Chapter 1279

The first thing upon entering the water stronghold is to control all the water gates, then take over all the arrow towers inside; completing this takeover essentially means controlling Blackwater Stronghold.

Yu Tianxing and Li Yongfu personally led the troops into Blackwater Stronghold; Hu Xiaotian had intended to go, but Yu Tianxing asked him to stay outside and hold the fort.

Hu Xiaotian considered it and was happy to hand over the opportunity to subdue Blackwater Stronghold to Yu Tianxing; although Yu Tianxing had contributed strategies that won several battles, his prestige in the army was still insufficient, especially among the Yongjiang Navy of Wuxing Command, which did not yet trust this young military advisor.

One hundred twenty warships passed through the water gates and entered Blackwater Stronghold via the three main waterways; the stronghold's chief, Ma Xingkong, was aboard the same ship as Yu Tianxing and Li Yongfu—in fact, his situation was like a hostage's, and had he not voluntarily come to surrender, he would not have been easily trusted.

As they passed the southern gate of the stronghold, Ma Xingkong suddenly sighed.

Yu Tianxing laughed and said, 'Chief, why do you sigh?' Actually he also guessed Ma Xingkong's mood; seeing the empire he had built with his own hands about to change hands, no one would feel good.

Ma Xingkong shook his head and said, 'I hope you can keep your promise.'

Li Yongfu's voice came from beside: 'Rest assured, my lord always keeps his word; since he promised to let you leave, he will certainly not go back on it.'

Ma Xingkong looked around Blackwater Stronghold and said, 'Since I came here, I have painstakingly operated for seventeen years, only now achieving this scale.'

Yu Tianxing said, 'He who knows the times is a hero; a fine bird chooses its tree to roost. Given Chief Ma's abilities, you might consider joining our side—our lord has always sought talent eagerly. If you submit, you will surely achieve great deeds and create a glorious career.'

Ma Xingkong sighed and said, 'No one is born wishing to be a bandit; if not for a foolish, tyrannical ruler forcing us into a corner, we would not have taken to the mountains as outlaws.'

Li Yongfu coldly said, 'Even if you became outlaws, that is no excuse for looting, killing, and arson. Around Yunze, how many innocents have you slaughtered? How many have you displaced? For your own survival you resort to any means, preying on your neighbors—if not for our lord's benevolence, we would never spare you blood‑stained bandits this time.'

Yu Tianxing gave Li Yongfu a look; that was then, this is now—since the other side is willing to surrender, what point is there in bringing up past matters?

At this moment the sky suddenly darkened; the sky that had just cleared was again overcast with black clouds rolling in from the southern sky, soon covering Bixin Mountain, as if a storm were about to break. Although the weather changed abruptly, the handover proceeded smoothly: the stronghold handed over control of all water gates to the official troops and withdrew the garrisons from all arrow towers. Yu Tianxing ordered Xiong Tianba to act as vanguard, leading a thousand men to take control of all the arrow towers inside the stronghold.

After deploying defenses to control the arrow towers and water gates, the fleet then continued along the waterway. Their target was the inner harbor of the stronghold; the ten thousand elite navy troops accompanying the ships would land there, after which they would fully take over Blackwater Stronghold.

Xia Zhangming ran back and forth, reporting the latest intelligence to Hu Xiaotian. Upon hearing that our side had successfully seized the major water gates and all the arrow towers, Hu Xiaotian's mind gradually eased; it seemed the operation was proceeding fairly smoothly.

Xia Zhangming said, 'My lord! It's going to rain again!'

Hu Xiaotian raised his head, saw the low‑hanging clouds, and softly said, 'Tonight we should be able to hold a victory feast in Blackwater Stronghold.'

Seeing that Hu Xiaotian's face lacked a smile of victory, Xia Zhangming whispered, 'My lord, you seem troubled.'

Hu Xiaotian did not hide it: 'I have a feeling everything is going too smoothly.'

Xia Zhangming laughed, 'Not fighting is better—it avoids bloodshed. My lord, you needn't worry; we now control the water gates and most of the arrow towers, the water bandits of Blackwater Stronghold show no sign of resistance, and once our troops land, the entire stronghold will be under our control.'

A raindrop fell on Hu Xiaotian's face; he wiped it away, but the rain kept coming, and in an instant it densely covered the misty, vast Yunze, so much that even Hu Xiaotian's eyes could not make out the outline of Bixin Mountain.

Xia Zhangming advised, 'My lord, please go into the cabin to rest; once the other side has fully taken over Blackwater Stronghold, I will inform you immediately.'

Hu Xiaotian nodded and slowly entered the cabin; upon going inside, the world suddenly fell quiet. He sat at the table, picked up a cotton towel and wiped his face, and just as he was about to lift the teacup on the table, he faintly felt a vibration underfoot. At first he thought it was the ship shaking from a sudden gust, but upon careful discernment he realized the vibration was frequent and seemed to come from the hull, as if someone were striking the bottom of the ship.

In such stormy weather it is hard to notice this subtle change; just a moment ago Hu Xiaotian was on the deck, and even with his keen perception he had not detected it—had he not come below deck to escape the rain, he might have overlooked it.

