Chapter 1 The Mist

The fog on the sea gradually thickened, and the bright moon hid in the dark clouds, reducing visibility.

The midnight sea was somewhat icy. Su Lun soaked in the water, quietly approaching the slave ship.

A slave liberation night raid suddenly turned into a fierce naval battle.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"..."

Violent cannon fire exploded densely, shaking eardrums.

The pirates' cannons were generally inferior to those of wealthy merchant ships, so they didn't gain much advantage in naval warfare.

The dilapidated, poorly maintained pirate ships were also less durable than merchant ships. However, mutual sinking wasn't easy.

When wooden sailing ships were hit, cannonballs would penetrate the enchanted hull, landing in the cabins and sending wood splinters flying, but sinking them in a short time was difficult. Good luck might break a mast, or hit the ammunition hold, causing devastating damage to the ship.

Therefore, if the strengths of both sides were similar, the naval battle often lasted a long time, several hours, or even days.

Of course, there were also high-level alchemical shells that could shatter such wooden ships with a single hit. But the cost of such a shell might be more expensive than the ship itself. Only great nobles and the Imperial Navy could afford to use them. They might appear on the Imperial battlefield, but most likely not in a naval battle of this scale.

.......

The two sides continued to bombard each other.

The pirate ships had a numerical advantage, with about twenty or so ship shadows in the fog.

But whether in pursuit by the navy or in robbery, the pirates wouldn't engage in prolonged artillery battles.

They were better at boarding actions.

No, in this world with alchemical implants, they didn't even need to board. The pirates could fly directly from the sky using implants, or swim from the seabed.

Wing implants, underwater breathing scuba implants, sharkskin implants...

These were the most popular practical implants among pirates, greatly enhancing their ability to survive at sea.

Flying in the sky was still easy to get focused fire on, but in the water, it was much safer.

Su Lun quietly advanced in the sea, watching countless pirates jump down from the opposite pirate ship. After entering the water, those guys were like swimming sharks, extremely fast.

Various bizarre fins, flippers, fish tails, and潛行 (qianxing) devices... allowed the group of pirates to quickly approach the merchant ship.

Melee combat after boarding also began.

The cannon fodder who went ashore for melee combat were mostly low-level pirates of the first or second rank. Su Lun silently killed two guys who bumped into him in the water.

At this distance, he finally saw the configuration of the entire pirate group, and was relieved: "Fortunately, only one Fantui (squad)..."

Although those pirate ships flew the flag of the King of the North Sea, the secondary flag also indicated their identity.

This was the fleet of the Fourth Fleet under Oleg, the Seventh Fantui (squad) "Greedy Wolf" Carroll.

Su Lun had even seen some of the ships before, during the harbor battle at Black Reef when he was charging the tower.

Oleg was definitely the overlord of the North Sea.

Their official Fantuidui Zhang (squad leader) were at least fifth-rank professionals, and even the prospective duizhang (leader) were fourth-rank. Elsewhere, these were captains of large pirate ships.

Su Lun had previously gone to the Bounty Hunter Guild to learn about detailed information about many large pirates.

That included this Carroll.

This guy was once a guard commander of a noble, discovered having an affair with his wife, slaughtered the noble's entire family, and was wanted by the empire, forcing him to defect and become a pirate. His talent, implants, and cultivation methods were all top-notch, and his strength was very high.

Pirates were particularly particular about display.

The standing positions on the deck could show the difference between "Fantuidui Zhang (squad leader)", "vice duizhang (leader)", and "Xiaodui Zhang (team leader)".

Even when watching a show, big shots would watch from the "C position" instead of hiding in the corner.

Su Lun watched from afar, recognizing Carroll, the bearded man in cold-light chainmail on the main pirate ship.

Beside this guy was a Goth-makeup black-toothed woman with half her head shaved.

Su Lun recognized her at a glance and thought, "Hedwig, the captain of the Ninth Fantui (squad), 'The Instigator'. One is a mentalist specializing in control, the other is melee, two fifth-ranks. It seems they're determined to kill Hogie..."

However, these two guys were after "Fist of Justice" Hogie and had nothing to do with him.

Seeing this, Su Lun's thoughts became active.

With only one Fantui (squad) coming, it meant that he was at least confident in protecting himself.

.......

The naval battle continued.

At this time, Hogie seemed to know that he was in big trouble today.

