Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 177 Even if I kill you, the silver is still mine (2)

In an instant, a collective gasp of astonishment rippled through the surrounding area.

Even these heavily armored soldiers, who were already bloodthirsty, were awakened by the roar. They looked at the corpses with their heads flipped over on the ground, and then at their own general, their eyes filled with extremely strange expressions.

What power is this?
Hidden weapons?
This Japanese pirate could withstand a blow from the Third Young Master's axe, he must be an eighth-rank martial artist. What kind of hidden weapon could have such amazing destructive power, so easily killing an eighth-rank martial artist?

For a moment, the heavy armored soldiers looked at Song Yan with a newfound sense of awe.

So terrifying.

Luo Tianyang felt a chill run down his spine. He had watched his brother-in-law tinker with the steel pipe with the blacksmith in the mansion, and even held it in his hand to play with it. When he found it uninteresting, he casually threw it on the ground.

If I had known earlier that the steel pipe was so powerful, I would have been much more careful.

Fortunately, the mechanism of the hidden weapon was not triggered. If that weapon could blow the Japanese pirate's head off, I probably wouldn't be much better off if I had encountered it.

Are all scholars really this terrifying? He vowed to avoid them from now on.

So, what's the point of blowing air at the end of the steel pipe? Although I don't understand it, my brother-in-law must have had a deeper meaning to doing it.

Song Yan's smile deepened. As expected, hand-crafted technology was faster. Although martial arts could save lives, it required time to accumulate, and the improvement speed became slower as one progressed. In comparison, hand-crafted flintlock guns were easier to make.

He has blueprints for all firearms in his mind, and if the current overall level of technology were not too advanced, it wouldn't be impossible for him to create a Barrett.

The three-eyed musket and matchlock gun were discarded by Song Yan outright. Not only were they unstable, but their power was negligible, unable to inflict much damage on high-level martial artists. Therefore, he started directly with a flintlock musket. This flintlock musket was the first one Song Yan had ever made. Although it underwent various improvements and tests, it still had many flaws, such as insufficient accuracy. Once the lead pellets exceeded twenty meters, they would scatter wildly, and whether they hit the enemy was entirely a matter of luck.

Poor heat dissipation means that the barrel temperature will soar after just one bullet is fired, and if several bullets are fired, the barrel will likely become red-hot.

The effective range is too short, only ten meters. Beyond ten meters, the bullet's destructive power drops rapidly.

Insufficient armor-piercing capability means that if the target is wearing a metal frame or even leather armor, the bullet's power will be significantly reduced.

However, it is not without its advantages. Its destructive power is strong enough. If the enemy is within ten meters, it can almost kill them with one blow. If it hits a vital point within three meters, even an eighth-rank martial artist will die, just like right now.

In conclusion, Song Yan was quite satisfied with the current power of the flintlock musket. After all, this was only the beginning. He would study it further later to see if he could develop a bolt-action rifle. If he could truly manufacture a bolt-action rifle and mass-produce it, then there would truly be no force in this world that could stop him.

Gunfire drowned out everything else.

The previously chaotic battlefield gradually calmed down, and the screams and cries for help slowly faded away.

There were still about five or six thousand Japanese pirates who could stand. Many people were lying on the ground, moaning and groaning. The blood was flowing and the limbs were scattered, making it look like a living hell.

Masanori Furukawa sighed softly.

When I saw Hirata Taro attack Song Yan, I still had some hope.

If they could really eliminate Song Yan, the commander, and seize the opportunity when the enemy was leaderless and in chaos, they might have a chance to break out of the encirclement. But who could have imagined that Hirata Taro would die like this? Although it seems that his side still has the advantage in numbers, considering the difference in equipment between the two sides and the fact that their morale has fallen to rock bottom, continuing to fight is no longer of any use.

Thinking of this, Furukawa Masanori stopped struggling, shook his head, dropped the katana in his hand with a thud, knelt on the ground with his forehead touching the ground, and did a dogeza (a traditional Japanese kneeling posture).

He chose to surrender.

During the chase, those who dropped their weapons and surrendered were killed. But at that time, both sides were still fighting and didn't have time to care about prisoners. Even having their heads chopped off could be considered bloodlust, and they couldn't stop.

