Chapter 123: The Modern-Day Yi Sun-sin?

The evening breeze swept across the turbulent sea as Jiang An emerged from the darkness unscathed, his expression cold and indifferent. Strangely, despite him standing right there, the previously raging machine guns abruptly ceased firing.

“What’s going on? Fire! Fire! Why have the machine guns stopped?!” Li Xiujing snapped back to reality, shouting furiously. When his eyes met Jiang An’s calm, well-like gaze, an overwhelming chill crept over him—a sensation akin to the presence of death.

Frantically, he sprinted toward the command room, yelling into the radio, “Fire! Fire!”

“Captain! The thermal imaging of that person has disappeared from the system! That’s why the machine guns stopped,” came the reply over the intercom.

“Damn it! That man’s standing right in front of me! Am I blind?!” Li Xiujing gritted his teeth, cursing.

Boom!

The ship suddenly shuddered violently, tilting sharply, provoking panicked screams aboard the Egret.

“Help me!” someone plunged into the water.

“Pull me up!”

“The ship’s leaking! The ship’s leaking!”

“Hurry, plug the breach!”

“Where’s the enemy? They vanished!”

“Search, search!”

“Look, up there!”

“God, I’m not imagining this, am I?”

“Mom…”

Chaos engulfed the vessel—orders clashed with cries and wails as if the apocalypse had descended.

“You little bastards, I’m not dead yet! Get—” Li Xiujing roared with desperation, trying to regain control. But a streak of blue light was the last thing he saw as a rain of ice spears, each three meters long, descended upon the Egret’s deck!

Whizz! Whizz! Whizz!

Looking up, an ice spear hurtled down, impaling him from mouth to the lower body’s exit, pinning him lifelessly to the deck.

The captain was dead.

This grim news did little to stir panic—anyone still alive on deck was already dead, brutally so.

Inside the ship, the coast guard was in utter disarray. From the high vantage of the command room, the deck below was a gruesome sight: countless bodies skewered on ice spears like human kebabs, blood vivid red, brains white, and bodily fluids yellow, forming a horrifying tableau that shattered all who beheld it.

Escape was impossible; the ship was capsizing, despite frantic radio calls for help.

Jiang An had already left.

First, he used magic to suppress his own heat signature, then with savage fists pounded several large holes into the ship’s specially forged steel hull. Finally, with a rain of ice spears, he slaughtered all on deck before departing to pursue his mission—there was no time to let the enemy escape.

…

“Commander! Commander! Emergency distress call—the Egret is sinking!”

At the South Qingdao Coastal Police Headquarters, the command center buzzed with activity. A staff member reported urgently to a middle-aged man with slicked-back hair.

The command center brimmed with sophisticated instruments, manned by over twenty personnel. When the Egret opened fire earlier, they were notified immediately. The director, Nan Mingji, who had been drinking alone in his office, was summoned and received the dreadful news of the Egret’s demise upon arrival.

He blinked in disbelief. “What did you say? How much time has passed since the firing began? You’re telling me the 1,000-ton Egret is sinking? Do you think I’m drunk?!” Other officials shared his incredulous expressions.

The operator panicked and switched on the loudspeaker. Instantly, cries for help, sounds of seawater flooding in, and impacts echoed throughout the command center, painting a dire picture that drained the color from everyone’s faces.

“Impossible! Could it be a foreign military invasion, missile strikes? They said it was just a Chinese ship trespassing our waters!” Nan Mingji shouted, eyes wide with disbelief.

“The Egret’s transmission says there was only one intruder!” someone muttered weakly, stunned by the absurdity.

Nan Mingji’s face darkened as a realization dawned. “All vessels, deploy immediately to the Egret’s last known location! Rescue any crew who have fallen overboard. And search with all your might for the intruder! Remember—this is a highest-level alert. This is no drill; this is war! Find that invader and kill without mercy!”

“Yes, sir!”

