Twenty-four warships flying the banner of the Yinglong Legion sailed forward across the Boundary Sea. Zhou Yu commanded ten warships in the center, with Han Shizhong and Zhang Dingbian flanking him on either side, each leading five ships, like the wings of the central army.
The immortal energy in the void seemed to halt, and the calm Boundary Sea remained undisturbed. Zhou Yu stood at the bow, gazing at the placid sea, a faint smile on his lips that sent a tremor through Liang Hongyu. She recalled the great fire of Red Cliffs, which had routed Cao Cao's million-strong army and laid the foundation for the Three Kingdoms.
Now, on the Boundary Sea, Zhou Yu had requested the banners of the Vermillion Bird Legion and the Kui Niu Legion. She naturally understood the commander's strategy. Although the Tianbao Sect's million-strong army had suffered hasty losses of over a dozen warships in the brief engagement, it did not affect their overwhelming military might.
The warships moved slowly. At this moment, the Tianbao Sect's fleet drifted gently on the Boundary Sea. The hurried battle half a month prior, due to insufficient preparation and a misunderstanding of the Great Han Immortal Dynasty's military strength, had resulted in a crushing defeat, with the loss of more than ten ordinary immortal treasure warships and a hundred thousand disciples. His peerless immortal treasure, the Glazed Pagoda, had also sustained heavy damage. After half a month of rest, the cracks in the immortal treasure had been repaired.
Xu Fei held the Glazed Pagoda, examining it closely. The southward campaign had cost him dearly. To repair this ordinary immortal treasure, he had exhausted the precious spiritual materials he had collected over ten thousand years.
"Great Elder, the Sect Master's decree is to swiftly annihilate the Great Han Immortal Dynasty's Yinglong Legion and march south!" A disciple boarded the main warship and reported respectfully.
Xu Fei put away the Glazed Pagoda and asked, "What is the state of the Wuji Star Palace's territory?"
"Reporting to Great Elder, due to the obstruction of the Nine Dragon Sect, our Tianbao Sect has gained nothing. Instead, two-thirds of the territory has fallen into the hands of the Great Han Immortal Dynasty. The Nine Dragon Sect has taken advantage of this to expand south, occupying the remaining northern third of the Wuji Star Palace's territory," the disciple replied.
"Damn the Great Han Immortal Dynasty, to possess such great fortune. Merely entering the Immortal Realm and already controlling two-thirds of the Wuji Star Palace's territory, truly damnable!" Xu Fei's eyes turned bloodshot. Such fortune was truly enviable. Coincidentally, the Great Han Immortal Dynasty had just entered the Immortal Realm when the Wuji Star Palace mysteriously perished. The vast territory was easily seized by the Great Han Immortal Dynasty without expending much effort, truly hateful!
"Notify the entire army, march south and fight to the death with the Great Han Immortal Dynasty's Yinglong Legion!" Xu Fei stood up, his Xuanyuan Divine Sword hovering in the air above his head.
"Yes!"
An hour later, the two armies were twenty nautical miles apart, arrayed for battle!
Zhou Yu gazed at the dozens of ordinary immortal treasure warships before him, a faint smile gracing his lips. He wore no armor of the Yinglong Legion, but rather a white robe, and sat cross-legged. On the table before him lay a map of the two hundred-mile sea area of the Tianbao Realm, and nothing else save for a teapot emitting wisps of tea fragrance.
"Where is the副将 (Fùjiàng - Deputy General)?" Zhou Yu asked, picking up the teapot.
"This subordinate is here!" The deputy general standing beside Zhou Yu looked at Zhou Yu eagerly, his hands clasped in a fist salute.
"Order the entire army to draw their bows and nock arrows, unleash a storm of arrows!"
"Remember, consolidate your formations and strike with full force!"
Zhou Yu looked at the tea in his cup, blew on the leaves, and said, "General Liang, beat the drums to cheer us on!"
