Lu Feng returned to the Left Minister's study.
The Left Minister was extremely warm towards Lu Feng.
"Leader Baize, how has work been since you took office?"
"Left Minister, calling me that is too formal. I've come to you with good news!"
"Oh? What good news?"
Having tasted the sweetness of success with Lu Feng before, the Left Minister immediately became interested when Lu Feng mentioned good news.
Lu Feng leaned forward and said mysteriously,
"I plan to, along with tomorrow night's 'operation', wipe out all three pirate groups within our kingdom!"
The Left Minister looked at Lu Feng as if he were an idiot. He had thought this kid was quite shrewd and talented, but why had he become so conceited after becoming the Guard Leader?
"Those three pirate groups are no small fry. If the Guard Department could eliminate them, why would we have waited until now?"
"I've already made arrangements. Tomorrow night at the Scrap Heap, while the garbage mountain is being set ablaze, I'll have them slaughter each other there. We just need to wait patiently and reap the benefits."
The Left Minister frowned.
"Since you've already made all the arrangements, why come to me?"
"Hehehe, the higher-ups only allow me to cooperate with one of them. Now that all three parties are coming in, it's inevitable that it'll be noticed."
"Since it's an order from above, I can't disobey it."
The Left Minister began to demand benefits, clearly not willing to act without seeing some advantage.
"Eliminating three pirate groups at once is a great achievement. With this Achievements, Left Minister, you will surely completely overshadow the Right Minister and become the first person below the King!"
Lu Feng skillfully enticed him.
The Left Minister's brows relaxed into a smile, and he nodded repeatedly.
The Right Minister constantly opposed him, which had always been a thorn in his side. Now that he had an opportunity to completely suppress him, he naturally wouldn't let this chance slip away.
Besides, even if the mission failed, he could push all the responsibility onto Lu Feng; he wouldn't lose anything either way.
"Alright! Then it shall be as you say. Before tomorrow night, you will have 'unrestricted access' within the kingdom."
With the Left Minister's support, Lu Feng was completely unfettered.
After a day and a night of preparations, everything was now ready, just awaiting the final push.
Time unknowingly reached 5 PM. Lu Feng left his office; the carnival was about to begin!
... The agreed time to ignite the explosives was 5:30 PM, but Hank, leading the Bulsam Pirates, entered the Scrap Heap at 5 PM.
"Move quickly. We only have an hour. If you don't want to be burned alive, finish this fast."
Lu Feng had met with the three pirate factions individually, so Hank and Ouka were unaware of Lu Feng's full plan.
Although the Scrap Heap was home to only vagrants, there were still several thousand people, and a thorough search could still yield some spoils.
Anyway, this place was about to be burned to the ground, and no one would know what had happened here.
Hank's orders from Lu Feng were to lead the Bulsam Pirates to plunder the place clean before the explosives were ignited at 6 PM.
Then, he was to lie in ambush and, after the Krieg Pirates, who were actually carrying out the operation, ignited the explosives, he was to cooperate with the Guard Team rushing out from the city to permanently keep the Krieg Pirates there.
At the same time, Ouka, leading the Krieg Pirates, was moving swiftly under the cover of night, also heading towards the Scrap Heap.
They also arrived early!
Unlike Hank's orders, Ouka had been sent by Lu Feng to assist the Krieg Pirates.
But Ouka was rebellious and secretly contacted Krieg.
He said that if the Guard Team participated in tonight's 'operation,' Lu Feng would surely take most of the credit for eliminating the pirates.
Therefore, the merits left for Krieg would clearly not be enough for him to be ennobled.
Thus, he successfully persuaded Krieg to take the risk of entering the Scrap Heap early.
His goal was to eliminate the Bulsam Pirates and the Skull Pirates before the Guard Team was dispatched.
Only by monopolizing the credit for this 'operation' would Krieg be qualified for ennoblement.
And Ouka, too, could use this achievement to overthrow Lu Feng and reclaim his position as Guard Leader.
One could only say that ideals were rich, but reality was lean.
Their so-called secret plotting was all within Lu Feng's plan.
The Bulsam Pirates, who were wantonly plundering the Scrap Heap, soon encountered the arriving Krieg Pirates.
When the two sides suddenly met, the same thought spontaneously arose in their minds: pirates really couldn't be trusted, why did they arrive early!
In fact, if Hank and Ouka could have met at this moment, their keen intuition might have immediately detected the many peculiarities of this 'operation.'
Unfortunately, Lu Feng wouldn't give them that chance.
