Qi Jiguang
Matsuura Shin Kuro's audacious attempt to trade injury for life truly startled Li Shuyi.
Before the battle, Bai Xiaowen had analyzed the function of Matsuura Shin Kuro's Mysterious Short Sword and its potential limitations based on Yu Dayou's experience of being hit by it.
After the Mysterious Short Sword pierced its target, Shin Kuro only needed to Rend his palm and draw blood to make a fierce general like Yu Dayou faint and almost die. This power was truly terrifying.
However, Bai Xiaowen concluded that this method had limitations; otherwise, it would be too unfair to eliminate even Rare Boss Tier opponents in one go.
As for the limitations, one aspect is the difficulty of launching it, and the other is the cost.
Bai Xiaowen didn't consider the cost; he only speculated on the difficulty of launching the attack. After questioning Yu Dayou in detail about how he was hit, Bai Xiaowen noticed that the Mysterious Short Sword had pierced Yu Dayou's chest, a vital spot near his heart.
Bai Xiaowen then deduced that the condition for the Mysterious Short Sword to unleash its extra power must be to pierce the enemy's vital heart.
It's worth mentioning here that the Spirit Realm Rules are digitized. Being stabbed in the heart is not necessarily fatal. As long as your physique is strong enough and your Life Value are high enough, and the attack damage does not reach the condition of instantly killing you with 1/3 of your maximum Life Value, even if your heart is pierced, it will only cause Severe Bleeding. You won't die until your Life Value are completely depleted.
The Mysterious Short Sword's additional power likely lies in triggering a "death by instant" effect after piercing the heart!
If you survive, you'll still fall into a coma, like Yu Dayou; if you can't survive the Instant-Death Check, you'll die instantly.
Therefore, Bai Xiaowen specifically instructed Li Shuyi to be extremely careful, preferring to be stabbed a couple more times rather than be hit in the heart. To be on the safe side, Bai Xiaowen went a step further, instructing Li Shuyi to be wary not only of the heart but also of other vital areas, ensuring they were not struck.
As it turned out, Bai Xiaowen's cautious order was not unfounded. The activation conditions of Matsuura Shin Kuro's Mysterious Short Sword were not limited to vital organs such as the heart, but included vital organs throughout the body.
With the "Void Ring" and the Shadowless Slash, it wouldn't be difficult for Li Shuyi to do this.
Just as Matsuura Shin Kuro was about to make a desperate attack, aiming for Li Shuyi's vital point, Li Shuyi suddenly flashed away, Incarnation a phantom, and activated her newly learned "Shadowless Slash" skill!
During the activation of the Shadowless Slash, Li Shuyi could not be targeted, Matsuura Shin Kuro's attack only hit the air.
Li Shuyi's right-hand sword, in its Shadowless Slash state, plunged straight in, drawing a trail of blood from Matsuura Shin Kuro's neck!
The burst damage of the Demonfire Dance!
A burst of damage after accumulating five stacks of Thunder Mark!
Vital Strike to the neck ignores all defenses!
Severe Bleeding!
Matsuura Shin Kuro's Life Value plummeted by over a hundred points in an instant! A horrific wound opened up on his neck, gushing blood that almost stained the surrounding seawater red.
"Damn woman..." Matsuura Shin Kuro wanted to curse, but he was holding his breath and couldn't even utter a curse! He covered the wound on his neck with one hand and tried to press it to slow the flow of blood.
Wearing the Giant Fish Bladder, Li Shuyi had no such concerns. She took a slight step back, dodging another thrust from Matsuura Shin Kuro, and said:
"Your current predicament is all due to his scheme."
"You have no right to call him trash!"
In my eyes, he is a million times stronger than you!
Matsuura Shin Kuro understood the language of the Ming Dynasty, and these words sounded extremely harsh to him. He wanted to angrily refute them, but sadly found that he couldn't even utter a word.
Facing Matsuura Shin Kuro, who had only about a hundred Life Value, Li Shuyi slightly raised her twin swords and charged forward. She had actually abandoned the strategy of hit-and-run tactics.
Matsuura Shin Kuro's eyes lit up slightly. He was gradually getting used to fighting underwater. Although he only had about a hundred Life Value points left and was still bleeding, he wasn't afraid of this woman in a head-on confrontation!
To put it bluntly, this woman is strong in offense but weak in defense. Even if she has the upper hand, she could easily turn the tables if she gets carried away by victory!
Matsuura Shin Kuro raised his short sword and thrust it out.
However, this sword strike landed on empty air.
Li Shuyi's figure suddenly Intangibility as she activated the [Void Ring]'s additional skill, Intangibility, granting her a 99% evasion rate against physical attacks for 5 seconds!
During those 5 seconds, Li Shuyi could unleash her full power and attack relentlessly. Although her attack speed remained Transformation, her hit rate and the probability of Vital Strike increased dramatically!
The deck of a Japanese ship.
The Wokou Pirates fled, driven off this particular Japanese ship by Bai Xiaowen, and escaped to other Japanese ships.
