Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 178 My Lord, This Way! (3)

Horikawa Sousuke knew very well why he had survived.

Because he was fluent in Chinese and had been in contact with Song Yan several times, Song Yan spared his life. He needed a guide to eliminate all the Japanese pirates on Snake Island, Skull Island, and Shark Island.

That's his only value.

After a long pause of thought, lasting about half a second, Horikawa Sousuke made a decision. What did the Japanese on the three islands have to do with him? They were not related to him at all, and their lives were certainly not as valuable as his own.

Although we call each other brothers on ordinary days, aren't brothers just for selling?

Thinking this way, he felt at ease, and even couldn't help but fantasize that if he could prove his worth this time, he might be able to stay by Song Yan's side in the future. Even being a dog was much better than being a Japanese pirate who could lose his life at any moment, so his expression became even more obsequious.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Fang Hai, Song Yan entrusted him with the task of building the Jingguan (a mound of skulls), leaving some men to count the number of people to facilitate the distribution of rewards later. Then, Song Yan led the remaining two thousand men towards the sea. This area had already been taken over by Luo Tianquan and his family guards; hundreds of ships were under their control. Song Yan glanced at them and shook his head. The ships of this era were still quite rudimentary; he wondered how these Japanese pirates managed to navigate such vessels at sea—they could probably be easily capsized by even a small storm.

Song Yan had previously said he wanted to show Luo Tianyang the gold and silver mountains of Japan. This wasn't a joke; after all, Japan was rich in gold and silver. Putting aside everything else, if they could mine the Iwami Silver Mine, becoming the world's richest person would be a piece of cake.

However, given the current shipbuilding technology, this plan is probably not feasible for the time being.

"Brother-in-law, is everything settled?" Luo Tianquan walked over with a smile, looking completely harmless.

Unlike Luo Tianchu and Luo Tianyang, Song Yan couldn't quite see through Luo Tianquan in front of him.

Luo Tianchu has a slightly twisted personality; he enjoys prying into other people's secrets and is a natural-born paparazzi, making him suitable to be a member of the Imperial Guard. Luo Tianyang is single-mindedly focused on fighting; he possesses superhuman strength and, despite his mediocre martial arts skills, is rarely matched. As for Luo Tianquan, it's unclear what particular interests he has. Now serving as the magistrate of Ningping County, he only works sporadically, leaving all the duties to his elder brother.

A jumble of thoughts flashed through Song Yan's mind, but a smile already appeared on her face: "It's resolved. How about your end?"

Behind Luo Tianquan was Liu Yisheng, Song Yan's strategist. Since following Song Yan, Liu Yisheng had moved to a house opposite the Luo family's residence. He often interacted with the Luo brothers, but he didn't talk much and seemed a bit sullen.

He was not good at fighting, so he did not put on armor and go into battle.

"It went relatively smoothly. Although some of the Japanese pirates were left behind, there weren't many." As he spoke, Luo Tianquan looked towards the sea.

As dawn broke, corpses could be clearly seen floating on the sea, turning the water a deep crimson. Crabs, small fish, and strange insects crawled on the bodies; to these creatures, human corpses were a delicacy.

After a pause, Luo Tianquan continued, "What's the next step?"

Song Yan did not answer, but looked at Horikawa Sousuke, believing that Horikawa Sousuke was a smart man.

As expected, Horikawa Sousuke had completely changed his tune. His back seemed to have lost its bones, and he couldn't straighten his body at all. When Song Yan looked over, his smile became even more obsequious: "My lord, this way."

"I'll show you the way!"

Song Yan nodded, showing he was quite sensible.

Under Song Yan's arrangement, the two thousand heavy armored soldiers selected eighty ships that looked larger and sturdier. There was no other way; the weight of the heavy armored soldiers was too astonishing. If there were too many people on a ship, the hull might not be able to support it. In addition, some ships had to be left to carry supplies.

