Pursuit

When Su Ming returned to the Pansy, the capture of the Flying Sea Eagle Beast was basically completed.

The aft deck was littered with captured Sea Eagle Beast. The bound raptors flapped their wings restlessly, emitting a cacophony of cries, some sharp and some low, filling the area with agitation and unease.

The Sea Eagle Beast's head retains the sharp features of an eagle, but its overall shape is more rugged and ferocious. Its strong, curved beak is like a meticulously carved obsidian, with a deadly hook-shaped tip that gleams with a cold, hard luster.

The air was thick with the strong, salty smell of the sea, a mixture of feather oils and the wild, slightly bloody scent unique to predators. This sea monster had a wide wingspan, allowing it to soar through the sky and also to use its powerful strength to briefly plunge into the water to hunt schools of fish near the surface.

The aft deck of the Pansy is about 100 meters long and over 20 meters wide. Even so, it is now occupied by more than half of the space by these Sea Eagle Beast.

Currently, many auxiliary facilities on the Pansy have not yet been installed, and a large number of spaces on the fore and aft decks are temporarily empty. Su Ming surveyed the area, considering building a temporary shelter to house these precious flying mounts.

On the other side of the deck, another group of "spoils of war" huddled together—dozens of clergy prisoners, soaking wet and disheveled. They were huddled together, their faces filled with fear and confusion, watching Su Ming approach with unease.

"Su Ming, the Dawn Pioneer Class cruisers are dispersing and fleeing." Beianqi's voice came clearly through the headset, reporting to her superior.

"All ships, switch to pursuit mode!" Su Ming decisively ordered.

"Yes!"

Beianqi immediately instructed the bridge to adjust the course and pursue the target. At the same time, she organized the deck crew to remove the thick waterproof cover on the MK71 main gun turret, revealing the robust gun barrels with a cold metallic luster underneath.

The young girl nimbly jumped onto the turret and lightly stepped onto the gun barrel. She carefully checked the gun-laying radar, optical sights, and various velocity sensors to confirm whether they were affected by ice and snow. The sea breeze whistled, blowing her short hair around her ears.

After a quick inspection confirming the equipment was in good condition, Beianqi picked up the tactical tablet and remotely operated the turret, conducting a series of smooth 360-degree rotation and elevation tests. She listened intently to the low hum of the motor drive and hydraulic system, a satisfied expression on her face—the equipment was functioning perfectly!

"Clear the foredeck!" Beianqi shouted crisply, then nimbly leaped down from the turret and ran quickly to Su Ming's side.

The crew acted quickly and completely cleared the foredeck area.

Beianqi picked up the tablet again and skillfully pressed the triple-fire test button on the screen.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The MK71 naval gun fired three blank rounds in quick succession! Orange flashes erupted from the muzzle, causing the air to hum.

"What's this for?" Su Ming asked, looking at the rising smoke.

"Just testing the fire control system," Beianqi replied matter-of-factly, her eyes still glued to the parameters on the screen. "And it's too cold; we also need to preheat the barrel to prevent the steel from becoming brittle and affecting firing accuracy."

****

The two then entered the cabin and arrived at the command center located on the third floor of the bridge.

On the central tactical radar screen, the dots representing enemy ships were relatively scattered, but roughly formed two combat groups. The southern group contained signals from three Dawn Pioneer Class cruisers, while the eastern group was denser, showing five Dawn Pioneer Class and the particularly conspicuous magical warship, the "Thorns of Atonement."

"Pursue the eastern cluster!" Su Ming made a swift decision, pointing his finger at the light representing the "Thorns of Atonement." "This magic ship must be captured!"

For Su Ming, the threat and strategic value of the magic warship far exceeded those of conventional artillery warships. Moreover, it was equipped with strategic-level magical weapons like the "Veil of Eternal Winter"!

As it continued to accelerate, the Pansy caught up with the nearest enemy ship in the eastern group, a Dawn Pioneer Class cruiser.

Beianqi appeared confident and was in no hurry to fire. She knew that the range of these Dawn Pioneer Class ship cannons was about 10 kilometers, and even with the use of magic-enhanced supercharge technology, the maximum range could only be barely extended to 13 kilometers.

This range is negligible compared to the MK71 203mm heavy naval gun with a range of over 30 kilometers.

However, the closer the distance, the higher the accuracy. Besides, the MK71 is not loaded with ordinary high-explosive shells now, so conservation should still be prioritized.

She habitually picked up her high-powered binoculars and looked towards the enemy ship, only to find that she couldn't see it at all at that distance. So she decisively put down the binoculars and turned to focus intently on the radar screen.

When the radar showed that the distance between the enemy and ourselves had narrowed to about 18 kilometers, Beianqi issued the attack order.

Buzz—Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three heavy shells roared out at an initial velocity exceeding Mach 2.5, tearing through the cold air. After about forty seconds of flight, they crashed into the sea near the target ship, exploding into several huge white sprays of water, creating brief ripples on the radar screen before disappearing.

Beianqi quickly adjusted the parameters on the control panel, lowered the elevation angle, and then issued the order for a three-round burst.

"This time it'll definitely hit!" she said confidently, staring at the predicted trajectory on the screen.

However, unexpectedly, the echo of the shell's impact point appeared at a much farther location, nearly a kilometer beyond the target, before plunging into the sea and creating an even farther column of water.

****

"Why?!" Beianqi looked confused and puzzled, repeatedly checking the fire control data and radar information on the screen.

She clearly lowered the cannon barrel, so why did the shell fly farther?

Standing on the outer deck, Zijin suddenly closed her eyes. Her powerful mental energy extended forward into the sea like invisible tentacles, carefully sensing the energy fluctuations in that area.

[There are mages casting a combined spell on the other side!] Zijin said, [Spell type... "Levitation Spell"?]

A glint flashed in Su Ming's eyes, and he suddenly realized!

"Beianqi! They've interfered with the projectile's gravitational field using magic!" Su Ming exclaimed immediately. "The mages have combined their spells to cast ' Levitation Spell ' along the projectile's path!"

Beianqi immediately understood. If the cannonball was subjected to the Levitation Spell effect for just 2 seconds, it would also float up 20 meters due to weightlessness! In this way, the cannonball would fly over the ship, just like before.

As for the more direct Gravity Spell, the opponent obviously wouldn't dare use it—that would indeed cause the cannonball's trajectory to drop. However, when the cannonball hits the water at high speed, it might be deflected by the water surface, gaining a strange angle of refraction and striking the warship's most vulnerable waterline area.