Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 329 One Sword Explodes the Warehouse, Money Sword Qi
The time was slightly earlier than expected.

As the Heavenly Treasure Ship and the Legendary Warship engaged in a direct confrontation, the outcome gradually became clear.

The battle that began in the Seto Inland Sea is also coming to an end.

Although no legendary warships or celestial craftsmen participated in the battle, forty main sailing warships joined the fray, setting a record for the largest number and caliber of cannons in any naval battle in the history of the East China Sea.

All the daimyo who sent out men to scout the battle situation were astonished.

"Such a military force is already invincible in the East China Sea."

"Land warfare may be debatable, but if it comes to naval warfare, the entire Yingzhou region combined is no match for the Donghai Kingdom alone."

They couldn't see the real battle deep in the Tsushima Strait, and many didn't even notice that two outside forces were fighting fiercely on their own territory.

Each of them possesses the power to overwhelm the entire navy of Yingzhou, and the outcome of the war will directly determine the future ownership of this territory.

But they saw the battle situation in the Seto Inland Sea very clearly.

Apart from a few powers bordering the Tokai Kingdom, such as Mori Motonari, who was separated from it by the Kanmon Strait, who was deeply wary of this.

The first thought of the others was: "Will the East Sea Kingdom sell these warships or not?"

Nowadays, all the daimyo and powerful clans can recite the sales pitch of the Four Seas Trading Company by heart:
"Why buy my weapons? Because my spear can pierce someone else's shield, and my shield can block someone else's spear!"

You ask me what happens when my spear meets my shield?
That's a good question! Of course, whoever bets the most wins!

The numerous battles fought on the four islands of Yingzhou have proven that this statement is absolutely true.

An unusual arms race among the daimyo had already quietly begun.

The daimyo and headmen of the samurai families rushed into a buying frenzy, fearing that if they bought less than others, they would be overthrown and beheaded by enemies or even their own powerful retainers.

Since whoever buys more flintlock muskets and field guns is considered stronger.

If we could sail such a sailing warship to attack the enemy's coastal cities by sea, wouldn't that be an even greater advantage?
In most people's minds, Wang Cheng, the outsider who became the head of the Wang family, had neither the "destiny" of the martial family nor the "destiny" of the government.

In theory, he was completely detached from the world and the throne of the Japanese king; at best, he was just a powerful figure in the Saikaido region.

Uh, probably.

Regardless of their true thoughts, under intense pressure to survive, everyone is forced to become short-sighted and only care about the present.

Any long-term, rational voices from the retainers would be instantly drowned out.

After all, when survival itself is a problem, the so-called future of the nation must be temporarily set aside; this is precisely the principle of "pacifying the internal before resisting external aggression."

Yingzhou's five capitals and seven provinces are not a unified entity, but rather comprise dozens or even hundreds of independent forces of varying sizes.

Just like the famous saying goes: "If you don't cough, it's because you don't buy it, there are plenty of others who will!"

A dark forest of mutual distrust has been perfectly formed.

Every faction works hard to save money, or attacks neighboring countries to plunder money, and then goes all in with Wang Cheng!
Wang Cheng had no time to care about the opinions of the common people. This time, the Japanese pirates from Chizhidan rarely showed themselves, and he did not want to let them escape again and continue to wreak havoc on the coast of Dazhao.

Therefore, the commanding fleet focused on eliminating all remaining manpower of the Japanese pirates from the Chishidan region.

Amakusa Shiro remained hovering above the flagship, refusing to come down no matter how fiercely they bombarded it, determined to buy time by sacrificing the lives of his outer men.

Both sides knew perfectly well that the small force of the Japanese pirates could not possibly conquer the Eastern Sea Kingdom; the outcome of the war depended entirely on the Frankish expeditionary force.

Even if there were a living deity of the highest rank, it wouldn't change the overall situation; they all agreed to stall for time.

It wasn't until the Battle of Tsushima Strait that the Duke made the disastrous move of boarding action, which led to a swift victory or defeat, that Wang Cheng was finally able to concentrate all his efforts on taking down Amakusa Shiro, his biggest threat.

Standing aboard the flagship [San Diego], he formed hand seals and chanted incantations:

"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.

A dragon's roar echoed across the sea, and as the wind swept through, wisps of white mist rose from the water, quickly coiling around the [San Diego] and transforming into a huge dragon head with prominent horns and claws.

