Chapter 167 A New Way to Play Naval Warfare

　　Before setting sail, Suren had learned that the combined strength of the West Sea and South Sea pirate fleets was a staggering two to three thousand warships of all sizes.

　　After losing seventy percent crossing the Eternal Night Sea, they now had several hundred left.

　　But even these few hundred were mostly the top sailing warships of the era. The two "Sea King-class" battleships of the two major pirate groups were among them, along with dozens of excellent-class combat ships.

　　Those mages from the Divine Realm had enough sailing ships to sail and adventure in this sea area.

　　Suren didn't think the enemy's warships were numerous; for Dawn, it was a good thing.

　　The more flexible, the more uncontrollable the risks.

　　He carefully observed for a moment and notified the Dawn group of the detailed coordinates.

　　But the Eternal Night was still two to three hundred kilometers away from this sea area, and it would take some time to sail over.

　　Suren and Kit hid on a deserted island, watching the distant island from afar.

　　…

　　Kit was a little bored.

　　He knew that his current strength shouldn't be used for random observation, otherwise he could easily be targeted by top mages. So he settled down to meditate, recovering from the after-effects of the [Paralysis] state caused by the monster attack.

　　Hearing what Suren was planning to do, he asked with slight surprise, "Are you going to bombard them? But those mages seem to have very strong early warning abilities. If the ship gets too close, it's likely to be discovered. If it's too far away, I'm afraid the bombardment won't be very effective."

　　Hearing this, Suren smiled meaningfully, "We in the Dawn group now have a very special new member. Accurate bombardment can be launched from dozens of kilometers away."

　　"???"

　　Kit looked slightly puzzled, "New member?"

　　He was a traditional alchemist and didn't have a deep understanding of Mafa's mechanical technology.

　　But he also knew some common sense about naval warfare.

　　The ship-borne artillery on the Eternal Night were all top-notch from Mafa, with a range of thirty to fifty kilometers. The extreme range of several super-caliber main guns even exceeded eighty kilometers.

　t usually didn't attack targets more than ten kilometers away.

　　Moreover, there were wind direction, waves, humidity, temperature... and a series of factors that affected the accurate shooting of shells.

　　The farther the distance, the worse the shooting accuracy.

　　Any target that exceeded the limit of human vision was just blind firing, and hitting was entirely based on luck.

　　The same was true for even the best gunners.

　　But if the distance was too close, if you could see the enemy, the enemy could also see you.

　　After preparing in advance, the effect of the artillery battle would be much worse. At least, Kit didn't think Suren's goal of destroying the enemy's ships would be easy to achieve.

　　Sea ships moved, and the number of enemy ships was hundreds of times that of his own.

　　If it was a general team, they really couldn't do anything to those people.

　　But Dawn was very special.

　　…

　　"We have a new partner called 'Dora', who is a top mechanic. Well... you'll know when you get on the ship."

　t explain much to Kit.

　　After all, it was quite by chance that he met Dora and she joined Dawn.

　　The key was that the compatibility between their abilities in naval warfare was quite high.

　　Suren's spatial ability allowed him to clearly perceive the distance and relative position between the Eternal Night and the [Rainbow Well], accurate to the meter, without error.

　　And Dora, this Mafa colonel, was not only the top mechanic and gunner, but she also integrated the [Isaac the Godslayer].

　　This implant was a super bio-computer that allowed her computing power to instantly and accurately calculate the trajectory of each cannon.

　　It was extremely useful on the battlefield.

　　It could be said that as long as Dora got accurate enough data, the artillery on the Eternal Night could hit wherever it was aimed.

　　Kit couldn't figure it out, so he didn't ask any more questions.

　　The two waited on this deserted island.

　　Several hours later, Suren watched as twenty or so ships quietly left the harbor where they were docked.

　　He muttered, "Eh... the Eternal Night has been discovered."

　　He observed the direction of the pirate ships and immediately judged that they were heading for the Eternal Night.

　　Hearing that they had been discovered, Kit immediately became alert, "Were we exposed?"

　　Suren's expression was as usual, and he shook his head, "No. It should be that when the Eternal Night sailed over, it triggered the magic early warning devices left by those guys. These people are going to intercept us."

