Shu Tianhao's vision grew blurrier and blurrier. He could barely make out Remnant Wolf's figure anymore.
Was he content to lose at the hands of a clown like this?
No.
Was he helpless?
Yes.
In his heart, he could hear Drunken Snow Blade calling out, wailing. It was so unwilling to give up. It still wanted to fight, still wanted to fight!
But Shu Tianhao had run out of strength. He didn't have even a scrap of energy left. His heart was willing, but his body was weak; it was like his arms could no longer bear the increasingly heavy blade as he wielded Drunken Snow Blade.
If only he still had his left arm...
Shu Tianhao let out a pure sigh, but he had no regrets. Not one bit. When he thought of Chu Yun, his heart filled with comfort.
"Everyone says you aren't my biological son. But in my eyes, you, the one I entrusted with my left arm, are closer to me than any biological son! I've already arranged my will. Chu Yun, you've always been the best successor in my heart. What a pity that I can't help you anymore. Without me, you'll have to watch out for the forces of Ning Family Island..."
The battle song in his ears had grown sparse, so faint that he could barely hear it. Darkness descended before his eyes, and he was about to sink into the world of the dead.
Since ancient times, who had ever escaped death? Was the All-Star Fierce Tiger of days past about to pass away, too?
But just then!
...Oh, the dark clouds, they blanket the sky! Oh, the waves, they rise like mountains! The cold wind, it strikes our faces! The spray, it lashes our boats...
...Let the gale cut like a blade, let the rain fall like arrows! Let the land crumble, let our lives drift like weeds!...
The battle song had grown stronger. Was he imagining it? Shu Tianhao's consciousness stirred violently.
"What's going on?" Remnant Wolf's expression changed. He had sensed something was amiss, too.
It was as if an invisible wind and waves had swept across the entire battlefield, and the atmosphere was quietly shifting along with the song.
...Comrades, open your eyes! Helmsman, grip the wheel! Take care, don't slack off! Fight for your lives, fear not...
...We fear neither a thousand-zhang wave rising like a mountain nor a thousand armies with spears like a forest...
"This is a new song! Who's singing?!" White Prowler cried out in alarm.
At first, the song drifted in and out like a new spring. But gradually, it grew louder and louder!
A vast roar of voices formed and swept across the battlefield.
...Since ancient times, who has escaped death? Our loyal hearts shine green as jade...
...Break through the sea, then turn back! Fight those raging waves to the death once more! Fight to the death...
With this new force pouring in, the Shu Family Army's morale, which had been sinking toward despair, was like a dying fire receiving a fresh log.
A new strength was gathering.
White Prowler surveyed the whole battlefield, and cold sweat trickled down his face. The two armies were locked in a stalemate, both exhausted. If the enemy had reinforcements now, the consequences would be unthinkable!
"No, that can't be! How could there be reinforcements?" He immediately denied it to himself again and again. "Reinforcements could arrive this quickly only if a military dispatch had gone out and Shu Family Island had reacted at once, assembling troops and rushing here at full speed, heedless of the waves. And they'd have to cross my poisonous fog, too. How could that be possible?"
He had no idea that most of his poisonous fog had been blown away by the wind and waves, while the little that remained had been countered by the flames. It had become little more than an empty threat.
The song swelled again, now booming like wind through pines and a tidal wave, resounding across the entire battlefield.
"Reinforcements! It's our reinforcements! They've arrived!" Countless Shu Family Army soldiers wept tears of joy. Their spirits soared, and their morale surged!
"How could reinforcements arrive at a time like this?!" Remnant Wolf scoffed, but his expression changed a moment later. His eyes fixed on a certain direction in the thick smoke.
White Prowler stared in a daze in the same direction. The shapes of several ships emerged from the smoke!
"How can this be? How can ships appear in that pitch-black smoke?" The pirates noticed the strange sight as well. Panic spread among them, and their morale plummeted again and again.
The battlefield abruptly quieted. Countless gazes turned toward one direction.
