LRAB Chapter 559: Who Belongs to Whom
Chapter 559: Who Belongs to Whom
Chapter 559: Who Belongs to Whom
Zhao Changhe and Lady Three had not expected that their night spying would only leave them even more confused.
Even though Lady Three bore little resentment toward Hai Changkong, seeing him as just another person, she had never considered the possibility that he might actually be good.
However, he did explicitly order his men that she be shown no mercy and be killed no matter the cost. If it was all an act, and Lady Three really ended up dead, how was he planning to take responsibility?
Lady Three thought back to the past. Hai Changkong’s relentless pursuit had been anything but an act. He had genuinely intended to kill her back then. If it was not for her loyal subordinates sacrificing themselves to save her, she would have died.
The whole situation felt like a dense fog, impossible to see through. The two of them decided to stay patient, continuing to hide and observe until the banquet finally ended, and the generals of Penglai all went to rest. Nothing particularly significant happened afterward.
Lady Three glanced at the officer who had tried to sneak off to report earlier. She was tempted to go find him and ask questions, but everything felt so strange here that she worried her appearance might endanger him even more. So she hesitated, unable to decide.
“Patience,” Zhao Changhe whispered, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. “We’re in the shadows while they’re out in the open. If we watch carefully, nothing will escape us. We can react accordingly.”
Lady Three felt slightly reassured and nodded. “What about Lai Qi?”
“If we don’t get involved, I can’t see how Lai Qi could refuse them. For him, it’s either death or being absorbed by Penglai.”
When they returned to Lai Qi’s guest quarters, they found him returning disheveled. Seeing them, Lai Qi looked embarrassed but still decided to be honest. “I tried to leave under the cover of night. The guards were quite courteous earlier, but they refused to let me go no matter what excuse I used. They wouldn’t let me get back to the ship.”
Zhao Changhe did not blame him for trying to abandon them. He patted Lai Qi on the shoulder and said, “Just surrender for now and see how things play out tomorrow. I doubt they can truly conquer your nation—not yet, anyway. But if you resist now, it’ll mean certain death, and I can’t guarantee we can protect you.”
As expected, Lai Qi wrestled with his thoughts all night. By early morning, he had finally made up his mind to offer his surrender to Hai Changkong, but loud commotion suddenly erupted from the shore.
Lai Qi hurried over, only to find Zhao Changhe and Lady Three standing side by side, hiding in the shadows to watch the spectacle.
On the shore, Hai Changkong coldly commanded, “If they refuse to submit, then they can’t blame me for being ruthless... Fire! Leave none alive!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Cannons roared from Penglai’s warships. Surprisingly, the ships were armed with cannons.
Lady Three hesitated, then eventually gave a soft “Mm-hmm” in agreement. “It seems Lai Qi, arriving earlier and being too pathetically weak, was spared from the direct assault. You could say he’s lucky, in a twisted way.”
Zhao Changhe asked, “If this is Hai Changkong’s strategy, is there still a point in fighting the pirates?”
Lady Three was puzzled by this as well. In the end, she replied, “”It would actually make more sense to subdue them properly and send them ahead as scouts against the pirates. They could’ve been a valuable asset. But now, they’re just fighting each other. Are they even going to fight the pirates?”
As the two spoke, more fleets arrived one after another. Since the agreed date was only a day away, most did not dare push the deadline and arrived early.
The scene became increasingly chaotic. None of the various fleets knew what was going on, and things were quickly spiraling out of control.
Zhao Changhe suddenly thought, If the pirates launched an attack right now, they could very well wipe out the entire coalition right here...
Just as he was thinking this, the sound of horns blared from the distance.
A pirate flag appeared on the horizon, followed by two more, then three, and soon, the entire sky seemed to be covered in a sea of black flags.
A massive fleet of pirate ships approached the island like a dark tide surging forward.
“It’s the Furious Pirates! They’re attacking!”
“It’s the Heavenly Origin Pirates!”
Two different names echoed across the various ships, and someone shouted furiously at Hai Changkong, “Marshal Hai, now that things have come to this, are we still going to fight amongst ourselves?!”
“Fight? Of course, we fight! Why not?” Hai Changkong raised his hand, roaring, “Leave none alive!”
Everyone was stunned, including Zhao Changhe and Lady Three.
Suddenly, everything seemed to make sense. If Hai Changkong and the Heavenly Origin Pirates were actually on the same side, then all his actions would seem much more logical.
But this brought about a new question: if it was confirmed that there were sacrificial arrays on Penglai’s ships, and the intent behind starting this slaughter was clearly sacrificial, did the pirates know about this?
Could it be that even the pirates are followers of the Sea God?