Ti rewound to the mont the Yulong Gang’s escort boats withdrew.
Caobang’s fleet sailed in a grand procession toward Sanhe Commandery!
Suddenly, on the dragon boat’s left flank, a Martial Artist aboard an escort ship sensed a faint disturbance coming from beneath the hull. By instinct, he leaned over to look—and a palm as large as a fan seized his head and yanked him down, forcing him to tumble straight into the river…
“Ah!!”
The scream drew everyone’s attention. Then they saw a towering, broad-shouldered man vault onto the deck—seven chi tall, his entire body covered in scars from blades and swords. He stood before them like an iron pagoda.
“Who goes there?!”
“You dare strike the imperial envoy’s ship—do you know what cri that is?!”
Dozens of Martial Artists and Quasi-Martial Artists on the ship rushed in from all sides, blades raised as they pounced on the intruder.
The man’s brows were thick as drawn swords, his gaze sharp as lightning, and a cold, disdainful smile curled across his face.
He stamped his foot down.
CRACK!!!
The deck, solid as it was, was crushed into a hole beneath him. As his body sank, he drove both arms down with savage force, smashing out an even wider gap…
SPLASH!
Amid the trendous impact, the ship rocked, and everyone lost their footing.
At once, violent thuds and splintering wood rang out from the hold below.
Terror seized the crowd.
“The bottom is broken!”
“We are taking on water!”
“He is destroying the hull!”
Their hearts nearly stopped. They could already hear river water pouring into the cabin. The ship began sinking rapidly, the cracking and tearing of timbers continuing without pause!
CRACK!!!
That escort ship soon snapped into two from the middle.
Martial Artists on the surrounding vessels tensed instantly.
It had happened far too suddenly.
From the first scream and splash into the river to the ship splitting and sinking, only a few breaths had passed.
On the dragon boat nearby, the officials realized sothing was wrong. Their faces changed as they shouted:
“Assassins!”
“Protect the imperial envoy at once!”
“Guards!!”
“Guards!!”
There were many court experts aboard the dragon boat.
Constable Captain Yu and Constable Captain He of Sanhe Commandery were among them.
Both were Third-Rank Martial Artists.
Yet when they saw the惨状 of the escort ship, the two exchanged a grim look and shouted:
“Protect the lord!”
“Bring the ship to shore!”
“Everyone else—prepare bows!”
They knew exactly how sturdy a ship of this class was. To smash one in half in such a short ti was sothing even a Third-Rank Martial Artist could not accomplish. The enemy’s cultivation was terrifyingly high. Their only choice was to get as far from the danger as possible.
However…
As the first escort ship sank, a massive figure appeared upon the river’s surface—running across the water like a ferocious tiger, charging with overwhelming montum toward another escort ship stationed ahead of the dragon boat.
“Loose arrows!”
“Loose arrows, now!”
The Martial Artists and Quasi-Martial Artists on that ship were all from Caobang, each trained in archery. At the order, a dense rain of arrows swept forward to blot out the air.
But the intruder was too fast. He dropped his body low, skimming the water in rapid, choppy steps, accelerating and flinging every arrow behind him. Lightning flashed in his eyes. His right fist shot out with a dragon’s roar, smashing into the escort ship’s side.
BOOM!!
A wall of the hull, thicker than a fist, was blown open on the spot!
And he crashed straight through it, vanishing inside.
The ship shuddered violently. Splinters flew, and the Martial Artists on deck staggered and nearly fell.
Seeing this, Constable Captain Yu and the others on the dragon boat were visibly shaken.
The fish-scale design on the outside of these ships existed precisely to resist external attacks. The hull had been thickened and specially reinforced. Even a Third-Rank Martial Artist, striking with all his might, might not be able to punch a fist-sized hole through it.
Yet this man had smashed a man-shaped breach in a single blow…
Terrifying.
“A Fifth-Rank Martial Artist!”
Constable Captain Yu gritted his teeth.
“Gather everyone at once! Protect the imperial envoy with your lives!”
If anything happened to the imperial envoy on Sanhe Commandery’s turf, every official present would have their political future destroyed. In this life, none of them would ever advance another step.
Worse still, they might be held accountable for failing in their guard duties!
BOOM!!
At that mont, another thunderous crash erupted from inside the escort ship’s hold.
The next instant…
Amid screams, the escort ship cracked apart and began sinking slowly.
Everyone aboard plunged into the river.
Constable Captain He and a group of Third-Rank and Fourth-Rank Martial Artists from the capital stepped onto the bow deck, staring at the sinking ship ahead as they searched carefully for the enemy’s trace.
Tap… tap…
Tap-tap!
A figure stepped out onto the water.
Even at such a distance, the terrifying pressure rolling off him could be felt—blood like a furnace, montum like a raging tiger. The glance he cast over was like a hamr striking down, crushing everyone’s breath. No one dared move rashly.
“Fifth Rank?”
“Is he truly only Fifth Rank?”
Constable Captain He’s eyes were filled with dread.
At this ti, Caobang’s ships ahead had already realized that the imperial envoy’s dragon boat was under attack. They turned back and rushed in to reinforce…
On the bow, Hall Master Yin’s face was ashen. Both hands gripped the railing. His expression looked ready to devour a man alive, and killing intent filled his icy gaze.
“Loose arrows!”
“Notify everyone in the nearby waters of Sanhe Commandery—every Caobang disciple, all of them, co here!”
“Even if it ans we grind Sanhe Commandery’s Caobang to dust—today I want his head!!”
Hall Master Yin was a formidable figure in Sanhe Commandery. He knew what it ant if the imperial envoy t with disaster. He had already made up his mind: no matter the cost, he would drag the enemy down with him.
SCREEE!!
A Caobang distress rocket shot into the sky with a sharp, ear-splitting whistle, then burst into a glaring red fla. In the bright daylight, sparks gathered into the descending character ‘’.
This was a hall-master-level distress signal.
Any Caobang disciple or subordinate branch faction who saw it had to drop everything and rush to reinforce imdiately. Otherwise, they would be punished according to gang law!
“Into the water!”
As Caobang’s large ships drew near the remaining escort ship, Hall Master Yin’s rigid expression steadied slightly. He swept his arm, and dozens of Ranked Martial Artists clamped weapons between their teeth and plunged into the river.
SPLASH!
SPLASH!
Caobang excelled at water warfare.
He did not believe the enemy could run upon the river’s surface for long. Once the man fell into the water, even if they had to bite him to death, they would do it.
The mysterious Fifth-Rank Martial Artist had already smashed open the cabin wall of a third escort ship with a thunderous blow. He glanced at the Caobang distress signal hanging in the sky and curled his lips into a disdainful, indifferent smile.
“Reinforcents?”
“Today, what I have laid for you is a dead end.”
BOOM!!
With another roar of brute force, the ship’s keel was damaged and cracked. Then, under imnse pressure, the wounded keel was crushed to pieces from the center. The ship let out a dreadful groan and began sinking rapidly.
At the sa ti, both the dragon boat and the escort ships were firing arrows like mad!
The mysterious Fifth-Rank Martial Artist seed to have expended no small amount of strength as well. He paused briefly. When the rain of arrows thinned, he burst forward in one breath, leaping out of the broken, sinking ship.
“There!”
“Quick—shoot!”
“Do not let him get close!”
On the last escort ship, everyone shouted in alarm as arrows flew in disorder.
Third-Rank and Fourth-Rank Martial Artists on the dragon boat also joined in. Their arrows were sharper and deadlier, their predictions more precise. They forced the intruder to keep changing direction, dodging and shifting. At tis, he even had to raise an arm to knock arrows aside.
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