You stinky girl, do you really think a distress flare can get the Crimson Feather Army to save you?

On the Feng Family merchant ship.

Seeing the fireworks blooming in the sky, Black Snake sneered.

“Maybe the Crimson Feather Army will even help me get rid of you!”

Although he was a little surprised by the sudden appearance of the Crimson Feather Army's warship on the sea, he didn't show any worry.

After all, for his Black Snake Pirate Group to be able to occupy the sea area near Haihe City, they had to deal with the Crimson Feather Army, and even paid a fixed share of their spoils every three months according to the rules.

Otherwise, these pirates wouldn't be so unrestrained.

Hearing this, Feng Die'er quickly looked at her father.

But Feng Cheng also shook his head slightly, sighing softly.

Clearly, what the other party said was true.

Feng Die'er's face turned pale.

“How can this be? Isn't the Crimson Feather Army responsible for combating pirates and maintaining the safety of the near-sea area…?”

At this moment, Feng Cheng had already come in front of Feng Die'er, shielding her behind him.

“Die'er, I’ll hold them off later, you jump into the sea and escape. You might still have a chance!”

Feng Cheng whispered a warning.

He held no hope for the Crimson Feather Army, clearly understanding the secret collusion between the Crimson Feather Army and these pirates.

“Move, kill everyone except that little girl.”

Black Snake had lost his patience by now and ordered the surrounding pirates.

Soon, the two sides clashed again.

However, the Feng Family sailors were clearly at a disadvantage, suffering heavy casualties.

It was clear that they would be slaughtered by the pirates in no time.

Black Snake, meanwhile, looked at Feng Cheng, whose face was flushed from using a secret technique, and sneered, darting forward like a ghost.

“Die'er, run!”

Fine hairs began to sprout on Feng Cheng’s cheeks. He roared, swinging the large saber in his hand to force back the approaching pirates, and charged towards Black Snake.

Although his speed, strength, and all other aspects had improved significantly after using the secret technique, unfortunately, under the encirclement of Black Snake and several other Expert among the pirates, within mere seconds, blood was already trickling from the corner of his mouth, and he staggered backward.

His originally powerful Qi was now unstable, indicating that the secret technique was nearing its limit.

“As long as Die'er can escape…”

He had long resolved to die, only wishing for his daughter to escape their clutches.

However, things did not go as he wished; a figure suddenly shot out from the sea.

It was, surprisingly, a Expert from the Black Snake Pirates.

And Feng Die'er, who had just jumped into the sea, was now captured in his hands.

“Die'er!”

Seeing this, Feng Cheng's eyes were bloodshot. Without any hesitation, he was about to burst forth to rescue his daughter from the pirate's hands, but as soon as he moved, he was blocked by Black Snake, who slammed a black palm onto his back, knocking him to the ground.

“Old man Feng, none of your Feng Family will escape today.”

Black Snake's face was full of a playful smile. He took Feng Die'er from his subordinate, pinching her smooth chin with his thin, dry hand and gently caressing it.

At this moment, Feng Die'er was completely immobile, her eyes wide open, her face filled with despair.

Whoosh—

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept past.

“Who is it!?”

Black Snake's expression changed, and he asked in a deep voice, his gaze falling on the merchant ship's mast.

Three figures were standing steadily on it, he didn't know when they had appeared.

“By order of Commander Lin Sheng of the Crimson Feather Army, we are here to annihilate the pirates.”

The three were none other than Meng Lie, Xie Kui, and another Divine Form officer.

Meng Lie's gaze swept over everyone on the ship before he slowly spoke.

Hearing this, the people who were originally fighting intensely stopped again.

Black Snake narrowed his eyes, staring intently at Meng Lie and the other two, then a very warm smile appeared on his face. He stepped forward and cupped his hands, bowing towards Meng Lie.

“I, Black Snake, greet this esteemed senior. Is Senior Gongsun Chongfeng here? I and Senior Gongsun Chongfeng are…”

Black Snake was speaking, but before he could finish, he was interrupted by Meng Lie.

“Black Snake? You are the leader of the Black Snake Pirates?”

Hearing this, Black Snake was stunned, but quickly smiled and nodded.

“That’s right, it is I. It seems this senior has misunderstood, we are on the same side!”

“On the same side?”

Just as he thought everything was fine, Meng Lie's figure on the mast instantly vanished.

The next moment, Black Snake's expression changed. He casually threw Feng Die'er aside and raised a palm to strike upwards towards his head.

Pfft—

The crisp sound of a sharp blade cutting into flesh rang out, and Black Snake's right arm instantly disappeared.

Before he could react further, a cold glint flashed, and a large head was already severed by a sword.

