The Wizarding World's Forbidden Book Administrator

Chapter 66 A Net of Heaven and Earth

Everyone says the sea and sky are one color.

If the ocean is no different from the sky, then the countless ships that are suddenly approaching are undoubtedly dark clouds that obscure the sky, bringing gloom and oppression.

Henry felt suffocated; if the ship that came was not a friend, it must be an enemy!

Upon careful consideration, Henry realized that there were many suspicious points in the matter.

To prevent Henry from returning to the Flameheart Sea, the Allied forces would inevitably send a large number of ships to guard the central route, making it impossible for any ship to pass easily through the southern part of Elbowbone Island.

However, Benson was able to successfully lead his team to reunite with Henry.

The enemy commander is most likely a loyal dog, and Henry absolutely does not believe that anyone can break through the loyal dog's defenses with "luck".

Furthermore, Benson's return was too coincidental, occurring just as Henry realized their hideout might be exposed.

Thinking about this, Henry realized that the two things might indeed be connected.

Henry had only been at sea for half a day, and the journey from here to the South China Sea would take approximately five to seven days.

In other words, the Eel has been sailing in the Kingdom's territorial waters for at least that long.

Henry strongly suspected that the Eel had been discovered from the very beginning.

The combined fleet had been following them closely, hoping to use these three ships to find Henry's hiding place.

After all, Henry was also sending ships out to gather intelligence, and once he discovered the Eel, he would definitely send ships to lead reinforcements to join him.

The loyal dog must have guessed Henry's thoughts long ago and planned to take advantage of them.

The reason why the small boat sent by the White Mist was captured by the enemy may be because the Allied forces narrowed their search area based on the Eel's course.

The small boat was out of contact for more than a day before the enemy took any action.

It is estimated that he was consulting with the commander to avoid launching a rash attack that could affect the main fleet's operational plan.

Thinking about it this way, all the clues connected.

Damn it! We've been completely outmaneuvered!

But it is precisely at times like these that we must not be impatient.

Henry quickly took a deep breath and calmed himself down.

And immediately made arrangements: "Ask Jellyfish how many ships the enemy has."

It was already night, and the moonlight wasn't very bright tonight, so Henry waited a while before hearing the number he wanted:

"Around one hundred!"

"Well……"

Henry murmured uncontrollably, a sense of despair welling up within him.

But Henry wasn't the only one in despair; Victor directly questioned:

"But now we only have six boats, Benson. You spent so much time, how come you only brought back two?"

"Pirates are all selfish, and that Riley is even more cunning. It took me a lot of persuasion to convince each of them to lend out a ship."

"That's enough."

Henry spoke up to stop the two from arguing.

"Now is not the time for infighting. I know perfectly well what Raymond and Riley are planning with these actions."

The two men could not help but be tempted by the offer Henry made, but they were also absolutely unwilling to put their fleet in danger.

In retrospect, Raymond and Riley's choices may not have been wrong.

The reason they ultimately lent out one ship was so that if Henry were to perform a miracle, they would have grounds to claim a share of the spoils.

Even if Henry fails, as long as he can escape unscathed, he will still owe those two people a favor because of these two ships.

People say merchants are cunning, but that's because they've never dealt with pirates.

Victor also regained some of his senses, and he asked Henry:

"Sir, the current situation can only be described as a desperate predicament. What do you intend to do?"

"There are one hundred ships ahead and twenty more behind; the enemy fleet outnumbers us twenty to one."

Henry said in a heavy tone, his voice even trembling slightly with fear.

"There may even be many ships hidden in some corner unknown to us. If we choose to fight them, it would be like throwing an egg against a rock."

Benson said, "Boss, are you planning to run away again?"

Yes… Henry chuckled self-deprecatingly… I’m always on the run.

He escaped the Black Goat and met the curator.

He abandoned the loyal dog and the Soaring.

He escaped the confusion and beheaded the smiling Edwin.

He then fled the Burning Heart Isles to escape Edwin's gambling debts, and now he is racking his brains to escape the Allied forces' encirclement.

Looking back on his life filled with "escape," Henry seems to have only ever pursued one thing: Natalie.

But we drifted further and further apart, Henry lamented in his heart, "I am such a failure."

But that's precisely why no one is better at escaping than Henry!

Henry said:

"The kingdom has assembled such a large number of ships this time, perhaps on an unprecedented scale, showing they are serious. No matter how powerful the pirate group is, they cannot shake the power of the entire kingdom. Therefore, choosing to flee is not shameful; to successfully escape from an encirclement of over a hundred ships would be an honor!"

