The sun was setting.
Dusk was falling.
A somber atmosphere pervaded the central island.
Zhu Zhi and his group sailed away from the central island, heading into international waters to await the enemy's arrival.
After all, the central island was the homeland of the descendants of Ming Wang, and many elderly, women, and children lived there.
Zhu Zhi naturally would not set the battlefield near the central island.
Zhang Yang and the others boarded the ship together, waiting at sea for the arrival of the Sakura Country people.
After a while.
A large fleet appeared in the distance.
Seeing the flag with the red circle on a white background on the ships, Zhang Yang and the others knew the enemy had arrived.
"The Sakura Country people are here, prepare for battle!" Zhu Zhi shouted.
The warriors of the Ming Wang descendants immediately adopted serious expressions, preparing for war.
Zhang Yang, leading the Five Dragons of Huaxia, was well-prepared!
The members of the six Great State Uncle families held their weapons, ready to charge and slaughter when the Sakura Country people approached!
Another half an hour passed.
The Sakura Country's ships drew closer.
However, they stopped three nautical miles away from Zhu Zhi's ships and made no further move.
A person in armor, holding a samurai sword, shouted from the enemy ships.
"Haha, Zhu Zhi, did you come so early to wait for death? Are you all ready to be buried in this sea?"
"Our Sakura Country will trample the central island today and seize Linhai City!"
Zhu Zhi sneered, channeling his internal energy to respond.
"Meichuan Neiku, I feel that your flag with the red circle on a white background is not pleasing to the eye. I want it dyed completely red, and your blood is the most suitable for that!"
"Since you've come, why are you stopping there? Don't you want to invade the central island? Then come!"
Meichuan Neiku's expression immediately turned grim upon hearing this.
The Sakura Country's flag had always been a point of mockery for people from other nations.
This was something they absolutely could not tolerate hearing!
"Hmph! If you have the guts, come closer." Meichuan Neiku sneered.
"Or are you afraid of us and dare not move?"
Zhu Zhi would not fall for such a clumsy provocation.
"I am here today. If you don't come, I won't go either. Let's see who can outlast whom," Zhu Zhi said with a cold smile.
Meichuan Neiku's gaze sharpened.
It seemed Zhu Zhi wouldn't be tricked, but he had other preparations.
"Then let's wait it out, see who can outlast whom."
With that said.
Meichuan Neiku directly left the deck, appearing as if he truly didn't care.
This made Zhu Zhi pause, unable to understand their intentions.
The six elders and others were also puzzled.
"Elder Zhu, were your previous battles with the Sakura Country like this?"
Zhu Zhi shook his head. "No, the Sakura Country people used to have a strong offensive intent. Situations like today never happened. There must be a trick here!"
"I suspect they are waiting for us to lose patience and then proactively enter their ambush."
After Zhu Zhi finished speaking.
Hu Hantian and Hong Tao also voiced their agreement.
"The Sakura Country people are always cunning and often resort to sneaky tactics. We've suffered losses in this regard before, so waiting for them here is the most stable approach."
"Indeed, by remaining still, we can counter any move and avoid falling into their ambush."
The others nodded in agreement.
Since the Sakura Country wanted to play the waiting game, they would play along. After all, their supplies would surely last longer than the Sakura Country's.
Whenever the enemy wanted to start the fight, they would be there.
But!
Only Zhang Yang frowned.
Although he hadn't fought the Sakura Country people before, listening to Zhu Zhi and the others, he realized something was amiss.
The Sakura Country people used to act behind the scenes, but they would always initiate the attack.
Such abnormal behavior today was definitely suspicious!
This anomaly must be hidden somewhere in the shadows.
But where could it be?
Zhang Yang gazed at the Sakura Country's ships, trying to discern any clues, but found nothing.
Meanwhile.
On the Sakura Country's side, Meichuan Neiku returned to the ship's cabin.
He wasn't just idly waiting as he had told Zhu Zhi.
Meichuan Neiku convened his generals, spread out a battle map, and discussed with those around him.
It turned out that while conversing with Zhu Zhi,
They had already mapped out the positions of Zhu Zhi's ships.
Now, they were formulating a battle plan based on the distribution of Zhu Zhi's fleet.
"Haha, heaven helps us. Zhu Zhi's side is still the same as before, worried about trouble, with each ship positioned very close to each other."
"Long live Sakura Country! Long live the Emperor! Zhu Zhi and his men are finished this time!"
"Yosh! We've studied Zhu Zhi for so long, it's finally paid off! This time, we will make Zhu Zhi lose miserably!"
The men looked at the battle map on the table and burst into wild laughter.
Zhu Zhi and the others choosing to fight at sea, and their old-fashioned ship formations, filled them with joy.
"Shiyou Sanmiao, Matsushita Saburo, Ben Zhong Aiku, the three of you prepare yourselves. Tonight, send ninjas to sneak over! Give Zhu Zhi and his men a big surprise."
"Yes!"
After receiving the orders, the three immediately turned to carry out their deployment.
Meichuan Neiku, however, looked at the battle map and let out a maniacal laugh.
This time, after taking Linhai City, he would not stop as he had promised the Emperor.
He would march north and deal with the Emperor as well!
Late at night.
Zhu Zhi and the others still had not received news of an attack from the Sakura Country.
So Zhu Zhi ordered shifts for watch duty, while the rest rested.
After all, maintaining a high level of vigilance for too long would only drain more energy.
If the Sakura Country people waited three to four days before attacking, they would be at a disadvantage.
After dinner.
Zhang Yang gathered with Zhu Zhi and the others in the cabin.
"Elder Zhu, perhaps we should dispatch a group to probe them?" Zhang Yang suggested.
"Heh, Zhang Yang, you don't need to worry. I'm too familiar with the Sakura Country's tricks," Zhu Zhi said, waving off Zhang Yang's suggestion.
"But I still feel like something is not right," Zhang Yang said, frowning.
This was his intuition, and Zhang Yang's intuition had never been wrong.
"Heh, Zhang Yang, you're worrying too much. Trust us, the more Meichuan Neiku tries to be mysterious, the more we need to remain calm," Hu Hantian said confidently.
"Indeed, this isn't the first or second time we've fought them. Each time, we sent them back with heavy losses," Hong Tao added nonchalantly.
After listening to their reassurances, Zhang Yang thought about it and decided to drop the matter.
Since Zhu Zhi and the others were so confident, it wouldn't be good for him to insist further.
After all.
They were here to help, and if he spoke too much, it might make them feel like he was trying to steal the spotlight.
That would be counterproductive.
"Alright then," Zhang Yang nodded.
"Heh, Zhang Yang, just watch this time. We can handle the Sakura Country people ourselves without you even needing to lift a finger," Hu Hantian said confidently.
"Mm," Zhang Yang smiled and nodded.
Inside, he let out a wry smile, hoping it would turn out that way.