Chapter 329 Little Beauty Picking Mushrooms

After a night of passion, Yang Ling hugged the beautiful Sofia and slept well, waking up late in the morning. After waking up, he summoned people like Goode and Ashnamov to assemble in the discussion room and announced that he was going to pick a day for setting sail. They were going to destroy the pirates, set up sea routes from the Magical Beast Realm to other human cities, and explore the overseas islands and resources.

After the meeting, the people started to take action.

Goode prepared the resources and manpower needed for the trip. Master Aaron and the Gnome Elder made use of the time they had to create a giant crossbow that they could install on the ship. Viola handed out missions to organize the Hunters to explore the overseas islands and resources in order to provide intelligence for the army. Ashnamov made use of this time to train the soldiers and sent out many scouts to find out the pirates' movements…

After the great triumph over the Golden Giant Dragon Ducasse, the prestige of Yang Ling the Lord had reached a peak, reaffirming people's confidence. Solving the crisis of the revenge-seeking Druids and resolving the conflict with the Troops Association had also allowed the anxious people to breathe sighs of relief.

It was once again popular for the merchants to invest in the Magical Beast Realm. Merchant teams, investments, and people kept coming, bringing a huge amount of funds and talents of all types. Wissen Town had officially been upgraded to Wissen City, and the facilities of Black Water City and Sallero Harbor were advancing by the day.

The use of the Teleportation Spell Formation not only linked Aila Mountain Pass, Sallero Harbor, and the Magical Square Castle underground together, it also greatly promoted economic development.

With the payment of a certain number of Crystal Coins, the merchants, hunters, troops, and tourists could use the Teleportation Formation to travel conveniently within the Magical Beast Realm. Due to the management making peace and the clear segregation of missions, the Troops and Hunters no longer regarded each other as enemies, and they were even working together.

With the announcement of the various missions, the Hunter Association would guide and encourage the Hunters to explore places like the Sotras Forest, the Underground City, and overseas islands.

Hunters who discovered large mines, big islands, and unique resources got a substantial reward. The rewards attracted more powerful people to join the Hunter Association. In turn, these powerful people could accomplish more difficult missions, get higher rewards, and encourage more powerful people, warriors, or spellcasters to join the Hunter Association!

In this way, it became a beneficial cycle before long.

After slightly more than two weeks, everything was prepared, and Yang Ling officially led his army out to sea. There were more than 500 soldiers in total on three big boats. There might not have been many people, but they were all the cream of the crop. In the army were 40 strong Galapagos Tortoisemen and over 100 Pythonmen. There were also over 200 Frogmen who were able to move rapidly in the water and a few dozen Hunters who were experienced in going out to sea.

Under extreme conditions, every ship would be able to hold over 500 soldiers. The outer ship board was made into one big piece by joining the wood pieces together using the dovetailing wood joint. Every piece was made of oak and about half a meter thick. Since it had been painted with a thick coat of wood paint, it was more durable, resistant to wear, and strong against rot.

Every ship also had a hard and strong naval ram, a Magic Crystal Cannon fixed on the deck, to attack enemies head-on. On the sides of each ship were eight giant crossbow vehicles, capable of shooting crossbow arrows the width of a thigh. They could be used to attack from the sea or hit low-flying targets.

The keel of the big ship extended outwards, with two sharp ends. There was a row of drainage holes on each side of the keel. Usually, when the ship moved using the sails, closing the holes would prevent water from coming in. During critical moments, the holes could be opened to allow soldiers to advance on rowboats. On the high seas, not only could the ships travel fast, they could also weather most storms. The ships were currently the most advanced battleships on the Tailun Continent.

Apart from the three big ships, on the deck of every ship, there were a few dozen flat-bottomed speedboats. Not only did it travel fast, it was also easy to use the waves to help push it onto the shore. They were suitable for going upriver and past reef zones. They were the most advanced speedboats on the Tailun Continent now.

Looking at the Sallero Harbor getting farther away, Yang Ling was about to lean against the railing to enjoy the sea breeze when a soldier hurriedly rushed over. "My Lord, on the boat… We discovered another woman!"

Another woman? Could it be that the little girl Alice had snuck on board?

Yang Ling frowned in puzzlement and shook his head. Before setting sail, Orlando took some close guards to check every ship. It would've been difficult for Alice to sneak onboard.

"Brother Yang, can it be Alice? I'll go take a look!" After falling silent for a while, Yuna signaled the soldier who'd reported the incident to lead the way, striding forward. Sophia, who was by his side, hesitated for a while before following with big strides.

"Hmph! Don't follow me! I can walk on my own!" Yuna and Sophia had barely taken a few steps before the little devil Annie rushed onto the deck, making funny faces at the people following not too far behind.

Annie?

Looking at the fearless Annie and the Corpse Wizard King, who had his face turned away, Yang Ling understood what was going on without putting in much thought.

It might be difficult for other people to sneak in, but with the help of the Corpse Wizard King, an inside man, it would not be impossible!

