The fire in the forest grew fiercer, and fewer and fewer Japanese pirates managed to escape its grasp. The Zhejiang soldiers patrolling on horseback outside hadn’t seen a pirate emerge from the woods in quite a while.
The sporadic sound of musket fire had gradually faded into silence.
The Zhejiang troops were starting to idle.
One squad had been assigned to the riverbank direction, riding their mules and keeping watch over the nearby forest.
“We’ve got rotten luck, stuck here. Aside from that one kill at the start, we’ve had no action since. Listen to the other directions—they’ve each bagged two or three kills at least. That’s merit right there. Next performance review, our rewards won’t hold a candle to theirs,” grumbled a soldier in the middle of the squad, casting a disappointed glance at the forest before sighing regretfully.
“Heh, what’s there to hear? Haven’t you noticed? The other directions haven’t had any business for a while either. We’re all in the same boat now—bare-assed and empty-handed,” another soldier chimed in with a chuckle.
“They might be quiet now, but they’ve already raked in a haul. We’ve been dry from start to finish, except for that one early hit. We’re the bare-assed ones; they’ve got wives warming their beds,” the sighing soldier continued, lamenting their squad’s poor fortune and bad positioning.
Their spot was the farthest from the fire’s core and right by the riverbank, where the pirate ships had just been torched. Naturally, fleeing pirates avoided this direction like the plague.
“Heh, look on the bright side. No musket shots for a while now—maybe all those bastard pirates in the forest got roasted? That’s why none are coming out,” another soldier said with a grin.
“Pretty much. With a fire this big, even ten bladders’ worth of piss would dry up.”
“We dumped so much oil and sulphur, stacked all the nearby dry grass and wood into that forest—if that didn’t burn those bastards to a crisp, we’d have wasted our time.”
The others nodded in agreement, convinced the pirates in the forest were mostly dead by now.
“Yeah, makes sense.”
Even the sighing soldier couldn’t help but crack a smile. If the pirates were all burned out, this would be another major victory for them.
This time, the pirates had come for Suzhou with thirty to forty thousand men, acting all high and mighty. And the result? Over ten thousand killed at Fengqiao Camp, a few thousand more cut down beneath Suzhou’s walls, several thousand drowned or burned by the river, and now the rest torched in the forest.
Heh, thirty or forty thousand pirates, nearly wiped out—what a feat!
The thought alone was thrilling.
Just as they concluded the pirates were finished, a faint “crack” of a musket shot echoed from afar.
“Huh? A straggler? Wonder which lucky brother got that one,” someone in the squad said, a tinge of envy in his voice. The Zhejiang Army rewarded kills clearly—each pirate head meant more merit.
“Ugh, someone else gets the prize again. Why can’t it ever be us? Why’s our luck so rotten?” the sighing soldier moaned again, his eyes glinting green as he stared at the forest, wishing he could will something into existence.
Suddenly, the sharp-eared “Skinny Monkey” in the squad raised a hand to his lips, shushing them.
The ten-man team, honed through drills and battles, understood each other with a glance. At Skinny Monkey’s signal, they tensed, raising their muskets toward where he was looking.
Sure enough, moments later, a soot-blackened pirate head emerged from the ashen forest, wriggling out like a maggot.
The pirate, charred as dark as the burned woods, blended in perfectly. He crawled from a shallow ditch extending out of the forest. Without Skinny Monkey’s keen ears spotting him early, his maggot-like escape might’ve gone unnoticed.
The Zhejiang squad was positioned at the ditch’s side-rear—a blind spot for the pirate, who hadn’t noticed them.
As they prepared to fire, Skinny Monkey raised a hand, signalling them to stop.
They froze mid-motion, halting their triggers.
Sure enough, a second later, another soot-black pirate crawled out behind the first.
The squad exchanged glances, grinning silently. The sighing soldier’s smile was the brightest.
Hahaha, heaven’s fair after all! Knowing they’d been shortchanged, it was making up for it now—with two at once!
One kill a year, feast for three.
Just as they beamed, ready to shoot, Skinny Monkey’s face shifted. He raised his hand again.
Holy hell, more?
Hahaha, what a day! The squad exchanged looks, their grins stretching ear to ear.
Sure enough, a third blackened pirate crawled out behind the first two.
What a glorious day…
Seeing another emerge, the squad nearly burst into song from excitement.
This time, they’d learned—holding off on firing, they looked to Skinny Monkey. His face was grave, almost nervous, as if something bad was brewing.
What, no more after this?!
Even if that’s it, three was already a jackpot! Hahaha, Skinny Monkey, you’re too greedy, they thought, grinning and silently reassuring him.
No need to be greedy—three’s plenty. With these, our squad’s next review will score big rewards.
But Skinny Monkey’s tension didn’t ease—it deepened.
What’s up?
Since when was he this greedy?!
The squad chuckled wryly, patting his shoulder. They raised their muskets, ready to send these three charred pirates to meet the King of Hell!
Skinny Monkey shushed them again, his expression beyond mere tension now.
More?
The team froze, then frowned. What’s with Skinny Monkey? More pirates would be great—more heads, better scores next review. Good news! Why’s he acting like this? Off his meds? Playing us?
The next second, behind the three blackened pirates, heads popped up like bamboo shoots after rain—one after another, after another, after another. In a blink, dozens appeared, and they kept coming…
Holy shit!
Now the squad understood why Skinny Monkey looked like he’d seen a ghost. Bloody hell, how were there so many pirates?!
This wasn’t a pleasant surprise anymore—it was a damn fright!
