Mythical Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1421: Chapter 1369: Assassination Attack

”Go, run a little slower, and let that ship catch up at the extreme edge of the distance marked by the mast now standing at the enemy’s water village.” Gan Ning issued the command with the utmost calm, showing no trace of panic.

”Understood.” Xu Sheng began to give orders to the crew, as he somewhat understood Gan Ning’s strategy.

Xu Sheng’s fast boat, this time, dropped its speed like an old cart, reducing to only half of its original speed. However, even so, Xu Sheng’s warship continued to sail steadily into the distance.

Unfortunately, the Kushan ship was noticeably faster than Xu Sheng’s ship, which was traveling at only half speed, so very soon the distance between the two was reduced to an attackable range. However, even so, Gan Ning still ordered Xu Sheng not to turn back and to keep moving forward.

Unsurprisingly, when the Kushan Navy estimated the distance between them was enough to launch stones, several head-sized stones were hurled towards Xu Sheng’s ship.

”Hehe, Wen Xiang, slow down, prepare for battle; there’s only one enemy ship, and this distance is just right.” Gan Ning glanced a long way off at the Kushan Water Village, where only the top observation tower was visible.

”Boss, they’re telling us to stop the boat and surrender.” Gan Bao translated for Gan Ning.

”Ignore them, prepare for battle. Everyone, heavy crossbows to the upper string; with a shipload of armaments, we’ve been waiting for this moment.” Gan Ning gestured to Gan Bao to prepare weapons, indicating that he positioned at this distance for the Kushan to clearly see how their navy was being destroyed!

”Is there a merchant ship passing by?” Commander-in-chief Zaliha, stationed at the Malacca Water Village, frowned at the news reported by his subordinate. ”Any findings?”

”Berkelirila has already gone to pursue it, and results will emerge soon.” The lieutenant replied calmly.

”Any progress on the Shariputra matter recently?” Zaliha was uninterested in his subordinates chasing merchant ships, for with the current dominant Kushan Navy in the Indian Ocean, there were truly no enemies they couldn’t handle at sea.

”Ever since we received the last sensing from the south two months ago, we haven’t sensed anything again.” The lieutenant looked at Zaliha with a bit of helplessness.

The Imperial Navy was sent to the east of the Strait of Malacca because of sensing Shariputra. Since then, nine-tenths of the navy was dispatched as small fleets, and the sensing of Shariputra was completely lost.

”The last sensing was in the south? Then intensify the examination efforts in the south.” Zaliha said coldly.

As a noble of Kushan, Zaliha clearly understood the importance of Shariputra, knowing that without providing a response, it wouldn’t sit well with the nobles!

”Refusing to stop the ship?” Berkelirila sneered, ”Advance at full speed, force them to stop!”

Regardless of the circumstances, the Kushan Navy was the overlord of the Indian Ocean during this period. Due to Shariputra, they had been lying in wait at this desolate location for months, harboring anger. Not developing any other ideas upon seeing Gan Ning in action would be strange.

With Berkelirila’s command, the speed of his battleship increased by several notches. Originally just a few hundred steps from Xu Sheng’s big ship, after this charge, it was only a bowshot away.

At that moment, Berkelirila even saw the expression of someone on the opposite ship—Gan Ning, wearing a taunting face. Although he couldn’t comprehend Gan Ning’s actions, Gan Ning’s expression made him feel uneasy.

The next moment, he understood where the uneasiness came from. The ship, originally unable to speed up, executed a successful turn at an unimaginable speed, leaving a huge wake as it charged toward his battleship.

Berkelirila shouted for his escorts, realizing it was a trap. However, it didn’t matter; he believed that once the Kushan main forces, ten miles away, saw this scene, they would immediately launch a rescue.

From the water village to here, Berkelirila believed he could hold out. Unfortunately, in the next instant, he witnessed the last image of his life.

Gan Ning, wielding a great sword, leaped onto the enemy’s battleship, and in a swing, the Horizontal River Iron Chain stabbed through the back of Berkelirila’s head, while his escort had not yet arrived to join the combat formation with him.

”Shoot with full force, no need to hold back anyone alive!” After a single strike to kill the enemy, Gan Ning forcefully retreated dozens of steps with a push of the deck, and without waiting for the escorts on this battleship to encircle him, he leaped back onto Xu Sheng’s big ship.

Taking advantage of the opponent’s carelessness to kill the enemy leader with a single strike, this was something Gan Ning had planned from the start. It seemed Kushan ship captains and their escorts had a mysterious connection; although it wasn’t dug out from previous captives, much had already been exposed in their prior engagements.

If those escorts and captains joined forces, the captains under Cloud Qi could almost engage with Inner Qi Manifestation; without those escorts, those captains wouldn’t even be considered excellent Qi Refining to Gang generals.

Gan Ning believed the opponent wouldn’t expect such a sudden turn and lethal strike, and this was an opportunity. By slaying the ship’s captain, the Kushan Navy’s effectiveness would be halved.

This point is entirely akin to the land forces; once the leader is killed, the entire army experiences various problems in dispatch, a noticeable issue for Kushan.

At least some legions in the Han Dynasty could fight without a commander, whereas Kushan seemed to have their battle prowess linked to their leaders.

As Gan Ning retreated, countless arrows burst forth from both the Kushan ship and Xu Sheng’s ship, shooting toward the soldiers on the opposite side.

The difference was stark; Kushan was clearly responding hastily, the arrow rain sparse, while on Xu Sheng’s side, no matter how tense, one fact remained: they had prepared extensively, and all soldiers picked up heavy crossbows at the moment they aimed to shoot.

A bowshot’s distance is optimal for firing crossbow bolts. Amid Kushan’s chaos, a forced rain of arrows obliterated everyone on the enemy ship’s deck.

According to Gan Ning’s prior plan, a large quantity of tung oil and sawdust soaked in tung oil was thrown wildly at the other side, then numerous fire arrows were shot at the enemy battleship.

The next moment, the enemy’s ship caught fire, succeeded by a gust of wind, causing the flames to surge violently, igniting the sails and other flammable parts of the ship swiftly.

”Retreat!” In the span of just one incense stick’s time, Gan Ning concluded this small-scale naval battle; with calculated planning, the Kushan Navy stood no chance of resistance.

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