The battle song rang out, growing louder and louder. Its voices merged into a surging tide, sweeping in every direction!
Closer, closer still.
Countless people unconsciously held their breath.
Boom!
It seemed to take ages, yet it happened in the blink of an eye. The first warship burst through the smoke and charged onto the battlefield. Six assault skiffs followed close behind.
The battlefield fell silent, then erupted into an uproar!
Countless people gaped, their eyes nearly popping out of their heads.
What kind of warship was this? It was burning with flames!
What kind of army was this? They sang a battle song amid the flames, their fighting spirit blazing!
Horror froze on the pirates' faces. Countless people rubbed their eyes, convinced they had fallen into a dream.
By contrast, after their initial astonishment, the Shu Family Army brimmed with absolute confidence in victory!
They didn't know what kind of army this was. Perhaps it was the island lord's hidden trump card!
Even the raging flames bowed beneath their feet. This was a divine army—yes, a divine army descended from heaven!
The battle song rang out as the divine army descended!
The seven blazing assault skiffs were like seven sharp blades. They cut across the battlefield and pierced the pirates' hearts.
Especially when they saw the warriors charge from the flames, bells ringing as they fearlessly reaped the lives of their men, the morale of Remnant Wolf's pirates sank to rock bottom.
Morale was contagious. Once courage failed, a man could exert only half his strength at best.
Besides, they had fought bitterly for a long time and were already utterly exhausted. Their struggle against the Shu Family Army had come down to endurance and sheer ruthlessness. Now one side had suddenly gained fresh troops—and such ferocious divine soldiers!
Someone shouted, "Run for your lives!" and plunged into the sea. The rout spread through the entire band of pirates at once. They had never been a proper army to begin with. The fact they had fought this long was already a result of their fear of Remnant Wolf's terrible might, driving them to fight beyond their limits.
They had expected a desperate battle, but the pirates collapsed completely not long after the fighting began. Chu Yun's side was filled with renewed spirits, their morale reaching its peak. Jade Sea Kelp wrapped around their bodies, copper bells jingling at their waists. They moved freely through the flames.
Unstoppable, invincible wherever they went!
Led by them, the Shu Family Army launched a full-scale counterattack. The tide of battle turned in an instant. The pirates were routed, and the Shu Family Army took control of the entire battlefield!
White Prowler stared, dumbfounded.
Remnant Wolf was stunned, too!
How could this happen? They had clearly held the upper hand just moments ago, with victory within their grasp. But in the blink of an eye, everything had changed. The whole situation had been turned around!
As he watched the pirates flee in panic, dive into the water, or kneel to beg for mercy, White Prowler's mind went blank. Remnant Wolf was stunned, too. Everything had happened too suddenly, too quickly. The victor of one moment had become the loser the next. He couldn't accept it.
Fight! Fight! Fight!
Chu Yun charged at the forefront, swinging his weapon. Behind him, the Three Elders were old but unyielding, their grizzled beards and hair gleaming in the crimson flames of battle.
The battle song rang out, and the copper bells at their waists quivered and chimed in response. The rescue force was small, but the bells resounded across the battlefield, blanketing it and lending the army an immense presence!
It was as if a thousand armies had arrived together, charging into battle.
The ringing bells rapidly swept across the battlefield, rallying the Shu Family Army and launching a desperate counterattack. The pirates were in complete disarray, slaughtered until they fled in terror. For a time, countless men died beneath trampling feet or drowned in the sea.
An army in defeat was like a mountain collapsing. The Shu Family Army's victory was now assured.
Shu Tianhao seemed to be sinking into a dark, muddy swamp. As he hovered on the brink of death, the familiar battle song sustained his will.
The song enveloped the eight corners of the world, as if heaven and earth were echoing it.
"Dad!" Suddenly, the most familiar voice from his memories rang out like a thunderclap, tearing through the darkness!
Shu Tianhao trembled all over. Somehow finding the strength, he forced his eyes open.
A battlefield drenched in crimson.
