“The slaughter’s starting! You little government pups, ready to ascend to the heavens? Grandpa’s sending you on your way! Kill!”
After the volley of arrows, the pirates had closed to just over forty meters from the Zhejiang lines. Brimming with confidence, their faces twisted with bloodlust, they roared and leaped forward, gripping their Japanese swords and other weapons, eager to strike.
Forty meters.
Thirty-nine meters.
Thirty-eight meters…
In just a few breaths, the pirates had surged to within thirty meters of the Zhejiang army.
The front-row Zhejiang soldiers could clearly see the pirates’ snarling wrinkles, yellowed teeth bared in their roars, and bloodshot eyes with stark whites.
“Looks like the Zhejiang army’s really frozen in fear. Our boys are within thirty meters, and they still haven’t moved. The slaughter’s about to begin,” Mao Haifeng said, a bloodthirsty smirk curling his lips.
“The slaughter’s begun,” Otomo Sadakawa echoed, unable to suppress his own savage grin.
“My blade’s thirsting! Embrace death, Zhejiang dogs!”
“Kill!”
“Wipe out the Zhejiang dogs!”
The pirates roared ferociously, raising their swords and charging like a swarm toward the Zhejiang army, as if tigers about to pounce on a flock of sheep, impatient to unleash carnage.
“Fire!”
At that moment, a long-suppressed command erupted from the Zhejiang ranks, shattering the air like a thunderclap.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
As the order fell, a dense, synchronized volley of musket fire rang out. The first Zhejiang unit—three rows in crouching, bending, and standing positions—fired simultaneously. Muzzle flashes and clouds of gunsmoke filled the air.
In front of them, the charging pirates, like tigers descending a mountain, were struck by a cascade of blood-red blossoms.
“Ah!”
“Ugh!”
“Help!”
The pirates let out agonized screams, falling like wheat before a scythe, collapsing in swathes.
The first Zhejiang unit’s volley nearly wiped out the front rank of charging pirates. Of the elite pirate vanguard, only a few dozen remained standing; the rest were cut down.
The line infantry firing tactic, a staple of the musket era and revered by the ruthless British redcoats, was devastatingly effective. At close range, a musket volley to the face had the power to terrify any foe.
The Zhejiang army’s narrow, elongated line formation consisted of units with three rows of four hundred soldiers each—1,200 per unit. When 1,200 muskets fired simultaneously, it unleashed 1,200 lead balls in a single, face-shattering barrage.
At thirty meters, with such a dense volley, even a martial arts master like Bodhidharma couldn’t dodge.
Moreover, a musket’s killing power far surpassed that of arrows—especially since the Zhejiang army’s gunpowder was enhanced by Zhu Ping’an’s knowledge, far advanced for the era, doubling its lethality.
Though the front-rank pirates were the elite of the elite, clad in iron armor and even leather beneath, at thirty meters, their armor was as flimsy as paper against the musket balls.
One shot, one kill.
The iron armor was easily pierced, the balls lodging deep in vital organs. Unlucky pirates were even shot clean through.
This terrifying killing power and efficiency stunned the pirates.
No way!
This isn’t right!
This isn’t the script!
Wasn’t the script supposed to be us charging in for a bloody, merciless slaughter of the Zhejiang army?!
The script’s flipped!
The pirates were dazed by the Zhejiang army’s first volley.
One moment, Mao Haifeng and Otomo Sadakawa in the pirate center were sneering, “The slaughter’s about to begin,” like crooked-mouthed dragon kings. The next, they saw the Zhejiang unit’s volley mow down their men at thirty meters like wheat, and their smirks withered instantly.
Before they could react, the first Zhejiang unit, having fired, stepped back, and the second unit seamlessly moved forward.
One retreated, one advanced—smoother than silk.
The second unit assumed the crouching, bending, and standing positions, leveling their muskets in a blink.
“Fire!”
*Bang! Bang! Bang!* The second unit fired, another dense, synchronized volley echoing. Flashes lit up, and the gunsmoke thickened.
Across the field, another wave of blood-red blossoms erupted, a vivid, mesmerizing display.
The pirates screamed again, falling like harvested wheat in swathes.
The second unit retreated after firing, and the third unit advanced, smooth as ever.
Another “Fire!”
*Bang! Bang! Bang!* Another synchronized volley, another field of blood-red blooms, another chorus of screams, and another swathe of pirates collapsing.
Three volleys, taking mere tens of seconds—not even a minute.
In that time, over a thousand pirates had fallen.
At thirty meters, the Zhejiang army’s dense line volleys barely needed to aim, achieving staggering hit rates.
The pirates were right—this was a slaughter. But they’d mistaken the roles. They thought they were the butchers and the Zhejiang army the lambs. In reality, the Zhejiang army was the butcher, and they were the lambs.
They hadn’t even reached the Zhejiang lines or harmed a single soldier, yet they’d already lost over a thousand men.
This wasn’t just a slaughter—it was a massacre, and its efficiency was brutally terrifying.
Just three Zhejiang units had fired one volley each!
There were three more units behind them. If they all fired, wouldn’t the entire elite pirate vanguard be wiped out?!
“Damn it!”
“Father! Mother!”
“Help!”
Injured pirates wailed for rescue. Those unscathed, seeing their comrades fall around them, were terrified, crying out for their parents. Their ferocious charge faltered.
The front pirates froze in fear, but those behind couldn’t stop, their momentum carrying them into the front ranks, turning the already chaotic pirate formation into utter disarray.
“No way! The Zhejiang army’s too fierce! Run!”
“You can’t run! Charge into their lines—their muskets won’t work up close. Then we’ll have our revenge!”
“Charge yourself!”
“Damn it, you think you can run and the leaders will spare you?!”
The pirates, dazed by the three volleys, were in chaos. Some wanted to flee, others, still fierce, urged a charge. Their formation descended into total disorder.