　　Kit originally thought it would be bad to be discovered, but looking at Suren's calm expression, and recalling his previous experiences, he asked, "We don't need to do anything?"

　　"No."

　　Suren shook his head, not caring, "The Eternal Night is about to enter the predetermined attack range. Even if they find out, it's too late to rush over."

　　He had harvested so many mage souls, how could he not know that the mage corps also had a strict set of early warning counterattack tactics.

　　The Eternal Night being discovered was expected.

　　Moreover... this group of people who went to intercept was destined to be completely wiped out.

　　Kit curled his lips, and since meeting Suren today, he realized that he seemed to be a fake member. The changes in Dawn were so great that he felt a little strange.

　　However, these changes were the source of his inexplicable excitement and anticipation.

　　…

　　At the same time, on the Eternal Night.

　　All the members who had received Suren's message returned to battle mode from their short rest.

　　The gunners in the artillery compartments were ready.

　　"Load ammunition!"

　　"First-level turret 'Special Alchemic Magic-Breaking Shells', second-level compartment 'Seagull Type 4 Armor-Piercing Shells', third-level load 'Shockwave Shells'!"

　　"Six shells in the first round, rapid fire with a three-second gap!"

　　"..."

　　After Dora got on the ship, she also brought Mafa's top ship-borne artillery technology.

　　Those laboratory technologies that didn't even have mass production and military investment were used on the Eternal Night.

　　The Sea Emperor-class battleship's unparalleled displacement was enough to support super-caliber artillery and giant turrets.

　　Dora also modified the entire ammunition transport system.

　　In previous naval battles, ammunition needed to be loaded manually, one by one, which was very inefficient. Now, only a few valves needed to be pulled, and the steam boiler would provide power to transport the ammunition from the safety compartment onto the conveyor belt, automatically loading it like bullets. The entire process greatly reduced the work of the loaders and improved efficiency.

　　There was also a matching precision mechanical aiming system, semi-automatic idiot-proof operation, which allowed gunners with varying skills to almost accurately hit the same target.

　　Before long, the ship had arrived in the planned shooting area.

　　In the control room on the deck, Dora was listening to the observers' constant reports of wind direction, temperature, and ocean current data, and her mind was constantly calculating the most accurate trajectory.

　　When she heard Suren's accurate distance feedback, saying that she could fire freely, Dora gave an order: "Target northwest 21.7 kilometers, activate the T-level continuous shooting automatic correction system, cover the range, fire!"

　　In an instant, the sound of artillery fire was deafening.

　　"Boom!"

　　"Boom!"

　　"Boom!"

　　"..."

　　Nearly three hundred artillery pieces on one side of the Eternal Night fired at the same time, and several super-caliber main guns on the deck also spewed out tongues of fire at the same time.

　　The sound of artillery fire was connected, as if they were fired at the same time.

　　The exaggerated sound waves shook the sea surface like rain, and some sea fish turned their white bellies up on the sea surface in a blink of an eye.

　　The flames from the artillery were of various colors, and the shells used were also the most expensive alchemic shells. These were good things that Dora had brought out of the military warehouse, with a single one costing tens of millions of Leso. A round of ammunition cost hundreds of millions.

　　But at this time, you couldn't save money.

　　At this time, before the sound waves of the previous round of artillery fire had completely subsided, the second round of artillery fire was fired again after only three seconds!

　　On the deck, thousands of Dawn members looked at the exaggerated firepower of the Eternal Night, and their faces were very excited.

　　…

　　The speed of the alchemic shells was extremely fast. After only ten breaths, Suren on the deserted island saw the shells coming from the sky.

　　His eyesight was excellent, his pupils narrowed slightly, and he shouted softly, "Here they come!"

　　Kit had been staring at the sky after hearing Suren's firing order.

　　Although he sincerely hoped that Dawn's firepower could destroy the enemy's warships, his reason still told him that it was unlikely to accurately hit the target at such a long distance.

　　However, the moment Suren spoke, hundreds of shells fell from the sky at an extremely fast speed, hitting the distant island with lightning speed.

　　Suren narrowed his eyes slightly, without any change in expression.

　　Beside him, the expression on Kit's face changed from uncertainty to stunned in an instant.

　　Both of them reflected a series of dazzling fireballs in their eyes.