Besides the Luo family's guards, Luo Tianquan also brought a group of sailors from Ningping County. They were all seasoned fishermen; they might not be good at fighting, but they were definitely capable of sailing. Following the directions given by Horikawa Sosuke, the ships quickly departed from the coast.

Meanwhile, from Horikawa Sousuke's words, Song Yan finally gained a general understanding of the Japanese pirates in Ningguo. He learned of the existence of Snake Island, Skull Island, and Shark Island, and that each of their three strongholds now only had a few hundred pirates left to guard it, making them no longer a threat. The Japanese pirate problem in Ningguo was now effectively eradicated. This caused many heavily armored soldiers to feel a little regretful, after all, the head of a Japanese pirate was worth one or two taels of silver.

They were hoping to make a fortune in their old lair, which is truly disappointing.

The ship even had ample rations, as these heavily armored soldiers had fought hard all night and were severely exhausted, needing to replenish their strength as soon as possible. Some of the heavily armored soldiers lay down on the deck and fell fast asleep after eating, while others gathered in small groups, probably speculating about how much reward they would receive and figuring out how to spend so much money.

Some planned to use the money to get married, and would work hard for a few days to see if they could get their wives pregnant, so that even if they died on the battlefield, their lineage would not end.

Some planned to use the money to support their elderly parents.

Others were discussing whether or not to go to Hongxiuzhao, since they could only look at such a place on ordinary days, and now that they had money, couldn't they enjoy it?
Song Yan smiled as he listened. Most of these soldiers had simple wishes. Beside him, Horikawa Sousuke was still rambling on about the situation on the three islands:
"We're heading to Snake Island now."

"Snake Island was full of venomous snakes, but that was before. Since Hirata Taro stationed himself on Snake Island, he has cleaned it up more than once, so there is nothing to worry about."

"Oh, right, there are also Central Plains people that Hirata Taro and his gang kidnapped on Snake Island. That despicable and shameless guy kidnapped a lot of Central Plains people to be slaves. Those who disobeyed were even killed and dried into jerky. It was really too cruel. I tried to persuade Hirata Taro many times, but that guy wouldn't listen to me."

Seemingly noticing that Song Yan, Luo Tianquan, and Luo Tianyang all looked rather grim, Horikawa Sousuke quickly changed the subject: "There is a secret room in Hirata Saburo's residence where he keeps the wealth he has plundered over the years."

"I estimate there are at least 300,000 taels of silver left."

Time passed with the sound of the waves crashing.

Before we knew it, the sun had become scorching, and even the boundless sea had returned to its azure blue. When the sun was high overhead, an island finally came into view in the distance.

Horikawa Sousuke grinned: "My lord, that's Snake Island."

Song Yan nodded and gave a wink. Wang Chao immediately nodded as well. With a shout, all the sleeping heavy armored soldiers quickly awoke, stood up, and drew their swords.

They may have chopped off too many heads in one night; some of their steel knives were dulled, but they could still kill.

There were also guards and patrols at the island's port, but seeing the flags on the ships, they assumed it was the return of their leader and had no suspicions, nor did they launch any attacks. Some even waved from the shore and spoke in unintelligible languages. It wasn't until the two sides were finally close enough that the remaining Japanese pirates sensed something was wrong. What were those things on the ships? Dark, humanoid objects, seemingly cast in metal, and some even bright red, as if they had just emerged from a sea of ​​blood.

Especially when their gaze swept across all the ships and they couldn't see their leader, the Japanese pirates' expressions became serious. Just as they were about to raise a warning, they saw figures suddenly break away from the ships, lightly touch the sea surface with their toes, and quickly fly forward.

These were all guards brought by Luo Tianquan, and they were undoubtedly all extremely powerful martial artists. Their skill of walking on water alone was quite amazing.

As jets of blood spurted out, the dozens of Japanese pirates left guarding the port had their throats slit. Then the ship docked at the shore, and Death, clad in heavy armor, raised his steel blade.

Song Yan also grinned:

"Kill him."

"Except for the Han Chinese..."

"Leave no chickens or dogs behind!"

(End of this chapter)