Chapter 349 - 264: Don’t Rush, Let the Arrow Fly for a While

Chapter 349: Chapter 264: Don’t Rush, Let the Arrow Fly for a While

"Even on the fastest ship, it takes ten days to get from the Huangpu Guard to the East Sea. It’s also winter, with rough waves and high winds, so small boats can’t sail at all. I’m certain the East Sea doesn’t yet know what happened at the Huangpu Guard," Ichida Keizai stated with conviction.

Hearing this, Wu Liangchen looked toward Ota Masayuki, who stood to the side.

After several days of house arrest at sea, Ota Masayuki had gained a clear understanding of his situation. Without waiting for Wu Liangchen to speak, he picked up where Ichida Keizai had left off.

"What Ichida said is true. The East Sea’s Monarch went all out for this expedition, deploying the entire navy he spent a fortune to build. He only left a few patrol boats at the key ports to maintain basic order."

Wu Liangchen’s interest was piqued. ’So, the East Sea is completely undefended right now?’

"You could put it that way," Ota Masayuki said with a nod.

Wu Liangchen fell silent for a moment, his gaze shifting to the map of the East Sea hanging on the wall.

Ichida Keizai immediately noticed this and eagerly chimed in, "Master Wu, I believe our best landing spot would be Divine Gate Port. It faces west, making it the closest port to Great Yan. Plus, it’s in the Lower Pass, so both the port’s facilities and its defenses are very primitive."

The East Sea was an island nation with numerous ports, but they were generally divided into two main regions: the Lower Pass and the Upper Pass.

The Upper Pass comprised a large area that included the East Sea’s capital, Tokyo. It was the most prosperous region, and its ports were built to be very sturdy.

The Lower Pass, in contrast, was mostly mountainous countryside with only a handful of cities. Its economy was severely underdeveloped, so even its ports were of mediocre construction.

Ichida Keizai’s proposal was based on this logic; after all, striking at the weakest point was the most obvious choice for anyone in this situation.

But Wu Liangchen remained noncommittal, turning his gaze instead to Ota Masayuki.

Ota Masayuki sighed to himself and shook his head. "Ichida’s suggestion is clever, but it’s not the best option."

With that, he strode over to the map, raised a hand to point at a specific region, and said in a low voice, "If we want a swift victory, this is our only real option."

Ichida Keizai looked where he was pointing and froze.

Ota Masayuki was pointing at Bobin Port, located east of Tokyo and known as the greatest port in the East Sea.

"This is the foremost port of the Upper Pass, and it’s only half a day’s journey from Tokyo. If we can take it quickly, then Tokyo itself will fall into our hands," Ota Masayuki explained.

"But..." Ichida Keizai could no longer hold back. "From what I know, Bobin Port is heavily guarded. Its city walls are strong and the port is fortified. How can we possibly take it so easily?"

"And that brings me to my main point. This location must be taken with cunning, not with a frontal assault," said Ota Masayuki.

"Cunning? What kind of cunning?" Ichida Keizai was clearly determined to challenge Ota Masayuki, ready to press him for every last detail.

Something like this would have been unthinkable before.

After all, given Ichida Keizai’s station, just getting a chance to speak to Ota Masayuki was a pipe dream, let alone questioning him so aggressively.

Ota Masayuki, however, seemed oblivious to Ichida Keizai’s hostility. He simply smiled and said, "It all starts with the very point you just made, Ichida."

"I believe the single most important factor in war is situational awareness. If you have a perfect grasp of the battlefield, you’ve already won half the battle before it even begins."

"Right now, we have a massive advantage: the East Sea doesn’t know what happened at the Huangpu Guard. They still believe their fleet has successfully captured that ’Pearl of the Sea.’ Under these circumstances, a little trick is all we need to take Bobin Port without spilling a single drop of blood."

It was clear that Ota Masayuki had received highly professional military training. This was different from the naval training Ichida Keizai had undergone; it was training in command.

To put it bluntly, Ota Masayuki had been trained from childhood to be a general, a commander. Ichida Keizai, at best, was trained to be an excellent sailor.

The gap between them was immeasurable.

It was this realization that filled Ichida Keizai with jealousy toward Ota Masayuki.

’Why was he born a cut above everyone else?’

’No matter how hard I try, I can’t even reach his starting point.’

’Even now... I pledged my loyalty to Master Wu before he did, but from the looks of it, he’s about to replace me.’

At this thought, an emotion called jealousy spread like wildfire through Ichida Keizai’s heart. He tried his best to hide it, but the glint in his eyes gave him away.

Wu Liangchen saw all of this but gave no indication.

In fact, he even saw it as a good thing.

After all, it was better for them to be suspicious of each other than to be united.

This was a method of handling subordinates that Wu Liangchen had mastered in his previous life, so he didn’t intervene.

They discussed the details for a while longer. Once everything was settled, Wu Liangchen waved a hand, and the two men excused themselves.