Because on this chaotic battlefield, a third force was Stealth: the Skull Pirates.
The Skull Pirates had arrived here earlier than the other two parties and had disguised themselves as a group of vagrants, quietly hiding in this spot.
Seeing the two pirate groups meet, they unhesitatingly ignited the explosives according to their prior agreement with Lu Feng.
Boom, boom, boom
In an instant, flames shot into the sky, and the explosions were deafening. The entire Scrap Heap was immediately engulfed in a sea of fire and smoke... Hank and Ouka already had uneasy consciences and were startled by the sudden explosions.
Worried that their small actions might affect tonight's 'operation,' they didn't have time to think and simultaneously shouted,
"Attack!"
"Attack!"
The two pirate groups swarmed forward, drawing their swords and hacking at each other.
The smell of blood quickly spread, accompanied by the continuous explosions around them, and everyone's eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
At this moment, the area seemed to have fallen into a doomsday scenario.
Violent explosions resounded one after another, and the deafening noise echoed through the sky, forming an incessant wave of sound.
Flames, like a fierce fire dragon, shot up into the sky, instantly dyeing the entire sky a fiery red.
Piercing screams, desperate shouts, and continuous explosions intertwined, forming a terribly tragic symphony.
The entire Scrap Heap instantly became a living hell, with fire and ruins everywhere.
Large numbers of vagrants struggled desperately in the sea of fire, fighting for survival, but often in vain.
The Skull Pirates, having completed their mission, did not linger. They were already disguised as vagrants, so they could easily blend in with the fleeing vagrants and head towards the city gate.
According to their earlier discussion with Lu Feng, after igniting the explosives, they were to immediately go to the city gate, where Lu Feng would open it to receive them.
Arriving at the city gate, the Skull Pirates found that it was not open.
No matter how they banged, shouted, or cursed, the city gate remained motionless.
"What in the world is going on? This isn't what was agreed upon!"
The leader of the Skull Pirates was furious.
The flames at the Scrap Heap were unexpectedly fierce, partly due to the one hundred barrels of fuel generously sponsored by the Left Minister.
The melee between the Bulsam Pirates and the Krieg Pirates soon became unsustainable.
The flames had surrounded them, and if they didn't escape into the city, they would all be burned to death there.
Both sides stopped fighting simultaneously and fled towards the city gate.
The three factions eventually converged at the city gate.
Soon, someone recognized members of the Skull Pirates who had just set off the explosives.
"It's them! I saw them ignite the explosives with my own eyes, kill them!"
The Skull Pirates were already the weakest of the three forces, and now they were tragically surrounded by the other two forces at the city gate, their situation precarious.
Facing this sudden pincer attack, the Skull Pirates had no power to retaliate whatsoever and almost instantly made a decision—to surrender!
A pirate leader raised both hands and shouted loudly:
"Don't move, brave sirs, spare our lives! We are also victims! This whole terrible idea came from that detestable Baize!"
Whether these words were true or false was actually no longer important.
Because at this moment, the Skull Pirates were like turtles in a jar, trapped outside the city along with the other two factions.
Just then, Hank and Ouka finally met.
The moment their gazes met, countless thoughts flashed through their minds simultaneously, and they quickly understood the whole story.
Ouka roared in uncontrollable rage:
"Brothers, stop fighting! We've all been played by that insidious and cunning Baize! He deliberately set this trap to wipe us all out and then burn us all to death!"
Hank echoed from the side,
"That's right, before we set off, I saw Baize dressed up, saying he was going to the palace. He's probably receiving his reward from the King right now!"
These words, like a stone stirring up a thousand waves, instantly incited the fury of all the pirates present.
Each of them gnashed their teeth, wishing they could immediately devour Baize alive, tear him to pieces, to vent their hatred.
Driven by anger and led by a strong desire for survival, the three previously hostile forces, against all odds, chose to temporarily put aside their differences and join forces to confront the immediate crisis.
Everyone worked together, using all their might, launching round after round of fierce attacks against the incredibly sturdy city gate.
After a strenuous and arduous effort, the city gate finally could not withstand such immense impact and was forcibly smashed open, creating a huge hole.
After the pirates rushed into the city, they did not immediately burn, kill, and plunder, but collectively chose to rush towards the palace.
They wanted to kill Lu Feng; only Lu Feng's blood could extinguish their rage. And they wouldn't spare the Left Minister or the King either.
Tonight, they would plunder the entire Goa Kingdom!