54
Chapter 54: Surrounded on All Sides
The masters' desertion accelerated more and more.
As if keeping pace with it, dozens of small guide boats poured out from the Yangtze River Ships that had been occupying only the flanks from afar.
The guide boats were what people commonly called punts, and being small, their speed was unrivaled. Moreover, since the water bandits' rowing skills were at a considerable level, that speed was multiplied even further.
They moved quickly and began retrieving the corpses floating on the water. Simultaneously, they engaged in combat with the masters who came flying over.
Unlike the masters who had successfully landed without much interference at first, the masters who faced interference from the guide boats found it much harder to approach land. Even so, the water bandits didn't block the masters very stubbornly. If they felt it was difficult to face them, they boldly abandoned their boats and jumped into the water. Not dealing with them forcibly, they were passing their handling over to the Heavenly Demon Castle members on shore.
Now battles were breaking out in every direction Dong Bong-su looked, and their fierceness was reminiscent of defending a castle gate during a siege.
All around was truly a feast of death itself.
"Aaaah!"
"Aaaahhh!"
"Save me!"
"Kill them all! Kill every single one!"
"Die! You bastard! Die, you sons of bitches!"
Skreeeeeeee!
Screams, curses, sounds of fighting, and the ear-splitting cries of the Killer Falcons.
A scene from hell was unfolding in all directions.
"......"
To Dong Bong-su's ears, all those sounds sounded like the songs of Chu from the past.
Surrounded on all sides.
The Hegemon-King of Chu, Xiang Yu, suffered his final defeat here at Gaixia in Anhui, surrounded by the forces of Liu Bang, the Han Emperor.
His strength could uproot mountains, his spirit covered the world…But times are unfavorable, and Zhui won't advance,Zhui won't advance, what can I do?Yu, oh Yu, what shall I do with you?
In despair, Xiang Yu recited this poem.
In such a situation, his beloved consort Lady Yu sang the following song in reply:
The Han soldiers have already taken all the land…From all sides comes the sound of Chu songs...The Great King's spirit and vigor are exhausted…How can this humble concubine wish to live?
With this song, Lady Yu committed suicide, and Xiang Yu broke through the enemy lines and eventually followed Lady Yu at the Wu River.
Dong Bong-su thought the current situation was exactly like that time.
Tang O was Xiang Yu, and he himself was Lady Yu.
Enemies were swarming all around, and horrific screams were wrapping around all sides like Chu songs.
The difference was that Xiang Yu, who was like Lady Yu, had abandoned him and left.
Above all, the real difference was.
While Lady Yu and Xiang Yu committed suicide, Dong Bong-su had absolutely no intention of doing so. No, he was rather smiling lowly even in this situation.
Clang! Clang-clang!
"Aaaahhh!"
Before he knew it, martial artists wearing clothes with the characters for Yangtze Waterway Strongholds written on them had climbed onto the ship he was aboard and were fighting with the few remaining congratulatory guests. The masters had already all left the ship. The congratulatory guests remaining here were woefully insufficient in both quality and quantity to escape this crisis.
Everyone was fighting back because it was regrettable to just offer their necks and die, but their swords and sabers no longer carried any spirit. Giving up, and death. Those two words were occupying their minds.
Except for one person.
'Now the time has come.'
Dong Bong-su quietly drew his Novice's Sword.
He walked slowly toward the opposite direction the ship was moving, that is, toward the stern.
"Die!"
Two water bandits rushed at him.
Shhk.
He was in a state that had advanced with yesterday's realization and level-up. There was no way the lowly water bandits could be his match. Dong Bong-su's soundless sword cut tickets to the Yellow Springs for both of them in just one stroke.
Seeing that, other water bandits rushed at him all at once.
Wooong—
Intense energy burst from Dong Bong-su's body.
The skill Circulating Energy was unfolding.
The Three Talents Sword Technique, enhanced with combat power increased by Circulating Energy and imbued with the essence of Windless Sword Technique, was truly fearsome. Before Dong Bong-su moved several times, the heads of over ten water bandits flew off.
Splurt! Thud. Rrrk-rrk-rrk
Blood spurted from necks, bodies collapsed, and the sounds of heads rolling on the floor spread sequentially across the deck.
At the same time, a ttiring sound rang through Dong Bong-su's mind.
[First Class Change Quest: Wanderer]
Tester-exclusive class.
Quest completion condition: Achieve 100 Kills of enemies Level 10 or above.
Current quest completion (completed/total): 1 / 100
There must have been one person Level 10 or above among the water bandits he just killed.
One out of a hundred.
That sound was precisely the bell announcing the start of the class change quest.
Also,
It was also the sound announcing the start of the hunt.
Shing. Slash.
Dong Bong-su swung the Novice's Sword down greatly to shake off the blood. His eyes had already sunk to perfect indifference.
He quietly surveyed his surroundings once more.
"......"
The gazes of the water bandits who had boarded the ship and the remaining congratulatory guests were all looking at him.
However, Dong Bong-su wasn't looking at them. He was checking how far the next water bandits to board were coming, not the ones who had just boarded.
Looking in the distance, the fast ships that had been reluctant to approach closely because of the masters were gradually approaching. It was probably because they judged there was no longer any need to launch guide boats to gradually attack the congratulatory guests.
'I must finish before they arrive.'
Dong Bong-su's gaze returned to the water bandits on the ship.
They were already fighting with the few remaining congratulatory guests, and most were surrounding him. They had realized he was the greatest master among those remaining on this ship now.
Seeing that, Dong Bong-su let out one indifferent laugh and began to dance.
Thud.
"Aaaahh!"
Crunch.
"Aarg!"
