Chapter 77 - 76: Annihilating the Water Bandits 4

Chapter 77: Chapter 76: Annihilating the Water Bandits 4

After Lu Jing’an finished speaking, he clapped his hands.

The crisp sound of his clap echoed through the silent assembly hall.

Immediately, two subordinates in dark cyan uniforms, their movements sharp and efficient, stepped forward.

They walked toward the wall behind Lu Jing’an, a wall covered by a massive white sheet.

Almost no one had paid any mind to that area before, assuming it was just an ordinary covering.

Now, with a SWISH, the two men steadily pulled the sheet away.

A massive river chart, so precise it was breathtaking, was suddenly revealed.

The entire wall was consumed by the winding course of the three-hundred-li Canglan River.

Ink lines traced the river’s form, while faint watercolors shaded the currents.

The brushwork was as fine as a single hair. Every curve of a bend, the location of every hidden reef, and even markings indicating the speed of the current were all clearly visible.

This was more than just a map; it was a masterwork, one into which countless hours of effort and even Secret Techniques had been poured.

It was as if the very soul of the river had been locked within this frame.

Zhao Laosuan, a man who had spent his life riding the waves, felt a jolt of shock with a single glance.

Many of the details on the chart were even more vivid than what he, a career Water Bandit, remembered from his years on the river.

"Boss, look at those little red flags... What do they mean?"

One of his men standing beside him asked in a low voice, pointing to the small red flags scattered across the chart.

Zhao Laosuan stared intently. The locations marked by the red flags seemed vaguely familiar, but he couldn’t quite connect the dots.

As he pondered, Lu Jing’an had already walked slowly to the front of the chart.

He raised a hand and, with two slender fingers, gently plucked one of the red flags from its spot.

The position where the flag had been was, shockingly, the very stretch of river where Zhao Laosuan and his men usually operated.

Zhao Laosuan’s pupils contracted. A chill snaked up his spine.

’No need to ask. Each red flag represents a Water Bandit hideout!’

This realization was even more horrifying than the impossibly detailed chart.

Even though he was a Water Bandit, he was only vaguely familiar with the operating areas of a few other nearby gangs.

But on this chart,

his gaze swept across it,

and quickly locked onto the middle reaches of the Canglan River.

There, at a confluence of complex tributaries,

there it was!

A single, lone red flag was planted.

’It’s the Black Shark Gang’s main stronghold!’

Zhao Laosuan’s breath hitched in disbelief.

That place was incredibly well-hidden. Other than the core members of the Black Shark Gang,

the number of people on the entire Canglan River who knew its location could be counted on one hand.

Yet now it was marked here, plain as day!

And he wasn’t the only one who was shocked.

Outside the hall, two men were mixed in with the crowd.

They were Black Shark Gang scouts, craning their necks to peek inside, and they looked as if they’d been struck by lightning.

They were intimately familiar with the location of their Water Stockade and spotted that fatal red dot almost instantly.

In an instant, a cold sweat soaked through their undershirts.

"Something’s wrong! Quick, we have to report back to the Dragon King!" one of them rasped, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

The two exchanged a panicked look and turned to disappear back into the crowd.

But the moment they moved, from among the seemingly ordinary commoners around them,

seven or eight formidable men silently closed in, forming a circle as tight as an iron drum.

Seven or eight cold, hard objects pressed into their sides and backs from different angles.

Gun muzzles.

Struggling was futile.

With their arms twisted behind their backs, the two were quickly shoved in front of Lu Jing’an.

Lu Jing’an seemed to have expected this. His gaze swept coolly over their shocked and furious faces.

He had noticed the two scouts long ago, merely setting a net and waiting for them.

Zhao Laosuan was stunned for a moment as he looked at the two men forced to their knees.

But when he saw one of their faces clearly, fury erupted in his eyes. "It’s you!"

The man looked up.

It was the Dragon King’s emissary—the very man who had arrogantly arrived with betrothal gifts, demanding he marry off his daughter.

Zhao Laosuan later learned that this man’s specialty was procuring new "brides" for the Dragon King.

His methods were despicable, and his reputation was infamous.

If he held a grudge against someone, or simply didn’t like them,

he would find a way to make their closest female relative the Dragon King’s next "wife."

Countless families had been torn apart because of him.

Zhao Laosuan’s own family had nearly been driven to ruin by him. He had etched this face into his memory.

"An acquaintance?" Lu Jing’an asked, raising an eyebrow.

Zhao Laosuan suppressed his rage and briefly recounted the story, his voice trembling with resentment.

After listening, Lu Jing’an gently tapped his fingertips on the table. "What a coincidence."

His gaze fell upon the ashen-faced emissary.

His tone was flat, yet it carried an undeniable chill. "Later, after the Black Shark Gang is annihilated, he is yours to deal with."

Zhao Laosuan’s chest heaved. He gave a deep, cupped-fist salute. "Thank you, Director Lu!"