He didn't expect the trade caravan to provide any help. Instead of staying to be surrounded by pirates, he and his men took the stolen ship and broke through towards the west.

As soon as he fled, the pirates immediately dispatched several ships to chase after him, and the two fifth-rank Fantuidui Zhang (squad leader) on the main ship naturally went as well.

Seeing this, Su Lun was overjoyed: "Good opportunity!"

Another good news was that Yuta and the others' slave ship hadn't received much attention from the pirates.

This was a ship specializing in transporting goods and slaves. The pirates also knew their stuff, knowing that they were all "valuable goods". If they were sunk, the robbery would be completely meaningless.

On the trade caravan side, even if they knew the slaves had seized the ship, they wouldn't waste ammunition to sink their own ship when facing more ferocious pirates.

As a result, the slave ship remained safe and sound in the barrage of fire.

Seeing this, Su Lun immediately said to the communicator: "Those people are here for Hogie! Yuta, throw the cannons and all the goods into the sea, set sail first, and leave this area as soon as possible!"

The response came immediately from the communicator: "Okay!"

Before long, cannons and goods were thrown into the sea from the ship.

With these heavy objects discarded, the slave ship's draft was obviously much shallower, and the speed immediately increased.

Su Lun listened to the sound of a big battle in the distance, thinking that the two Fantuidui Zhang (squad leader) and Hogie should have started fighting. He also acted without hesitation, teleporting forward several times and came under the ship.

Jumping onto the deck, Yuta was organizing her tribesmen to operate the sails, dismantling anything useless on the ship and throwing it into the sea.

The two nodded to each other.

"Thank you, Mr. Su Lun."

Yuta's crystal eyes were full of gratitude.

Saying that, she said another sentence in Dalu language to her tribesmen.

After hearing it, the sub-humans respectfully bowed to Su Lun with gratitude.

Su Lun felt that he should have understood two words, one was "warrior" and the other was "thank you."

He shook his head, signaling everyone to continue. Now was not the time to relax.

The group of pirates behind them wouldn't just watch these "goods" worth hundreds of millions escape.

.......

The "Fist of Justice" Hogie had caused a big trouble, but it also saved Su Lun and the others a lot of effort.

At least the keys to the explosion collars and magic-banning chains were on the ship. After being freed, the Dalu tribesmen also regained some combat power.

Most humans in this world were alchemists and had no belief in gods.

But the Dalu tribe did, they believed in the "God of Nature."

Their power also came from the gods.

They were born warriors, with the ability to transform into beasts and cast spells.

The small slave ship was packed with thousands of sub-humans, and now that they were freed, there was no shortage of manpower.

Except for fresh water and food, everything that could be thrown away on the ship was thrown into the sea.

Although their ranks weren't high, hundreds of people took turns using wind magic to propel the sails, and the ship's speed was also extremely fast.

Therefore, it was almost impossible for the two pirate ships chasing behind to catch up by speed.

It was the first time Su Lun had seen real "magic," and he felt it was slightly magical.

The sub-humans prayed piously, chanted spells, and then the spell was successfully condensed.

This was completely different from the spellcasting methods he knew.

Alchemists cast spells purely using the "principle of equivalent exchange," using certain formulaic patterns summarized by alchemical predecessors to condense the elements of nature and form spells.

However, the Dalu tribe cast spells by communicating with some kind of will in the dark through incantations, casting them in a simpler way.

Su Lun didn't quite understand it, but it seemed that part of their spellcasting used their own power, and part was borrowing the power granted by the gods.

The essence of magic spells looked like an affirmation of faith...

In other words, the two spellcasting methods, one was well-founded "science," and the other was "metaphysics."

He didn't think too much about it, because at this time, the pirates on the pirate ships behind were exasperated and chasing after them, watching them escape.

Not ships, but a group of... guys who could teleport through the air?

.......

"This wing-flight implant actually contains the laws of space?"

Su Lun's pupils shrank as he watched the group unlock their implants and fly over, looking like mantises, fleas, and aliens.

They weren't simply flying physically, but with a flap of their wings, the purple light patterns on their wings flashed, and the person teleported dozens of meters.

Others might not see anything, but for Su Lun, a professional who had awakened space abilities, the spatial fluctuations were too obvious!

After using Appraisal, these wings had a lot of background.

【Void Wings】

Details: First-rank Black Iron quality alchemical implant. Wings produced by insects unique to the Void plane, containing spatial displacement ability; containment value rating C+ or above, mutation probability not exceeding 20%; after integration, the toughness and agility of the body are slightly improved; after integration, there is a chance to comprehend some superficial space laws.

