Frontier Army Warrior

A bright light flashed in the dimly lit cabin, attracting the attention of others.

One of the pirates concentrated for a moment, then immediately shouted loudly.

"Oh no, someone has lit the gunpowder..."

Unfortunately, his shout came too late. The shell's fuse burned out, unleashing a blinding flash of light and a thunderous roar that shook the entire ship.

As the shell exploded, it also ignited the jar of gunpowder, causing it to burst into an even brighter light.

At this moment, Lin Feng had already rushed out of the cabin, onto the deck, and quickly ran towards the other end of the ship.

The ship shook violently, followed by several explosions that ripped the entire deck and sent thick smoke billowing out.

The entire warship was thrown into chaos.

The pirates running on the ship were all shaken by the explosion and were unable to stand up.

Lin Feng had already plunged headfirst into the river from the side of the boat.

The ignited gunpowder also set fire to the cannonballs inside the wooden crate, and more than a dozen cannonballs exploded in succession, directly blowing the huge warship in two.

Of the hundred pirates on the warship, nearly half perished in the explosion, and a small number jumped into the river in their haste.

Upon hearing the explosion, the other two pirate warships leading the way immediately ordered a halt.

A huge fire was seen burning on the river in the distance, and the huge wooden boat, broken in two, slowly sank into the water.

Dozens of pirates were shouting for help in the river.

The nearest warships immediately turned around and began to approach the pirates who had fallen into the water to rescue them.

Lin Feng was pulled aboard the warship by the sailors using a long pole, and squatted in a corner, soaking wet.

The reason he didn't leave was because he knew that none of the pirates in the ship's cabin would survive.

The series of explosions had reduced the pirates inside the ship's hold to ashes.

When someone came over to ask him questions, he just shook his head blankly, looking terrified, pretending he knew nothing.

When the visitor realized he couldn't get any information from them, he went to ask other people.

The entire ship was in chaos, and no one noticed Lin Feng anymore.

Lin Feng looked up and scanned the area, then stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, laughing silently.

Because he saw that dark, gaping doorway to the cabin again.

Hojo Nobunari received the report.

The pursuit of the 800 Taisho cavalry has resulted in the killing of nearly 500 Taisho cavalrymen. The remaining Taisho cavalrymen have also been scattered and are being cleared out in various places.

However, it seems that Prime Minister Miao Changfeng of the Taisho era has already crossed the shallows of the Fengze River.

Hojo Nobunari was puzzled. Not only had he dispatched 5,000 troops to encircle and suppress them, but he had also deployed several warships to intercept them in the river.

How could Miao Changfeng possibly escape the Fengze River?

A moment later, a soldier rushed in to report.

"Report: Three of our warships have been blown up one after another at the confluence of the Yongding River and the Ling River, and have sunk in the river."

Hojo Nobunari's heart tightened instantly, and his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

"Self-destruction?"

"Yes, General. There was no external attack. The ship just suddenly exploded on its own."

Hojo Nobushige rubbed his forehead. There was no need to ask anymore; it must have been that Kikawa guy again.

They knew this person was a menace, yet he managed to evade the ambush of the second-generation disciples of the Wuli Xinmen sect. Not only did he destroy the armory in Fu'an City, but he also ran into the river and destroyed three of his own warships.

Hojo Nobunari gritted his teeth.

"Well done, Mu Chuan. When did cultivators start getting involved in worldly disputes? Is there no order left?"

He had already automatically filtered out the fact that he had gone to challenge the cultivators to a duel; he was full of resentment and only thought about how to get revenge.

With Tokugawa Iehira dead, Hojo Nobunari temporarily took command of the army. The situation was initially quite good, but with Kikawa's meddling, it immediately turned into a mess.

Despite having tens of thousands of troops, they were helpless against the cultivators of the reclusive sects.

Hojo Nobunari could only report the matter and wait for the island's authorities to take action.

Surrounded by over a hundred war cavalry, Miao Changfeng struggled to cross the deep river, the water of which he could not fathom.

When the warhorse trod the riverbed, Miao Changfeng's heart finally settled.

The entire group, soaking wet, stood on the west bank of the Fengze River. Looking back eastward, they saw a large number of pirate troops blocked on the bank by the wide Fengze River.

Downstream of the Fengze River, the masts of pirate warships could be faintly seen, and several warships were struggling to sail in this direction.

If they had been any later, they would likely have been overwhelmed by the cannon fire of the pirate ships in the water.

Miao Changfeng shook his head and sighed deeply.

"Sigh, I never expected that at this crucial moment, I would have to rely on the brotherhood of my fellow江湖 (jianghu, the martial arts world) brothers to save my life..."

Miao Changfeng led the team away from the banks of the Fengze River and back along the road they had come from.

He had to stop the princess's caravan and prevent them from falling into the clutches of the pirates.

Along the way, Miao Changfeng finally understood that negotiating an alliance with the pirates was like asking a tiger for its skin.

Those who are not of our kind will surely have different hearts; this saying is certainly not deceiving me.

There was no financial loss on this trip, but what pained Miao Changfeng the most was the loss suffered by Mu Chuan and Lin Dalin, the two or three brothers.

Such skilled and intelligent brothers are rare finds, and losing even one would break his heart, let alone losing all three in this battle.

Without a doubt, the three brothers, with only six hundred cavalry, had no chance of survival left in the pirate-occupied territory.

Mu Chuan might still have a sliver of hope, but as for the two brothers, Lin Da and Lin Er, they probably don't even have that sliver of hope.

Inside Taisho Roshi Prefecture Castle.

Crown Prince Zhao Jian received the report.

The peace talks between the Taisho and Taiga armies collapsed.

According to the description of the cavalry sent by Prime Minister Miao Changfeng of the Taisho era, the peace talks initiated by the pirate leader Tokugawa Iehira were nothing but a trap.

Their plan was to detain the peace negotiation officials, blackmail Taisho, demand exorbitant sums of money and supplies, and then use the pretext of peace negotiations to seize Los Angeles.

Just as Zhao Jian was wondering what was going on, a soldier on the city wall rushed to report.

The pirate siege force that had previously withdrawn regrouped below the city walls, and various siege equipment was gradually transported into the pirate camp below the city, making their intention to attack the city very clear.

Originally, Zhao Jian had already made preparations and arranged the city's defenses before leading the Luoxi Legion to withdraw to Jingdong Prefecture.

Unfortunately, the peace talks failed, and the two sides must continue to fight.

Before the peace talks, various analyses showed that everything was favorable.

How could it have collapsed completely overnight?

Zhao Jian sat in the command post with a frown, carefully considering all the preparations before and after the peace talks. Everything was in order.

The key official in this peace talks, Prime Minister Miao Changfeng, was a master of social interaction, prudent in his work, and adept at discerning advantages and disadvantages.

How did the negotiations turn out like this?

Zhao Jian was completely baffled.

The battle against the pirates in Los Angeles had left everyone exhausted, not only physically but also mentally.

Neither side can defeat the other; they're locked in a tug-of-war, draining each other's manpower, resources, and finances.

Zhao Jian believed that the pirates had long since had enough of fighting.

He couldn't think of any reason why Tokugawa Iehira would make such an unwise decision.

Both Miao Changfeng and Tokugawa Iehira were very reasonable people with a clear understanding of the current situation, and their intelligence was far above that of ordinary people.

But he managed to squander such a good hand.

Zhao Jian pondered for a long time, then angrily swept everything off his desk.