Frontier Army Warrior

Chapter 1223 Irreparable Wounds

Next, six small warships of the Zhenxi Army transported two hundred water ghosts to the front line.

The place where they confronted the pirate warships was a narrow fork in the river with a rapid current.

Neither side dared to engage in combat easily, and the pirates did not advance any further.

Their primary task at present is to ensure the supply of the Ganqing Prefecture army; they have not yet undertaken any naval combat missions.

The two sides were less than twenty miles apart and maintained a quiet standoff.

Bian Jiao led his team of water ghosts into the water at the beginning of midnight.

Each person was fully equipped with four grenades, a water crossbow, a short knife, and flippers.

Led by Bian Jiao, they quietly drifted downstream along the river.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the two hundred water ghosts saw the lights on the pirate warships in the distance.

Bian Jiao lived in the water year-round, so his swimming skills were naturally excellent, and he was also very familiar with any abnormalities in the water.

He carried a bamboo pole, about ten feet long, with one end forked and three three-foot-long ropes tied in the middle, forming a triangular shape.

This thing is for detecting underwater obstacles ahead so that we can react in advance.

If the pirates set up obstacles or warning lines in the water, this bamboo pole can make contact in advance, alerting Bian Jiao without triggering their alarm response.

When they were still more than 30 feet away from the pirate warships, Bian Jiao suddenly raised the water crossbow in his hand and shook it twice.

The water crossbows were equipped with reflective markings, so all the water ghosts knew what the signal meant when they shook them during training.

They immediately stopped moving forward in the water and awaited further orders.

Bian Jiao discovered that there were two ropes set up by pirates underwater. If he pulled on the ropes while swimming without knowing it, an alarm would sound on the ship, and his sneak attack would be exposed.

He shook the water crossbow, signaling to the water ghost team behind him to watch out for the underwater ropes.

Everyone carefully avoided the ropes and slowly approached the ship.

Keep an eye on the fluorescent badge of the leader in front.

The two hundred members of the underwater team could clearly see the situation on the boat.

On almost every ship, there were two vigilant pirate soldiers, some standing, some sitting, some leaning against the cabin, dozing off with their heads down.

Lanterns hung from the mast, emitting a dim, yellowish glow.

It was very quiet all around, with only the occasional splashing of water against the hull.

Bian Jiao continued forward, his water crossbow swaying intermittently as he dispersed the two hundred water ghosts, each choosing a target to attack.

Nearly a hundred pirate warships were anchored there, stretching for several miles along the riverbank.

As per Lin Feng's requirements, each boat must use two grenades, and the grenades must be placed on the bottom of the boat.

Only in this way can the pirates' warships be blasted with irreparable holes.

Of course, this is done under calm and unhurried conditions. In an emergency, you could throw a grenade onto the boat, but the effect would probably be much less.

Once all the water ghosts were in place, Bian Jiao's orders were relayed to the last person.

Some people stood guard, while others dived underwater and hid at the bottom of the pirates' warships.

As for how to place the grenades on the bottom of the boat, Lin Feng already had a solution: he used cowhide, after tanning, to make round concave plates, and then sewed hooks on the bottom.

This seemingly insignificant thing has a magical effect. The water ghosts forcefully press the concave plate against the flat bottom of the boat, squeezing out the air and moisture inside, and then the concave plate adheres to the bottom of the boat.

The hook under the concave plate can be used to catch a grenade.

The water ghost can quickly escape after simply pulling the pin on the grenade.

As bubbles rose from the bottom of the water, the water ghosts who had finished planting the grenades began to retreat, waving their flippers and swimming quickly back.

A few breaths later, one of the warships in the fleet suddenly jumped up, as if it had been lifted up by an unnamed creature.

A muffled thud followed immediately.

Hundreds of boats, like dancers, leaped from the water one after another, with muffled thuds echoing one after another.

The pirates on the ship, unaware of what had happened, awoke in terror from their sleep and looked around.

Some of the pirates who were standing guard by the ship were thrown into the water by the violent shaking of the ship.

The pirates, still not fully awake, watched in even greater fear as large plumes of water erupted from the ship's cabin, and the ship began to slowly tilt and sink.

Alarms blared from all sides, throwing the pirates into chaos. Many grabbed various items to patch the holes in the ship.

However, when they saw the holes in the bottom of the ship, they immediately abandoned this approach.

The loopholes are too large to be plugged.

At this moment, a pirate shouted wildly, "There are people in the water! There are people in the water..."

Although the ship continued to sink, some of the pirates took out bows and arrows and shot them into the water.

However, the entire surface of the water was pitch black, and nothing could be seen at all.

In such a dark environment, no one dares to go into the water.

Many pirates began to flee from their ships to the riverbank, wanting only to leave as quickly as possible and avoid being trapped in the water.

It also stems from the fear of the dark.

Although the water ghost team was swimming upstream, they were still much faster than usual thanks to the efficiency of their flippers.

Bian Jiao was the last to leave the pirate ships' anchorage. He watched as one pirate warship after another sank into the water, and he sincerely admired Lin Feng.

The weapons and tools they used, though unremarkable, were so magical that they accomplished a difficult task of destroying a ship with remarkable ease.

Judging from the current situation, not a single water ghost will be harmed.

Two hundred people came, and two hundred people left intact.

Behind them, however, they sank nearly a hundred pirate warships.

How unlucky it must have been for the pirates to encounter Prince Lin.

As dawn broke, Ganqing Prefecture received intelligence that Tokugawa Iemochi had led 500 cavalrymen and quickly arrived at the riverbank.

Five thousand infantrymen followed.

Tokugawa Iemochi was well aware that the importance of warships at the moment was not to fight naval battles with large groups, but to transport supplies for the army.

With nearly 30,000 troops in the city, the daily supply requirements are enormous.

Currently, they are locked in a standoff with the Zhenxi Army and are unable to plunder everywhere, so they rely entirely on their fleet to transport supplies from the mainland to the battlefield.

If the fleet encounters problems, the 30,000-strong force will collapse and scatter within a few days.

I took every precaution and repeatedly reminded everyone to keep a close eye on these ships.

However, an accident still occurred.

At that moment, Tokugawa Iemochi was standing beside a ship, frowning as he looked at the huge hole in the hull.

The boat was pulled up from the water by the sailors on board using ropes to check the extent of the damage and see if it could be salvaged.

However, everyone stared wide-eyed at the hole in the bottom of the ship, and fell silent for a moment.

The sturdy hull had an irregularly shaped hole, about four feet in diameter, cut out by something.

Moreover, there are two such openings.

Tokugawa Iemochi looked at it for a moment, then asked in a deep voice.

Is there any possibility of repair?

A middle-aged man with a dark complexion and a thin body shook his head and sighed deeply.

"Even if the hole can be patched up, the hull cannot bear too much weight, and it can barely be used as a fishing boat."

"What was used to make this hole?"