"Boom!" A bolt of lightning cracked like a whip in the sky followed by the roar of thunder. A single wars.h.i.+p rammed into the smaller pirate boat, which caused the boat to rock violently almost to the point of being capsized.

At this point, four men hugged onto the masts of the boat for dear life. The hull of their boat had tipped upwards and was mere seconds from completely capsizing. Looks of despair were visible across the faces of the pirates. Even the howling of the winds was unable to drown out the screams of fear and panic.

"Lieutenant, I remember there’s still one more pirate boat left. Should we chase after it?" Seeing the wreckage of pirate boats being a.s.saulted by the unrelenting waves, the soldier cast his gaze into the distance, and couldn’t see the remaining boat.

A person would be able to see within 1.5km out at sea on a clear day. Now that it was obscured by rain, being able to see 500m was considered rather good.

"No, we shan’t chase the final boat. It can travel too fast for us to be able to catch up. d.a.m.n it." The lieutenant cursed in the rain. He knew that it was undesirable to travel at such high speeds, chasing after the pirates in spite of the torrential rain and rising tides.

"Yes, that last boat was clearly a typical pirate boat. I wonder why it can travel so much faster?"

"I wonder how much gold he had in his boat to escape at breakneck speed. Ai, we might be made a fool of this time after returning empty-handed." The lieutenant spoke out.

"We don’t have a choice. Orders by his Excellency Pei. We should only chase for half an hour. If we can’t catch them, we must return to regroup." The lieutenant cursed before ordering his s.h.i.+p, "Turn around, we are returning back. Let’s regroup."

700 meters away, on a pirate boat

The Daoist had been shot by an arrow and had used most of his energy casting his Dao arts in battle. He was completely drained at this point when he heard someone shout, "The enemy has stopped chasing us."

When the Daoist heard this, he relaxed immediately and fell onto the deck. Raindrops pelted down onto the boat. The entire deck was strewn with corpses which n.o.body had time to clear. Many people tugged onto the sail as they shouted, "Quick, pull down the sail!"

Cabin

The third leader was a big and burly man. He had a waist as wide as a bear and a back as strong as a tiger. A single arrow had embedded itself into his body, while a doctor was standing beside the third leader. The doctor’s hands trembled as he tried to extricate the arrow from the third leader’s body.

The boat rocked as the doctor plucked the arrow from the third leader’s body. The pain was so bad that his body trembled violently, as he cursed out, "d.a.m.n it. Who’s steering the boat up there, why the h.e.l.l is he controlling it so poorly. What’s the current situation?"

He then glared at the doctor, "What’s the point of paying you? You can’t even pluck an arrow properly. What a shame."

His entire torso was covered in blood, and he clearly felt unwell. At this point, several men carried the unconscious Daoist into the cabin. He had been shot by an arrow as well and was out cold. The third leader looked down on him and instructed the men, "Wake him up."

The doctor was clearly afraid as he replied, "Third Leader, this Daoist belongs to Big Leader. He is obviously hurt, but I don’t dare to treat him. If he dies, I will be in trouble."

"What bulls.h.i.+t are you speaking? If you continue to spew any more of that rubbish, I shall end your life. We’ve just been smashed by the officials and their soldiers, losing dozens of boats and thousands of men. We require as

sistance. Inform the main islands and update them on our situation."

"Whatever the consequences of your actions, I shall bear it alone." The third leader spoke fiercely. Although he had scolded the doctor, he had no intentions of punis.h.i.+ng him or allowing him to be punished for a failed operation on the Daoist.

What a joke. Since they were pirates, they couldn’t simply head for the city and request to be treated by the local physicians and doctors. If he had killed the doctor now, who would treat the injured and sick pirates? Even if he didn’t kill the doctor, he couldn’t afford to offend him in any way. If not, all he had to do was to administer the wrong medication and lives would be lost. Such was his power, although he probably didn’t know it.

"Alright, third leader. I shall treat him now." The doctor spoke after receiving some rea.s.surance from the leader. He then ordered his a.s.sistant, "Fetch me a flask of wine."

Before long, a flask of white wine came. He first used a needle to p.r.i.c.k the unconscious Daoist to no avail. He then took a sip of the heated white wine and spat it out onto the wound of the Daoist.

The minute the wine came into contact with the wound, the Daoist trembled violently in pain and woke up. He coughed and sputtered before he opened his eyes, "Have we managed to escape?"

