"General!"
"Are you defying my military orders?"
Seeing that he had already placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, the remaining subordinates could only kneel on the ground.
"If I die in battle, you will go home directly. I do not need you to die for me, but I need you to protect my son and keep him alive!"
After casting a deep glance at them, Kurozawa Akishiro began to remove his armor again.
"General!"
"Alright, come, follow this general onto the ship!"
After taking off his armor, Kurozawa Akishiro unbuckled his 'wakizashi' from his waist. With a deep look, he solemnly handed this ancestral treasure sword to the few retainers who were staying behind.
"General, take care!"
Under the blessings of those retainers, Kurozawa Akishiro stepped onto a small boat again, holding a 'wakizashi' he had collected. He headed straight for the Song army's flagship.
"Ah—"
"Ah—"
"Ah—"
However, as his small boat approached the Song army's large ship, piercing screams suddenly echoed from above.
Kurozawa Akishiro, whose hands had already reached for the grappling hooks, hesitated for a moment before resolutely climbing up.
Behind him, more Japanese soldiers, one after another, began to climb onto the Song army's large ships.
However, after Kurozawa Akishiro finally climbed onto the Song army's warship with great effort, he was stunned on the spot.
The Japanese soldiers who had just climbed onto the ship were now being dragged like livestock by soldiers clad in armor, using a large spiked net, towards the stern of the ship.
And along their path, even the deck of the ship was stained red with blood.
"Baka!"
Looking at the caltrops scattered all over the deck, Kurozawa Akishiro finally understood why there had been no sounds of battle from the ship until now.
"Retreat! Retreat!"
Although he wished he could tear these Song soldiers to shreds at this moment, his remaining rationality still allowed him to react quickly.
However, at this moment, he was not on his own command ship; he was only accompanied by a few ordinary soldiers.
He was bare-chested now, wearing only a linen loincloth, and holding a 'wakizashi' in his hand.
On such a chaotic battlefield, even if he shouted at the top of his lungs, no one would take his words seriously except for the few soldiers closest to him who were protecting him.
"Take down those bastards! They're babbling in some incomprehensible language, and it's so annoying!"
Although Li Bao did not understand what Kurozawa Akishiro was saying, he instinctively ordered his soldiers to shoot him on the spot.
At his command, the soldiers standing outside immediately grabbed the hand crossbows at their waists and unanimously aimed at Kurozawa Akishiro.
"Swoosh—"
"Swoosh—"
"Swoosh—"
Accompanied by a piercing whistling sound, Kurozawa Akishiro was instantly riddled with arrows like a hedgehog.
Although the hand crossbows used by the Song soldiers were not as powerful as the 'Ba Niu Nu', within fifty paces, these all-steel arrowheads were still devastatingly destructive!
Moreover, at this moment, Kurozawa Akishiro was not wearing any armor. How could he survive being targeted by so many soldiers?
Kurozawa Akishiro's lifeless body had just fallen overboard when, in the sea, several sharks, attracted by the blood, swarmed forward, eagerly beginning their feast.
In just an instant, the once imposing general immediately became food for the sharks.
And without his command, no matter whether the Japanese soldiers were willing or not, they could only follow Kurozawa Akishiro's earlier order, bravely climb onto the Song army's ships, and then be pushed onto the ubiquitous caltrops by their companions behind them.
"With so many people, it should be enough, right?"
Seeing fewer and fewer people climbing onto the ship, Li Bao waved his hand casually. The waiting Song soldiers, all clad in armor and wearing iron boots, began to clean up the battlefield.
"This battle is really boring!"
From beginning to end, there was no real engagement between the two sides, which made Li Bao feel somewhat depressed.
"Boring? It's supposed to be boring. Do you know how much effort the superior put in for this victory? Look at the soldiers beside you; how much do their equipment cost? Iron armor worth hundreds of guan, warships worth immense sums, plus ample supplies along the way. All of this combined is for you to achieve such boring victories, one after another," said Yuan Xingchi expressionlessly as he listened to Li Bao's complaints.
"Sir, I didn't mean it like that. I just feel like something is missing..."
Li Bao said as he scratched his head with a wronged expression.
"I understand what you mean. You want that kind of evenly matched fierce battle, but don't you open your eyes and see if these people are worthy? A skilled warrior achieves no great fame. You and I are merely extensions of the superior's limbs. The superior is clearly planning to nurture you, which is why he assigned you such a good task! Promotion and fortune are within easy reach, tsk tsk tsk!"
After patting Li Bao's shoulder, Yuan Xingchi finally managed to squeeze out a smile.
"Promotion and fortune?"
Upon hearing him say that, Li Bao finally came to his senses.
To be honest, it seemed to be true. With their strength, they could definitely roam freely in these waters.
As long as they themselves did not make any fatal mistakes, those Japanese would have no way to deal with them.
With these large ships, whether for offense or defense, everything was at their discretion.
If they wanted to fight, the Japanese could not stop them; if they wanted to retreat, the Japanese could not keep them.
Was this not a great opportunity for promotion and fortune?
It might not even take a long time; at most, within a year, he might even get a position as an observer!
"Seeing all of you achieve success, even I feel like becoming a general!"
Yuan Xingchi said as he took out a small wineskin from his embrace.
And while they were talking, the battle on the deck was coming to an end.
Except for a few cunning Japanese who saw that the situation was not right and retreated back to the smaller boats below, eventually fleeing.
The vast majority of people were inexplicably kept behind by the Song soldiers...
"General, many of them have escaped. Should we pursue them?"