Everyone responded in unison, their hearts burning with suppressed fury. A large coast guard ship sunk with over a hundred casualties—this was no trivial matter.

Nan Mingji had just finished issuing orders, ready to report upward when the phone rang.

“Hello, Director Nan Mingji? This is Cao Taihuan…”

Thirty minutes later.

Ten nautical miles off the coast of South Qingdao, Cao Taihuan and Nishimura’s vessel sailed under the tight guard of five or six coast guard ships, all fully armed and on high alert, prepared to ambush the intruder. After a brief exchange with Nan Mingji, they had decided to use a Japanese ship as bait to lure Jiang An out and crush him with military might.

On the flagship White Whale, Nan Mingji spoke with Cao Taihuan and Nishimura.

“…Master Cao, so you believe the intruder is already at his limit?”

“You need not doubt that. Though powerful, after continuous battles and pursuing us over hundreds of nautical miles on foot, how much stamina could he have left? He’s no immortal. He’s not as terrifying as you think. Capturing him will earn you great credit; failing means you might as well take your own life,” Cao Taihuan said calmly, his mind clear.

Nan Mingji sought solace in these words, fully understanding the political and public psyche of Korea. Capturing the intruder would make him a national hero resisting China, gaining immense prestige and protection even if Beijing pressured him. Failure, however, would spell his doom on charges of incompetence.

What choice did he have?

I, Nan Mingji, am the contemporary Yi Sun-sin; this is my Battle of Myeongnyang!

Determined and ambitious, Nan Mingji declared, “I hope the intruder takes the bait as you say. I’m off to command the operation. You two, wait here and stay safe.”

With that, he strode out proudly.

A moment of silence.

“My heart suddenly pounds with unease. We can’t stay here. We must leave!” Nishimura said solemnly.

“Leaving now would be more dangerous. We should wait and see the outcome,” Cao Taihuan replied.

Nishimura was deeply humiliated. Not only had they been hunted like stray dogs, but they were also sacrificing over a hundred men aboard—his own assets from Japan—as bait. Logic told him staying put was safest, but an overwhelming sense of dread gnawed at him. Would Jiang An really charge straight through their trap?

No, of course not!

While they plotted, Jiang An had already boarded the Japanese ship, slipping quickly through to the cabin. His speed was so swift that none of the guarding coast guards noticed.

Facing the monstrous fusion of three spiritual entities, Jiang An had slain them outright; confronting spatial manipulators blocking his path, he crushed them without hesitation; even the Egret’s coast guard ship fell to his relentless assault. Cao Taihuan and Nishimura assumed he was a brash, straightforward hothead.

But Jiang An was no fool.

No matter how many schemes and traps they set, he would break through with sheer force. That was impressive, but required overwhelming power. Now, exhausted of stamina and magic, why would Jiang An play by their rules, using his weaknesses against their strengths?

Instead, he covertly boarded the Japanese ship to fulfill his promise.

He knew the setup was a trap; the main players were likely not on board. That was fine—he would turn their plan against them and start by killing those present.

According to his senses, the entire crew was cramped into a secret lower cabin, densely packed but lacking any powerful aura—just ordinary people.

He soon arrived before the heavily fortified steel door of the secret cabin. Its thick steel plating and special magnetic materials aimed to block spiritual or phasing attacks. Clearly, the ship’s design had anticipated many threats, and Jiang An suspected alarms were linked. Breaking in would alert nearby ships immediately.

Ridiculous.

Jiang An had no intention of breaking the door or entering. Who said one must enter to kill?

He unleashed the Chaotian Que—a formless, invisible force. Inside, a trembling shook the cabin, then silence. Jiang An manipulated gravity, concentrating pressure on each person’s neck, snapping their spines instantly, ending their lives “peacefully.”

This method of mass murder in a sealed room baffled even ten detectives like Conan.

Then Jiang An turned and left.

He planned to sweep ship by ship, showing no mercy during this process.