Chapter 100

The sound of cannon fire echoed, and from the battle situation, Lin Qing quickly judged that the Li family fleet was at a comprehensive disadvantage.

The enemy's ironclad ships, even when hit by cannon fire, remained unmoved, continuing to advance in a T-formation like a pack of iron-headed wolves pouncing on a flock of sheep resting in the darkness. They cut through the Li family fleet while using the densely packed heavy cannons to fire fiercely on both sides, causing splinters to fly, masts to break, and flames to rise, with cries of agony filling the air!

This overwhelming superiority in overall strength was completely unresolvable.

Fortunately, Li Huamei lived up to her reputation as the Crimson Tiger. A series of mournful horns and signal cannons rose from the Huachen, and as Li Huamei issued commands, the Li family fleet, which had been stunned by the sudden attack, began to rise with red lanterns, indicating actions by number and direction, and indicating advances and retreats by horns and drums, moving swiftly.

"Damn it!" Lin Qing forced himself to calm down and walked towards the command room.

This move by the Takenaka gang must have a deeper meaning.

Lin Qing knew that Miki Shinsuke would never easily reveal the core secrets of the ancestral virus to an outsider, even if the two sides were allies. But he still said it. Only Miki Shinsuke knew how much of it was true.

Lin Qing entered the command room and found Li Huamei, Yang Xien, and others already standing at their command positions, directing the battle with composure.

Facing the fierce night attack by the Kuroshima family fleet, Li Huamei's beautiful face remained calm, showing no signs of emotion as she calmly issued commands.

On the manually updated navigation and battle map, the Li family fleet was constantly moving.

From the high captain's control room, Lin Qing could see the entire battle situation through the wide cabin.

The Li family's 5 large Chinese merchant ships and 5 medium-sized Chinese merchant ships were engaged in a fierce battle with an unknown number of Kuroshima family ironclad ships amidst the thunderous cannon fire. From the beginning of the battle, these long-standing enemies had already fallen into a bloodthirsty frenzy.

Both sides' cannons fired fiercely, and the shock waves from the cannonballs made the decks and sails flutter wildly, with the air filled with the sounds of whistling winds, explosions, screams, and cries for help.

The battle quickly reached a fever pitch.

The Kuroshima family fleet, with its fierce momentum, charged forward recklessly. In the darkness, this tactic was extremely aggressive and well-suited to the ironclad fleet, which was heavily armored and well-armed.

Li Huamei, however, adopted a targeted strategy. Lin Qing saw that the Li family fleet was using a flanking tactic, with the ships engaged in the front gradually retreating while some ships maneuvered through the narrow waters to the rear of the Kuroshima family fleet.

This was a trick Li Huamei had developed to counter the ironclad ships.

While the ironclad ships were like turtle shells, the heavy steel plates greatly limited their endurance, making them short-legged cripples. In extreme cases, the supplies stored on board were not enough to cross the East China Sea and enter Chinese waters for battle. The only way to overcome these shortcomings to some extent was to cut corners!

By retaining the steel plates at the front and weakening the plates at the rear, the weight could be reduced, maintaining the ship's endurance.

In other words, the rear of the ironclad ships was their weakness.

Once hit from behind, the ironclad ships could not hold out for long.

But the Kuroshima family also had a strategy.

Led by their flagship, they launched a fierce assault, firing cannons as they moved. During the charge, the cannons on both sides fired simultaneously, causing the Li family fleet on either side to explode and catch fire continuously.

The Li family fleet, with its speed and agility, took advantage of the night cover to launch an offensive against the Kuroshima family.

"Truly worthy of the Crimson Tiger! This tactic, hitting the pig from the rear!" Yang Xien's eyes gleamed with admiration. "Impressive."

"But we don't know the effect yet," Li Huamei sighed. "This time, we were really careless, allowing the Kuroshima family to launch a surprise attack. Even if we can drive them away, the losses will be too great."

For the Li family fleet, which was already facing an economic crisis, any battle meant losses, which would incur repair costs and funeral expenses, undoubtedly adding to their woes.

The Li family fleet, now in a passive position, was struggling fiercely, but Lin Qing suddenly saw a burst of red flames rise in the distance!

He was taken aback.

The flames formed a symbol in the air.

A symbol that Lin Qing and Miki Shinsuke had agreed upon.

This was the signal from Miki Shinsuke, ordering him to immediately assassinate Li Huamei and cooperate with the Kuroshima family!

Li Huamei's gaze was clear as she stared at the exploding flames in the air.

"What is the Kuroshima family up to?" Yang Xien exclaimed in shock.

"I don't know, but there must be some plot," Li Huamei said calmly.

At this moment, Lin Qing's mind was in turmoil.

He had to make a decision.

A crucial decision.

Miki Shinsuke had ordered him to take action and assassinate Li Huamei.

In theory, this was an excellent opportunity.

