making a series of cracking noises, creating an indescribably eerie atmosphere.

It wasn't until the carpenter forcefully slammed all the magical talismans he had painstakingly cultivated throughout his life into the wooden figure's body that the wooden figure suddenly sat up, opened its eyes, and looked towards the distant battlefield.

They have locked onto Mao Haifeng.

The carpenter, who had harmed Wang Cheng and Wang Fugui twice, could no longer suppress the malevolent fire left in his body after being harmed by the curse, and was instantly burned to a crisp.

The last wisp of vital energy also entered the wooden figure after his death.

Immediately afterwards, those little figures formed from the [witchcraft and curse] not only manifested in the "Righteous Prince's" Fragrant Palace, but also appeared directly beside Mao Haifeng, following the connection between their destinies.

The "crunching" sound gnawed at his fate.

This was also seen by everyone.

Perhaps because it was the last curse cast by a sixth-rank carpenter in his life, carrying his intense resentment, these little figures all looked remarkably like the carpenter.

Upon seeing this, Jiang Wenyuan, who was standing next to Mao Haifeng, couldn't help but change his expression drastically:
"Carpenter Chen misled me! It really was you, you idiot, who made the mistake?"
Your scapegoat put the wooden figure in the wrong palace! It's not Mao Haifeng's Qingxiang Palace, it's Wang Cheng's Litang Palace!

But Chen the carpenter will never hear Shangguan's roar again.

Mao Haifeng, who had suffered a heavy blow, also coughed up a mouthful of blood. His aura plummeted instantly, and he almost dropped to the fourth rank.

For this reason alone, Chen the carpenter died a worthy death.

At the opportune moment, Wang Cheng raised the Five Emperors' Golden Coin Sword high and swung it down fiercely, his roar echoing across the sea:
"All troops, listen to my command! Smash the drowning enemy! Kill them all!!!"

(End of this chapter)