Thick smoke billowed up, and over a dozen sailors on the deck were instantly blown to pieces.
Before the other sailors could react, black mist surged out from behind Lin Sheng, shooting forth like countless giant black pythons.
It pierced through the bodies of pirate after pirate.
In just a breath, dozens of sailors on the ship stiffened, standing motionless in place.
The black mist pythons returned behind Lin Sheng, merging back into his body, and at the same time, almost all the pirates' bodies disintegrated, leaving them utterly dead.
For a moment, besides Lin Sheng, only the one-eyed pirate remained stunned, his eyes wide with disbelief at the scene unfolding before him.
Without the slightest hesitation, a bright yellow glow erupted from him, and he bolted like an unbridled wild horse, turning to flee frantically.
But the next instant, his body stiffened, a large hand already gripping his neck.
"Is your leader on the island?"
Lin Sheng held the pirate as if he were a small chick, lifting him and turning him to face him.
As his eyes turned pitch black, the pirate's terrified expression immediately relaxed, becoming stiff and mechanical, and he spoke in a broken Southern Qi official dialect.
"The leader is here, all the leaders are on the island..."
As soon as he finished speaking, with a cracking sound, his neck was crushed.
"Good, saves me the trouble."
Lin Sheng muttered to himself, then pushed off with his toes, his body shooting towards the island like a cannonball.
In just a few breaths, he reached the island, and as a large amount of black mist pythons surged out, they cleared out the pirates on the seashore in the blink of an eye.
These pirates were mostly Martial Artists in the Blood Transportation Realm and Bones Transformation Realm; to him now, they were no different from ordinary people.
There were still some pirates on the island who, seeing this, turned tail in terror, fleeing backward in disarray.
At the same time, an urgent warning horn sounded.
Attracting more pirates on the island.
At this moment, Meng Lie, Xie Kui, and others had also reached the sea and arrived beside Lin Sheng.
The Crimson Feather Army's warships docked by the shore, and fully armed Crimson Feather Army soldiers quickly landed on the island.
"Clear them all out, leave no one."
Lin Sheng said calmly.
"Yes, sir!"
Immediately, Divine Form generals led the soldiers to pursue the fleeing pirates.
"The number of Obsidian Stone Pirates is quite a bit more than what was in the intelligence."
Lin Sheng looked at the pirates rushing out of the mountains and forests, speaking slowly.
"Indeed, it seems this band of pirates may have been hiding something all along."
Meng Lie also noticed this and replied gravely.
According to the intelligence, the Obsidian Stone Pirates numbered at most one or two hundred, but now they looked like several hundred at least.
And there were certainly other pirates on the island, so the true number was probably far beyond the intelligence reports.
"Xie Kui, you all stay here and clear out these ordinary pirates. Meng Lie, follow me into the island to see how much these pirates have hidden."
As his voice fell, Lin Sheng's figure already streaked towards the cluster of buildings in the center of the island.
Meng Lie responded, pushed off with his toes, and quickly followed.
The area of this island was not very large.
With the speed of one or two people, even occasionally killing some unlucky pirates along the way.
Before long, they arrived at the center.
Looking at the small fortress-like building in front of them.
Lin Sheng's figure appeared.
"Meng Lie, have you noticed, the closer we get to the center, the fewer people from Siro Country there are?"
Meng Lie, hearing this, was startled but quickly nodded in agreement.
"Indeed, there seem to be more Southern Qi faces."
As soon as he finished speaking, a look of confusion appeared on his face.
Logically speaking, this island was the stronghold of the Obsidian Stone Pirates, so there shouldn't be so many Southern Qi faces.
"General, something seems off here."
Thinking of this, Meng Lie said with a solemn expression.
"Indeed, something is off."
Lin Sheng nodded, his gaze falling on the fortress in front of him.
His perception was far stronger than Meng Lie's; at this moment, he could faintly sense a powerful energy fluctuation from within the fortress, as if there was a Formation of considerable power present.
Narrowing his eyes, Lin Sheng did not choose to enter the fortress.
Instead, he amplified his perception, wanting to investigate what was strange about this fortress.
And just then, centered on the two of them, the ground within a hundred meters suddenly crumbled, and giant trees shot up from the earth.
Their dark green branches and leaves intertwined, completely obscuring the sky above their heads.
"This is... a Formation!"
Seeing this, Lin Sheng's pupils contracted slightly.
"General, be careful!"
Meng Lie's heart also trembled; powerful force instantly enveloped his body, and he looked around with vigilance and caution.
At this moment, the giant trees that had shot up from the ground intertwined, like a large net, completely trapping the two of them.
"This kind of Formation is quite rare."
