Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 319 Ship Cannon Breaks the Divine Power: Kill me, or I'll kill you!
For those evil spirits without a sense of self, there is no distinction between Japanese and Zhao people; they eat whoever they want, and the taste is about the same.

Moreover, the farther they are from the mainland of the East Sea Kingdom and the Heavenly Gate Lock, the lighter the suppression they receive and the stronger they become.

Driven by both appetite and a sense of security, the "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons" turned back much faster than it had gone.

The Japanese pirates on the outskirts had just been blinded by the eerie wind. They rubbed their eyes a couple of times, and when they opened them again, the bloody claws of evil spirits and demons were already grabbing at them.

"what--!"

"Quickly, arquebusiers, counterattack!"

"Chief, save me—!"

Screams echoed throughout the fleet as shattered heads, ripped-out entrails, and spurting crimson blood stained the entire ship's hold.

Even the elite arquebusiers equipped with flank guns only managed to fire one shot before their heads were crushed.

Apart from the most famous "One-Eyed Stone Man" in the hands of the Han family's royal family, where had these Japanese pirates ever heard of such a treasure that could instantly usurp the command of the "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons"?
Before they could even soak their melee weapons in the talismanic water, most ordinary Japanese pirates couldn't even harm the evil spirits.

He was caught completely off guard and was blown up by the "homemade bomb" he had made himself.

Having played with fire, they can no longer rely on the advanced carbon-based guided long-range attacks of the Kamikaze assassins to rest easy in the rear.

Terrified, the "Yang Qi Furnace" formed by the gathered army naturally fluctuated violently, allowing more evil spirits to find an opening and enter.

The ordinary troop transport turtle ships on the periphery were destroyed one after another, forming a complete unit.

Only warships with officials of the divine order could barely withstand the attack, while warships with officials of the middle third rank could gather their crews to fight back.

Those quick-witted "incense workers" immediately burned incense, kowtowed to the ship god, and summoned the power of spirits and deities to subdue evil spirits and demons, shouting:

"May the ship god Ebisu descend upon this altar!"

"Please invite the three gods of Sukiyaki to descend upon the altar!"

Aside from the minor deities who couldn't even defeat Shinto officials, the main guardian deities of Yingzhou's seafaring are four high-ranking deities: the Three Gods of Sumiyoshi and Ebisu.

The first three were deified after death, while the last one is a non-personal god manifested from Daoist Qi.

Like the group of water spirits in Wang Cheng's family, they can only provide limited protection to living beings within the scope of their own divine domain.

The amount of effort contributed depends entirely on how much the believer regularly makes offerings and how sincere their heart is; they will absolutely not do anything that results in a loss.

The incense smoke in the fleet suddenly intensified, but it only temporarily blocked the invasion of evil spirits; it could not kill them.

Most importantly, the rampant spread of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons meant that the blame for the "ruler's moral failings" was being placed on the head of the leader, Amakusa Shiro.

As time went on, the trust in their leader began to crumble as the scattered troops all returned to his direct subordinates.

In particular, Amakusa Shiro never made a move, nor did he unleash his domineering power as a third-rank living demon, which made the way his subordinates looked at him increasingly strange.

Especially for samurai with the spiritual ability "Reverse War", the impulse to "overthrow superiors" gradually becomes difficult to control.

Yes, as an Onmyoji and priest who are most skilled at dealing with evil spirits, why didn't he take action?

Amakusa Shiro felt the crew's gazes as if they were thorns in his back, his eyes darkening.

"If I don't take action, I can still rely on my past reputation to get through this battle, win the position of diocesan bishop, and restore the lost [Ghost Name]."

If I make a move and fail to defeat my opponent, you'll probably rebel on the spot.

Is this Wang family kid really an idiot?

Could it be that he doesn't know that the legendary warship "Angel of Ten Thousand Wings," which poses an even greater threat than me, has already gone to his lair, Pinghu Port?

"Fool, fool! I'm just a Japanese lackey waving a flag and shouting slogans. You'd better hurry back to Pinghu Port and fight the main force of the Franks!"

