The World Online
chapter-646

Translator: ryangohsf

Editor: Nora

The pirates retreated like a flood, what a majestic view.

Ouyang Shuo put away the Tianmo Spear held by Farrah's neck and emotionlessly said, "Scram!"

Farrah was evidently shocked. When he regained his senses, he escaped, battered and beaten. When they saw their leader leave, the members of the Hunting Leopard Mercenary Squad followed.

Ouyang Shuo kept his promise to Farrah.

As for the other members of the Hunting Leopard Mercenary Group, they did not receive the same treatment. As they retreated, they were relentlessly slaughtered by the navy soldiers.

The soldiers had not forgotten that these traitors had caused them to suffer heavy causalities.

The sword-shield soldiers were in charge of intercepting them while the archers shot. They even used the cannons to shoot at the players that boarded the small boats, showing the level of hatred the soldiers felt toward them.

The exhausted pirates that were running for their lives definitely would not help. With someone taking the hits for them, they were delighted. Why would they seek out trouble for themselves?

In the end, less than two thousand members of the Hunting Leopard Mercenary Group succeeded in escaping.

……

Looking at the escaping figure of Farrah, Ouyang Shuo was silent.

Obviously, he could have sent Farrah to his death. He could have even done it more beautifully and let the Somalia players deal with him and just say, "I promised not to kill you; I didn't mean the other players wouldn't."

Unfortunately, no matter how he tried to cover it, he would have broken his promise.

A person without credibility was nothing.

Even against enemies, one could not lose their credibility. To Lords, even future kings, today, you might lose the faith and trust of someone; tomorrow, you might lose the world.

There were thousands of methods to deal with Farrah, so why would he rush matters?

It was the same as losing massive gains for short term rewards.

Letting Farrah go was like releasing a tiger back into the mountains. However, his survival was not gifted by Ouyang Shuo. Instead, it was exchanged for with the lives of the members of the Hunting Leopard Mercenary Group.

Since it was an exchange, Ouyang Shuo needed to keep his promise.

As for how Farrah was going to come back, that was the problem of the Somalia players. Having a common enemy was certainly a good thing for the cooperation between Shanhai City and Somalia.

……

"Chase!"

Zheng He ordered the squadron to return fire at the pirates.

"Fire!" The cannoneers were back in position; their eyes filled with the fires of hatred.

Hong! Long! Long! The cannonballs exploded on the ocean surface, causing great splashes. The pirates onboard the small boats were instantly killed, blown into shreds.

In terms of cannon warfare on the oceans, the voyage squadron was the absolute king; just their name would terrify their enemies.

After suffering heavy casualties, the pirate ships did not wait for everyone to board, immediately leaving and scattering. Black pirate ships were scattered everywhere across the ocean, what a beautiful sight.

The pirates who were abandoned could only shout out helplessly; desperation filled their eyes.

Helping the Somalia players hunt the pirates could not be considered a country war. Hence, although Ouyang Shuo could earn some merit points from killing them, it was nothing compared to a country war.

Even so, how would Ouyang Shuo purely chase and kill the enemy? He instructed Zheng He to capture some pirates and turn them sailors to make up for the losses they took in this battle.

Zheng He understood the Lord's intentions, so he ordered the cannoneers to fire at the large pirate ships. After sinking them, they would not bother with the enemy anymore and continue aiming at the next one.

At the same time, they sent out many cima boats to capture pirates. As long as they could keep their lives, why wouldn't they surrender?

It was even to the point where the moment the Cima boats approached, there were pirates screaming their surrender.

The scene was truly amusing.

Such a chase meant that the number of prisoners increased exponentially. Even members of the Hunting Leopard Mercenary Group were locked up on the warships.

This battle finally ended at 3 PM.

In the ocean region near Sky Wolf Island, numerous wreckages of warships floated about. The pirate ships that were destroyed had sunk to the bottom of the ocean.

To w would be really difficult.

During this battle, 20 thousand members of the three pirate organizations died, 20 thousand were captured, and only 10 thousand managed to escape.

The Gulf of Aden was going to be peaceful for quite some time.

Of course, just as Ouyang Shuo had expected, it would be extremely difficult to completely root them out. Soon, they would rise again.

As for whether the leaders would still be those three organizations, only time couldl tell.

After taking care of affairs such as treating the wounded, dealing with casualties, and handling the war prisoners, it was already 4 PM.