"Sir, there's no need to worry. Those who willingly become pirates are nothing more than escapists from reality."

“But you are not a pirate,” Benson retorted.

"But we were also people who fled to the Scorching Heart Islands, a place known as the home of pirates."

Victor glared at Benson, then looked back at Henry.

"The problem is, sir, how do we escape?"

Henry observed the pursuing troops in front and behind, as well as the wind direction.

After determining that there was no better way, he replied:

"The enemy's main force is to the east, and with our six ships, it's impossible to break through. Going west, we'll be blocked by pursuers, and once we're held back until the main force arrives, it will be difficult to escape. The north is the heart of the kingdom, so the only option is to go south, and luckily, the wind is blowing from the south now. The Black Goat is fast, and with this ship leading the way, we should be able to lead the fleet to safety."

"We must remind you that the supplies on the ship are almost exhausted, and the three ships that came to our aid probably did not carry enough food and fresh water."

There is no land in the south.

Henry understood what Victor meant: there was only an endless ocean and a bottomless abyss.

The fleet could not remain in the southern ocean for long.

Henry knew that the resource problem was imminent. He could escape for a while, but not forever. Sooner or later, he would have to face the enemy's encirclement.

The problem at hand is that even a "temporary" escape is fraught with difficulties.

"Only those who survive have the right to think about the future," Henry replied. "And the South is the only way out!"

Henry ordered the fleet to form a diamond formation, led by the Black Goat, to escape the area before the encirclement was fully formed.

Now that Benson has returned to Lambback, with him and Victor assisting Henry in command, the entire fleet is operating much more smoothly.

The fleet, like a flying arrow, swept south across the sea.

After a while, Benson suddenly spoke up:

"Damn it! How can those noble longships be so fast? They've already closed the distance so much. At this rate, boss, we might not be able to break through."

Henry also realized that the enemy ships were surrounding them much faster than he had imagined.

This made Henry somewhat puzzled.

The Black Goat is rarely matched in speed, especially now that it has a tailwind.

The local fleet could not possibly outrun the Black Goat.

Could it be that the enemy has some means to accelerate the ships?

No, that's not right!

Henry immediately rejected the idea, because the Western pursuers had also shortened the distance between themselves and the Black Goat.

If those ships had also had a way to increase their speed, Henry's pirate crew would not have been able to escape to where they are now.

In other words, it wasn't that the enemy ships were able to speed up, but rather that the Black Goat slowed down!

Henry turned around and saw that the five ships following behind had all lowered their sails slightly to match the speed of the Black Goat.

What's going on? Why did the Black Goat suddenly slow down?

Henry looked at the sails; all four sails were taut and fully extended, and even the masts were tilted slightly forward, indicating that the wind conditions were good.

Since it's not a problem with the sails or the wind...

Henry frowned, strode to the side of the ship, and peered down.

The sea was pitch black in the twilight, but Henry had a vague feeling that the waters below the Black Goat were even deeper and more murky, as if a shadow was lurking and wriggling at the bottom.

This was no illusion, for Benson and Victor also followed Henry's lead, gazing at the sea.

Benson said:

"Boss, is there something under the Black Goat...?"

Henry then ordered, "Have someone throw a torch down!"

Soon, a shrimp took a lit torch and threw it into the sea.

The light wooden stick floated on the water, swaying with the waves, its burning asphalt head still gleaming.

Henry then realized that there was indeed something underwater.

Small figures dart swiftly underwater, making them difficult to spot clearly.

However, the sheer number of them was enough for Henry to identify.

It wasn't Henry who knew, Victor shouted:

"Sir, those are a school of fish!"

"It's a school of barracuda!" Benson added.

A large swarm of barracudas circled around the hull of the Black Goat, stirring up the nearby water and slowing the ship down.

"Damn fish!" Benson cursed, "I'm going to roast them!"

Victor asked, "Sir, we don't travel by boat often, is this a common occurrence?"

"Occasionally, schools of fish do swim past the boats."

Henry answered,

"But it only flashed by and didn't linger; such a presence hovering around the bottom of the ship is definitely not normal!"

"Then why are these fish...?"

Henry also wanted to know the answer to Victor's question.

Fish don't usually interfere with boats, so their current behavior must indicate that they've been disturbed by something.

Henry, being a possessor of extraordinary powers, had reason to believe that the current situation stemmed from this very reason.

