Chapter 49: Chapter 49: The Identity of Zhu Kang
Just as Song Chao was about to deliver the final blow to completely penetrate the Silver Armored Battleship’s energy shield, a communication request came from the Qingkong.
Hesitating for a moment, Song Chao didn’t immediately accept the call, but resolutely pressed the fire button instead.
Having fought up to this point, he was very clear that the background of this Silver Armored Battleship was anything but simple; to be able to possess an engine component of purple quality and a shipborne main cannon that also appeared to be of purple quality, such a person could not possibly be obscure in Jiangyuan City.
The reason he still chose to fire was straightforward: the Qingkong under his feet was also nearly spent. If he didn’t defeat the opponent first, once the “Armor-Breaking Effect” ended, it would be his turn to be at the mercy of the enemy. Song Chao wouldn’t let himself fall into such a passive position.
Boom!
The main cannon at the bow of the Qingkong roared again, and the next moment, the outer layer of the Silver Armored Battleship’s energy shield completely shattered, along with significant damage to the warship armor and the body of the ship itself.
At this point, the opponent’s communication request became even more urgent, and this time Song Chao did not refuse.
When the communication was officially established, and the projection of the other party appeared before his eyes, Song Chao’s face remained unchanged, but his heart sank completely.
He recognized the other party, or rather, had seen them in the core data of various forces’ leaders in Jiangyuan City. Although he had guessed that the Silver Armored Battleship had significant backing, seeing the youthful face still somewhat exceeded Song Chao’s expectations.
If he remembered correctly, the youth’s name was Zhu Kang and he was around one hundred years old. More than a decade ago, he had already stepped into the rank of Second Rank Torch Ship Captain, revealing considerable strength.
Of course, none of this was the point. If the other party was merely a Second Rank Torch Ship Captain with decent potential, Song Chao would not take much notice. The key was Zhu Kang’s father, a man who almost single-handedly dominated Jiangyuan City.
Zhu Yaokui, the dean of the First Torch Academy of Jiangyuan, the only Third Rank Torch Captain in Jiangyuan City, whose Spectral Warship, when firing at full force, could suppress an entire low-level Starry Sea Floating Land.
This Zhu Kang was Zhu Yaokui’s fourth son. Though not the most favored, he was, after all, a direct descendant of a Third Rank Torch Captain, and if anything were to happen to him, Zhu Yaokui would not stand idly by.
Although he and Shen Wenjie had gone to great lengths to conceal their identities quite covertly, if a Third Rank Torch Captain made a concerted effort to investigate, it was only a matter of time before they were tracked down. Jiangyuan City was only so big, and there were only a few Second Rank Torch Ship Captains; it would be too easy to trace.
Song Chao quickly made a decision in his heart. He wouldn’t kill the other party, but he also wasn’t planning to let him off easily.
Though he couldn’t kill him, Zhu Kang’s flagship had plenty of good things aboard, and just taking a couple of items would be a significant gain.
Seeing that Song Chao had worn a mask in advance, hiding his true face, the gloom in Zhu Kang’s eyes deepened a notch, but he wasn’t foolish. Knowing his current situation, he could no longer support the pride in his heart. He said coldly,
“I don’t know who you are, but if you’re from Jiangyuan City, you should be familiar with me. To the victor belong the spoils. I will no longer interfere with the matter of the Titanium Crystal Vein, how does that sound?”
Behind the mask, Song Chao’s mouth curled up slightly. The implication in Zhu Kang’s words casually absolved himself, which, of course, Song Chao would not agree to.
“Zhu Kang, out of respect for your father, I can let you go, but don’t bring up the Titanium Crystal Vein. It’s just a trivial and depleted vein, with reserves not exceeding three hundred crystals. Moreover, this vein was first discovered by us. What does it have to do with you?”
Zhu Kang’s eyes darkened, and he gritted his teeth, saying,
“Then what more do you want?”
Song Chao hesitated briefly, “It’s simple, bring out two shipborne components of blue quality or above as the price for your defeat!”
“That’s impossible.” As soon as Song Chao finished speaking, Zhu Kang bellowed out, clearly, the request exceeded his bottom line.
Seeing this, Song Chao did not indulge him and the Qingkong fired again.
Soon, the damage to the armor of Zhu Kang’s Silver Edge exceeded 70%, and the damage to the ship itself was over 40%.
However, Song Chao did not feel optimistic at all; Zhu Kang’s attitude was particularly resolute, as if he was certain that Song Chao wouldn’t dare to deliver a killing blow, he had yet to agree.
In the end, Song Chao had to stop, as continuing to focus fire would most likely sink Zhu Kang’s flagship completely, and even if Zhu Kang survived, Zhu Yaokui would inevitably intervene. That was not what he wished to see.
Two minutes later, a look of smugness appeared on Zhu Kang’s face; the opponent indeed did not dare to continue.
However, when his gaze shifted to a different part of the battlefield, the anger in his eyes surged again. After stopping the attack on the Silver Edge, Song Chao had targeted another escort ship.
That “Hefenghao” escort ship, although it was just an ordinary escort ship, its captain was a personal guard exclusively chosen by Zhu Yaokui for him. The two had been companions since childhood, his most loyal and devoted subordinate. If the ship was destroyed and the person killed, it was something Zhu Kang could not accept.
After several more minutes, under the combined attack of the Qingkong and Copper Halberd escort ships, the Hefenghao’s energy shield was quickly depleted, and it seemed as if its armor too would be completely destroyed when Song Chao finally received a communication request from Zhu Kang again.
Seeing this, Song Chao smiled slightly, put on his mask, and then connected the communication.
At this moment, Zhu Kang’s face had become extremely grim. But, after all was said and done, he still agreed to Song Chao’s demands and brought out two shipborne components of blue quality.
Twenty minutes later, the four escort ships returned to Tianyu Mining Area, and the twelve Spectral Airships that realized the battle was decided also quickly ceased their chaotic fight. Several of the Spectral Airships from the Black Mountain Association were clearly reluctant. Looking at the outer hulls of the four escort ships, it was very likely that Zhu Kang’s side had lost.
Thinking of this result, a chill instantly clutched at Scar’s heart.
Reporting the titanium crystal matter was meant to tightly cling to Jiangyuan City’s biggest support, but now it was a clear case of stealing chickens only to end up losing the rice. He would probably also have to endure Zhu Kang’s anger, how could Scar be at ease?
Ten minutes later, Zhu Kang left with his fleet without saying a word, while the excavation work on Song Chao’s side continued.
This titanium crystal vein was a micro vein, with prior estimates of reserves between 1,000 to 2,000 pieces. After mining for a while, the confirmed reserves had a slight increase and would probably exceed 2,000 pieces. So, if they wanted to excavate it all, it would still take some time.
As for why he told Zhu Kang earlier that it was a depleted mine, it was naturally to downplay the overall value of this titanium crystal vein as much as possible. Otherwise, the news of over 2,000 titanium crystals would be hard to keep from alarming Zhu Yaokui.