Beginning with the Ubume Bird Chapter 179

Chapter 179: Chapter 16 E I Co!

Li Yan scrutinized the yellowfish pierced by his sword and activated “A Fleeting Glimpse.”

[Gong Fish] One of the three thousand kinds of Heavenly Mother Crossing the Sea, its sound is similar to a baby's cry, and it is said to be the transformation of sailor souls lost at sea. They attempt to follow the Heavenly Mother and be reborn.

Special ingredient: When consumed, there is a chance to slightly increase soul strength.

Skill: [Soul Summoning] (can identify a person's name, summoning their soul).

Threat level: Pale red

“Damn!”

Cha Xiaodao, infuriated, had his eardrums ruptured by a fish's roar, despite the toughness of his furry body.

Three thousand kinds across the sea…

Li Yan silently took note of this term, as the lookout atop the mast suddenly blew a piercing whistle, signaling that something was approaching ahead.

“Still going to eat it?”

Li Yan asked.

“If you want to eat it, go ahead!”

Cha Xiaodao replied irritably.

“Fine.”

Li Yan tossed the fish to his subordinate and snapped his fingers, “Tell the kitchen, steam it.”

Having said that, Li Yan went to the bow of the ship, straining to see through the misty water splashes.

Due to the fog, by the time the whistle-blower noticed something was off, the splash was already close to the Spirit of the Duck. With Li Yan's eyesight, he could roughly make it out too.

Among the splashing waters was a hint of golden shark fin!

[Fire Gold Shark] One of the Heavenly Mother Crossing the Sea's three thousand kinds, one of the fish species released by the Heavenly Mother, with the strength of nine bulls and two tigers.

Rating: Ten Cities level

Precious ingredient, consumption of which increases blood vitality and bone strength.

Skills: [Fierce Flight] [Fierce Teeth] [Golden Fire Frenzy]

Note: Certain culinary heritages can unlock the full value of the ingredients.

“Wow!”

Both Li Yan and Cha Xiaodao became spirited.

However, this Fire Gold Shark seemed to be in extreme pain. Upon closer inspection, Li Yan saw a black rein emerging from the shark's back above the water, dyeing the surrounding water red. At the other end of the rein was a man speeding over the sea surface.

The man kept his legs straight, with large splashes trailing behind him; man and shark were entangled, spinning over the sea surface. The Fire Gold Shark glided side to side, desperately trying to shake off the man behind it, while the man held onto the rein tightly.

The man looked to be in his thirties, wearing a tailcoat and a black top hat, sporting a golden-brown goatee, high cheekbones, and deep blue eyes–a typical Anglo-Saxon appearance.

Beneath the dense fog, the Westerner seemed to notice Li Yan's gaze and both men gave each other salutes.

Under the grand moon, the top-hatted gentleman sprinted across the sea, tugging the rein. Behind him were deep blue waves, ahead, a fierce shark with a shimmer of gold and red–it was a scene both exaggerated and romantic.

Li Yan, clad in dark red leather armor, stood proudly at the bow like a towering spear, his short black hair cropped neat and tidy.

After a while, unable to bear the pain any longer, the Fire Gold Shark opened its bloodied mouth wide. The top-hatted man removed his tall hat and bowed deeply to Li Yan, displaying elegant manners.

Li Yan cracked a smile, returned a salute to the stranger, like that of a young pioneer, then turned and instructed the Red Flag pirates behind him:

“The fish is ours, fire the cannons and knock him into the sea for me!”

The pirates, who lived off Westerners, had been waiting for Li Yan's words. However, Li Yan added with a tone of realization,

“The Heavenly Mother Crossing the Sea forbids the use of firearms, right? Then shoot arrows!”

The Westerner had been keeping an eye on the Spirit of the Duck. He saw several pirates with red bandanas holding Nanmu Great Bows, three fingers thick, aimed at him, and his eyebrows rose in anger.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Those Western devils truly possessed some skill, launching three arrow shafts with stability and accuracy toward his crotch and head, yet he showed no sign of panic, donned his hat, grabbed the reins with one hand, and drew a silver rapier from his waist with the other.

With a flick of his thumb, the rapier flashed like silver lightning, and in the blink of an eye, it forcefully split the three arrow shafts apart. The broken arrows fell into the water as Li Yan on deck uttered a light sound of surprise. The move, in both speed and strength, matched his own level at “Swallow Through the Curtain.”

“Uncouth pirates of the Far East, Sir Lawrence will make you pay for your insolence!”

The Westerner spoke in awkward Chinese, brandishing the rapier in his hand and cleaving through several more incoming arrow shafts. It's worth noting that during this time, he was still holding onto the reins with one hand, struggling to maintain his balance due to the jolting of the shark.

“A pale deep red. Close to the level of Ten Cities Peak.”

Li Yan snatched the Nanmu Great Bow from a pirate beside him, slipped on an iron thumb ring, and nocked an arrow aiming at Sir Lawrence, the bowstring as taut as a full moon.

Whoosh!

The arrow soared long and far.

The foreigner raised the silver rapier, furiously swinging it down like he was cracking a whip!

Boom~

The arrow was forcefully split by the rapier, the foreigner's palm split open as well, but he still revealed a victorious smile.

Li Yan was smiling too.

The ships following behind had already caught up, and at least a hundred bows were drawn to full, aiming and shooting at this lonely warrior at sea simultaneously.

A black tide covered the sky, engulfing Sir Lawrence's eyes.

Pfft~

The same lonely moon hung high, the same white mist enveloped the surroundings.

The white sails were raised high, emblazoned with a gorgeous crest of intertwined gold and blue.

Exotic beasts with the body of a fish and the head of a lion stood guard, and in the middle was a gold shield etched with images of voyaging ships and red roses, with two red and white striped St. George's Cross flags proudly flanking it, and a triangular helm wheel in the center, the letters “e,” “i,” and “co” in gold.

Meaning the Honourable East India Company.

The British East India Company.

A massive ship of iron-grey color lay dormant on the sea surface, nearly four hundred meters in length, equivalent to the length of four of the largest ships of the Red Flag Gang.

The gaping muzzles of Armstrong Guns looked threatening, with a caliber of 300mm, and a single shell weighing over fifty pounds. And the ship boasted seventy such cannons.

In the entire South Seas region, it was the undisputed maritime behemoth.

“This barrel is full of devils!”

The golden-haired, blue-eyed British mercenary slammed his fist on the table, the bubbles in the glass of sparkling wine trembling violently.

A pale-complexioned man with a neat mustache held a silver ingot, slowly shaking his head.

“Mr. Martin, I think you owe these lovely, shiny little things an apology.”

He pinched a silver ingot: “How could such lovely things possibly be devils?”

“Washington, do you know how many hands we've lost because of the dozen-odd barrels that floated up?”

“It's their greed that's the devil leading them to death, not these innocent little fellows.”

Washington stood, leaning on his cane, and walked to the edge of the cabin.

“Heavenly Mother, Crossing the Sea.”

He mumbled to himself in broken Chinese: “This is surely the providence of God, the God of the Far East! Do you know what I found on the last broken ship that surfaced? I've never seen such exquisite porcelain. And then, there was this little trinket. It made me twenty years younger, Martin! I'm not being figurative!”

“At the same time, that ship also took the lives of over forty of our soldiers, and Washington, I must remind you, that artifact might just be an ancient drug, like highly refined opium. The so-called restoration of youth might just be your imagination.”

“Say what you will, whether we leave these seas or not, let's make a fair decision.”

Washington shrugged.

“You vote to leave, I vote to stay. So, where did Sir Lawrence go?”

Chapter end