Lu Fenglang, locked in the enemy ship’s hold, could think of this, and so could the Prince of Han City!

And this Dongyi naval general, Du Yulang, could naturally think of it as well.

Since they were already going to war with the Great Zhou, Du Yulang planned to use this opportunity to first destroy part of the Great Zhou’s naval forces here, making the Great Zhou’s navy much easier to deal with in the future.

The two armies had already begun exchanging arrows and crossbow bolts. Dongyi naval soldiers, superior in both ship numbers and troop strength to the Great Zhou navy, had entered the water and were diving beneath the sea toward the Great Zhou naval forces.

Du Yulang’s loud shouts carried across the massive waves: “General Huaiyi, General Liuhu, I command you two to each lead a naval squadron and circle left and right to pursue the Great Zhou envoy ship. You must… sink that ship to ensure the Seventh Prince has absolutely no chance of survival! Kill gods if gods block you! Kill demons if demons obstruct you! If you fail, come see me with your heads!”

“This subordinate accepts the order!”

“This subordinate accepts the order!”

Soon, two Dongyi generals received their orders and departed, leading their forces around the Great Zhou navy to pursue the Great Zhou envoy ship.

Du Yulang had already secured ropes from his body to the large ship’s railing, gripping the handrail tightly with both hands to barely stabilize himself. Seeing the Prince of Han City on the main warship of the opposing Great Zhou naval fleet, he grabbed a nearby archer and pointed toward the Prince of Han City: “Shoot him for me! Kill their commander… and you’ll have the first merit!”

But not only was the distance between both sides considerable, but the warships also swayed back and forth on the surface, making aiming inherently difficult. The archer’s arrow missed its mark, but it gave Cheng Yuanzhi a warning.

Cheng Yuanzhi grabbed the Prince of Han City and pulled him down, saying: “Prince of Han City, this isn’t how you fight a battle! You’re the commander! You shouldn’t stand in the most dangerous place—go to the rear and give orders!”

After all, in Cheng Yuanzhi’s eyes, the Prince of Han City wasn’t their Little Marshal Bai. Their Little Marshal Bai’s keen sense for danger on the battlefield was a natural talent that others couldn’t learn…

“General Cheng!” The Prince of Han City gripped Cheng Yuanzhi’s shoulder, looked up at his guards, then forcefully squeezed Cheng Yuanzhi’s shoulder and spoke to him: “Today, Dongyi probably deliberately wants to fight with our Great Zhou! The enemy has many ships and soldiers, while we have few ships and men. This Prince can only try his best to delay for a time!”

The Prince of Han City placed a gold medallion in Cheng Yuanzhi’s chest, saying solemnly, “This is the gold medallion His Majesty gave. General Cheng, take it back for this Prince! If… if this Prince cannot return today! Please, General Cheng, help care for this Prince’s wife! Tell His Majesty… Prince of Han City Xiao Ruxing has failed His Majesty’s trust. I bid farewell to His Majesty, and in the next life… I will serve His Majesty again!”

Today, unless they fought to the death, they could not delay the Dongyi forces. Not only would the Great Zhou envoy ship be unable to escape, but even the fishing boats would have no way to return.

This vast sea stretched endlessly with no cover. If no one reported back to Great Zhou about Dongyi’s declaration of war, Great Zhou would inevitably be caught completely off guard, and the coastal people would probably not survive! The Prince of Han City could not let such a thing happen!

So today, the Prince of Han City… would fight to the death!

Cheng Yuanzhi looked at the Prince of Han City before him, whose round face was covered in sweat but whose expression was resolute. Just as he was about to open his throat and curse the Prince of Han City for talking nonsense, the Prince’s guards knocked Cheng Yuanzhi unconscious.

The Prince of Han City, who usually appeared gentle and weak, now… summoned the courage he once had when surrendering on his father’s behalf, willing to sacrifice his life for the coastal people! Willing to sacrifice his life for the Great Zhou! Willing to sacrifice his life for… the Majesty he recognized, Bai Qingyan!

