When the pirates were fully exposed, a synchronized and dense volley of matchlock fire, accompanied by sparks and gunpowder smoke, arrived as expected.
Over three hundred matchlocks fired in unison. Even though the pirates were spread out, this dazzling barrage still brought down fifty or sixty of them amid screams.
Seeing the Zhejiang troops skillfully swap to their spare barrels, the pirates were terrified out of their wits and turned to flee without a second thought.
At this point, they no longer entertained any notion of charging forward to take out the Zhejiang troops—they didn’t even dare think about it.
This single volley had reduced their numbers by a third. If the Zhejiang troops fired another round, there’d be hardly any of them left.
Of the three more respected pirates among them, two had fallen in this barrage.
The remaining one, still of some repute, was the first to turn tail and run, zigzagging in a serpentine pattern.
To boost their chances of survival, the pirates scattered even further as they fled, spreading out over hundreds of meters. They mimicked the respected pirate’s serpentine movements, avoiding straight lines.
Seeing the pirates retreat in disarray, Zhu Pingan, atop the high slope, didn’t hesitate. He ordered, “Mount up! Chase them down and cut them to pieces!”
The Zhejiang troops weren’t just a firearms unit—they were cavalry too.
When infantry faced cavalry and chose to flee, their fate was sealed. Cavalry excelled in mobility and impact; a high-speed charge was a nightmare for infantry, especially fleeing ones.
“Brothers, don’t follow me! Fend for yourselves—scatter and run!”
The respected pirate, seeing many of his comrades trailing him, shouted anxiously over his shoulder.
But it had little effect. Many pirates still followed him, thinking their odds of survival were better with him.
“You…”
The respected pirate was about to curse when he saw the Zhejiang cavalry charging down from the slope. Hundreds of riders thundered forward like an unstoppable tidal wave, their momentum overwhelming. He had no time to swear—he buried his head and sprinted, figuring the fools behind him could at least slow the pursuit.
As the Zhejiang cavalry closed in, the pirates ran for their lives. But how could two-legged pirates outrun four-legged mules and horses?
The Zhejiang troops quickly caught up to the fleeing pirates.
The desperate pirates didn’t dare—or didn’t have time—to turn and fight. They were cut down like melons and vegetables.
Not all pirates gave up without a struggle. A few fierce ones turned, swinging their blades like cornered dogs, snarling and baring their teeth, determined to take someone down with them.
But to evade the matchlocks, the pirates had scattered. Aside from the dozen or so following the respected pirate, most were lone runners.
These resisting pirates were isolated dogs. When one turned, he didn’t face just one Zhejiang rider, but two or three.
The Zhejiang troops hunted in pairs or trios, chasing down each fleeing pirate.
No matter how fierce a resisting pirate was, against two or three armored Zhejiang riders on mules and horses, he could only meet his end.
One bold pirate leapt up, slashing the head off a charging Zhejiang mule. The rider was flung off, sliding face-first across the ground for seven or eight meters. But that was as far as it went. The Zhejiang soldier scrambled up, still in one piece, while the bold pirate didn’t even get to savor his moment—he was swiftly cut down by two following riders.
Another fierce pirate jumped, dragged a Zhejiang rider off his mount, and climbed onto the mule, hoping to ride it to safety. But before he could revel in his success, four or five Zhejiang troops surrounded him and hacked him to death.
“Hahaha, Little Six, your skills need work! Getting dragged off your horse by a pirate—what a disgrace to us Zhejiang troops!”
“Yeah, you’ve embarrassed us all the way to Grandma’s house!”
The surrounding Zhejiang soldiers burst into laughter, teasing the rider who’d been pulled down.
“Cough, I got careless. It won’t happen again,” Little Six muttered, climbing up from the dirt, spitting on the pirate’s corpse in frustration before remounting and charging back in.
To redeem his earlier shame and prove himself, Little Six spurred his horse hard, catching up to a fleeing pirate. With a fierce swing of his saber, a flash of white light felled the pirate to the ground.
Reining in his horse, Little Six hooked his feet in the stirrups, leaned down, and sliced off the pirate’s head. Holding it up, he waved it triumphantly at the soldiers behind him. “Haha, Big Bear, you see that? This is my real skill!”
“Don’t get cocky too soon. When this fight’s over, we’ll see who’s racked up the most kills,” Big Bear and a few others whooped past him, overtaking the gloating Little Six to chase more fleeing pirates.
This was a microcosm of the battlefield: the Zhejiang troops, like an unstoppable avalanche, carved through the fleeing pirates as if chopping vegetables.
The respected pirate, trailed by over a dozen others, drew special attention from the Zhejiang troops.
Six full Zhejiang squads—sixty riders—targeted them.
*Bang bang bang…*
The sixty Zhejiang soldiers first fired a volley from a distance. Though their accuracy on horseback was shaky, the pirates’ relative clustering made it effective—seven or eight fell.
The remaining pirates, terrified, didn’t dare stay bunched up anymore and scattered in all directions.
Each one wished their parents had given them extra legs, racing to outrun their comrades and let their “brothers” take the fall.
After the volley, the Zhejiang soldiers holstered their matchlocks, drew their sabers, and charged after the fleeing pirates.
Seeing sixty Zhejiang riders bearing down, the respected pirate knew he couldn’t survive a围攻 from that many. His cunning eyes darted around, and with a grit of his teeth and a surge of resolve, he plunged into a burning forest, vanishing into the thick smoke in an instant.
Damn, what a ruthless bastard!
Not only did the pursuing Zhejiang troops gape, but even the pirates fleeing alongside him were stunned.
Two pirates glanced at the blazing forest, then at the fast-approaching Zhejiang riders. Clenching their teeth, they followed him in.
The rest hesitated. They didn’t dare enter the forest—it was like diving into a crematorium. Rather than burn, they gambled on outrunning their comrades, hoping someone else would take the hits and give them a chance to escape.
So they kept scattering and fleeing.
But their hopes were naive, and reality was brutal. They didn’t get far before the Zhejiang riders caught up and cut them down.
Pursuit and slaughter.
This was the cavalry’s favorite and finest kind of battle. In less than fifteen minutes, it was over.
Zhejiang troops who hadn’t arrived in time trickled in during the chase.
“Young Master, we took 123 pirate heads. Three escaped into the burning forest, and two jumped into the river—their fate’s unknown. Aside from that, every pirate was beheaded. In this fight, we only had eight brothers lightly injured and lost three mules to pirate counterattacks.”
Liu Mu tallied the results and reported to Zhu Pingan.
“Good. Leave twenty men to tend the wounded and clean the battlefield. Keep the pirate heads, but throw their bodies into the fire to burn—prevent any plague. The rest follow me to keep chasing the fleeing pirates.”
Zhu Pingan nodded with satisfaction, arranged the cleanup, then raised his arm. Under Liu Dadao and the others’ protection, he led the remaining Zhejiang troops along the river to pursue the earlier escapees.
