Both sides—twelve ships in total—had now all arrived!

Speed was of the essence in warfare, and even at sea, Eastern Qin’s navy proved this—their formidable reputation was no exaggeration!

To the left and right, two great warships emerged, positioning themselves in front of Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s main vessel to intercept Jun Beiyue’s approaching ship!

Xuanyuan Zhaoxi leapt down onto the foremost ship, glaring coldly at Jun Beiyue, now barely a mile away, and shouted loudly, “Jun Beiyue, surrender immediately, or don’t blame this princess for showing no mercy!”

“Hand over Han Ziqing, or this prince will see your entire fleet destroyed!” Jun Beiyue’s voice rang out, amplified by his internal energy, loud enough to shake the entire Eastern Qin navy to its core.

“What arrogance!” Xuanyuan Zhaoxi laughed, mimicking Jun Beiyue’s method, projecting her voice with her own internal energy, her wild laughter instantly filling the entire stretch of sea. “Jun Beiyue, you come here with a single ship and dare challenge my entire Eastern Qin imperial fleet? Arrogance always comes at a price! This is the open sea, not dry land—don’t you dare come crying to this princess for rescue later!”

Jun Beiyue paid her no mind, issuing a sharp command instead. “Full speed ahead!”

The ship truly did surge forward at breakneck speed, and this alone was enough to send an involuntary shiver of fear through the two ships stationed in front of Eastern Qin’s main vessel—had this Prince Yao truly lost his mind?

Did he actually intend to ram them?

After all, they had only two ships, and neither as large as Eastern Qin’s own vessels—should a collision occur, the outcome would certainly be shattered hulls and men thrown overboard. Even if Eastern Qin sacrificed two ships in the process, they would still emerge the clear victor!

And when that happened, there would truly be no one left to save them but Eastern Qin itself!

What kind of man was Jun Beiyue, to devise such a reckless battle strategy?

“Archers, ready!” Xuanyuan Zhaoxi ordered urgently. Despite her earlier confidence, seeing Jun Beiyue’s ship bearing down with such ferocity had shaken her resolve considerably.

At the order, archers on both ships rose as one, ten thousand arrows nocked and ready, all aimed squarely at Jun Beiyue’s ship!

And yet, unexpectedly, there was no resistance at all from Jun Beiyue’s side. On deck stood Jun Beiyue alone, his tall, imposing figure standing firm as though holding up the very sky—it seemed every last guard aboard had gone to help propel the ship forward at maximum speed!

The ship grew faster and faster, charging straight into ten thousand arrows, with not a single guard in sight!

“Madman! What a madman!”

Xuanyuan Zhaoxi instinctively stepped back, shouting furiously, “Fire! Don’t let him get close!”

Though victory seemed all but certain, Xuanyuan Zhaoxi still felt fear creeping in—watching Jun Beiyue’s harsh, cold visage grow ever clearer in the distance, a deep-seated dread rose within her.

After all, this man—this god of war of Da Zhou—had never once lost a battle!

Ten thousand arrows loosed at once, and amid that storm of arrows, Jun Beiyue, sword in one hand, effortlessly cut down every single arrow flying toward him. Having lived and died on the battlefield since the age of fifteen, how could a mere hail of arrows possibly stop him?

As the ship surged forward at ever-increasing speed, one hand clasped behind his back, the other gripping his sword, his handsome face cold and resolute, his brows sharp as blades, he looked exactly like a god descending amid a rain of arrows. The soldiers aboard both warships found their hands trembling at the sight, an involuntary sense of reverence rising within them toward this man charging straight at them—as though they wanted nothing more than to kneel and worship him.

Xuanyuan Zhaoxi was utterly terrified now, shouting, “Jun Beiyue, stop this instant, or when the ships collide, you’ll be the one who suffers the consequences!”

But Jun Beiyue paid her no heed at all, his deep, sea-dark eyes narrowing slowly, the aura of sovereignty radiating from his entire being growing ever more dangerous.

How dare he!

Just one ship, just one man—how could he possibly be so fearlessly confident?

