Chapter 1643 (Raw 1625):
"How can this be?!"
The startled gray-clad old man on the tortoise beast clearly did not expect this.
He thought that he had it in the bag, that this would be a piece of cake. However, in merely one breath of time, an early-stage Major Primal Core Venerate died.
This was an old friend that the gray-clad old man had known for several decades.
"Old Huang, come back. That ship is rather strange," the gray-clad old man cried out loudly to the other old man.
Even if the gray-clad old man had not said anything, the other old man was already frightened gutless. Hence, he retreated hastily.
In reality, if that old man had not retreated, this would have been his best chance to board the ship.
Under Xiao Chen's instructions, all sixty-four ballistae had fired all their bolts. They would need at least three seconds to reload, enough time for the old man to charge over.
Most people would leave enough for two rounds of volleys. Half would finish firing before the other half started. That would give the first half time to finish reloading.
This would allow the 4-Star ballistae in the towers to maintain a continuous barrage.
Xiao Chen had taken a risk in firing all sixty-four ballistae in one go.
The facts proved his gamble right. The specially made bolts filled the sky and instantly killed an early-stage Major Primal Core Venerate.
As Xiao Chen expected, the other old man was frightened silly.
Xiao Chen revealed a cold smile from the lookout tower. "Full speed ahead. Xiao Suo, prepare to use your best move."
"Hehe! Captain, just watch me."
On the huge tortoise beast, the gray-clad old man and Old Huang discussed countermeasures.
Suddenly, a giant wave surged up in front. The black pirate ship cut through the waves like a sharp knife.
"Oh no, they are charging over."
This shocked Old Huang. Clearly, he did not expect Xiao Chen and the others to be so bold.
However, these two old men were Major Primal Core cultivators. This was especially so for the gray-clad old man, who was a late-stage Major Primal Core peak expert.
"You are seeking death!"
The gray-clad old man trembled in anger. Xiao Chen was really bold; he was actually this arrogant.
"Gurgle! Gurgle!"
Bubbles appeared in the starry sea. The huge tortoise beast, which only showed its shell, emerged from the water.
When the tortoise beast completely revealed itself, Xiao Chen's crew discovered that the previously visible tortoise shell was only the tip of the iceberg. The tortoise beast's true appearance was like a small mountain.
Undaunted by the tortoise beast, Xiao Chen prepared to launch an attack as he looked at it. He immediately decided to take the initiative to attack.
"Xiao Suo, it's your turn now."
"Hahaha! Got it, Captain."
"Whoosh!"
The Black Cutlass ship turned on the surface of the sea, exposing one side to the tortoise beast.
Before the two old men could figure out what was happening, they heard creaking sounds from the ship. Then, they saw cannons extending from its side, looking like the bared fangs of a ferocious beast.
"Peak 4-Star Neptune's Rages!"
The gray-clad old man was very knowledgeable. When he saw the sixteen cannons, he immediately paled.
Had the gray-clad old man known that this pirate ship had so many Neptune's Rages, he would not have dared to get so close to the Black Cutlass even if he was beaten to death.
The gray-clad old man would definitely have fled as far as he could and would not have targeted Xiao Chen at all.
"Fire!" Xiao Chen expressionlessly gave the order.
The sixteen peak 4-Star Neptune's Rages simultaneously belched black Demonic Energy Cannonballs.
All the black Demonic Energy Cannonballs spun intensely, containing berserk energy that was highly compressed.
After the special treatment of the Pirate Alliance's refiners, each Demonic Energy Cannonball could easily level a small mountain.
At the critical moment, the tortoise beast roared, and a towering wave appeared in front of it, forming a thick wall of water.
"Boom!"
A Demonic Energy Cannonball exploded on the water wall. Then, a second and third closely followed. Eventually, all sixteen exploded.
It was like the sea god was raging. The sky turned overcast, and the loud explosions were audible from five hundred kilometers away, deafening everyone temporarily.
The surging sea wave instantly vaporized as vast energy swept out.
The gray-clad old man and Old Huang were immediately knocked into the air, vomiting blood.
With such a huge area of effect, there was no way to avoid the blast. The two immediately hid behind the tortoise beast.
"Fire!"
Xiao Chen's expression turned cold as he repeated the order to fire, without any mercy.
"Boom!"
The ear-splitting explosion burst out again. It sounded like thunder roaring, making everyone's fighting spirit quail.
