Between the sea and sky, ominous clouds roiled, obscuring the heavens and the sun, blotting out every last ray of light. A deep gloom settled beneath the clouds, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Only the occasional flash of lightning illuminated the turbulent surface of the sea.
Fierce gales howled, seemingly without end, whipping up mountain-sized waves on the ocean's surface.
Amidst waves powerful enough to shatter mountains, a Flying Boat darted through them like a swiftlet.
The pilot of this Flying Boat was clearly a seasoned veteran. Even in the most perilous moments, they skillfully navigated the vessel through the gaps between the colossal waves with ease.
The ocean waves were like a clumsy giant, constantly trying to swat the fly-like Flying Boat into the sea, yet never succeeding.
High above, five even larger Flying Boats had it surrounded. The Arrays on these vessels would occasionally fire a blast of Magic, trying to capture the fleeing Flying Boat.
Unfortunately, the pilots of these five Flying Boats were far less skilled than the one below. Most of their magical attacks went wide. Even when one or two spells were on target, the vessel below would evade them with exquisite maneuvers.
It even managed to use the massive ocean waves to block incoming attacks.
Within an even higher layer of the ominous clouds, Yang Jing stood on the deck of his Flying Boat, looking down on the game of cat and mouse below.
Yinjiao stood respectfully to one side, his expression as black as a thundercloud.
They had encountered that Flying Boat three days ago. A mere Tier Two Flying Boat was actually toying with the Tier Three Flying Boats under his command.
Even though the sailors on the Flying Boats were mostly uncoordinated greenhorns, he still felt deeply humiliated, his face burning with shame.
"What's the rush? Having a Demon Sect Flying Boat for us to practice on is clearly a good thing."
Yang Jing was quite sanguine about the situation. He had never held particularly high expectations for this newly formed Rescue Army to begin with.
"If we don't make these mistakes now, are we supposed to wait until a major battle to make them?"
Yinjiao nodded.
"But this Demon Cultivator's Flying Boat suddenly appeared in our fleet's line of sight and has been fleeing ever since. I'm afraid it might be a Demon Sect ploy to lure us into a trap,"
he said, worried.
Yang Jing shook his head.
"There's no need to worry. For the past two months, we've maintained a strict information blackout. The Demon Sect shouldn't know our true strength. On the contrary, what I want is an opportunity to annihilate the Demon Sect's Flying Ship Fleet. Even if they've laid an inescapable trap, it's not yet certain whether the net will break or the fish will die."
he said decisively.
"If we can annihilate the Demon Sect's Flying Ship Fleet, it would be worth it, even at the cost of half our own Flying Boats."
The Northern Continent is barren, far inferior to the Central Continent. The Artifact Refining techniques of the Four Great Demon Sects also lag far behind. In terms of both the number and Power of their Flying Boats, they have always been vastly outmatched by the Central Continent. It is even difficult for them to replace any losses.
If they could find and destroy the Northern Continent Demon Sect's fleet in the West Sea now, then by the time they reached the Western Continent, the allied forces of the Demons and the Demon Sect would have no Flying Ship Fleet left to tie down the Rescue Army.
Flying Boats can travel through the sky at high speeds, their mobility far beyond that of ordinary armies. Once on the Western Continent battlefield, the Rescue Army would hold the initiative. They could choose the time and place of major battles, giving them a massive advantage.
The chase below continued. However, a prolonged defense is bound to fail. The fleeing Flying Boat would be doomed beyond recovery if it made a single mistake, whereas the pursuing vessels had countless chances to err.
While dodging a Sword Light formed from a baleful gale, the Demon Cultivator's Flying Boat was carelessly struck on the stern by a surging wave.
Even though the Flying Boat had activated its Defensive Array, the cloud shield formed from Demon Fiend energy fluctuated violently from the impact, causing the entire vessel to stall for an instant.
A pursuing ship, its crew's piloting skills honed by the chase, instantly fired a Sword Light condensed from fire fiend energy. The crimson beam, a hundred feet long and seemingly unstoppable, was comparable to the full-power strike of a Golden Core Cultivator.
The Defensive Array on the Demon Sect Flying Boat was destroyed by the attack. The Sword Light even pierced straight through the hull, which was forged from sturdy Demon Gold, melting a huge hole in the process.
"Order the Impact Boats to board them. Capture any survivors. I want to interrogate them and find out the location of the Demon Sect's main fleet."
Yang Jing ordered Yinjiao.
"Also, record a minor merit for all sailors on the ship that scored the hit, and a major merit for the Array Master who operated the Array! Announce it to the entire army."
In the Rescue Army's merit system, a minor merit was worth one hundred Merit Points, and a major merit was worth five hundred. A Foundation Establishment Pill, the stuff of dreams for countless Independent Cultivators, cost only one thousand Merit Points.
That Array Master had earned half a Foundation Establishment Pill just by landing a single hit with the Array. When he heard his comrades' congratulations, he felt dizzy, as if he were walking on clouds.
The soldiers who could only sit in the ship's cabins, catching only snippets of news from passing sailors, were so jealous their eyes turned red when they heard the announcement.
Soon, seven Impact Boats launched from the Flying Boats, shooting straight toward the disabled vessel.
"Remember! Lord Yang wants them alive! The Merit Points for a live captive are much higher than for a head!"
Inside one of the Impact Boats, a Golden Core Cultivator clad in Armor addressed the Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the cabin.
Tier Two Flying Boats usually had a Golden Core Cultivator on board. To avoid unnecessary casualties, each Impact Boat had also been assigned a Golden Core Cultivator.
"Yes, sir!"
the Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the Impact Boat roared in unison. In their eyes, that Flying Boat was a moving treasury of Merit Points.
If they could just capture a few more of those demon whelps, a Golden Core Pill would be within their grasp.
BOOM!
With a series of loud crashes, the Array-reinforced prows of the Impact Boats smashed directly into the hull of the enemy vessel. Countless Rescue Army soldiers, fierce as wolves, leaped down and began grabbing any Demon Cultivator they could find.
Instantly, the entire Flying Boat echoed with the explosive crackle of Magic and the clash of Magical Treasures.
A moment later, a black streak of Tunneling Light shot out from the Flying Boat in a panic, with seven other streaks of varying colors in hot pursuit.
Cui Yizhou looked back in horror at the Golden Core Cultivators latched onto his tail and immediately activated a Secret Technique, burning his Essence Blood to accelerate.
'I've never seen such crazed Cultivators,' he thought. 'If I didn't know they were from the Central Continent, I'd mistake them for one of my own Sect's slave-catching squads.'
Following those first few streaks, a dozen more Tunneling Lights belonging to Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivators also flew out. They weren't as lucky as Cui Yizhou, however. Already seriously injured from being surrounded during the Magical Combat inside the ship, they were captured one by one before they could get far.
Some of the Golden Core Cultivators, seeing they couldn't catch Cui Yizhou, changed tacks and began snatching up the Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivators as if they were catching fish in a barrel.
Even though their high Cultivation meant they would only receive ten Merit Points for capturing one of these Foundation Establishment Demon Cultivators alive, it was still better than nothing.
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