Warships tangled together, blazing fires burning a brilliant red; corpses littered the ground, the waves rolled, and blood flowed in scarlet streams; and on the faces of every Shu Family Army soldier rushing toward him, the flush of excitement...
Red met red, blazing in brilliant hues. Darkness covered heaven and earth, but it couldn't conceal this crimson light!
Shu Tianhao froze. The soldiers rushing toward him, Remnant Wolf's disbelieving, stunned expression, the pirates in retreat... They had won?
How could this be?
The victory was beyond anything he had expected. Shu Tianhao was both shocked and bewildered. Then his gaze settled on someone. This, this was?!
Shock and joy froze on his face.
"Chu Yun, you child, why are you here?!"
As if he had heard the call in Shu Tianhao's heart, Chu Yun's eyes blazed red as he stared at Shu Tianhao lying on the ground and shouted with all his might, "Dad, I've come to save you!!!"
With that, he charged ahead, leading the way with a ferocious, unstoppable momentum.
Remnant Wolf's heart jolted. He was secretly amazed by Chu Yun's youth and courage. Then a vicious, sinister smile appeared on his face. "You're still wet behind the ears, yet you dare to boast! Good, come on, then. Today I'll cut out the roots and leave no future trouble!"
Remnant Wolf stood where he was, watching coldly as Chu Yun climbed over the gunwale.
"No..." Anxiety filled Shu Tianhao's eyes. He wanted to stop him, but he couldn't get a single word out.
At that moment, time seemed to slow down in Chu Yun's senses.
The world grew incredibly clear.
His own ragged breathing, his heart pounding violently, the battered hull, the leaning mast, the burning sails...
Shu Tianhao lay on the ground, his anxious, worried gaze fixed on him...
Drunken Snow Blade, embedded in the deck, its blade trembling as it called out...
And Remnant Wolf, surrounded by billowing black smoke, like a demon god. His blood-red eyes fixed on Chu Yun. He seemed to be looking down at an ant, his gaze cruel and venomous.
Remnant Wolf!
Remnant Wolf!!
The opponent he had Longed for day and night for twenty-three years! The man he had hated to the bone for twenty-three years! The source of his regret and hatred for twenty-three years!
It was you, Remnant Wolf. In my past life, just as I had finally built up my strength to take revenge, you died under mysterious circumstances. Now, in this life, you would pay!
He strode up over the gunwale without slowing, charging straight at Remnant Wolf.
Along the way, he reached out with his right hand and grasped the trembling hilt of Drunken Snow Blade.
In Chu Yun's hand, Drunken Snow Blade suddenly fell still, its blade shining brilliantly.
He drew his blade and charged.
"You dare challenge me? You overestimate yourself and seek your own death!" Remnant Wolf snarled, his face twisted. "Wolf Fang Fist!"
Black smoke rapidly gathered around his left fist. He aimed it at Chu Yun and struck with a killing blow.
The black smoke formed a terrifying wolf's head as large as an assault skiff. Chu Yun's thin frame looked insignificant before it.
"Chu Yun!" The Three Elders watched with eyes wide in fury. Still far behind, they shouted as one.
Chu Yun didn't flinch. His charge never slowed. He planted his foot and shot straight into the sky!
The fierce wind howled in his ears. Before him, the Wolf Fang Fist was pitch-black and terrifying. Beyond the fist, Remnant Wolf was surrounded by billowing black smoke, like a demon god. His arrogant, ruthless eyes seemed already to see Chu Yun blasted to death!
Strangely, everything around them fell silent. In Chu Yun's eyes, only the Wolf Fang Fist remained, and only Remnant Wolf.
At that moment, his concentration reached an unprecedented height. He had cast aside every distracting thought around him—even himself and the difference between life and death. All that remained was the powerful enemy he had to slay.
Twenty-three years of frustration and misery, twenty-three years of pain and regret, twenty-three years of unwillingness to accept defeat—in that moment, he poured every one of those feelings into Drunken Snow Blade.
It was as if he had staked everything on this one strike!
He raised the blade over his head, channelled every ounce of strength and will into it, and swung down with all his might!
