The sky-shattering war cries echoed across the lake’s surface, drowning out the howling wind. The drifting smoke from the flames rose into the sky, obscuring the brilliant sunlight. Between the sky and the lake, there was now a somber darkness.
Xiulote once again stood tall on the high altar, greeted by the cheers of his trusted aides. Ters, holding a man-sized Great Shield, took the position of the Head Warrior, shielding him at the front. The Young Commander surveyed the noisy battlefield with his gaze, assessing the progress of the battle.
Directly ahead, the squadron led by Ospei had charged within thirty to forty steps, clashing violently with the Mexica Naval Forces’ front line. The flag of the Crocodile Marshal flew high, with dozens of desperately rowed sturdy boats carrying the elite family samurai, breaking through barriers fiercely charging towards Black Wolf’s flagship once more.
The frontline Commander, Annatri, looked back again, gazing at the stable flagship in the rear. Seeing His Highness standing once more, her heart settled slightly. Not seeing the tall and calm Head Warrior, she was filled with worry.
Suddenly, the female warrior glared ahead, remembering the stealth attack of the enemy’s flagship, her anger erupting like a volcano.
"Shameful ratfish releasing hidden arrows!"
Annatri pointed with her spear, leading the dozens of surrounding big boats to speed forward, violently colliding with the Tarasco flagship. As the two huge boats collided sharply, the nimble female warrior let out a loud yell and charged forward with her spear. On the shaking deck, she moved as if on flat ground, her three-meter spear cleverly avoiding shields to stab a blocking Tarasco samurai to death. Then, identifying the enemy’s leader, she again raised her spear to press forward.
Ospei half-knelt to stabilize himself on the swaying big boat. With a quick glance, he identified the leader of the opposing big boat, the spear-wielding female warrior. The "Crocodile" Nnobility did not hesitate to pull out an expensive Bronze Axe from his waist, stepped forward heavily, and hurled it with all his might.
Annatri moved forward quickly, always watching the opposing commander. Her pupils suddenly contracted. She jumped back like a butterfly, her body swiftly tilting to the side, and then forcefully swept aside the whistling thrown axe. The Bronze Axe, spinning, "crack" struck the side of the big boat, embedding half an inch into the wood. Carried by this force, the female warrior lightly landed back on her own boat.
Annatri’s eyes widened, staring at the expensive hidden weapon throw axe, utterly furious.
"Ratfish! Still ambushing!"
Ospei fiercely spit out a bloody spittle. Without responding, he again drew a Bronze Axe.
The clash between both sides’ Naval Commanders was but a moment. As the two splendid big boats stabilized slightly, the samurai on board immediately rushed into battle together. To support their commander, nearly a hundred nearby big boats converged and collided, forming a connected battleground on the lake’s surface, immobile. Then, nearly two thousand samurai from both sides, dressed in different war clothes, entangled in a deadly struggle using spears and clubs.
These were the elite warriors from beside the commanders, mostly loyal and valiant, fighting agilely and fiercely. At this critical moment in the battle, their combat carried a hint of madness.
Six or seven Tarasco samurai formed a small formation with alternating Copper Spears, successively stabbing three Mexica samurai to death. Another Mexica samurai, seeing this, his eyes turned bloodshot. He fiercely threw his War Club forward and then, holding a shield, rushed forward desperately. The War Club struck, throwing the frontline Copper Spear into disarray; then the charging shield knocked it aside. The spears behind continuously stabbed randomly, finally circling the edge of the shield and "puch" plunged into the thigh of the samurai. The samurai cried out in pain, using his free right arm to forcefully wrap around several Copper Spears, refusing to let go.
The opposing Spear Formation was immediately halted, and the Mexica samurai behind quickly closed in. In close-quarter combat, the Tarasco Copper Spears could no longer be effective. The Obsidian Clubs swung powerfully, striking precisely at the opponents’ heads and necks, with a practiced simplicity. In but a dozen breaths, the faces of the opposing Tarasco samurai were struck, their throats slashed, each one falling backwards in death.
As the warriors looked back again to check on their comrade in the middle of the spears, they saw that he had already died, eyes open and skewed, lying in a pool of blood, unmoving. His right arm was still wrapped around several Copper Spears, refusing to let go. The warriors paused in silence for a few moments, then turned again, charging into the chaotic heart of the battle.
In the center of the melee, more elite Tarasco warriors formed a Copper Spear Formation, unleashing powerful force on the narrow big boats. A Mexica Longbow Warrior, seeing his comrades continuously being stabbed to death, his eyes red, lit the Fire Arrows in his hand and hurled them into the dense Spear Formation. A moment later, the Gunpowder quickly ignited, setting several Tarasco warriors in the center alight; the Spear Formation abruptly dispersed. The burning warriors screamed terribly, sounded nothing like human cries, and then leaped into the lake.
After being burned multiple times, the Tarasco warriors finally grasped the mechanism of the Fire Demon. They followed suit, finding the Fire Igniter and Fire Arrows on the opposing deck, mimicking the lighting of the paper-wrapped gunpowder bag exteriors, then hurling them towards areas crowded with Mexica people. Some Copper Spear warriors hesitated slightly, turning themselves into torches. More warriors hurled them preemptively; the Gunpowder Arrows delaying in exploding, rolling about, then igniting indiscriminately between friend and foe.
Soon, towering flames arose everywhere, gradually spreading across the tightly connected hundred boats. Then, the remaining Fire Arrows on the decks sequentially exploded, slowly igniting an immensely huge torch. Denser smoke soared even higher, entirely blackening the flags of both sides’ Naval Commanders.