Once in the corridor outside, Ichida Keizai said nothing. He turned to leave, but was stopped short when Ota Masayuki called out to him.

"Ichida, please wait a moment."

He said, walking up to him.

Ichida Keizai’s guard went up immediately. He watched him warily. "What do you want?"

"No need to be so tense." Ota Masayuki smiled. "You and I are on the same boat now. Why the hostility?"

"On the same boat?" Ichida Keizai sneered. "I’m not worthy. You’re a high and mighty young master from the Ota family. I’m just a poor country bumpkin. How could we possibly be on the same boat?"

"You shouldn’t say that. Birth doesn’t determine everything. The Ota family wasn’t always an established house. My own ancestor started as a slave and rose from there," Ota Masayuki explained.

"Don’t give me that nonsense. You scions of noble houses hog all the advantages for yourselves, and now you have the gall to claim that birth doesn’t decide everything."

At this, Ichida Keizai’s face filled with scorn. "If it weren’t for Master Wu, I probably wouldn’t even have the right to speak to you, would I? You certainly wouldn’t have paid any attention to a country bumpkin like me, right?"

Ota Masayuki fell silent.

Ichida Keizai snorted, turned on his heel, and stalked away.

Watching him go, Ota Masayuki’s gaze flickered. In the end, he could only let out a long sigh and depart, looking disheartened.

Wu Liangchen was unaware of this exchange, and even if he had been, he wouldn’t have cared.

His earlier move to manage his subordinates had been an effortless, almost instinctual one. He didn’t care in the slightest how the two would handle it.

In the face of absolute power, everything else was meaningless.

Even if Ichida Keizai and Ota Masayuki were to collude and plot a rebellion, he could just kill them with a single punch. Why waste any more thought on it?

He stepped out of the room and onto a section of the deck reserved exclusively for the captain’s quarters.

This alone showed just how deeply the East Sea’s concept of social hierarchy was ingrained.

Even the deck was divided into different classes.

This stretch of deck was a world apart from the others.

It was cordoned off, and the floor was even covered with a thick, waterproof carpet.

The sea was calm now. The winter sun wasn’t intense, but its reflection off the water’s surface was still blinding.

In these conditions, Chen Baimei stood at the railing, longbow in hand. She stared intently at the distant sea, then suddenly drew her bow, nocked an arrow, pulled the string taut, and released.

The entire sequence was as smooth as flowing water, executed in a single, fluid motion.

WHOOSH.

A feathered arrow shot like a meteor across several hundred feet before plunging into the water.

A moment later, a sea fish nearly a meter long floated to the surface, its head pierced clean through by the arrow.

Seeing this, Wu Liangchen couldn’t help but applaud in admiration.

"Excellent archery!"

Chen Baimei was startled, only then realizing someone was behind her. When she turned and saw it was Wu Liangchen, she looked a little embarrassed.

"You flatter me."

After witnessing Wu Liangchen’s archery firsthand, how could she dare to boast of her own?

"No, it’s not flattery. It’s well-deserved praise," Wu Liangchen said, walking to the railing.

As a master archer himself, he understood just how incredible Chen Baimei’s last shot had been.

It might have only been a hundred or two hundred meters, but out on the open sea, with no everyday points of reference, all distances had to be estimated by experience alone.

On top of that, she hadn’t been aiming at a target on the water, but at a fish swimming beneath the surface.

That was even more difficult.

One needed incredibly sharp vision to spot a swimming fish under the water’s surface, as well as a clear grasp of the distance and the required angle of entry.

All these requirements came together to make that seemingly effortless shot possible.

And it seemed Chen Baimei’s shot had given Wu Liangchen an itch to try it himself.

He couldn’t be bothered to go back for his own bow, so he simply reached out and took the one from Chen Baimei’s hands.

This was a bow Chen Baimei had made herself; its shape, string length, and everything else had been customized for her.

But Wu Liangchen wasn’t bothered by that.

In truth, once his archery reached the level of a grandmaster, Wu Liangchen no longer cared what kind of bow he was holding.

A good bow certainly helped, but even the most ordinary composite bow could unleash astonishing destructive power in Wu Liangchen’s hands.

Besides, Chen Baimei’s bow was made from fine materials—it was a rare and powerful war bow.

Wu Liangchen’s eyes narrowed as he surveyed the surrounding waters.

Seafaring in this world was still in its infancy. Limited by shipbuilding technology, fishermen could only work close to shore, which meant the waters further out were teeming with schools of fish.

Wu Liangchen quickly locked onto a target. After roughly estimating the distance, he drew the bow, aimed it at a forty-five-degree angle to the sky, and loosed the arrow with a powerful shot.

The arrow screamed as it flew, disappearing into the sky in an instant.

Chen Baimei was stunned.

’What is he planning to do?’

"Don’t rush," Wu Liangchen said nonchalantly, lowering the bow. "Let the arrow fly for a bit."