"Understood!"
Dong! Dong! Dong!
Four warships. Liang Hongyu, leading her female soldiers, beat the drums. The thunderous drumbeats reverberated across tens of miles of sea, causing the surface of the water to ripple with splashes.
"Yinglong Legion!"
The deputy general held the Yinglong Legion's banner and commanded the soldiers of the ten warships to manifest the Yinglong divine soul. Instantly, soldiers drew their bows and nocked arrows, and a fearsome yellow divine light enveloped the ten warships.
"Attack!"
Xu Fei shouted, his right hand gripping the Xuanyuan Divine Sword, while his left hand raised the Glazed Pagoda to shield the dozens of warships. The outer sect elders who followed poured their own ordinary immortal treasures.
"When the drums sound, the arrows will fly!"
One hundred nautical miles southwest of the battlefield, Zhou Tai commanded three warships, holding the Kui Niu Legion's banner. Suddenly, the sound of drums boomed in the void, and the whistling of arrows pierced the air, sending waves crashing on the sea.
"Rise!"
Zhou Tai raised the Kui Niu Legion's banner and stood at the ship's prow. As the battle flag unfurled, azure light enveloped the sea area. Brilliance like the sun and moon cascaded down. With the first unfurling of the flag, the light intensified; with the second, the Kui Niu roared like rolling thunder; with the third, wind and rain raged, instantly whipping up waves thousands of feet high. The flowing winds and waves on the sea's surface dramatically changed color, immortal energy stirred, curses appeared, and a deathly tsunami roared, sweeping towards the northeast.
Gan Ning, only a few nautical miles from Zhou Tai's position, heard the rolling thunder and looked ahead. Waves roared thousands of feet high, and immortal energy, like sharp blades, sliced the void into pieces.
He immediately raised the Vermillion Bird Legion's banner and waved it towards the center of the towering waves and the deathly tsunami. A high-pitched cry surged into the tsunami, like a baby's wail. A sea of crimson fire enveloped the layers of waves. In the heart of the deathly tsunami, three distinct forces converged.
"Kill!"
"Push forward, old man!"
Xu Fei led the Tianbao warships forward. With their preparations complete, the Yinglong Legion's arrow storm had little effect on them, and casualties were minimal.
Deng deng deng!!
At this moment, the map on the table was gone, replaced by a seven-stringed guqin. As Zhou Yu plucked the strings, he closed his eyes and played. The movements of his fingertips made the music sound like clashing armor and the tender emotions of the martial world, echoing the drumbeats of Liang Hongyu across the sea. The tsunami arrived, arrows pierced the sky, and a sea of fire covered the Tianbao Sect's army. The sky was ablaze with fire. The strings vibrated, and the sea of fire surged thousands of feet. The strings moved again, and the crimson sea of fire transformed into a spear of the fire god, carrying terrifying power that shattered the glazed pagodas of several Tianbao Sect elders.
Defensive immortal treasures crumbled, and the crimson sea of fire surged in. The terrifying thousand-foot waves instantly destroyed several warships.
"Ah~~~ Save me~~"
"Save me~~"
"Plop~~"
Chaos ensued. Zhou Yu remained with closed eyes, his fingers flying across the guqin. Half an hour later, they slowly relaxed. As the music gradually faded, dozens of warships and nearly nine hundred thousand Tianbao troops were engulfed in the sea of fire. Even as living beings shrieked, the roaring waves and the fearsome sound of divine fire tore away all their cries.
"Heaven wishes to destroy me!"
"Heaven wishes to destroy me!!"
Xu Fei was covered in crimson flames, with fragments of the Glazed Pagoda scattered around him, stained with specks of his blood.
Countless disciples of the Tianbao Sect, even those who evaded the waves, the crimson divine fire, and the volleys of arrows, could not escape the collapsing immortal treasure warships. Once in the Boundary Sea, their life flames were extinguished.