A flash of blade-light burst forth...
It dazzled everyone's eyes!
Drunken Snow Blade erupted with a soaring blade aura, solid as a thing you could touch and as huge as a great ship. White as snow and gleaming with cold light, it came crashing down, guided by Chu Yun's movements, while his tiny figure looked like an ant.
"Ah, what is this?!" Remnant Wolf's eyes flew wide as he cried out.
The blade aura was peerlessly sharp, instantly shattering the Wolf Fang Fist. The blade-light swept through everything before it, cleaving Remnant Wolf in two before he could react. Its force still undiminished, the blade aura struck the warship.
A deafening thunderclap roared.
Boom!
That single slash had nearly split the entire warship in two. It cleaved the blood-red sea apart, its blade mark stretching almost half a li.
Towering waves surged up, sweeping countless fallen pirates away and drowning them in an instant.
That earth-shaking slash!
Almost everyone on the battlefield froze at once. Their ears rang, their souls shuddered, and they stared in dumbfounded silence.
Smoke and water vapor churned without end, swallowing everything and blocking their vision. The Smoke Wolf Beast let out a piercing, dying howl that stabbed at their eardrums!
The stricken warship groaned, a sound that made the heart quail. The bow and stern slowly began to rise as the sound of seawater flooding the hold rang out clearly. The ship would sink in moments.
After a brief stunned pause,
"Quick, save them!" Old Red Spear was the first to react, charging ahead. Dozens of people followed, pulling Shu Tianhao, Wu Datou, and the others out of danger.
"Quick, go save Chu Yun..." Shu Tianhao's lips moved as he struggled to speak.
"Chu Yun! Young Master Chu Yun is still on that ship!" Wu Datou was gravely wounded. His shout aggravated his injuries, and he immediately spat out another mouthful of blood.
Just as they were about to rescue him, the warship's descent suddenly sped up. In almost the blink of an eye, it sank beneath the sea. After the waves rolled over it, a massive whirlpool formed...
Against the crushing force of that whirlpool, human strength seemed tiny.
"Chu Yun!"
"Young Master Chu Yun..."
Countless people stared at the whirlpool, and many of them burst into tears. Though they had known him only a short time, Chu Yun's image—charging at the forefront, both wise and brave—had already been etched deeply into everyone's hearts.
"Were you looking for me?" A clear young voice suddenly came from behind them.
Everyone turned at once, their gazes snapping toward the sound.
On the burning deck, a figure could just be seen.
Everyone held their breath. Wu Datou stared blankly, and the scene of Shu Tianhao rescuing him suddenly surfaced in his mind, overlapping with what he saw before him.
Back then, the fire had raged fiercely, surging and blazing into the sky! I thought I was done for, but just then, a figure cleaved through the sea of fire...
He held a gleaming greatsword. Flames curled around him, as though even they were cowed by his presence and didn't dare lash out. His figure was as imposing as a mountain, just like a heavenly god descending from above...
The figure stepped out of the sea of fire. If it wasn't Chu Yun, then who was it?
Everyone stared in a daze. A few breaths later, the crowd erupted!
They were overjoyed!
Cheers rose to the heavens, and tears streamed down Wu Datou's face. At that moment, he almost thought he was seeing things. He mistook Chu Yun for the Shu Tianhao of years past.
Equally peerless in courage, equally fearless of death. Equally imposing, able to command the entire field. Equally vital, becoming the banner everyone around him could rally behind.
As long as he remained standing, there was still hope!
Just like when the island lord had still been a young man dressed in green.
"The island lord has an heir!" The Three Elders wept openly.
But Shu Tianhao slowly closed his eyes. He had borne the burden of everything alone for so long. He was tired—truly tired.
Now that he had seen Chu Yun like this, he suddenly felt as though a weight had lifted from his shoulders.
With a son like this, what more could a man ask for?
"Heaven has truly been kind to me, Shu Tianhao. It took my left arm, but gave me a son like this in return!" His comfort and excitement were beyond words; any attempt to express them would have fallen short.