Chapter 197 Cocoon World

The enemy's three ships, sails billowing, surrounded the Dawn Troupe's ship in a "品" (pin) formation.

Those guys had probably calculated the "Gray Dolphin's" speed long ago; two of the three approaching ships were nimble assault vessels. Even if they wanted to escape, they would be caught sooner or later.

Besides, ambushing them after arriving at the deserted island meant that by the time they realized it, it would be too late to escape.

Because Qian Tiao had ordered no firing, the enemy ships only fired a few warning shots.

The shells landed around the ship, sending up white waves over ten meters high. Some of the spray splashed onto the deck, making it wet.

Su Lun, however, didn't care at all, and continued to set up energy crystals in the corner of the cabin.

Qian Tiao leaned lazily against the mast, the sharp glint occasionally flashing in her eyes indicating that she was gathering energy.

She didn't pay much attention to the menacing enemies, but instead watched Su Lun setting up the array with interest, saying, "This alchemy array of yours is interesting. Looks like puppetry?"

Hearing this, Su Lun introduced, "Just a secret puppetry control technique. The more energy prepared, the larger the control range, and no one will escape later."

"Oh."

Qian Tiao raised an eyebrow, as if understanding.

Of course, she knew that Su Lun was a puppet master.

But her impression of it was a long time ago.

Now, looking at the scale of this alchemy array, Qian Tiao knew it was definitely not simple.

What puppet master would use such a massive energy gathering array?

This was no longer at the level of a third-tier spell.

Qian Tiao guessed something, a hint of anticipation appearing on her face. She asked directly, "Tsk tsk... Su Lun, I get the feeling you're not just controlling a few puppets, but planning to make a lot of them?"

Su Lun shrugged noncommittally, with nothing to hide from Qian Tiao. "After advancing to the third tier, I awakened a new ability. The number of puppets I can control now... is a bit more."

He didn't say too much, leaving a little room for modesty.

"Oh?"

Qian Tiao listened, her eyebrows curved in a smile, and she didn't ask any more questions.

She glanced at the enemies already within reach, and casually said, "Time to prepare for battle."

"Mm."

Su Lun nodded.

His eyesight was excellent, and he naturally saw the people on the three ships. After observing for a moment, he added, "There shouldn't be any fifth-tiers among the enemies."

The C-position observation method was still very useful.

Under normal circumstances, the strongest person would definitely be in the most conspicuous position.

Su Lun didn't find any major threats among the guys in the C-positions on the three opposing ships.

On the deck of the ship with the "Crocodile Hook" pirate flag hanging from the main mast, the leader was a one-eyed dragon wearing a leather eye patch. Naturally, it was "One-Eye" Suo Ke, whom he had seen before.

And on the other two ships, the leaders, wearing pirate captain's uniforms, were also fourth-tier.

Both of them were highly recognizable. Su Lun had some impression of them in his mind, having seen these two guys on wanted posters. The guy with the golden iron hook on his right hand was "Golden Hook" Charles, the captain of the 'Flamingo Pirates,' with a bounty of 35 million risos; and then there was Horn, the leader of the 'Iron Hammer Pirates,' with a mechanical skeleton, known as "Iron Wall Bear," with a bounty of 55 million risos.

The other few with imposing auras seemed to be the first and second mates on the ship.

None of them looked like fifth-tiers.

However, this was also expected.

If there were a fifth-tier big pirate among the enemies, there would be no need for this encirclement formation. They would just charge straight at them.

Qian Tiao looked fearless, a sneer rising from the corner of her mouth. "No fifth-tiers, that makes things easier."

Su Lun felt the energy accumulating on her body becoming more and more intense, as if it was about to burst. Standing next to her was like being next to a sharp blade, as if he would be torn apart by that energy if he wasn't careful.

He couldn't understand her realm before, but now he truly understood.

This gambling-addicted woman was really super strong!

......

Seeing enemies several times their number closing in, it was impossible for the Dawn Troupe not to be nervous.

Each of them held their weapons, staring intently at the three enemy ships, their hands clenched in nervousness, sweating.