Then it spread rapidly along a single column of more than a dozen sailing warships, forming a white dragon several kilometers long.

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

Then, the mist dragon began to meander and swim on the sea surface like a living dragon.

With the dual blessing of the secret military manuals "General's Order" and "Naval Maneuver Tactics", it sailed at an astonishing speed of 150% along the gap opened by the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, heading straight into the heart of the fleet.

This is precisely the secret and orthodox method used to build the Heavenly Treasure Ship: [Surprising the Dragons]!
It is said that when one cultivates to the highest level, one can transform a wooden boat into a dragon and summon clouds and mist.

Even with his father Prince Jing's second-rank cultivation, he couldn't transform the Five Peaks banner into a dragon in the past, and they all thought the magic was exaggerated.

It wasn't until they obtained Zheng He's treasure map that they realized they still needed the Heavenly Treasure Ship Mirage Cloud Dragon Ship as a material carrier to unleash the true power of the Gonghaid Dragons.

After the creation of its ship spirit, the Heavenly Treasure Ship is essentially a monster with its own consciousness.

Moreover, it bypassed the limitation of having no path to immortality, and stepped into the upper three ranks in one step, achieving the longevity of a monster that "passes on a ship for ten generations, and the ship remains even after the person leaves."

One can continue to improve their strength by constantly investing effort in refining the material for the first and second time; by creating extraordinary achievements and legends; or by conquering nations to absorb dragon energy, etc.

Theoretically, whatever level a deity can reach, they can also reach, so transforming into a dragon is not a pipe dream.

However, it requires far more resources than a human, and even more than those of immortals.

Boom! ! !

Wang Cheng raised his hand, and the [Gongha Qunlong] suddenly swung its claws, instantly capsizing two small warships that had rushed up and blocked his way.

Even if we don't use it to forge the Heavenly Craft Treasure Ship, this secret and orthodox method is still a first-rate "art of gathering the masses".

It displayed astonishing power in the hands of a fourth-rank [Water Balance Commandant].

"Fire!"

The misty scales unfurled, and the iron-barreled flying thunder cannons unleashed a furious barrage of fire on the Japanese pirates on both sides. The already heavily damaged pirate fleet dared not advance to their deaths. They even intentionally or unintentionally surrendered their flagship and leader, Amakusa Shiro, to this misty dragon.

Before the East Sea Kingdom fleet could even get close, the "Money Warriors" on the ship unleashed wave after wave of bullets upon Amakusa Shiro.

This third-rank Yin-Yang Master, who considered himself a dragon stranded in shallow waters and a tiger fallen on flat land, couldn't help but grit his teeth:

"How come this hothead from the Wang family isn't afraid of death at all?"

I am a living ghost or god!
Aside from Yu Long and Qi Hu, even Qiezhi Dan's own people didn't know how serious my injuries were. How dare he recklessly risk his life against me?

Ever since Amakusa Shiro was defeated by Yu Longqi Hu, he went from being extremely arrogant and overconfident to being extremely cautious and timid.

This cowardly, timid fighting style had long since shaken the morale of the troops.

Even the supernatural power [Takemikaze] was broken by the General's Order, pushing the Japanese pirates under his command, who were being cornered, to the brink of collapse.

Amakusa Shiro, still unable to receive intelligence from the expeditionary force, grew increasingly anxious and hesitant, until finally being forced into a corner with nowhere to hide.

If he dares to abandon the central army and continue to retreat at this point, morale will surely collapse on the spot, leading to a major defeat and massacre.

Left with no other choice, he took out a large bow and fired a series of incredibly powerful arrows at Wang Cheng on the flagship.

However, the two enormous dragon claws moved nimbly, and with the combined strength of a thousand people, they forcibly knocked the arrows away. Occasionally, some arrows would slip through the net, but due to the "risk hedging," they would inexplicably miss.

Each time it is activated, the amount of incense and religious offerings in the Dharma Treasury will decrease.

After barely surviving a few volleys of arrows, Wang Cheng's flagship successfully reached Amakusa Shiro and the Japanese pirate flagship.

"Board them! Don't let Amakusa Shiro get away!"

The first to rush aboard the Japanese pirate flagship were the two boys, Zhao Cai Jin Bao and Zhao Cai Jin Bao, who went straight to the fourth-rank samurai, Yi Ye.

Then there were Wang Cheng's trusted imperial guards.