Meng Lie's figure reappeared, holding Black Snake's head with an angry expression.

“How could my dignified Crimson Feather Army be on the same side as you pirates?”

On the mast, Xie Kui and the other person had also moved, leaping into the fray, swiftly killing the members of the Black Snake Pirates one by one.

In just over ten breaths, dozens of pirates had been largely wiped out.

Subsequently, the three swept into the other pirate ships, annihilating the remaining pirates.

After clearing everything, they returned to the merchant ship.

“This humble one, Feng Cheng of the Feng Family of Haihe City, thanks the three seniors for saving our lives. Please accept our bow.”

On the deck, Feng Cheng had already led his group to kneel on the ground, speaking respectfully.

At this moment, his Qi was weak, and a layer of black gas covered his face, indicating his condition was quite poor.

However, as a Divine Form Martial Artist, as long as he didn't mobilize his internal energy again, he could recover after a few days of recuperation with Medicinal Pills.

He appeared respectful, but his heart was still somewhat uneasy, worried that the Crimson Feather Army would target the cargo on the ship.

“Rise. We are here by Commander Lin’s order to eliminate pirates. Are there any remaining Black Snake Pirates?”

Meng Lie glanced at these people and asked indifferently.

“Reporting to senior, the Black Snake Pirates basically came out in full force this time. These few ships are their base.”

Feng Cheng quickly replied.

“In that case, we have cleared the pirates along the Third Sea Route. You may return to Haihe City via this route.”

Meng Lie nodded, no longer intending to say more, and turned to leave.

“Thank you, senior!”

Feng Cheng thanked him again.

Watching the three prepare to leave, he breathed a sigh of relief, but just then Meng Lie suddenly stopped and turned around, making his recently settled heart tense up again.

“The Gongsun family members of the Crimson Feather Army committed insubordination and colluded with pirates; they have all been killed by Commander Lin. Have you seen Gongsun Changhai at sea?”

Hearing Meng Lie's words, Feng Cheng's heart trembled, and he quickly said.

He naturally knew who Gongsun Changhai was; nominally the Deputy Commander of the Crimson Feather Army, but in reality, he had been the true controller of the Crimson Feather Army for the past few years.

“We just returned from the far-sea region and have not seen Gongsun Changhai.”

“Then forget it.”

Seeing that he did not get the answer he wanted, Meng Lie shook his head slightly, no longer hesitating, he leaped up, and in a few flashes, had already landed on the Crimson Feather Army warship in the distance.

“Patriarch, what do we do next?”

After Meng Lie and the others left, a Feng Family steward, clutching his injured arm, stepped forward and whispered.

Feng Cheng then withdrew his gaze, looked at the less than half of the Feng Family members remaining, pondered for a moment, and said.

“Take the Third Sea Route!”

Given their current situation, if they encountered another pirate group, even one not as strong as the Black Snake Pirates, they would definitely suffer heavy losses, so he had no choice.

“Die'er, are you alright?”

After swallowing a Medicinal Pill, Feng Cheng looked at Feng Die'er beside him with a face full of concern.

“Father, I’m fine!”

Feng Die'er shook her head; she hadn't suffered any injuries in the previous battle.

“It’s good that you’re fine.”

Feng Cheng nodded, then couldn't help but cough up a mouthful of black blood, and quickly sat down cross-legged to regulate his breathing and heal his injuries.

“Father!”

Feng Die'er stood by his side, her face full of worry.

The merchant ship set sail, soon crossing paths with the Crimson Feather Army warship in sight.

Feng Die'er looked up, her eyes filled with curiosity, towards the warship opposite.

She only saw on the massive warship, row after row of soldiers armed with spears, and in the center of the deck, a tall, stern-faced man lying on a reclining chair.

The three Expert she had seen earlier were respectfully saying something to him.

“Reporting to General, the Black Snake Pirates have been dealt with.”

“Has it been completely cleaned up?”

Lin Sheng said lazily.

“Not a single remnant was left.”

Meng Lie replied sternly.

“Good, then let’s head to the next one directly.”

Lin Sheng said, then suddenly opened his eyes, looked at the Feng Family merchant ship not far away, then withdrew his gaze and stood up.

“Is there any news of Gongsun Changhai?”

“My subordinate just inquired, but found nothing.”

“Still nothing?”

Lin Sheng frowned slightly.

In these past few days, including the Black Snake Pirates just now, he had already cleared four large pirate forces, and now there was only one left.

During this voyage, he had specifically ordered Meng Lie, Xie Kui, and others to pay attention to searching for traces of Gongsun Changhai.

It was just a pity that there had been no clues, as if he had vanished.

He could only sigh with regret about this.