However, this was also the benefit of carefully selecting the crew.

When it really came down to a desperate fight, everyone would twist into a rope and work together to face the enemy.

Three giant clan members wearing crude armor, holding giant shields, stood in front. The gladiators and sumo wrestlers behind them also released their alchemical implants.

No one retreated.

Even ten-year-old Lolota drew her long sword, a determined look of murderous intent on her face.

Qian Tiao chatted with Su Lun for a few words, then jumped onto the deck, stood in front of the nervous crowd, and shouted, "Brothers, prepare for boarding action!"

It was this steady command that seemed to instantly give everyone confidence, their momentum soaring, and they roared together, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Su Lun also noticed this sudden surge in morale, his eyes narrowed slightly.

Qian Tiao really had a kind of inexplicable personal charm that made people trust her.

.......

While the Dawn Troupe was nervously preparing to defend themselves, the pirates on the decks of the three approaching pirate ships were laughing wildly, completely relaxed.

Seeing that the Gray Dolphin had furled its sails and showed no intention of running or firing, they naturally thought that the other side had surrendered.

With the three ships less than a hundred meters apart, the pirates on deck could hear each other shouting.

"Hahaha, that old woman didn't run? She even looks like she wants to fight. Is she trying to scare us?"

"She doesn't dare to fight, so she has to put on a show? Tsk tsk, probably wants to negotiate."

"That's no fun. I heard that this 'Thousand Blade Rakshasa' was a very powerful newcomer on the sea recently, but that's all she is."

"That woman is smart! If we really fought head-on, she wouldn't even have ashes left after a few rounds of cannon fire. If she surrenders, she might be able to live..."

"She was so tough at the gambling den before. I thought she was going to fight to the death. Hehe... didn't expect her to be so cowardly! When I capture that woman later, I'll have to let her know what regret is!"

"Hehe, that bitch will probably be tamed by you, boss."

"Hahaha..."

"..."

Seven or eight hundred pirates on the three ships gathered on the deck. They hadn't realized what they were about to face.

Looking at the Dawn Troupe, which only had a few dozen people, these pirates didn't feel threatened at all. In fact, many of them hadn't even released the safety on their guns.

They felt that with such a disparity in numbers, this was a battle with no suspense at all.

If the other side had fled at the first moment, they might have been able to live a little longer.

Now... there was no chance to escape.

......

Before long, the three pirate ships smoothly approached the Gray Dolphin. All three ships had a larger displacement than Su Lun's, and their hulls were much larger.

When they were about a few dozen meters apart, "One-Eye" Suo Ke stared down at Qian Tiao, arrogantly saying, "Hey, hey, hey... you stinky bitch, aren't you so tough now?"

Losing face at the gambling den, the news had spread throughout the circle in Blizzard City, which had caused the "Iron Crocodile Gang" to lose face.

After holding his anger for so many days, he didn't feel right if he didn't trash talk a bit.

Listening to these words, Qian Tiao wasn't in a hurry to attack, but sneered and said unceremoniously, "One-Eye Dragon, are you in such a hurry to come and die?"

"Yo, still tough-mouthed?"

Although he was a little puzzled as to why the other side didn't beg for mercy and was still so tough, Suo Ke wasn't worried at all now. The situation was set, and the other side couldn't escape. A lewd smile appeared on his face, "Stinky bitch, I'll make you kneel and beg me later!"

At this, the pirates on the decks of the three ships roared with laughter, and all kinds of filthy words were spoken.

Just during this moment of trash talk across the sea, the three pirate ships had completely sealed off the Gray Dolphin's retreat. One blocked the bow, and the other two flanked from the left and right sides.

When the ships were more than ten meters apart, grappling hooks, hook ropes, and iron chains flew all over the sky, grabbing onto the Gray Dolphin's railings and hull. The ropes tightened, and with a series of tugs, the ships drew closer and closer to each other.

Even so, Qian Tiao didn't attack, but held the hilt of her knife, standing steadily on the deck.