　　Those hundreds of shells accurately hit the pirate ships densely parked in the harbor.

　　"Boom!"

　　The violent shock wave spread like a tsunami, arriving a few seconds later than the firelight in their eyes, with a huge "crashing" sound.

　　Their robes were blown violently.

　　Kit screamed, "Holy shit, it really hit accurately!"

　　The range of the firepower covered everything, and the distant view was full of fire. The shells accurately hit the position where hundreds of warships of the pirate group were parked. Although the high-level mages from the Divine Realm reacted quickly, some mages instantly supported magic shields to block the shells, preventing the ships from being destroyed.

　　However, the second round of shells came again...

　　The third round also came!

　　Almost every few breaths, a round of shells fell.

　　Magic-breaking, armor-piercing, shockwave, a series of alchemic shells fell, wood chips flew around, the masts were blown off, and the entire sea surface was full of wooden boards smashed by the sailing ships.

　　The explosions continued endlessly, and Suren watched with a wry smile on his lips, muttering, "These guys in the Divine Realm underestimate the alchemic plane too much..."

　　The magic plane still knew something about traditional alchemy, but they knew almost nothing about the mechanical alchemy field.

　　In their tactics, there was no combat response to this kind of ultra-long-range bombardment.

　　But even if they were prepared, they couldn't defend against it.

　　No one could have imagined that someone would launch an ultra-long-range firepower strike "from a place they couldn't see."

　　However, there were also many experts in the ten thousand-man magic group on the island. They also knew the importance of the ships. Even if they forcibly resisted the artillery fire, the captains of several pirate fleets, various seventh-order mages, teamed up to support magic shields to block the shells, protecting more than a hundred ships.

　　Then some mages cast spells, and the sea waves and sea winds suddenly raged, blowing the densely parked ships apart.

　　This response was fine, dispersing the target, so the enemy couldn't attack them again.

　　Seeing this, Kit smiled with satisfaction on his face, "Hahaha... It's really amazing! Our Dawn's naval warfare ability is so strong now!"

　　Looking at the firepower that destroyed most of the hundreds of pirate ships in the blink of an eye, he was extremely excited.

　　Ultra-long-range precision firepower coverage?

　　It was the first time he knew that naval warfare could be fought like this!

　　This was already an incredible victory.

　　Suren looked at the distance with a deep look in his eyes.

　　He wasn't satisfied with this. After observing the position where the two Sea King-class battleships were fleeing, he once again said into the communicator: "West by north 15.1°, 215551 meters, heading east by south 33°, speed 25 knots, moving target... fire!"

　　Kit, who was next to him, suddenly turned his head when he heard him report the coordinates, his expression seemed to be saying: Can it be done like this?

　　After a few seconds, a super alchemic shell fell like lightning. It accurately hit the Sea King-class battleship "Black Beauty" of the South Sea Fleet that had just escaped from the harbor and wanted to avoid the firepower coverage.

　　With a loud "boom."

　　This special alchemic shell accurately landed on the magic shield, blasting out a terrifying air wave.

　　Although it didn't penetrate the magic shield, it also shattered many wooden structures of the hull behind the shield, and a dozen mages who were supporting the magic shield vomited blood and died on the spot.

　　At the same time, dozens of shells followed, and more than a dozen ships near the Black Beauty were also hit.

　　Those people reacted extremely quickly. Although they didn't know why they were accurately locked on, the wind direction suddenly changed, and the entire ship immediately changed direction.

　　Suren watched and said again with the communicator: "West by north 16.5°, 214881 meters, heading east by south 25°, continue firing!"

　　The heading of the ship was not easy to change, especially for larger ships.

　　The time it took for them to change direction was enough for the shells to fly again.

　　This operation,

　　Kit next to him was already stunned.

　　Firepower coverage was fine, but when could artillery shooting be as accurate as a sniper rifle at super long distances?

　　There was no satellite positioning in this world, but Suren himself had this function.

　　Just as he reported the new coordinates, a heavy alchemic shell attacked again and hit the Black Beauty again.

　　Although it still failed to sink the sailing ship this time, dozens of mages supporting the shield were killed on the spot again.

　　If the enemy's combat power could be weakened by shells alone, it would definitely be worth it.

