Sword Among Us

Panda Novel

Around ten miles away from Common Reed Bank, the wind was blowing at the surface of the river, which caused it to look like a huge and soft grass cushion. The water rose and fell, and it was a very magnificent and beautiful sight.

The large fleet entered deep into the waters, and they slowly sailed into the depths of Common Reed Bank in a uniform manner. Rustling sounds were heard, and it sounded as if they were notes that harmonized with the pleasant song of the river. It served as a lullaby that gently lulled the listeners to sleep.

A dashing man in blue robes holding a sword stood proudly at the bow of the leading ship!

Xu Hong and his group treated those who were injured while they stared at the young man at the bow of the ship with calm expressions. Even though Happy’s qi cultivation was beneath theirs, his strength and his methods once he entered the battlefield had shocked even them, who were veterans that frequently wandered the lands.

“It’s no wonder the lady places so much trust in him even though he’s so young. It explains why she made the arrangements for him to be on the ship to handle the disaster this time…” Xu Hong sighed while he mumbled under his breath. Then, his ears suddenly twitched.

At the same time, the armed escort on the bowsprit shouted a warning, “Enemy ambush!”

Xu Hong’s expression changed. “Which pirate group do they belong to?”

The armed escort who alerted the crew from the bowsprit had surprise and fear on his face.

“This is bad! Boss Xu, they aren’t pirates, but armored soldiers! They’re from General Yang!”

“What?!”

Xu Hong’s expression instantly turned unpleasant. Once he cried out in surprise, he summoned his qi and jumped. Then, he landed like an agile monkey on the top of the bowsprit to stare into the distance from above. His gaze immediately turned solemn, because he saw a large number of figures using lightness skills. The armor they wore shone brilliantly under the sun, and it was very easy to identify them. Judging by the direction from which they came, it was clear that they were headed for the fleet on the river.

“Those aren’t normal soldiers. They’re all martial artists recruited from the common people on short notice!”

Xu Hong’s expression turned red with rage!

“Damn you, Yang Jikun. You actually did something so vile…”

As expected of an officer from the Murong Clan, even in the face of the dense group of martial artists serving as militia swiftly filling up Common Reed Bank, Xu Hong did not panic. Not only that, he drifted down from the bowsprit like a light feather.

“Send my orders!” Xu Hong’s eyes were full of murderous intent, and his loud voice echoed in the air. “Lift the deck! Equip yourselves! Prepare the bolts! Get ready for battle!”

His voice was incredibly loud, rhythmic, and firm! He sounded very domineering!

“Yes, sir!”

The armed escorts on the ship responded loudly!

The operations on the ships were swiftly carried out, as if the people there were war machines.

One armed escort stood at the highest part of the mast. He had grabbed two brilliant red flags at some point in time, and he displayed them in the direction of the wind. He had them intersect each other in the air swiftly to send all sorts of flag signals.

The armed escorts swiftly ran about the sides of the deck. They flipped open the metal deck that was placed inside and lifted it. The bridge wings that were originally half a man tall were also lifted until they were more than two feet tall.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The metal decks were raised continuously, and only a few holes were left. The armed escorts swiftly turned the large cargo ship into a metallic battleship.

Moments after, they fully equipped themselves too. They wore metal armor, held shields, and wielded crossbows. Once they stopped behind the metal holes, their exquisite repeating crossbows extended out of the holes. Their bolts were directed at the two sides of Common Reed Bank!

The tips of the bolts let out a chilling and intimidating light. It caused the originally defenseless cargo ship to instantly turn into a ferocious and mighty battleship that had claws and a terrifying presence!

The eleven cargo ships behind the lead ship also changed just as drastically. Once the flag signals were sent, the powerless cargo ship fleet that was as weak as a sheep transformed into a fleet of murderous steel battleships. Thousands of bolts coldly aimed at the militia that was getting closer to them from both sides of Common Reed Bank.

Happy had been watching the transformation of the cargo ships from close up, and he was amazed by it. At the same time, he also came to vaguely understand the real reason behind why the Murong Clan’s fleet had been able to run wild in Changjiang for so many years!

The Murong Clan had power that ordinary aristocratic families did not possess!

However… Happy suddenly frowned.

There were quite a lot of enemies rushing at them!

When the armed escort released the warning about an enemy ambush, Happy received a notification from the system.

[General Yang enticed many martial artists to attack the Murong Clan’s fleet. Please ensure that you ensure the fleet’s safety and that Xu Hong does not die. Also, do not let anyone kill the important witness—Water Rascal.]

There was a large discrepancy between what was happening and how Happy had expected the quest to play out.

General Yang had not appeared, but had instead brought countless players to serve as cannon fodder.

Happy had to admit that it was a vicious plan!

He had to ensure two important people’s safety as well as protect the fleet while he faced numerous enemies. For the first time ever, he felt great pressure on his shoulders.

It was not going to be easy!

*****

However, the situation was not heavily tilted to one side.

The martial artists who came charging over from the towns nearby once they accepted the quest were pleased to have received such a large-scale group quest. They rushed to Common Reed Bank and executed their perfected lightness skills while full of excitement and exhilarations. They even took the time to compare their strength.

After all, it was a quest in which each person would be rewarded based on their number of kills.

They would receive three thousand taels of silver crumbs if they killed a nobody, and they could receive ten thousand taels of silver crumbs for killing someone in Life and Death Realm. Whoever reached the ships first would gain the greatest benefits!

When the players saw the cargo ships cruising in Common Reed Bank, all of them instantly became even more excited. Regardless of whether they were men or women, they increased their speed.

Boom! Boom!

The sounds of the cargo ships lifting their decks rang clearly through Common Reed Bank, and in almost no time, they transformed into mysterious steel monsters. The transformation of the weak sheep into aggressive steel monsters caused the people charging in front to slow down, and they could not help but suck in sharp breaths.

They were not idiots.

When they saw the sight before them, they realized that the mission was not as easy as they had thought, and it was not going to be a simple harvest! By the looks of it, if they made the slightest mistake, the possibility of them losing their lives to the steel ship fleet’s counterattack would be quite large!

Many people came to a swift halt. They stopped right outside the shooting range of the bows.

The players who caught up to them from behind also did not dare to become the first to strike when they saw the repeating crossbows that extended out of the holes on the steel ships.

Hence, a large crowd gathered.

Soon, thousands of armored martial artists stood on both sides of Common Reed Bank. Men and women stared at the large fleep slowly advancing down the river with eyes shining. They were all eager for action!

Six men and women with good equipment and aura stopped among the crowd.

One of them frowned and pointed at the flag that fluttered high in the air in the direction of the wind. The flag was right in front of the fleet. “Look. That’s the Murong Clan’s flag. It’s no wonder then why they managed to turn normal cargo ships into steel battleships.”

“Something’s off.” The man in the lead shook his green jade fan. The crease between his eyebrows became even more prominent.

“According to facts, the Murong Clan is considered an aristocratic family in the game. They have great power, and their strength does not lose to that of great sects and clans. With these steel battleships, how could they have possibly lost to the pirates?”

“That’s the public announcement from the imperial court. We just need to do our job and take our money. Why should we care so much? Even if that was the fleet from Shaolin Temple or Wudang Sect, I would still rob them, much less the Murong Clan.”

A man with two hatchets came to the front of the crowd from behind with a cold sneer on his lips.

“Coincidentally, this light armor can conceal the abnormality of my equipment. Today… I can fight to my heart’s content!”

Once he finished speaking, he charged to the steel battleship in the middle with a loud whoosh.

With someone taking the lead, the thousands of players at Common Reed Bank were instantly affected! They began to move forward in a uniform black line.