These pirates were low-level professionals, and their implants were limited to one or two.

Originally, Su Lun didn't look down on these minions at all, but looking at their implants, he was really surprised.

"Those guys, haven't they found a sealed passage in the 'Void Plane'?"

Su Lun's expression changed slightly as he looked at the information displayed in the appraisal.

He knew that in addition to the "Abyssal Plane Channel" under the Dawn City ruins in Old Lingdun, this plane once had spatial channels connecting many other planes.

However, in the many pieces of information Su Lun had collected, no one had ever seen this kind of "void implant."

That also meant that the pirates of the King of the North Sea had recently found a plane channel, or poked a Void monster's nest?

Space abilities were very rare and practical abilities.

And it was a flying implant!

This was definitely a qualitative increase in the combat power of professionals.

From the current situation, the King of the North Sea might have a large number of subordinates with void implants.

This force couldn't be underestimated.

"I really can't underestimate these pirates..."

Su Lun narrowed his eyes and looked at the pirates chasing him, sighing in his heart.

Now it seemed that this sea had endless opportunities, and he wasn't the only one who was lucky.

......

Those pirates teleported dozens of meters in an instant, and chased up in a blink of an eye.

Everyone on the boat could even see the contemptuous smiles on their faces.

Yuta on the side was also shocked: "Crap! The pirate leading the team is a fourth-rank professional!"

Of all the Dalu tribesmen on the ship, she was the only one who was third-rank.

There were many Dalu tribesmen, so it wasn't like they didn't have the power to fight. But if there was a real battle, no one could stop the fourth-rank professional, and there would definitely be heavy casualties.

Su Lun's eyes shifted, and his mind went into thought.

One fourth-rank, two third-ranks, and some first and second-ranks, wasn't too big of a problem for him.

But if they really fought, that spatial displacement ability was tricky, and he couldn't guarantee that he could kill them in the first time.

Moreover, killing these few was a small matter, behind them was a complete large pirate group.

There were twenty or thirty ships waiting over there, if they really made a big disturbance here, there would definitely be experts coming to support.

Among the Fantuidui Zhang (squad leader) in the pirate group, there might be abilities outside of the intelligence.

Such as the curse warlock Gwenbu "Crow".

Facing unknown methods, he wouldn't know how he was caught.

Su Lun's thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant, and soon, he thought of a way.

Seeing that the pirates were about to board the ship, he quickly said to Yuta next to him: "When they get on the ship, don't resist, they shouldn't kill people. I have a way to make them leave!"

Yuta looked worried: "But..."

Although she wasn't very familiar with Su Lun, she could sense that he was just a third-rank professional.

The other party had fourth-ranks and fifth-ranks, did he plan to go alone?

Too dangerous!

Yuta's face showed determination, and said: "I'll go with you!"

"No, you stay on the ship!"

Su Lun's tone didn't give anyone any room to refuse.

Not having time to explain more, he said again: "They will definitely come to me later, you seize the time to leave. Don't worry about me, I have my own way to escape."

Yuta looked at the resolute look in the man's eyes, not knowing what to say: "You..."

That look seemed to have a strange ability to make people believe.

He... really could?

Not giving Yuta a chance to speak, Su Lun jumped off the ship.

.......

The dozen or so pirates flying towards the slave ship also saw Su Lun jump off the ship, but they didn't pay attention to him at all.

In their eyes, he was just a coward who fled the battlefield.

The fourth-rank professional leading the team was called Suleiman, nicknamed "Void Blade."

Because he successfully integrated the fourth-rank Silver Void implant, he became a prospective captain in the Seventh Fantui (squad).

Although there was no bounty yet, it was coming soon. This time, killing Hogie, they could immediately become famous in the North Sea. With this Void ability, he would eventually become a famous pirate in the future!

After retracting the wing implant behind him, Suleiman steadily jumped onto the slave ship, glanced at the group of sub-humans with frosty faces, and laughed strangely: "Yo... the quality of this batch of goods is not bad."

The fox and wolf female sub-humans were mostly beautiful, saying that, the dozen or so pirates behind him also showed obscene smiles on their faces.

Yuta had already shown her fangs and claws, and she hesitated whether to do it or not.

If it was just her, even if she died in battle, she would never be captured without a fight.

But there was a group of tribesmen behind her.

