pertwk Chapter 17 Water Battle
Chapter 17 Water Battle
A river breeze swept across my face, carrying a strong yet pleasantly fishy smell.
The experienced sailors discreetly reached for a long knife from various places, placed it beside them, and looked around warily.
Several guards also drew their long swords, held them horizontally in their arms, and slowly wiped the blades clean.
Manager Zhou stood solemnly in the cabin, his distinctive small eyes glancing at the river every now and then.
As they approached the reed marshes, he clasped his hands in a respectful gesture and solemnly addressed the group: "Gentlemen, this is precisely where the river bandits known as 'River Swallowers' love to ambush. These bandits are all cunning and vicious; once they board the boat, none of us will survive. Therefore, if we encounter them, I urge you all to spare no effort."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone in the crowd immediately shouted for a reward.
Manager Zhou reacted swiftly and generously replied, "Rest assured, everyone, the Zhou family is by no means stingy. If we encounter any river bandits, as long as we hold the ship and deter them, each person will be rewarded with two taels of silver! If any bandits dare to board the ship, killing one will earn us two taels of silver, with no upper limit!"
Having received the guarantee, the instigator cheered and stopped causing trouble.
Just then, the bandits arrived.
A violent tremor ran through the reeds ahead.
A dozen or so small sampans emerged from the reeds, each carrying two or three fierce-looking bandits.
A shirtless man stood on the lead sampan.
He carried a boarding axe on his shoulder; the shaft was soaked in blood and turned a dark brown.
Under his command, all the small sampans rushed toward the merchant ship.
Manager Zhou shouted, "They're here! It's the River Swallowers! Row quickly and charge!"
The merchant ship was drafted very deep, and the sailors rowed with all their might, but the ship still couldn't pick up speed; it was as slow as an ox pulling a cart.
Sampans, on the other hand, are lightweight and fast.
One was fast and the other slow, and in the blink of an eye they were close to the hull of the ship.
At this moment, the old bodyguard had already walked onto the deck, bow drawn and ready.
After judging the distance, he suddenly loosened his grip.
The bowstring twanged, and the first arrow pierced the neck of a bandit.
The bandits plunged into the river.
"Guard Sun, two taels of silver for killing one person. Shen the Cripple, make a note of this!"
Manager Zhou loudly praised the ship in the cabin to boost morale.
The old bodyguard expressionlessly drew a second arrow, aiming the tip at the bandits on another small sampan.
The bowstring vibrated again, and a spray of blood spurted from the bandit's left eye.
The arrow pierced through the head, and the victim didn't even have time to scream before falling backward into the river.
Large swaths of crimson surged up from the water's surface.
The men on the boat were greatly encouraged and immediately drew their bows and arrows.
Arrows rained down, and the bandits were unable to board the ship for a time.
The shirtless man roared, "Pour oil on them and burn these bastards to death!"
Soon, one by one, earthenware jars filled with black oil were tossed onto the merchant ship.
Immediately following, a torch traced an arc and landed lightly on the boat.
In an instant, flames taller than a person shot up.
Merchant ships are made entirely of wood and are filled with cargo, making them extremely vulnerable to fire.
Manager Zhou immediately called for help to put out the fire, and the deck was thrown into chaos.
Just as the old镖师 (bodyguard/escort) was about to draw his third arrow, a cold arrow shot from the side and struck him squarely in the shoulder socket.
He groaned, and the longbow in his hand fell to the deck with a thud.
Chen Ye glanced over and saw that the old bodyguard was not dead.
At this moment, he was leaning against the ship's side, gripping the arrow shaft with his uninjured hand, snapping the arrow with a snap, and drawing the long sword hanging at his waist, ready for battle.
Without the old镖师's arrows suppressing them, several small sampans took advantage of the chaos to stick to the hull, and grappling hooks were thrown onto the gunwale one after another.
Chen Ye squatted at the bow of the boat, holding a crossbow in one hand and gripping the gunwale with the other to steady himself.
A bandit climbed up the grappling hook rope, only half of his body showing.
Chen Ye immediately took out his crossbow, which was already loaded with arrows, and fired.
Because the shot was fired hastily, the arrow missed its mark by several inches and failed to hit a vital spot.
But the arrow still caused the bandit to scream in pain and fall into the water.
Chen Ye rushed over and fired two more arrows, finishing him off completely.
"Guard Chen, two taels of silver for killing one person!"
Soon, other bandits climbed up one after another.
Chen Ye wanted to cock the crossbow, but before he could even stand up straight, the ship suddenly lurched, and his right foot slid half a step on the slippery deck before regaining its balance.
In that instant, a pirate had already climbed onto the gunwale.
Seeing that the distance was too close, the crossbow did not have time to be reloaded and aimed one by one.
Chen Ye decisively abandoned the bow and crossbow, drew the short sword from his waist, and without any unnecessary movements, slashed at the side.
His blood and qi surged within him, and immense power roared along the short sword.
A cold glint flashed.
With one stroke, he severed the bandit's large head.
Blood gushed forth like a pillar.
The headless corpse fell limply into the river.
The second bandit had just climbed up when he saw Chen Ye covered in blood. He was stunned and intimidated by Chen Ye's fierce aura.
Taking advantage of the moment when the other party was stunned, Chen Ye expressionlessly raised his knife and slashed down at his opponent's face.
Before the bandits could understand what was happening, they were flipped over and fell into the river.
At this moment, shouts of battle filled the air on the ship.
Chen Ye looked up and saw that the Jianghu warrior was locked in combat with a burly river bandit wielding a short axe.
The wandering swordsman was held at bay by a short axe, and the two men's weapons were locked together.
For a time, neither side could gain the upper hand.
Chen Ye rushed straight over.
The bandit glanced at Chen Ye out of the corner of his eye, then abandoned the wandering swordsman and swung his axe at him.
Chen Ye dodged to the side, knocked the axe handle aside with the back of his knife, and swung the knife down with a backhand strike, the blade slicing diagonally into the bandit's collarbone.
Unexpectedly, the blade got stuck in the bone and couldn't be pulled out.
He immediately dropped his knife, grabbed the other man's wrists holding the axe with both hands, and kicked him in the inside of the knee, pinning him face down on the deck.
Then, he picked up the short axe that the bandit had dropped and chopped it down.
"Guard Chen, you have killed four people. Eight taels of silver as reward!"
Manager Zhou, with his sharp eyes, took in all of this.
Suddenly, a bandit crept up behind Chen Ye without him even noticing.
By the time Chen Ye turned around and saw it, it was too late to dodge.
The martial arts expert beside him immediately came to his senses, stabbed the bandit in the heart with his sword, and kicked the bandit into the river.
"You're a hero!" He wiped the blood from his face, grinned at Chen Ye, and said, "We're even!"
Chen Ye nodded on the deck and quickly turned to join the other battles.
Everywhere was filled with shouts of battle.
Chen Ye and his men fought valiantly and refused to retreat.
After fighting for an unknown period of time, the bandits finally retreated.
Seeing no hope of boarding the boat, the remaining sampans dragged the wounded man back into the reeds.
A shirtless, burly man stood on the last sampan, gazing across the river at Chen Ye and his group.
Under his silent gaze, the merchant ship slowly sailed out of the reeds and eventually disappeared into the water.
Only then did everyone on the ship dare to breathe a sigh of relief.
Bandage those who need bandaging, and let those who need rest rest.
Having gone through a fierce battle, Chen Ye was also somewhat exhausted.
He sat on the deck, leaning against the ship's railing, and slowly caught his breath.