Chapter 75: The Eighteen Waterway Strongholds of the Yangtze River (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 75: The Eighteen Waterway Strongholds of the Yangtze River (1)
—BOOM!
I thought I was far enough away to be safe, but the power of the explosion was incredible.
The resulting shockwave sent me reeling, and for a split second, I almost fell off the Namcheon Iron Sword.
Even with my strong recovery ability, could anyone survive an explosion of that magnitude?
-More importantly, are the Evil Connection Sword and the Lesser Conversation Sword alright, Un-hwi?
To think you’d worry about the Evil Connection Sword first.
-I-it’s not like that.
Sure it isn’t.
Don’t worry, I’m not judging you.
In any case, both are safe. I can see through their eyes in my mind.
The moment they struck the powder magazine, they tore through the bottom of the ship and dove into the river.
-I expected the Evil Connection Sword to be fine since she was forged by the legendary master Gu Yaja, but I was worried about the Lesser Conversation Sword.
The Lesser Conversation Sword had also entered the ranks of famous blades—though small—after a master at the Martial Alliance fitted it with a blade forged from Cold Iron. Moreover, Cold Iron is said to be resistant to heat, so I thought it would be fine...
—Aaaaagh!
Just then, a familiar scream echoed in my head.
It was the Lesser Conversation Sword. It came bursting out of the turbulent river water. Its hilt—the grip—was completely scorched and covered in soot.
‘Uh... well... sorry.’
—Don't you ever make me do that again!
I thought it would be fine, but the hilt had been damaged. The Lesser Conversation Sword continued to grumble, and I had no excuse. What defense could a guilty man offer?
I tore a strip from my sleeve and wrapped it tightly around the sword's hilt.
—First you give me the disease, then the medicine?
Ahem. Still, it’s better than nothing, right?
—Hahaha!
On the other hand, while the Evil Connection Sword showed a few scorch marks, even its hilt was perfectly intact. Gu Yaja must truly have been a magnificent craftsman to make the grip that durable.
—I love this so much!
The Evil Connection Sword flew freely, circling around me. I had worried that because we hadn't been together as long as the Namcheon Iron Sword or the Lesser Conversation Sword, our connection would be too weak for the Prison Torture ability to work. Surprisingly, it was easy. She talked a big game about being a slave and all that, but it seemed she had truly accepted me as her master.
—Being with you is just the best! When else would I get to do something like this? Hahaha!
As the Evil Connection Sword flew about excitedly, the Blood Demon Sword grumbled.
-Damned things. They’re the only ones having any fun.
He seemed quite disgruntled that the others were flying while he wasn't. I could certainly understand his frustration.
But it’ll be trouble if someone recognizes you, so just bear with it for a bit. We have to be prepared for any situation.
‘Sodam, Sarlen, did you happen to see the Ghost-Slaying Fist Demon in the water?’
Even if he was caught in the explosion, he was still one of the Four Great Villains. I had to check, just in case.
—I was too busy running away from that intense heat to look deep into the water. How would I see him?
—If I’d seen him, I would’ve told you already, Darling.
...Darling?
Slave wasn't enough, so now she was using weird nicknames. Regardless, it seemed they hadn't seen him in the water either. I had only survived because of the Namcheon Iron Sword’s help and because I had taken flight at the exact moment of the blast; it was truly a stroke of heavenly luck. For now, I had no choice but to assume he was dead.
I turned back and looked toward the top of the cliff. There, a small figure that looked like the Wolf King Hyeok Cheon-man was still fighting dozens of black-veiled figures.
-Are you going to help?
No. I’d rather go back to the ship and help there. A monster like the Wolf King isn't going to lose to those people.
Let’s go higher and follow the waterway. By now, the ship should have moved quite a bit further downstream.
-Understood.
Evil Connection Sword, you come back too.
—Hmph. I wanted to fly around a bit more.
You won't be able to fly even if you want to once I withdraw the Prison Torture ability.
At my words, the Evil Connection Sword muttered regretfully and returned to the wooden case. The Namcheon Iron Sword carrying me rose higher and moved along the waterway. From this height, the river was clearly visible.
—It looks like that branch of the river connects to a much larger one over there.
Just as the Lesser Conversation Sword said, the waterway led into a much larger river. The current must have picked up speed as it merged. Since it was still night, it was hard to see exactly how far the ship had gone. No matter how fast the current was, it couldn't have gone that far.
—There it is.
‘Ah!’
Looking down, I saw a ship moving rapidly forward. I needed to head down.
—Un-hwi.
The Namcheon Iron Sword called out to me.
What is it?
—Do you see those small lights behind the thickets where the river branches meet?
