Chapter 199: Warriors of the Hainan Sect-1
Chapter 199: Warriors of the Hainan Sect-1
It was when Seonwoo Jin was pondering how he should oppose them.
Suddenly, Jeung Chil burst out shouting.
- How dare you?! How dare you?! You little brat, how dare you speak such insolence to this old man?! You dirty pirates need to be beaten like dogs before you'll come to your senses, it seems!
Seonwoo Jin was startled.
Before he could even decide how to handle the situation, Jeung Chil had already provoked the enemies.
"N-No! Hyung-nim!"
In a fluster, Seonwoo Jin immediately tried to stop Jeung Chil.
But the situation was already spilled water.
The moment One Blade Killing Edge Oh Ik-deok heard those words, he shouted loudly in a manner just like Jeung Chil.
- What was that?! Dirty pirates?! You bony old man, scrawny as a donkey, looks like you don't even want your bones left behind now! Are you that eager to die, old man?!
There was no need to mention how furious Jeung Chil became at the words "scrawny donkey."
- What, what did you say?! A scrawny donkey?! Eager to die?! How dare you say that to this old man?! Fine! I'm eager to die! Try killing me if you can, you filthy pirate bastard!
- What, what?! Do you think I can't, you donkey-like old man?!
Then, before anyone around could do anything, the two hurled themselves at each other.
Paaang!
The startled Seonwoo Jin and Seol Pung cried out at the same time.
"Jeung hyung-nim!"
But it was already too late.
The two were already flying across the sea toward each other.
Only then did Seonwoo Jin suddenly recall the rumors about the man called One Blade Killing Edge Oh Ik-deok.
'Come to think of it, wasn't Oh Ik-deok a man with Guan Yu's appearance and Zhang Fei's temperament?'
He looked extremely serious, but his actual personality was just as fiery as Jeung Chil's.
Since two people with similar temperaments had met, neither would back down.
The distance between them was about ten jang. Jeung Chil flew across five jang in an instant as if soaring, stepping on the crumbling waves to launch himself again.
Chwaak!
Oh Ik-deok, who lagged behind in movement technique, had just flown across four jang.
At last, the two collided in the void above the sea.
"You scoundrel!"
"Old man!"
Jeung Chil's genuine fist, spewing red energetic force, clashed head-on with Oh Ik-deok's great blade, spewing a sea-blue energetic force.
Kwaaaaaang!
With a great crash, the two were knocked backward.
Their internal energy seemed evenly matched.
The problem came next.
Jeung Chil, having been flung back, was falling toward the sea.
When he still had forward momentum, he could step on the waves and rise, but falling backward and stepping on water like that would have caused him to sink straight down.
"Hyung-nim!"
Whiririk!
Seonwoo Jin swiftly threw a piece of wood.
The wood fragment, flying like a throwing weapon, precisely aimed for the soles of Jeung Chil's feet as he was about to hit the water, and Jeung Chil could step on it and launch himself once more.
Tadak!
"Thank you, youngest!"
But Jeung Chil, having launched himself back up, was flustered.
Because Oh Ik-deok, his opponent, had fallen right into the sea.
Pungdeong!
Jeung Chil muttered with a dumbfounded expression.
"Huh? What's this? What kind of pirate is this, falling into the water...!"
That was the moment.
Oh Ik-deok, who had fallen into the water, shot up like a dolphin and leaped out again.
"Kuhahahaha! Old man!"
Oh Ik-deok burst into wild laughter as he soared upward, using the upward momentum to swing his great blade again.
"Euhaaap!"
Buaaaaaang!
The startled Jeung Chil also hurriedly thrust his genuine fist toward the blade strike.
"You wretch!"
Kwaaaang!
When the two clashed again, Jeung Chil was inevitably flung upward, and Oh Ik-deok back into the water.
In many ways, they were two men whose superiority could not easily be decided.
But Seonwoo Jin and Seol Pung, seeing this spectacle, could only darken their expressions.
Because Oh Ik-deok's water technique, moving freely in the water like a fish, looked far too formidable.