At that moment,

any lingering doubts he’d had about the young director—that he was just some glory-seeking, reckless rich kid—had vanished into thin air.

To be able to create such a chart, to so precisely locate the Black Shark Gang’s main stronghold...

This level of skill and planning was anything but ordinary.

But upon hearing this, the Black Shark Gang emissary on the floor threw his head back and let out a hoarse, maniacal laugh.

"HAHAHA!

Annihilated?

My Black Shark Gang has thousands of brothers, and our stockade is as solid as a fortress. You think you can take us?

So what if you know where it is!"

He struggled, glaring fiercely at Lu Jing’an before his eyes swept to Zhao Laosuan.

"You, Lu! If you know what’s good for you, you’ll let me go right now!

Otherwise, from this day forward, not a single plank of wood belonging to your Lu Family, or anyone in all of Yin Mountain County, will ever float on the Canglan River again!

That little ’warning’ we sent before... that will be the fate for every last one of you!"

He then turned specifically to Zhao Laosuan and grinned, baring a set of ghostly white teeth.

"Zhao Laosuan, you think you’re safe just because you ran ashore?

Dream on!

No one the Dragon King sets his eyes on ever gets away!

Your daughter, sooner or later..."

"THUD!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Zhao Laosuan lunged forward like an enraged tiger.

He smashed a fist into the man’s face, ramming the rest of the vile words back down his throat.

"Don’t kill him," Lu Jing’an said, his voice as calm as ever as he lifted his teacup and blew on the floating leaves.

"Yes, sir!" Zhao Laosuan forced out through gritted teeth, but his fists and feet continued to rain down.

Every blow was filled with long-suppressed rage and humiliation.

Only the dull thuds of impact and pained grunts filled the hall.

「Meanwhile, dozens of li away, at the edge of a reed marsh.」

Chen Xuan stood on the bridge of an Ironclad Ship, lowering the spyglass in his hand.

He took out his pocket watch and flipped open the cover with a SNAP.

The hour hand had just passed four in the afternoon. The sun was beginning its descent in the west,

staining the vast river and endless reeds a dusky yellow.

The appointed time had come.

He raised his eyes and looked toward the Black Shark Gang’s speedboats in the distance.

The Water Bandits were rowing back and forth, just at the edge of firing range.

They made all sorts of taunting gestures, their curses carried on the wind.

Chen Xuan’s face remained impassive. He slowly raised his right hand, then swung it down sharply.

"Fire!"

At his command, the weapon emplacements on both Ironclad Ships, long since prepared, erupted with fire!

Rifles and hand cannons roared in unison, bullets lashing toward the enemy boats like a torrential downpour.

The surface of the river instantly erupted in plumes of murky water.

The members of the Black Shark Gang didn’t seem particularly panicked.

With a sharp whistle, dozens of small boats nimbly turned their prows.

Like a startled school of fish, they all zipped into the reed marsh, which was as dense as a wall.

They left only arrogant laughter echoing across the river.

"You sons of bitches from the Water Patrol Bureau, come and get us if you’ve got the guts!"

"We’ve got drinks waiting for you in here, boys!"

Chen Xuan’s expression was grim. He did not give the order to pursue, saying only, "Reload. Check your equipment."

At the same time, the Ironclad Ship he was on

began to move slowly along the edge of the reed marsh,

heading toward another anticipated exit point.

The river wind swept over the iron hull, carrying the smell of gunpowder and the sharp, distinct scent of the reeds.

Having slipped into the reeds, the Black Shark Gang members relaxed, their boats skillfully navigating the narrow waterways.

One man stood at the prow of his boat and yelled out:

"Put your backs into it, men! We’re almost out!

The Dragon King said there’s good wine and meat for everyone when we get back! We’ll feast tonight!"

The men roared in agreement, and the sounds of paddling, laughter, and curses echoed through the dense reeds.

After a few more turns, the view ahead suddenly opened up. The narrow channel was about to merge back into the main river.

Smiles of a successful escape began to spread across the men’s faces.

But in the next second, those smiles froze solid.

On the open river, the two Ironclad Ships were waiting, barring their way like colossal black beasts.

Along their sides were the dark muzzles of machine guns,

glinting with a cold, metallic sheen in the fading light of dusk.

"Is that..."

"Fire!"

There was no warning, no final shout.

"RAT-A-TAT-TAT-TAT—!!!"

The roar of the machine guns tore the twilight tranquility to shreds.

Muzzles flashed, forming a deadly, crisscrossing curtain of fire.

It swept head-on into the cluster of wooden boats that had just emerged from the reeds, completely exposed.

Wood splintered and blood flew.

Screams and splashes instantly replaced the earlier boisterous noise.

The boats at the front were instantly riddled with holes.

They capsized and shattered.

The men behind were stunned. They tried to retreat,

but the narrow channel forced them into a tight cluster, making them even better targets.

The cold river water was quickly stained a dark crimson.