Chapter 105
Chapter 105
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 105
Chapter Title: Dark Heaven Village
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The pirates all seemed to share the same mind. From their perspective, it was far more advantageous to offer up their leaders' heads and survive rather than clash with a naval force they had no chance of beating. The moment the betrayal erupted, I let out a laugh.
"Hahaha. A pincer attack, eh?"
"Ugh... Don't mock me!!"
Splash!
Suddenly, the pirate leaders' clothes tore apart dramatically, and their bodies began to swell. The forms of the fish monsters I had seen before appeared on the deck. Their torsos had grown to over three meters long, no longer resembling anything human.
[Grurk... Grurrk...]
Boom!
"Argh!"
As the pirate leaders swung their blades down, explosions rang out, shredding the bodies of several nearby pirates into pieces. It seemed that state granted immense power at the cost of losing their reason. Since I needed someone to extract information from, I couldn't let them all die, so I leaped forward.
"Get out of the way!!"
Thunderclap
Lightning surged around my body. My form, now incomparably swift, brushed past the pirate leaders like an illusion. The Decisive Slash of the Myriad Chariots Sword Judgment pierced one, while the form of the Heavenly Thunder Limitless Spear stabbed into the other. Moments later, explosions ripped their bodies into fragments.
Splatter!
Splurt—
The fishy blood unique to the sea folk sprayed violently from their severed torsos. The surviving pirates recoiled in horror. The remaining one charged at me with a screech.
[Kieee—!!]
Thunder Shadow Step: Heaven's Execution unfolded. I deftly evaded the transformed pirate leader's attack and first severed his left arm. As the limb flew off, he writhed in agony, and I followed with an inner force-infused kick that shattered his right leg.
I could have killed him outright but chose not to. If that had been my intent, I would have massacred them from the start.
[Kraaa!]
The pirate leader collapsed. As the berserk state wore off, his body gradually shrank back to human size. He rolled his eyes uneasily, enduring the pain, then seemed to realize I had spared his life on purpose and spoke.
"W-What do you want?"
"Everything you know!"
"Will you spare me if I do?"
"I will. Didn't I say so from the beginning? Were you even listening?"
The pirate leader glanced anxiously at the Blood Tide Crew pirates standing behind me.
"Spare them too."
"I'll do that. So spill it now."
I let my piercing killing intent show in my eyes.
"Your base, and how you ended up like that. Everything."
"Understood... I'll tell you all."
The pirate leader hesitated, then spent about the time it takes to eat a meal revealing what I'd been curious about.
As I listened, I couldn't help but ask in disbelief.
"What?"
"It's true."
Dumbfounded, I scratched my head.
"You're saying there's really a city of sea folk at the ocean floor?"
The pirate leader nodded.
"Yes..."
The pirates listening nearby murmured in agreement.
According to the pirate leader, the three of them had been plundering when one day they received a visit from the sea folk. The sea folk, who claimed to be the kin of the Sea God, promised great power in exchange for their service. Afterward, the pirate leaders received the sea folk's flesh, building an undefeated legend through their raids. Not only that, but with occasional aid from the sea folk, their voyages became effortless, and they even evaded maritime disasters in advance.
The pirate leaders, who had become sea folk posthumously, would visit the underwater city to report their status or receive knowledge.
"Where's this underwater city?"
"Right below the islands in the Pure Trade region next to our base..."
"Directly underneath?"
"Search northwest, and you'll find it..."
I pressed further.
"Fine. Then why did you attack despite the naval escort this time?"
"That was... because the Sea God's kin issued the order."
"They commanded it directly?"
"Yes... They said this merchant fleet carried something essential to the Sea God folk."
My eyes widened. This felt like crucial information.
"Something essential? What?"
"Something imported by chance from the Western Regions... A strangely shaped bowl."
"What did the bowl look like? Hey, bring writing tools."
At my command to a nearby pirate, one dashed inside and returned with paper and ink. As the pirate leader sketched with the brush, I examined his condition. Strangely, despite losing an arm and having a leg crushed—which should have been fatal from blood loss—his wounds were already healing.
Soon the drawing was complete, and I memorized the shape. It was indeed a bizarre bowl unlike any I'd seen in my life. Studying the sketch closely, I asked.
"Why do they need this bowl?"
"I don't know..."
"Hmm. Got it."
Thwack!
I swung my spear and decapitated the pirate leader cleanly. It was so swift he likely felt no pain. He was doomed either way, so I granted him a merciful end.
This was the price for his information.
I turned to the remaining pirates.
"Raise the white flag."
"Yes."
Whoosh
Soon after, with the white flag up on the pirate ship, I returned to our fleet. Vice Admiral Ahn Hyun, seeing my triumphant return, was astonished.
"You really subdued the flagship alone? Incredible martial prowess!"
"No need for flattery... More importantly, I have urgent news."
"What is it?"
"I'd like to speak privately."
"Very well."
Vice Admiral Ahn Hyun delegated the aftermath to his subordinates and led me to his office. Once alone, I unwrapped the bundle and showed him the three pirate leaders' heads. He grimaced.
"What are these? What kind of monsters are they?"
"The pirate leaders."
"What...?!"
"Confront them with the surrendered Blood Tide Crew officers, and you'll confirm my words. These were the ones leading the Blood Tide Crew."
"Heh..."
Soon, a pirate was brought in for verification, testified it was true, and was led out. Realizing the truth, Vice Admiral Ahn Hyun slumped in his chair wearily.
"Fine, store those heads for now. The stench is foul."
