Chapter 266
Chapter 266
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 266
Chapter Title: Piercing the Gate
-----------------------------------------------------------------
At the same time, the merchant ship, which had been sailing with a tailwind, began to gradually slow down.
The ships, connected by chains, were equipped with devices capable of launching fire arrows and catapult stones to sink distant vessels at a moment's notice.
Furthermore, to prevent any approach to the gate, they stopped ships in the middle of the river to collect tolls.
And if anything seemed amiss?
The fire arrows and catapults installed at the gate would immediately sink the ship.
*Whoosh. Thud.*
Meanwhile, a dozen men from the speedboats flanking them boarded the ship.
“Hmph.”
Among them, a man with a massive build and a dark complexion walked slowly onto the deck.
He was Muk-jeok, the Vicious Ghost of the Axe, the chief of the water fortress responsible for this gate.
“The Pungsa Sword Sect, I see.”
Muk-jeok looked at the middle-aged man standing on the deck.
He was Bang-juk, the strategist of the Pungsa Sword Sect and commander of the ship, and Muk-jeok addressed him with a familiar air.
“What brings you here all of a sudden?”
The Black Lotus had started as a motley crew of bandits, but their forces had grown to surpass those of most martial sects.
Muk-jeok, one of the leaders of the Black Lotus, spoke informally and without reservation to everyone who passed through, not just Bang-juk.
“‘Suddenly’? This is business as usual for us.”
Smiling faintly, Bang-juk had a crewman bring a box to where Muk-jeok stood.
When Muk-jeok nudged the box open with the tip of his boot, the silver filling it glinted in the moonlight.
“Judging by the amount, it must be salt.”
The Black Lotus had a peculiar way of collecting tolls.
Instead of a fixed fee, they assessed the price and profit of the goods being transported and collected a toll based on that.
“That is correct.”
“Hmm.”
Muk-jeok rubbed his brow with his fingers, as if troubled.
“The Lotus is currently engaged in battle with the Demon Palace’s forces.”
“I am aware. That’s why we came with only one ship, to quickly handle the urgent supplies.”
Muk-jeok let out a low hum.
Normally, when transporting salt, the ships of the Azure Sea Seven Sword Sects would move together, piercing the night wind.
The fact that only one ship from the Pungsa Sword Sect had come showed considerable consideration for the Black Lotus’s current situation.
“This is problematic.”
Muk-jeok rubbed his brow with his fingers once more.
“The Sect Leader gave a strict order not to let a single ship pass through Yo-geom-ji.”
“I, too, will be in a difficult position if I have to turn back now.”
Bang-juk, as if he had no other choice, gave another nod to a crewman.
The crewman then placed another box filled with silver in front of Muk-jeok.
“Will this be enough to show our sincerity?”
“Mmm.”
Muk-jeok grunted.
The Pungsa Sword Sect had been considerate enough to send only one ship and had even offered extra payment.
To turn them away now would be to make an enemy of the Pungsa Sword Sect, which had been rooted in the Azure Sea for generations.
“Fine.”
After a moment of thought, Muk-jeok nodded.
“However, given the circumstances, I will conduct a thorough search of the ship.”
Muk-jeok was a seasoned river pirate who had once been part of the Janggang Water Fortress.
He knew the structure of ships better than anyone and understood their inner workings.
Whatever trick the Pungsa Sword Sect might have pulled, it would not escape his eyes.
“If I find anything suspicious…”
A murderous glint flashed in Muk-jeok’s eyes.
With a single gesture from him, a merchant ship like this could be sent to the bottom of the river in an instant.
“Very well.”
Bang-juk met Muk-jeok’s murderous gaze and nodded.
“Then please, have a look around.”
With the eyes of a hawk, Muk-jeok began to meticulously inspect the ship.
He was searching for a large number of troops that might have been dispatched from the Demon Palace.
But he saw nothing suspicious. No, there was nothing to see.
The ship’s structure was so obvious he could see it with his eyes closed, and it was impossible to hide a large force on such a small merchant vessel.
“Hmph.”
But Muk-jeok didn’t stop his inspection.
An unidentifiable sense of unease was steadily growing in his mind.
It was what one might call the intuition of a river pirate who had spent a long time on the water.
“Wait.”
Then, his gaze suddenly fixed on the face of a young man inside a cabin.
He was remarkably tall, thin, and had a pale complexion. He clearly wasn't a sailor.
*‘One can change their face, but not their height or their aura.’*
Having been a pirate for a long time, his eyes were as sharp as a fortune teller’s.
“Who are you?”
The young man trembled in fear and spoke.
“I am a physician on my way to the Jeok-hwang Medical House inside Yo-geom-ji.”
“A physician?”
For a moment, Muk-jeok’s eyes flashed.
*‘Martial artists often disguise themselves as physicians.’*
Not only were martial artists well-versed in the human body, but they also learned some medical skills in case of injury.
