Hey! Grab the Leftover Liquor Over There! (1)
“Hurry up and stop them! We can’t let them get inside!”
The captains gathered at Black Dragon Clan screamed at the top of their lungs. But no matter how they shouted and raged, none of their orders were getting through.
The bandits, completely terrified out of their wits, were scrambling to turn their boats around. All they wanted was to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the Namgung Family ships closing in at a terrifying speed.
“You damned cowards! Can’t you hear me?”
If this were land, he would have already run over and snapped the necks of those trying to turn tail. Unfortunately, this was the Yangtze River. No matter how great his talents, how was he supposed to leap from one boat to another in the middle of this chaos?
“Come back here, now! You dogshit bastards!”
The captain of Wagon Clan, who had been screaming until his face turned red, ground his teeth.
“Shoot! Shoot, damn it! I said shoot!”
The ship he stood on was still obeying his command. The bandits clung to the railings and fired their grappling spears.
Thoooom! Thoom! Thoom!
Huge iron spears as long as a man’s body hurtled fiercely toward the Namgung Family boats. But not a single one struck true.
Clang!
The Namgung Family warriors diving through the water leaped up beside the escorting ships and knocked the spears away, while the men on deck cleanly swung their swords to deflect the rest. Watching those spears, flung out with such ferocious momentum, bounce uselessly off those thin blades was almost unreal.
“Th-This….”
“N-No good! Captain! The spears aren’t working, and anyone who gets close from underwater is being cut to pieces! There’s no way through!”
Grrrk.
The captain’s eyes reddened as he ground his teeth.
“Advance!”
“What?”
“Once the boats fleeing in fear join in and charge from all sides, no matter how amazing those guys are, they won’t be able to stop everyone! If we take the lead and rush them boldly, the others will change their minds too!”
“B-But, Captain! Y-You saw it just now….”
“Shut up! No matter how strong they are, they’re still just the Namgung Family! Are we really supposed to be frightened of orthodox sect dogs and turn tail on the Yangtze?”
“…….”
“If the spears don’t work, then we ram them. Put holes in their boats! No matter how impressive they are, they’re not trained in water combat! Without their boats, they’re nothing!”
“Captain… please think about this again….”
Chak!
The captain of Wagon Clan drew his huge saber.
“Do you want me to stick a spear through that mouth of yours before you’ll listen? Turn the rudder now, damn it!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
The subordinate hurried into motion. The captain’s expression twisted viciously.
These disloyal bastards.
To be honest, the underlings could just run if they wanted. But he had no such luxury.
Abandoning one’s own water bandit faction and coming to Black Dragon Clan was something they might be able to overlook, depending on the circumstances. Times were that desperate. But running off after abandoning Black Dragon Clan was unforgivable.
Black Dragon King will never let me live this down.
And given the Black Dragon King’s obsessive nature, there would be nowhere in the world safe enough to hide.
“We’re dead either way! Row! Ram them from the side!”
“Yes, sir!”
The bandits were in the same position. If they refused the order now, the captain’s saber would pierce their hearts.
With clenched teeth, they turned the rudder and rowed hard. The boat sliced through the current and surged toward the Namgung Family ships.
“Ram them!”
The bandits, driven to the edge of madness, shouted just then.
Fwaaaaaat!
From the lead Namgung Family ship, white sword qi burst forth and slammed into their boat.
Krraaaack!
The captain’s eyes went wide.
Water bandit ships were built to withstand frequent collisions, so their hulls were made of timber far stronger than ordinary wood. And yet that sword qi split such timber as though it were tofu.
“What the….”
The deck split open in a long gash, nearly half a jang wide. Just looking at the black hole torn through the ship made cold sweat pour down his back.
But that was only the beginning.
Fwaaat! Fwaaaaaat! Fwaaaaaaat!
White sword qi continued to pour out in succession. Those standing at the railing, their faces expressionless, swung their swords toward the bandits, and every time those swords moved, crescent-shaped blades of qi came slicing in with vicious speed.
Crack! Krraack! Crack!
In an instant, the bandit ship lost all momentum and became a ragged wreck.