Once the ships collided, once his own ship was destroyed, he wouldn’t even have solid ground to stand on—how dare he be so arrogant!

“All ships behind, fall back one mile at once!” Xuanyuan Zhaoxi ordered coldly. She absolutely would not allow Jun Beiyue to board their ships!

She wanted him to die at sea!

As she spoke, she herself retreated as well, leaving only the two front ships to contend with Jun Beiyue.

Back aboard the main vessel, retreating all the while, she called out coldly, “Jun Beiyue, if you have the nerve, go ahead and ram us. Let me tell you—word of this battle has already been spread across the entire continent of Longyuan. This will be Da Zhou’s very first naval battle, and the King of Nanzhao is surely watching closely!”

These words clearly carried a hidden meaning!

Jun Beiyue understood perfectly well—Xuanyuan Zhaoxi was warning him that the moment he deployed the Jiaoren, the King of Nanzhao would know of it!

The Jiaoren belonged to one of Nanzhao’s three great tribes, and without some extraordinary mission, they never once left Nanzhao’s borders!

And that extraordinary mission could only be the guardianship of the Lone Island’s relics.

How could Jun Beiyue possibly have any connection to the Jiaoren?

Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s words made it plain—she meant to use the King of Nanzhao as leverage against Jun Beiyue!

The moment Jun Beiyue deployed Jiao warriors here, once word got out, the King of Nanzhao would demand an explanation from Jun Beiyue himself, and would demand one from Jiao Cha as well—and by then, the secret of the Lone Island could no longer be concealed at all!

Even as she spoke, Jun Beiyue’s ship had drawn extremely close. The two Eastern Qin ships hadn’t moved at all, and at the speed Jun Beiyue’s ship was traveling, a collision now seemed all but inevitable!

Faced with Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s threat, Jun Beiyue seemed entirely unmoved, the corner of his lips curving into a cold smile.

Seeing this, Xuanyuan Zhaoxi grew frantic. “Jun Beiyue, you wouldn’t dare!”

“See if this prince dares!” Jun Beiyue said coldly, raising a conch shell horn and blowing it three times in succession—hoo! hoo! hoo!—the sound like a charging horn, tremendously stirring and fierce!

The ship showed no sign of stopping at all—if anything, it accelerated even further, charging forward like an arrow. Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s composure shattered entirely, watching in disbelief, and the soldiers aboard her ships were equally panicked, unable to believe the ship bearing down on them was truly real!

It was about to collide—any moment now, any second!

But at that razor’s-edge instant, without warning, two thunderous booms—”Boom! Boom!”—rang out, and both ships suddenly snapped in half at their midsections, splitting apart in an instant as though dragged down by some overwhelming force!

Everyone stood dumbstruck, watching in disbelief as, within mere moments, both great ships broke apart for no apparent reason and sank in silence—the soldiers aboard given no chance whatsoever to escape!

How could this be happening!

And there, opposite them, Jun Beiyue stood with one hand clasped behind his back, the other resting on his sword, which was driven into the deck. Clad entirely in black combat attire, his expression harsh and unyielding, he stood tall and untouchable, like some sea god surveying them from on high, looking down upon them all with utter disdain!

His ship, still at full speed, continued charging straight toward the main vessel!

Everyone froze, no one knowing what to do in that moment!

Someone, no one knew who, suddenly cried out in terror, “Sea monsters! It must be sea monsters!”

Only then did everyone snap back to their senses, and in an instant, chaos erupted across every ship, soldiers fleeing in every direction, thinking only of themselves!

“Retreat! Quickly, retreat!”

Xuanyuan Zhaoxi screamed like a madwoman, never having imagined Jun Beiyue would actually dare, would actually dare deploy the Jiaoren!

Could it be that, at this very moment, there were Jiaoren lurking beneath her own ship’s hull as well?

Could the Jiao at any moment tear straight through her ship’s hull, splitting it clean in two?

At this thought, Xuanyuan Zhaoxi’s face turned deathly pale. “Xuanyuan Lige… Xuanyuan Lige, save me…”

Screaming, she turned and bolted straight toward the prison cell…