A situation where he didn't need to worry about Tang O or others watching. His sword was truly fierce. His sword, which had not a single wasted movement, mercilessly cut or stabbed the water bandits' vital points or necks every time it moved. His irregular techniques using Inventory Divine Arts were also highly effective. The water bandits were originally weaker than Dong Bong-su, and with swords suddenly appearing from his left hand, right hand, and even his mouth, they had no means to endure.
Before long, the heads of all the water bandits who had boarded in the first wave were rolling around on the floor, cut by Dong Bong-su's sword.
"Th-thank you."
In the eyes of the other congratulatory guests who had saved their lives for now thanks to his performance, he looked like a savior. The skilled masters had already left the ship for their own safety alone, yet here was a master remaining alone and fighting—how grateful would they be?
Several among the congratulatory guests approached him to express their gratitude.
"Elder Tang has completely..."
They thought of Dong Bong-su as a martial artist of the Tang Family. That was because the person who had been standing beside Tang O constantly until Tang O left was precisely Dong Bong-su. They had despaired when Tang O left the ship, but now thought it fortunate he had left a master behind.
However,
Dong Bong-su already had nothing to do with the Tang Family. The name Tang Sam was erased from his mind the moment Tang O left this place.
The Novice's Sword in his hand moved again slowly and soundlessly.
Slash. Thud. Roll.
"......"
Another headless corpse was created. The congratulatory guest who had been expressing gratitude to Dong Bong-su crossed the river of death in that very posture while speaking. His head that fell on the floor, and the mouth attached to that head, was still moving its tongue. As if trying to finish what it was saying.
"Why...?"
After a brief silence at Dong Bong-su's sudden action, the congratulatory guest standing right behind the deceased instinctively asked Dong Bong-su for a reason.
And.
Slash.
His neck also flew off exactly the same as before.
"Aaaahhh!"
Only then did people realize Dong Bong-su hadn't cut down the water bandits for their sake. People seized with fear ran here and there.
Dong Bong-su didn't bother chasing them right away. The ship's space was limited anyway, and the only place they could flee to was Chaohu Lake.
He looked quite leisurely at the Yangtze River Ships approaching this way.
'About a hundred meters.'
It was enough.
Considering the enemies' ships moving slowly, it would take about twenty to thirty seconds for them to arrive here. Moreover, at this distance, even if the enemies couldn't perfectly identify his face, they could at least sufficiently perceive the scene of himself fighting with the congratulatory guests.
After confirming that, Dong Bong-su followed mainly the agile ones among the fleeing congratulatory guests and swung his sword. Unfortunately, almost all were below Level 10, so they didn't help much with the class change quest.
Nevertheless, Dong Bong-su moved without rest. Those who received his attacks, like the water bandits, couldn't withstand his attacks mixing Windless Sword Technique and Inventory Divine Art for long and all lost their lives.
Those who didn't receive attacks were driven to the ship's corners in terror, then soon jumped into the water. However, they wouldn't endure very long either. The lake water at night would be as cold as seawater.
Pat!
Left alone, Dong Bong-su shook off the blood with the same motion as before.
Then he quietly entered the cabin.
The cabin was already completely empty and full of silence only. Only the subtle moonlight entering through the cabin window greeted him.
But!
The clothes he was wearing had changed at some point. Five characters clearly reflected in the moonlight embroidered on his chest.
They were precisely 'Yangtze Waterway Strongholds.'
The method he chose to break through the situation of being surrounded on all sides was precisely to wear Han Dynasty clothes and sing along with Chu songs.
And to make that more certain, Dong Bong-su slashed his face with his sword. Soon dozens of sword marks appeared on his face, and Dong Bong-su lost his original face. It stung and prickled terribly, but there was no method more certain than this. Among the water bandits now approaching this ship, there might be someone who knew the faces of the water bandits who came to this ship first.
This method was to prevent that. It was night anyway, so there would be no one who could recognize him perfectly, and they had already witnessed him and the congratulatory guests fighting. They didn't know who he was, but they would be certain that the last survivor of this ship was a water bandit.
Finally, he took out the identification tag of the person with the most similar physique to himself among the water bandits he killed earlier and checked the name. There, the name Kang Dal-hui was clearly written.
The moment Dong Bong-su engraved those three characters in his head.
He became Kang Dal-hui.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Though it hadn't been long since he shook off blood, blood soon beaded on the sword again. The blood flowing down his face was running down his arm, beading at the sword tip, and descending to the floor.
Dong Bong-su could glimpse his face slightly reflected in the pool of blood on the floor. Due to the sword wounds, his original face was completely unrecognizable.
"Not bad."
He said that lowly and left the cabin.
Tap. Tap.
Whether it was timed, or whether Dong Bong-su saw the Yangtze River Ships approaching and timed it precisely to when they would board, was unknown, but finally the water bandits' fast ships arrived at the ship Dong Bong-su was aboard.
"Hey, you. Are you alright?"
That was the first thing one of them said to Dong Bong-su. That's how much Dong Bong-su's entire body was covered in blood and his face was completely ruined.
Dong Bong-su raised his hand to wipe the blood flowing on his face again. The blood spread further, making his face even more of a mess.
After casually wiping away the blood covering his eyes once more, he quickly swept over the deck.
There were particularly many corpses not wearing clothes visible, but no one paid attention to the corpses. The real Kang Dal-hui would be among them, but no one could know he had died.
"Aaaaahh!"
Thump—thump!
Clang! Clang-clang!
Still all around, the last screams of 'Chu' were continuously echoing.
Kang Dal-hui, no, Dong Bong-su slowly wiped the blood-stained sword with his clothes and, facing the water bandit still staring at him, said this:
"I'm fine."
Thus Dong Bong-su succeeded in surviving once again.