“W-What the hell is this!”
The captain nearly screamed.
It went without saying why. Sword qi wasn’t something just anyone could summon. Especially not sword qi that could travel this far and cut through a ship that solid. Anyone capable of that could hardly be called anything less than a peak master.
And how many peak masters had to be on that one ship for this to happen?
Namgung Family!
The captain’s face turned white in an instant.
So this is what they were like?
Only now, with his own eyes, did he understand.
The Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families. Too familiar, too powerful, their strength taken so much for granted.
And precisely because of that, they had been underestimated.
Only now was he seeing clearly why they had been able to dominate Jianghu for so many long years.
“C-Captain!”
“The ship’s sinking! Abandon ship!”
“It’s already taking on wa—”
Slash!
Before he could finish, white sword qi severed the bandit’s neck. Blood sprayed in red streams across the deck. At the same time, the ship, already barely holding together with one side reduced to tatters, lurched and tilted. Blue river water surged up over the deck at terrifying speed.
“Those monster bastards….”
The captain stared blankly at the Namgung Family boat, eyes dulled with horror.
What was even more humiliating than defeat was that the Namgung ships no longer cared about them. Leaving the battered bandits behind, the Namgung boats pressed on, following the lead vessel and entering the gorge.
“Captain!”
“Dump the ship and jump into the water! We’ll join the boats behind us!”
After shouting the order, the Wagon Clan captain looked down at his own hand.
It was trembling so badly it looked pitiable.
No matter how ferocious a swamp fish might be, in a place where tigers and dragons were running wild, it was nothing more than a meal. Realizing the limits of his own ability in the most painful way possible, he shut his eyes tightly and turned around with a broken heart.
“Follow them!”
Beop Gye raised his voice.
His grave eyes remained fixed on the Namgung Family boat racing ahead.
Emperor Sword Namgung Hwang. I thought they had built up some strength of their own, but…
Of course, they had only dealt with lowly rabble so far. Even so, that alone was enough for the Namgung Family to clearly display the strength they possessed.
“Amitabha.”
Just as the Namgung Family was showing now, the place that should have been demonstrating its sect’s power right here was none other than Shaolin. But because of the interference from Wudang and Qingcheng, all Shaolin could do was stand by and watch Namgung’s reputation rise.
How can they be so greedy?
This was a fight to drive back the evil bandits of the Yangtze, and yet they were only thinking about their own sect’s safety and prestige.
Only now did he fully understand the abbott’s repeated warning not to meddle lightly in the affairs of Jianghu.
“Increase speed! We can’t let the gap widen!”
“But Elder. Shouldn’t we keep some distance? If we get surrounded from behind….”
“Surrounded?”
Beop Gye frowned.
“Blocking the rear doesn’t automatically mean you’re surrounded. No matter how many sides they cover, can they really stop us?”
“That is….”
Hyejin couldn’t answer right away and only hesitated.
From the standpoint of military strategy, a retreat route had to be secured in any situation. But this wasn’t wrong either. That was a path carved open by the Namgung Family in a single stroke. Surely Shaolin could open the same path as well?
This wasn’t about pride. It was simple logic. The Namgung Family had indeed shown a fine display, but Shaolin was Shaolin.
“The ones behind can secure the retreat—”
Then Beop Gye stopped mid-sentence and shut his mouth.
The Wudang ships advancing alongside them suddenly quickened their pace and surged ahead. It seemed the other side had already finished its calculations.
“T-This is bad!”
Beop Gye’s voice rose even louder.
“Qingcheng will take the rear! Hurry! We can’t fall behind Wudang!”
“Yes, sir!”
The moment Wudang’s name was mentioned, Hyejin’s expression hardened too.
Letting the Namgung Family take the lead had been unavoidable. But under no circumstances could they let Wudang steal the credit.
If it came to that, it would almost be better to let the Namgung Family monopolize the achievement altogether, wouldn’t it?
Heo Do-jin-in!
Beop Gye’s face twisted.
The other side had simply judged the situation a little faster. But because of that, Wudang’s ships were already more than ten jang ahead of them.
