In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

But the bamboo courtyard was completely surrounded.

Not only were there pirates, but also a large number of locals armed with stone axes and harpoons, who surrounded the area.

Especially the poisoned arrows made Li Yuanchang afraid to charge forward, and he tried several directions without success.

"Your Highness, there are people here too. We can't get out. What should we do?"

Li Yuanchang's face was grim, and he made a decisive decision immediately.

"Let's go back and guard the house!"

With that, he took the lead and rushed back to the bamboo house.

Those who have played games in later generations know that when surrounded, the best thing to do is to hold your position, block the line of sight, and wait for the enemy to rush in.

If you pull it out yourself, the advantage will no longer be yours.

boom!

Li Yuanchang rushed back to the bamboo house and immediately began dismantling it.

"Quickly, block the doors and windows with all the usable planks!"

"Bring the repeating crossbows here! Two over here, two over there!"

Faced with this situation, Li Yuanchang, who had commanded thousands of troops, remained completely calm.

He's even broken through the northern desert camps, why would he be afraid of pirates in this godforsaken place?

boom! !

At that moment, a loud bang was heard, and after a barrage of arrows, a large number of pirates rushed to the front and finally broke through the bamboo gate, pouring in.

The entire courtyard was riddled with arrows, but not a drop of blood or a single corpse was found, which enraged the pirates.

"Baka!"

"search!!"

In an instant, all the pirates rushed in from all directions, each one vicious and with eyes like those of someone who hadn't eaten for days.

Seeing that the enemy had already searched up, crossbows peeked out from the cracks in the house.

A pirate stepped forward and kicked, but his leg had only just reached the air when...

Whoosh!

puff……

Blood splattered, staining the windowpane red. It was a long knife that suddenly pierced through the pirate captain's chest.

He bowed his head in anguish, his mouth agape in horror.

The remaining pirates were stunned and stood there, then began to scream and howl like ghosts.

"Inside!"

"Inside!"

"Baka!"

They charged forward one after another.

The next second, the crossbow bolts went off.

The sound of rapid-fire bullets echoed continuously.

Puff puff……

"Ah!" The pirates screamed and fell to the ground, a large number of them instantly taken down.

The kill radius of the ten repeating crossbows was equivalent to that of a hundred archers, instantly killing dozens of people. The pirates, who had no armor, were practically sitting ducks.

Occasionally, a few people would rush to the door of the bamboo house, trying to break it open, only to be dragged inside by monstrous arms, their screams and wails filling the air.

They couldn't even see a trace of Li Yuanchang and the others, and panic spread.

"Back off! Back off quickly!"

A pirate leader shouted and called for archers.

"Shoot them! Shoot them!!"

A row of pirate fishermen, armed with makeshift bows and arrows, aimed at the central house and unleashed a barrage of indiscriminate fire.

The dense rain of arrows poured into the bamboo house, making a continuous thumping sound.

There is no accuracy, only saturation coverage.

Explosions echoed continuously inside the bamboo hut—the sound of jars shattering—accompanied by a barrage of bone arrows striking the wooden planks.

Li Yuanchang and eleven others lay prone on the ground, using thickened wooden planks as shields to withstand wave after wave of arrows, unable to raise their heads due to the oppression.

The repeating crossbow is good, but it's troublesome to load and requires rotation, plus there are too many people outside.

For more than forty breaths, the rain of arrows never stopped.

I don't know how much time passed, but finally, the sound of arrows stopped.

Li Yuanchang and the others tentatively looked up. The entire bamboo house was riddled with holes, and light shone through those holes, creating a beautiful interplay of beams.

It's like a gunfight movie.

Li Yuanchang gestured for them not to move.

At this moment, the pirates in the courtyard were also holding their breath, watching the movements inside intently, lying behind their cover, not daring to raise their heads or make any rash moves.

Both sides are remaining silent, both sides are testing each other's patience.

At this time, whoever rushes first will be unlucky.

The suffocating, tense atmosphere lasted for about thirty more breaths. Finally, one of the pirates couldn't hold back any longer and started shouting something in a garbled voice.

"Your Highness, they are looking for planks; they intend to launch a full-scale attack," Ji'an translated, his brow furrowed.

Huang Tu and nine others squatted in different corners, looking to Li Yuanchang for advice.

Li Yuanchang tried to get up and looked out through the crack with one eye.

The courtyard was already packed with people, mostly indigenous people carrying harpoons, though there were also quite a few vicious pirates.

But it's clear that this wasn't the main force of the pirates on Tsushima Island.

"Wait until they come in, take out those key warriors, and then break through to the mountains to the west," Li Yuanchang said in a deep voice, already having a general idea in mind.

Once a group of people are killed, the horde of attackers should be routed.

On the contrary, if they actually attract all the main forces of the pirate crew, then things will become more difficult.

"yes!"

A muffled growl echoed in the room, followed by a soft rustling sound, as everyone hurried to prepare.

Ji'an was protected in the very center.

They used wooden planks as shields, each holding a sharp Tang sword in their right hand. The ten of them were like humanoid Tyrannosaurus Rex. Although there were few of them, they formed a solid wall of steel!

"Take this. When you encounter the enemy, pull the trigger. Don't hurt our own people." Li Yuanchang handed Ji'an a repeating crossbow.

"Your Highness, I am a monk, and I cannot kill."

Li Yuanchang was utterly exasperated: "If you don't kill them, they'll kill you, and they'll eat your flesh!"

Ji'an still refused.

"Hurry, take this, they're coming in."

"I have a connection with Buddha, so I won't blame you."

"ah??"

No sooner said than done, the pirates outside, carrying planks, had already formed ranks and were rapidly approaching.

The footsteps grew closer, accompanied by a dark shadow that loomed over the bamboo door, making the already dim light even dimmer.

"Ready!" Li Yuanchang gripped the Dragon Sparrow tightly, his eyes filled with bloodlust.

"yes!"

The guards murmured in low voices, like a group of "mountain lords" ready to pounce.

The moment the pirates burst through the door, eleven Tang swords gleamed with a chilling light, foreshadowing a devastating blow to their heads.

"ah!!"

Huang Tu was the first to be hit, and he slashed down with a single, unskilled strike, pure brute force.

boom!

The wooden plank exploded as easily as smashing tofu, and a pirate behind it was cleaved in two, his blood splattering everywhere.

"kill!!"

Both sides shouted at the same time, and then they engaged in close combat.

Bang bang bang! !

Huang Tu and his group were incredibly violent. As soon as they engaged in combat, they withstood the opponent's heavy pressure and pushed back all the way, cutting through like watermelons.

Screams and wails filled the air.

The pirates at the gate were forced into retreat, their flesh and blood flying everywhere.

The ten men managed to cut their way out very quickly.

Seeing this, the enraged pirates chose to attack from the flanks, and without warning, sharpened bamboo spears were thrust at the waists of the group.

But it was no use. Huang Tu and his men grabbed him with their bare hands and then swung him away. The skinny pirate flew straight out.