Chapter 4427 — Nearly Wiped Out
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Bang! Sailboat No. 1 abruptly shifted course and accelerated, driving straight into the flank of Sailboat No. 5 with the terrifying air of a man who would either kill you or kill himself trying.
In other respects he might be lacking, but when it came to ramming ships, Wang Baitiao's skill was absolutely peerless. He had once made his living at it—not only during his pirate days, but even after he joined the Four Seas Escort Agency as an escort, he had sunk no small number of other vessels, only by then the targets had become pirates.
Wei Zhao had barely found his footing, and this blow nearly cost him dearly; thanks to the jade pendant's timely warning, he managed at the last moment to adjust the boat's position. Otherwise, given the ferocity of the charge, had the flank truly been struck, the ship would not merely have been cut in two—capsizing was a certainty.
Even so, Wei Zhao's Sailboat No. 5 was forcibly knocked off the safe route, nearly slamming headlong into a hidden reef not far off, and the outcome needed no imagining.
With Wei Zhao's somewhat unpolished seamanship, merely holding the course steady in such circumstances was already remarkable—yet Wang Baitiao had no intention of letting him off so easily. If once would not do, then twice; if twice would not do, then three times.
Given their respective positions, Wang Baitiao held absolute initiative on his side; Wei Zhao, out in front, had not even the chance to strike back, and could only suffer his battering.
Bang! The hull shuddered again. Because he had been prepared this time, it was not quite so catching-him-off-guard as before, though it was hardly any more pleasant.
"Tired of living!" A murderous chill flashed in Wei Zhao's eyes. Anyone else in his position would by now have settled on the only answer—speed up and shake off the pursuer. But on this utterly unfamiliar and peril-ridden sea route, raising speed at any cost was no different from courting death.
In fact, this was precisely what Wang Baitiao was counting on. In his eyes, Sailboat No. 5 had only two choices: be rammed and sunk by him, or speed up to escape him—and either way, death was unavoidable.
What he did not know was that Wei Zhao in fact had a third choice—simply leap across onto his ship. And kill Wang Baitiao!
For Wei Zhao, killing a Golden Core expert was about as simple a matter as could be. Once it was done, if his Sailboat No. 5 remained intact, he would leap back and carry on with the race; if it had come to grief, then he would simply take Sailboat No. 1 and sail home in it.
After all, the race judged the man, not the boat. So long as Wei Zhao returned safely, the Sky-Supporting Escort Agency would still score.
Here Wang Baitiao was still gloating, believing he had driven Wei Zhao into a dead end, never suspecting that it was he himself who stood before the gates of hell—the moment Wei Zhao made his move, he would be reporting to the King of Hell.
Full of confidence, Wang Baitiao launched his third ramming charge, and just as it seemed the blow would land, he saw Sailboat No. 5 ahead suddenly swing its sail—it had changed course, heading straight off to the right.
"Trying to run?!" Wang Baitiao's eyelid twitched, and he instinctively made to chase—then suddenly started in alarm. By the safe route he had scouted earlier, this was the point where one absolutely had to turn left!
Going right was not entirely impossible, but when he had scouted it, even a small boat had barely been able to get through, let alone a large sailboat like this—there was no chance of passing safely. The left, by contrast, was far more open.
"Hmph—well, since you're dead either way, I'll let you off and leave you to fend for yourself." Wang Baitiao cursed and grumbled with considerable regret, then swung his bow to the left. After all, he could hardly sink Wei Zhao at the cost of burying himself alongside him.