Global colonization began with Ming Dynasty pirates.

The moment the fires lit up the village, Lin Hao's first thought was that he had been exposed. He didn't know how he had been exposed, but now he was not facing sleeping, unsuspecting bandits, but thousands of well-rested opponents.

The situation, which had been going smoothly, suddenly became extremely dangerous.

Various scenes from his past and present lives flashed through Lin Hao's mind, and ultimately, a strong sense of resentment overwhelmed his heart.

If we retreat now, how many people can escape?

Such a major defeat was a huge blow to the newly formed Four Seas Gang, making the road ahead extremely difficult.

Most importantly, he would lose the possibility of defeating Li Jiu in a short period of time and would be stuck in that godforsaken place, Dongluo Island.

As the saying goes, "If you're slow on one step, you'll be slow on every step." This setback will cause the Four Seas Gang's development to lag behind by at least several years.

Lin Hao took a deep breath, his eyes gradually hardening. So what if it's only one hundred against three thousand? His men are elite and well-trained; there's still a glimmer of hope.

Lin Hao stood up, drew his sword from his waist, and was about to boost morale and lead everyone in a desperate charge when the situation suddenly changed in a way that he couldn't quite understand.

Logically, once their whereabouts were exposed, the enemy would immediately rush out and surround them after lighting torches, then annihilate them in one fell swoop. At the very least, they would defend themselves on the walls, waiting until they were exhausted before finally capturing them all.

But now Lin Hao stared blankly at what was in front of him. Although the firelight and shouts of battle were still there, there was no one on the stockade wall.

Shouts, the clash of swords and spears, and the groans of pirates wounded echoed from the stronghold. Lin Hao suddenly realized something: the enemy's opponent didn't seem to be him; were they fighting amongst themselves?

Lin Hao waited a few more breaths, and the shouts and curses of the pirates became clearer and clearer in his ears, but the gate of the stronghold in front of him remained calm, and even the firelight near this side seemed to be less than that in the center of the stronghold.

Lin Hao finally realized that something big seemed to have happened in Li Jiu's bandit stronghold.

After thinking about it carefully, Lin Hao roughly guessed that it was most likely related to the more than 10,000 taels of silver he had obtained today.

"Young Master, what do we do now?" Lin San stepped forward and asked in a low voice.

"The plan continues." After Lin Hao finished speaking, he turned to look at Lin Kaishan and the others. "Kaishan, Wang Fang, and Rulong, you take your men around the village and head to the dock. Eliminate the enemies at the dock, then guard the dock and do not allow anyone to escape from it."

According to Lin Shier's previous investigation, there were about ten people on guard at the dock all night, which Lin Kaishan and his men believed they could handle. As long as they held the dock, the enemy's several thousand men would be trapped like turtles in a jar.

"Yes, young master, I guarantee to complete the mission." The three responded in unison, and then called to their respective men to sneak towards the right side of the village.

After waiting a short while, estimating that Lin Kaishan and the others had circled around to the other side of the village, Lin Hao stood up and faced the group, saying, "Follow me and charge in. Remember, kill anyone carrying a knife!"

After Lin Hao finished speaking, he drew his sword and charged forward.

……

At this moment, the lights flickered in the Hall of Righteous Gathering in the bandit stronghold.

The pirates who had been celebrating here were now lying dead everywhere. Tables and wine bowls were overturned, and wine and blood mingled and flowed all over the muddy ground.

"Second brother, fourth brother, fifth brother, I have always treated you well, but I never expected you to dare to lay a hand on me today!" Li Jiu's face was ferocious, and he held a blood-stained broadsword in his right hand, the tip of which was pointed directly at the second-in-command and the others in the middle of the Hall of Righteousness.

"Bah! Li Jiu, how dare you say that? Over ten thousand taels of silver, and you give us a mere five hundred? This is no insult! Besides, if you weren't trying to kill us today, why would you have prepared so many people?"

The second-in-command was also frustrated. He and the other two had originally planned to take advantage of the time when everyone was drunk and full to lead their men to attack and kill Li Jiu, but they didn't expect that Li Jiu had the same idea as them.

"Pah! What's so unfair about it? You guys don't usually get this much." Li Jiu sneered. Usually, the most they could get from a ship robbery was only a few thousand taels, and these people did indeed get less than what they got today.

But money is something that's most vulnerable to comparison. It doesn't matter if Li Jiu takes a little more and they take a little less; it's only a difference of one or two times.

But now, five or six hundred taels versus more than twelve thousand taels, that's a difference of more than twenty times. Who could tolerate that?

"Hey, I was just keeping an eye on you guys, but I didn't expect you to actually do it. What a pity, our years of friendship end here today." Li Jiu wiped the blood off his knife on the corpse on the ground, then looked at the three of them with a relaxed tone.

The three men in the hall had very few men left, and they were tightly surrounded by the men they had summoned, so there was no way they could escape.

"Pah! What a load of bull! You, Li Jiu, just hired us to be your henchmen. Every time we were assigned a share, we were leftovers. And you dare to talk about brotherhood? We know very well how your godfather died."

The second-in-command glared hatefully at Li Jiu, holding a knife in one hand, panting heavily, his body covered in several wounds, clearly unable to fight any longer. Only three of his men remained alive, and together with the other two leaders, they numbered no more than ten.

"Hmph, all you can say is cling to life. Are you really waiting for your men outside to come and save you? Don't waste your time; they'll die even faster than you." Li Jiu brandished his sword, and the pirates in the hall swarmed forward. In a matter of moments, the dozen or so men in the middle were hacked to pieces.

"Phew~"

After dealing with those people, Li Jiu slumped against a chair next to him.

Although he had long prepared for his men to double-cross him, the sudden uprising by his adversaries was completely beyond his expectations. He was stabbed on the spot, but he endured the pain and fought on until now. Fortunately, he had more men under his command, and they successfully turned the tide.

"Third brother, take these three heads outside and tell their men to give up resistance," Li Jiu instructed Li Kui beside him. But as soon as he turned around, he was met with Li Kui's face.

How to describe the expression on his face? Li Jiu suddenly remembered the night he became the chieftain, when he looked at his adoptive father in the same way.

puff!

A long knife pierced through Li Jiu's abdomen and then twisted violently.

The murderous aura emanating from Li Jiu vanished instantly. He knelt on the ground, staring at Li Kui with an incredulous expression.

"Cousin," Li Kui said softly, "While I'm very grateful that you led me down this path, I also want that money."

"Didn't I... promise... to give you three thousand...?" Li Jiu collapsed to the ground, questioning him intermittently.

"Three thousand? What use is three thousand taels of silver? But if I kill you, cousin, all fifteen thousand taels will be mine. Add to that your hidden stash over the years, and that's what truly tempts me." After saying this, Li Kui twisted the knife in his hand again.

A moment later, Li Kui expressionlessly pulled the knife from Li Jiu's body, then looked at the dumbfounded pirates: "What are you all standing there for? The second-in-command rebelled and killed the first-in-command, but fortunately I quelled it in time. Take out the heads of these three men and tell everyone to stop."

The pirates stared blankly, then instinctively tried to do as they were told, but suddenly, a huge commotion erupted from inside the stronghold.

At that moment, the door to the Hall of Righteousness was kicked open, and several tall figures clad in armor suddenly rushed in.

"As the saying goes, it's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. Second-in-command... it seems I've arrived at just the right moment," Lin Hao said quietly, observing the situation on the field.