The Kuroshima family had launched a night attack, and the battle was intense. Li Huamei was fully focused on directing the battle and had no time to worry about her own safety. Her key subordinates, Yi An and Xing Jiu, had led troops to the deck to prepare for a fierce boarding battle. James was at the cannon port, and Yang Xien was ready to move as a reserve force.

Li Huamei was alone, with her back to him.

Was there a better opportunity for an assassination?

Even if the assassination failed, his sudden attack would certainly injure Li Huamei, greatly increasing the Kuroshima family's chances of victory.

After this decisive battle, the Li family fleet, already in a dire situation, would be pushed to the brink if the losses were too great!

This was a perfect opportunity.

But only for Miki Shinsuke!

For Lin Qing, it was not!

He had no sense of duty to the Hong Gang or the Takenaka gang, even after receiving benefits from both sides.

The plot had just begun, and if Li Huamei died now, Miki Shinsuke would be the biggest beneficiary.

Once his goals were achieved, would he still treat Lin Qing with such courtesy?

The navigation rights, trade rights, and loans in Japan...

These were the sweet deals Miki Shinsuke had offered Lin Qing, but once his goals were achieved, he would not continue to offer such significant benefits to an outsider.

Lin Qing was very clear about this.

So, he did not move.

Immovable as a mountain.

What Lin Qing did not know was that Li Huamei, who appeared to be fully focused on directing the battle, was actually highly alert.

As a daughter of a military family, Li Huamei's strength was immeasurable. While she might not be a match for the martial arts world, dealing with Lin Qing at this moment was not a problem.

Under the hem of her tight red dress, she always kept a short-barreled English pistol, loaded and ready to fire.

If Lin Qing made a move, he would not only fail to kill Li Huamei but would be instantly shot in the head by the Crimson Tiger, who would lift her skirt and reveal her thigh in a seductive manner.

Li Huamei had already been targeted by the Takenaka gang twice and had faced countless assassination attempts from the Kuroshima family. She had honed her anti-assassination skills in the midst of danger, making them highly practical.

Time ticked by.

The battle gradually stabilized.

Although the Li family fleet was initially at a disadvantage due to the Kuroshima family's surprise attack, under Li Huamei's calm command, they cleverly exploited the weakness of the ironclad ships by flanking and bombarding them from behind. Lin Qing could see a heavy ironclad ship burning fiercely at the rear, rapidly sinking and being swallowed by the dark sea.

The first Kuroshima family ship to sink in the surprise attack was an ironclad, demonstrating the Li family's strength.

However, the Kuroshima family clearly did not intend to give up. A high-pitched horn sounded.

"Bad! The enemy is preparing for a boarding battle!" Li Huamei exclaimed.

Under the protection of thick steel armor, the ironclad ships, each weighing hundreds of tons, charged forward with great momentum, heading towards the Li family fleet, with the Huachen leading the charge!

The ironclad ships, like fierce wolves in the darkness, cut through the waves, fiercely impacting the Li family merchant fleet in the darkness!

The scene was like a shot from the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean"!

Cannonballs exploded, driving away the surrounding darkness, and Lin Qing could see clearly in the firelight.

The leading ironclad ship, flying the flag of the flagship, charged with particular ferocity!

On the bow of the ironclad ship, a rugged Japanese man stood proudly with his arms crossed.

His hair was disheveled, his beard unkempt, his chest exposed, revealing a lot of disgusting black chest hair. A long, slender Japanese sword, about one and a half meters in length, gleamed in the night. His eyes were filled with bloodlust, aggression, and a wolf-like nature!

In front of him, three Ming dynasty civilians knelt side by side, appearing to be innocent civilians captured during the Wokou raids.

That was the Kuroshima family!

The head of the Kuroshima family!

Seeing the failure of the surprise attack and the intense battle, he personally led the flagship "Yamato" towards Li Huamei's flagship "Huachen," attempting to use the tonnage advantage of the ironclad ship to ram and crush the Li family fleet, followed by a boarding battle to cut off the Li family's actions!

If Li Huamei were to die or be captured, the battle would be over.

Lin Qing also saw that behind the Kuroshima family, many people were standing in the shadows.

In addition to a group of powerful, rugged Japanese ronin and Wokou leaders, Lin Qing saw Miki Shinsuke and his Takenaka gang!

These guys, seeing the signal, and finding that he had not taken action, had personally led troops to attack.

The battle had reached a point of close combat, a life-or-death struggle.

A dangerous smile curled at the corner of Lin Qing's lips.

"Interesting! Truly interesting!" Lin Qing said coldly. "The main characters are about to make their appearance so soon?"

The Kuroshima family vs. Li Huamei!

The two major powers of East Asia, in the cold dawn of a winter night, amidst the raging waves of the South China Sea, engaged in a fierce and unexpected battle!

...

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