Having heard these words, the third leader replied, "We’ve escaped but we have to report this matter back to the other leaders. Our enemy is too fierce and vicious. We are no match for them at all. Apologies to Daoist Leader for the trouble."

"It isn’t your fault. We just have to inform the stronghold as soon as possible." The Daoist coughed before as his eyes looked downcast. After he acc.u.mulated some strength, he shouted, "Pluck the arrow!"

The doctor stopped hesitating and plucked the arrow as blood spurted out from the wound. The Daoist raised a trembling hand, "Sweet Dew Technique!"

The blood flow gradually stopped.

"Wait for some time before bandaging my wound!" The Daoist then exclaimed, "Expel Toxins!"

A white ray of light burst out as several brown clots started to leak out from his wound. Seeing this, the Daoist then heaved a sigh of relief, "Use a needle to st.i.tch my wound up, but remember to leave a small gap for the toxins to be released."

The doctor immediately dispatched someone to retrieve a needle and thread before he st.i.tched the wound up. His eyes gaped wide open, as he imprinted this scene into his memory. He never knew a person could be sewn up like pieces of fabric. In the past, he would’ve bandaged the wound with several layers of cloth but would’ve been unable to stop the bleeding like this. He now knew this.

The third leader watched on red-eyed, "Do the same thing for me as well."

The Daoist thought for some time before he raised a hand to the third leader, "Expel Toxins!"

Similarly, brown blood clots started to seep out from his wound. The arrowheads used were never stainless steel in the ancient days and were often rusted by the time they were shot. Some vile archers would even smear the arrowhead with dung to cause infections and teta.n.u.s. Many people didn’t die from arrow wounds but later succ.u.mbed to the infections caused by the rusted and dung smeared arrowheads. Even generals and admirals were no exceptions.

This was something the Daoist Sects had discovered, although they didn’t understand why people were dying days later after developing a fever. The Daoist then spoke, "Third Leader, the arrowhead is made from metal, and metal kills. Anyone who’s struck by those arrows would die sooner or later. Thankfully I’m around, if not you would die too."

"With such capabilities and knowledge, it’s no wonder people like you rule the country and not people like us." Although getting his wounds st.i.tched hurt, the third leader didn’t flinch as he frowned and spoke.

"That’s where you are wrong. The people who rule this country are n.o.bles, n.o.bles and royalty cannot have Dao arts. Naturally, such healing arts are considered Dao arts as well."

"Those officials and admirals with ranks do not get to enjoy such benefits." The Daoist sighed, "If not, we wouldn’t even be relevant today."

He then pointed at the third leader and smiled, "You are the leader of several hundred men. If you decide to raise your banners in rebellion and build a legitimate empire, my Dao arts wouldn’t be able to heal you as well."

"That’s not all. With troops and a government office, you won’t even be able to use communication talismans."

According to Pei Zi Yun, this world isn’t a game. Dao arts are used for more than just killing and wounding.

There are spells for healing sickness, injuries, and even for reproduction. It isn’t even difficult. But the phrase, "Dao arts do not affect n.o.bles" exclude the royalty and n.o.bles from such benefits.

Because of this, even the Emperor needs to keep a Daoist around to heal him of any injuries. This healing Daoist had to be a great healer to get such a job.

As the three of them within the cabin were busy healing their own wounds, it started to get quite out on the deck. The third leader was a man who was rather smart as well. He didn’t instruct the Daoist to go around healing everyone. Instead, he just asked, "Quick, try and attempt contact with our main stronghold and request for a.s.sistance."

The Daoist nodded his head and retrieved a communication talisman. After a buzzing sound, shadows started to take shape before they revealed a large hall.

Golden Island

This huge island was isolated from most other islands. It was shaped like a b.u.t.terfly and was narrow down the middle. It was broad on the east and western fronts. It measured approximately 17km in length and was 7.5km in width. There were waterfalls and creeks. The tallest mountain was no higher than 150m. The stronghold was located on this mountain.

Within the main hall, the big leader sat in his seat. His heart raced with fear and panic. A certain inauspicious feeling enveloped him.

The Daoist seated beside him felt some heat being emitted from within his robes. When he touched his pocket, he realized it was the communication talisman. He took it out and saw a white flash of light before another Daoist appeared on the other end.

When the Daoist appeared, his background came into view. He was standing in a cabin on the boat. The third leader was lying down on a mattress, and bandages could be seen wrapped around him.

"Old Three, what happened to you? Are you hurt?" The big leader’s eyes opened wide as he asked impatiently.