The roar, born from the depths of his heart, had barely risen when alarm bells rang in his mind, and he immediately shouted a warning to the entire fleet:
"The wind smells wrong!"
Watch out, something's coming from upwind!

Boom!

Before he could finish speaking, the flagship beneath him suddenly trembled.

"Chief, something terrible has happened! Our waterline has been hit!"

"Quickly! Damage control! Carpenter, hurry and plug the leak!"

Then, an even more unbelievable scene unfolded before them.

A main fleet of the Eastern Sea Kingdom, consisting of forty sailing warships, suddenly appeared from the southeast, upwind of the Seto Inland Sea.

Unmasking themselves with the "Openly Repair the Plank Road While Secretly Crossing the Chencang Pass" decoy, they launched a fleet salvo at them from a distance of only a hundred meters.

"Load solid shot, fire both bullets!"

In pursuit of maximum power, each cannon was loaded with two shells at once, along with more gunpowder.

boom! boom! boom! boom! boom!
The earth-shattering roar of cannon fire instantly awakened everyone in the nearby coastal vassal states, and messengers, ninjas, and express messengers rushed to the scene.

"Is it the Eastern Sea Kingdom? Who are they fighting against?"

The forty warships were divided into three squadrons, each arranged in neat battle lines. When the fleet fired a salvo, the surging waves seemed to be pushed back several feet by the scorching shockwave.

Bright yellow flames and smoke formed a thick cloud of fire that enveloped the Seto Inland Sea, and thousands of whistling shells were hurled at the Japanese pirate fleet, which was still entangled with the "Night Parade of One Hundred Demons".

Each shell trailed a crimson streak, like the blessings bestowed upon them by a second-generation sun, stretching across the night sky and illuminating the horizon once more. Boom!
The materials used on ordinary Japanese pirate warships were not the century-old oak with hulls and ribs that could easily reach half a meter in length, found on sailing warships; they were just ordinary pine.

Its defensive capabilities are far inferior to oak; it can be easily penetrated by a cannonball.

Whether it's evil spirits or Japanese pirates hiding in the cabin, anyone who dares to stand in front of them will be blown to pieces.

If the cannonballs were blocked by the few oak-sailed warships in the fleet, the outcome would be even worse.

The Iron Rod Flying Thunder Cannon (Kalon Cannon), which has become the main artillery of the East Sea Kingdom, has projectiles that fly at speeds far below the speed of sound, approximately only 200 meters per second.

When these shells hit the hull, they generate shock waves inside the hull, which reflect back and forth between the edge of the hull plate and the incident projectile at a speed of kilometers per second, generating strong shear stress.

This force not only tore apart the already spinning projectile, but also caused a large number of fragments to break off from the back of the ship's hull.

Thus, the slow-moving projectiles of the Iron Rod Flying Thunder Cannon struck the hull, just as a dumdum bullet tumbles and shatters inside the flesh after hitting a human body.

The hole on the front may be small, but the back is a terrible sight.

The use of this type of artillery played a crucial role in Britannia's victory against two adversaries at the Battle of Trafalgar.

At that moment, a large number of hull fragments mixed with deformed shell shrapnel were found in the ship's hold, causing massive casualties among the crew.

Some were incredibly imaginative, some were overjoyed, some were legendary, and some were simply embellished.
"Ship's doctor, priest, save me! Ah—!"

To make matters worse, these Japanese pirates faced dangers far beyond the cannonballs from the Eastern Sea Kingdom.

Those evil spirits and demons are far more resilient than mortals. They seek out the passing of fresh life, seize the wounded crew members, and devour them alive.

The Japanese pirates in the fleet seemed to have fallen into a river in a tropical rainforest. If they showed even a little blood, they would be attacked by swarms of piranha-like evil spirits and demons.

"Reload and fire again!"

In the fleet of the Eastern Sea Kingdom, not only were many ship-borne cannons transformed into "Divine Might Generals", but also a large number of the temple army ghost soldiers [Golden Money Warriors] were assigned to various artillery groups as gunners and even gunners.

These "Money Warriors" resonated with their own large number of newly equipped Iron Rod Flying Thunder Cannons, making them incredibly effective in close-range combat.

