With the rise of my family, I can summon the Daoist Soldiers' Nest.

The guards on the city wall immediately rushed forward, hurling arrows, logs, and stones at the river.

The rocket, trailing a crimson flame, pierced the night sky, igniting the sails of several approaching bandit ships, and the smell of burning fuel mingled with the fishy stench of the river.

However, the bandits were fearless and, as soon as the boat reached the shore, dozens of them abandoned the boat and jumped onto the stone steps to engage the defending soldiers in close combat.

Shouts of battle, the clash of weapons, and the screams of the wounded echoed across the city walls, the bloodstains particularly glaring in the torchlight.

During the battle, the Blackwater Village fought with exceptional bravery.

Two bandit warriors, under the cover of their accomplices, charged straight in against the defenders' formation.

These two men were agile and ruthless with their swords. They moved like cheetahs, and each swing of their swords precisely sliced ​​across the throat or heart.

They tore a gap in the guards' shield and sword formation, moving as if they were in an empty field. Blood splattered and severed limbs flew everywhere they went, and dozens of guards fell in a short time.

A third-rate guard roared and raised his gun to intercept, but one of the bandits dodged to the side, cleaved the gun barrel in two with a backhand slash, and then slashed the guard's neck. Blood gushed out, and the guard clutched his throat and fell off the city wall.

The second third-rate guard thrust his sword straight at the enemy, but the other bandit, instead of retreating, advanced, ducked to avoid the blade, kicked the guard's kneecap, shattered it, and then pierced his abdomen with another sword, pinning him to the battlement. He twitched a few times and then fell silent.

In less than ten rounds, the two third-rate guards died one after another.

The remaining guards on the city wall were so easily defeated by the third-rate warriors that their morale plummeted. Some turned to flee, but were cut down by the captain who was supervising the battle from the rear.

Panic had already spread, the defenses were weakened, and the bandits took advantage of the situation to launch a fierce attack, pushing the defenders back step by step, eventually forcing them off the city wall.

Han Feng and Meng Lang stood at the bow of the boat, taking in the entire scene.

The two looked at each other from a distance, and in the instant their eyes met, they both saw surprise in each other's eyes.

Such a killing technique must belong to a second-rate martial artist.

Recalling the previous rumors, they became even more determined to do what the two had agreed on before they came: to take the opportunity to weaken Blackwater Village.

The pirates quickly repelled the city wall defenders and the few civilians who came to their aid, and rushed towards the dock without stopping.

The dock is located in the southeast river bend of the county seat. It usually houses a large number of civilian and military vessels from Qinghe County. The timber is sturdy and has a moderate draft, making it an essential item for the Lin Chen army to cross the river and carry out the mopping-up operations in the future.

The dock was guarded by only a dozen or so men. When they saw the dark mass of bandits surging in like a tide, they felt a chill in their hearts and scattered and fled without even having the thought of resistance.

The pirates shouted and rushed in. Some of them jumped onto the outer boats, untied the mooring lines, lit the fires, and set sail, preparing to return to their lair.

The innermost boats were unable to move for a while due to their deep draft or tangled mooring lines. The bandits then brought out flammable materials that they had prepared beforehand, poured them on the hulls, and threw down torches. Flames roared up and engulfed the entire row of boats in a sea of ​​fire, with thick black smoke billowing into the night sky.

With their most important task accomplished, the bandits could no longer suppress their greed and violence.

Many people had already slipped out of the group under cover of darkness on their way to the dock to enjoy the thrill of looting. Now that their accomplices had succeeded, they swarmed into the streets of the county town, burning, killing, and looting.

In an instant, the county town descended into chaos and madness.

The firelight illuminated half the sky, and the cries of women and children, the angry shouts of men, and the rumble of collapsing roof beams intertwined to create an apocalyptic cacophony.

Bandits kept rushing out of one house, laughing and joking, carrying their trousers, bloodstained knives, and pockets full of stolen silver and jewelry, heading towards their next target.

Some people hacked the homeowner to death for a string of copper coins, while others set fire to houses to abduct women. The entire street was twisted and deformed in flames and blood.

