Zhan Long Chapter 806 - Termite of the Empire

Chapter 806 - Termite of the Empire
A soft breeze brushed against my face, giving me a refreshing feeling. The night was filled with bright stars. I looked up and saw the luminous milky way in the sky. The Flying Scythe Horse gave a worried whimper, as though it could smell danger in the air. Even so, I didn’t hesitate for a second and continued straight forward, towards the War God’s River.
“Scouts, check the area up ahead!”
Han Yuan gave the command in a low voice and three riders set off into the dark. After a few minutes, they reported back, “General, there are seven boats on the river, each extremely fortified and well made. There are an even number of cannons installed on each side. It looks as though they’re Dragon Crystal Cannons as well. It was too dark to tell though.”
Han Yuan turned around to me, “General, what should we do?”
I replied, “What do you think we should do?”
Han Yuan raised his spear and clenched his teeth, “These d*mn*d pirates, raiding, killing the villagers, and violating their women. We should’ve burned them all to ground a long time ago. Even if we take losses in this battle, it is for the sake of justice! The cavalry will lead the charge. If we don’t lose too many people, then we’ll board the boats. General, how does that sound?”
I nodded in agreement and gave the command, “Cavalry camp, spread out and charge at their boats. When we get close to the shore, immediately leave your horses and board the boats. We must keep those pirates on shore.”
“Yes general!”
A group of cavalrymen spread out in a line and began their charge. I gripped the Dragon Reservoir Sword hilt from behind my back and shouted, “Charge!”
The Barbarian Blade and Shield Soldiers all grabbed their torches and charged, covered by the darkness at the War God’s River’s bank while I was at the vanguard. The river was less than a hundred meters away. As the boats came into sight, I could tell that these were no frail pirates. Wasn’t it because of these boats that they were able to stand on par with the empire’s navy?
On the boats, I could hear the pirates’ voices that were carried on by the wind, “They’ve arrived! Target the cannons at them and give them hell! Motherf*ckers, these meddlesome Royal Army soldiers actually dare to mess with Dragonling Army. They’re just looking to die!”
I hid a smile. These wretched pirates actually dared to call themselves the Dragonling Army? Then today, the Royal Army will wipe the Dragonling Army from this map and pick up some experience and rewards on the way!
Cannonfire resounded from the ships and muzzle flashes lit up the night sky. “Peng peng peng!” the shots sounded. However, the Royal Army was spread out and was moving incredibly fast, making them hard to target. Only a small dozen were blasted to death. The rest successfully reached the beach. A few of boats were receiving the retreating pirates and were about to leave.
A dozen of Royal Army soldiers rushed into the water at miraculous speeds, they left their mounts ashore and boarded the ship.
On the ship, a group of pirates raised their long bows and aimed downwards at our soldiers. The Royal Army cavalrymen were all clothed in thick armor so the arrows couldn’t pierce through. Those kinds of attacks weren’t enough to kill them. Even so, they couldn’t avoid minor injuries and blood dripped into the river.
“Board the boats and cut down their helmsman and force them back on shore!” Han Yuan shouted.
A group from the Royal Army seemed to have become navy sailors. One after another, they pulled out their blades and began climbing up the battle boats. I, on the other hand, urged my Flying Scythe Horse towards another ship. When I was only twenty meters from the ship, my Flying Scythe Horse let out a whine, luring the pirates towards me. He roared, “Look, that man is the Royal Army Commander! Let’s see if he’s invincible or not!”
I clenched my teeth and activated [Ice Wings]. My horse let out another screech as [Ice Wings] burst from its back. I accelerated into the air and charged towards the boat with my sword in hand. All the Titan Tier monsters on the ship activated their long-ranged skills. I threw a slash into the crowd, unleashing a [Seven Star Fragment Slash]. Right then, all of the Titan monsters dropped into critical health. My little tiger roared beside me and launched itself into the crowd. With a single [Burstfire Raid], the little pet tiger killed a bunch of pirates on deck.
My boots landed lightly on the wooden boards of the ship. The second I touched the ground, I launched myself straight towards the helm. “Ka Cha!” I cut through the chest of one of the sailors and pushed him off the ship. “Pa!” I kicked the steer with my left leg, turning it straight towards shore. A group of warriors from the Royal Army took advantage of my distraction and immediately began boarding the boat. In close combat, the ships’ cannons were of no use. After a few more minutes, even the Barbarian Blade and Shield camp had caught up and were boarding the ship. In an instant, the mob of Dragonling soldiers were scattered and decimated!
……
“Landfall!”
Han Yuan’s voice echoed from the distance. Under the starlight, I could faintly make out that four of the ships were beached, whereas the other three were escaping down the river. Even so, I was very satisfied with this result.
Screams rose up from all over the ships. Against these pirates, the Royal Army soldiers did not show any mercy. I activated [Ice Wings] and flew onto the main ship where Han Yuan was leading the fight. This ship was at least two times bigger than the other ships and held at least 500 men. Han Yuan looked up at me and his eyes widened, “General, you…. Are you in the [Holy Domain] state?”
I was puzzled by his question, “Eh…. something like that?”
