298 The Pacification (1/2)
”Kill them all!”
The soldiers assumed their positions in groups of 5 and complemented each other. Furthermore, with their leather armour for protection, they were able to cut through the defence easily.
A large group of pirates were immediately killed, their fresh blood staining the floorboards. Some of them panicked and jumped into the water to escape.
When the second ship fell into the hands of the soldiers, a leader of the pirates immediately shouted. ”Things are not looking good! Let's go...retreat and fortify the stockade village!”
He had a well-built figure with a booming voice and his skills were not too shoddy. With a swing of his sword, he sliced through a soldier's leather armour, causing the soldier to scream as his arm was severed.
”The two of you, kill him!”
Upon witnessing the scene, Xu Ting ordered his two bodyguards behind him without a moment of hesitation.
”Understood!”
The bodyguards replied before rushing forward, their faces bearing cruel smiles as they swung the Hundred Refined Goose Plume Swords. ”Die!”
”Crack!”
The leader of the pirates raised his sword to parry. The two swords clashed and sparks flew.
A wave of power surged forth which caused him to retreat as his arms turned numb. He felt as though his sword was going to fly out from his hand and his expression changed. ”This is... an elite troop!”
He could not comprehend the situation. These bodyguards, who could easily take on 10 people at once, were assigned only to generals. Why would they appear in this area to defeat a few pirates?
However, he could think no further.
The two bodyguards were well coordinated. One of them met the leader head-on while the other advanced slowly as he waited for the opportunity to strike. With a sudden lunge and a flash of steel, the other bodyguard buried his sword into the waist of the leader which caused fresh blood to gush out from the waist of the leader.
With a cold laugh, the bodyguard severed the head of the leader with a stroke of his sword.
”This is a military warfare. Only a fool will play by your rules!”
In a military warfare, everything was fair play as long as the objective was met. So what if there was a small loss of reputation by using a sneak attack to kill the enemy?
It would truly be a joke if they were to talk about rules of the brave and the chivalrous with honour!
”It is almost done!”
When he saw the last will to rebel crushed, Xu Ting revealed a smile and nodded his head.
”Listen well, your leader is dead! Why are you all not surrendering?”
A bodyguard raised the severed head of the leader and hollered, ”If you all still go against the soldiers of the imperial court, your whole family will be executed!”
”Sir, please spare our lives, we are willing to surrender!”
It was natural for the soldiers to capture the bandits. With the leaders gone, the remaining pirates did not have much will to fight. They threw down their weapons and knelt down to surrender.
”Good! Prepare the ship, rope in the captives and account for the weapons and the injured...”
As he looked at the archers slowly killing off the pirates who jumped into the water to escape and a large group of pirates being held captive, Xu Ting gave the orders as his heart was filled with joy.
Not long after, the results were back.
”My lord, this time, we have killed 37 people and captured 50 people. The military power of the Heiguan Island has been wiped out...”
A sergeant reported, his face full of joy.
”My lord, I have located the stockade village. Those pirates that escaped previously have gathered within the village. It looks like they are trying to defend there...”
The Daoist priest came forward and spoke.
There was no real solution. Afterall, no troops would stay for long for just for a small stockade village. Once there were no real benefits left, the troops would withdraw.
”Oh!”
Xu Ting did not speak for a while. Instead, he stood on the floorboard and looked at the lake water that was stained red. There was a corpse floating in it with an arrow lodged in the body. He asked, ”How many of our men were wounded or killed?”
”3 people were killed while 5 people were heavily wounded. There were others who had sustain light injuries. They would not affect the operation as they would be able to join in after they are patched up!”
As he was the son of an official, the troops were highly skilled and there was an experienced doctor who saved the lives once at the battle ground, the troops were in high morale.
”They have already discovered us. Do we attack?”
No matter how short and poorly constructed the walls and the ditches were, the offensive side would suffer great loss should they attack the fortified area.
”Why bother, this battle is already over!”
Xu Ting tied up the pirates and laughed.
After a simple interrogation and multiple reports, they discovered that there were around 600 to 700 people left in the village, with most of them being the elderly, women or young children. The leader, Lu Jia was there as well.
Furthermore, the leader of the pirates who was previously beheaded was the second-in-command of Heiguan Island. He was naturally courageous. Of course, he was reduced to a severed head as a token of his bravery.
After hearing the reports, Xu Ting ordered the troops to reorganize and rest. He left around 20 people to guard the pier while he brought the remaining troops and captives before the stockade village.
At that moment, the village was in an uproar. Women and the elderlies could be seen standing atop the wall with worried looks upon their faces.
Afterall, Xu Ting's troops were from the army and as such, represented a sense of righteousness.
Furthermore, they have previously defeated the pirates and killed off many of them.
”Lu Jia is indeed a talent!”
Xu Ting came forward and took a look at the village. The walls were not very high. They were slightly over 3 metres and were dilapidated. Before the village, there was a ditch. Although it was freshly dug and unfinished, it was sufficient to serve its purpose.
With these, if the troops were to assault the village, they would have to pay a certain price.