The Man's Choice Awakens Geomgak
That man's choice would move Geomgak. Haesa-bang. On land, they were nobodies. They kept their heads down and stayed out of trouble without making waves. But at sea, it was different. That was their domain. Like a stray dog outside the home, but a ferocious beast within its walls.
Yet right now, that beast was being hunted in reverse.
Slash! Throats were slit.
Thud! Hearts were pierced.
Splat! Skulls caved in.
With each strike, Haesa-bang pirates dropped dead. Over ten corpses already littered the deck, the floor slick with crimson blood.
"Hngh!"
"Argh!"
The ordinary civilians huddled in terror on one side, trembling uncontrollably. They feared the pirates' blades might turn their way at any moment. And it wasn't unfounded worry. These were Haesa-bang pirates, infamous for their brutality despite claiming to be a murim sect. Who knew what they'd do if things went south?
"D-Damn it! These Yeon bastards are peak experts!"
When the pirates sent to slaughter them were instead wiped out in seconds, even they realized their foes were no amateurs.
"Tch, I see. So you had something up your sleeve."
But the pirates stayed surprisingly calm. Their momentum and eyes still burned fierce. This wasn't their first rodeo. They had a trick up their sleeve.
"Fuck! Shake the ship now!"
A mid-level officer bellowed the order. No sooner had the words left his mouth than the three speedboats hooked to the galleon began rocking it violently from side to side.
Rock, rock, rock!
"Wha—?!"
"W-We're tipping!"
"G-Grip tight!"
The civilians screamed, faces drained white. Most had already lost balance, crawling on all fours like dogs across the deck.
That was it—the pirates' aim.
This wasn't solid ground. It was a ship adrift at sea. They could make the deck as unstable as they wanted. Sure, peak experts wouldn't end up crawling like civilians, but that was just the start. Nearly all martial arts assumed a stable foothold. Firm stance was the foundation of power. Disrupt that, and the techniques lost half their edge. And maintaining balance took extra effort to boot.
The pirates, meanwhile, were right at home. To them, a ship tossing in the waves was just another day.
No need to spell out who held the overwhelming advantage.
"Heh heh heh. Keep pushing them to the corner."
And one more thing: the dread of being cornered. Fall into the sea, and pirates could boil experts alive, grandfather or not. Knowing that, the foes felt the pressure. They couldn't afford to drop into the water.
So they'd lunge forward recklessly. Another edge for the pirates.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The pirates formed up, herding them toward the edge.
Jang Il panicked.
"Wait, hold on! Hey... you fuckers! Why the hell are you shaking a perfectly fine ship?!"
His internal energy was peak-level, but his martial knowledge was sorely lacking. Hence his fluster on the rocking deck.
But Bang So-un just laughed.
"Haha, relax. Even on all fours, you're more than enough to smash a few of these pirates."
"But... that looks kinda embarrassing, doesn't it?"
"Hahaha! Embarrassing? Who cares? Grab 'em with your hands or feet—as long as you smash the pirates, it's fine."
"Sigh... alright. If the young master says so..."
Jang Il swallowed his pride and dropped to all fours like a beast, steadying himself.
"Puhaha!"
"Never seen such a shameless prick! A peak expert looking like that? Even a stray dog would laugh! Hahaha!"
The pirates burst into laughter, morale boosted by their enemy's pathetic sight.
But then.
A silhouette blitzed the frontmost mockers. At a speed unbelievable on a pitching deck.
Flying Feather Divine Step—first-rate even among murim lightness skills.
Swoosh! Slash!
Two flashes.
Slash! Thud!
Two pirates' heads flew. Blood sprayed, painting everything red.
"Wh-What?!"
"N-No way!"
The pirates froze in shock.
Yeon Su-rin, architect of the instant slaughter, coldly flicked blood from her blade.
"You'll all die. The young master's sacred command allows no deviation."
"B-Bullshit! Rip that dog-cunt bitch apart!"
