Shark Catching (3)
The dark night was lit only by moonlight.
“Ship! A ship is coming! The bastards are invading!”
A large vessel appeared in the gaze of the warrior watching the sea beyond the wooden palisade.
The sentry screamed until his throat was raw and pounded the alarm drum without pause. Beacon fires were lit moments later.
“Light every arrow!”
What was the best way to sink ships prowling the sea from a distance?
The ideal answer was to blast them with cannons until they sank, but cannons were not an option for anyone outside a proper army. The next best choice was…
“Prepare the fire arrows!”
At the shout of Elder I Du-seung, the Hainan Sword Sect elder in charge of the northern harbor, the villagers who had volunteered for the war against the Demonic Cult and the sect warriors all nocked arrows.
“Shoot your arrows, but if the enemy closes in, the villagers must retreat to the hiding places we prepared beforehand!”
“Understood. Don’t worry. I’ll show you the strength these muscles earned from a lifetime on the sea!”
The village chief who had volunteered for the mission shouted boldly and drew his bow first.
When the oldest man in the village chose to fight instead of fleeing, how could the younger men hang back?
Even without talent for martial arts, their bodies had been tempered by years of fishing. They could at least draw a bowstring. Their accuracy might be questionable, but sheer numbers could make up for it.
Dozens of strong villagers raised their bows.
Headwind? Elder I felt the breeze pushing against him and his expression hardened.
What did a ship need to advance? Wind. No vessel could make easy progress against a headwind. Yet the current conditions favored a tailwind.
That meant their arrows would fall short, deflected by the wind.
The palisade around the harbor was soaked with seawater and would not burn easily, but the possibility could not be ignored.
Do we take the risk?
The chief said nothing, staring past the palisade.
Just a little closer.
A little more…
The distance shrank.
The ships that had been mere dots now looked the size of a thumb. Tension spread across every face. That was when Elder I shouted.
“Release when they look the size of a palm!”
No one answered aloud, but everyone understood. They held their breath.
Their arms trembled.
Yet not a single person released early.
The fate of Hainan hung on every draw of their bowstrings.
At last, the moment of decisive battle arrived.
“Release!”
The instant Elder I Du-seung’s command left his lips, a rain of fire fell from the sky. Most of the arrows hissed out in the sea, but some streaked toward the ships.
At this rate the vessels would burn before they even reached shore.
But the special strike team had anticipated exactly this.
“Knock them all down!”
“If you can’t, block them with your bodies!”
They had to ram the ship into the harbor no matter what. For the Thunder Bomb to display its full power, the vessel had to reach Hainan Island.
The strike team’s swords danced wildly, batting away the rain of fire covering the sky.
“Damn it… ugh!”
“Eight!”
“Stop looking around and block! I don’t care about anything else, but we must protect the mast at all costs!”
The ship could burn. As long as it arrived, that was enough.
But if the sail caught fire… their final gamble would end in vain. The strike team gritted their teeth and fought desperately to save at least the sail.
Was it heavenly luck, or merely a final initiation before descending into hell?
After the first volley of arrows ended, the strike team breathed a sigh of relief. The sail had not caught fire.
The deck, however, was burning.
“Sixteen, any way to put out the fire?”
“There isn’t one… so just ram it in.”
The ship’s speed did not decrease.
And that fact was anything but good news for the warriors defending the northern harbor.
“The enemy is trying to beach their ship! Warriors of the Hainan Sword Sect! Draw your swords!”
Cruelly, the wind was on their side.
There was no sign of slowing. The burning ship would soon crash into the pier.
Elder I Du-seung drew his sword from the scabbard at his waist and began drawing inner energy from his dantian.
The energy that raced through his meridians transformed into blue aura along the blade.
Sword qi.
I don’t know what they’re planning…
Was it merely a distraction, or were they aiming for something bigger?
Elder I watched the ship slam into the pier and shatter into pieces.
And the eight warriors who leapt from the wreckage.
“The Heavenly Demon has returned! All demons bow!”
The moment Sixteen landed on the pier his arm traced a circle. A classic throwing stance. Elder I’s eyes met Sixteen’s for a split second, then he leapt forward as well.
His veteran warrior’s instinct screamed that the object was dangerous.
I don’t know what that is… but I must stop it!