Therefore, they often disguised themselves as physicians when they needed to hide their identities.
*‘I have a way to sort this out.’*
“Oho, a young physician. I expect we’ll be seeing more of you.”
Muk-jeok smiled and extended a hand as large as a pot lid.
When the physician looked at him with a puzzled expression, he immediately moved his fingers and gripped his pulse point.
*‘No matter how good the disguise, he can’t have zero internal energy.’*
Even if one disguised their appearance perfectly, they couldn't hide the internal energy within their body.
Knowing this well, Muk-jeok had grabbed the young man's pulse point and injected a powerful surge of his own internal energy.
“Urk!”
The young physician jumped, writhing in agony.
For someone with no internal energy, having it forcibly injected through a pulse point felt like needles piercing his meridians.
*‘He’s not one of them.’*
Muk-jeok immediately withdrew his energy.
No matter how high a level one reached, it was impossible to completely conceal the traces of internal energy in the body.
This young man truly was a physician who knew nothing of martial arts.
“Have you seen enough?”
Muk-jeok did not answer Bang-juk’s question.
No matter how closely he looked, he could find nothing to fault, yet the nagging feeling of unease in his mind would not disappear.
“Mmm.”
As he continued his scrupulous inspection, his eyes suddenly gleamed.
*‘Right. That could be it.’*
Muk-jeok pointed to one of the sailors in the distance and said.
“You, come here.”
The large, scruffy-looking man grumbled as he came forward.
“What is it?”
“Your palm.”
At Muk-jeok’s curt command, the man extended his palm, though with a look of confusion.
The hard calluses on his palm were clearly visible. They were the natural calluses formed from long years of work as a sailor.
*‘Was I just being paranoid?’*
“What is this all about?”
When the sailor asked with a bored expression, Muk-jeok grinned.
His scruffy appearance and defiant attitude, even in front of him, were the very picture of a man who had long worked the seas.
“It’s nothing. You can go.”
Then, Muk-jeok looked at Bang-juk and nodded.
“There’s nothing here. You may pass.”
Muk-jeok returned to his speedboat.
Not long after, the clanking sound of machinery echoed through the night sky.
Simultaneously, the boats blocking the waterway moved to either side, creating a space for one ship to pass through.
“Phew.”
As they passed through the gate into the open space, a man standing on the deck let out a sigh and threw off the towel he had on his head.
It was the very sailor whose hands Muk-jeok had inspected.
“Must be from a lifetime of piracy. His instincts are damn sharp.”
It was Won Se-mun.
At that, the sailors squatting around him began to throw off their towels one by one.
They were all members of the Sa-yeong Unit.
“He said that sharp-eyed pirate would surely inspect us this way… As expected, nothing escapes the Lord’s eyes.”
At those words, Bang-juk cleared his throat, his face flushing.
Initially, Bang-juk had been confident that simply flying the Pungsa Sword Sect’s flag would grant them easy passage.
But Bu Eun-seol had predicted that Muk-jeok, with his pirate background, would not let them pass so easily.
However, since they couldn't smuggle fifty men past his expert eyes, which knew the structure of a ship inside and out, they had disguised themselves as sailors instead.
They had also deliberately placed a young physician in a cabin to confuse Muk-jeok’s intuition.
And for the members disguised as sailors, they had meticulously attached fake calluses that looked like a real sailor's.
“It’s a good thing this is a merchant ship for smuggling a large quantity of salt.”
“Right. No one would find it strange for there to be a lot of sailors.”
Just then, the cooks who had been busy in the galley came out, chatting amongst themselves.
They touched their faces, and their appearances changed to those of spirited young men.
They were the successors of the Azure Sea Seven Sword Sects, including Gu Yang-cheong.
When Bu Eun-seol had declined their offer of troops, they had volunteered to board the ship themselves.
“By the way, where is the Lord?”
When Han So-ung asked, Won Se-mun let out a small exclamation.
“Someone go and get the Lord and the new team leaders.”
At his shout, a unit member ran toward the ship’s warehouse.
Although Bu Eun-seol had reached the state of Reversion, Myo Cheon-u and Yu Un-ryong possessed the distinct aura of Transcendent Realm masters.
No matter how well they were disguised, it would have been difficult to evade Muk-jeok’s sharp eyes, so they had carved out a space beneath the cabin floor.
They had been inside, practicing the Turtle Breathing Technique.
“There is no need.”
As if they had already anticipated their approach, Bu Eun-seol, Myo Cheon-u, and Yu Un-ryong were already standing on the deck.
The successors of the Seven Sword Sects approached Bu Eun-seol.
“You’ve worked hard.”
“You all have worked hard as well.”
“What could we have possibly done?”
As they spoke with humility, Bu Eun-seol smiled and looked toward the stern of the ship.
