Water Battle Royale

The river breeze rushed against their faces, carrying a thick yet not unpleasant scent of water.

Experienced sailors silently reached for the long blades stashed nearby, keeping them close at hand while their eyes darted around, faces etched with vigilance.

Several guards also drew their long blades, resting them across their forearms as they slowly wiped down the steel.

Manager Zhou stood in the cabin with a grave expression, his small, distinctive eyes peering out toward the river surface from time to time.

As they were about to pass through the Reed Marsh, he cupped his hands and spoke solemnly to the group: "Everyone, this is exactly where the river bandits known as the River Swallower love to set their ambushes. These bandits are cunning and vicious; once they board the ship, none of us will have a way to survive. Therefore, should we encounter them, I hope none of you will hold back your strength."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone in the crowd immediately clamored for a reward.

Manager Zhou reacted with lightning speed, generously responding: "Rest assured, my Zhou family is by no means stingy. If we encounter the bandits, as long as you hold the ship and deter the thieves, I will reward each of you with two taels of silver upfront! If the bandits dare to board, for every one you kill, you get two taels—with no cap on the total!"

Upon receiving this guarantee, the instigator cheered loudly, and the unrest subsided.

Just then, the river bandits arrived as expected.

A violent shaking erupted from the Reed Marsh ahead.

Over a dozen small sampans darted out from the reeds, each carrying two or three fierce-looking river bandits.

Standing on the lead sampan was a bare-chested man.

He carried a boarding axe on his shoulder, the handle already stained a dark brown by blood.

Under his command, all the small sampans swarmed toward the merchant ship.

Manager Zhou shouted loudly: "They're here! It's the River Swallower's gang! Row faster, break through!"

The merchant ship sat deep in the water, and though the sailors rowed with all their might, the ship's speed remained sluggish, slow as an old ox pulling a cart.

The sampans, however, were light and swift.

One fast and one slow, they closed in on the ship's hull in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, the old bodyguard had already stepped onto the deck, bow drawn and ready.

After gauging the distance, his fingers suddenly released.

The bowstring hummed, and the first arrow pierced the neck of a river bandit.

The bandit tumbled into the river with a splash.

"Guard Sun, one kill, two taels reward. Limp Shen, mark it down!"

Manager Zhou shouted from the cabin to record the rewards and boost morale.

The old bodyguard pulled a second arrow with an expressionless face, aiming the tip toward a bandit on another sampan.

The bowstring vibrated again, and a spray of blood erupted from the bandit's left eye.

The long arrow pierced his skull, and the man didn't even have time to scream before he fell backward into the river.

A large patch of crimson surged up from the water's surface.

The crew was galvanized, and they all pulled their bows and notched arrows.

Arrows fell like rain, and for a time, the river bandits were unable to board.

The bare-chested man roared: "Throw the fire oil! Burn these dogs to death!"

Soon, ceramic jars filled with black oil were hurled onto the merchant ship.

Following closely behind, a torch traced an arc through the air and landed lightly on the deck.

With a whoosh, flames over a person's height erupted instantly.

The merchant ship was made entirely of wood and held a full cargo of goods, making it highly vulnerable to fire.

Manager Zhou hurriedly called for men to extinguish the flames, and the deck descended into chaos.

Just as the old bodyguard was about to draw a third arrow, a cold bolt shot from the side, striking him squarely in the shoulder socket.

He let out a muffled grunt, and the longbow in his hand clattered onto the deck.

Chen Ye scanned the area and saw that the old bodyguard was not dead.

At that moment, he was leaning against the gunwale, using his uninjured hand to grip the arrow shaft, snapping off the fletching with a crack, and drawing the long blade hanging at his waist to stand his ground.

With the suppression of the old bodyguard's arrows gone, several sampans took advantage of the chaos to pull alongside the hull, and grappling hooks were thrown onto the gunwale one after another.

Chen Ye crouched at the bow, holding a crossbow in one hand and gripping the gunwale with the other to steady himself.

A river bandit climbed up the rope of a grappling hook, his upper body just coming into view.

Chen Ye immediately pulled out the pre-loaded crossbow and fired as he raised it.

Because the shot was rushed, the bolt missed the vital spot by a few inches.

But the hit still caused the bandit to scream in pain, flailing as he fell back into the water.

Chen Ye hurried over and fired two more bolts to finish him off for good.

"Guard Chen, one kill, two taels reward!"

Very quickly, other river bandits began to climb up one after another.

Chen Ye wanted to draw the string of his crossbow, but before he could even steady his footing, the boat lurched violently, his right foot sliding half a step on the slick deck before he regained his balance.

In that brief moment, a water bandit climbed over the ship's rail.

Seeing that the distance was too close, there was no time to reload the crossbow and aim.

Chen Ye decisively abandoned the crossbow, drew the short blade from his waist, and without a single wasted movement, slashed at the bandit from the side.

The blood surged within his body, and a surge of immense power whistled through the short blade.

A cold light flashed.

With one strike, he severed the water bandit's massive head.

Blood sprayed like a pillar.

The headless corpse fell limply into the river.

A second water bandit had just climbed up and happened to see Chen Ye drenched in blood; he froze, stunned by his ferocious aura.

Chen Ye seized the moment of the man's hesitation and, expressionless, brought his blade down in a frontal strike.

Before the water bandit could even understand what was happening, he flipped backward and tumbled into the river.

At this moment, the sounds of battle were everywhere on the boat.

Chen Ye looked up and saw the Jianghu Guest locked in a struggle with a burly water bandit wielding a short axe.

The Jianghu Guest was pinned by the axe, their weapons locked together.

For a moment, neither could overcome the other.

Chen Ye charged straight toward them.

The water bandit caught a glimpse of him, abandoned the Jianghu Guest, and swung his axe toward Chen Ye.

Chen Ye dodged to the side, knocked the axe handle away with the back of his blade, and countered with a slash that cut diagonally into the bandit's collarbone.

Unexpectedly, the blade became wedged in the bone and would not pull free.

He immediately abandoned the blade, grabbed the bandit's axe-wielding wrist with both hands, kicked the back of his knee, and forced him face-down onto the deck.

He then picked up the short axe the bandit had dropped and brought it down in a single strike.

"Guard Chen, four kills, reward of eight taels!"

Steward Zhou had a sharp eye and had taken in every scene.

Suddenly, a water bandit snuck up behind Chen Ye.

By the time Chen Ye turned and saw him, it was too late to dodge.

The Jianghu Guest nearby immediately snapped to his senses, thrust his blade through the bandit's heart, pulled it out, and kicked the bandit into the river.

"You're a good man!" He wiped the blood from his face and grinned at Chen Ye, "We're even now!"

Chen Ye nodded on the deck and quickly turned to join the other fights.

The sounds of battle were everywhere.

Chen Ye and the others fought hard and did not retreat.

After fighting for who knows how long, the water bandits finally retreated.

The remaining sampans, seeing that boarding was hopeless, dragged their wounded back into the Reed Marsh.

The Bare-chested Man stood on the last sampan, staring across the river at Chen Ye and the others from a distance.

Under his silent gaze, the merchant ship slowly sailed out of the Reed Marsh and finally disappeared into the expanse of the water.

Only then did everyone on the ship dare to breathe a sigh of relief.

Those who needed bandaging did so, and the rest took a moment to rest.

Having gone through a bitter battle, Chen Ye was also somewhat exhausted.

He sat on the deck, leaning against the ship's rail, and slowly caught his breath.