　　The Eternal Night had ample shell reserves, and even if they were used up, Suren could produce them in his small void realm in time.

　　At most, it would cost some money.

　　What was invested now would definitely be repaid a hundredfold in the future if the plan succeeded.

　　A one-sided artillery battle continued like this, and it became more and more intense.

　　Tons of ammunition poured down from the sky, blasting the pirate ships in the harbor into a mess.

　　The deafening roar spread hundreds of kilometers away.

　　With Suren, this human flesh locator, constantly correcting the target, almost no pirate ships that were clustered together could escape.

　　Those mages were completely confused and could only defend passively.

　　They only saw shells falling from the sky, but they didn't know where the enemy was at all.

　　The only thing they could do was to judge the direction of the trajectory and find the Eternal Night for a face-to-face battle.

　　Although the pirates also fired back in that direction, neither the range nor the accuracy of the artillery posed any threat to the Eternal Night, which was twenty kilometers away.

　　The artillery battle lasted for half an hour.

　　The surviving dozens of pirate ships were scattered, and it was impossible to sink them with the protection of a large number of mages.

　　Suren didn't want to fight any longer and called Kit beside him, "Let's go."

　　Kit was enjoying the special fireworks display and suddenly wanted to leave. He asked, "Aren't you going to continue the bombardment?"

　　Suren smiled bitterly, "Shells cost money, okay? It's not cost-effective to continue fighting."

　　After a pause, he said again, "Besides... those guys who left earlier should be about to find the Eternal Night, we have to go back."

　　Kit: "Oh."

　　…

　　In an instant, two figures appeared on the deck of the Eternal Night.

　　The shelling was still going on, but now without Suren's precise coordinate feedback, they could only bombard in a range.

　　Seeing Suren return, everyone on the deck gathered around.

　　"Mr. Suren is back!"

　　"Oh, Mr. Kit has also been rescued safely."

　　"Mr. Suren, how is the battle over there? Did we hit it?"

　　"..."

　　Everyone asked curiously.

　　Although they had tested ultra-long-range shelling before, this was the first time it was used in actual combat.

　　Although they had just launched a large number of shells, there was no feedback from the battle situation, and everyone always felt that something was missing.

　　Suren smiled, "Everyone did a great job. The shelling just now destroyed at least six hundred warships!"

　　"Wow! Six hundred ships?"

　　"Hahaha... This is the most magical naval battle I've ever experienced!"

　　"Oh, Miss Dora's modification of the artillery system has made a great contribution."

　　"..."

　　At this point, the deck instantly cheered.

　　Suren said, and also looked up at the girl in the command room high above, and smiled to signal.

　　Dora nodded slightly to show her response.

　　At the same time, she also breathed a sigh of relief in her heart.

　　Although she felt that her calculations would not be wrong, this was also the first time she participated in Dawn's battle, and she always hoped to give everyone a good answer.

　　This was a glorious victory.

　　Dawn had no casualties except for the consumption of some ammunition.

　　Suren said to the deck again: "Everyone, don't rest yet. Those guys from the Divine Realm are chasing after us. There will be another battle later, so be careful."

　　Hearing this, everyone not only didn't worry, but laughed.

　　"Hahaha, I just felt that it wasn't enough to just shell them. Those guys dare to come to our door, fuck them!"

　　"Yes, fuck them!"

　　"..."

　　Although everyone laughed, they were also preparing.

　　Qiantiao and the others had already received Suren's notice that he was preparing to fight, and none of them slackened.

　　…

　　After Suren returned to the Eternal Night, they also stopped shelling and sailed aimlessly.

　　They looked like they wanted to escape after the shelling, but they were actually waiting for those people to chase after them.

　　Sure enough, before long, the observer on the lookout suddenly shouted, "Enemy attack!"

　　Everyone looked over, and several nautical miles away, more than twenty pirate ships suddenly came out from behind an island and suddenly appeared in everyone's sight.

　　Obviously, those guys also used light magic to disguise the ships, otherwise they wouldn't have been discovered so close.

　t matter.

　　Because they had predicted in advance that the enemy had been discovered, everyone in the group was not surprised.