Less propellant, a larger caliber, and a lighter weight allow even the most ordinary armed merchant ships to carry heavy naval guns weighing over 24 pounds.

In comparison, the Japanese cannons, which dared to declare "national collapse" if they weighed more than 9 pounds, could only be described as weak, and even if they retaliated, they seemed too powerless.

How can one describe the feeling of exchanging fire?

Although "Money Warrior" wasn't "Money-Adding Hermit," he genuinely felt that the opposing Kirito warships were really quite lucrative!

It's so moisturizing!
Even a weak counterattack would only excite those money-grubbing warriors even more!
To make matters worse, the masts and complex rigging system of the East Sea Fleet, which were tens of meters high, churned up the air at sea, creating an unprecedentedly large turbulent zone in the Seto Inland Sea.

This completely locked down the Japanese pirate fleet in a disadvantageous position.

It's like a flyweight boxer being cornered in the ring by a heavyweight champion; if he doesn't make a change, he'll be beaten to death punch by punch!
At this point, even if Amakusa Shiro didn't want to reveal the fact that his strength had been greatly diminished, he had no choice but to take action.

He spread his hands, his face calm and collected, but in reality, he had used every ounce of his strength to unleash his divine power, "Takemikaze."

Woo woo woo.
A fierce wind swept through, distorting the wind direction on the battlefield and propelling the Chechidan fleet to charge against the East Sea Kingdom fleet upwind.

At the same time, Amakusa Shiro stood with his hands behind his back and floated up.

Looking down at Wang Cheng, who had boarded the flagship [San Diego], he feigned a benevolent gesture:

"Prince Jinghai! This is all the resources your East Sea Kingdom's navy has, isn't it?"
You actually brought out all of them to block our Chechidan warriors? Don't you want your base, Pinghu Port anymore?
We Chechidan warriors have always been there to cheer for the Franks. What's the point of you fighting me to the death here?
Let's call it a day! I, a living deity of the highest rank, am unwilling to bully the weak.

Some time ago, I was besieged by Yu Longqi Hu of your Great Zhao Dynasty, but I still fought them to a standstill and escaped unscathed!

"Today I'm showing you great mercy; how about I let you go and settle your score with the Franks yourself?"

These pretentious words only earned Wang Cheng a sneer, who pretended to be a clueless novice:
"Hehe, Amakusa Shiro, you only managed to save your life by throwing a shuriken at Qi Hu from 800 miles away, didn't you?"
"Come on, stop bluffing. Come down and kill me, or I'll kill you."

At the same time, he activated one of the five secret military manuals he had created, "General's Command".

"It can be used as long as there is one or more warships."

It can materialize the yang energy of everyone in the fleet and launch it along with the cannons, thus countering all supernatural powers and spells.

If there are enough ships and cannons, quantitative change will lead to qualitative change, and even ghosts and gods can cut down the muzzle of the cannon.

At the same time, the supernatural abilities, special skills, and extraordinary techniques of the officers in the three classes of air, land, and water within the fleet could flow freely with the general's orders, focusing all their strength in one direction.

Bang!
Another volley of fire tore through the sky, and the newly formed [Takemikaze] was destroyed with a roar. The Japanese pirate fleet stopped again, and its formation became even more scattered.

There's no need for the Heavenly Craftsmanship Ship. With the General's Order, they can command forty level-five sailing warships and eight thousand elite crew members. Even if a living god or ghost of the highest rank in his prime were to fight them head-on, he would die!
At least in this part of the East China Sea, without external interference, the East China Sea Kingdom's fleet is undoubtedly the best in the world!

Excluding Amakusa Shiro, the crippled living demon, it's definitely a case of the superior team defeating the inferior team.

Wang Cheng ignored the massive explosion of the epoch-making "ship cannon tearing technique" overhead, clashed his double maces together, raised his head, pointed at Amakusa Shiro, and pronounced judgment on him:

"You made the same empiricist mistake as Lao Lu."

Who says I can beat you up here but also kill the Franks to the south at the same time?

Since you're all here today, you might as well all stay!

(End of this chapter)