Chapter 271 - 271: Backstabbing, Successful Ship Hijacking,
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
The secondary cannons on both sides of the ship each aimed at their targets and fired projectiles of varying sizes, erupting like an ordinary rainstorm.
The raindrop-like shells crashed into the sea, sending the surrounding seawater soaring into the sky, forming dozens of meters high water columns.
The spotlight illuminated the area where the shells exploded, and after the water splashes fell, there were no body fragments or blood as one might imagine floating on the surface.
No matter how the shells exploded, nothing came up, only patches of foam.
And on the alchemical sonar, thousands of targets were displayed, not a single one had diminished. They hadn’t even paused for a second due to the intense barrage, they were still rapidly approaching.
In the blink of an eye, the distance between the two sides had shortened to less than a thousand meters.
“Damn it! How can they swim so fast, these creatures are so agile!”
Watching the thousands of red dots on the screen coming from all directions, Ernesto muttered bitterly, “Prepare the deep-sea alchemical bombs, I refuse to believe we can’t blast these damn things out of the water!”
The optimal range for deploying deep-sea alchemical bombs was 50 to 150 meters.
On both sides of the gnome merchant ship, gnome sailors had already prepared the launching devices. As long as the enemy entered the firing range, these bombs, each weighing as much as several people, would be launched immediately.
No creature could remain unscathed under the explosion of such bombs.
Even if a dragon were here, relying on its flesh and blood to resist, it would still be torn apart!
The enemy was 900 meters away from the merchant ship.
At 700 meters, ail alchemical cannons stopped firing, allowing the merchant ship to stabilize.
500 meters, Ernesto stared closely at the alchemical sonar display, cold sweat trickling down his back.
300 meters, all the gnomes held their breath.
200 meters, the gnomes slowly gripped the launching levers.
150 meters.
“Get ready!”
When the distance between the two sides had suddenly been reduced to just over a hundred meters, Ernesto yelled furiously, “Fire!”
Just as the gnomes were about to press the release lever, a song suddenly drifted in from the distance.
In the quiet night, the song traveled very far, penetrating into every corner.
Ernesto was taken aback, seeing that the gnomes in charge of launching had all stopped and were inexplicably angry.
“What are you guys doing? Why aren’t you launching the bombs yet?”
But these gnomes acted as if they couldn’t hear him, their eyes vacant, as if they had lost their souls.
Seeing this scene, Ernesto’s anger surged even more. He angrily grabbed one of the gnomes by the collar and berated them.
“What the hell is wrong with you guys? Why aren’t you launching the bombs? Do you want to get me killed?”
But soon, he noticed that the gnomes had extremely vacant eyes as if they had lost their souls.
Even when lifted up, they remained unresponsive, as indifferent as puppets.
At this moment, Ernesto finally realized that something was amiss. Just as he was about to release the gnome’s collar…
With a muffled sound, an incredulous expression appeared on his face as he slowly lowered his head.
This gnome had plunged a dagger deep into his abdomen, with the blade fully inserted.
Muffled-
The dagger was withdrawn and then thrust in once more.
Dozens of consecutive times, until Ernesto was completely dead, lying in a pool of blood.
At the last moment of his life.
He finally realized the reason was the song.
“The song sounds so beautiful…”
With no one to stop them, the army swiftly moving underwater quickly reached the side of the ship and, with the help of the mutinous gnomes, successfully boarded.
The gnomes who were still alive on the ship saw that ferocious alien warriors had already boarded, and without exception, they all surrendered, showing no sign of resistance.
Soon, a figure boarded the ship under the respectful welcome of many warriors.
As soon as Ji Chen came up, he happened to see Ernesto lying on the deck. At this moment, the gnome merchant who had been lively and vigorous just half a day ago was now lying in a pool of blood, lifeless.
There was still a trace of an incredulous expression on his face.
Perhaps he hadn’t expected to die not at the hands of the enemy’s swords but at the hands of his own people.
“My Lord, what should we do with these remaining gnomes? Should we eliminate them all?”
Ji Chen looked at the large group of gnomes gathered on the deck and smiled as he shook his head. “These gnomes still have enough value. We need them to teach us how to operate this gnome merchant ship.”
“Understood!”
Hearing this, the gnomes who had been trembling finally breathed a sigh of relief. At least they wouldn’t die right now.
Ignoring this group of gnomes, Ji Chen began to explore the ship.
Previously, he had only seen the exterior at the harbor but hadn’t boarded the ship.
This gnome merchant ship showcased the gnomes’ advanced alchemical technology. Massive gears, metal, and hinges exuded a strong industrial steampunk flavor.
The gun turrets standing on the deck made Ji Chen feel exhilarated. He was a fan of giant ships and cannons!
Bigger is better, and more is better!
The larger the caliber, the harder the punch!
This ship, brimming with various caliber alchemical cannons, was a heavily armored vessel with formidable firepower. It hit his sweet spot.
If they were to launch a direct attack through conventional means, even if they used all the warships he currently possessed, they might not be able to inflict significant damage to this gnome merchant ship.
There was a technological gap between wooden sailboats and ironclad ships that was hard to bridge.
The difference between the two was like the gap between white-tier heroes and purple-tier heroes; a purple-tier hero could easily take on dozens of white-tier heroes..