Chapter 664-Using Money to Redeem Life
Translator: ryangohsf
Editor: Nora
10 AM, the navy units in charge of monitoring the four battle groups each sent back the news that no small boats had broken away.
Most of the small boats followed the ‘script’ and gathered toward the 5th battle group.
When Zheng He received the news, he let out a long sigh of relief. Obviously, he could not hope that the enemy would 100% rush to gather with the 5th battle group. To prevent accidents, he arranged the navy unit to monitor the enemy.
If some smart soldiers tried to escape, the navy unit would stopped them. The entire plan was watertight.
"Send down my orders; prepare to reel in the net."
"Yes!"
In terms of ocean communication, the Feng Birds from the Military Intelligence Division were not safe. One storm would blow these little fellows away. Hence, the voyage squadron similarly used tamed seagulls.
After rturning from Atlantis, Ouyang Shuo also brought back a new mysterious communication tool; it was a communication conch. The Atlantis people carved mystical patterns on the inside of the conch, placing a green magnetic ohlite inside, and turning it into a short distance communication tool.
Within one thousand nautical miles, they could clearly send and receive information.
Regretfully, it could only be used at sea. If useable on land, it could reach a radius of 10 kilometers.
If not, in a wilderness where all communication channels were blocked, the communication conch would be a killer weapon.
Amongst the treasures that the Divine Martial Guards had gathered, there were hundreds of these. Ouyang Shuo kept two and was ready to give them to Bing'er. She would definitely like this item.
As for the remaining ones, Ouyang Shuo handed them all over to Zheng He.
……
After the order was given, the four navy units swiftly pushed forward.
Meanwhile, the current Spanish Squadron was nervously sailing toward land under the protection of the 5th battle group. 20 odd Spanish galleons gathered six thousand boats around them.
Just at this moment, a roar sounded from above the squadron.
Looking up, they could only see a dolphin looking flying device.
"What's that, is that a dolphin or a plane?" The mouths of the players gaped open.
"Oh my god!"
"Is that the enemy's scouting drone?" someone asked uncertainly.
"Scouting drone? What a joke, with how backward they are?" Some people did not believe it, "The backward easterners are still using such cumbersome cannons, how could they build planes?"
Cough. Someone reminded them, "Do not forget, Qiyue Wuyi completed the Lost City of Atlantis Storyline Quest. Just because easterners cannot make it does not mean that the Atlantis people could not."
"...."
The players instantly fell mute.
"Who cares? He definitely has nefarious intentions; shoot it down!" Pepe said.
"That's right blow his mother; let’s see if he still dares to be so arrogant." someone agreed.
The Lord players at the side looked at these two players like they were looking at idiots.
"Why?" Pepe felt annoyed and rushed, "Quickly order them to fire!"
An older Lord simply could not watch on, face palming, "Brother, do you think this is real life? Which cannon has the ability to shoot a plane hundreds of meters up int the air?"
One must know that the modern-day world only developed the first anti-aircraft in the 20th century. Trying to use a 16th century cannon to attack something in the air? It would not even hit a balloon.
"How would we know if we do not try?" Pepe was a stubborn and inflexible person.
"Then I'll try and let you give up."
"Fire!"
As he ordered, the cannons fired in unison.
The results were obvious; it was useless. After all, the 16th century cannons used solid cannonballs. They flew out of the barrel, flying less than 200 meters, forming an arc, before starting to fall.
From its direction, it was about to fall onto the surrounding boats.
"Dodge!" someone exclaimed.
"**!" some people scolded out.
It was too late; the cannonball fell toward the boats at a shocking speed. Then, it blew open a gaping hole. Instantly, three boats were destroyed, and hundreds of people died.
The Spanish people wanted to cry but no tears would come out. Meanwhile, Pepe felt a little embarrassed.
"Whose mother ordered to fire? I'll kill you!" The players who survived scolded, their hearts had nearly jumped out from fear.
"Forget it!" The Spanish players gave up hope.
……
Above the squadron, Ouyang Shuo was sitting within the cabin of the mimicry flying device. When he saw the enemy cannonballs fall into their own formation, he could not help but laugh.
"The Spanish truly are innovative!" As he spoke, he took out the communication conch and ordered, "Go to your respective stations. The target is in place."
