Chapter 4637 — Wei Zhao Takes the Helm

While Wei Zhao was conferring with the ghost creature, the others were locked in fierce, overlapping argument. Everyone knew there was sense in Lan Tieshan's words, but that sense rested on one premise: that their own strength was sufficient. What if the enemy were far stronger than they? To stay here, then, would be to sit and wait for death.

Yet they all knew, too, that no amount of argument would settle anything. The final say rested with Wei Zhao, the special envoy—unless they meant to betray the North Island Tri-Pagoda Pavilion, his word had to stand as absolute law, beyond even the reach of Gongyang Jun or Lan Tieshan.

Having heard the ghost creature out, Wei Zhao weighed the options swiftly in his mind and then decided. "We sail. We run."

The clamor died in an instant. Everyone stared, dumbfounded, at Wei Zhao—even those who had been quietly edging toward flight had never imagined he would choose this.

"No. We are far too close. Running now will only expose more weakness. And there is sea mist everywhere—we cannot even tell what surrounds us, so how do we run?" Lan Tieshan objected at once.

Beside him, Gongyang Jun frowned slightly and said nothing, while more than half the company nodded and murmured agreement. This was no battlefield, true, but desertion in the face of the enemy looked like folly from any angle: it surrendered the initiative outright and left little chance of striking back. It would only inflate the enemy's arrogance and make them bolder still—and their end would be the worse for it.

The mist was the crux. If the line of retreat were clear, flight might be acceptable; with enough speed they could shake off pursuit. But now the fog lay thick on every side, and earlier they had not dared to stir so much as an inch. To flee at full speed now—was that not gambling with their lives?

And if it was to be a gamble either way, better to die with blades drawn and faces seen than to perish senselessly out on the water.

Seeing the divided reaction, Shangguan Lan'er suddenly stepped forward. "Be quiet, all of you. My junior brother is the envoy appointed by my grandfather. How this ship moves is his alone to decide. Anyone who dares to sow doubt and disturb the crew will be treated as a traitor to the North Island Tri-Pagoda Pavilion!"

Silence fell at once. Even Lan Tieshan, who had led the objection, glanced at Shangguan Lan'er's expression and then chose silence with a complicated look. He was, after all, Shangguan Tianxia's trusted man; he could hardly be the first to defy the princess of the Soaring Heaven Pavilion.

At that, Wei Zhao glanced at Shangguan Lan'er in surprise. For all that the girl was usually artless and bright, at a moment like this she showed real mettle—a trace of Shangguan Tianxia's authority could be glimpsed in her. She had grown up steeped in it, after all. This little senior sister was no simple creature.

There was no time to waste. Seeing that everyone had the good sense to hold their tongues, Wei Zhao said not another word and led the way into the wheelhouse. The rest followed one after another, watching tensely to see how he meant to meet the crisis.

The wheelhouse of this giant treasure ship was nothing like that of an ordinary vessel. Within one vast space stood a dozen or more control stations, each governing its own array. Only specially trained professionals could operate them.

"I will do it." Wei Zhao walked to the central master station and gestured for the helmsman to step aside. The company was struck dumb—he meant to take the helm himself?

This was no joking matter. To steer a colossal treasure ship, one had to undergo rigorous professional training beforehand; without it, even veteran helmsmen would be utterly lost. A ship was a ship, but a treasure ship and an ordinary seagoing vessel were two entirely different things.

"Er... Envoy Lin... this is not like a sea ship..." the helmsman ventured timidly.

"I know. That is why the rest of the controls stay with you. I will handle direction alone. From here on, follow my orders." Wei Zhao took charge of the master station without a shred of hesitation.

"Oh. Oh." Seeing his resolve, the helmsman, though far from reassured, could only hurry aside. To stand there arguing would waste the moment—and if he provoked the man into pinning a charge of betraying North Island on him, he was a dead man.

The helmsman's heart quaked, and the rest were sick with anxiety—but at such a time none dared speak another word.

"The enemy is ten zhang off!" Gongyang Jun's voice rang out suddenly, startling them all over again. At ten zhang they could already make out rough outlines; if the treasure ship had no defensive array mounted outside, the enemy could simply leap across.

Wei Zhao paid it no mind. Unhurriedly he tested the control lever, then said in a low, steady voice, "Full speed!"

The operators at the various stations started at the words. Unlike ordinary vessels, which relied chiefly on the sea wind, this treasure ship drew its power from arrays; given ample spiritual energy, its speed could be driven to the utmost within mere breaths—an advantage no other ship could match.

But the mist lay thick all around, and they could not tell sea from island ahead, let alone hidden reefs. Was this not courting death?

Yet Wei Zhao's tone brooked no hesitation, and none dared falter. They flung the arrays to full power—and at once every soul aboard staggered, for the brute acceleration of the giant treasure ship was no trifling thing.

Wei Zhao, by contrast, stood stern-faced, eyes fixed on the water ahead. Though nothing at all could be seen beyond ten zhang, he carried himself as though he could. A moment later, as if something had come to him, he wrenched the helm hard to port.

"No! Not that way! There is a great field of reefs ahead—we cannot go that way, it is too dangerous!" The helmsman leapt up in alarm.

He had steered on the last several voyages to West Island and knew this route somewhat. The treasure ship's hull was stout enough for ordinary reefs, but a multitude of them could still do irreparable damage—especially at this breakneck speed, when even the defensive array might give way and shatter outright.

At the helmsman's terror the others caught their breath as well. Watching Wei Zhao's pose—calm on the surface, reckless beneath—they could not help feeling they had boarded a pirate ship. Were they all to die at this fellow's hands?

But it was too late now for regrets. Not only did no one dare object—no one dared so much as breathe too loudly, for fear of upsetting Wei Zhao's judgment! (To be continued..)