The third leader sat up slowly before speaking, "Leader when we arrived at Sentry Island, we realized that our enemy had fled. We thus decided to pursue them. But we didn’t expect them to turn around and launch a counterattack. They were extremely strong, and we were no match for them. However, we also dealt a significant amount of damage to them."

The third leader spoke, as his vision drifted away, not daring to maintain eye contact.

"How many men do we have left?" The Daoist asked with his hands raised. Hearing this question, the third leader’s heart started to race. How many men was he left with?

Seventy? Eighty? He couldn’t be sure.

"Leader, we wanted to fight head-on with the officials and their soldiers, but they were too strong. They completely shattered us, and we’ve only managed to narrowly escape. We don’t know how many men survived. But I presume several hundred of us remain." The third leader spoke as he s.h.i.+fted the responsibility, "Fanban Zhenyi is to blame. When we clashed, there was no support. I suspect he betrayed us."

"What?" The big leader’s heart leapt. The speaker didn’t mean whatever he said, while the listener made his own a.s.sumptions and jumped to a conclusion.

The leader was a native man, and his name was Fang Zhi. He wasn’t the most upright or chivalrous man but made up for it plenty in terms of craftiness. When the previous dynasty closed up the country, trade was prevented via the prohibition of sea movement. Fang Zhi had dealt in the black market all his life. He thus fled to Golden Island and set up his base here. He was the leader of the illegal black market and was also the leader of pirates and bandits around the area. He controlled everything within a 500km radius of his base and grew in influence and strength over the years. He even extended his influence to the pirates and managed to win them over. He was so strong he didn’t even worry about Ji Bei Hou’s men whatsoever.

With the policy of exterminating pirates, it opened the sea trading routes and ports. Since money could be earned by trading legally, why should people turn to illegal ways? He thus suffered a blow.

Most of the sea merchants decided to trade legally, the remaining people on the illegal side were the pirates on Golden Island and Ji Bei Hou’s men. This instantly s.h.i.+fted the power over to the officials and weakened these outlaws.

"Fanban Zhenyi refused to send a.s.sistance. Could it be that the samurai started to get ambitious and wish to rebel against us?"

Just before the Daoist spoke out, Fang Zhi interrupted him. "Alright, handle the matter. I shall send Second Leader to a.s.sist you."

The second the talisman was shut off, the third leader heaved a sigh of relief, "Thankfully Big Brother is still sentimental towards our relations.h.i.+p. If not, I would’ve been finished. Looks like I still have some luck on my side. The enemy didn’t realize I was the leader of that a.s.sault and allowed me to escape."

"Big Leader, I suspect something fishy is going on." Before the Daoist could offer his advice, Fang Zhi walked over, his face was gloomy as he spoke to the Daoist. "As for that, I do not know. But my Third Leader has sustained huge losses. As long as he’s alive, that’s all the matters. Contact the second leader, and dispatch him to receive Old Three."

The Daoist wanted to provide more advice but considered for some time before he changed his mind and remained quiet. He understood the heart of Fang Zhi, and knew that he was someone with backbone. Extricating a single boat wouldn’t be difficult anyway.

Under such conditions, he couldn’t afford to lose his third leader. If not, Fang Zhi’s reputation as the "Dragon of the Sea" would be severely impacted. After thinking for some time, he retrieved the talisman once more and contacted the second leader.

"Second Leader, Big Leader has instructions…." Even before he could complete his sentence, Fang Zhi walked up and started speaking, "Second Leader, go and retrieve Third Leader."

"What? Did something happen to Third Leader?" It was clear that Second Leader was on a boat as well. He asked, visibly astonished.

"Yes, he’s been attacked and ravaged. When he spoke, he stuttered. I suspect the losses must be grave. You have to retrieve him. And we also don’t know where Fanban Zhenyi is. He could’ve betrayed us, please be careful."

The second leader was shocked. He understood the current situation as well. They had fought hard to maintain equilibrium between their stronghold, the j.a.panese pirates, and Ji Bei Hou. Third Leader was left to handle and control Fanban Zhenyi. Now that Third Leader had sustained severe losses, and Fanban Zhenyi betrayed them, they had a huge problem.

Fanban Zhenyi was responsible for contact with the j.a.panese pirates and handled the items which had been pillaged from their raids to sell them. Although the last month’s return was only worth thirty thousand stone, this loss could cause the relations.h.i.+p between them and the pirates to be jeopardized.

"Big Brother, don’t worry. I understand what’s happening!" The second leader responded. "I shall retrieve Third Leader now, and ask him to tell me everything."