The Wokou Pirates finally had a chance to catch their breath. If Bai Xiaowen and his men wanted to pursue them, they would have to board the ships and engage in a new round of boarding action. However, Bai Xiaowen's personal guards, along with their summoned Life Value, were all in critical condition.
Bai Xiaowen waved his hand, signaling to halt the attack. Capturing even one Japanese ship had already exceeded his initial expectations. His original goal was simply to hold out against the Wokou Pirates ' siege.
"Kitz, take the Skeleton Sword-and-Shield Soldier the sea and see how the battle is going with Shu Yi," Bai Xiaowen said.
Just as the Vampire Kitz was about to go into the sea after receiving the order, he saw bubbles rising in the water.
A slender figure emerged from the sea, tossing her long hair to wipe away the water droplets and revealing a beautiful face. Who else could it be but Li Shuyi?
"No need to look anymore, I've already completed my task," Li Shuyi gave Bai Xiaowen a charming smile. "Now... could you throw me a rope?"
Bai Xiaowen was overjoyed and hurriedly ordered Zhang Ting and the others to throw ropes to drag Li Shuyi up from the sea.
"Look, this swim bladder is really useful." Li Shuyi handed the removed swim bladder to Bai Xiaowen.
"It seems your training at sea these past few days has been quite effective." Bai Xiaowen was relieved to see that Li Shuyi was unharmed. Li Shuyi being alright meant that Matsuura Shin Kuro was definitely dead.
"Hmm." Li Shuyi gave a soft "hmm," then took out a Large Golden Treasure Chest. "This is a treasure chest dropped by Matsuura Shin Kuro. Open it and see if you can get the Mysterious Short Sword needed for the mission."
"I have this mission, so it should drop. According to the Spirit Realm Rules, Loot Card have the highest priority for dropping related items," Bai Xiaowen said with a smile.
The treasure chests are invisible to the native inhabitants of the Spirit Realm, and Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi communicate through the Team Channel, so there's no need to worry about being mistaken for idiots. However, the action of opening treasure chests and selecting cards is still quite obvious, so it's generally best to avoid being seen by the natives to prevent being mistaken for a lunatic.
"What should we do with the remaining Wokou Pirates?" Li Shuyi asked.
There were four or five hundred Wokou Pirates who came with Matsuura Shin Kuro. Among them, Bai Xiaowen led Zhang Ting and others to kill less than a hundred. The rest were so frightened by the Orochi Nagi that their morale plummeted and they fled to other Japanese ships.
Although their morale was low and they dared not launch an attack, the Wokou Pirates were unsure of Matsuura Shin Kuro's whereabouts, and of course, they could not simply sail away.
However, a thought lingered in the minds of many Wokou Pirates... Their Boss Tier, Matsuura Shin Kuro, had not appeared yet, and it was likely that he had met with misfortune. However, no one dared to discuss this possible truth immediately.
For Bai Xiaowen and his group, it was unrealistic to launch a preemptive attack on those hundreds of Wokou Pirates, most of whom were Elite Tier Wokou Pirates. This was not land, and the attacking side would be at a great disadvantage in boarding action.
Bai Xiaowen's group was simply too small. To blow up the ship and bury Matsuura Shin Kuro, Bai Xiaowen only left behind a dozen or so men. Too many people would have been too much for the small boat.
Thus, a strange scene unfolded on the battlefield: the other four Japanese ships surrounded Bai Xiaowen's ship, each holding a sword as if facing a formidable enemy, yet none daring to advance. Bai Xiaowen and his companions also refrained from launching an attack, resulting in a bizarre stalemate.
"The other Wokou Pirates... forget about them. Look at the time, Qi Jiguang should be arriving soon..." Bai Xiaowen shaded his eyes with his hand and glanced at the direction of the sun.
"Master Bai, that's General Qi's banner! They've appeared!" Zhang Ting, holding Thousand-Li Viewer, exclaimed excitedly.
Bai Xiaowen chuckled inwardly; finally, the "little" in Bai Xiaozhenren's name had been removed.
"Does it have to be this accurate? If you keep this up, people will really start thinking you're a fortune teller," Li Shuyi complained.
Bai Xiaowen smiled smugly, offering no explanation. He took the Thousand-Li Viewer type of telescope) from Zhang Ting and looked into the distance; he could already see the Ming Army warships not far away.
Upon seeing the Ming Army warships arriving to provide reinforcements, the four True Wokou warships stirred and immediately began to hoist their sails, turn their rudders, and flee in a direction far away from the Ming Army warships.
However, on their escape route, two more Ming Army warships appeared, with the Ming Army warship flags also appearing on both sides.
Qi Jiguang was well-versed in military strategy, and given the situation where the Wokou Pirates were caught off guard, he certainly wouldn't give them a chance to escape.
Qi Jiguang's appearance dates back to three days earlier, when Bai Xiaowen accepted Matsuura Shin Kuro's mission and rushed to Ningbo.