The Dawn Troupe members behind her were aimed at by these hundreds of muskets, their hearts tense to the extreme, and they were ready to die.

Watching the enemies about to board the deck, they kept glancing at Qian Tiao out of the corners of their eyes, very puzzled as to why their captain hadn't ordered them to attack yet, even though now was the best opportunity.

But without orders, they didn't attack.

Only Lolota knew something, vaguely guessing what her teacher was waiting for, and prayed in her heart, "Is Teacher waiting for that Mr. Su Lun? I hope that Mr. Su Lun is also very powerful..."

Just as everyone was puzzled, a man with a black crow perched on his shoulder and holding a strange umbrella walked out of the cabin unhurriedly.

It was Su Lun.

......

With such close proximity, the enemies were all within the range of his soul perception.

Su Lun finally confirmed that there were no fifth-tier professionals on the three enemy ships.

Qian Tiao watched him walk over and asked, "All set?"

Su Lun nodded, saying lightly, "Mm."

Hearing this, a dangerous glint flashed in Qian Tiao's eyes, "Tsk tsk, Su Lun, I always feel like you're going to give me a big surprise."

Su Lun responded indifferently, "I probably won't let Sister Qian Tiao down..."

Just then, two muffled crashing sounds rang out beside them. Under the pull of countless ropes, the hulls of the two pirate ships had completely touched the Gray Dolphin. The figures of everyone on deck swayed together.

The most tragic boarding action was about to begin!

Hundreds of people on the three pirate ships laughed wildly, yelling, and rushed over from the opposite decks.

"Brothers, fuck them!"

"Capture that woman alive! Hahaha..."

"..."

The black mass of heads rudely intruded on the stage, and the strings in the hearts of the Dawn Troupe members had been tightened to the extreme.

Just at that moment, with a "clang" sound, the long sword was drawn.

Qian Tiao finally gave a soft shout, "Kill!"

.......

The "Iron Crocodile Pirates," "Flamingo Pirates," and "Iron Hammer Pirates" had a total of seven or eight hundred people.

Counting the leaders and first mates, there were six fourth-tier experts, and countless third-tier and second-tier elites.

This should have been a crushing battle.

But at the moment the boarding action broke out, an unexpected situation suddenly occurred.

They suddenly felt a chilling sword energy, soaring into the sky.

"That woman...!!!"

Almost at the same time, the faces of several fourth-tier professionals changed drastically.

Only experts of the same tier could clearly feel just how strong that exaggerated and incredible blade energy was!

Only now did they discover that the momentum erupting from the woman they had always thought was a turtle in a jar was exaggerated to an unbelievable degree.

It was as if they had encountered a hundred-meter-high wave at sea, causing them to feel a sense of fear before they had even fought?

How was that possible!

Just looking at that sharp sword energy, it was as if their eyes were about to be blinded, and they couldn't find any flaws to deal with it.

Several fourth-tier pirates suddenly felt a sense of powerlessness, and couldn't help but exclaim, "Swordsman? This has to be the realm of a Great Swordsman..."

But what shocked them even more was yet to come.

After Qian Tiao drew her long sword, a six-armed deity phantom with a head full of flaming, upright hair suddenly emerged behind her, with a solemn appearance!

After releasing her implant, she also had four alchemical arms, each holding a knife. The soaring sword energy on her body, and the deity phantom solidified together, six arms and six knives, instantly like a celestial being descending to earth, with an overwhelming power.

.......

Just in that instant when Qian Tiao's momentum erupted, it was as if time had been frozen.

The clamor came to an abrupt halt, and the pirates who were boarding suddenly froze on the spot. The huge deck was silent for a moment, and the sound of swallowing saliva could be heard clearly.

Even if they couldn't understand that soaring sword energy, they vaguely understood something when they looked at the phenomenon behind Qian Tiao.

"Look, what is that thing! It seems to be a talent phenomenon?"

"This... what kind of talent is this? I've never seen it before."

"Damn it! This is probably an advanced form of some high-level talent! Everyone be careful, this is a tough one!"