Located in the eastern part of Qinghe County, this area is characterized by its continuous courtyards and high walls, making it the county's affluent district. The three most prominent families in Qinghe County all reside here.

The Bai family mansion appeared particularly imposing under the cover of night, with stone lions guarding the gate and faint lights and shouts from the guards emanating from within the high walls.

At this moment, dozens of guards had gathered outside the Bai family's gate, each holding a sword and shield, their expressions tense.

At the very front of the group were two third-rate martial artists, their armor stained with blood, their blades dripping with the blood of enemies they had recently slain.

They were facing off against more than twenty bandits, with three of the bandits' corpses lying on the ground.

"Leave the Bai family immediately, or don't blame us for being impolite!" a third-rate martial artist shouted, his blade pointing directly at the bandits, blood dripping down the edge.

The twenty-odd bandits were so intimidated that they retreated repeatedly, but still refused to leave.

In their view, this is the real place where gold and silver are hidden. Robbing this one place would be enough to make their money back, or even make them rich overnight.

However, the number of bandits was constantly increasing.

The bandits on the river arrived in waves, quickly gathering more than a hundred people, and their leader was a third-rate but experienced bandit.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "Charge in! We outnumber them, those two third-rate martial artists can't stop us!" The bandits surged forward like a tidal wave.

The Bai family guards fought desperately, their blades and bandits' weapons clashing in front of the gate, some losing arms, others being stabbed through the chest, their screams echoing everywhere.

But as more bandits joined, the defense line was gradually overwhelmed. The two third-rate warriors fought bravely, but they were outnumbered and were hacked down one after another.

The bandits burst through the gate and poured into the various courtyards of the Bai residence like hungry wolves, burning, killing, and looting in an instant.

In a secluded courtyard, two bandits from Blackwater Village had just killed a young man and were stuffing the looted gold and silver jewelry haphazardly into their clothes, with the sharp edges of gold chains and ingots sticking out from their garments.

Just then, three bandits from Bawangtan and two bandits from Xuehuwan broke into the courtyard.

They caught a glimpse of the golden light emanating from the bulging arms of the two men from Blackwater Village, and their eyes immediately lit up with greed and murderous intent.

Almost simultaneously, the five men raised their knives and pounced.

The two men from Blackwater Village were caught off guard. They hastily parried but were forced to retreat one after another. In the blink of an eye, they were cut down and their treasures were snatched away.

This scene was playing out repeatedly throughout the county.

The people of Bawangtan and Xuehuwan frequently joined forces to specifically target the Blackwater Village bandits who were alone or acting separately, robbing them of their valuables and then killing them.

Occasionally, they would turn against each other and fight over the spoils or due to greed.

The people of Blackwater Village gradually became aware of this undercurrent. At first, they retaliated in small groups, but later they simply gathered into large groups and turned around to hunt down the people of Overlord Beach and Blood Lake Bay, robbing them of their spoils.

The conflict escalated, turning from covert attacks into open melee. Many people became bloodthirsty, and even the original leader lost control of the situation, eventually joining the fight himself.

The three forces clashed amidst flames and bloodshed, turning what was originally a raid on the county town into a bloodbath where they slaughtered each other.

At the same time, the magistrate of Qinghe County quickly rallied the remaining forces amidst the sound of drums and the light of fire.

The soldiers who retreated from the city walls, the county constables, and the guards cobbled together by wealthy families formed a temporary militia and rushed straight to the city that had been occupied by river bandits.

By this time, the bandits had lost a lot of fighting power due to internal strife, and some of them had already plundered a lot of money, so they were no longer willing to fight the magistrate's men.

Upon seeing the large army approaching, they immediately abandoned their looting and scrambled to flee towards the city gate.

The magistrate led the crowd to clear out the wounded and abandoned river bandits along the streets, as well as those bandits who were still ransacking the place and had not been able to evacuate in time.

In the firelight, some people were pinned to the ground and tied to death, while others knelt and begged for mercy only to have their throats slit.