"You go help repair the damaged areas. You're not needed here anymore."
Su Yang called over the Dragon Blood Legion members and instructed them to open fire on any enemies they encountered.
...
Meanwhile.
Shangguan Zhongtang arrived at the coastal dock with his men, only to find the ground littered with the corpses of his subordinates.
As for Su Yang, there wasn't even a trace of him.
"Damn it! A step too late again!"
"Patriarch, their ship just left. Should we send ships to pursue?"
"No! Send a message to my students. Inform them to set up checkpoints at various docks and ensure Su Yang's Yangwei is sunk!"
A cold glint flashed in Shangguan Zhongtang's eyes. The intelligence this time was flawed, and he had underestimated Su Yang.
He hadn't gained any advantage in any of the battlefields and had lost many men.
"Patriarch, we received a message from the Sang Nation's Assassination Hall saying that a major incident has occurred internally and the mission has been canceled."
"What?"
Shangguan Zhongtang received one piece of bad news after another, and the anger on his face became even more evident, scaring those around him into lowering their heads and remaining silent.
"Why did they cancel the mission? Did they give a reason?"
"They said there was a betrayal within their ranks, but the subordinate doesn't know who it was. However, they have returned all the money."
"These scoundrels, I'll settle with them later!"
Shangguan Zhongtang's chest heaved with anger. Ever since Su Yang arrived, it had been nothing but bad news.
It was only now that he realized he had still underestimated Su Yang.
However, even worse news was yet to come.
"Patriarch, it's not good! Young Master Yi's poison has acted up, he has, he has..."
"Has what?"
Shangguan Zhongtang's face changed drastically. In fact, he had already guessed the outcome but still couldn't believe it.
"Young Master Yi is gone..."
BOOM!
Shangguan Zhongtang was consumed by rage, his white hair standing on end, his eyes filled with bloodshot veins.
Powerful surges of energy rushed outwards like a tide, knocking over those nearby.
But they dared not make a sound, enduring the pain even with broken arms and legs.
"Su Yang, I will kill you to accompany my son!"
Shangguan Zhongtang, a white-haired man mourning his son, felt his rage erupt like a volcano.
...
Su Yang himself was unaware of all this.
At this moment, the Yangwei was speeding across the sea.
In the medical bay, Shen Qiu wiped sweat from his brow from time to time, busy preparing and testing medicines.
He poured a bottle of greenish liquid into Shi Wuzun's mouth.
After a while.
Shi Wuzun spat out black blood. A fist-sized object was wriggling in his chest.
Shen Qiu took a closer look and recognized the eight-legged shape, immediately knowing what it was.
"Boss, this is a South American black spider, and it's a female. This is very troublesome."
Even Shen Qiu, known as the Poison Master, felt his scalp tingle at the sight of the black spider.
Su Yang asked in a deep voice, "Will he be alright in the short term?"
"If a female black spider entered before it was pregnant, it would at most bite the Military Advisor's organs.
But if it entered after becoming pregnant, it would breed young spiders inside the Military Advisor's body.
These young spiders would feed on flesh and blood, then continue to grow and reproduce, entering a vicious cycle until the Military Advisor was reduced to bones before they left."
Su Yang rubbed his head, realizing it was indeed a big problem.
"How many days can he hold on?"
Shen Qiu observed that the black spider had grown a bit larger and held up one finger.
"One day. The black spider will lay eggs in at most one day."
"So soon?"
Su Yang was anxious and paced around, then brought out a map.
According to the journey, even with favorable winds, it would take at least two and a half days to return to Songhai.
However, Shi Wuzun couldn't hold on any longer.
"We'll stop at Qingcheng Dock tomorrow, and then you'll have to find a way to force the black spider out of his body."
Su Yang had a feeling that something major was about to happen in Qingcheng, and he was extremely reluctant to stop.
However, given Shi Wuzun's condition, and with dozens of wounded on the ship also needing medical attention.
"Alright, subordinate understands. I will do my best to save the Military Advisor!"
The Yangwei had not sailed far when it encountered an obstruction.
An alarm sounded in the main cabin, and everyone immediately put down their work and went to the deck to observe the situation.
At first glance, less than ten nautical miles ahead, a line of warships lay across the river.
Identical flags, identical cannons locked onto the Yangwei.
Su Yang used his telescope to observe closely. The enemy warships were dispatched by the official forces of Songcheng.
Songcheng was adjacent to Qingcheng and was a necessary route along the coast.
Hans Locke said softly, "They mean business! These ships have blocked our path, forcing us to open fire!"
"Hans, you were a pirate captain before. Do you have experience in naval warfare?"
"Boss, the sea is my domain. This time, let your subordinate have a chance to shine!"
Hans Locke was eager to try. After so many years, he could return to his old profession and face off at sea again.
"Alright, the rest is up to your performance!"
Su Yang handed Hans Locke the telescope, who took it and observed carefully.
"There are a total of ten ships. Judging by their waterline, each ship is less than ten thousand tons, meaning there aren't many people on each ship, and not many cannons."
"Oh? There's such a thing?"
"Yes, if there were many people and many cannons, those small ships would be sinking severely. Now the waterline hasn't even reached half of the hull."
Su Yang nodded with satisfaction, realizing that a professional's observations were indeed different.
"Hans, have you thought of a solution?"
"Boss, based on my experience, the range of these ships' cannons is at most one nautical mile. Beyond that, with strong winds, they are prone to missing their targets."
Hans Locke pointed at the Yangwei, "The effective range of our ship's cannons is three nautical miles. I suggest we start firing when we reach two nautical miles.
Also, I suggest we hoist a white flag now to make them lower their guard. When we reach two nautical miles, the Yangwei will attack laterally. I believe the power of eight cannons is not weak, and it can at least destroy half of their ships."
Su Yang clapped his hands, "Very good, I didn't realize you were such a sly fox. Let's do as you planned!"
Hans Locke scratched his head, not understanding what "sly fox" meant.
However, he didn't have time to think about it and ordered the white flag to be raised.
...
On the other side of the river.
On the deck of one of the ships, a man in uniform with two bars and one star on his shoulder smiled.
He was Chen Xinghai, a Rear Admiral of the Songcheng Navy, and one of Shangguan Zhongtang's students.
"Teacher said Su Yang was so powerful and cunning, but he surrendered before we even started. He's truly useless!"
"What the Major says is true. In my opinion, Su Yang is just a name without substance."
"Major, subordinate thinks there might be a trick to this. We should be careful."
Chen Xinghai was dismissive. He led ten ships and was confident that his firepower could crush Su Yang's Yangwei.
He paid no heed to his subordinate's suggestion.
"Su Yang's ship has stopped. Let's speed up and maintain our formation!"
Chen Xinghai ordered, and all the ships accelerated.
Little did they know, Hans Locke was smirking.
"Like teacher, like student. So arrogant!"