ALL NOVEL
Chapter 61: Vengeance
“Is this still naval warfare?”
A murmur from a Venetian seaman broke the silence.
No one answered his question.
The Crete Provincial Commander was dazed. His common sense had been shaken so much that he was on the verge of a mental breakdown.
He had done his homework beforehand. He had compiled information about the Khitan Caesar from his past battle records to understand the enemy he was up against.
Herculean strength. Inexhaustible energy. Terrifying archery. Valiance of a war god.
If the Khitan Caesar had sniped down his seamen one by one or even charged straight ahead with his men and overran their galleys through sheer valiance, the Crete Provincial Commander would have still accepted the outcome.
But this…
What kind of nonsense is this?! Why is there even a horse in a naval battle?!
“Provincial Commander, what should we do?” a Venetian seaman asked as he trembled like a pitiful little quail.
And these were soldiers Venice had heavily invested in. Had they been hired mercenaries instead, they would have long-lost their nerves and surrendered.
“…” The Crete Provincial Commander was at a loss too.
Just then, he heard a shrill roar, “This is our chance to strike!”
He turned over and saw Vernier’s galley next to his.
Vernier was roaring with so much gusto that her face was warped, and her body was trembling, “He needs to accelerate! He needs enough space to build up momentum for his jump! As long as you don’t give him a chance to accelerate, he won’t be able to leap onto our galleys!”
We can’t let him get away! We cannot give him a chance to retreat!
It’ll be the end of me if they manage to escape.
The Senate will definitely issue an arrest warrant for me. No, that’s not all. These seamen here might even think that I have led them to their doom with my plan and attempt to kill me!
We must defeat the Khitan Caesar even if he sinks half of our galleys here!
While Vernier was catching her breath from all the shouting, the Crete Provincial Commander snapped out of his daze. As a war veteran, it didn’t take him long to make sense of the situation.
“The Khitan Caesar has been isolated from his troops! This is our chance to take him down!” the Crete Provincial Commander roared at his men.
“Dispatch ten galleys to surround the Khitan Caesar and shoot him down with our ballistae. Soak the arrows with flaming oil; we’ll burn him to death even if we can’t hit him!
“The remaining people shall stall the other Khitans. Don’t give them a chance to rescue the Khitan Caesar. Without those chained ships, the Khitan Caesar’s wings are clipped!”
The subsequent battle was brutal.
To stop Shu Yichao from reuniting with his troops, the Venetian fleet had no choice but to approach the Khitans’ chained ships to physically stop them. This gave the Khitans a chance to board their galleys.
But even if they had to lay down their lives, these Venetian seamen were determined to buy time for their comrades to take down the Khitan Caesar!
A massive fight unfolded.
All kinds of noises could be heard—the swooshes from oars rowing against the water, the creaking of splintering wood from colliding ships, the metallic clanging of crossing blades, and the furious roars of fighting soldiers.
Meanwhile, on Shu Yichao’s side…
“Hoh, are you finally coming at me?” Shu Yichao picked up a ballista and aimed it at the approaching Venetian fleet. “As I expected, I had to split away from my troops to reel you in.”
Boom!
The ballista was fired with a shrill sound, and the arrow pierced into a Venetian galley’s deck. Yet another fresh skewer was prepared off the rack, and the impact of the collision caused those onboard to lose their balance.
“Don’t fear, brave Venetian seamen!” the Crete Provincial Commander roared to muster his men’s courage, “The Khitan Caesar is alone! Now is the time to prove your courage!”
Thus, the Venetian galleys obstinately advanced toward Shu Yichao despite their severe casualties.
They unleashed their firepower on him, be it bows, crossbows, or ballistae, showing their determination to turn him into a porcupine, but their attacks fell short. They knew that their attacks wouldn’t work from this distance, but they had to do something or else they would succumb to their fear.
“Ready!”
Finally, when the Venetian galleys were sufficiently close to Shu Yichao’s galley, the Crete Provincial Commander ordered for all attacks to halt so that they could bombard in unison.
“Fire!”
Ignited ballistae spears and deadly arrows whizzed toward Shu Yichao.
“Fuck!” Shu Yichao quickly slowed the game’s time flow. “I can’t survive such concentrated bombardment at the normal time flow!”
All the seamen stared at the scene in anticipation. The Crete Provincial Commander clenched his jaws. Vernier clenched her fists.
Before their eyes, Shu Yichao suddenly started moving so fast that it felt like he had split into thousands of black silhouettes.
Shoo shoo shoo!
He dodged all the arrows.
Pew pew pew!
The crossbow arrows were knocked aside.
Bam!
The ballista spears were sliced with vertical cuts.
“…”
Silence loomed.
“GAHHHHH!!!”
“My Lord, what sins have we committed? Why must you punish us so?!”
The Venetian seamen screeched in despair.
Did we pay such a heavy price just for such an outcome?!
“…” Vernier stared at this despairing sight with a face flushed of color.
Just then…
Kacha!
A hook fell on the corner of Shu Yichao’s galley and locked it in place.
The other Venetian galleys, which had been tasked with the job of stalling the other Khitans from aiding Shu Yichao, had been defeated. Once boarding occurred, the Venetian seamen were no match for the Elite Horse Archers too despite having the numerical superiority.
The Elite Horse Archers were impervious to seasickness. They were powerful soldiers even when out at sea.
“Run!”
“We need to escape!”
Seeing Shu Yichao reunite with his troops shook up the Venetians. They realized that he could perform his common sense-defying leap once more, and that effectively quelled the fighting will in them.
The only thought left in their mind was to flee. The faster, the better.
Some might be able to escape with their adept galley steering, but one person was destined to die here.
A white comet descended from the sky once more.
Bam!
Miserable screams echoed, but they quickly died down.
At the end of which, Shu Yichao leisurely galloped up to Vernier.
“This should be my target.”
Red name. Health bar. Venetian.
Good. Now I just have to hang her on the flag pole…
“Esteemed Khitan Caesar,” Vernier meekly spoke with her dry lips, “I—”
Her facial muscles twitched as she tried to squeeze out a smile, but it looked awful.
She had never felt so regretful before. If she could do things over, she would have never messed with this monster!
Just then…
“Caesar!”
A figure suddenly pounced at Shu Yichao before he could make a move. Sophia grabbed his hands while looking at him with twinkling eyes that reflected the stars in the sky. Her voice was both sweet and coy.
“Leave her to me, please, Caesar.”
“Fine. Do whatever you want.”
Shu Yichao nodded without thinking much into it. He turned his attention to the other Venetian galleys.
“…”
The moment Shu Yichao turned around, Sophia’s face changed.
“Esteemed Senator…”
Her beautiful facial features warped into that of a savage beast, and her brilliant eyes were so cold that looking into them induced goosebumps.
“…I heard you Venetians pride yourselves as the ‘Bride of the Sea’?
“I am into matchmaking,” Sophia coyly twirled her hair, “why don’t I officiate your wedding?”
“You!” Vernier roared.
A few soldiers marched forth to hold Vernier down. A rope was tied around her neck, with the other end tied to a pole, before she was dragged to the galley’s edge. Without any hesitation, she was shoved off the edge.
“Wu! WUUUU!”
Vernier struggled desperately in the water. She was an adept swimmer, but who could swim while having a noose around their neck?
“Do your best, bride.” Princess Sophia put her hands together while watching the struggling Vernier. A slight redness reminiscent of embarrassment tinged her fair face. Then, she turned to her aide and ordered, “Raise the sail.”
Venetian Senator, let me guess—will you drown to death, or will you hang to death? Mmm, that’s a tough one for a child like me.
Oh well!