Ma Zhongtian watched the scene before him as his defeated forces crumbled like a collapsing mountain. The elderly, women, and children pushed to the front as human shields had been terrified by the three heavy cannon shots. Their initial, headlong courage vanished, and they turned and fled toward the rear, throwing the ranks of the bandits hiding behind them into confusion.
Ma Zhongtian groaned inwardly. Heaven means to destroy me! The advantage I worked so hard to build has been overturned in an instant. He turned to Wang Boxi. "Military Strategist, do you have any more plans?"
Wang Boxi shook his head and stared blankly at the chaotic fighting ahead, his heart shrouded in immense sorrow. He suddenly realized how insignificant intelligence was before overwhelming strength. His schemes had merely slowed the enemy's conquest of Blackwater Stronghold; they could never change the outcome. Ma Xingkong's decision to live or die with Jadeheart Mountain had, in effect, thrust the stronghold's followers and their families into fire and water. What utter disregard for their lives.
By now, Hu Xiaotian's latest orders had been passed down. His soldiers shouted, "Raise your hands and surrender, and all past offenses will be forgiven! Keep resisting, and death is your only road!"
Suspended high from the mast, Ma Xingkong could see the entire battlefield clearly. He screamed wildly, "Fight them to the death! Brothers, live or die with Jadeheart Mountain..."
An arrow flew in from the side. Whoosh! It pierced Ma Xingkong's right leg, making him grunt in pain. Looking in the direction it had come from, he saw that the enemy flagship had entered the waterway inside the stronghold. Hu Xiaotian had fired that arrow.
Hu Xiaotian's archery was hardly impressive, but with such a large target, he could scarcely miss. The Heaven-Shaking Thunder had