Li Yongfu darted to Ma Xingkong's side and pressed his blade against his throat. "You treacherous dog! Tell your men to stop! Do you want to die?"
Ma Xingkong laughed heartily. "Life and death are decreed by fate; wealth and honor rest with Heaven! I've spent decades licking blood from the edge of a blade. When have I ever been afraid? I don't mind telling you-my brothers and I have already decided to live and die with Blackwater Stronghold! Kill me if you have the guts. Make me bow my head? Dream on!" From the moment he had decided to feign surrender and win their trust, he had cast life and death aside.
Li Yongfu roared and slammed a fist into Ma Xingkong's jaw, knocking him onto his backside. He ordered his men to bind Ma Xingkong, then looked to Yu Tianxing for guidance, hoping he could find a way out of their predicament.
Yu Tianxing's face was deathly pale. He had thought victory was already in his grasp and never imagined such a sudden reversal. Faced with this situation, he could think of no good solution. More than ten thousand River Pirates surged toward them along both banks of the waterway, with the elderly, the weak, women, and children at the very front. Hu Xiaotian's naval officers and soldiers were stunned. They had never encountered such tenacity as Blackwater Stronghold's River Pirates displayed. Men and women, young and old-every last one had become a fighter, and none showed any fear of the well-trained Great Kang Navy.
Seeing Yu Tianxing standing there in a daze, Li Yongfu shouted, "Military Strategist!"
Yu Tianxing started at his shout and came to his senses as though waking from a dream. Watching the crowds surge along both banks, he could not make up his