The bald monk, the Confucian scholar Xu Youde, the knife seller Peng Wujiu, and the pen maker Sun Tianba led a group of Five Peaks Generals to submerge the Japanese pirate flagship, and even suppressed Amakusa Shiro.

The Five Peaks Selection's special skill is called "Five Divine Qi Forbidden".

The foundation is the Five Elements and the Five Organs. By interrupting or enhancing the flow of Qi between the Five Organs, one or more organ functions can be increased in a short time. Combined with visualizing the images of the corresponding Five Organ Gods, various miraculous effects can be achieved.

For example, at this moment, everyone's faces turned red, and they shouted: "Guard the spirit with the Heart and Soul Elixir! Descend the spirit of the Five Gods!"

With their hearts receiving Qi, their fire element flourished, and even their breath carried a scorching heat. Their strength and explosive power were comprehensively enhanced, and their surging military aura was ignited into a fiery cloud, gathering in one place to most restrain Yin-type Yin entities and ghosts.

"Too deceiving!"

Amakusa Shiro roared and finally released his demonic form, which was now reduced to only one divine title.

Its appearance is that of a pure white angel.

Wearing a golden bird-beak mask, he appears as a half-human, half-bird, holding a cross sword in one hand and a cross in the other, with a pair of pure white wings growing from his back.

With the loss of the formidable [Ghost Name], and the complete annihilation of the shikigami and divine wind assassins, only the final advantage of the "Unity of Heaven and Man" realm, which surpasses the fourth rank, remains.

Zila
As soon as it appeared, it was enveloped by the overwhelming military aura and yang energy from all directions. It not only felt as if its hands and feet were shackled, but also constantly endured the scorching heat of the yang energy.

The courage I had just mustered was once again replaced by caution.

Instead of landing, it turned and flew back, using an even stronger "unity of heaven and man" technique to unleash a cold arrow.

He even struggled internally, debating whether to abandon his subordinates, thinking that as long as he survived, he could always rebuild.

Seeing that he was still backing down, Wang Cheng was impressed by the man's prudence and decided to add fuel to the fire one last time.

He looked up and sneered:
"Amakusa Shiro, it's only been a few days, how come you've gotten so sluggish? Did you leave your [Demon Name] as a souvenir for Yu Longqi Hu?"

Think back carefully, when you were running away like a stray dog ​​with your tail between your legs, what exactly bumped into your head?

Upon hearing him suddenly reveal the inside story of Amakusa Shiro's previously unknown and most unspeakable crushing defeat, the Japanese pirates on the battlefield erupted in uproar:
"Is the leader's record of fighting Yu Long and Qi Hu alone and escaping unscathed all a lie?"

"You were beaten down to the point where you only had the [God's Title] left? Didn't that mean you almost lost even your third-grade cultivation level?"

The morale of the Japanese pirates, which had been sustained by Amakusa Shiro's self-praise, collapsed on the spot, and many samurai immediately ordered their warships to turn around and flee.

Following such a lord has no future; if not now, when?

When Wang Cheng publicly ripped open Amakusa Shiro's wounds, the last vestige of his rationality snapped completely.

"You were the one who blocked my escape route back then?!"

"Aaaaah, you scoundrel, your life is mine!"

Finally, roaring, he charged straight at Wang Cheng, determined to capture the kingpin and make this culprit, whose hatred surpassed even that of Yu Long and Qi Hu, pay a bloody price.

"Well done!"

Wang Cheng calmly pulled the Five Emperors Coin Sword from the coin hole, held it upright in front of him with both hands, and his eyes suddenly transformed into two terrifying square coin holes.

A flash of sword light appeared behind him, and a hundred-foot-long sword mark transformed into a heaven-reaching gate that stretched between heaven and earth.

Then something seemed to expand and force open the thin crack in the door.

Finally, under the horrified gazes of everyone inside and outside the battlefield, square coins, one after another, with their gold exteriors and black interiors, seemingly bottomless, suddenly opened and instantly filled the doorway.

"Golden Sword Qi, Slash!"

Wang Cheng roared and thrust the Five Emperors Golden Coin Sword in his hand fiercely towards Amakusa Shiro.

call out! call out! call out! call out! call out!
Instantly, those money eyes burst forth with boundless golden light, and the golden incense coins burned away, transforming into incomparably sharp golden sword energy that soared into the sky.

It transformed into endless, brilliant golden threads in mid-air, suddenly illuminating the last darkness before dawn that night.

(End of this chapter)