……
11 AM, under Ouyang Shuo's commands, the voyage squadron finally caught up and formed an airtight encirclement.
On the vast horizon appeared the golden dragon flag, eye-catching under the sun.
"It's the voyage squadron!" The Spanish players were in an uproar.
Everything was revealed, and the soldiers were filled with despair.
The sun hung high overhead, its rays shining down.
The hearts of the Spanish turned cold.
"The Invincible Squadron is finished!"
Alvaro closed his eyes, unable to watch the calamity that was going to strike them.
"What are you afraid of? We still have 20 galleons; we can fight." Pepe was a true warmonger; he did not know what fear was.
"How do we fight? Just one round of cannon fire can flip all the boats around us."
"But we cannot wait and do nothing! Killing one of them is killing one!"
"That's right. We are not cowards; we will fight to the end!" During this desperate time, the Spanish did not humiliate the glory of their ancestors, and they still had some spine.
Just as they decided to go all out, Ouyang Shuo's voice sounded out from above them.
"Players below listen up, you have all been surrounded. There's no need for useless struggles. Otherwise, do not blame me for killing all of you. We have no intentions of fighting with your country to the end. As for how this country war started, you all know. We had no intentions of starting a conflict, but we cannot allow others to step on our dignity. From this moment onward, as long as you all surrender, we will allow you to use gold to redeem your lives."
"This...."
The Spanish players all looked at one another.
Humans were just like that; if they had no way out, they would risk their lives and go all out. But if they heard that there was a chance available, this determination would immediately fade.
Even Pepe fell silent. He had a substitute doll on him. Naturally, he was not afraid of death. However, as a guild leader, he had to consider the lives of his men.
Pepe decided to try his luck and loudly spoke, "You are the Lianzhou Lord, right? How do we redeem ourselves?"
"Each player, regardless of level, identity, or status, 200 gold." Ouyang Shuo did not want to put in the effort to distinguish the normal players from Lords or guild leaders.
If this was before the achievement value exchange event, players would not be able to afford such a sum. However, now was different, they just needed to grit their teeth and pay the gold.
In comparison, 200 gold was far better than facing death and being forced to revive.
"What are your thoughts?" Pepe asked the other elders.
"I think it's okay. China has an olden phrase, ‘If we leave the forest, we do not need to be afraid of lacking enough timber to burn.’ Shanhai City burned us today, but one day, we will give them twice back."
"Well said!"
"What about the natives? Can we redeem them with money?" some of the Lords asked.
Pepe nodded, raising his head and asking, "How much gold for one native person?"
"In my eyes, you are all the same, 200 gold per person." Ouyang Shuo proclaimed slowly and confidently.
"You're pretty much ripping us off!"
Many of the Lords were unhappy. Players reviving had huge penalties, so 200 gold for one was still okay. But NPCs? Training one soldier would cost no more than 50 gold.
When Ouyang Shuo saw their reactions, he smiled. In truth, he did not plan on letting the Spanish NPCs go back intact. If he allowed that, they would be releasing the tiger back into the mountains.
He loved money, but he obviously knew what was more important.
Moreover, him letting the Spanish go was not purely because of greed for money. If Shanhai City wanted to open long-distance trade, they could not completely destroy this relationship.
If he truly killed this entire batch of players, both sides would end up in an irreparable state.
This was without mentioning whether Shanhai City could take down Spain or not. Even if they could, they could not take action. The moment they tried, not only the countries in the Mediterranean, even the entirety of Europe would act.
On this point, Europe was incredibly united; they would not allow outsiders to invade them.
Hence, in dealing with the Spanish problem, Ouyang Shuo needed to think carefully. Everything they did had to be logical so that the other countries could not find fault with them.
"Lianzhou Lord, there's no room for discussion?"
"No room." Ouyang Shuo's attitude remained resolute, "Those willing to pay, sail your small boats to the north to deal. If not, stay here. If you're willing to join Shanhai City, I'll welcome you!"
"...."
Black lines appeared on the foreheads of the Spanish players. They had never seen such despicable people, poaching people in front of them. When the native soldiers and sailors heard these words, their eyes gleamed and their expressions turned weird.
Pepe laughed awkwardly, "Brothers, since the situation is like this, let's decide for ourselves!"