“Have someone take General Cheng away quickly!” the Prince of Han City said to his guards.

“Yes!” The Prince’s guards accepted the order.

“Report! Dongyi’s naval forces have split into two routes, left and right, attempting to circle our army!”

Seeing Cheng Yuanzhi being carried away, the Prince of Han City gripped his sword hilt tightly and stood up, turning to see the Dongyi fleet divided into three groups. One group was engaged in battle with them, while the other two were circling—he didn’t know whether they planned to surround his navy from behind, pursue the Great Zhou envoy ship, or slaughter the Great Zhou fishermen.

Whatever it was, the Prince of Han City could not let such a thing happen!

“Signal orders: General Dong leads one squadron to block the left side Dongyi naval forces! General Huang leads one squadron to block the right side Dongyi naval forces!” After giving orders, the Prince of Han City turned to look at the messenger: “Tell both generals that even if they all die in battle! They absolutely cannot let a single Dongyi naval ship catch up to the fishermen and the Great Zhou envoy ship!”

“Yes!” The messenger immediately dispatched someone to relay the orders.

Seeing enemy soldiers boarding their ship, a soldier shouted at the top of his lungs: “Enemy soldiers boarding! Enemy soldiers boarding!”

Alarmed cries came from the naval soldiers on the main warship, immediately followed by the sounds of clashing weapons and battle cries and screams!

The Prince of Han City gripped the handrail forcefully, his deep voice penetrating the sounds of killing and waves: “Enemy forces in the water! All ships be on guard! Archers, use fire arrows!”

The Great Zhou navy, already at a numerical disadvantage, split into three parts, both to prevent being surrounded and to prevent Dongyi naval forces from catching up to the Great Zhou fishermen and envoys. Two flanks blocked the Dongyi navy’s path while the Prince of Han City’s group engaged Dongyi head-on. Their goal was not to break through, but to use flesh and blood to build a high wall.

Fighting many with few while also dispersing forces was a great taboo!

But in this battle, the Prince of Han City sought to delay for time, preferring death in battle over survival, determined that it was better to be shattered jade than intact tiles, and to block Dongyi’s steps toward Great Zhou.

The Prince of Han City’s torch-like eyes stared at the opposing Dongyi naval forces with their imposing momentum, shouting: “Today! Great Zhou navy! Fight to the death!”

The Great Zhou naval forces on the main warship, inspired by the Prince of Han City, all shouted: “Fight to the death!”

For the Prince of Han City, he had never received affirmation, trust, or opportunity from his father, the emperor, in his entire life. All of these had been given to him by Bai Qingyan, so… he was willing to go through fire and water for Bai Qingyan, sparing no cost! For the coastal fishermen and people, he had no regrets even if it meant a hundred deaths!

Fire arrows carrying oil struck enemy ships, and the oil spread even faster on the water-moistened hull. Blue, dark flames quietly meandered and slowly gnawed at the heavy ship’s body and deck. Soldiers ran back and forth on deck, hurriedly trampling through pools of blood, but could not extinguish these small blue flames. After the flames dimmed, they spread even faster, secretly burning the wooden planks and building strength until they had accumulated enough power. The flames immediately shot up… baring fangs and claws to devour the water-soaked ship hull and even the soldiers!

The east was experiencing sunrise, with golden flowing clouds filling the sky and the peaceful unity of sea and sky.

But with the two armies fighting north and south on this vast, tranquil sea, in this small battlefield world, fire arrows fell like rain, and large ships on both the southern and northern sides were already blazing with flames.

The Great Zhou navy’s desperate resistance and the Dongyi navy’s fierce fighting had turned this small patch of sea on the boundless ocean into a place where, aside from flames, broken wood, and arrows floated everywhere, along with the corpses of both armies’ naval forces.