Seeing his pirates unable to defeat Xu San and the remaining rebels, Mao Haifeng flew into a rage, cursing incessantly.
However, the battle remained deadlocked.
Xu San’s remaining pirates were truly fighting for their lives, unleashing astonishing combat strength in their desperation to survive.
Zhu Pingan, under the protection of Liu Dadao and others, observed the battlefield. Through lip-reading, he discerned Xu San, hiding at the rear while directing the fight, repeatedly muttering phrases like “kill them all” and “leave no one alive,” causing Zhu Pingan to narrow his eyes.
The next moment, Zhu Pingan beckoned and ordered Liu Dadao, “Dadao, raise a white flag in the south and call for their surrender. Tell them that if they lay down their weapons and kneel under the white flag, we will spare their lives!”
“Yes, sir!”
Liu Dadao obeyed, quickly raising a white flag and, with dozens of loud-voiced Zhejiang soldiers, shouting toward the battlefield.
“Brothers of Moon Island, our commander is Zhu Pingan, Governor of Zhejiang! Our lord has decreed: lay down your weapons, kneel under this white flag, and you will not be killed! I repeat, lay down your weapons, kneel under the white flag, and you will not be killed!”
“Lay down your weapons, kneel under the white flag, and you will not be killed!”
“Lay down your weapons, kneel under the white flag, and you will not be killed!”
Liu Dadao and the loud-voiced Zhejiang soldiers shouted together, their voices like rolling thunder, drowning out the sounds of battle and reaching every ear.
“What? Surrender and be spared?!”
The Moon Island pirates, fighting like cornered beasts, heard the promise of mercy and began to waver, their eyes darting.
Who would choose death if there was even a slim chance of survival? In the prime of life, who would willingly die for someone else?
“Can your Lord Zhu be trusted?!”
Someone shouted the question, like a handful of breadcrumbs tossed into a pond, sparking ripples of reaction.
The Moon Island pirates all looked over, their eyes filled with doubt but even more with hope, yearning for a way to survive.
“Damn it! He’s lying to you! You believe their words?! If you drop your weapons, they’ll slaughter you all!”
Xu San panicked, shouting desperately.
If his pirates surrendered and found a way to live, he would be doomed.
That’s why Xu San was so frantic.
“I am Zhu Pingan, Governor of Zhejiang, and my word is my bond. Those who lay down their weapons and kneel under the white flag will be spared! Seize this chance, for there won’t be another!”
Zhu Pingan declared loudly.
“Our lord has spoken: lay down your weapons, kneel under the white flag, and you will not be killed!”
“Our lord has spoken: lay down your weapons, kneel under the white flag, and you will not be killed!”
Liu Dadao and the others echoed, shouting.
“Will Mao Haifeng listen to you?” Some Moon Island pirates still harboured doubts.
“I am Mao Haifeng. Some of you must have seen me. Lord Zhu’s words are my words. Lay down your weapons now, kneel under the white flag, and you will not be killed!” Mao Haifeng stepped forward, proclaiming loudly.
With both Zhu Pingan and Mao Haifeng giving their word, the Moon Island pirates instantly believed them.
“Sorry, boss, I’ve got an eighty-year-old mother and a three-year-old kid to care for. Forgive me for not fighting to the death with you. I surrender, I surrender, don’t kill me, don’t kill me!”
The first Moon Island pirate to surrender appeared, throwing down his weapon and shouting as he rushed toward the white flag.
The Zhejiang soldiers and Mao Haifeng’s pirates along the way parted, letting him reach the white flag unimpeded.
“I surrender, I surrender, don’t kill me, don’t kill me!”
The pirate reached the white flag, dropped to his knees with a thud, kowtowing repeatedly, chanting his surrender.
“Stay kneeling, those who surrender will not be killed,” Liu Dadao said, leading men to guard around the white flag.
Seeing the first surrendering pirate spared, the remaining Moon Island pirates grew excited.
“I surrender too, I surrender! I’m only twenty, still young, haven’t married or had kids yet. Sorry, Boss Xu, I can’t fight to the end with you. I surrender, I surrender!”
“I surrender too! I want to live a few more years!”
“And me, and me, I surrender too!”
“We wanted to surrender long ago, but Xu San lied, saying the lord would kill us all, forcing us to fight to the death!”
In an instant, Moon Island pirates threw down their weapons, shouting surrender like fish swarming across a river, racing toward the white flag, kneeling and surrendering, yelling as they ran.
Xu San watched in horror as his last elite pirates surrendered one after another. In a frenzy, he swung his pirate blade, cutting down one of his men heading to surrender, roaring menacingly, “Damn it, no one surrenders! This is what happens if you try!”
But Xu San’s strike severed the last ties binding his remaining pirates.
Some still had reservations, some lingering loyalty or old ties, but Xu San’s blade cut through their final psychological shackles, freeing them to surrender without hesitation.
“You’re unjust, don’t blame us for being disloyal! We surrender too!”
“Surrender, surrender!”
The remaining Moon Island pirates also threw down their weapons, rushing headlong toward the white flag to surrender.
The tide of battle turned in an instant.
The final, unbreakable line of Moon Island pirates, their fierce resistance, collapsed the moment the white flag appeared. In the end, the only Moon Island pirate left unyielding was Xu San, a lone commander.
“Mao Haifeng, Zhu Pingan, dare to face me one-on-one?!” Xu San, hair dishevelled, pointed his blade at Mao Haifeng and Zhu Pingan, shouting maniacally.
“Hahaha, you think you’re still worthy of facing me one-on-one?! Take him down! Alive! Lord Zhu has great use for him!”
Mao Haifeng sneered disdainfully, waving his hand to order his pirates to capture Xu San alive.
“Courting death! Who dares come near!”
Xu San, like a bristling porcupine, wildly swung his pirate blade, shouting with false bravado.
But in less than three seconds, he was overwhelmed by a surge of men. His two hands were no match for dozens, and he was pinned to the ground, face scraping the dirt. His belt was yanked off, his hands bound behind him, writhing like a maggot, impotently raging, cursing Mao Haifeng and Zhu Pingan as despicable and shameless, lacking all honour, ambushing a newlywed groom in the most shameless way.
With Xu San’s capture, all remaining pockets of resistance on Moon Island surrendered. Thus, Moon Island was secured!