Suleiman showed off the purple gleaming colonial blade in his hand, and the unique pressure of the fourth-rank professional instantly swept the entire ship, drinking: "I don't care if you understand. Now stay in the hold obediently, don't fucking force me to kill people!"

Saying that, he also pointed the blade at Yuta who was leading the team in a provocative manner...

As long as this group of sub-humans moved slightly, a large number of heads would immediately fall to the ground.

Yuta was fearless, her blue eyes were full of beast-like sharp ferocity.

She thought of what Su Lun said just now, and couldn't help but look at the sea in the distance.

At this time, it happened that the sea was like a giant whale emerging from the water, with a "splash", suddenly a menacing... steel giant appeared!

Yuta had never seen a fighter mech, looking at the strange thing, she couldn't hide her shock: "That... is that Mr. Su Lun?"

Several pirates also heard the movement, glanced over, and immediately saw the mech warrior who was using a ship-slicing sword to slash at their pirate ship, all shocked: "Military mechanical armor? People from the Mafa Empire?"

.......

That's right, this was the 【Colonel-Class Ship-Slicing Type 9 Mechanical Armor】!

Su Lun didn't dare to be careless, thinking that he could take on a pirate group head-on.

What's more, he couldn't guarantee that there would be mystical professionals among the pirates.

Wearing mechanical armor was just right.

This set of armor was a sharp weapon that had been tested in the battle at Gadongte Port before, and the helmet had a special anti-curse treatment.

With the armor on his body, even a fifth-rank mystical mage would have a hard time killing him.

Not only did he have to attract attention, but he also had to prevent the pirates from continuing to pursue.

There was no better way to do this than with mechanical armor.

To prevent pursuit, the ship couldn't be kept intact.

And the "Steam Ship-Slicing Sword" equipped with the armor was simply a weapon to break ships!

Although the mechanical ship-slicing sword couldn't emit long-range attacks such as "sword qi", the vibrating blade could easily cut through wooden sailing ships.

With this wide-open and close slash, he directly cut a hole in the belly of a pirate ship. After two more slashes, the gap immediately turned into a big breach. Sea water poured in instantly, and the huge pirate ship was about to sink.

What was the biggest advantage of mechanical warriors?

That was strong defense!

Su Lun controlled the battle mech, like a god of war descending.

The hail of bullets overhead hit the mech and crackled, but it didn't stop his actions at all. The steam boiler stored power, and white air spurted from under his feet, agitating a large area of ​​ripples on the sea. The mech jumped up and rushed towards another pirate ship chasing.

Su Lun jumped on the deck and slashed down without hesitation, directly cutting off the hard main mast on the spot!

The mast collapsed, smashing a group of minions to scatter and flee.

The experts on these two ships had gone to intercept the slave ship, leaving a group of minions, like ants biting an elephant, unable to do anything to Su Lun at all.

They could only watch him wave the ship-slicing sword like a windmill, cutting off all the masts on the ship.

Seeing that their two ships were filling with sea water and were about to capsize, Suleiman, the "Void Blade" on the slave ship in the distance, roared: "Damn it!"

This was the foundation for him to become a captain!

Now it was cut to pieces in the blink of an eye?

Suleiman was furious, and no longer cared about the group of slaves, and flapped his wings back.

After all, in his eyes, a set of Mafa military armor was worth countless times more than a ship of slaves.

He stared at the mech warrior, with a cold smile in his eyes: "Hmph! Mechanical warrior? Others may not be able to do anything... but don't you know that our void implants are just right to restrain mechanical warriors!"

.......

Su Lun naturally saw the group of pirates flying back, and even clearly saw the contempt on the face of the guy leading the team.

Not at all surprised.

This was to relieve the siege of Zhao, waiting for them to fly back.

Su Lun wasn't in a hurry to retreat either. Appraising the fourth-rank implant in that guy's hand, he murmured: "Tsk tsk, this implant is indeed very restrained to mechanical warriors... no wonder he's so confident."

【Void Scythe】

Details: Fourth-rank silver quality alchemical implant; the sickle of a unique creature in the Void plane, containing spatial displacement ability, can ignore obstacles to carry out slashes; containment value rating B+ or above, mutation probability not exceeding 15%; after integration, the toughness and agility of the body are moderately improved, and the use of some space laws is likely to be comprehended.

Seeing this, Su Lun also looked forward to it: "Space experience delivered to the door..."