Lord of Winter: Beginning with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 625 - 367: Schemes on Both Sides (2)

The island was lit only by dim lamps, the firelight covered by canvas, and the sailors lowered their voices, as if silently awaiting some kind of ritual.

Some were sharpening their knives on the deck, while others hung fish bones in front of the mast, praying to the Sea God, without any noise.

They were usually boisterous, could get drunk to the point of being dazed, or fight over a piece of bread, but at this moment, each person knew exactly what they should do.

The gleam of blades flickered in the flames, and no one cracked a joke anymore.

This was the time they prepared for life and death, all indulgence and rawness collected at this moment.

They believed unconditionally in this mad king.

After all, countless times of pillaging, his intelligence was always accurate, each gamble with their lives always yielded a whole cabin of spoils.

Even though the sea surface was empty now, with no shadow of an enemy in sight, still no one doubted.

Thirty-seven black-sailed ships were silent in the mist, only the low roar of waves crashing against rocks.

Louis stood at the helm of the Wave Eater, the metal prosthetic jaw glinting faintly.

He could hear the suppressed murmurs and quick breaths from the lower deck, the panting before a beast pounced.

The map unfolded in Louis’s mind, tides, wind direction, and ship spacing were all calculated.

The plan devised over two months was set to harvest tonight.

Before dawn, three escort ships of Red Tide finally appeared at the entrance of the Tide Rift.

Their sails were faintly visible in the fog, with the emblem flags of Red Tide hanging from their masts.

Further behind them were seven convoy escort ships patrolling scattered, forming a thin but changing defense line.

Louis squinted, gazing at the rhythm of that route, the corner of his mouth slightly lifted.

He did not fear those escort ships.

Thirty-seven ambushed black sails were enough to suppress the firepower of these ten enemy ships, not to mention the countless successful raids beforehand had assured him he had never miscalculated.

As soon as the order was given, the prey would fall into the net.

At the tail of the escort fleet, a line of cargo ships was slowly entering, the true target, carrying precious cargo.

The sound of the horn spread from the Wave Eater, deep and rhythmic.

Almost simultaneously, semaphore flags rose atop each ship’s mast, the commander gestured in all directions to confirm the order transmitted.

This was the order to attack, the seventeen hidden black sail ships awoke all at once.

The entire fleet moved like a beast pulled by strings, the sea surface stirred with a dense shimmering wave.

And three fireboats dashed first out of the shadows, like arrows rushing toward their target.

According to Louis’s deployment, the three vanguard fireboats were not to face the enemy head-on.

But rather engage from the flanks, while the escort ships were distracted by the firelight, darting straight at the cargo ships, overturning their route, then set fire to block, creating chaos.

That was the mad king’s most adept hunt, disrupting the formation, using burning fear to devour the enemy’s order.

The pirates’ eyes flickered in the firelight, unable to suppress their excitement, muttering curses, licking their lips, as though smelling the scent of money and blood.

"The long-awaited has finally come." A sailor chuckled under their breath, gripping their knife handle tightly.

All knew once the fire started, this deal could feed them for a whole year.

All hearts betting their lives were ignited by the phantom of spoils.

Louis stood at the rail, the corner of his mouth slowly curved upward, like a hunter waiting for the trap to snap shut.

As the fireboats swiftly drew near, shark petroleum was poured into the sea.

In the next instant, the sea surface flared with orange-red light.

The flames soared, tongues of fire licked at the fog wall, like a burning giant snake.

The Red Tide escort ships were trapped within, the explosions deafening, the night sky ripped open.

Three escort ships were hit consecutively, deck armor blown apart creating breaches, the hulls began to tilt.

The pirates threw Magic Explosion Bullets for additional attacks, the blasts on the sea surface consecutively sparked firework.

In just a few breaths, the three escort ships had been shattered to pieces.

Of course, Louis did not order to continue pounding, Magic Explosion Bullets were too precious, without absolute certainty, he never wasted them lightly.

Roaring cheers surged to the heavens: "Long live the mad king!"

They howled, as though victory was within reach.

Louis’s laughter swept through the wind and waves, cold and insane, upon this burning sea of night, he believed this time would be his rebirth.

