"You, you all...!"
The scene unfolding was entirely unexpected by these pirates, leaving many of them stunned into foolishness.
However, while they were dumbfounded, the soldiers of Great Qin were not.
They had already resolved to eliminate these pirates completely.
Now that the pirates had delivered themselves to their doorstep, how could they possibly refrain from killing them?
Thus, without hesitation, they struck at these men.
"You should never have provoked us, Great Qin. This is simply courting death!!"
"Screech!!"
As these words were spoken, the sound of spurting blood immediately followed.
The strength of these pirates was far too weak. The disparity between them and the army of Great Qin was immense.
Consequently, many of them had indeed managed to board a ship guarded by Lin Tian's army.
But as soon as one pirate climbed aboard, they were killed.
Including their pirate leader, not a single one survived.
Meanwhile, the pirates in the rear were unaware of the situation on the ship.
They still believed their men had already captured a portion of this vessel.
Therefore, they rejoiced at the prospect of approaching Lin Tian's ship.
"Haha! Closer, we're getting closer!!"
"Board the ship, board it now, and once we're on board, we'll have endless riches!!"
"Our boss is already on the ship, brothers, hurry and board!!"
They still held hope for their leader.
In their hearts, their greed remained insatiable.
It was precisely because of this that they continued to board the ship in a ceaseless flow.
Upon boarding, what awaited them was death.
After the time it took for a cup of tea to brew, the remaining handful of pirates finally sensed something was amiss.
"This isn't right! Why haven't our men taken this ship yet??"
"Indeed, why haven't our men taken this ship? I can't even quite understand, and why are there so many archers on board??"
"Something's happened, the men who went up must have met with trouble, otherwise this wouldn't be the situation. Something big must have occurred up there!!"
Although these pirates didn't know exactly what had transpired on the ship,
the remaining few numbers left them with no courage to continue attacking Lin Tian's vessel.
Therefore, many of them became fearful.
Unsure who spoke first, a loud shout echoed through the air.
"Retreat, we are no match for them, we cannot continue fighting! Retreat now!!"
As these words were spoken, many agreed.
"Let's go, let's leave now, the situation is not right, let's depart immediately!!"
"Our boss has likely met with trouble, we cannot stay here any longer, if we do, we might all die here!!"
"Flee, everyone, hurry and flee! Everyone, flee from here quickly!!"
The word "flee" shattered the pirates' courage to attack Lin Tian's ship, and they began to flee in a desperate panic.
However, it was too late for them to think of fleeing now.
Because by this point, their remaining numbers were barely a hundred.
Such a small number was utterly insignificant to the soldiers under Lin Tian.
Many generals among them directly issued their orders.
"Archers, concentrate your fire, shoot them down!!"
"Yes!!"
Upon hearing this, countless archers unleashed their volley upon the pirates.
And the remaining pirates were well within the archers' range.
Consequently, in the next instant, a thousand arrows flew, and all the pirates perished beneath the archers' onslaught.
Such a demise was, as Lin Tian had anticipated.
After dispatching these pirates, he remained unmoved, continuing his journey towards Great Qin.
For him, the most important matter now was to return to Great Qin.
He had not returned to Great Qin for a long time and had begun to miss his homeland.
However, Lin Tian was unaware that Great Qin itself was undergoing immense changes.
The unification of the six states by Great Qin was undoubtedly a good thing for the entire Huaxia, marking a true era of unity.
For many common people, it was also a blessing, bringing an end to warfare.
But for a certain segment of the population, it was not a good thing at all.
For example, the old aristocracy of the six states, the six-state soldiers forced into labor, and the six-state populace who felt oppressed.
Many among them were dissatisfied with Great Qin's unification of the land.
Because after Great Qin unified the realm, they had not only failed to gain the benefits they desired,
but they had also lost a great deal.
The old aristocrats of the six states had lost their wealth.
Some soldiers from the six states had lost their freedom and were subjected to forced labor.
All these factors fueled discontent in their hearts.
In the past, they would certainly not have dared to express such dissatisfaction.
After all, Great Qin possessed a vast army.
Millions of elite soldiers, suppressing the entirety of Great Qin, coupled with Lin Tian, the invincible God of War.
These people dared not provoke Great Qin lightly.
Even if they harbored rebellious thoughts, they would not dare to voice them.
For Great Qin's army was too powerful, so powerful that they were incapable of resisting.
If they were to rebel, perhaps they would be suppressed the very next day.
This was an insurmountable barrier for them.
But now, it was different. Not only was Lin Tian absent from Great Qin, but the million-strong army was also gone.
Even in their calculations, the army of Great Qin had dwindled to less than two hundred thousand.
And these two hundred thousand soldiers were scattered across the vast territories of Great Qin, making it difficult to form a formidable force in a short period.
This was excellent news for the old aristocracy of the six states and for those six-state soldiers unwilling to perform labor.
Many among them were already eagerly rubbing their hands together.
Especially the old aristocrats, who envisioned restoring their former glory and enjoying wealth and prosperity once more, each of them was incredibly enthusiastic.
"Because Great Qin's Lin Tian is attacking distant and unknown Western countries, Great Qin's armies have been transferred out in large numbers!"
"Therefore, Great Qin is now a completely hollow Great Qin!"
"We have thoroughly investigated, and in our county, there are only a few thousand Great Qin soldiers!!"
"And if we are willing, we can gather tens of thousands. Tens of thousands against a few thousand is more than enough!"
"Soldiers, our chance for a comeback has arrived!!"
...