Hu Xiaotian's heart sank; he crouched, placed his right palm on the floor, closed his eyes, focused his breath, cleared his mind of all distractions, and the vibration transmitted through the floor to his palm grew ever clearer.

Hu Xiaotian suddenly realized something, his heart grew heavy, he quickly rose and went toward the cabin door, shouting loudly, 'Xia Zhangming, Gao Yuan!'

Gao Yuan immediately appeared before Hu Xiaotian: 'My lord, what are your orders?'

Hu Xiaotian quietly told Gao Yuan his discovery; hearing it, Gao Yuan could not help but be startled, and he hurriedly said, 'I will immediately gather men to go down and check!'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Inform the other ships of this, and have them go into the water as soon as possible.'

Upon hearing the news, Xia Zhangming also came to Hu Xiaotian's side; Hu Xiaotian said, 'Zhangming, go at once to inform the military advisor and tell him to be extra careful—Blackwater Stronghold may be feigning surrender.'

Having received the order, Xia Zhangming called the Snow Eagle, leapt onto its back, and flew toward Blackwater Stronghold through the wind and rain.

At this moment ten soldiers with excellent swimming ability on the deck were ready; they had put on gray shark‑skin water gear and gripped water‑piercing spears, prepared to go into the water.

Hu Xiaotian also changed into water gear; seeing him about to go in personally, Gao Yuan rushed over and said, 'My lord, just wait here for news—there's no need for you to go down yourself!'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Few are stronger in water than I!' He patted Gao Yuan's shoulder and said, 'Let all ships weigh anchor and move toward Blackwater Stronghold.'

Gao Yuan said, 'Already notified them!'

Hu Xiaotian nodded, and with the soldiers who had already changed into water gear he leapt into the icy lake water; his descent was astonishingly fast. Although the underwater light was dim, his eyesight could still discern conditions within a three‑zhang radius. He was the first to reach the vicinity of the ship's hull, where he saw several black shadows gathering beneath the bottom. His feeling was correct—someone was trying to bore a hole in the hull, showing that Ma Xingkong's surrender was a ruse. Hu Xiaotian silently cursed Ma Xingkong for his treachery and deceit, unwilling to spare even the lives of the stronghold's brothers and their families. He approached the hull silently, raised his water‑piercing spear, and before the enemy noticed, struck repeatedly, killing two water bandits in succession.

The remaining water bandits only then realized their activity had been discovered; more than ten of them ceased their work on the hull and swarmed toward Hu Xiaotian. At this moment the soldiers who had entered the water on Hu Xiaotian's side also arrived nearby, and the two sides engaged in a close‑quarters melee beneath the surface. Since it was a fight to the death, nobody showed mercy. Hu Xiaotian, angry at the stronghold's duplicitous feigned surrender, dealt deadly blows; in an instant ten men fell under his hand. Seeing the tide turn against them, the water bandits panicked and fled, only to be cut down by several of Hu Xiaotian's soldiers.

Although the water bandits were familiar with Yunze's environment, after submerging they soon needed to surface for air; no one could stay underwater as long as Hu Xiaotian could. Some bandits, the moment they broke the surface, were shot by the soldiers patrolling above.

At this moment the warships also began to weigh anchor and move; nevertheless, three warships had their bottoms pierced, and their lower compartments started to take on water.

Just as Hu Xiaotian detected the abnormal condition of the hull and began to clear the water bandits by entering the water, the Blackwater Stronghold side also experienced a development.

Over a hundred warships had mostly entered the waterways of Blackwater Stronghold; Yu Tianxing saw that our side already controlled the stronghold's entry and exit water gates and arrow towers, and believed we basically had the situation in hand—yet just as they were about to enter the inner harbor, they saw an iron gate rise slowly from the water ahead, blocking their passage to the inner harbor.

Li Yongfu shouted, 'Stop the ships immediately—something is wrong!'

At that moment, in the waterway behind them, a series of iron gates rose slowly, separating their fleet; some gates happened to lift from the riverbed, actually hoisting the ships whole, causing them to lose balance and roll sideways in the channel. The marines aboard leapt into the river; the banks were not far, and they tried to swim ashore, but as soon as these soldiers entered the water they began to emit terrified screams. The whole channel boiled, as tens of thousands of man‑eating fish launched a frenzied attack, and the soldiers' blood soon turned the water red.

Yu Tianxing never expected the situation to reverse despite their near‑total control; turning around, he saw that the water gates they had seized were now shut again by iron gates rising from the bottom. The arrow towers they had held began to topple one after another, and the soldiers on them, instead of fleeing, screamed as they fell from the height.

At this moment thousands of water bandits charged the soldiers guarding the arrow towers; some soldiers who had fallen were still alive when the bandits rushed up and twisted their necks off. The scene changed so suddenly that even Xiong Tianba could not react in time; he swung his twin hammers, smashing two nearby bandits away, but then two children wielding spears charged at him. Xiong Tianba, a veteran of countless battles, had seen every kind of scene, yet the sight of these old, weak, women and children charging forward with murderous intent made him hesitate as well.

Today is Saturday, Two updates delivered, please let Zhangyu adjust and relax; everyone, don't stop your Monthly Tickets! (To be continued~^~)