Without the sea wave to block this time, the Neptune's Rages' cannonballs exploded with even more intense might. The area of effect was even larger.
"Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!"
As the cannonade landed on the sea, it kicked up towering splashes that soared all the way to the clouds.
The terrifying explosions pocked the sea, opening many huge pits in the marine plain. Then, whirlpools formed, churning up towering waves. The sea immediately turned very chaotic.
Strong winds blew as tornadoes formed. Waves crested as explosions rang out endlessly.
The horrifying scene before the gray-clad old man and Old Huang looked like there really was a sea god raging.
They raised their legs and ran wildly. They could not longer care so much anymore. They only wanted to leave the range of the Neptune's Rages as fast as possible.
The two old men's hearts were filled with horror. These Neptune's Rages' attacks were not blocked by the waves and were much stronger than the first.
The gray-clad old man was still fine, not significantly injured. However, Old Huang was covered in wounds, incredibly weakened, and quite pale.
As Old Huang looked ahead, the gray-clad old man grew increasingly farther away. Old Huang felt despair and pain as he cried out hoarsely, "Old Tang, save me!"
The gray-clad old man ignored Old Huang. He was only a few steps away from escaping the range of the Neptune's Rages. Why would he foolishly return and carry a burden?
"You tricked me!"
Old Huang let out a regretful roar, hatred flooding his heart, hating that he was not cautious in making friends.
"Fire!"
The aggrieved roars did not get any sympathy from Xiao Chen. Instead, he ruthlessly gave the order to fire.
"Boom!"
Amid the cannonballs that filled the sky, Old Huang, who failed to get out of their range, was immediately destroyed, dying without leaving a corpse.
"Whoosh!"
The shock wave surged out, striking the gray-clad old man and causing him to vomit another mouthful of blood. However, he managed to escape the Neptune's Rages' range in the end.
"Damn brat! After I return, I'll definitely get the Beast Governing Sect to come and kill you!" the gray-clad old man yelled as he looked back.
Heavy rain fell on the sea with its horrifying waves. A black pirate ship rode this surging sea like a berserk ruler.
"Screech! Screech!"
However, just as the gray-clad old man thought that he had succeeded in escaping calamity, two sharp bird cries suddenly came from the front.
The gray-clad old man looked over, and his face changed, turning pale immediately.
Two Cold Steel Eagles, tyrants of the sea, shining with a cold light, took him as prey and firmly locked on to him.
Xiao Chen had anticipated that with the gray-clad old man's speed, the old man would not die to the cannons. So, he preemptively got the Cold Steel Eagles to wait in front.
Since all forms of cordiality had already been shed, Xiao Chen had no intention of letting the gray-clad old man return alive.
What made the gray-clad old man despair even more was that these two Cold Steel Eagles appeared even stronger than when the Beast Governing Sect controlled them.
The Cold Steel Eagles vaguely seemed to have reached the peak Major Primal Core Realm.
The gray-clad old man's despair was inevitable. If his tortoise beast were still around, he would not fear these two Cold Steel Eagles. However, after suffering three volleys of cannon fire, it was already dead.
Even with it, if the gray-clad old man had not gotten injured by the cannon volleys, he would barely be able to cope with these two Cold Steel Eagles.
However, there were no ifs in life…
The scene of Xiao Chen being chased by the Cold Steel Eagles got reenacted over the surface of the sea, but this time, by a different person.
The prey now was the gray-clad old man.
The irony of fate in the cycle of karma.
With the two Cold Steel Eagles in pursuit, the gray-clad old man gradually got forced back. The Black Cutlass that brought him nightmares grew increasingly closer.
The wounds on the old man's body slowly multiplied. Xiao Chen, who had once experienced the harassment of the Cold Steel Eagles, deeply understood how awful this feeling was.
There was no time for one to catch one's breath or heal one's injuries. It was a relentless pursuit. If one dared to stop, one would die in the next moment.
One hour later, the two Cold Steel Eagles worked together and carried the gray-clad old man's damaged body over.
When the white-clad Xiao Chen on the lookout tower saw the captured gray-clad old man, he softly said, "We meet again."
The gray-clad old man was mentally fatigued and was very tired. When he saw Xiao Chen, he coughed a few times and vomited large mouthfuls of blood.
The gray-clad old man felt extremely upset. He had never thought that he would appear before Xiao Chen as a prisoner.
