Just looking at the black-painted ship was intimidating; it felt as if it was pushing them down. The effect was even more pronounced after seeing the vicious image of the whale at the front of the ship, at the crown.
‘Dragon Ship.’
In the Yangtze River, a ship with such a design was allowed to be possessed only by the 18 River families.
In other words, it meant that the great captain was on that ship right now.
“… it isn’t just one or two ships.”
“Seems like the entire force has come there.”
Tension was evident on the faces of the Mount Hua disciples, too.
‘Were there so many people under one pirate troop?’
Of course, that ship would not be full of pirates like the ship they faced a while ago.
However, even if they assumed it to be half full, the number of pirates would be over a hundred.“Captain.”
Baek Cheon turned his head and looked at the captain.
“Can we move?”
“I-it will be too much now.”
The captain shook his exhausted face.
“That ship is a lot faster than a normal ship. Even if it was the same type of ship, the speed of each one depends on how loaded it is… this overloaded ship cannot move fast.”
“Hmm.”
“Moreover, there is a hole in the hull due to the attack we got hit with a while back. Everyone is trying hard to scoop out the water, and if we move in this state, the ship will only sink faster, and we all will die for sure.”
Baek Cheon’s eyes turned towards the water.
The land was so far that he was losing hope.
‘We are at least 1 km away.’
The Yangtze River was known for its width, reaching a minimum of 1 km. But this was where the Yangtze River flowed into Dongting Lake. Because the current was slow and adjacent to the lake, the width was three times the normal one.
The river was just 3 km wide, and they would have to swim at least 1 km to reach the center of the river’s edge. It wouldn’t be difficult if just the Mount Hua disciples had to move, but they couldn’t take the civilians on such a risky escape.
“Besides, even if it were possible, we cannot possibly stop the pirates who are familiar with underwater attacks.”
Maybe if they abandoned the civilians here, they could find a way… but that wasn’t a path the Mount Hua’s disciples would consider.
Baek Cheon bit his lip.
‘Was I too hasty?’
He thought dealing with the pirates would be easy. He only anticipated fighting one ship; how could he have known the entire fleet would come?
“Sasuk.”
A call to ask what they should do now. Baek Cheon bit down on his lip, though. Soon, his eyes calmed down.
‘What would he have done?’
There was no need to think of it.
-No, it doesn’t matter if there is one pirate or many! Those bastards who cannot do anything right need to get their heads smashed. Don’t worry about the others, and run straight to handle their leader!
‘Okay! I get it!’
Baek Cheon firmly said,
“Listen to me.”
“Yes, sasuk.”
“When the Dragon ship approaches, we cross over. Baek Sang and Soso will stay here to protect the civilians, while the rest storm the ship all at once and capture the pirates.”
“Yes, I understand.”
The faces of the Mount Hua disciples, unable to shake off the shock, had taken on a solemn look like never before.
As the size of the Dragon ship was huge, the number of pirates on it had to be large. No one could imagine how difficult it would be to jump onto such a ship and aim for their leader.
But since the order had been given, they had to do it.
“Then get ready… uh?”
At that moment, Jo Gul tilted his head.
“Sasuk.”
“Uh?”
“Those bastards are suddenly slowing down.”
“…”
“Are they going to wait there?”
The Mount Hua disciples looked at the fleet, which had stopped, with puzzled expressions.
“Puaah!”
The fallen Bang Chun grabbed the rope ladder that came down from the Dragon ship and climbed it.
“Ugh. What is this?”
As he gritted his teeth and climbed, his subordinate soon followed him.
“Ahem.”
After getting on the deck, Bang Chung wiped the sweat off his face and took a deep breath. He could see the pirates lined up entirely to the left and right, with a huge wooden chair in the center of the deck. Without another thought, he ran there and fell flat on the floor.
“G-great captain! Please kill me!”
“I should kill you?”
A middle-aged man, covered in a blue robe, had a sneer on his face as he looked at Bang Chung, who was face down.
“Right. The hero of the Yangtze River lost his ship and ran with no pride, so you should die.”
“G-great captain…”
“Jo Seung.”
“Yes! Great captain!”
“Cut him into pieces and throw him as fish food.”
The blood drained from Bang Chung’s face.
“G-great captain!”
“Open your mouth once more, and I will tear it apart with my hands.”
Bang Chung couldn’t say anything now as he silently broke into a cold sweat.
“Great captain.”
This time, a man called Jo Seung spoke softly.
“It is true that Captain Bang showed an unsightly side. But considering the situation, I don’t think it is right to simply blame him.”
“And the reason?”
“There is someone who can sink a ship with one punch. No matter what he did, it would have been difficult to avoid that result.”
“Hmm.”
The Great Whale Pirates’ great captain, Swift Lightning Chan Bo-Heuk, nodded as if it made sense.
“It is the Buddhist Monk’s attack.”
However, Chan Bo-Heuk clicked his tongue like he still didn’t like it.
“Even so, it is a great sin to return after losing the ship. Degrade him to a member of the pirate troops and tie him up for 15 days in a dungeon. Don’t give him even a sip of water!”
“Yes!”
“T-thank you, great captain!”
Bang Chung repeatedly bowed his head, glad to have his life spared.
“… strong enough to sink a ship with a single hit… are these people coming to the Yangtze River saying that they will do what they want?”
“It is Mount Hua.”
At Bang Chung’s answer, the eyes of the man lit up.