Ouyang Shuo passed all the captured members of the Hunting Leopard Mercenary Group to the Somalia players. To kill, to release, Ouyang Shuo did not care.

It was obvious what kind of misfortune awaited them.

News spread about the Hunting Leopard Mercenary Guild colliding with the pirates and betraying their country on the forums, creating an uproar.

Their headquarters in the imperial city was surrounded by other guilds.

One could foresee that the biggest guild in Somalia was going to become a part of history, never to stand up tall again.

The innocent members of the guild, even if they quit, no one would accept them. Only the life of a lonely ghost awaited them, chased and killed by others.

……

Ouyang Shuo had no intentions of bothering about the fates of the Hunting Leopard Mercenary Group. He only cared about the loses to the voyage squadron.

During this battle, out of the 20 thousand, 7,500 sailors and soldiers were lost. The archers suffered the heaviest casualties, with close to 6,700 being buried in the ocean.

Their death had a huge relation to Ouyang Shuo's strategy. To put it bluntly, Ouyang Shuo had sent these valiant warriors to their deaths.

To matter how stone cold his heart was, seeing the rows and rows of corpses, his heart still could not take it. However, the wilderness was just so cruel. If he had to make the same choice again, he would do the exact same thing.

He wanted to obtain the trust and gratitude of the Somalia players for the smallest price. This was relatively simple decision to make if he wanted to open a key point for the Shanhai City sea route.

Blood needed to flow.

Ouyang Shuo could only raise the compensation amount to take care of their families.

"Send my orders, the Military Affairs Bureau will add an extra 10 gold in compensation." Ouyang Shuo said to Zheng He.

"Yes, my Lord!"

In his voice, there was an unpreventable shiver. He had known of the entire matter from start to finish, and the deep meaning within was something he did not dare to probe.

"Out of the 20 thousand prisoners, choose 10 thousand of the best fighters. Then choose a bunch of sailors. As for the remaining ones, let the alliance army execute them."

His words contained the tone of a bloody massacre.

If they did not kill a portion of the prisoners, he would not be able to gain the trust of the Somalia players.

"Understood!" Zheng He acknowledged.

After a short while, cheers broke out on the warships. Evidently, his stance had delighted the Somalia players.

On the other hand, despair appeared in the eyes of the prisoners.

The difference between the fates of the winner and the losers was incredibly obvious. It was the line between life and death.

Ouyang Shuo raised his head and looked at Sky Wolf Island, his eyes filled with sadness, "It’s time we harvest. Order the troops to attack the island and plunder it of its riches."

"Yes!"

After a short while, the alliance army quickly entered Sky Wolf Island, possessing the mentality and spirit of a victor.

……

As the base of the Sky Wolf Pirate Organization, apart from the mature pirates, there were many thousand elderly and children. The island was like a small town, filled with facilities.

When the Sky Wolf Pirate Organization fell, the island was thrown into chaos. The family members on the island panicked. The pirate flag on the peak that represented the pirate organization was removed and replaced with a white flag.

Surrounded by water, there was nowhere for them to go, so surrendering was their only choice.

4.30 PM, the alliance army slowly entered the port and prepared to disembark.

"Lord, the alliance army hopes that you will allow them to do as they wish with the island." Zheng He's expression was exceedingly ugly as he walked over and bowed to Ouyang Shuo.

After destroying the three pirate organizations, the prestige of the voyage squadron soared. Ouyang Shuo was recognized by the players as their new leading figure.

Hence, before acting, they automatically sought his permission.

The so-called doing as they wished was actually just pillaging and killing.

The Somalia Players hated the pirates to the core. In this battle, apart from the traitors, the Hunting Leopard Mercenary Guild, nearly half of them had died.

"Blood can only be repaid with blood." The players explained.

However, to Zheng He, this was only a war. Since it was a war, they should not drag in innocent people, especially not a bunch of old, sick, and young people.

Their two opposing views undeniably caused conflict.

Zheng He had quarreled with the players about this matter, but he was still unable to convince them. No matter what, the players were determined to take revenge on the island.

"General Zheng, the treasures on the island, we can split or not take. We can even give it to you. Our only wish is to wash the island with blood and take revenge for our comrades." The player representative stated.

"These are two different things." Zheng He tried to retort, "As for the treasures, we definitely won't swallow it. Our Lord will handle the matter fairly."

"It's the same matter."

They were unable to convince each other. In the end, they left the matter to Ouyang Shuo.