Han Yuan whooped in glee, “I never imagined the day would come where the Royal Army would have a [Holy Domain] warrior in its ranks, this is too great…. Men, keep on fighting! We’re going to cut all of these pirates down!”
Right then, there was a row of pirates kneeling before us. One of them was nearly weeping and shouted, “I’m innocent! I was tricked on to this ship to become a pirate. Please, don’t kill me. I didn’t do anything. Please, don’t kill me!”
One of the pirates glared at him and said, “Kieran, you’re head of our rear force, where’s your guts? People like you disgust me!”
I coldly laughed and picked the pirate up by the scruff of his shirt, “So you have guts? Are people who slay defenseless villagers the only ones who have guts? Alright then, I’ll personally send you on your way!”
I swung my Dragon Reservoir Sword, throwing the b*st*rd’s head into the air. I then tossed his body into the sea to be fed to the fish.
Afterwards, I walked over towards the rear captain named Kieran and said, “Right now I only have one question. You must tell me the full truth and nothing but the truth. Okay?”
Kieran had seen me kill someone just now, which only increased his fear in facing my smile. He trembled, “You’re really not going to kill me? I…. I don’t trust you!”
I grinned, “If you can’t trust me, who can you trust? Take a look around you, all of these Royal Army soldiers are ready to cut you down at any moment, that is, if you don’t put your trust in me.”
Han Yuan’s smile became more malicious. Right then, Kieran’s face practically turned green, “Alright then General, go ahead and ask. I’ll tell you everything I know!”
I nodded, “Despite the fact that the Dragonling Army has raided several villages along the shores of the War God’s River, why hasn’t the government done anything? There must be someone who’s pardoning your actions, right? Tell me, is it the Violent Thunder Army?”
Kieran’s face paled, “I… I’m just the captain of the rear guard, I don’t know…”
I swung my blade, cutting off the head of another pirate and coldly smiled, “Do you really not know?”
Kieran shook even harder and he even pissed himself, “I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you… but, my lord, after I tell you everything, will you really spare me?”
I nodded, “Yes, if you tell me the full truth, I will not kill you!”
Kieran finally confessed, “Alright then, the captain of the Dragonling Army is called “Dragon Scale”, and he was one of the soldiers in the empire. One day, after a battle, he drank too much and raped several innocent young women. He was whipped and chased out of the army by Princess Pearl. It is because of this event that he founded the Dragonling Army to take revenge on the empire. A year ago, the Violent Thunder Army garrisoned its troops along these shores. The superior of the Spear Camp is called “Yulo”. He’s an old friend of Dragon Scale’s. After some negotiations, they reached an agreement. The five thousand men posted in the northwest region of the Moon Blade Forest were ordered to not make any moves. Half of the loot is split between the Captain and that superior. Even the Dragon Crystal Cannons and regular cannons were provided to us by the Violent Thunder Army… if you don’t believe me, my lord, just look yourself! The insignia of the Violent Thunder Army is carved into the base. Even though they’ve been grounded, there should still be some vestige!”
I nearly leapt up and turned around, “Han Yuan, protect these Dragon Crystal Cannons!”
Han Yuan already understood what I was thinking and smiled, “General, do not worry. I have never and will never let you down!”
I glanced back at Kieran and said, “Alright tell me, are there any other terms? In other words, besides the loot, do you send anything else to Yulo?”
Han Yuan cut down another pirate and threw him off the boat. Kieran shuddered and said, “Half a year ago, we raided the Starlight Village and kidnapped a very beautiful young woman. I was originally planning on taking her back to my hometown and marrying her. But… but Yugo took a fancy for her and insisted on taking her in as his mistress. All I could do was give her to him. I had no other choice, I….”
I coldly laughed, “That young maiden is Iris. When you took her innocence, she must’ve fought hard against you right?”
Kieran’s face turned green, “My lord, I…. Iris and I are truly in love!”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the ridiculousness of his assertion, “You raided Iris’ village and you claim that you two are in love? Do you think that Iris is an idiot, or are you the idiot?”
Kieran trembled, as though he realized what had happened. He screeched, “General, you… you said that as long as I told you the truth, you wouldn’t kill me. You… you have to follow your promise!”
I bent over so that I was right beside his ear and coldly said, “Yes, I did say that I wouldn’t kill you. However, the men behind me will naturally follow through!”
Tears of fear flowed down Kieran’s face. Han Yuan raised his blade and his head rolled to the ground. He coldly said, “You cowardly piece of sh*t, you actually dare to rape young women. How pathetic! My lord, what do we do now?”
I looked into the darkness and said, “Call for Xiao Lie, Long Xing, and Xia Ye. Have them deploy ten thousand men to the War God’s River. We’ll create a makeshift dock on the War God’s River and take these four ships as our starting force. We’ll begin constructing our navy here, along the river! Afterwards, you and Xiao Lie will immediately begin deploy the entire Royal Army here on standby for orders!”
Han Yuan was stunned, “My lord, even if we spared ten thousand to begin constructing the docks, there are at least 40,000 men left. You want to gather them all?”
“Yes!”
“Alright!” Seeing the determination in my eyes, Han Yuan decided to follow orders without another word.