With such water technique, even if Jeung Chil's skill were superior, he would be overwhelmingly disadvantaged in the water.
Much less now, when their skills seemed evenly matched....
Thinking that far, Seol Pung first picked up another piece of wood nearby.
For now, he had to provide Jeung Chil with another foothold anyway.
"Hyung-nim!"
Whiriririk!
Seol Pung threw the wood fragment toward Jeung Chil again.
Then, Jeung Chil, who was falling toward the sea, laughed and shouted.
"Thank you, Seol hyung-nim!"
But it was just as he was about to step onto the wood fragment.
Right beneath him, Oh Ik-deok burst out of the water again, sending up spray.
Chwaaak!
"Kuhahahaha! Do you miss the land, old man?!"
Jeung Chil's expression could only freeze.
"Euk?!"
In the next instant, Oh Ik-deok's great blade swung and split the wood fragment.
Shuhaaak!
Kwaaaang!
"Kreuuk!"
Jeung Chil, who had no choice but to clash with his genuine fist, was once again sent flying into the void.
His expression was now becoming serious.
Because he was only now realizing how disadvantageous the situation was.
With his opponent freely moving in and out of the water while he must not fall into the sea—who was bound to win was as clear as day.
The situation continued after that as well.
Oh Ik-deok kept bouncing Jeung Chil away.
It was like a trained dog performing tricks by bouncing a ball.
"Uhahaha! Old man! Since you seem to fear the water, I'll send you back up! How's that?! Kuhahaha!"
"Y-You wretch!"
The situation was clear.
Oh Ik-deok was now toying with Jeung Chil.
The match was already as good as decided.
Unable to bear it any longer, Seol Pung prepared to leap out.
"I must go help hyung-nim."
At that moment, Seonwoo Jin stopped him.
"No, hyung-nim. While Jeung hyung-nim is buying time, you must head to the ship."
"Ah!"
Seol Pung immediately understood what Seonwoo Jin meant.
Rather than heading into the disadvantageous water to help Jeung Chil anyway, it would be more advantageous to board the ship and prepare a foothold there.
"I will watch over Jeung hyung-nim. Hyung-nim, please seize the ship."
"I'll do so!"
Seol Pung launched himself at the same time as his reply.
Paaang!
His fierce tiger-like form flew across the sea, instantly covering five jang of distance.
Now, if he just stepped on a wave once and leaped again, he should be able to soar onto the ship.
That was the moment.
Suddenly, a large-framed man who had been watching with arms crossed on yet another ship shouted.
"Fire!"
Immediately, from the five ships to his right, arrows were loosed toward Seol Pung.
Pipipipiping!
Both Seonwoo Jin and Seol Pung could only be horrified.
All along, those men had been aiming their arrows in readiness for them to come.
"Keuk!"
Seol Pung gritted his teeth and stared at the incoming rain of arrows.
The arrows, shot from five ships by over a hundred and fifty archers, came flying in a dense shower, as thick as lines.
And they were not ordinary arrows flying in arcs either.
The arrows, shot by warriors, came straight like throwing weapons.
Shwiiiiik!
Seol Pung pondered what to do for a moment.
Actually defending against those would not be very difficult.
But the problem lay after that.
If he used his strength to defend against them, it was obvious he would inevitably fall into the sea too.
'Nothing for it!'
Seol Pung had no choice but to kick off the breaking waves and leap upward.
This was to avoid the shower of arrows.
Chwaak!
In that instant, right below Seol Pung, who had launched his body upward, the torrent-like arrows passed with a sound of tearing through the air.
Swaeaeaeaek!
Shuhaaak!
But it was just as Seol Pung had thus lifted his body into the air.
The giant man who had ordered the fire sneered and began to draw the string of a great bow matching his physique.
It was a magnificent red bow carved with a phoenix head.
"Huuup."
Kkiiiiik!
The bow, which looked as if it possessed tremendous strength just from its appearance, was drawn smoothly.
And it was not just the imposing man and the bow alone.
The arrow nocked on the string was also unusual.
