Chapter 318: Chapter 154 Battle
When the man saw Gu Chengyuâs sword coming towards him, he immediately swung out his short knife to block. Unfortunately, he didnât anticipate that Gu Chengyuâs move was merely a feint.
Gu Chengyu quickly retracted his sword and stabbed towards his chest. The man wanted to block but it was too late. His chest was pierced through, and he fell back into the river behind him.
With just one encounter, Gu Chengyu killed a river bandit. This completely enraged them. Several of them quickly surrounded Gu Chengyu and charged at him together.
Gu Chengyu utilized his energy to defend himself, moving swiftly, and wove his sword in a dome of steel around himself, impenetrable.
Then, as they retracted their hands to come again, he seized the opportunity, executing a horizontal slash. The sword swept across two men on his left side, instantly taking them down.
Before they could react, he mustered his Qinggong, moving behind them, and thrust his sword into the chest of the man on the right.
Simultaneously, he channeled his Inner Strength, delivering a palm strike to the person in front of him. This person flew backwards, crashing into the shipâs railing, a mouthful of blood spurting out.
Gu Chengyuâs speed was astonishingly fast, they hadnât anticipated it at all. Of the six that approached, four were already dead.
Inside a room on the ship, a man in his forties was pacing back and forth.
"Master! The situation outside is becoming dire!" At this moment, a man dressed as a servant entered from outside, speaking to the person inside the room.
"Whatâs happening? Can those sailors and guards hold them off?" The man referred to as Master hurriedly stepped forward to inquire.
"Iâve scouted; the sailors and guards are not up to the task. However, there is one person who is very formidable, leading their subordinates to withstand them!"
The Master grew more anxious; he initially thought those people came because of him. But now it seemed otherwise. He calmed down, "Hui An! Go out and assist!"
"Master! If I go out, who will protect you?" Hui An was only responsible for the Masterâs safety, he couldnât manage others.
"We are all on this ship, and this is the middle of the river, even if we want to shore itâs not possible. If the river bandits seize the ship, we canât escape either, so go!"
Hu Maoshen thought of many things. This time he came out was due to secret orders, could it be that the news had leaked? The Jingyuan River bandits usually ignore passenger ships, as long as the ship pays the toll in silver, thereâs peace. But why violate this rule this time?
The government always wanted to clean up the river bandits, but they were extremely cunning. Who knows where they hide on ordinary days? All ships look about the same with no distinctive marks. Who would think it a pirate ship?
Hu Maoshen thought more and more, perhaps they came for him. Besides, with so many civilians on the ship, he couldnât just watch them walk to their deaths. Besides, as an official, if he survived today and hid on the ship without moving, heâd be despised by colleagues in the court.
"Then be careful, Master, I will go help!" Hui An of course knew this was the right thing to do; the more people, the better the odds. The river bandits were just a band of mob. If he joined forces with a few skilled individuals, they had a good chance to protect the civilians on board.
"Theyâve set up boarding planks, theyâre coming over." People on the ship began to exclaim.
Gu Chengyu quickly dispatched two more people, and upon turning back, saw that indeed the pirate ship was some distance away, but the hull was sinking.
Yet, they had set up boarding planks, and others were assisting along the shipâs searail. Therefore, no one noticed when they ran over along the planks.
When Gu Chengyu looked, three or four people had already come over, and people at the shipâs searail were struggling to hold on, truly a situation of being attacked from both sides.
Uncle Li ran to the deck, finding everything in chaos outside with plenty of bloodstains on the ship, his heart sank, realizing the battle had started.
Just as he wanted to step forward and assist, he heard someone shout that the river bandits had come over on boarding planks. He wanted to advance and stop them but found he was empty-handed without a knife.
After dealing with a few people, Gu Chengyu couldnât pay attention to those at the searail anymore. There were more bandits on that ship. If they all came over and scattered, even if he fought with all his might, it would be too late.
Gu Chengyu leapt forward, seeing a burly man beside him. Gu Chengyu became cautious, could this be another insider?
"Throw me a knife!" Uncle Li had learned hard martial arts, not Qinggong, picking up a knife by running would definitely take time.
Seeing that Uncle Li didnât seem like a river bandit, Ming Mo threw a knife over.
Gu Chengyuâs treasure sword was extraordinarily sharp, would cut through even a hair without hindrance. As long as he cut the plank, those people would only swim over.
Gu Chengyu dealt with two entangled opponents, and with a slashing motion, the plank broke with a snap, and the river bandits walking on the plank fell into the river.
But they were not afraid, every river bandit was a swimmer, as long as they swam aboard, it would be fine.
Uncle Li, having gotten a knife, joined the fray. The two of them together resolved the people who ran over on the plank, but Uncle Li received a stab on his arm.
The bandit leader on the opposite ship was a one-eyed dragon, known as Half-blind Wang. He looked at Gu Chengyu wielding a sword on the opposite ship, utterly furious.
They initially planned to launch a surprise attack in the dark, since the ship had their insiders. Also summoning a few with special swimming skills to stealthily board the ship, but unexpectedly, before their ship got close, they were discovered by the other side. Moreover, the other side took preemptive action, catching them off guard. Theyâd lost a ship this time, he must reclaim the loss later.
This young boy, so ruthless in his moves, wielded his sword so quickly; every strike meant life or death for someone. Damn, the insiders on the ship hadnât informed them of this personality, they didnât know such a person was on board.
The ship underfoot had sunk more than half. Half-blind Wang yelled, "Everyone into the water! Get on their ship!"
After saying so, he himself jumped into the river first. Subsequently, the river bandits on the ship all followed and jumped down.
Gu Chengyu had already seen the Half-blind Wang standing on the ship, seeing his aura seemed kind of like a bandit leader. He hurriedly rushed beside, intending to take a bow and capture the leader first as the saying goes; everyone knows the reason. As long as they shot dead the bandit leader, the rest were no longer a threat.
But this Half-blind Wang was very cautious. At the beginning, he was stationed behind the shipâs board and then jumped into the river. In the water, finding their traces became very difficult.
The remaining bandits on the opposite ship, like dumplings, all jumped down. Gu Chengyu specially noted down, discovering there were eight in total.
Holding the bow, Gu Chengyu looked towards the place the bandit leader jumped and guessed his trajectory, searching his figure in the river.
This later batch of river bandits was indeed seasoned, Gu Chengyu had yet to spot even a shadow, surprisingly they all dove so deep. He focused, not blinking, watching the waterâs movements. He believed the bandit leader had likely noticed him, thinking maybe they intended to deal with him first.
Uncle Li had already gone to the shipâs rail to help. His fighting prowess was indeed fierce. Though his arm was injured, when he wielded the sword, it still struck with formidable force.
Gu Chengyu spared a glance; this person was indeed capable, also an effective helper.