Chapter 135: The Battle of Bopu (Part 1)

A blood-curdling scream tore through the night sky, jolting the sleeping populace awake. It was the first time they had been roused by such an alarm.

What was happening? The whiplash from the cheers of victory during the day to the piercing alarm at midnight was too much for many to process.

Chen Haiyang’s roar blared from the loudspeakers: “Enemy attack! Enemy attack!”

After receiving Xue Ziliang’s report, the Navy had already raised the alert level from yellow to orange. All combat personnel assembled and moved to their posts, while patrols were dispatched to locations vulnerable to infiltration.

The sound of gunfire instantly turned the orange alert to red. Battle stations!

“The beach is under attack! All personnel, assemble in front of the port office!”

“The beach is under attack! All personnel, assemble in front of the port office!” The quiet camp immediately erupted into chaos. Poorly dressed people rushed out from every dormitory and barracks.

The streets were filled with small groups of people running towards the beacon tower. The sound of their footsteps, mixed with the blaring loudspeakers, created an atmosphere of unprecedented tension.

At the entrance to the office, Ma Qianzhu was issuing final orders.

“…You eight, get to the battery and help man the cannons. Wang Ruixiang, take a few men with fire extinguishers to the docks to prevent enemy arson and sabotage. Lin Shenhe, you’re in charge of getting the artillery over there as fast as possible. Use any means necessary, just be quick! The rest of you, Wu De will arm and lead you to guard key points. The port is now under martial law. Oh, and notify Bairen City and all posts along the line to go on full alert. Keep all walkie-talkies open. Alright, move out!”

Upon receiving the alert of the attack on Bopu, the communication center immediately cut all channels except the military one, ensuring its bandwidth. Xi Yazhou ordered the entire Training Battalion to assemble and prepare for battle.

“Notify the motor pool to get the vehicles ready! Prepare to transport reinforcements,” Xi Yazhou yelled into his walkie-talkie. Suddenly, he heard a roar from the direction of the motor pool. A farm vehicle, packed with people, was already speeding down the road.

“Who the hell is that!”

“Looks like Dugu? All in black gear, must be the Industrial and Commercial Enforcement Team!”

“Who authorized him to use a vehicle?” Xi Yazhou was about to lose it. He hated people who acted on their own. And in the dead of night, even for a short 12-kilometer trip, what if the enemy had set up some sort of trap on the road? No one could guarantee the three blockhouses along the route were impregnable.

The moment Dugu Qiuhun heard the attack report on the channel, he started rounding up men near the East Gate. His Industrial and Commercial Enforcement Team had long since dispersed after dinner, and he couldn’t gather them all in time. So, he grabbed any man he saw, shoved a machete into his hands, and ordered him to assemble in front of the Administration for Industry and Commerce building. However, most people were already asleep in their dorms. Including himself, he only managed to gather about ten men wandering around the East Gate area.

He quickly retrieved his private stash from the warehouse of the administration building. He had to beg and plead with the Planning Committee to get this equipment, though one reason they’d given it to him was that it had been acquired through his channels in the first place.

A team of men in black, stab-proof vests stood in the courtyard in front of the building. Dugu Qiuhun was dressed in the same attire. He had a buzz cut, prominent brow bones, and a cold, stern gaze.

“Comrades!” he addressed the dozen or so sleepy-eyed men with a grave expression. “Bopu is under attack by the enemy. It is our vital base and our foundation. Now, we go to defend the Holy Ship, to defend our great cause of transmigration!”

“We have guns in our dorm, let me go get them…” someone suggested.

According to the defense plan established after the first anti-encirclement campaign, every dormitory was equipped with at least one weapon for training and for rapid armament in emergencies.

“No time!” Dugu Qiuhun’s face was grim. “The great cause of transmigration is in peril! Now, move out! Let the people of this time-space witness the name that once struck fear into their hearts!”

He turned and walked towards the gate, followed immediately by his ten team members. On their backs were two large, red characters.

He said to Dongmen Chuiyu, who had just scrambled out of bed and rushed over with a 5-shot shotgun, “Dongmen, I’m leaving this place in your hands!”

“Don’t you worry.” Dongmen was a bit taken aback by Dugu’s fervent, serious gaze. Had the excitement driven him mad?

Dongmen Chuiyu kicked and yelled, rousting the hiding policemen from their dorms, telling them to get their sabers and shields ready for close combat. Just then, Mu Min also arrived in a hurry, a pistol in her hand. Ming Lang followed behind her with a look of dissatisfaction—it was a rare night off for his wife, a chance to get to bed early, talk about life, ideals, and their relationship…

“You take the police and stay on alert. I’m going to the roof to take a look,” Dongmen said, and he climbed to the roof of the administration building to look towards the beach. He couldn’t see anything, unfortunately, but he had heard the situation at the front was not good. He couldn’t help but mutter, “A bunch of arrogant fools. If they had prepared according to the battle plan, they wouldn’t be in such a passive position now. Almost every enemy attack is met with a hasty response. Just because we’ve always succeeded doesn’t mean we’ll succeed every time.”