“Mount Hua?”
“Yes! It is some bald guy who threw the fist at the ship, but they did say he came from Mount Hua.”
“Mount Hua…”
The great captain slowly turned to watch Jo Seung.
“I think it is because of the special packages. It is well known that Mount Hua is behind the Eunha merchants.”
“Hmm. Is that so?”
Jo Seung looked at Bang Chung and asked.
“Were they young ones?”
“Yes! They were young-looking. And seven.”
At the startling answer, the face of the great captain contorted.
“You mean you lost the ship because of a small 7-member group! You little piece of shit!”
“Eikk!”
This time, Jo Seung quickly stepped in to calm him.
“If they are young people from Mount Hua, they could be the Five Swords of Mount Hua.”
“… Five Swords of Mount Hua?”
“Yes. The Five Swords, who defeated the first-class disciples of Wudang in a spar, aren’t easy people to deal with; moreover, if Mount Hua’s Divine Dragon is here, the one who defeated the elder of Wudang, then captain Bang couldn’t have handled them.”
“Ugh.”
The Great Captain looked at Bang Chung with disapproval and then looked at the merchant ship across the water.
“If it is the Five Swords, they are probably the ones we keep hearing so much about these days, right?”
“Yes, Great Captain.”
“Hmm.”
The Great Captain’s eyes shone.
“They are people with reputations. And they must have skills to have that reputation, and seeing as how they tried to fight with us, they must be full of confidence.”
A sneaky smile formed on his lips.
“But life doesn’t always go the way you want. I will make them pay for touching our business. Go there.”
“Yes! As ordered!”
The pirates on the deck began to move in unison.
The great captain quietly grabbed the handle of the chair and mumbled.
“Mount Hua, huh…”
A thin smile formed on his lips.
“They aren’t coming?”
“What are they doing?”
The disciples of Mount Hua looked at the Dragon Ship with helpless expressions.
The ships were moving at such a fast pace that it seemed like they would crash into them, but then they stopped and didn’t move.
“Maybe they are scared?”
“Scared?”
“Yes. We now have a reputation for being strong, right? They outnumbered us but saw who we were, the Five Swords! Hahaha!”
“Gul.”
“Yes?”
“Why don’t you just close your mouth?”
“…”
Yoon Jong, who calmly glared at Jo Gul with irritation, shifted his gaze back to the Dragon Ship.
It was then.
“They are moving!”
“… but they aren’t coming this way?”
The Dragon Ship began to slowly rotate in place.
“Is that possible?”
“They have to paddle for it, right? This is possible if both sides row in opposite directions.”
The Dragon Ship rotated and turned in the opposite direction. Mount Hua’s disciples tilted their heads, not understanding it.
“They’re just leaving?”
“Well. Why turn now…”
It was then.
Drrrk!
The door installed at the back of the ship opened with something black coming out.
“The same thing they shot before?”
“No!”
The disciples of Mount Hua thought this was the same attack as before, but then they were shocked.
It was true that it was a harpoon, but twice the original size.
And being twice as large meant its speed would be greater, too.
“Chain?”
And it had a chain attached to it.
Kwakwang!
Crack!
The two harpoons fired stuck in the ship. The impact caused the ship to stumble as if a huge wave had hit it.
Drrkk!
The chain, connected to the harpoons, was taut and pulled.
“You bastards!”
“What are you doing!”
“No…”
It was then that the Dragon Ship began to move.
Kiiing!
The sound of the chains clinking against each other came loud. As the Dragon Ship picked up the pace, the merchant ship, too, was being pulled in the same direction.
“W-what!”
“Damn it, we are being dragged!”
The Five Swords were shocked at this.
This was something they hadn’t even imagined.
To make matters worse, the ships around the Dragon ship slowly approached from the sides and began to surround the merchant ship as if they were escorting it. It seemed like they weren’t going to leave even a single person on board.
In the midst of all this, the word ‘caution-driven’ came to mind as they saw the ships keeping a good distance from each other.
“Where are they taking us?”
“Where do you think? Their base!”
Jo Gul gritted his teeth.
Fighting on a ship was difficult, but if they thought about it positively they had been successful in this mission because the number of people on a ship was limited.
But being dragged to land, just seven people dealing with hundreds of pirates?
‘If that were the case, we wouldn’t have to go through all the trouble we went through!’
“If we get dragged, that is the end for us!”
“What do we do?”
“What do you mean, what do we do?”
Jo Gul screamed.
“Nothing changed from our original plan! They are paving the way for us to come, and we cut off their heads! I will go first!”
“Gul!”
“Ah, this bastard! Stop!”
Jo Gul jumped up onto the railing like he didn’t want to wait for anything.
Tak!
And then, he stepped on the chain connecting the ships and began to run.
“Things are already frustrating, but now they are trying to tie me by the ankle! I will show you what I am!”
It was then that Jo Gul, holding the Plum sword in one hand, was running like a sword moving ahead.
A person stuck on the head of the Dragon Ship gestured lightly. Then, the archers who appeared, and the ones on the other ships, surrounded and pulled their weapons.
Jo Gul was shocked.
“Uh?”
… I didn’t expect this?
“Shoot!”
Swish! Swish! Swish.
The arrows that left the bows at once rose into the air, making the sky black.
“Woah… it is amazing.”
And then it began to pour down on Jo Gul.
“… don’t show off.”
No matter how quickly he regretted it, it was too late.
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