Chapter 629 Black Armor Dark Blade
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The smoke of battle at sea had not yet completely dissipated, and the salty sea breeze, mixed with a strong smell of blood and burnt flesh, permeated every inch of the air.
The soldiers of Zhenhai Army were cleaning up the battlefield. They were tired but excited, their faces showing relief at surviving the disaster and pride in victory.
Amidst the shipwrecks and floating corpses, sporadic Japanese pirates occasionally put up resistance, but the Zhenhai Navy immediately followed up with kills. Li Shiyue's order of "no surrender, no prisoners" was resolutely carried out, ensuring that no Japanese pirates would ever survive in this sea area.
Li Shiyue stood at the bow of the "Breaking Waves II" ship, looking at the deck opposite the ship, still stained with the blood of Matsuura Nobuhiro.
She gazed at the sea dyed red before her, her eyes deep and unfocused, devoid of the elation of victory, only a cold, almost weary calm.
The main force of Matsuura Nobuhiro's pirate gang has been wiped out, but this is only the first step.
Li Shiyue knew that to truly break the backbone of the Japanese pirates and even deter their root causes, she had to simultaneously deliver a heavier and more fatal blow on another unseen battlefield.
"Order the fleet to assemble, take stock of casualties, rescue the wounded, and return to Seto Port as soon as possible."
Her voice was somewhat hoarse, yet carried an undeniable air of authority.
Li Shiyue looked up at the sky, which was beginning to darken. The naval battle had lasted for a day and a night, while another silent massacre was probably unfolding simultaneously in every corner of Japan.
Just as Matsuura Nobuhiro's fleet was struggling and being destroyed in Li Shiyue's ambush, a death net woven by Li Shiyue himself and executed by three hundred "Black Armor Dark Blades" was silently tightening on the four main islands of Japan.
Inside a luxurious mansion in Heian-kyo.
A Japanese nobleman, dressed in fine clothes and closely associated with the Matsuura family, was sipling sake with great satisfaction while watching a geisha dance.
He may be expecting Nobuhiro Matsuura to bring back a rich spoils of war.
A meek and obedient maidservant stepped forward respectfully to pour him wine.
With a barely perceptible flick of the maid's fingertips, a small amount of colorless and odorless powder dissolved into the wine.
The nobleman drank it down without realizing it. A moment later, he suddenly clutched his throat, his face quickly turning purple and swollen. He then curled up in pain and collapsed to the ground. The surrounding singing and dancing instantly turned into terrified screams.
The maid's figure had already disappeared into the chaos.
A hot spring resort in Kyushu.
A wealthy Japanese merchant, known for profiting from selling stolen goods in support of Japanese pirates, is enjoying a relaxing soak in a hot spring, surrounded by heavy guards.
However, in the shadows of the hot spring's stone wall, a ghostly figure quietly emerged.
The blade flashed like lightning, precisely slicing across the wealthy merchant's throat, instantly staining the spring water crimson with blood.
By the time the guards realized what was happening, the figure had already used the scouted route to disappear into the mountains and forests, leaving behind only a pool of blood and a courtyard filled with panic.
A fortified castle on the Seto Inland Sea coast.
A local clan leader, responsible for coordinating supplies and providing provisions for the Japanese pirates, was inspecting the dock when the sturdy wooden planks beneath his feet suddenly broke.
He screamed and fell into the sea, but within moments he was silent.
What seemed like an accident actually happened in a way that no one noticed; the ropes securing the planks had already been cut in half by a sharp blade.
The icy seawater swallowed the Japanese man's cries for help. Several fishermen who "happened" to be passing by watched him struggle and sink indifferently. In the eyes of one of them, a look of satisfaction at having avenged his great grudge flashed.
The Matsuura family's stronghold in northern Honshu.
A key retainer of the Matsuura family was ambushed in an alley by several masked men on his way home at night.
There were no shouts, no warnings, only a brief but deadly struggle.
The dull thud of a blade piercing flesh, the suppressed groans—all quickly faded into silence.
The masked men quickly dispersed, as if they had never been there, leaving only gradually cooling corpses, announcing the arrival of death.
......
Such scenes were playing out in many places on the four main islands of Japan, almost all within the same time period.
The Xuanjia Dark Blade, an elite force that Li Shiyue had poured his heart and soul into secretly training and infiltrating Japan for three years, now revealed its sharpest fangs.
They came from all walks of life, including merchants, servants, fishermen, commoners, and even low-ranking warriors.
Using the identities, intelligence, and connections they had accumulated over the past three years, they precisely carried out Li Shiyue's orders—to create as much chaos as possible and kill the upper-class nobles of the Japanese pirates.
There are many ways to assassinate someone—directly stabbing, poisoning, creating an accident... Each method requires extremely high skill, a calm mind, and the courage to face death.
However, carrying out such a high-density, high-risk assassination mission deep within enemy territory comes at an extremely heavy cost.
After poisoning his target, a Xuanjia Dark Blademan was unable to escape and was surrounded by Japanese soldiers. In the end, he had no choice but to risk his life and perish together with several enemies.
After successfully carrying out her attack, a female assassin was exposed by her target's confidant and subjected to humiliation and torture. She died without revealing a single piece of information.
A pair of thugs disguised as siblings staged a "drowning accident" for their target. In order to distract their pursuers, the "brother" bravely rushed towards them, giving his "sister" a slim chance to escape, while he himself was hacked to pieces.
They are like moths drawn to a raging fire, knowing that destruction lies ahead, yet still going without hesitation.
Each successful assassination of a target often means the exposure and sacrifice of several, or even a dozen, Xuanjia Dark Blades.
Three days later, in Shimane Prefecture.
Li Shiyue led the main force of the Zhenhai Navy, which, despite having fought a bitter battle, was basically intact and in high spirits, back to Seto Port.
News of the great naval victory had already reached back, and the garrison troops remaining in Shimane Prefecture were jubilant.
However, Li Shiyue did not smile much.
Her first question wasn't about counting the spoils, but rather, "How many of the Xuanjia Dark Blades have returned?"
She was met with a brief silence. Dana, who was in charge of receiving intelligence, had to brace herself and report to Li Shiyue with a grim face: "General, the situation with Dark Blade... is not optimistic."
According to the pre-arranged plan, General Li (Li Qiutian) was at the outpost on the outskirts of Shimane Prefecture to provide support, but... so far, there has been very little news.
Li Shiyue's heart sank little by little.
She closed the door and stared silently at the map inside the room, which marked the assassination targets and the areas where the assassins were hiding.
What Li Shiyue received were intermittent reports of victory transmitted through the secret channels of "Xuanjia Dark Blade," and behind each report was the blood of the Xuanjia Dark Blade soldiers she had personally trained.
On the map, the removal of small flags representing targets signifies the success of the mission;
But what appeared before her eyes were young and determined faces, sweating profusely on the training field, solemnly swearing an oath to her before setting off...
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