And So, It Was for Survival! (3)
The little fishing boat rocked hard against the surging waves.
"Whoa!"
"Careful! If you go overboard now, the current'll sweep you away!"
"Why're you worrying so much? You think I've only been doing this for a year or two?"
"Exactly. And every bastard who said that before got swept away just the same."
"You jinxing son of a—"
The man hauling in the net scowled and looked down at what he had pulled up. The net was empty. He clicked his tongue in disappointment.
"Today's haul is looking pretty miserable..."
"That's what happens the day after a typhoon. Quit whining and get back to work."
"Honestly, I feel like today's a total loss. Why don't we just pack it in early and go have a drink?"
"Are you crazy? We've been starving through the whole typhoon, and if I come home empty-handed today, my wife'll skin me alive."
"There's hardly anything left anyway."
"What was that?"
The sun-browned men with their dark, coppery skin bickered as they all hauled on the net together.
Sweat streamed down their faces in heavy drops, but there was more cheer than hardship in their expressions. No matter how difficult life at sea was, it couldn't compare to the misery of being unable to go out and simply wasting away on land.
"We'd better bring up something before sunset."
"That's what I'm saying!"
They sent desperate gazes out toward the indifferent sea when—
"Huh?"
One of the men tugging on the net let out a startled cry.
"Th-there, there! What's that?"
"What's what?"
"Over there... don't you see a ship?"
"There are ships everywhere here. What's the big deal?"
"No, no! Over there! Those ships! The ones coming in all at once!"
"What?"
The men at work straightened their bent backs and craned their necks. Sure enough, in the distance, dozens of huge ships were charging toward the island.
"Th-those..."
"Those? Those ships?"
In an instant, those who recognized who was aboard them went as white as sheets and shouted.
"T-turn the boats around!"
"Hurry! Move to the side, now! Don't let them make contact!"
"But the net—"
"Forget the damn net! Move!"
The fishing boats abandoned the nets they had just hauled up and scattered in panic in every direction. A moment later, massive warships cut through the channel they had opened.
The fishermen watched the passing fleet in terror. A giant banner hung from the lead ship, and embroidered in red upon it was the character Domination (覇).
"T-the Evil Tyrant Alliance..."
"So they've come after all..."
This was not the first time they had seen the Evil Tyrant Alliance's ships. For the past three years, their vessels had circled the sea, keeping watch over Hainan.
But those had been watchful ships, nothing more. This was the first time such a fleet had come to Hainan under the banner of the Evil Tyrant Alliance.
Those who understood what that meant stared after the retreating ships with despair in their eyes.
"...Please."
It already felt as if the stench of blood were thick in the air, pricking at their noses.
(L*ord) (P*lease)
"Report?"
"Yes, Strategist! According to the men monitoring the island, it seems none have managed to leave it."
Ho Ga-myeong gave a slight nod.
Are they wise, or just stupid?
There probably wasn't much they could do, to be fair. But sitting there and waiting wouldn't change anything either.
Then again, when ordinary people ran into a road blocked on all sides, they tended to collapse where they stood rather than try to pry a way open.
"Still no movement?"
"None so far."
A faint sneer touched Ho Ga-myeong's eyes.
"Utterly useless. Even the Hainan sect leader."
From Hainan Sect's point of view, boarding ships and fleeing the island was hardly an attractive option. Wherever they tried to go, they would not be able to escape the net Ho Ga-myeong had already cast. The only thing waiting at the end was a more miserable death.
Still...
"If they had chosen a naval battle, there might have been some chance."
The only thing Ho Ga-myeong had truly worried about was the possibility that they would come out to fight him at sea. No matter how formidable a warrior might be, fighting aboard ship made it hard to bring out one's full strength, and the disciples of the Myriad Man Sect were not used to water combat, so their chances would have improved.
If we could have brought the Water Bandits here, I wouldn't even have had to consider this...
But that wasn't realistic.
The Water Bandits were necessary for the standoff with those orthodox bastards. Besides, if their numbers were reduced, the loss would be obvious and severe.
"It doesn't matter."
Even if they did force a sea battle, it would only make things a bit more troublesome.
Perfect preparation was always ideal, of course, but sometimes speed mattered far more than perfection. In Ho Ga-myeong's judgment, what mattered in this operation was not flawless execution, but quick execution.
"How much longer?"
"They'll arrive within half a shichen."
"And the distance from the coast to Oji Mountain?"
"At full speed, we can reach it within one shichen."
"That gives us a shichen and a half... let's be generous and call it two."
Ho Ga-myeong's gaze remained fixed on the sea, his eyes heavy with languor, but even now his mind was rapidly sorting through the situation.
This was the task Jang Il-so had entrusted to him. Not a single lapse would be permitted.
"Given the Hainan sect leader's temperament, he'll likely have set up at the main sect and be waiting for us. He'll have the mountain gate thrown wide open, too."
"...Surely he wouldn't be that careless?"
"It's not carelessness. It's simply that he believes that's how things ought to be. The orthodox bastards' way of thinking can be absurdly strange at times. Far stranger than we can easily understand."
People who believed that fighting head-on and dying according to skill was somehow admirable. That tendency only became more pronounced as danger grew. That was the nature of the orthodox faction in the Central Plains.
Only recently had freaks like Mount Hua appeared, making that attitude seem strange. Until not long ago, most of the orthodox sects in the Central Plains had been exactly like that.
So from the standpoint of the unorthodox, it was utterly ridiculous.
The unorthodox regarded it as natural that if they lacked skill compared to an opponent, they would use poison, set traps, or even take hostages if that was what it took to produce the result of victory.
"Strategist."
At the voice calling from beside him, Ho Ga-myeong turned his head.
"Was the order from Alliance Lord to wipe out that island?"
