"Gunners, ready! Bow cannon, aim at the largest ship—consider it target practice. There's no avoiding battle on the journey ahead! "Chengying put down the sextant and issued his command to the gunners.
The World's End was enormous. In addition to its eighty heavy cannons mounted along the broadside, both the bow and stern were also equipped with four of the largest caliber main guns.
The barrels were crafted from magically forged metal materials refined by Tang Chen himself, each painstakingly bored out on a lathe. Every single one was worth a fortune—far more than any pure copper cannon—but the destructive power spoke for itself.
They used breech-loading mechanisms, with primer and shell integrated into a single unit, enabling extremely fast reloads. These weapons were nearly on par with World War I artillery—only missing a hydraulic recoil system. But since recoil dampening is mainly for precision on land, it had limited use in naval warfare.
With Soul Masters involved and Chengying's experience, such anachronistic yet powerful weapons—more like handmade works of art—could be forcibly created, even if they couldn't be mass-produced. This resembled the soul tools of the second series: devices so intricate they required soul engineers to exhaust themselves just to build one, making their practical use limited.
Still, while such creations couldn't shift the course of history, they clearly illuminated the path forward.
With Chengying's order, more than ten experienced gunners hoisted conical shells as thick as an adult's calf into the breech, sealed the locking mechanisms, adjusted the angles, and used the scale markings to aim at the fast-escaping pirate flagship.
"You've always been curious about the power of these cannons, right? Now's your chance to see for yourselves." With that, Chengying led his disciples up to the ship's tower, giving them a clear view from above.
The next moment, flames erupted from the barrels, followed by a thunderous boom. The roar of cannon fire startled the seagulls perched along the gunwales, and in the blink of an eye, the shells struck the distant sea surface, throwing up towering plumes of water.
Out of four shots, three splashed into the water, but one struck the side of Shao Shang's flagship. Splinters flew. The tough wooden hull was no match for the shell, which blew a gaping hole straight through both sides of the pirate ship.
Shao Shang, who had been frantically ordering his crew to row, stood frozen in disbelief. That single shot had the power of a Soul King's full strike—it would've left a huge crater if it landed on land.
His ship used a rudimentary keel structure and lacked watertight compartments. The blast caused it to leak uncontrollably. Enraged, he cursed, "Damn it! What the hell is that thing?! You pigs, plug that hole—use anything! If you can't fix it, shove a body in there! If the ship sinks, we all die! "
He was certain the attacker wasn't a Soul King—none of them could hit a target at that distance. Not even a Soul Emperor. Only a Soul Sage with a special martial spirit might manage such a feat. He had clearly run into a monster... No, more like an alloy-plated monster.
Just as he was debating whether to abandon ship, another volley of four shells roared in. They all missed, but two landed so close they practically skimmed the hull. At this firing rate, it wouldn't be long before the ship was turned into a sieve.
Seeing no hope of escape, Shao Shang stared in horror at the cannon blazing fire on the enemy ship's bow. That thing was a monster in itself. Jumping ship was his only option.
His martial spirit was a giant deep-sea squid. Unlike other beast spirits that enhanced the body, his was detached from him. This was the key to his success at sea—his spirit could flip enemy ships underwater with ease. And now, it was his only hope of survival.
Without hesitation, he jumped into the ocean. The squid wrapped a tentacle around him, expelled a massive cloud of ink, and launched them both toward the ocean floor.
As long as he reached deep water, with his ability to breathe through his skin, even a Soul Sage would struggle to capture him.
But fate can be cruel. A giant deep-sea squid was far too obvious a target. There was no way the bow gunners didn't see it, and they were more than happy to oblige.
Technically, the squid was smaller than a ship and harder to hit. But cannonball trajectories have a random factor. Unfortunately for Shao Shang, just as they started to dive, a shell slammed directly into the squid's eye.
The terrifying kinetic energy from the impact instantly destroyed Shao Shang's martial spirit. The backlash surged into his body, and he vomited blood on the spot.
Though the destruction of his spirit wouldn't kill him outright, it left him gravely wounded. A martial spirit is a vital organ of the body. Desperate to flee deeper, he found his injured body uncooperative—he could only float like a dead fish on the water's surface.
"Huh? Their aim's pretty good! They blasted that squid from way out here. Wonder if it was a spirit beast or a martial spirit. If it was a spirit beast, what a waste." Chengying clicked his tongue, sounding almost nostalgic—thinking of grilled squid skewers from his previous life.
Different people had different reactions to the scene. Tang Chen marveled at the weapon's terrifying power and how it could be operated by ordinary people—promising for the common folk.
Zhao Tianxiang recalled the "Phantom" rifle Chengying once brought out. Supposedly, the teacher still had three more sniper rifles: Aurora, Furnace, and Glacier. Yet none could match the range of these cannons.
Meng Shu's mind was blank. He'd subconsciously started calculating parabolic trajectories—and still hadn't finished.
Dugu Bo, expressionless, muttered, "The gunners really are better at geometry than Meng Shu."
Meng Shu: "…"
It's not because I'm dumb! I've only been learning this for two weeks!
"Take the ship over and check if he's still alive. If he is, fish him up—I could use him," Chengying instructed the sailors. Normally, he didn't concern himself with the sailing itself—just course plotting. Leave the technical stuff to the professionals.
But the current first mate was more suited for river sailing than open sea. In contrast, a pirate captain who could command a fleet of over twenty ships surely had superior navigation skills. If he survived, he might make a decent helmsman.
With the sextant determining latitude and the compass showing direction, it wasn't likely the ship would drift off course. Incidentally, since Chengying lacked a precise chronometer, he couldn't determine true noon. So, when using the sextant, he relied on the North Star at night.
The North Star isn't exclusive to Earth—it exists on any rotating planet, appearing fixed in the night sky. Measuring its angle relative to the horizon or a vertical line gives a good estimate of latitude.
With a rough idea of their location at sea, Chengying wasn't afraid of the man playing any tricks. And besides, someone who became a pirate likely wasn't overflowing with pride or integrity.
As these thoughts passed through his mind, the World's End arrived beside Shao Shang, who floated like a dead fish. Their eyes met—and the scene was awkward beyond words.