Chapter 92, Setting Out and Marching into the Vastest Lake!

Translator: StarReader

 

It was the dead of night, just past midnight. The sky was as black as pitch, with scarce stars twinkling in the darkness. It was a perfect time for an ambush; Vastest Lake’s pirates were lax and unsuspecting.

 

Three thousand elite troops and over ten thousand martial disciples from various Wu Region groups were silently mobilized. They boarded boats at Xikou Town’s dock, setting off to purge the lake of pirates.

 

Most common folk these days suffered from night blindness due to malnourishment. But the martial disciples, fed better with occasional eggs and meat, had only a small fraction affected. Those who could see led the others, guiding them onto boats with long ropes.

 

This was merely the preliminary departure towards Vastest Lake. The actual battle was set for dawn’s first light.

 

Too many troops meant not enough ships. Fortunately, Gusu County’s constable had arranged for five hundred-odd fishing boats and fifty large merchant vessels from Gusu City, along with seven or eight imperial water army battleships, to be seized overnight.

 

Each fishing boat could carry ten soldiers, while the merchant vessels could accommodate a hundred each. The battleships, however, could hold up to four to five hundred troops at once. This formidable fleet just managed to transport three thousand elite water soldiers and over ten thousand martial disciples into battle on Vastest Lake.

 

Leading the charge were seven or eight massive battleships, forming a protective barrier around the fleet. These ships were sturdy and armed with bows, allowing them to dominate the smaller pirate vessels from above.

 

Behind them followed fifty merchant ships and hundreds of fishing boats, slower but capable of transporting troops for the assault on Whale Gang’s stronghold atop West Cave Mountain.

 

The headquarters of the Whale Gang lay at the heart of the Vastest Lake, on an island known as West Cave Mountain. From Xikou Town’s dock, it took at least thirteen miles by boat across the vast lake, approximately one to two hours, to reach the island. The surface of the Vastest Lake wasn’t endless water but was dotted with lagoons and dense stands of reeds, like an immense, floating green curtain. Waterways crisscross through the reeds, resembling a labyrinth on the lake.

 

In peaceful times, fishermen cast their nets in the lagoons, living simple lives where they work at dawn and rest at dusk. But when pirates gathered on the Vastest Lake, these reed curtains became a nightmare. From ancient times to the present, the Vastest Lake had been plagued by pirates without respite.

 

This was why courts dispatched soldiers to raid the lake year after year, only to find it a headache. Pirates darted about in small, swift boats through the reeds, while large warships often got lost or stuck in the shallow waters. The pirates merely fled, refusing to engage in battle. If soldiers used smaller boats, they were vulnerable and easily outnumbered by pirate ambushes, suffering heavy casualties.

 

No matter how many soldiers were sent, raiding the Vastest Lake was a daunting task. Even the Wu Region’s soldiers shuddered at the thought of it, hesitating before such a challenge. The lake’s residents and fishermen paled at the mention of its pirates. These criminals not only intercepted boats along the lake and waterways but also raided villages and homes inland, causing widespread terror.

 

Vastest Lake’s historical records, county annals, and family chronicles all bore witness to the havoc wreaked by pirates, with each county and prefecture listing them as a major blight. Pirates had rarely been absent from Vastest Lake, their numbers merely ebbing and flowing.

 

In peaceful times, pirate gangs numbered no more than dozens, posing little threat as they roamed from place to place. However, over the past few decades, the Whale Gang had grown astronomically, absorbing almost all other pirate factions in the Wu Region, recruiting thousands of displaced civilians, and swelling its ranks to a formidable ten thousand strong. They now occupied West Cave Mountain within Vastest Lake.

 

Such a large-scale pirate operation was no small matter. The Whale Gang, entrenched at Vastest Lake, plundered passing merchants and goods along the canals and waterways. Boldly, they even dared to intercept official grain shipments bound for the north, now posing as the Wu Region’s most significant disturbance.

 

The court had not been idle in its desire to deploy heavy forces against the Whale Gang. Yet, the continuous incursions of the tribes along the Western Area borders had tied down a large portion of the empire’s might. For years, the court’s main army had been stationed at the border, engaged in an endless stalemate, depleting the empire’s strength.

 

In comparison, the disturbances caused by southern pirates seemed trivial, shallow concerns. The court had long concentrated its best troops and strategists on the northwestern frontier, leaving the southeastern regions sparsely guarded. Consequently, governors of these regions lacked the military prowess necessary to effectively suppress pirate activities.

 

Every year, troops and resources from these regions were redirected northward, leaving insufficient forces for local defense, let alone pirate suppression. The Wu Region’s governorate suffered greatly due to piracy, with previous governors attempting to quell the Whale Gang with disastrous results. They lost many soldiers and returned defeated, their confidence in eliminating pirates shattered.

 

This time, however, newly appointed Governor Zhao Juzhen had personally taken charge, mustering four thousand elite troops from neighboring regions. Moreover, Han Shan, the revered martial leader of the Wu Region, stepped forth to aid them.