After confirming that they were out of the sight of the Wokou Pirates, Bai Xiaowen ordered the entire army to change their attire and raise the Ming Army flags again. While sailing, he also had Li Shuyi wear Giant Fish Bladder and practice fighting underwater to adapt to the naval warfare environment.
After arriving in Ningbo, Bai Xiaowen easily met Qi Jiguang, who was stationed in Zhejiang, thanks to his high reputation among the Anti-Pirate Ming Army Faction.
It took Bai Xiaowen a great deal of persuasion to convince Qi Jiguang to launch a preemptive strike against the True Wokou Matsuura Shin Kuro. Fortunately, he was well-prepared and offered a plan to lure the enemy out to sea, divide and annihilate them. Qi Jiguang saw that the odds of victory were high and that there was no need for a dangerous landing operation, so he readily agreed.
After all, launching a campaign to subdue the Wokou Pirates in Penghu is different from attacking the Japan mainland. The Penghu Islands were Great Ming territory, and sending troops to the Penghu Islands was a legitimate act of suppressing bandits within the territory.
The key to this plan is that Bai Xiaowen can lure Matsuura Shin Kuro out to sea.
Bai Xiaowen killed Wokou Pirates, Maeda Wokou Pirates servant who maintained Matsuura Shin Kuro's sword, and seized Matsuura Shin Kuro's treasured sword. Through Arima Jiro, he dispelled Matsuura Shin Kuro's doubts about the trap and successfully lured him out to sea, away from the base on Penghu Main Island.
Just as Matsuura Shin Kuro led over a thousand Elite Tier Wokou Pirates in pursuit of Bai Xiaowen, Qi Jiguang, who was waiting outside, first marched to Penghu Main Island, capturing all the remaining thousands of weak Wokou Pirates servants and destroying Matsuura Shin Kuro's stronghold. Subsequently, Qi Jiguang commanded his warships to surround and annihilate the fleet of over five hundred men, including Matsuura Shisuke and Matsuura Chasuke, before finally returning to this location to finish off the remaining pirates.
As for the gunpowder used to blow up the ship, Bai Xiaowen borrowed it from Qi Jiguang. Otherwise, how could Bai Xiaowen have obtained such military supplies so easily?
Bai Xiaowen and Li Shuyi went into the cabin together to open the treasure chest and draw loot.
In this battle, Bai Xiaowen's side obtained three Silver Treasure Chest, all dropped by Elite Tier Wokou Pirates, and all of them received a C-Tier Battle Rating.
After three draws, I didn't get anything particularly impressive, but I did get a "Three-Star Equipment Enhancement Card".
Equipment Enhancement Card are certainly useful, but a Three-Star Enhancement Card is somewhat of a waste.
In this respect, there is a big difference between three-star and Four-Star Enhancement Card, even though they are only one star apart.
Four-Star Enhancement Card are used to enhance Gold Equipment. All four enhancement slots should be filled with matching Blue Gear, or "Superior Psionic Crystal" that are equivalent to matching Blue Gear. This can increase the success rate of enhancing to +7 to 100%.
With Three-Star Enhancement Card, if only the matching Blue Gear is used, the success rate of upgrading Gold Equipment to +7 can only be increased to around 90%.
It may seem like only a 10% difference, but it's a risk that Awakened Ones dare not take. Just imagine, after painstakingly enhancing equipment to +6 and spending tens of thousands of points, only to encounter a 10% failure rate when enhancing to +7... Damaged equipment is a huge blow to Awakened Ones.
A piece of Gold Equipment worth upgrading to +7 is naturally a top-tier item for an Awakened, and losing it would be an unbearable pain.
"Although it's not a four-star card, it's still usable. At most, we can fill the enhancement slots with Gold Equipment. We still have a few pieces of Gold Equipment that we don't need," Bai Xiaowen said.
Filling enhancement slots with Gold Equipment and burning it as auxiliary equipment is simply outrageously extravagant for the average Awakened.
The other two dropped items were both blue-quality equipment: a pair of leather trousers and a pair of leather bracers. Their stats were unremarkable, and they were only good for dismantling or using as supplementary equipment enhancement tools.
Bai Xiaowen opened Matsuura Shin Kuro's Golden Treasure Chest again.
It's worth mentioning that Li Shuyi actually received an A-Tier rating for killing Matsuura Shin Kuro, and had three chances to draw a prize.
Although Li Shuyi was able to defeat Matsuura Shin Kuro in a one-on-one fight by creating an underwater battle environment, the Spirit Realm Rules clearly did not judge it as "cheating." The reason is that Li Shuyi basically depleted Matsuura Shin Kuro's Life Value.
Before Bai Xiaowen awakened, he encountered the Elite Zombie Rat Black Fang in the Plague Rat Burrow. He rammed Black Fang into a narrow passage, creating a cramped environment that prevented it from using its agility advantage, and Black Fang was hacked to death. As a result, his Battle Rating was not deducted.
Even if Matsuura Shin Kuro is dragged underwater and suffocates to death, it will not be a factor in deducting his score.