Lights?
At its words, I concentrated my Innate True Qi to enhance my eye power. Because of the distance, the point where the waterways connected looked smaller than a finger, but just as the Namcheon Iron Sword said, very small lights were cleverly clustered behind the dense foliage. There were a great many of them.
Judging by the arrangement, they looked like ships. Based on the spacing of the lights alone, there were at least twenty of them.
‘Could it be...’
Was there another hidden trap? If they were lying in ambush, the ship was heading straight into a death trap. Wait, come to think of it, one ship had pulled ahead earlier.
—Isn't that it over there?
Where?
—Look about two li away from the waterway.
Following the Lesser Conversation Sword’s direction, I saw a single ship advancing along the waterway. From its appearance, it looked identical to the ship we were on; it had to be the third ship that had survived. At this rate, they would encounter those ambushing ships in no time.
—What are you going to do? Are you going to tell them to stop?
‘Hmm.’
To be cold-bloodedly honest, it didn't really matter what happened to that ship. I only needed to protect the ship my companions were on. First, I should go down, deal with the enemies on our ship, and find a way to dock it. That was the priority.
‘Let’s go.’
-Understood.
The Namcheon Iron Sword descended rapidly toward the ship. The battle was still in full swing there. However, unlike before, the number of masked men had dwindled significantly, so it was now more of a mop-up operation.
—Thud!
As I leaped onto the deck, the people fighting let out a roar of cheers at my appearance.
“Waaaaaaaah!!!”
“Young Hero So has returned!”
“Young Hero So defeated the Ghost-Slaying Fist Demon!”
On the other hand, the remaining masked men—fewer than ten—were visibly shaken. They had put their faith in their leader, one of the Four Great Villains, so it was only natural they were shocked to see me appear so soon. Their will to fight, already flagging in a losing battle, visibly crumbled.
“Young Master!!”
Sama Yeong, who had been fighting the enemy, dropped everything and ran toward me. She let out a sigh of relief and spoke breathlessly.
“What happened? I saw an explosion in the distance and was so worried something had happened to you.”
I spoke to her via sound transmission.
[I set off the gunpowder as soon as I boarded and escaped.]
‘!?’
Her eyes went wide at that. Then, unable to help herself, she burst into a fit of giggles.
[I was so worried because you were going to fight a master with a reputation like my father's... how on earth did you come up with that?]
I simply smiled at her words. It would be a bit awkward to say I just didn't feel like risking my life in a fight.
“Young Hero So!”
Just then, the Beggar's Sect Elder Ui Gu-saeng approached, supporting the Zhongnan Sect’s leader, Taoist Master Do Uk. Despite his pale complexion from his injuries, he spoke to me with delight.
“It is a great relief.”
“Thank you for your concern. I was lucky.”
“How can you call this luck? How many people could fight the Ghost-Slaying Fist Demon, one of the Four Great Villains, and return alive? You have truly entered the ranks of the Eight Great Masters.”
High praise poured from his lips.
“He is right. To reach such a realm at such a young age is a great blessing for our Orthodox Martial World.”
Ui Gu-saeng chimed in, talking me up. Seeing their reactions, they seemed genuinely happy that I had returned alive. It was getting a bit embarrassing to tell them I had just blown up the ship without even fighting.
-Just keep your mouth shut.
I was planning to.
As the Fist Demon himself said, the dead tell no tales. I needed to tell them the more urgent news.
“It’s too early to celebrate.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I saw it while flying back here. Many ships are lying in ambush where the river branches meet further ahead.”
“An ambush!”
Everyone was unable to hide their dismay. They had only just defeated the enemies and hoped for peace, so this was devastating.
“How many are there?”
“It was hard to see clearly in the dark, but I’d estimate there are about twenty ships.”
“Twenty ships?”
Everyone was shocked by the number. They were all exhausted, and if they encountered that many ships, they stood no chance. Even with me there, protecting everyone would be impossible. They realized this, and their expressions turned grave.
“We must find a way to dock the ship.”
“That is...”
Taoist Master Do Uk hesitated. It was likely because of their original mission to destroy the Waterway Strongholds. This was actually for the best. Since the Beggar's Sect Leader wasn't here and the Wolf King hadn't rejoined them yet, Taoist Master Do Uk was the one in command of this ship. I spoke to him persuasively.
“Master. There are many wounded, and with our current strength, it’s impossible to subjugate the Waterway Strongholds. You know this, don't you?”
“Heer...”
“The original plan was to infiltrate by disguising ourselves as an escort transport. Who would look at our ship now and think it’s an escort vessel?”