"Uncle, you won't tell my grandfather, right? I've never seen the sea before. I'll play a few days and go. Just a few days!" Opening her arms wide and enjoying the fresh sea breeze, Annie skipped to Yang Ling's side in just a few steps.

"Hehe, it's okay. You can play for however long you like. Pretend I did not see anything!" Seeing the look of joy on the little she-devil's face, Yang Ling smiled evilly and said, "I heard that there are people in Bavaria who especially like to buy little girls like you and bring them home. Maybe we can sell you for a fortune when we get ashore!"

"Hmph, how dare you?" Annie obviously did not buy Yang Ling's nonsense. Cocking her head and rolling her eyes, she asked in puzzlement, "What do those people do with the little girls they bought at home? Could it be that they make them slaves?"

What did they do with the little girls at home?

Looking at Annie, with a mature figure that could lead people to commit a crime but emotionally far from maturity, Yang Ling shook his head. With such an unstable little she-devil at his side, he would be extremely worried.

"Hehe, they can do whatever they want!"

Yang Ling was a bit at a loss for words, but the Corpse Wizard King strode closer while speaking. If they did not know that this was the way he was, the people would have thought that he was some eccentric uncle or a perverted old man.

"Ah-woo…"

Just as Annie and the Corpse Wizard King huddled close, hiding away on one side to discuss some prank, a dot appeared on the horizon accompanied by a sharp screeching sound.

"Aye, what is that?"

"Could it be the pirate's sentry?"

The black dot got closer and closer. As the people focused and looked at it, they realized it was a huge Lightning Bird. But it was odd that there was a silhouette of a person on the bird, directing it to rapidly approach the boat.

"Quick! Gryphon Team, take to the air. In the air, hurry!"

"Adjust the giant crossbows! Level one alert! Adjust the giant crossbows, quick!"

Without needing the Great Commander Ashnamov's instruction, the captains of each ship commanded the soldiers to get ready for battle. More than a dozen Hunters who were with the army rode on Gryphons and took to the air, and the giant crossbows on every ship were tilted upwards, aiming at the Lightning Bird, which was closing in. The arrowheads, made of Star Metal, gleamed black. Even the Golden Giant Dragon, with its so-called strongest defense, did not dare take the arrows head-on, much less a level-eight Lightning Bird, which had a strong attack but weak defense.

"Shh! Uncle Roke, just say you didn't see anything. No, just say that before going out to sea, you saw me enter Terras Forest to go mushroom picking!" Just as everyone was looking at the Lightning Bird in puzzlement, Annie figured out that Elder Berger, like a shadow, had followed her again. After giving a few instructions to Roke, she quickly went to find a place to hide.

"Miss Annie, you also know how to pick mushrooms?" Yang Ling, with his astonishing eyesight, quickly identified the person approaching. Seeing that the little she-devil was looking to hide, Yang Ling had a sudden thought and was prepared to hand over the piece of hot potato to Elder Berger for him to bring back.

"Uncle, no! Your Lordship, if you want to eat mushrooms, I'll bring you along to pick them next time! Please let me pass, okay?" Seeing that Yang Ling had sneakily teleported over and blocked her way, Annie was so anxious that her face had turned red, and she almost bit Yang Ling's shoulder.

"There are many varieties of mushrooms, some that a person of your age will not be able to pull out!" Looking at the panicking little she-devil, Yang Ling smiled, thinking of a dirty joke he'd seen on the Internet about a young lady who'd gone into a forest to pick a mushroom. No matter how hard she tried, the mushroom would not budge.

"Hmph, if the mushroom cannot be pulled out, wouldn't using a knife to cut it out solve the problem?" Looking back to see Elder Berger coming closer, Annie was anxious and angry.

Cut the mushroom out?

Looking at Annie with the great figure, Yang Ling broke out in a cold sweat. If any guy were to lie in the forest pretending to be a mushroom and encountered this little devil, he would become a eunuch.

"Uncle, if you reveal my hiding place, I will cut your share of the mushrooms into slices and eat them raw the next time we go into the forest!" the little she-devil said wittily in desperation. She nimbly jumped over the railing and curled into a ball to hide in the gunwale.

Cut his mushroom into slices and eat them raw?

Looking at Annie, who did not know what the so-called mushrooms actually meant, and as a child, whose words meant no harm, hiding fearlessly in the gunwale, Yang Ling shook his head. For safety's sake, he was about to pull her out when the anxious Elder Berger flew right above him. "My Lord, Your Lordship, did you see our Miss Annie?"

"Elder Berger, come down! Quickly, come down!"

Seeing the anxious Elder Berger, Yang Ling waved his hand to signal him to come down. He could not wait for Elder Berger to bring Annie, the mischievous little imp, away immediately.

"Ah… Help!"

"Ah… Sea snake! Heavens, what a big sea snake!"

In the instant that Yang Ling looked up at Elder Berger in midair, the little she-devil suddenly screamed. A soldier standing near her also started shouting shortly after. As everyone focused their attention, they saw that on the surface of the sea closest to the little she-devil, a giant, python-like sea snake had suddenly appeared!