"...."

After someone shouted this, the atmosphere became very subtle.

Just when they thought it was going to be a hearty victory, something seemed wrong again...

The faces of the three pirate captains, "One-Eye" Suo Ke, turned ashen.

They immediately realized how the woman's nickname, "Thousand Blade Rakshasa," had come about.

This woman's strength was even stronger than rumored!

Even if they weren't sure that this three-headed, six-armed phenomenon was the second stage of [A-022-Rakshasa], they also knew very well that a professional who could awaken this kind of talent had a combat power that was absolutely beyond common sense!

No wonder she had the confidence to fight to the death...

So she still had this hidden trick.

If they really fought, it probably wouldn't be the crushing game they had expected, and they would probably suffer heavy losses.

But now the arrow was on the string. In this situation, there was no choice but to fight.

"One-Eye" Suo Ke made a decisive decision and shouted, "Captain Charles, Captain Horn, a few of us will hold this woman back first. The others will kill everyone on her ship first!"

Several fourth-tiers glanced at each other and responded, "Okay!"

No matter how good the other side's talent was, she was just one person.

They had a tenfold advantage in numbers here.

If they really solved the rest of this Dawn Troupe, these seven or eight hundred people could exhaust this woman to death!

"Brothers, kill!"

"Leave no one alive, kill all those guys!"

"..."

With the roars of several leaders, the pirates who had been somewhat hesitant because of Qian Tiao's momentum continued to rush towards the deck of the Gray Dolphin.

.......

Qian Tiao leaped up, standing on a mast, looking like she was about to charge into the crowd. Naturally, several fourth-tier pirate leaders wouldn't give her a chance to charge, and followed her without hesitation.

Six against one, the fight was extremely fierce.

Because it was a melee, there were no large-scale spell bombardments. On the narrow deck, the Dawn Troupe members huddled together, and weren't scattered by the first wave of enemies.

But even so, there were still too many enemies.

Spears, cold shots, crossbow arrows, and hidden knives emerged one after another.

In just one face-to-face impact, the three giant clan shield warriors in front had already been cut with bloody wounds. Although not fatal, it was a very bad start.

The Dawn Troupe members retreated steadily, and wave after wave of new enemies surged onto the deck.

"Clang", "Clang", "Clang"...

The sharp sound of swords colliding tightened the heart, and flames flashed frequently between the shields and blades.

Lolota held a long sword, wielding it tightly.

But even the most exquisite swordsmanship seemed so pale at this moment. There were too many enemies, too many...

Before her eyes, there were dense rows of sword lights and shadows. If she blocked one, there were ten, a hundred following one after another!

She knew that the outcome today would probably be very bad.

Lolota's eyes already revealed the kind of determination to die that she had shown in the arena.

There were really too many enemies...

However, she had no regrets.

Meeting her teacher, these short months had been a hundred times happier than in the arena.

In this critical moment, countless thoughts flashed through Lolota's mind.

But just then, it seemed that the favor of the goddess of fate had suddenly arrived!

Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of the man in the suit who had been standing there all along.

"Huh?"

She was immediately puzzled in her heart.

From the beginning, Lolota had noticed that this Mr. Su Lun had been standing behind them all along.

He only occasionally fired a gun, accurately hitting a few pirates.

His marksmanship seemed pretty good?

But apart from that, it didn't seem like he was preparing to fight with all his might.

If he had given up resisting, she couldn't see any fear or dread on his face.

On the contrary, that expression was so calm that it was unbelievable.

It seemed that this life-and-death battle in front of him wasn't worth his attention at all.

No!

Huh... Mr. Su Lun's eyes seemed to be observing the battle on the mast?

There, her teacher had already held back six fourth-tier professionals. Although she hadn't been at a disadvantage, she couldn't free up her hands for a while.

Just in the instant when Lolota's heart was full of surprises, she suddenly saw that Mr. Su Lun had lightning-fast inserted his firearm into his holster, and then his hands quickly transformed into warlock seals!

"Such a fast seal forming speed!"