He remembered the curator explaining that the power to manipulate or control the will of other living beings mostly belongs to…

"Witchcraft!" Henry blurted out the answer. "There are wizards in their fleet!"

Victor concluded, "You mean, the enemy is using witchcraft to control the fish and slow down the Black Goat?"

"Yes," Henry nodded, "We escaped from the Combined Fleet once, and they've probably learned their lesson, so this time they've specifically prepared a way to limit the Black Goat's speed!"

The enemy is also learning and growing, which is definitely not a situation Henry wants to see.

"Boss, what do we do?"

"At this rate, we have no chance of escape."

Henry used his fingernails to scrape some wood shavings off the armrest to release his inner anxiety and ensure he was calm enough to make a decision.

"Without the Black Goat leading the way, the remaining five ships have no way to gain an advantage in the chase. We must get the Black Goat moving again."

"The problem is how to deal with this," Victor said. "Sir, we don't doubt you, but we've never witnessed witchcraft firsthand, and we feel utterly helpless in this situation!"

"Witchcraft is hard to break, and I have no way to break it either," Henry replied, squinting. "However, if we look at it from another angle, what's holding the ship back is the barracuda, and dealing with the school of fish..."

Henry tapped the railing twice and turned to look around.

He suddenly ordered, "Benson, are all the small boats on the three boats you brought still there?"

"Yes," Benson nodded.

"Then you should lead three small boats to the bottom of the boats to drive the fish away, or catch them directly."

"Huh?" Benson pointed to himself. "Me?"

"That's right, didn't you just say you were going to 'roast them'?"

"Boss, I was just saying that in anger!" Benson spread his hands.

"But I'm serious now," Henry said sternly. "Let's get moving, Benson. Any more time and we'll all be feeding the fish!"

Moreover, the plover caught can also alleviate the fleet's food crisis.

Benson stopped arguing and took immediate action.

However, the allied forces could not wait for the pirates to drive the fish away, and Henry had to find a way to slow down the enemy's pace.

Henry immediately made arrangements:

"Victor, send Raymond and Riley's two ships to the right flank to hold off the Western pursuers. The remaining three ships will linger on the left flank of the Black Goat to prevent the main Allied forces from getting close easily."

Upon hearing this, Victor immediately went to inform the jellyfish.

Then, following Henry's orders, the ships took their positions.

Benson, leading three small boats, followed the Black Goat and worked hard to catch fish.

Henry was forced to change tactics, but the enemy continued their methodical attempt to encircle him.

Finally, the faster ships began to attempt to break through the protective net formed by the Eel, the Sea Urchin, and the White Mist.

Henry said, "Tell those three ships that all they need to do is slow down the enemy ships, don't insist on fighting, it doesn't matter if they let them in."

Victor went to relay the order, while Henry ordered the ballista operator to push the ballista to the port side:

"Don't rush to fire. Ammunition is limited, and we need to hold out for a considerable period of time. Every single giant arrow must be used to its fullest potential."

The crossbowmen responded enthusiastically.

An enemy ship broke through the defenses and raised its hard, sharp ram, charging straight toward the Black Goat.

However, when the ship was close enough, the giant crossbow bolt was fired decisively.

The enormous arrow struck the bridge squarely, instantly piercing through the ship's helm and helmsman.

The ship immediately went out of control and narrowly missed the Black Goat.

Then, more and more ships arrived.

The defensive pressure on the pirate ships is also increasing.

However, the Black Goat's speed still showed no signs of recovering.

He glanced down at the ship; Benson was still busy leading his men.

The fleet was clearly operating at full speed, but its situation was far more dangerous than he had imagined.

This formation can hold out for a while, but it certainly won't last long.

But as long as the black goat can gallop wildly, there is still a chance for the battle to turn around.

The allied forces have not yet encircled the convoy...

However, Victor suddenly reminded Henry:

"Master, look behind you!"

A warship, at some unknown time, circled around to the north of the Black Goat.

A single longship shouldn't have been enough to make Henry nervous...

But that was no ordinary ship.

Henry saw that the outer edge of the ship's bow seemed to be shimmering with emerald-colored light.

The spots of light gradually became clearer and more dazzling.

Until it merges into one, covering the entire hull, its shape becomes clear and specific.

"Oh My God……"

Henry was stunned.

The enemy ship was covered in a light membrane, transforming itself into...

A giant green rhinoceros galloping across the sea!