Star Gate

Chapter 516: To Slay (I)

Li Hao picked up speed; the little ship skimmed the waves.

“Look sharp, everyone!” he communicated through the armor. “Don’t be afraid of anything. I’ll take care of the Nova, Deputy Liu will take care of the Solars! Assemble into the Ten Rings Mountain Seal Formation, the time to be tested has arrived. Also, this isn’t all of the pirates, so we need to be careful to not attract more.”

Li Hao took a deep breath. “I’ll take everyone out on Southern Ford after we defeat and kill the enemy. My treat. We’ll spend an entire day relaxing!”

“The leader is great!” someone roared in the communication system, as if not knowing the meaning of fear.

The enemy outnumbered them by tenfold, but what did that matter? Their leader wasn’t afraid, so did they need to waste time with that emotion? If the Solars and Nova were stopped, their black armor would obstruct attacks from the remaining Sunflares. What was there to be afraid of?

Li Hao petted Panther next to him and muttered, “You don’t need to be involved if there’s only one Nova. Go around and investigate, if that’s the case. Do you know how to swim? I’m worried that the other commanders might be around—that would be the most troublesome of all.”

“Arf arf!” Panther nodded in seeming understanding.

Li Hao wasn’t worried about ambushes; he’d be able to see them. The only concern he had was of powerful martial masters nearby.

Liu Long glanced at the young man. There were ten times the number of enemies out there... but Li Hao chose to wade into battle. There were two or three hours until the pirates reached Southern Ford, that might be enough time for Kong Jie to reach them. A powerhouse of his level would travel quickly, or at the very least, they could facilitate the city’s evacuation.

And yet, Li Hao chose the most under-the-radar method and even warned Wang Ming against disturbing the city’s denizens.

The look in Liu Long’s eyes turned complex. Was the young man who proclaimed himself to be self-absorbed beginning to consider other things as well? The Battle Heaven army, Hong Yitang, and Liu Long himself were continuously influencing this vagabond used to going his own way. Was this a good thing?

Liu Long suddenly didn’t know what to say.

“We march in the darkness and protect from the shadows. We safeguard justice as the Demon Hunters!”

The Demon Hunters!

Liu Yan and the others of the former Demon Hunters blinked. Their chief hadn’t said these words in a very long time. What was different about today? Despite their confusion, they immediately chorused, “To safeguard justice and uphold righteousness. Demon Hunters!”

Their blood suddenly ran hot. Aren’t we... upholding justice right now?

The new iteration of the Demon Hunters hadn’t heard of these sayings before. They digested the words in a daze. Justice... Agitation fired them up. Are we... justice?

“To safeguard justice and uphold righteousness. Demon Hunters!” People started roaring in the communication channel, feeling quite invigorated afterwards!

Li Hao remained quiet. Justice? What is justice? I don’t know. Am I upholding justice? Maybe! How was there so much justice to speak of in this world? Perhaps he had an abundance of courage because he’d heard there was only one Nova among the enemy. Or perhaps it was because Wang Ming said that this little city supported thirty million people in Silver Moon. Or perhaps it was Hou Xiaochen telling him prior to his departure that the monthly wages Li Hao received were the people’s hard labor, that he had to live up to them!

It was also possibly the regulations of the Battle Heaven Army, that one was not permitted to withdraw. Perhaps... perhaps... there were many reasons. Whatever bullshit that was justice, that was only good to fool kids with.

Li Hao cursed to himself, but then quietly added after a moment, for justice... Demon Hunters!

......

A small ship crested the waves in the darkness.

In the distance.

Lights were ablaze on a large ship. Screams and wails echoed through the night, cries of agony that were drowned out by braying laughter. Bloodthirsty pirates cavorted and reveled in the ship’s hold. Blood stained their blades as the sound of women crying traveled out of the ship.

Out of the town they’d ransacked, the men were dead, the girls were taken for pleasure, and the elderly, sick, children, and women were all slaughtered. They sometimes picked a few kids to join the pirates, raising them to be bloodthirsty comrades after a lifetime of villainous influence. Kids who were too old were not wanted, they only wanted children too young to remember anything.

A massive throne was placed in the middle of the ship’s hold. Sea Shark sat cross-legged on it, leaning on a table and flashing a feral grin at the scene around him. His grin widened at the sight of pirates tormenting anguished women. Beside him, two women trembled as they kneaded his legs. They emitted muffled sobs from their throats.

Sea Shark was immensely content. This trip had not been in vain. Of course, a singular small town was not his goal. His laughter grew over all of the noise. “Pace yourselves! We’ll be at Southern Ford in a bit. That’s the true paradise, so don’t overdo it to the point where you can’t stand up!”