　　There seemed to be several eighth-order mages on the island of [Rainbow Well], but Suren had already observed it before. These twenty or so pirate ships set off before the shelling. So most of the people on board were pirates, and "King of the West Sea" Moloch Bourbon was also on board, and there were also many mages.

　　Suren didn't think Moloch Bourbon was too threatening.

　　Dawn's current combat power was not weak, and even if an eighth-order really came, it was not impossible to fight.

　　So he didn't rush to let Dawn evacuate.

　　Instead, eating this wave of pirate ships would greatly reduce the enemy's warships.

　　Suren squinted at the distant warships and reminded: "There should be experts from the Holy Church coming, everyone be careful."

　　He guessed that there should be people from the Holy Church following, but as long as it wasn't that eighth-order Holy Church member, there wouldn't be a big problem.

　　Qiantiao and the others looked fierce and nodded silently.

　　…

　　This distance was the best distance for shelling. The Eternal Night ran while firing.

　　Those twenty or so pirate ships were all light warships, and with the blessing of wind mages, their speed was not slow, and they were closely chasing after them.

　t compare.

　　Even with the absolute numerical advantage, the firepower of more than twenty pirate ships was not as stressful as one Eternal Night.

　　Moreover, the accuracy of artillery in high-speed sailing was very poor, and the skills of the gunners on the pirate ships were also very ordinary, and the hit rate was very low.

　　On the other hand, the shells on the Eternal Night were as accurate as sniper shells.

　　After a few rounds of bombardment, they had already sunk two pirate ships that were chasing them.

　　"Hahaha... is that all?"

　　"Yo, is that the level of the West Sea Fleet?"

　　"..."

　　On the deck, everyone in Dawn laughed as they watched the enemy pirate ships on fire.

　　The battle was much easier than expected.

　　The gap between the two sides in naval warfare was too big. If they continued to chase like this, those twenty or so pirate ships would have no chance of winning.

　　The other side obviously knew this too.

　　Therefore, they could only hope for boarding battles.

　　Unfortunately, with Tanya, a navigator with superb skills, it would be almost impossible for the other side to catch up with them in three days and three nights.

　　If they continued to chase, before they could even board, Dawn could wipe out the other side with artillery alone.

　　But everyone didn't dare to be careless.

　　They all knew that in this situation, the other side's experts were about to appear!

　　…

　　Sure enough.

　　At this moment, an unexpected situation occurred!

　　Among those people on the other side, a burly figure suddenly jumped down from a ship and walked on the waves, rushing over from the sea.

　　Everyone in Dawn recognized that this guy was "King of the West Sea" Moloch Bourbon!

　　Every step the notorious old pirate king took, the sea surface would sink into a huge vortex with a diameter of more than ten meters. The movement of running was like thousands of troops, and the momentum was terrifying.

　　The death pressure given by an eighth-order professional was not small, and the low-order crew members of Dawn swallowed their saliva at the same time.

　　Barrett was ready to fight, and "Duke of Blood" Wordsworth had also transformed into a blue-faced, fanged demon form.

　　Kit looked at these seventh-order professionals on the ship, his pupils shrank slightly, and he praised in his heart: Everyone is so strong...

　　However, in an instant, he suddenly felt a fierce sword energy rising into the sky beside him.

　　Turning his head to look, Qiantiao had just put his hand on the hilt of the sword.

　　In an instant, the sharpness was fully revealed.

　　Kit was standing very close and was numbed by the field pressure of the seventh-order professional.

　　Even though Qiantiao's killing intent was not directed at him, he felt like he was being torn apart by the sharp sword energy and wanted to retreat, and he was shocked in his heart: "Holy shit... Suren was right, Qiantiao seems to be ridiculously powerful!"

　　Looking again, Suren and Number Nineteen, these two people had calm expressions.

　　Kit's expression was slightly strange.

　　However, just as everyone thought that this "King of the West Sea" Moloch would attack first, suddenly, a strange scene happened before everyone's eyes.

　　In the field of vision, a figure seemed to teleport, crossing the void and leaving a series of afterimages.

　　Looking closely, it was a blonde mage holding a staff, with a cold expression and a holy light.

　　Others might sense the power of the person coming, but the several seventh-orders on the Eternal Night clearly sensed the fatal pressure.

