From Hoarding to Time-Travel: My Supplies Saved Him

Chapter 500: Chapter 501: Surrounded

Just as they were wondering what the people on the opposite shore were planning, the ship suddenly lurched. "Something’s wrong!" Prince Zuo shouted. "Get men in the water to investigate, now!"

But it was too late. He could already feel the ship slowly starting to list.

Beneath the hull, out of sight, a group of men in tight-fitting clothes breathed through long reeds that broke the water’s surface.

They yanked away wooden planks that had already been loosened with special tools, then immediately retreated in a single direction.

But no matter how skilled they were in the water, they were no match for the bandits known as the Water Ghosts.

Seeing their armed pursuers about to catch up, they calmly stopped and made a provocative gesture.

This infuriated the Water Ghosts. They surged forward, determined to leave these men dead in the water.

They failed to notice their targets calmly pulling bizarrely shaped objects from behind their backs.

By the time the Water Ghosts realized what was happening and tried to defend themselves, they saw the men unstop the devices and thrust them forward.

In an instant, the water before the Water Ghosts turned pitch-black. A moment later, a sharp, stinging pain shot through their eyes.

Unable to bear it, they shot to the surface, gasping for air. Some clutched their eyes, howling and screaming in agony.

Prince Zuo witnessed the entire scene from his ship. He knew it was useless to send more men after them now; they were long gone.

In the distance, he saw the saboteurs surface and climb onto small, waiting boats. They even had the audacity to wave tauntingly at him.

"@#$%&...!" A stream of curses erupted from the deck. But it was pointless. All of their ships near the shore were slowly taking on water, rendered immobile.

Li Ji stared, jaw agape, at the sudden turn of events. "You... you planned all this?"

Vice General Wang clapped his hands and shouted to the soldiers beside him, "Everyone, finish your rations! We’ll be fishing some stragglers out of the water soon. No fighting over them, no grabbing, you hear me?"

"Heard!" came the neat, excited reply.

Vice General Wang chuckled and walked over to stand behind Zhou Shixiong. "Great General, Mr. Gu was right on the money. These people are far too arrogant, thinking our Da Rong Dynasty has no skilled swimmers.

It’s just a shame about the ships, though. What a waste."

General Zhou and Wenheng had devised this plan not long after they first met.

To improve their men’s skills in the water, General Zhou and Wenheng had found a nearby hot spring estate, where they had their soldiers who could swim train for a long time.

Only after spring arrived did they put the men into the sea, using fishing as a pretext to practice holding their breath and diving in the nearby waters.

"Even if they’ve sunk, find a way to salvage them. We’ll let Little Sister Gu take a look. She might be able to patch a few of them up.

I thought their ships were supposed to be so sturdy. Turns out they’re nothing special.

It seems Brother Gu’s eclectic reading paid off. He’s the one who found all the ships’ weaknesses."

Zhou Shixiong then noticed many men on the enemy decks, waving their arms and crying for help. Clearly, not all of their men were strong swimmers.

"Great General, that must be the so-called Prince Zuo. Is he trying to flee?"

Vice General Wang pointed to a small boat, packed to the gills with people. They were desperately rowing toward the open sea.

Zhou Shixiong said, "Signal them to proceed with the second phase of the plan."

By now, some of the bandits had reached the shore. Before they could even crawl out of the water, the soldiers waiting above had blades to their throats.

"This one’s mine!" an argument broke out. A glance would reveal some bandits with two, or even more, blades pressed against their necks simultaneously.

It couldn’t be helped; there weren’t enough prisoners to go around. Some soldiers even grumbled to themselves, ’Why didn’t more of them show up?’

Li Ji stood frozen in place. Everything had happened so fast; he couldn’t comprehend how it had all suddenly...

"General Li, don’t just stand there gawking! They’re taking all the good ones!" a passing officer reminded him before raising his own sword and charging forward.

Li Ji was left speechless.

Everyone else was scrambling for battle honors. Standing there, he stuck out like a sore thumb. Steeling himself, he gripped his sword and charged into the fray.

"These people... they’re too cunning," Prince Zuo snarled from the small boat, gritting his teeth as he watched his men being captured one by one.

Tu Zhong asked, "Your Highness, what do we do now? There’s no way this little boat can get us back."

For the sake of pomp and ceremony, the Prince had ordered all the ships to moor close to shore. Now look. They’d been caught in a single sweep. Riding in this tiny lifeboat, they had no idea how far they could possibly run.

"What did you say to them when you went ashore? Didn’t you tell them to have their Great General come and see me? How could this have happened?

Weren’t we told they were people who prized etiquette above all else?"

Tu Zhong replied, "I don’t know, Your Highness. When I went ashore, everything seemed to be arranged perfectly.

Could it be because we kept them waiting for so long? Perhaps they saw it as a slight and decided to put us in our place?"

Tu Zhong complained inwardly. ’If the Prince hadn’t been trying to make things difficult, insisting on waiting for so long before disembarking, we’d probably all be safely on shore by now.

We brought so many men; we came prepared. Even if it came to a real fight, we could have gotten away.

But now... our fate is truly uncertain.’

Feeling utterly humiliated, Prince Zuo spun around and ordered the rowers, "Take me back. I want to see just how they plan to treat a prince of the Eastern Yi."

"Your Highness, I don’t think we’ll be able to," one of his subordinates said helplessly.

At some point, their small boat had been completely surrounded.

"Get the Water Ghosts to sink these boats," Prince Zuo ordered, his eyes narrowing. He recognized them now—they were the ones who had brought him to this pathetic state.

"Yes, Your Highness." A guard slapped the surface of the water. Around their boat, several bandits surfaced—his secret escort.

He barked a command in his native tongue, and these so-called Water Ghosts immediately swam toward the surrounding boats.

The men on the boats calmly produced several iron-spiked rakes from their holds and met the swimmers’ approach with brutal, direct attacks.

As the water slowly turned red, Prince Zuo’s expression grew grim. ’They came prepared,’ he thought. ’Every move they make is designed to counter us.’

By the time the last of his Water Ghosts had vanished beneath the waves, the small boats had closed in, trapping them completely.

"Well now, since you’ve come all this way, it’d be rude not to stay for a visit," a burly soldier said, casually bouncing a blood-stained, iron-spiked rake in his hand.

"What do you think you’re doing? I am a Prince of the Eastern Yi! I have urgent business with your Emperor! You cannot treat me with such disrespect!"