Elder I’s left-hand sword, loaded with fierce inner force, slashed mercilessly toward the sphere with its burning fuse. The Thunder Bomb, sliced by a one-foot blade of sword qi, engulfed the northern harbor in a deafening roar and blinding light.
“Elder!”
“Looks like we took out one big shot…”
“What does that matter? We’re all about to die.”
“Might as well try swimming.”
“With this body?”
Thirty-two cackled and waved his arrow-pierced arm for all to see. Thanks to the liquor he had drunk earlier, the pain was faint.
Or am I just feeling that way because I’m already dying?
His eyes, heavy with blood loss, grew hazy.
Damned life. All I ever did was train, and now it ends like this…
A sharp pain in his throat. A spinning head.
Thirty-two’s head flew through the air.
Explosion?
I had an ominous thought the moment I saw the blast at the northern port.
Surely they didn’t have Thunder Bombs?
The same Thunder Bombs that only appeared in the middle-to-late stages of the original story?
“An explosion from the north…!”
Mu-gwang’s bewildered voice came from behind me. I had no time to worry about it.
A blast that looked like a Thunder Bomb. Once I knew the enemy held a card that could overturn their disadvantage, I needed to reconsider the tactics I had prepared.
Even if we held an overwhelming advantage, a single Thunder Bomb could sweep away our troops.
We wouldn’t be annihilated, but the damage would be far from negligible.
“Sect Leader, if possible we should finish them with poisoned arrows before they can close the distance.”
“...Understood.”
The sect leader seemed to have realized something from the recent explosion. He nodded with a grave expression.
“Uncle…”
“Hye-ryeong.”
“Hye-ryeong, I won’t be able to look after you right now, so go back inside and wait.”
“Yes…”
Hye-ryeong answered in a trembling voice and retreated. She understood the gravity of the situation and was obeying without protest.
Once the surroundings grew quiet I immediately asked the sect leader.
“The explosion just now appeared to be man-made.”
“...I felt the same. It reminds me of something from decades ago… Thunder Bombs. So they have returned…”
The sect leader’s sigh scattered into the night air.
No wonder his face had hardened the instant he saw the blast. He had seen Thunder Bombs before.
That was at least fortunate.
Knowing the danger of Thunder Bombs and not knowing it made a world of difference.
It would have been strange for a Westerner like me to know about them, so it was convenient that no explanation was necessary.
“If they dive underwater, they won’t be able to use the Thunder Bombs or whatever they are. But they might have sealed them tightly in containers, so we cannot let our guard down.”
If they had stored them in well-sealed cases, a brief dip in water would not soak them completely.
“How do you know this?”
“Similar devices exist in the Western Regions.”
I gave a suitably vague answer to the sect leader’s puzzled question. It was not one I could answer easily.
Besides… that was not what mattered right now.
“Sect Leader, could you have the third-generation disciples fetch water, climb the trees, and bring me a gourd bottle filled with water as well?”
In the original story Thunder Bombs were described as precious items, so they could not have brought many.
Even in the final battle of the original work, they had used only about ten.
At most three.
If one had already detonated in the north…
“Two more at most.”
Even in the worst case, we only needed to block it twice.
“Uncle! I brought water!”
Had Hye-ryeong drawn it herself? I accepted the gourd bottle brimming with water from her. It was damp and cold.
This much water should be enough.
“Hye-ryeong, remember. You must not come out again.”
“...Yes!”
Perhaps because I had warned her in a heavy tone, she answered like a newly enlisted soldier. I turned my gaze away from her and said softly.
“Don’t get hurt.”
“You too, Uncle. And Sect Leader… I mean, Uncle, you mustn’t get hurt either.”
“Haha, don’t worry. Do you think I would fall to those scrawny fools?”
The sect leader laughed heartily as if to say there was nothing to fear and stroked Hye-ryeong’s head. The gesture was thick with affection. Hye-ryeong’s worried eyes brushed over him and then met mine.
“Don’t worry. I once defeated an army of ten thousand with only two hundred men.” Thinking of that time, this was not such a great crisis.
“Sect Leader! Beacon fires are rising in the south!”
Repeating the words to myself, I looked down at the south from the mountain.
It was beginning.
I forced my heart, racing with excitement, to calm down, pulled the poleaxe I had stuck in the dirt free, and rested it on my shoulder.
“Then let’s survive and meet again.”