Squinting at the giant trees, Lin Sheng's face showed a hint of surprise.
Although he didn't know much about Formations, he had encountered some; whether it was the Purple Spider Magic Array at Yu Hai Pass or the Crimson Feather Army Formation, they were basically made with powerful Yao Beasts as their foundation.
However, he didn't sense any powerful exotic beast aura from these giant trees in front of him, so they were clearly not made from Yao Beast Materials, but rather seemed to be some kind of plant.
"This is... the Holy Ring Formation!"
Meng Lie seemed to recognize something and explained in a low voice.
As the commander of the Imperial Forbidden Army, he was well-informed and very knowledgeable about Formations, and at this moment, he identified the Formation before them.
"General, if I'm not mistaken, this is the Holy Ring Formation from Siro Country."
"Holy Ring Formation?"
Lin Sheng chewed on the name.
"This Formation is made by refining a type of plant from Siro Country as its main body. Although its lethality is not as good as our Southern Qi Formations, it is excellent at binding and trapping enemies."
"This Formation needs to be deployed temporarily, so it's likely the enemy already knew about our attack and set up an ambush in advance."
Meng Lie said, his expression somewhat grim.
Clearly, there was a mole in the Crimson Feather Army who had tipped them off, specifically waiting for them to walk into the trap.
As soon as his voice fell, a giant tree on one side moved aside, and two figures stepped in.
One of them had golden hair and blue eyes, was tall and prominent, dressed in leather, with a Western-style longsword at his waist, looking at the two with a half-smile.
Behind him was a burly middle-aged man, like a Black Bear, dressed in heavy black armor, with a fierce look on his face as he stared at Lin Sheng and the other man.
"Gongsun Changhai, how are you here?!"
The moment he saw the burly Black Bear man, Meng Lie couldn't help but exclaim.
"What, are you surprised to see me?"
Gongsun Changhai grinned, revealing a mouthful of crooked teeth, and swung a dark black club in his hand, which landed on the ground with a dull thud.
"I've been waiting for you for a long time, and you've finally arrived!"
As he spoke, his gaze fell directly on Lin Sheng, fierce light flickering in his bear-like eyes, carrying undisguised, ferocious killing intent.
"So you're that kid named Lin, huh? Daring to kill someone from my Gongsun family, no matter who you are or what your status, there's only one path: death."
Gongsun Changhai stretched his neck, slowly walking towards the two, dragging the large club.
"It seems all of this was planned by you long ago."
Lin Sheng narrowed his eyes, looking at the other party, and spoke slowly.
"Hmph, if it weren't for the fear of too much impact, I would have already killed my way back into the Crimson Feather Army that day and crushed all of you."
Hearing Lin Sheng's words, Gongsun Changhai snorted coldly, but quickly a cruel smile appeared on his face.
"But don't worry, I won't let you die painlessly. I'll have a good time playing with you..."
"How dare you, Gongsun Changhai! You want to commit insubordination? Aren't you afraid Your Majesty will settle accounts with your entire Gongsun family?"
Watching Gongsun Changhai approach, Meng Lie stepped forward, sword in hand, and shouted in a low voice.
"Settle accounts? Haha, the Crimson Feather Army commander led his troops to suppress bandits, underestimated the enemy, pushed too far, and accidentally fell into a pirate trap, finally suffering total annihilation. How does that have anything to do with my Gongsun family?"
Gongsun Changhai laughed heartily, as if he had heard a joke.
"Afterward, I, Gongsun Changhai, led my troops to arrive and defeat the pirates. My Gongsun family is not only blameless but meritorious. Is this play satisfactory?"
Clap, clap, clap...
A crisp clapping sound rang out, and Lin Sheng was seen clapping his hands, a look of admiration on his face.
"It seems the Gongsun family isn't entirely made of fools."
Seeing that even at this point, the other party showed no sign of nervousness, Gongsun Changhai sneered.
"Kid, you're at death's door, what good is saying all this?"
After speaking, he turned to look at the Obsidian Stone Pirates' leader behind him, who was watching the show.
"Steve, are you sure no Grandmaster experts have appeared on the island?"
The tall, golden-haired, blue-eyed man smoothed his hair from his forehead and chuckled softly.
"Don't worry, Commander Gongsun, according to the Formation's feedback, besides you and me, there isn't a third Grandmaster on this island."
"That's good then."
Hearing this, Gongsun Changhai's smile grew even more ferocious, and he continued to slowly walk towards the two, while at the same time, a powerful and vast aura emanated, locking firmly onto them.
"According to the intelligence, that old fellow Tang Zhong thinks highly of you. Jing Emperor, that old man, actually didn't arrange a Grandmaster to accompany you."