However, the calm sea surface suddenly changed.

Buoys in the mist suddenly lit up with a red light, one after another, drawing regular arcs across the sea surface.

Soon after, explosions rang out in succession, shaking the wooden planks and causing the ropes to jump wildly.

The ambushing ships immediately lost balance: ten were directly blown over in the first wave of impact, turning into overturned shells, with black oil quickly spreading across the water surface.

The shockwave from the explosion stirred up the sea waves, accompanied by heart-wrenching screams.

Some were catapulted off the deck, landing in the oil-soaked sea, immediately emitting brief screams, the sound swallowed by the flames, while others were hooked by broken iron hooks snagging their collars, pulling them into the burning water.

From the bottom of the cabin came the sounds of painful pounding and cries for help, someone constantly pounding on the wood and shouting, "Let me out!"

But the only response was the echoes of the waves and explosions.

Meanwhile, the flames spread along the waves, illuminating their terrified faces.

And on the distant Dawn, Louis was watching the chaotic sea with a telescope.

The explosion’s light reflected on his face, yet his expression remained as calm as ever, his fingers tapping lightly on the telescope tube, as if he were counting.

The sea breeze beside him blew the edges of his cloak, the firelight casting clear outlines in his eyes.

"Hit rate is ideal," he said calmly.

This was Hillco’s design "Thunder Shock Formation," an alchemy buoy system set according to the tidal flow direction.

Each node can resonate in a chain, forming an explosive link once triggered.

The mad king’s fleet formation was too dense, he personally sent the ships into the minefield.

Of course, these were not temporary deployments.

As early as half a month ago, Louis had foreseen from the Daily Intelligence System that Kavier would launch an attack on the Crack Tide Belt, so he ordered people to quietly lay this layer of killing arrangements under the sea.

Those buoys, hidden markers, and fuses, all were buried beneath the tides, silently waiting until this night.

Even those three frigates were specially built as bait, with no one inside.

Louis nodded, put away the telescope, his gaze still directed towards the fiery sea in the distance: "Not bad."

Within ten minutes, those ten ships were completely destroyed.

And survivors on nearby ships threw down ropes, some caught them, while others were swept away by the wave of fire before reaching them.

More pirates stood at the ship’s edge, too afraid to approach, only able to watch helplessly as their brothers on the sea were engulfed.

The air was filled with the smell of tar, blood, and burning, even breathing carried a stench.

All this happened very quickly, as if pressed fast-forward by some unseen hand.

The debris and corpses floating on the sea tore the once confident atmosphere into silence.

"Damn it! It’s a trap!" the adjutant screamed.

Kavier gripped the railing tightly, his eyes suddenly cold.

He knew it was a trap, yet couldn’t believe it, this plan he had meticulously devised, no one knew the details except him.

How could anyone have ambushed them in advance?!

Kavier’s anger and unease churned in his chest, as if about to tear through his heart.

The Dawn frigate suddenly turned around, its armor unfolding to reveal a barrage of cannons.

The next second, cannonballs reversed with the sea breeze.

Hidden swivel guns fired upwards from below, the artillery raining down, sinking yet another half-destroyed black sail.

Kavier clenched his teeth to suppress shock and anger, muttering quietly, "Calm down... it’s not over yet."

Panic was forcibly suppressed, he suddenly turned and bellowed, "Continue releasing shark petroleum! Deploy smoke screens! Adjust formation, flank them! Initiate the second wave attack!"

The vice ship immediately tilted oil, the fire curtain rose, orange smoke rolling and spreading.

Even with the loss of eleven ships, Kavier still judged the situation with his experience, preparing to forcefully break through.

The seawall collapsed amidst the roar, seawater poured into the harbor, the firelight illuminating his silhouette.

Kavier still believed that with his skill, this battle could still be won.

Soon all the black sailboats raised their sails, charging towards those few old cargo ships.

These were not new recruits, but seasoned pirates, although their side had lost nearly a third of their strength, such a scene was not enough to make their legs go weak.

The pirates nimbly attached winches, stabilized their ships, and hooked the sides of the cargo ships’ rails using short ropes, some even prepared planks in advance to board the deck wave after wave.