But now, the battle was essentially over. They were completely surrounded. If they surrendered now, they would be prisoners. Furukawa Masanori was very familiar with Central Plains culture; he knew that Confucianism was highly valued there, and its core principles were benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. Even if they surrendered and became prisoners, their future was uncertain, but at least they wouldn't die immediately. After all, in Central Plains culture, killing prisoners was considered unlucky and against the natural order.

He had no choice but to take a gamble.

Furukawa Masanori was the last leader. After he surrendered, the remaining Japanese pirates looked at each other and silently dropped their weapons, kneeling on the ground just like Furukawa Masanori.

His forehead was pressed against the ground, in the most submissive posture.

Perhaps it was very humiliating, and many people might still be plotting how to get revenge in the future. But for now, they have all suppressed their humiliation and hatred, turning into the most docile dogs.

Footsteps sounded.

The movement remained dull. Each movement of the heavily armored soldier was like a heavy hammer slamming into Masanori Furukawa's chest.

After a long while, the footsteps stopped.

Furukawa Masanori glanced up furtively and saw that the boy named Song Yan had already walked up to him. Not daring to meet his gaze, he immediately lowered his head again.

"Your Excellency..."

His Chinese was not as fluent as Horikawa Sousuke's, but it was still enough for them to communicate: "This time it was our offense that caused this, and we hope that you will forgive us."

“Skull Island, Shark Island, and Snake Island still hold a considerable amount of wealth. As an apology, we are willing to offer all the remaining silver to you.”

A rustling sound came from all around, perhaps someone was unwilling, after all, they had worked hard to steal this wealth. Furukawa Masanori completely ignored the commotion; a bunch of idiots, their lives were about to be lost, what right did they have to care about money?
Song Yan glanced down at Furukawa Masanori. He was indeed a man of principle, able to adapt to circumstances. If the Japanese were given more time to develop, this guy might actually become a formidable enemy. Song Yan pursed his lips and slowly said, "Kill you, and the silver will still be mine."

Furukawa Masanori's expression changed slightly. Just as he was about to say something more, Luo Tianyang's axe came crashing down beside Song Yan.

With a hiss, Masanori Furukawa's head was split in two.

This guy probably wanted to have a debate, but unfortunately, Luo Tianyang, that brute, didn't give him the chance.

Song Yan didn't care, his cold gaze sweeping over the people kneeling on the ground: "Kill them all."

"Oh, right, he stayed."

With a series of booming sounds, the heavily armored soldiers gradually surrounded them. The Japanese pirates who had been kneeling on the ground hoping to be taken prisoner got up and screamed as they turned and ran.

But the encirclement is getting smaller and smaller, so where can they escape to?

The steel blade slashed down again and again, splattering blood and staining the ground a sticky, scarlet red.

Under the blazing flames, the whole world seemed to be shrouded in a crimson light.

Slowly, the fire went out.

The surrounding area still retained the residual high temperature.

Ashes fell from the sky like snowflakes, quickly covering the surroundings with a thick layer, creating an atmosphere of inexplicable desolation.

Some heavily armored soldiers were still patrolling the crowd, finishing off anyone who wasn't quite dead. This was what the general taught them: when fighting, you must finish them off; this is something you absolutely must not forget.

Footsteps approached, and Fang Hai, who was outside the flames, entered with some guards and soldiers. Seeing the ground littered with severed limbs and broken bodies, Fang Hai felt a chill run down his spine.

That's really ruthless.

They didn't even spare the prisoners who surrendered.

Song Yan, that kid, is truly unafraid of being criticized by those so-called great Confucian scholars.

The sticky feeling under his shoes made Fang Hai feel physically uncomfortable, but he kept a smile on his face and walked quickly toward Song Yan: "Nephew, congratulations, congratulations, you have won another great victory this time."

"From this point on, the Japanese pirates along the coast of Ningguo have been completely eliminated, all thanks to my nephew."

“My nephew’s title will be raised again.”

Song Yan chuckled: "It's also thanks to Uncle Fang's help. Otherwise, even if we could defeat the Japanese pirates, many of them would have escaped, and we definitely wouldn't have achieved such results."

"By the way, I'll leave the matter of building the Jingguan to you, Uncle. I've received information that these Japanese pirates' strongholds are located on three islands, and there are still quite a few pirates stationed on the islands. They've also seized quite a few warships this time, so I'm going to go out to sea and take down the pirates on the islands as well."

Horikawa Sousuke's body trembled slightly.

He knew that this was why Song Yan wanted to spare his own life.

Song Yan wants to eliminate the root of the problem!
(End of this chapter)