The other soldiers felt the same. They were stationed at Black Bear Island, and while they had initially just wanted to make a living, their commoner origins meant they despised the pirates to the bone.
Besides, it was their duty. Who wouldn’t want to eliminate a scourge for the people and build a name for themselves?
Watching Chu Lingguang unleash a massacre on the mountaintop, sending the pirates scattering in terror, the soldiers howled with excitement. Under Zhang Baofu’s command, the entire force began an orderly charge against the pirates.
First, the Archers picked off the scattered pirates.
Then, the vanguard ran forward to support Chu Lingguang.
With a single slash, Xuanyuan Jinkang fought his way to Chu Lingguang’s side, cut a pirate in two, and demanded, "Chu Lingguang, I don’t care about these small fry. Tell me, where are their leaders?"
"They’re all inside the stone cave. They’ve probably set up traps and mechanisms."
Chu Lingguang replied.
He had been keeping an eye on the leaders’ movements as well.
"You’re with me!"
Once he had his direction, Xuanyuan Jinkang immediately led an elite squad toward the stone cave. Any pirate who stood in their way met a grim fate. Even those who surrendered were tortured, some having the tendons in their hands and feet severed.
They reached the entrance to the cave.
Xuanyuan Jinkang didn’t charge straight in. Instead, he released poison gas into the cave while his men covered their faces with yellow, antidote-soaked cloths.
The pirates were adept at using poisoned arrows, Poison Needles, and all sorts of traps, but the soldiers of Black Bear Island were, of course, just as skilled in such methods.
Just as Chu Lingguang had predicted, the pirate leaders inside had laid traps. After Xuanyuan Jinkang’s poison gas was fanned into the cave, a great commotion erupted from within, but it soon fell silent.
Once the gas had dissipated, Xuanyuan Jinkang cautiously led his men inside. Chu Lingguang arrived soon after and saw that a giant boulder was now blocking the stone bed.
"Damn it, they’ve entered the secret passage! There might be an exit down there,"
Chu Lingguang exclaimed.
The previous night, he and Eunuch Liu had entered that same passage. Attacked by the Cloud Mist Flood Dragon, they had been forced to leave in a hurry, so they didn’t know much about its layout.
’Perhaps there’s a tunnel under the passage that leads out of Xiazigou.’
With this thought, Chu Lingguang unleashed a ray of power from his spear, shattering the boulder blocking the passage entrance from a distance.
PFFT!
As the boulder shattered, a plume of white smoke shot out from below.
"Poison!"
"Fall back!"
Chu Lingguang knew they must have rigged it.
"Sound the horn! Tell the men below to watch the seabed. Don’t let the pirates escape underwater,"
Chu Lingguang ordered.
"Yes, sir!"
Li Santong responded.
"I’m going down first."
Chu Lingguang plunged into the secret passage.
He possessed a True Martial Realm Power Shield, Spear Intent Fluctuation, and Bloodline Defense Divine Abilities. Ordinary poison gas couldn’t possibly penetrate his defenses.
Besides, he had some familiarity with the area below the passage and wouldn’t be at a disadvantage.
With the probe of his powerful Spiritual Sense Fluctuation, Chu Lingguang easily bypassed all the traps and mechanisms in the passage.
Xuanyuan Jinkang and his men charged in right after him.
Soon, he and Chu Lingguang reached the bottom of the passage. They saw scattered gold, silver, and jewels, along with a churning, jade-green pool of water.
As the soldiers descended, two pirates, overcome with greed and trying to carry away an extra chest of treasure, finally spotted Chu Lingguang and dove headfirst into the jade-green pool.
But before the two could get far, they slammed into a field of stone fragments, as if hitting an invisible wall. Chu Lingguang flicked them out of the water with his Long Spear and smashed them against the cavern wall.
The jewels, gold, and silver they were clutching scattered across the floor.
"Are the others down there, too?"
Chu Lingguang asked.
"Hmph. I don’t know,"
the less injured one said, his face grim.
SCHLICK.
Xuanyuan Jinkang lopped the man’s head off with a single stroke, then pointed his blade at the other pirate.
"There are twelve of them! All at the Qi Sea Perfection realm! There’s a grotto under the pool that connects to the seabed. It’s a way out of Xiazigou! You have to hurry if you want to catch them!"
The pirate, splattered with his companion’s blood, answered with perfect composure and at a frantic pace.
SCHLICK!
Xuanyuan Jinkang nodded in satisfaction and sent him on his way with the same, single stroke before diving into the pool.
Chu Lingguang had practiced an Underwater Breathing Technique, and Xuanyuan Jinkang was no exception.
Chu Lingguang sighed softly. He knew Xuanyuan Jinkang needed to vent, and since these pirates deserved worse than death, he hadn’t tried to stop him.
The two plunged into the Jade Water Pool. After swimming down several dozen meters, the pool opened up into a small lake. It was as if the entire interior of Xiazigou had been hollowed out to hide it.
The pair surfaced.
Only then did they realize the Jade Water Pool was like the narrow neck of a flask. They had dived through the "neck" and emerged into the main body, where they saw the grotto the pirate had spoken of.
Upon entering the grotto, they heard the sound of crashing waves.
More of the pirates’ scattered treasures glinted inside the grotto.
Deeper inside, they found an opening that spewed seawater. The two plunged in once more.
「A short while later.」
Chu Lingguang and Xuanyuan Jinkang broke the surface together.
They heard a clamor of voices.
On the surface of the sea, more than a dozen ships had appeared.
They were the naval vessels of Qingzhou Prefecture.
Chu Lingguang was surprised. He hadn’t expected Liu Ziyun to move so quickly and dispatch these forces to support him.
"There are two more pirates over there!"
"Fire!"
The soldiers on the ships spotted Chu Lingguang and Xuanyuan Jinkang emerging from the water. One of the commanders gave the order.
"I am Captain Chu Lingguang of Black Bear Island! This is my subordinate, Captain Xuanyuan!"
Chu Lingguang hastily activated his Bloodline Defense Divine Abilities to block the incoming arrow shafts. Then, grabbing Xuanyuan Jinkang’s shoulder, he channeled his Wind and Wave Power. His feet found purchase as if on solid ground, and he leaped from the surface of the sea onto the deck of the ship.