Using the strategic advantage of Void Canyon's terrain, the Seven Seas Traveler quickly maneuvered into the minimum range of the Flame Domain Guild's airship before they could even react. Fang Hong opened the air combat deck's hatch, organizing the dragon hunters in two rows across the upper and lower decks. For the constructs standing over two meters tall, the Empire's Type XI Magic Guided Gun was a rifle, but for humans, it was practically a hand cannon.
Within a hundred-meter effective range, while not every shot hit perfectly, it was quite difficult to miss such a large target like a floating ship.
A volley of more than sixty bullets, any hit would punch bowl-sized holes in the wooden deck. The Seven Seas Traveler sailed past the Flame Domain Guild's ship, leaving a faint white smoke trail, silencing everyone gathered on their deck.
The enemy had originally gathered on the deck, readying for boarding, but didn't expect such a fierce barrage; the storm-like attack almost knocked everyone on the deck to the ground.
Fang Hong checked the combat records and found that they'd taken out nearly ten people in the first volley alone. This was partly due to his growing familiarity with leading the dragon hunters, but the real reason was that these people were not as battle-savvy as those on the Oxin Silver Flame.
What made it worse was that the Seven Seas Traveler hovered on the other side of the enemy ship, using it as cover. The crew on the other ship scrambled to fire their cannons, but they not only missed the Seven Seas Traveler but nearly hit the mast of the Flame Domain Guild's ship.
A shell landed on the deck, exploding into a shower of wooden splinters; Fang Hong saw several people fly into the air. Though resurrection was possible on the ship, this was clearly unacceptable to them.
Perhaps due to protest from the alliance, the other ship soon ceased fire and hovered aimlessly in the sky, unsure of what to do.
But while they hesitated, Fang Hong knew exactly what to do; a few minutes closing the distance had rendered their cannons ineffective, yet the dragon hunters' Empire XI Magic Guided Guns could shred the opponents.
The Magic Guided Guns didn't damage the ships much, but for those on the deck, it was a disaster. After two volleys, their deck was nearly barren, with the wooden crates shattered, rigging and shields scattered all over, and barrels rolling freely.
The enemy initially tried to retaliate with crossbow machines on either side of the ship, but it wasn't long before both the machines and their operators were reduced to mere components.
And when crossbow bolts came flying, the dragon hunters simply drew their blades, slicing as if nothing had happened.
With firepower exchanged in one-sided dominance, some of the enemy crew stealthily retreated below deck. Oddly enough, the commander did not halt them but instead ordered everyone to withdraw as if discovering new territory, leaving Fang Hong astonished.
Did the enemy mean to abandon the deck?
Then why did they come closer?
Despite the opponent's colossal mistake, Fang Hong wasn't benevolent enough to give them time to react. He immediately ordered Miss Tata to maneuver close and ram their side.
The crew from the Seven Seas Traveler charged the enemy deck, as dragon hunters lined up in a battle formation. It was only then that those guarding the entrances realized the threat, but their awakening came too late.
They tried to emerge and reclaim the deck's control, but Fang Hong couldn't allow them this chance, especially since the personal combat abilities of the Seven Seas Travel Group exceeded theirs.
Instead of breaking out, they were overpowered by Fang Hong's firepower, leading Luo Hao and the big Catfolk to pry open the deck's hatch and infiltrate the ship's midsection, quickly capturing the enemy's resurrection point.
Then, following the usual procedure, they dismantled the resurrection point and ordered the enemies to surrender.
The ship hovering above seemed to just realize what was happening and prepared to assist, but the Flame Domain Guild's ship was already raising the white flag. Without the resurrection point, the remaining crew would only diminish in number, and reflecting on the prior battle, they had failed to decrease the enemy's numbers at all.
How could they continue fighting?
The white flag flapped high, shocking the ship above, causing it to circle twice, losing the courage for continued combat. Without solidarity, it turned away, fleeing towards Void Canyon.
Watching this, the Flame Domain Guild members cursed aloud, but to no avail; examining the battle, they realized half the blame lay with themselves.
If they had truly utilized the two-on-one advantage from the start, it might not have ended this way. Unfortunately, there is no "what if" in reality, and if they had positioned themselves for two-on-one, Fang Hong would unlikely have foolishly engaged.
The battle began unexpectedly and ended swiftly.
Though opponents, Fang Hong didn't make it too difficult for them; he only dismantled their tail fin, seized some spoils of war, then collected their sails, burning them to leave them awaiting rescue in place.
Returning to the Seven Seas Traveler and checking the inventory, he realized they'd suffered almost no losses, but instead gained considerably. Including earnings from the Oxin Silver Flame encounter, the net profit likely amounted to tens of thousands of Lycel.