Chapter 00127: A Sudden Reversal
# A Sudden Reversal
Chapter 127
Novel: After the Immortals Disappeared
Chapter 127: A Sudden Reversal
Zhao Qinghe suddenly pointed at the lake below and shouted, "Lu Yao is trying to escape by boat!"
Everyone turned to look and saw that Lu Yao, after regrouping his remaining forces, was retreating while fighting.
He had untied a small boat from the wooden dock by the shore, clearly intending to flee to the center of the lake.
However, only thirty or forty of his fierce bandits remained, and their numbers were dwindling rapidly.
The seven or eight boats by the shore were more than enough for them.
At this point, Lu Yao no longer cared about appearances.
He jumped onto the first boat and prepared to row toward the lake's center.
Wu Shaoyi, wielding his blade, cut down two men and roared, "Seize the boats! Stop him!"
The battle for the boats by the lakeshore was intense.
Wu Shaoyi's men, who had retreated from the western mountain, arrived one after another and began firing a barrage of arrows toward the center of the lake.
Lu Yao raised his shield to block the arrows, but two of his guards were caught off guard and fell, struck by the arrows.
Lu Yao pushed the two lifeless bodies into the water, and no one noticed as he slipped a hand into the water, releasing a handful of powder.
The powder turned red upon contact with the water, but amidst the bloodstains nearby, its peculiar color went unnoticed.
The bandit rowing Lu Yao's boat was also hit by an arrow and collapsed.
The small boat spun in circles, less than ten feet from the shore.
Seeing Lu Yao so close and noticing that the slope of the shore wasn't too steep, Wu Shaoyi, eager to finish him off, waded into the waist-deep water and charged straight at Lu Yao.
Lu Yao's lips curled into a sinister smile.
"You asked for this."
Less than five feet from the boat, Wu Shaoyi surged forward, but suddenly, the water in front of him exploded.
With a loud splash, a massive black shadow burst out from beneath the surface!
The towering wave of water rose high into the air, and when it fell, it turned into a fine drizzle.
A drizzle that carried the thick scent of blood.
From halfway up the mountain, He Lingchuan and the others watched in stunned silence.
Before the waves had even settled, they realized:
Wu Shaoyi was gone.
Such a powerful rebel general, who had once slain three generals sent by the royal court, had been dragged underwater by the black shadow in the blink of an eye?
Mao Tao felt a chill run down his spine and stammered, "What... what was that?"
The black shadow had appeared and disappeared too quickly, and with the dim light by the lake, even with their sharp eyes, all they could see was a fleeting dark mass.
But compared to the small boat nearby, its size was enormous!
It was longer than two boats placed end to end.
This was no ordinary creature that humans could contend with, especially since Wu Shaoyi had been attacked in the water, leaving him with no chance to fight back.
The two groups of bandits, who had been locked in a deadly struggle, were momentarily stunned.
But then, their reactions diverged:
Lu Yao's men shouted and brandished their weapons, launching a fierce counterattack.
They seemed invigorated, as if they hadn't just been on the verge of defeat moments ago.
On the other hand, Wu Shaoyi's men, aside from a few loyal followers who cried out "General!" and plunged into the water to search for him, were left in a daze.
"Lu Yao and his men knew what that black shadow was," He Lingchuan exclaimed.
"It's the thing that killed Zhu's husband!"
Zhu had mentioned that her husband had tried to escape by boat but never made it to the center of the lake.
The boat had capsized, and he had disappeared.
Not a single villager had seen how he had vanished.
Wasn't this exactly the same situation?
In the brief moment of confusion among Wu Shaoyi's men, one bandit suddenly let out a scream and fell backward into the water.
Something beneath the surface was dragging him and shaking him violently.
He had no ability to resist.
The other bandits shouted and ran toward the shore.
The distance was too great for He Lingchuan to hear clearly.
"What are they shouting?"
"It sounds like..."
Zhao Qinghe suddenly pointed.
"Crocodile!"
Mao Tao also cried out, "Holy cow, it's huge!"
One after another, Wu Shaoyi's men were dragged down.
Clearly, there was something in the water biting them.
One unfortunate soul had just stepped onto the shore when a black shadow lunged from behind and clamped its jaws around his waist!
Only when the creature fully emerged onto the shore could He Lingchuan and the others see it clearly.
It was a massive crocodile.
A terrifying, black-scaled crocodile that gleamed in the dim light.
This one was nearly twenty feet long, and another, slightly smaller one, about ten feet long, rushed over to compete for the prey.
One bite, one tear, and each crocodile got half.
Judging by the way Wu Shaoyi's men were thrashing in the water, there were likely more of these monsters lurking beneath the surface.
From this, they could infer that the creature that had ambushed Wu Shaoyi was also a crocodile demon, but that one was far larger.
These smaller ones weren't even fit to carry its shoes.
Humans have an innate fear of creatures with gaping jaws and sharp teeth.
Wu Shaoyi's men lost all will to fight and fled toward the land, screaming.
Lu Yao let out a long laugh.
"Men, to the shore!"
He pointed his massive axe toward the shore.
"Listen up, you brats! Wu Shaoyi is dead. Those who submit to me now will share in the spoils—meat, wine, and money! Those who refuse can scram and never let me see you again!"
With the help of the black shadow's intimidation, Lu Yao had transformed from prey to hunter.
His men swarmed onto the shore, once again surrounding him.
By now, He Lingchuan had figured it out.
Lu Yao had deliberately feigned weakness earlier, creating the illusion that he was fleeing by boat to lure Wu Shaoyi to the water's edge.
Wu Shaoyi, greedy for victory, had fallen right into the trap set by the black shadow.
The situation had suddenly reversed.
Wu Shaoyi's advantage had vanished, and it seemed Lu Yao would have the last laugh.
At that moment, Lu Yao suddenly looked toward the western mountainside, as if he and He Lingchuan shared a telepathic connection.
The mountainside was lit by torches, making the figures of the soldiers clearly visible.
Lu Yao grinned at them, drew a finger across his throat, and made a slitting motion.
Meanwhile, Wu Shaoyi's deputies were cursing at him.
"Submit to a lowlife like you? Are we supposed to feast on human flesh with you from now on?"
Lu Yao's smile faded.
Mao Tao muttered, "This is bad."
"Hold out as long as we can. We still have over a dozen carts, including the villagers'!" He Lingchuan remembered that among the soldiers covering their retreat was a mage.
He quickly found him and asked a few questions.
About an hour later.
Lu Yao wiped a smear of blood and flesh from his axe and slung it over his shoulder.
"Gather up! Count the men!"
Wu Shaoyi's remaining forces had been scattered.
Some had fled, some had surrendered, and the die-hards had all been fed to the crocodiles.
The crocodiles slowly crawled onto the shore, looking thoroughly satiated.
But the largest one didn't appear, as if the boss preferred to remain hidden.
After the headcount, Lu Yao's original force of over two hundred had been halved by Wu Shaoyi's surprise attack.
But now, it had swelled to nearly four hundred.
If you included the seven hundred ambushers at Whistle Rock and the five hundred stationed in the town, his army now numbered close to sixteen hundred.
But Lu Yao was still far from satisfied.
If the three forces had joined as planned, and he had secured the top position, his army should have been much larger.
After all, most of Wu Shaoyi's men had refused to submit to him and had chosen to leave instead.
Who was to blame for this situation? Lu Yao's cold gaze turned toward the western mountainside.
If anyone was at fault, it was these soldiers!
(End of Chapter)