He felt a faint surprise in his heart.
After all, for this operation, he had made thorough preparations; even if the opponent had a Grandmaster expert, as long as it wasn't a Three Realms Grandmaster, even a second Realm Grandmaster might not be able to escape safely.
In the end, it turned out to be just these few small fry.
"Grandmaster!!"
At this moment, after feeling the powerful aura emanating from the other party, Meng Lie's expression changed drastically, and he couldn't help but exclaim, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Gongsun Changhai, you've actually entered the Grandmaster Realm!!"
"What, are you very surprised? I entered the Grandmaster Realm three years ago. To die by my hand is also your good fortune."
Gongsun Changhai approached the two step by step.
He enjoyed this method of constantly terrifying his prey until they finally fell into despair.
Each time, it would give him a perverse sense of satisfaction.
"General, you go first, I will hold him back!"
Meng Lie quickly calmed down, a look of determination on his face, and said to Lin Sheng in a low voice.
He had already prepared to fight to the death to hold off the opponent for a moment, creating conditions for the General to escape.
Although he knew very well that the hope of success was slim, as long as there was a glimmer of a chance, he would try.
"Escape? Hahaha, what a huge joke, trying to escape from my hands?"
Gongsun Changhai laughed wildly, shaking his head repeatedly.
"As a reward for pleasing me, I'll give you a quick death."
"You..."
Meng Lie gripped his longsword, immediately preparing to activate a secret technique regardless of the cost.
"Stand back a bit."
But at this moment, Lin Sheng suddenly patted his shoulder.
Meng Lie only felt the force he had just mobilized within his body dissipate, interrupting the activation of his secret technique.
"General, you..."
He wanted to say something, but before he finished, he felt a great force push him away.
"I didn't expect there to be such a hidden Grandmaster in the Crimson Feather Army. A family with three Grandmasters, no wonder the Gongsun family is so rampant."
Lin Sheng's eyebrows lowered, and he spoke softly, his gaze passing over Gongsun Changhai and landing on the golden-haired, blue-eyed Steve.
"And there's also a Siro Country Grandmaster. It seems your Gongsun family's ambitions are not small."
Hearing Lin Sheng's words, Gongsun Changhai's eyes narrowed, feeling quite surprised in his heart.
He hadn't expected that even at this point, the other party could still think of this.
The Gongsun family's plans were indeed not just as simple as one Crimson Feather Army.
At this moment, he felt a faint sense that something was wrong, because even though he had revealed his true strength, the other party's face still showed no panic.
That calm face made him extremely annoyed.
He had decided not to hold back anymore and to directly kill him with one blow.
"Hmph, playing mysterious, kid, I hope you can still be this calm when I smash your head..."
As his voice fell, Gongsun Changhai had lost his patience.
His feet crushed the ground, and his figure shot past like an ancient savage ox, his speed completely disproportionate to his robust physique. He was so fast that even Meng Lie only felt a blur.
The distance between them was already short, and in the blink of an eye, Gongsun Changhai was in front of Lin Sheng. A python-shaped phantom appeared on the black iron club in his hand, and he smashed it down fiercely.
"Die for me!!"
Amidst his roar, Gongsun Changhai seemed to have already seen the satisfying scene of flesh and blood flying, his mouth splitting into a ferocious grin.
But the next moment, the smile on his face froze.
The black iron club was suspended in mid-air, steadily held by a hand with clearly defined knuckles, unable to advance an inch.
"What's going on?"
Gongsun Changhai's face showed a bewildered expression.
"Just entered the Grandmaster Realm?"
Beneath the great club, a sigh of disappointment sounded.
In an instant, Lin Sheng's body rapidly expanded as if inflated.
Before Gongsun Changhai could react, he saw a massive giant, over seven meters tall, appearing like a god or demon before his eyes.
A tyrannical, savage, terrifying aura emanated like a vast ocean, causing him to inexplicably feel a sense of insignificance.
His movements stiffened, and he slowly raised his head.
Only to meet a pair of towering, gilded eyes.
"You are the weakest Grandmaster I have ever seen..."
The giant, fan-like hand pinched the black iron club as if it were a toothpick.
Crack—
The great club shattered in response.
"How... how is this possible..."
Gongsun Changhai's eyes were wide to their limit.
Only when the giant hand fell from the sky did he finally react, turning to flee.
But unfortunately, it was too late. With a dull thud.
There was a deep pit in the ground, and a puddle of fragmented flesh and blood.
Lin Sheng slowly turned, blowing away the sticky blood from his hand, and looked at Steve, who was frozen in place hundreds of meters away.
"Next, it's your turn..."