"Yes."
As he opened the cabin windows for ventilation, Vice Admiral Ahn Hyun muttered.
"How could such monsters exist in this world?"
"Vice Admiral. We must strike their base. It's not far from here."
"......"
He hesitated. We'd won without losses, but raiding the pirate lair wasn't in his plans. I decided to persuade him further.
"Think about it. If we don't hit their base, the Blood Tide Crew will revive. Merchant losses will continue. Wouldn't it be better to claim a great merit now, before the hassle?"
His ears perked at "merit."
"You're right... Very well, let's go subjugate them."
I detailed the base's location as told by the pirate leader. Vice Admiral Ahn Hyun spread a sea chart and pinpointed it immediately. We then advanced on the pirate island that served as their base.
We arrived at the pirate island in less than half a day. As the navy approached, they fired signal cannons to declare battle.
Boom!!
The pirates on the island panicked, but soon our naval forces, including me, landed and began sweeping them away. About a hundred pirates remained, but we subdued them in under half a shichen.
With the pirate island's capture ending anticlimactically, Vice Admiral Ahn Hyun walked to the shore and sat in a chair. In a stern voice, he commanded.
"Behead them all."
Thud
Thud
On the sandy beach, heads rolled one by one. It was ideal for executions, so he'd chosen the spot deliberately. Once the beheadings finished, Vice Admiral Ahn Hyun directed his men to search the island further. Hidden buildings dotted the area, containing captured slaves and women.
Their conditions were horrific. The male slaves had been worked to near death, some crippled from the pirates' abuse. The women bore clear signs of gang rape, many pregnant.
Even more gruesome were the "spoils" in the pirates' rooms—slaves killed for sport. Torture marks abounded. The tales of pirates' cruelty to humans were true.
Witnessing the atrocities firsthand, Vice Admiral Ahn Hyun trembled with rage.
"You were right to suggest this, young hero. These scum aren't worth keeping alive."
"Mm..."
"Men! Bring the captured Blood Tide Crew officers."
At his order, naval soldiers dragged in the tightly bound pirate officers. They'd expected to live but now looked bewildered. Gazing down coldly, Vice Admiral Ahn Hyun declared.
"I hold delegated authority from General Jang Kyung-ik, chief of the Left Army Naval Command of the Five Armies Naval Command. In wartime, I may execute punishments without Left Army approval or a magistrate's permission. I act on my personal conscience for this atrocity."
The pirate officers cried out in fear.
"My lord! What do you mean?"
"Men."
At Vice Admiral Ahn Hyun's next words, the pirates went mad with terror.
"Execute lingchi on these scum."
"Nooooo!!"
"Stop!!"
Some bit their tongues and collapsed, committing suicide on the spot. Biting off one's tongue required resolve, but lingchi was so brutal they chose it without hesitation.
First, naval soldiers fetched cross-shaped torture racks from the ships. Short on numbers, they felled trees to improvise racks and bound the Blood Tide Crew officers to them.
Then they brought white powder and forced it into the pirates' mouths. Curious, I asked Vice Admiral Ahn Hyun.
"What's that?"
"Opium."
"......!!"
"The key to lingchi is keeping them alive as long as possible."
As he answered calmly, preparations continued. Gags were stuffed firmly to prevent further tongue-biting. As the opium took hold and their eyes glazed, lingchi began.
Slice
Sliiiice...
Naval soldiers wielding thin knives like razors methodically peeled flesh without expression. It resembled filleting sashimi. Dosed heavily with opium, the officers felt no immediate agony but realized their fate. They thrashed wide-eyed as the torture proceeded.
Vice Admiral Ahn Hyun explained.
"We start with non-vital extremities like fingers and toes."
Spurt
Blood flowed, staunched each time with some drug. As droplets beaded, flesh peeled off like falling hair, piling on the ground. As fingers and toes were whittled away, the officers' faces twisted toward madness.
Unable to move, slowly filleted like fish to die.
It would bring unimaginable terror.
"After stripping all muscle, we shatter the joints."
"They won't die before that?"
"That's why we dose them with opium—to prolong life."
Soon, Vice Admiral Ahn Hyun detailed lingchi for me.
Lingchi was flaying a criminal alive, separating flesh from bone. In the Song Dynasty, it was called "over-skinning punishment," and the Great Ming Code, basis for Ming law, termed it lingchi chusi. Too cruel for arbitrary use, but with the general's delegated authority, Vice Admiral Ahn Hyun could enact it.
Nicknamed "Hundred Cuts" or "Death by a Thousand Knives," it meant killing via a hundred or thousand slices. Once, eunuch Liu Jin, guilty of selling offices and embezzlement, endured over six thousand cuts.
The next day, over half the Blood Tide Crew officers were dead. Yet soldiers impassively stripped flesh and muscle regardless. Some had chests flayed to expose ribs; one soldier chuckled, jamming a rib into a dead officer's eye socket.
Spotting me, the soldier said.
"Ah! Sorry. Please don't report this."
"But with opium, don't they feel little pain?"
The soldier grinned.
"Not quite. Someone survived after two hundred cuts and said the opium's effect fades intermittently, bringing worm-like agony through the body. These guys vomited up hearts from pain before dying."
"......"
I was stunned by the soldier's casual demeanor, guessing his experience.
Lingchi concluded on the third morning. The officers' bodies were mere skeletons. The skeletal torsos, dressed in their pre-execution clothes, were placed in large baskets on poles with entrails and heads.
The Blood Tide Crew subjugation was over.