The King of Chu's army pressed forward directly, and the Qin soldiers ahead naturally sensed it.
However, they did not realize it was the King of Chu's ship, mistaking it for just another large vessel from Chu.
Therefore, the Qin soldiers blockading the riverbank were not overly agitated.
Seeing these ships attempting to force their way through, they calmly issued orders.
"Order our ships to approach them swiftly and board them!"
"Simultaneously, use crossbows to blockade the river, denying them any chance to break out!"
"Deploy more ships to completely seal off the river, leaving them with no escape routes!"
Since it was a valuable catch, they had no intention of letting it go.
These countermeasures were all implemented with remarkable speed.
It was only after their soldiers boarded the King of Chu's ship that they immediately sensed something was amiss.
At this moment, the King of Chu was still clad in his royal robes, and his accompanying soldiers wore their armor.
Though their numbers were not large, they represented a complete royal court.
Qin soldiers might not recognize the King of Chu himself, as they had never seen him before.
However, they were familiar with the King of Chu's royal robes.
Many soldiers identified their enemies by their clothing and armor during battle.
Thus, upon seeing the King of Chu in his royal attire, they immediately shouted with excitement.
"General, it's the King of Chu! It's the King of Chu's ship, it's the fleeing King of Chu!"
"What? The King of Chu?"
Upon hearing this shout, the Qin soldiers on the shore were first stunned, then erupted in excitement.
"Hahaha! The King of Chu, it's actually the King of Chu! The King of Chu appearing here, this is great news, truly momentous news!"
"Don't say anything else, everyone, don't hesitate! Charge! Stop him, capture the King of Chu alive!"
The command to capture the King of Chu alive was met with the enthusiastic response of countless soldiers.
Innumerable shouts echoed across the river.
"Capture the King of Chu alive, quickly capture the King of Chu alive!"
"Brothers, charge! Capturing the King of Chu alive will surely earn us great rewards from the general, this is an immense contribution!"
"Hahaha! We've hit the jackpot this time! The King of Chu has run right into our trap, this is a gift from heaven, a chance for merit that we absolutely cannot miss!"
Capturing the King of Chu alive could undoubtedly be considered the foremost achievement.
Achieving such a feat would inevitably lead to promotion and renown, possibly even making one famous throughout the land.
Therefore, every soldier was incredibly excited.
Without any hesitation, they all appeared on the river surface in front of the King of Chu's ship.
Numerous ships had been positioned there, originally intended to blockade the river.
Now, knowing it was the King of Chu's vessel, these blockade ships became footholds for the soldiers.
They held their ground firmly, blocking the path of the King of Chu's ship.
And those who had already boarded the King of Chu's ship fought with even greater ferocity.
"Charge! The King of Chu is within sight, fight your way through and capture him alive!"
"Brothers, this is destiny! Destiny has decreed that we shall be promoted and honored, why hesitate? Charge in!"
The soldiers who remained were all Lin Tian's men.
Their combat effectiveness was far superior to that of ordinary soldiers.
While the King of Chu's personal guards were not weak, they were still outmatched by Lin Tian's soldiers.
Thus, as the Qin soldiers stormed the ship, chaos erupted.
The King of Chu initially believed his personal guards could defend him.
But when he saw his guards being cut down one after another, and the Qin soldiers rapidly approaching him, he began to panic.
"Guard me! Quickly guard me, protect me, protect me!"
"Kill them! Quickly kill them, don't let them get close to me!"
At this moment, the King of Chu wished he could mount a swift horse and escape.
However, there was no swift horse by his side, and he was currently on a ship.
Therefore, he could only cry out for help, hoping his personal guards would save him.
His personal guards did indeed have the intention to save him.
However, intention was one thing, ability was another.
They lacked the strength to save the King of Chu.
They themselves were struggling under the swords of the Qin soldiers.
Especially as the King of Chu's ship had already reached the blockade ships, with more Qin soldiers boarding, they were completely overwhelmed.
Under the onslaught of the Qin army, they retreated step by step, their area of control shrinking.
The sight of their comrades falling one after another instilled fear in many of them.
"Your Majesty, their numbers are too great, we have nowhere left to retreat!"
"We cannot win this fight, we should jump into the water!"
"Jump into the water? But I cannot swim!"
The King of Chu also felt that jumping into the water might offer a chance of survival.
However, the King of Chu could not swim, and he was unwilling to abandon the vast wealth and beautiful women on the ship.
If he truly jumped into the water, he would be left with nothing.
Thus, after responding, the King of Chu immediately changed his tune.
"Fight! All of you fight for me with all your might!"
"For every enemy killed, I will reward you with a hundred gold pieces; for ten killed, a thousand gold pieces! If we break through, each of you will be promoted to general! When our state of Chu is restored, you will be the most honored officials in Chu!"
Even at this critical juncture, the King of Chu was still making promises to his guards, stimulating them with wealth and position.
It had to be said, this method had some effect.
After he issued such an order, quite a few personal guards fought even more fiercely.
But the faces of more personal guards revealed bitter smiles.
They knew that at this point, it was impossible to turn the tide.
Relying solely on them, it was already difficult to break out.
Therefore, no matter how they fought from now on, it would only lead to their deaths.
As expected, not long after, the King of Chu's personal guards were almost all wiped out.
Only a handful of personal guards remained by the King of Chu's side.
By this point, no one even bothered to ask the King of Chu if he would surrender.
Without any hesitation, everyone moved to capture the King of Chu.
During this process, the King of Chu did resist.
But when all the people by his side had been killed, he gave up resisting.
And so, these soldiers who blockaded the waterways accomplished something earth-shattering: they captured the King of Chu alive.
On other waterways, the soldiers also achieved significant gains.
...