If the abbott had come, perhaps he would have tolerated your actions. But I will never sit still for this!
Beop Gye clenched his fist lightly and ground his teeth.
Before the lead Namgung Family boat, Wudang’s vessel had already caught up and was pressing close behind. And behind them, Shaolin and Qingcheng’s ships hastened their speed as well.
If the frantic shifting of formations had been done in perfect order, it might have been impressive. But instead of majestic, it looked chaotic. It was a sight hardly befitting the reputations of the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families.
Watching from behind, the Mount Hua disciples fell silent for a moment, seemingly at a loss for words.
“...Chung Myung.”
“What?”
Baek Cheon had been staring ahead the whole time, still puzzled, when he asked, “...It was certainly an impressive sight, seeing the bandits retreat before the Namgung Family’s might. But if they do that, won’t all the bandits on the river just scatter?”
“Exactly.”
“Then the number of bandits won’t really decrease at all. Wouldn’t it be better for at least two sects to stay behind and clear them out? Fighting Black Dragon Clan would be more than enough for just two sects, anyway.”
“Exactly, exactly.”
“Then why are they all acting like that?”
Chung Myung snorted.
“Who’s going to stay behind and do it?”
“Anyone would do. They’re just bandits, and those are the Nine Great Sects.”
“Do you think their reputation will rise from taking care of small fry?”
“…….”
“They all traveled all this way. You really think anyone wants to hand over the biggest credit? Whether the bandits on the river survive or not, all they need is Black Dragon King’s head. Or to wipe out Black Dragon Clan entirely.”
Baek Cheon’s expression hardened.
“You’re saying they came to help the common people, but are only chasing achievements?”
“Sasuk.”
“...What?”
“Watch carefully. That’s just how those bastards from the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families are. If only one sect had come here, they’d have cleaned up every bandit up there and entered the gorge in proper formation.”
“…….”
“But the moment more than one sect gathers in the same place? Strategy, whatever, all of it goes out the window. Those bastards will never yield.”
Chung Myung twisted the corner of his mouth.
It was a scene he had seen so many times it was almost tiring.
But I can’t say they’re wrong.
Fed up with that kind of thing, he and Mount Hua had fought the Demonic Sect without talking about gains or fame. And what had that gotten them?
If Chung Myung hadn’t returned, Mount Hua would have been crushed under debt until it died out in the end, while those other sects would have monopolized all the achievements and benefits, still name-dropped as prestigious houses of the world, untouchable and feared.
Fight without needing anyone’s recognition?
What a load of crap. He knew better now.
A grave for the dead no one remembers is always overgrown with weeds. Chung Myung had absolutely no intention of walking the same road again.
“...Cold and ruthless, aren’t they? These so-called Nine Great Sects.”
“And relentless. Still, don’t go mocking them for looking ridiculous. You’ve got the order backward. It’s not that they became the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families because they were ferocious. They became the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families because they were that damn ferocious.”
“…….”
Something in those words seemed to strike Baek Cheon as well, and he gave a heavy nod.
“...But you told me to watch closely. At this rate, we won’t be able to see what’s happening inside.”
“Tch, as if. There’s always a way.”
“Hm?”
“They’re here.”
Chung Myung jerked his chin toward the side.
On the far side from the scattered bandit ships, a set of other boats appeared.
“...What’s that?”
“Our boats.”
“Huh?”
Baek Cheon’s eyes went wide.
“Our boats? Those?”
“Yeah. I told them to bring the spare boats just in case. I thought they’d be too late to use since they left a bit late, but those idiots caused enough of a delay bickering with each other that they ended up useful after all.”
“…….”
Chung Myung grinned triumphantly.
“Let’s go. We should see for ourselves whether the place those bastards entered is stuffed with treasure or if it’s a tiger’s mouth.”
“...I can’t keep up with you, seriously.”
Baek Cheon shook his head and looked at the boats entering the gorge. His expression slowly stiffened.
For some reason, that sight felt ominous beyond measure to him….
“Hey! Grab the leftover liquor over there!”
“…….”
No.
Maybe it was just his imagination.