“If you hadn't all worked together to help, our main force would never have been able to move in secret, past the surveillance of the Hyeolyeom Island Head.”
He had long sensed the presence of the observers sent by Do Cheon-rin.
For this plan to succeed, the fifty members of the Sa-yeong Unit had to move covertly, evading the observers’ eyes.
—*Then is there nothing for us to do to help?*
When the successors of the Seven Sword Sects, gathered for a meeting at the Pungsa Sword Sect, had asked, Bu Eun-seol had replied.
—*Of course, there is something more important.*
That was to move the Sa-yeong Unit’s forces without being detected by Do Cheon-rin’s spies.
Normally, it would have been a near-impossible task.
But when all of the Azure Sea Seven Sword Sects joined forces at Bu Eun-seol’s request, the story changed.
They created decoy units disguised as the Sa-yeong Unit and had them move in different directions.
The observers were thrown into confusion, and in that gap, the members of the Sa-yeong Unit were able to safely move to the Pungsa Sword Sect’s ship.
No matter how brilliant a strategist Do Cheon-rin was, he would never have imagined that Bu Eun-seol had the cooperation of all the Azure Sea Seven Sword Sects.
He would be completely unaware of this situation.
“Once you reach Yo-geom-ji, you are to immediately board the ship and return.”
At Bu Eun-seol’s words, the successors waved their hands in protest.
“What are you talking about? Now that we’ve come this far, of course we must fight alongside you, our benefactor!”
“That’s right! The whole reason we’ve been diligently training our martial arts is for times like this!”
While the successors chattered boisterously, Gu Yang-cheong only watched from a distance, not approaching him.
She knew that Bu Eun-seol had not a shred of interest in her.
She knew that no matter how hard she tried, she could never have that distant man.
*‘Cheong.’*
Watching her, Wi-ji-un gave a bitter smile inwardly.
In truth, all the successors of the Azure Sea Seven Sword Sects were fond of Gu Yang-cheong.
The only reason they had all gathered in the first place was because she had been the sole woman among them.
*‘From our perspective, this is actually a relief.’*
It was painful to see Gu Yang-cheong suffer, but from their point of view, they were grateful to Bu Eun-seol for drawing a clear line.
“We will arrive at Yo-geom-ji around dawn.”
Just then, Bu Eun-seol threw off the cloth he had been wearing and spoke coldly.
“Prepare yourselves.”
—*Yes, my Lord!*
The members of the Sa-yeong Unit bowed their heads with solemn expressions.
Soon, a fierce battle of blood and flesh would begin.
* * *
The slowly rising sun was driving away the darkness.
At the break of dawn, the elite forces of the Black Lotus, waiting near the coast, blinked their eyes.
A lone merchant ship had docked on the shore guarded by three hundred men with fire in their eyes…
And fifty warriors armed with weapons had disembarked and were now striding toward the guard post.
—*They must be insane.*
The Black Lotus members burst out laughing at the sight of them.
“No need to ask who they are. Kill them.”
As the leader commanding the coastal guard post gave the order, the Lotus members under him fired long arrows from their powerful bows.
The arrows, shot toward the sky, became a black rain pouring down on the warriors.
“What?”
The Black Lotus members were all left speechless.
The fifty warriors were all so skilled in martial arts that the fiercely flying arrows failed to inflict any significant damage.
“Launch the catapult stones as well!”
The flustered leader issued another command.
At his order, catapult stones were launched in a dense volley from the spring-loaded devices set up behind the post.
But it was already too late.
The catapults were designed to attack ships arriving at the coast, not individuals.
The fifty warriors had already closed in on the defensive post with lightning speed, rendering the catapults a meaningless attack.
—*Clang! Chaang!*
—*Aargh, Aaargh!*
Against the distant, brightening sky, desperate screams and the clash of weapons rang out.
Under the indiscriminate attack of the fifty warriors who had closed in an instant, the Black Lotus members were falling like sheaves of straw with single screams.
Though they numbered only fifty, their martial skill and tactics were on a level never before seen or heard of.
Despite using different martial arts and weapons, there was not a single gap in their offense or defense.
Watching their battle from a distance, it was as if five massive weapons were alternating between attack and defense.
“Ugh.”
The leader, watching the scene, bit his lip.
The bodies piled around the defensive zone numbered at least two hundred.
And all this had happened in less than a quarter of an hour since the battle began.
“Report that the enemy has attacked!”
The reply to the leader’s shout was a despairing one.
“The main camp reports that they have also been ambushed by the Hyeolmu Unit.”
“What did you say?”
The leader’s face hardened.
“Does that mean they sent a detachment to coincide with their attack on our main camp?”
He clenched his teeth.
The enemy’s martial prowess was so great that they seemed poised to break through here and advance to the main camp in a single push.
The only option left was to fight to the death.
They had to hold out until their last breath, to tie the enemy down for as long as possible.