The question made Ho Ga-myeong's face twist slightly.
"How many times do I have to say it before you at least pretend to understand? What needs to be erased is only the Hainan Sect."
"Of course I know that. What I'm asking is what to do about those who are heading toward us, other than the Hainan Sect."
His voice was cold. Ho Ga-myeong let out a long sigh.
"That won't happen, Blood Sword Squad Leader."
"We'll see."
Ho Ga-myeong's eyes narrowed in annoyance.
He could control the level of a leader without much trouble, but at the level of a unit commander, it was impossible to force them completely into submission by power or authority alone. Especially when he was moving without Jang Il-so at his side like this.
That was because, compared to the authority he held within the sect, Ho Ga-myeong simply did not possess enough personal force.
His rank was higher, but theirs was greater in martial strength. That meant they could only maintain something close to a horizontal relationship.
Of course, so long as Ho Ga-myeong did not try to push them too hard, they couldn't actually do anything to him while he remained under Jang Il-so's protection...
"The children are tired from the long journey. If they return without tasting blood, they might just run wild on land."
"Is that your problem, not the Blood Sword Squad's?"
"I'm not denying it."
A sigh escaped from Ho Ga-myeong's lips.
"Keep it under control. Don't let Alliance Lord become displeased."
"I'll try."
When he finished speaking, Blood Sword Squad Leader Goe Yang coldly turned away and left, as if he didn't want to spend another moment standing there with Ho Ga-myeong.
Watching Goe Yang's back, Ho Ga-myeong frowned.
Every last one of them...
No matter how hard he tried, the moment they moved even a little away from Jang Il-so, they exposed their vile natures.
Madmen who, even among bloodthirsty unorthodox sects, were too vicious to control and would be branded public enemies. That they were the Myriad Man Sect's greatest strength was also its greatest weakness.
Their power, united with Jang Il-so, had made the Myriad Man Sect the ruler of Guangdong in a short time, but the impossibility of controlling their savage, uncontrollable brutality made it impossible to divide up their combat power.
Across the world, only Jang Il-so could keep a leash on them. Not even Ho Ga-myeong, the undisputed second-in-command of the Myriad Man Sect, could make his orders stick with them. He could only coax and soothe them enough to get them moving.
"Hah."
It was a nuisance, certainly, and it did wear on him, but that was all. Ho Ga-myeong's gaze drifted toward Hainan Island.
But for them, it will be nothing less than a disaster.
He could already see the island drenched in blood.
"Maintain maximum speed."
"Yes!"
The fleet, responding to Ho Ga-myeong's command, drove itself harder and surged toward Hainan at full speed.
⁂ ⁂ ⁂
"Hurry up!"
"Yes, senior brother!"
The Hainan disciples ran back and forth until sweat soaked their feet, drilling holes through the bottoms of the boats anchored along the shore. Gwak Hwan-so watched them anxiously.
"Can we finish in time?"
At Cheong Myeong's question, he tore his eyes away from the boats and answered,
"We're working as fast as we can."
"Seems like it'd be easier to just smash them and save the time."
"The enemy isn't stupid. If they arrive at the shore and every boat has been smashed, they'll know we're up to something."
"Hmm."
"Please trust us. We've spent our lives around boats. We can leave them floating on the water right up until the enemy arrives, then make them sink the moment they try to board."
Cheong Myeong glanced at Im So-byeong, and the latter shrugged.
"We were originally going to smash them to pieces so they'd look like they'd been wrecked by the typhoon, but yes, that would be a little unnatural. This is better."
"Do the unorthodox bastards even have enough brains to notice something like that?"
"...Do you take the unorthodox sects for pigs and dogs or something?"
"Why are you insulting pigs and dogs? What did they do wrong?"
"...Did you have some feud with the unorthodox in a past life?"
"What a weird thing to say. Why would I need a feud to curse those bastards? Just looking at them objectively, the unorthodox are less than worms."
Im So-byeong let his shoulders droop in silence. Just then, Namgung Dowi approached with a puzzled look.
"In that case, wouldn't it be better to smash every boat on the island? Why only the ones on this shore—"
In the middle of being verbally battered without even being able to breathe, Im So-byeong spotted a convenient scarecrow and turned to Namgung Dowi with exaggerated surprise.
"Wow. My goodness. That's the sort of idea even the unorthodox wouldn't come up with."
"...Pardon?"
"If we break all the boats, the Myriad Man Sect bastards who land here will be trapped, won't they?"
"Th-that is true."
"And since the unorthodox bastards are already primed to explode, we're supposed to lock them on Hainan Island? Then what do you think will happen while they repair the ships?"
"Uh..."
...Probably hell would break loose. They'd take out their rage on the residents of Hainan.
Only then did Namgung Dowi realize what he'd just said, and he hurried to correct himself. But Im So-byeong didn't give him the chance, slipping in through the opening without mercy.
"Hah, as expected of the Great Namgung Clan, which has endured the blood and death of the jianghu for hundreds of years. Truly! Truly! To accumulate such accomplishments, one must value human life less than ants—"
"Sh-shut up! That's not what I meant!"
"It's fine, it's fine. That can happen. From the unorthodox perspective, it's actually a splendid idea. In that case, why not take this opportunity to transfer to a side more suited to your talents—"
"What kind of nonsense is that! Shut your mouth!"
Watching Namgung Dowi finally get dragged into a scuffle with Im So-byeong, Dang Pae shook his head.
That bastard's mouth has really gotten vicious.
Still, it was strange to watch. The two of them got along horribly, and yet when something like this happened, they somehow fit together disturbingly well.
Then—
"Um... Mount Hua Divine Dragon."
"Hmm?"
Gwak Hwan-so, who had been directing the disciples, hesitated before speaking to Cheong Myeong.
"May I ask you something?"