 

Two influential figures united the local government and the Wu Region’s martial groups, forming a formidable force. It was unlikely anyone would dare to attack the Whale Gang at Vastest Lake alone.

 

The Medicine King Group deployed over a thousand elite disciples for this mission, culled from the top tiers of each hall. Among them were many second-rate experts, first-rate high hands, middle and senior executives, and even the library’s reclusive guardian, who’d spent years in meditation. Each group was led by their respective hall leaders and vice-leaders.

 

Li Jiao, Zhang Tieniu, Yang Caizhi, and Qin Huihui, four young disciples, were stationed on the same fishing boat. Alongside their personal weapons, they’d transported several fifty-kilogram stone-filled sacks onto the vessel.

 

Li Jiao, an inner disciple of the Alchemy Hall, cultivated her Middle Dantian at mid second-rate level. Zhang Tieniu and Qin Huihui, having joined the Security Hall and Hall of Affairs, respectively, were only at the Lower Dantian late third-rate realm.

 

Their ranks within the Medicine King Group varied greatly, yet they shared a common master, Li Kui, binding them as sibling disciples. This night raid placed them together on one boat for mutual support.

 

Li Jiao stood tall and composed at the bow of the boat, her white tunic billowing. Years ago, she and her family had faced Ding Shisan’s pirate ambush on the canal, engaging in a bloody battle that almost cost their lives.

 

Ever since, she’d been haunted by nightmares filled with bloodshed and pirates’ screams. Her single-minded pursuit of vengeance left no room for romantic attachments, making her mentally tougher than most disciples her age.

 

Now, facing this impending bloodbath, she remained eerily composed.

 

Zhang Tieniu, a man of considerable stature and strength, gripped a sturdy oar with both hands, vigorously propelling their fishing boat forward.

 

“O Buddha and immortals above,” he muttered, his face pale and taut with anxiety, “please don’t let me die!” Around his wrist hung an amulet, bought for two ounces of silver from the Han Mountain Daoist Temple by his father, Butcher Zhang. He prayed fervently, seeking divine protection.

 

Zhang Tieniu had only been a part of the Medicine King Group for five years, and he’d joined their Security Hall barely three or four. His duties were primarily guarding the estate gates and undertaking routine escort missions; real combat was rare indeed. Yet here he was, embarking on his first martial encounter—an unprecedented clash involving tens of thousands of martial disciples across the Wu Region.

 

He wasn’t sure if he’d make it out alive.

 

Yang Caizhi, too, was rowing the boat, craning his neck to peer into the distant darkness. The lake stretched out before them like a black abyss, eerily silent and terrifyingly vast. It felt like they were staring down the jaws of a ravenous beast, or maybe Whale Gang pirates lurked nearby, waiting for them to make their move.

 

Fear gripped Yang Caizhi. He dared not look but could not afford to turn away either. If pirates suddenly emerged from the shadows, he wanted to be ready.

 

As his neck grew stiff from straining, he caught sight of nothing out of the ordinary on the lake’s surface. Relieved, he whispered to Zhang Tieniu, Qin Huihui, and others, “Keep your eyes peeled. When we face off against Whale Gang, don’t be the first ones charging ahead—you’ll just make easy targets! Our goal is to capitalize on opportunities while staying safe. Let’s not throw our lives away!”

 

Li Jiao overheard him and threw him a scathing glance. “Don’t even think about running once things get heated, Yang Caizhi. You heard the Swordsmanship Hall Leader when we boarded; deserters face death! If any of our senior brothers catch you fleeing, your head will be on the chopping block back at the hall. Better to die by pirate hands than cowardice!”

 

Yang Caizhi felt his cheeks grow hot under Li Jiao’s scrutiny. He defensively replied, “Come on, Senior Sister Li, don’t sell me short! I’ve got a few years’ worth of martial experience. I’m not some coward who’d abandon his post!”

 

But despite his protestations, there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice as he slumped onto the boat’s prow.

 

In this tense silence, their fishing boats glided towards an uncertain fate on Vastest Lake.

 

Upon the battlefield, shifting positions wasn’t easy. What if they got surrounded by pirates, trapped between heaven and earth with no escape? Could anyone predict survival in this grand battle with just a few words?

 

Yang Caizhi had spent years buttering up Li Kui to become a disciple of the Hall of Affairs. Yet, barely into his third year, he found himself smack dab in the middle of this massive conflict. Deflated, he envied Su Chen and Kong Xinqiao.

 

Initially eliminated by Li Kui, they’d joined the Errand Hall. Most disciples there had low cultivation and combat skills, according to the Medicine King Group’s policy. They were never called to participate in martial conflicts; their duty was supplying provisions.

 

If he could go back, Yang Caizhi thought he’d skip the struggle for a spot in the Hall of Affairs and opt for the stability of the Errand Hall. After all, his senior brother, Wang Fugui, a disciple of the Swordsmanship Hall, wasn’t even present. Rumor had it he’d been assigned a crucial protective mission by the Leader – Magistrate Wang needed a top-tier young expert skilled in medicine to guard him personally against pirate sneak attacks.

 

That was the real dream assignment Yang Caizhi was jealous over!