The battle with the masked men had left the ship in a wretched state. Although the current was still fast, if they gave up on pushing forward and forced the ship toward the shore, they might damage the vessel, but they could save their lives.
Taoist Master Do Uk looked around. Seeing the numerous bodies and the wounded on the deck, he finally nodded with a deep sigh.
“You are right. Knowing when to retreat is also a part of strategy.”
I cheered inwardly but kept my expression regretful as I spoke.
“You have made the right decision.”
Then, Taoist Master Do Uk suddenly remembered something and said to me, “Wait, Young Hero So. You’ve only just returned, but may I ask one heavy favor of you?”
“A favor?”
“It is something only you can do.”
Only I can do it? What kind of favor is he going to ask?
With so many eyes on me, it was awkward to refuse, so I acted gallantly and replied readily.
“We have shared life and death together; how can you speak so formally?”
At this, Taoist Master Do Uk beamed.
“You truly are a hero of the new era.”
Don't butter me up while you're asking for a favor. I wanted to say it out loud, but I swallowed the words.
“There is the escort ship that went ahead of us, is there not? If there is an ambush as you say, they will be in danger as well. Could you use your Sword Flight Art to fly there and tell them to dock?”
‘Ah...’
He was worried about the lead ship even in this situation. Compared to the likes of the Beggar's Sect Leader, who was only interested in his own greed, he was a truly righteous man of the Orthodox faction. However, I wasn't sure if that ship would be alright. They should be reaching the intersection by now.
“I understand. I will head there immediately.”
“I’m counting on you.”
At Taoist Master Do Uk’s earnest request, I took flight on the Namcheon Iron Sword.
-You end up helping them after all.
What else can I do?
If they hadn't reached the ambush point yet, I’d tell them to dock quickly. If they’d already encountered the ambushers, I’d just retreat.
The Namcheon Iron Sword soared high into the sky. How far had they gotten? I concentrated my eye power as I flew along the waterway, and a grim reality came into view.
The ambushing ships had already surrounded the single escort vessel.
-There’s nothing we can do.
In that situation, there was no way to save that ship.
-Then are we going back, Un-hwi?
If I go back right away, it’ll be too fast. I’ll fly a bit closer and observe their movements before I go.
-Understood.
Maintaining its altitude, the Namcheon Iron Sword flew toward the cluster of ships. As my vision cleared, I could see the scene properly. The ships had surrounded the escort vessel and thrown grappling hooks to secure it, preventing it from moving. Then, numerous figures were swarming onto the escort ship.
‘Wait?’
As I got closer, I noticed something different. I had assumed they would be the Golden Eye organization, but the men on the ships weren't masked; they were wearing all sorts of different outfits. Come to think of it, there were flags on the ships as well. Large characters were stitched onto the flags: Homyeong Stronghold, Byeokyang Stronghold, Gak-ung Stronghold, and so on.
—Are those the ones?
No.
These weren't the Golden Eye organization.
—Then?
It’s the real Eighteen Waterway Strongholds of the Yangtze River.
—Those are the pirates?
If my eyes weren't deceiving me, it was certain. It looked like almost their entire force had gathered here. Seeing that every one of the twenty ships flew a different flag, it meant various different strongholds had assembled. I had speculated that they might have been wiped out by the Golden Eye organization, but that guess was wrong.
—What if they’ve joined forces with those guys? You can tell just by the fact that they set an ambush.
The Lesser Conversation Sword made a sharp point. That was also true. If they had joined hands with the Golden Eye organization, the situation wouldn't be much different.
—Isn't it a bit strange?
What’s strange?
—It doesn't look like they’re fighting on the deck; it looks like they’re talking.
Huh?
It was true. Just as the Lesser Conversation Sword said, the pirates who had boarded the escort ship had surrounded the guards, and a man wearing tiger skin, who appeared to be their leader, was talking to the escort leaders. It was quite different from the behavior shown by the Golden Eye organization.
And in the midst of it all, there were people who stood out: the Beggar's Sect Leader Hong Gu-ga and Hong Geol-gae. I had wondered if they were dead since I hadn't seen them on our ship, but when did they move to that one?
I was just beginning to wonder.
—Oh? They’re jumping into the water!
Some of the guards and sailors suddenly threw down their weapons and leaped into the river. The pirates were brandishing their swords and sabers, threatening the people on the ship. Because of that, the rest of the people were hesitating.
—It looks like they’re letting them live?
It seems so.
It appeared they hadn't joined forces with the others as I had feared.
—Then what are you going to do?
‘Then that changes things.’
I opened the wooden case on my back and pulled something out.
It was the Evil Ghost Mask.