Shouted loudly: "Stop! Try to approach again, and we'll shoot immediately!!"
On the rapidly approaching ship stood masked assassins of the Cao Gang. The leader had a scarf covering their face, with a red ribbon tied to their right arm, and a long black staff on their back.
It was none other than the top enforcer of Jiancheng Road's Cao Gang, He Xiaolou's confidant, Zuo Rong.
"Mr. Rong, it seems this is the right ship; they're all equipped with military crossbows." Said an assassin beside him.
Zuo Rong, showing only the upper half of his face, had a cold expression and said: "Slow down the ship, keep it outside of crossbow range."
"They've slowed down." Feng Da noticed the Black Ship in front had reduced speed, a weight lifted from his heart, and he laughed, "Looks like they saw our forces and got scared."
Another Ning Family guard holding a knife also laughed, "A bunch of water bandits from who knows where, getting scared stiff seeing military bows and crossbows? Do they really think we're playing that naval battle game where two ships get close?"
The government officers saw this and also relaxed, thinking the opponents would back off after seeing them.
However, as everyone was intently watching the Black Ship ahead, they failed to notice the water behind the ship slowly breaking apart.
Over twenty "water ghosts" emerged; these assassins, excellent swimmers, wore only shorts, with bare upper bodies and daggers in their mouths.
Silently climbing aboard, they split into two groups, approaching the guards at the rear, then suddenly sprang into action.
In muffled grunts, several bodies were dropped in the blink of an eye.
"Not good! Someone's climbed on... Ah!"
The guards and soldiers, coming to their senses, were shocked and hurriedly fought with the assassins. But how could a group of house servants and guards compete with the well-trained water ghosts?
In a blink, several more were dead.
With guards in the way, the soldiers at this distance couldn't use the crossbows, they had to hastily draw swords, yet the terrain blocked them, causing complete chaos, only the sounds of killing echoed, and blood splattered like fountains, splashing onto the cabin windows.
"I'll go first, you follow me."
On the Black Ship's deck, Zuo Rong said calmly, then this top assassin of the Cao Gang suddenly crouched low, leaping off the ship, his feet skimming the water as if it were solid ground, using extraordinary Qinggong like a great bird, within a few breaths reaching the ship's bow.
In mid-air, he reversed his grip, drawing the long black staff, "Woo" soundly smashing the head of an elder soldier surnamed Xu who had fiercely drawn a knife to charge at him, "bang," its head exploded!
Like a smashed watermelon!
The headless body of the old soldier wobbled, then fell overboard with a splash, raising a spray of water.
Feng Da's pupils narrowed suddenly, crying out at the top of his lungs, anger surging up, momentarily making him forget his fear, as he raised his knife to cut at Zuo Rong, who had leaped onto the deck.
However, Feng Da only felt his vision blur, and the opponent had disappeared from sight, he suddenly felt someone pulling his hair, before he could turn his head, bewildered, he watched his lower half fall off the deck, into the river.
He stuttered and finally realized that his waist had been swept off by the opponent's staff, leaving only the upper half of his body, which the Martial Arts Killer held by the hair, suspended in mid-air.
The delayed sense of excruciating pain hit him, and Feng Da let out a blood-curdling scream.
Zuo Rong casually tossed him onto the deck, sweeping the long black staff, leaving the surviving soldiers and guards utterly helpless, dead within a few breaths.
Even those who jumped ship in terror were killed by hidden "water ghosts" with daggers slitting their throats.
Under the ship, the river turned a bright red.
The entire ship fell silent, Zuo Rong holding the staff, walked over blood and corpses, arriving in front of the cabin, where he raised his hand and pushed open the cabin door.
The cabin was empty, only a small table still had a half-eaten meal placed on it.
"Mrs. Ning, come out, there's no place to hide on such a small ship, do you think you can really hide?"
Zuo Rong said with a smile.
He wasn't in a hurry, holding the long black staff, he walked leisurely around the small cabin, footsteps unhurried. Just as he walked to a certain spot, he suddenly, without warning, thrust the staff into the floor!
The staff pierced the floor, and a low gasp came from below.
"Found you." Zuo Rong grinned maliciously, squatting down to forcibly tear up the piece of floor used as a hidden door, revealing a small space beneath, inside of which was a well-maintained lady, curled up, clutching a maiden in her arms.
The maiden trembled, while Mrs. Ning held her daughter tightly, staring up at him with an unusually calm demeanor: "I'll go with you."