It was a huge metal spike, nearly a javelin rather than an arrow, and blue energetic force was coalesced upon it.
And its tail was connected by a thin silver thread.
The man who had drawn the string released it lightly.
Tung!
Then, the spear shot forth with terrifying speed.
A speed that outpaced sound, almost as swift as a beam of light.
Swaeaeaeaeaeaek!
Seol Pung was horrified as he saw the enormous arrow hurtling toward him.
Because he was suspended in midair, it was a situation where he could not dodge.
"Eik!"
Seol Pung instantly spun his body—pang!
Then he seized the shaft of the arrow that was about to pierce the right side of his chest.
Teok!
Then, propelled by the immense internal force carried on the arrow, Seol Pung's body began to fly backward with it like a shot.
"Heok!"
Finding himself right back at the shore in an instant, Seol Pung dropped the arrow and landed on the beach.
And then, as if they had deliberately meant to send him back to the shore, the arrow also abruptly stopped in midair and began flying back toward the ship.
It seemed to be because of the silver thread attached to the arrow's tail.
Once Seol Pung had withdrawn back to the shore, the man who had shot the arrow raised his voice toward Oh Ik-deok, who was still sending Jeung Chil bouncing into the air.
- Stop playing around and come back now, Ik-deok!
Then Oh Ik-deok cried out in bewilderment.
"Yes?! B-But, hyung-nim, this old man is...!"
Oh Ik-deok seemed to have much to say, but the man holding the great bow did not say another word.
He merely stared silently at Oh Ik-deok.
Then Oh Ik-deok answered with a deflated face.
"Understood, hyung-nim."
Then, once again, he swung his blade toward Jeung Chil, who was falling toward him.
Teoeong!
With the repulsive force of the collision, Jeung Chil began to fly back toward the shore.
Oh Ik-deok had deliberately sent him to the shore.
"Hey, you bastard! What do you think you're doing?!"
Letting Jeung Chil's shouts go in one ear, Seonwoo Jin heightened his senses and looked carefully at the giant man holding the great bow.
He was a man with a solemn face, like a statue.
Just looking at him, one could feel a will and strength as solid as a rock.
Seeing that appearance, Seonwoo Jin felt he could somehow guess the man's identity.
'In the Haenam Sect, if it's a giant man holding such a great bow, capable of forcing the transcendent peak master Oh Ik-deok to retreat....'
At that moment, the man holding the great bow called out toward Seonwoo Jin.
- I am called Yu Hae-eung of the Haenam Sect! Might you be the White Wolf Sword?!
Hearing his name, Seonwoo Jin realized his guess had been correct.
So it was indeed Yu Hae-eung.
The head of the Haenam Yu Clan, one of the Twelve Families of Haenam, and a transcendent peak master of the Haenam Sect known as the Dragon King's Bow.
True to the rumors, he was a master with a bow of tremendous power and tremendous skill.
That was the moment.
Suddenly, the girl who had been hiding behind the rocks behind them burst into a cheer.
"It's Yu Hae-eung-nim?! Kyaak! It's Yu Hae-eung-nim! We're saved!"
At the child's sudden cheer, Seonwoo Jin looked that way with puzzled eyes.
Then the child smiled brightly and spoke quickly.
"Yu Hae-eung-nim is the most righteous and excellent person among the Haenam Sect! They say he never pillages and is a good person who instead helps those who have been plundered!"
"Ah!"
Seonwoo Jin could now understand the situation where he had calmly sent Seol Pung and Jeung Chil back.
He had intended to talk first rather than fight.
At that moment, Yu Hae-eung called out again.
- I ask again! Might you be the White Wolf Sword?!
At that question, Seonwoo Jin frowned and muttered.
"White Wolf Sword?"
It was an alias he had never heard of in this life or his past life.
And yet Yu Hae-eung was looking at him—more precisely, looking toward his sword—and asking if he was the White Wolf Sword.
Even though, at the moment, Seonwoo Jin's sword Mukrang had the scabbard, hilt, and handguard wrapped in cloth to avoid drawing attention.