“Don’t worry, third master! Us brothers... have golden spears that still point straight and true! Hahaha!!”

Pfft!

A golden arrow pierced through the man as soon as he finished talking!

The premises immediately quieted down.

“Don’t be angry, third master!” placated a terrified pirate. “That guy has shit for brains, well killed!”

The golden arrow had come from Sea Shark. The words “golden spears” had set him off. In Sea Shark’s eyes, using that phrase in a complimentary tone was worthy of death!

“Throw him into the sea!” Sea Shark cackled. “Shut your mouth if you don’t know how to talk!”

No one dared say anything; sounds of enjoyment soon started up again. It was just an idiot dead—this was a common occurrence to them. Dead was dead, that didn’t matter.

Sea Shark kicked away the two young women massaging his legs. They smashed into the ship’s walls and coughed up blood. An empty despair filled their eyes—they seemed not long for the world.

Sea Shark didn’t care and stood up, turning a blind eye to the lewd chaos around him. He walked out onto the decks. There were more supernaturals here that were keeping an eye on the premises.

“Third master!” A Solar quickly walked over. “We’ll reach Southern Ford soon, but Hou Xiaochen’s men have probably just reached the North Sea. Shall we wait until they finish crossing the sea before making our move?”

“We do this precisely because they haven’t left yet!” Sea Shark sneered. “If we raze Southern Ford after they fully enter the central region, they won’t receive the news until much later. Now is the best timing, what can they do even after knowing? The North Sea is huge, are they going to chase us into it? I want Golden Spear and the others to suffer, to let them know that I’m killing Silver Moon savages right under their noses!

“Hou Xiaochen might not even make it through the North Sea alive, not with his little handful of people. At the very least, he’ll be late reporting for duty. There are already plenty of people who don’t see eye-to-eye with him, just wait for someone to start something!”

Sea Shark’s current state was far from a muddled mess that one might expect. On the contrary, his thoughts were methodological. Indeed, this was the best moment for revenge. It wouldn’t be as fun after Hou Xiaochen’s convoy entered the central region. Striking at this timing would make them struggle with the decision of whether or not to enter the North Sea for vengeance.

That would be when things were interesting. If they really dared come, the eight pirate factions would not just let the Silver Moon Guards be. A greater revenge might be at hand then!

All of the North Sea pirates would mobilize and besiege these fellows because Hou Xiaochen was a formidable opponent. This was the outcome that Sea Shark wished to see! He wanted nothing more than for Hou Xiaochen to receive word and impulsively give chase through the North Sea. Whether it was White Shark or the other pirate leaders, who would idly sit by then?

“Third master is wise!” faded the Solar.

“Wise my ass!” Sea Shark sneered. “Don’t try that with me! Kill more Silver Moon savages later, that's better than any of that shit!”

“Of course!” confirmed the pirates around them.

“Silver Moon is poor, but Southern Ford isn’t.” Sea Shark grinned a toothy grin. “I entered the Moon Sea two years ago for that city. It doesn’t have much cultivation resources, but it has a lot of valuables. After this operation, we’ll be able to recruit people again!”

Pirates didn’t lack for cultivation resources, what they did was in items hard to find at sea—armor, weapons, rations, vegetables... These necessities were expensive on the water, but the major factions still had their ways to seize or secretly trade for them.

The smaller pirate factions, however, didn’t dare brashly come ashore. Pillaging merchant ships might not satisfy their need; obtaining cultivation resources from their fellow pirates was a bit easier. They were usually willing to pay a high price to purchase these items from the major factions.

More flattery sounded from the crowd!

A merry glint entered Sea Shark’s eyes. There were ten thousand White Shark Raiders, but not all of them were supernaturals. There were some martial masters or mundanes with unique skills. Supernaturals were only half of their number.

He was ranked number three out of their three commanders and his six hundred men were the weakest. The boss White Shark commanded the most elite three thousand supernaturals. He was terrifying!

So although Sea Shark eyed White Shark greedily and was very tempted, he didn’t dare actually think of anything. He’d wanted to raid Southern Ford two years ago so he could recruit more men, but he’d fallen flat on his face. Hundreds of supernaturals died and he’d suffered a significant wound as well.

Thankfully, he had his supporters. His men didn’t desert over the past two years and the supernaturals he’d lost were replenished. He now commanded more than he did before. Various thoughts rose in his mind and he seemed to see a black shadow flash through the distance. There was nothing there when he peered more intently at it.

“Did you see anything?” he asked a nearby Solar.

“No, the wind and water are calm. We’ve eliminated the nearby merchant ships and will be at Southern Ford soon!”

......

At the same time.

The Vast Kun Ship stopped less than five thousand meters from the big ship. Li Hao could already see a ball of light on it.