There was only one pirate stronghold left. If Gongsun Changhai's traces still couldn't be found after clearing it, then it could only be left to Meng Lie and the others to handle.

After giving instructions to Meng Lie and the others, Lin Sheng's figure dropped straight into the sea.

Meng Lie and the others were already accustomed to this sight.

Since entering the sea, Lin Sheng would occasionally go into the water and stay there for half a day.

At first, they were a bit worried, but after each time, no matter how far the ship sailed, Lin Sheng would always catch up, so they got used to it.

It was just that they found Lin Sheng's skilled swimming somewhat surprising.

In the sea, Lin Sheng let go of his mind, unleashing the Ji Hai Magic Blood talent to its extreme.

This was something he did almost every day.

He wanted to use the Ji Hai Magic Blood's super perception to detect if there were any notable exotic beasts in the sea.

Preferably Yao Beasts.

After activating the Ji Hai Magic Blood talent, he was like a lighthouse in the sea for exotic beasts that also possessed the Ji Hai Magic Blood talent.

It was just a pity, perhaps due to the near-sea area, after several days, let alone Yao Beasts, he hadn't even seen a few high-level sea beasts worth noting.

However, he hadn't held much hope to begin with, so he couldn't really be said to be disappointed.

He merged himself into the vast ocean.

Lin Sheng's eyes were slightly closed, feeling the changes in his body.

In these few days, he had consumed and refined many Yao Beast blood beads.

The pure energy refined through the Blood Devouring talent was also considerable.

At this moment, it was all slowly being digested by his muscles, constantly growing.

He could feel the information subtly feeding back from his body.

He had once again touched a Bottleneck.

It wouldn't be long before it would bring another attribute increase.

The last Breakthrough to Divine Form had brought such a significant improvement, which was likely also due to the Blood Devouring talent.

It was just unknown whether this time the improvement would be in strength or Physique.

Time flowed like water; three more days passed in the blink of an eye.

In the sky, the sun hung high, the sky clear for miles.

At this time, the warship had already reached the edge of the near-sea area; one more day of travel would take them completely out of the near-sea.

However, the ship did not continue forward but turned its direction and sailed sideways.

A densely vegetated island appeared in sight.

From a distance, several large ships could be seen docked by the island.

“General, according to the intelligence gathered, the island ahead is the base of the Obsidian Stone Pirates.”

Meng Lie put down his telescope, came to Lin Sheng's side, and said respectfully.

“Very good, proceed directly.”

Hearing this, Lin Sheng opened his eyes, his gaze focused, falling upon that island.

With his perception, he could clearly see the several ships docked by the island.

Unlike the merchant ships and warships of Southern Qi and Northern Yan, the design of these ships appeared more modern.

The hull was slender, with cannons on the front and both sides, and a black star-shaped triangular flag fluttered on the ship.

As for the busy sailors on board, most of them had blonde hair and blue eyes.

These Obsidian Stone Pirates were a pirate group that had drifted from Siro Country.

Since arriving in the Haihe City region, they had constantly engaged in burning, killing, and looting, with cruel and ruthless methods, and many merchant fleets had fallen victim to them.

It is said that they were quite fierce and powerful in the coastal areas of Siro Country.

Not only were their ships uniquely constructed, but their combat power was completely on par with military warships.

The overall strength of the pirates was also much stronger than the other pirate groups.

There were as many as five Expert of the Divine Form level alone.

It is said that their captain was a true Divine Form Peak existence.

Of course, these things were nothing to him.

However, he was quite interested in these Expert from Siro Country, as he had not had much contact with Siro Country people until now, let alone their Expert.

Therefore, among the actions to suppress pirates, the only one that truly interested him was the Obsidian Stone Pirates.

As Lin Sheng's order went down.

The Crimson Feather Army warship immediately sped up, approaching the island.

Before long, it attracted the attention of the pirates on the island.

Immediately, two warships left the shore and quickly came to meet them.

The ships on both sides were very fast, and soon the distance was closed to a few hundred meters.

They could clearly see the blonde, blue-eyed pirates waving scimitars and muskets on the opposing ships.

Even the thick cannons on the slender hulls had already been raised and aimed at them, clearly ready to fire at any moment.

“Ignore them, keep advancing.”

Seeing this, Lin Sheng said indifferently.

As his voice fell, his figure had already vanished from the deck.

“Fire!”

On the opposite ship, a one-eyed pirate shouted excitedly.

Flames ignited on the thick cannon, and a scorching aura spewed out. Just as the cannonball was about to leave the barrel.

A large, distinctly jointed hand had already pressed down on the cannon.

Boom—

Amidst a deafening explosion, the cannon shattered with a crash.

Along with it, the cannonball inside violently exploded, tearing a large hole in the ship's hull.