"Fuck! Get 'em overboard no matter what!"
The second bloody clash erupted on the heaving deck.
Blood, blood, blood, blood, blood, blood.
Corpses, corpses, corpses, corpses, corpses, corpses.
The deck was drenched in gore, no room to step amid the pirate bodies. Even from afar, it was obvious—unless you were blind.
"H-How... how can this..."
His subordinate's voice trembled.
Even Arm Eighth Leader Po Dong-yeong's face was rigid. Then he roared like thunder.
"Tell 'em to grab civilian hostages and fight! Kill 'em if you have to! Now! Send the signal!"
A desperate measure unfit for a murim sect. But that was for when they had leeway. This was rock bottom. No time to pick methods.
Haesa-bang crushed at sea, of all places? Unthinkable humiliation. Their sea-born prestige would hit the floor. They had to stop it. No matter what.
"Y-Yes, sir! Arm Eighth Leader!"
The subordinate frantically waved the flag signal.
Flutter!
The urgent flag signals from the lieutenant ship. The galleon's pirates saw them too.
Their numbers had dwindled to half.
But their faces hardened with venom.
"On one, two, three—charge!"
The officer barked.
"One, two, three!"
Stampede!
The survivors split precisely in two. Half charged the civilians like mad.
"H-Huh?!"
"Wh-Why us?!"
"St-Stop! We're civilians! Not murim folk!"
"W-We weren't resisting! We were gonna pay ransom!"
The ashen-faced civilians begged, but it was futile. True peril for them.
Bang So-un's face tightened. He hadn't expected pirates flying a murim flag to be so brazen.
'What kind of mad bastards...'
Bang So-un wasn't a saint or grand hero. But he prided himself on basic human decency. He couldn't just watch innocent civilians massacred before his eyes.
He made his choice.
"Jeolhwadae—save the civilians!"
Sending his elite trio to protect them. A choice no ordinary man could make lightly. It tied directly to his own safety.
The remaining half pirates glared murderously, waiting for an opening.
"Now's our chance! Kill him!"
The officer grinned triumphantly at the split forces.
"You fuckers! I'll protect the young master no matter what!"
Jang Il's eyes blazed resolute.
"Heh, good. I trust you."
Bang So-un stayed calm. He truly believed in Jang Il.
But even he hadn't foreseen one thing.
That his choice had moved someone else.
"Wh-What do we do, senior brother?"
"What do you mean? We stop this!"
Haenam Sect warriors. They'd blended into the civilians to watch discreetly, but the pirate frenzy trapped them.
No room for hesitation now. Letting attackers slaughter civilians would tarnish their sect's honor.
"Damn it, come on then!"
"Hmph, we'll show you Haenam Sect swordsmanship!"
They finally drew blades, psyching up... but their faces were grim. Outnumbered, and unfamiliar with shipboard combat. Tension made them shake.
Then.
The veiled women who'd carved through pirates landed beside them out of nowhere.
"Gasp?!"
"Y-You ladies?!"
The Haenam warriors' eyes widened in shock. Their legs nearly buckled from sheer relief.
'F-Fuck yes! We're saved!'
'Waaah, thank you! Nameless heroines! Heroines forever!'
Thoughts they could never voice aloud.
Killing intent surged as the pirates closed in.
Bang So-un drew his sword for the first time.
Jang Il clenched his fists.
But then.
Tap.
A peerless beauty appeared out of nowhere, landing lightly before them.
Geomgak's Yu Seol-young.
Bang So-un and Jang Il's eyes bulged in astonishment. The unseen Geomgak showing up now?
Questions swirled in their minds.
Yu Seol-young spoke.
"That choice just now."
"...?"
"Was worth watching."
Shing.
Her sword drew for the first time. An odd stance. Any sword sect pointed the blade down as basic form.
But hers had the flat facing down.
"And I find trash like these pirates cluttering the place annoying too. Though I don't crave killing them all like you do."
She said it casually.
And finally, she moved.