Lolota was stunned.

Warlock seals weren't just about forming seals quickly with fast hands. The more complex the warlock seals, the more complex the energy required to condense. If you wanted to be fast, you needed an extraordinary understanding of the spell.

"He... is actually casting something other than a third-tier spell?"

Lolota's tier was too low, and she didn't understand the origins of Su Lun's warlock seals. But she understood the sudden appearance of the phenomenon after the seals were completed.

"Release!"

Just when the last seal of that complex set of warlock seals in Su Lun's hand solidified, a black seven-pointed star formation suddenly lit up under his feet.

A surging dark energy poured out of him.

And this was just the beginning!

That seven-pointed star alchemy array was like the fuse igniting a powder keg. In the instant the array's light lit up, the entire Gray Dolphin suddenly glowed with a boiling light.

Su Lun released his spell, then transformed his hands at lightning speed again.

"Implant · Release!"

Just as this spell was released, a hideous eight-armed spider spear suddenly emerged behind him.

The warlock seals changed again, dazzling to the eye, and suddenly, a deep, devilish whisper came from his throat: "Silk Control Profound Meaning · Cocoon World!"

Finally, an unbelievably exaggerated visual impact appeared!

.......

Just as everyone hadn't understood what kind of spell this exaggerated energy fluctuation was, they suddenly saw countless dense silver threads emerging from the hull of this dilapidated ship under their feet.

"Damn it, watch out for those silk threads!"

The pirates immediately realized that something was wrong, and raised their knives to chop.

But the toughness of the witch's hair was excellent. A small amount could still be cut off, but when condensed into a large bundle, it became extremely hard. Even if it was cut off, the silk threads would reconnect on their own, spreading endlessly in all directions.

In an instant, what surprised the pirates was that those silk threads didn't attack them at all. Instead, they spread madly in all directions, and in the blink of an eye, they bound the four ships together.

Then, before most people could react, the silk threads had formed a cocoon, enveloping everyone in an independent space made up of several ships pieced together.

This scene seemed extremely abrupt on the battlefield.

Not only the pirates, but even the Dawn Troupe members were stunned.

Wasn't this sealing off their own retreat?

Now they couldn't even jump into the sea.

If they didn't know that the man holding the black umbrella was the captain's friend, the Dawn Troupe members would have thought that this was an insider planted by the enemy.

Only Lolota seemed to understand something.

She looked at the silk thread walls surrounding her, her eyes showing shock and disbelief.

What kind of spell was this?

Also, what exactly was that Mr. Su Lun going to do?

She suddenly realized something. The reason why this Mr. Su Lun hadn't attacked before seemed to be because he had been waiting for the enemies to gather?

As soon as this thought arose, and she recalled his and her teacher's previous "inexplicable" conversations, Lolota suddenly grasped something.

The silk threads had sealed off their retreat.

That Mr. Su Lun was not only going to counterattack, but also to kill all these enemies.

Oh my god, that's too crazy...

Lolota was still thinking that the idea that suddenly popped up in her mind was incredibly absurd.

But the reality was playing out before her eyes!

.......

Just in that moment, Su Lun's warlock seals changed again, and a huge cross slowly condensed in the sky.

As his dark spiritual power increased, the cross's control area also became larger and larger.

It seemed as if time had stopped, but this series of actions had only taken a moment.

Just then, he clapped his hands together and shouted softly, "Release!"

"Boom"

"Boom"

"Boom"

"..."

Several spatial scrolls placed around the ship's bulwarks suddenly exploded.

In the blink of an eye, several hundred laughing rune puppets were added to the small space.

When this overwhelming puppet legion appeared, the situation finally became clear.

Everyone understood what was happening.

Whether it was the seven or eight hundred pirates, or the Dawn Troupe members, all were shocked on the spot.

Even Qian Tiao, who was fighting fiercely at a high altitude, suddenly lit up on her heroic face when she saw this scene. She looked at Su Lun, who was calm and composed in the midst of the puppet swarm, and muttered, "He really did give me a big surprise..."