Chapter 145 - Chapter 145: Black Skeleton Pirates, Night Attack (1)
Chapter 145: Black Skeleton Pirates, Night Attack (1)
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The day of departure came quickly.
It happened to be the beginning of a new week, and Ji Chen arrived early in front of the military recruitment camp to recruit the new units that refreshed this week.
Five Giant Octopuses, ten Deep Sea Rangers, one Tidal Sea Spirit, fourteen Dragon Blood Murlocs, fourteen Naga Warriors, twenty-one Pure Water Sea Pixies, and fifty-six Murloc Rangers were recruited.
After recruiting all of them, the number of units is as follows:
Ten Giant Octopuses, Tier 4, 8 stars.
Twenty Deep Sea Rangers, Tier 4,1 star.
Two Tidal Sea Spirits, Tier 4,1 star.
Eighty-one Dragon Blood Murlocs, Tier 4, 3 stars.
Seventy-six Naga Warriors, Tier 3, 5 stars.
Ninety-eight Pure Water Sea Pixies, Tier 3, 3 stars.
Two hundred and sixty-six Murloc Rangers, Tier 2, 5 stars.
In addition to the 270 Elite Pirates, there is a total of 823 units.
The increase in the number of Dragon Blood Murlocs and other main units gave Ji Chen more confidence for the upcoming voyage. The defense vulnerability caused by Raymond taking most of the Murloc Rangers had also been alleviated with the recruitment of more of them. The Kobolds have completely submitted and can be managed without the need for additional units.
However, the Chamber of Commerce guards, who had previously been captives, were not so honest. Even after being disarmed and their Tier lowered to just above Tier 2, they still harbored some desire to escape. Therefore, it was necessary to assign at least fifty Murloc Rangers to monitor them. If they made significant attempts to escape, the Murloc Rangers would ensure they experienced the excruciating pain of a thousand swords through their hearts.
At noon, the massive ship, New Moon, which had been anchored at sea for several days, raised its sails and lifted the heavy anchors under the control of the Tidal Sea Spirit. It slowly started moving towards the stormy sea outside.
Ji Chen stood on the deck of the New Moon, watching as the New Moon Islands gradually faded into a silhouette, then turned and returned to the cabin.
It would take some time to arrive at their destination.
During this time, they would have to endure the boredom of the journey. But to be honest, Ji Chen didn’t find it too boring. When he was in the mood, he would lean against the railings and fish with a fishing rod. When they encountered marine creatures or monster units in their path, he would use various water-based weapons to slay them. In the morning, he would lie on a lounge chair, basking in the sun while reading the chat channel where the online friends chatted nonsense. In the quiet of the night, he would stay in his room and play poker with Alice.
In this way, time passed joyfully.
The weather was clear all the way, with calm winds and waves. They were carried by favorable winds, which reduced the estimated travel time.
Two days later, in the evening, the New Moon arrived at an unfamiliar sea area, sailing slowly. The orange sunset illuminated a large group of islands in the distance, resembling a chessboard filled with pieces.
“Is this the location of the Black Skeleton Pirate Crew’s stronghold?” Ji Chen’s eyes deepened as he pointed to the complex islands.
“Yes, the stronghold is located within this group of islands with complex terrain. We can’t be wrong!” said a few former members of the Black Skeleton Pirate Crew, pointing to the peripheral islands.
“However, they have set up hidden outposts on the islands surrounding this group. If we enter recklessly, it will surely draw their attention and alertness.” Ji Chen frowned. He wanted to approach their stronghold without alerting the Black Skeleton Pirate Crew, so he could launch a surprise attack.
Otherwise, once the Black Skeleton Pirate Crew was alerted, they would mobilize pirate ships and activate the cannons on each island. In a direct confrontation, unnecessary casualties could occur.
But suddenly, Ji Chen had a realization.
With such a large group of islands, the Black Skeleton Pirate Crew couldn’t possibly have outposts on every route into the islands. There should be unguarded entrances…
Ji Chen looked at the pirates and asked, “Since you were originally part of the Black Skeleton Pirate Crew, you should know the entrance that can be entered without alerting them, right?”
The pirates immediately showed a bitter expression. “My Lord, you don’t know. Although not every island has outposts, the positioning of outposts on each island is personally decided by the Captain. The shift change time also changes periodically, and we don’t know the pattern.”
This made things a bit difficult. Ji Chen didn’t expect a mere pirate crew to have such reconnaissance awareness. They truly deserved their reputation for being able to dominate the sea for more than a decade, despite being surrounded by multiple forces.
But Ji Chen just asked out of curiosity. In fact, he had already come up with a countermeasure.
The outposts set up on the islands could monitor enemies above the sea surface, but they certainly couldn’t monitor enemies below the surface.
Fortunately, most of his units were amphibious and didn’t require bringing the New Moon directly into the islands, which would alert the pirates.
With this thought, Ji Chen raised his right hand.
A large mass of seawater rose against gravity, forming a staircase leading to the surface. Under the constraint of magic, the water condensed into a pathway, and he led the units step by step down the stairs.
Now, they couldn’t just jump off the deck like before. After all, the former Whitebeard’s ship and current New Moon’s first deck had a height of more than ten meters from the sea surface. Jumping directly would be no different from jumping off a building.
Walking up the steps to the surface of the sea, Ji Chen had a thought and generated an air-filled water bubble around the pirates who were guiding him..