　　Barrett frowned and made a light sound: "Spatial displacement? No, there is no spatial fluctuation..."

　　The people in Dawn more or less understood some spatial techniques, and their expressions changed when they saw it.

　　Number Nineteen said lightly: "This is the 'Power of Time'. That guy is from the Holy Church."

　　Only she and Suren had seen this method, so they recognized it at a glance.

　　Moreover, the Holy Church all wore black and white robes like nuns, which were easy to identify.

　　Hearing Number Nineteen's words, everyone became alert.

　　Since it was someone that Suren said to be careful of, it was definitely not simple.

　　Moreover, this one hand of "Time Displacement" was already a method that people couldn't understand.

　　This was even an enemy that needed to be more careful of than the eighth-order Moloch.

　　However, no one noticed that Suren's expression was slightly strange when he looked at that person at this moment.

　　…

　　The journey of several nautical miles was reached in the blink of an eye.

　　The blonde mage in the black and white nun's robe directly appeared on the deck of the Eternal Night.

　　She looked at everyone with cold arrogance, as if she didn't take this group of people seriously at all.

　　Arrogant, domineering, contemptuous...

　　The Holy Church only had gods in their eyes.

　　Mortals were like ants.

　　Indeed, with the ability of "Time Reversal," no one here could kill her.

　　However, just when this woman didn't have time to act tough.

　　Suren suddenly teleported and appeared in front of her.

　　Then, with lightning speed, he stretched out his iron tongs and pierced through the magic shield condensed by the power of time and strangled her neck.

　　This woman's reaction was also extremely fast. The staff in her hand flashed with light, as if she had used some kind of magic.

　　Qiantiao and the others felt a trance for a while. Although they didn't understand what happened, they also realized that this magic was definitely not simple!

　t expect that?

　　However, a bizarre scene played out.

　　Suren made a move, and the enemy was from the Holy Church, and everyone thought that it should be a fierce battle no matter what.

　　However,

　　There was a crisp sound of bone cracking,

　　It resounded through the entire deck.

　　In everyone's completely stunned eyes, Suren so easily strangled the Holy Church's neck...

　　Looking again, the blonde woman's unbelievable expression froze there, her head tilted, and she was obviously out of breath.

　　Dead?

　　Really dead?

　　The people who were about to make a move froze at the same time, their eyes full of disbelief.

　　In an instant, the atmosphere was strangely quiet.

　　"Caw..."

　　"Caw..."

　　The black crows on the mast exchanged a caw, which brought everyone's thoughts back to reality.

　　Suren had the woman's body hanging in his hand, swaying in the breeze.

　　I've met it once before, and I was amazed.

　　Now seeing it... it seems like that's it?

　　The [Ouroboros Time-Space Ring] immunized time-space techniques that were not higher than the item itself at the law level, and completely restrained the person in front of him.

　t have any effect.

　　After being immune to the power of time, the physical combat power of this blonde woman was too weak for Suren.

　　Naturally, he strangled her to death with one hand.

　　No one spoke, it was quiet.

　　Finally, Lolota, who was tense, relaxed the knife hilt that was about to squeeze out water, and weakly said: "Teacher, Mr. Suren said that the 'Holy Church' seems to be very powerful... how... how does it seem not very powerful?"

　　Not only her, but almost all professionals below the seventh order didn't understand what happened just now.

　　A guy wearing a Holy Church outfit came over with a lot of style, crossing the void.

　t that bad.

　　Qiantiao's eyes flashed with a sharp light, he saw something, and said meaningfully: "It's not that guy is weak, but Suren's strength is stronger than her, and he just happens to restrain her. If it wasn't for Suren restricting the time field released by that guy just now, you would all be dead."

　　Everyone was surprised when they heard it: "Ah?"

　　They didn't expect that behind the dramatic scene just now, there was a fatal crisis hidden?

　　They didn't understand.

　　But when the people of Dawn heard this statement, they all exclaimed "holy shit" in their hearts.

　　…

　　Not only were the people of Dawn confused, but the group of pirates in the distance were also confused.

　　"King of the West Sea" Moloch, who was still running wildly in the sea, looked at the corpse in Suren's hand and was even more dumbfounded: The adults of the Holy Church, are dead?