Moonlight filtered through the trees, casting mottled shadows on the camp where the bonfires had been extinguished. From a pitch-black tent came a few deliberately suppressed coughs. Though they were already treading lightly, the sound of the patrol’s footsteps seemed exceptionally loud. Faint gunshots echoed from the direction of the beachhead.

Life as a common man is tough, Tan Ming thought. First guard duty, and now with the orange alert, he had to lead his men on patrol again. In this pitch-black night, the thought of hand-to-hand combat with the enemy made his legs tremble a little.

Just then, a faint cracking sound came from a thicket at the corner of the camp ahead. It sounded like a twig snapping. Tan Ming straightened up, made a hand signal to his brothers hiding in the shadows to indicate there was trouble, and led four marines towards the sound, moving as quietly as possible.

A curly-haired, high-nosed face suddenly appeared before him! The bush had grown a face!

“Fuck!” He raised his hand and fired.

BANG! With a loud report, the pirate’s half-uttered shout was cut short in his throat. Tan Ming dove into the nearest fortification, getting out of his own side’s line of fire. Behind him, gunfire erupted from both the camp and the thicket. Bullets whizzed through the bushes, and a few kicked up dirt near him. The pirates yelled and charged out of the trees towards the camp. His three native subordinates had already scattered like birds—conscripts were just unreliable. The last one was lying face up on the ground; who knew who shot him. He’d just assume it was the pirates.

With trembling hands, he reloaded his pistol and fired a shot at the crowd of pirates. He missed, but his hands had steadied. Fire, reload, fire… Red tracers from the camp flew towards the pirates, momentarily giving Tan Ming the feeling of watching a fireworks display.

The pirates’ first infiltration of Lin’gao Cape was quickly repulsed. The firepower of the semi-automatic rifles was clearly more than they could handle. But this didn’t ease the pressure on the Transmigration Army. A flash of light came from the bay. The Countess Scarborough had opened fire. Cannonballs whistled through the air and landed at the edge of the cape, sending up columns of water.

“Quick, retreat!” Li Haiping’s voice came through the walkie-talkie. He was the camp’s overall commander.

A few of the transmigrators led the marines and turned to run. The entire cape was within the range of the great ship’s cannons. To hold their ground was suicide.

Aided by the muzzle flashes, Aragornes watched with satisfaction as dozens of men fled. The landed pirates were charging out of the trees in pursuit. What good were rifles against the power of a 24-pounder cannon? Full of confidence, Aragornes ordered the boats to continue forward, keeping the ship parallel to Lin’gao Cape, constantly spewing fire and thick smoke.

In the midst of the chaos, a brilliant beam of light, like a sharp sword, shot down from the beacon tower. After sweeping across the sea surface a few times, it locked firmly onto the Spanish galleon.

The Countess Scarborough moved slowly under the beam of light, like a graceful and noble lady.

“Fire!” Li Di shouted, with no time for admiration.

The 12-pounder cannons on the battery roared to life. Cannonballs splashed into the water next to the Countess Scarborough. Immediately, the completed coastal batteries and the cannons that had just been hastily dragged to the shore also opened fire.

“God! This is the devil’s sorcery!” When the brilliant light firmly gripped the Spanish galleon, Aragornes let out a desperate roar. How could the scorching sun of a Castilian summer appear at midnight? Several sailors were blinded trying to find the light source and were now rolling on the deck in agony.

“Get the priest up here!” he bellowed.

Of course, there was no priest on board, but there was an old soldier named Gonzales who could recite the Bible and make the sign of the cross to heal people. He was the only religious “talent” on the ship.

This Spanish “holy man” was summoned from the lower deck. He clearly didn’t have much faith in his own beliefs. He shakily pulled a cross from his chest. Before he could even start reciting scripture, a 12-pound cannonball struck the deck, sending splinters flying. Several sailors fell with screams of pain. Gonzales instantly vanished.

As if to quell the fear, all the cannons on the Countess Scarborough began to fire. The cannonballs shattered rocks, sending fragments flying through the air, which were even more terrifying than the cannonballs themselves. The positions along the coastline of Lin’gao Cape were abandoned. The pirates, despite suffering heavy casualties in the first engagement, were now surging forward again, heedless of their own lives.

“Distance 100 meters, canister shot!” Lin Shenhe’s shout was heard from the earthen rampart in the darkness.

BOOM! A flash of fire, and a 12-pounder mountain howitzer spat out a long tongue of flame and hundreds of small iron balls. The recoil sent it hopping and tumbling down from the rampart. Half of the pirates who had just set foot on the beach were instantly cut down.

“Quick, drag it back up!”

The temporary gunners rushed to right the mountain howitzer that had fallen inside the rampart and heaved it back into position. The durability of this type of cannon was no joke; it was completely intact.

“75 meters, double canister!”

The searchlights on the blockhouses surrounding the camp all switched on. Although they were stage and decorative lights, their brightness and range were still terrifying enough to daze and blind the pirates. The double canister shot, continuously fired from the rampart, was like a net of death, reaping lives from the crowd. The pirates on Lin’gao Cape broke and fled once more. Some ran to the shore and jumped into the water, hoping to climb back aboard their ships. Others, in their panic, fled into the nearby mangrove forest. The camp’s artillery fire followed them, shredding branches and leaves.