A Feral Scramble
“T-the Water Bandits!”
“It’s the river pirates!”
The massive ship was impossible to ignore.
As the black behemoth docked beside Maehwado, the faces of everyone watching went deathly pale in an instant.
Of course, Water Bandits were not the sort of people who slaughtered or harmed anyone carelessly, despite their reputation. Just as bandits did not go out of their way to descend the mountains and raid villages, Water Bandits had their own rule: they did not touch anyone who had already set foot on land. It was a principle they had survived by.
But even so, they were still Water Bandits.
To see them seize control of the Maehwado that had been bustling with traffic until now was enough to terrify everyone there.
“I-is this really all right?”
“Why is Mount Hua just letting this happen? If they back off like this, won’t Maehwado really fall into those bastards’ hands?”
“...Can we still do business?”
There was only one reason the crowd hadn’t fled on the spot.
Most of the people here were merchants. The ones using Maehwado, the ones filling the city beside it, were mostly traders and their families.
And the rest were people who had come here to make a living off those merchants—people who, if they ran now, would have to search for a way to survive all over again.
Abandoning one’s livelihood was never as easy as it sounded. So they could only stand there, wringing their hands in helpless panic.
“I-it looks like they’re coming this way?”
“What?”
At someone’s cry, everyone’s eyes widened.
Sure enough, the ship that had docked at Maehwado slowly turned its prow and began heading toward the pier.
“What do we do? Should we run now?”
“And then what? It’s not like we’ll be able to do business if we run anyway. If it comes to that, I’d rather stand my ground and die than starve to death later.”
“You think the living can survive on spiderwebs? We’ll still find a way to eat.”
“I can’t leave. You lot should go if you want.”
Those with any sense had already packed away the goods in their warehouses, but even then they couldn’t bring themselves to leave this place so easily.
Merchants who could sustain themselves in the northern regions had little to worry about, but for those whose livelihoods depended on trade with the south, it was no exaggeration to say that everything rested on Maehwado.
“F-fine, let’s at least hear them out. Isn’t it the Water Bandits’ rule not to touch people on land?”
“Damn it, you believe that? Have you already forgotten that village by the river that was wiped out by those Water Bandit bastards?”
“Well, yes, but...”
“A Sapa bastard’s rule is like an earring if you hang it on your ear and a nose ring if you hang it on your nose. How can something that changes whenever it suits them be called a rule?”
“Then what are we supposed to do?”
While the commoners were still running in circles without knowing what to do, the huge black ship kept drawing closer to the pier.
At last, it slowed and began to come alongside the landing.
Gulp.
Silence fell in an instant. Even the sound of someone swallowing dryly rang out like thunder.
From the ship—so high it seemed doubtful anyone could even climb down from it—men in the blue uniforms of the Water Bandits leapt down in a rush. In no time at all, they ran forward and seized control of the area around the pier.
“Back off!”
“Step back right now if you don’t want your heads cut off!”
At the Water Bandits’ threats, the merchants blanched and hurriedly retreated.
“N-no, wait a moment. I only had one question...”
“You idiot!”
Even then, when one merchant refused to back down and stubbornly tried to speak, a Water Bandit seized by bloodlust raised his saber.
But just before the merchant’s throat could be pierced—
“Youuuuuuu bastard!”
A roar like rolling thunder exploded through the air. The Water Bandit with the raised saber froze on the spot like a statue.
“I-I was just...”
A man slowly emerged onto the deck of the towering ship.
Black, long beard. Massive build.
Just one look at the black robe embroidered with a golden dragon made his identity obvious.
“Th-the Black Dragon King...”
A fierce light blazed from the Black Dragon King’s eyes.
He was naturally broad of build, with a face that was enough to frighten people on its own. When such a man was also filled with anger, some of those watching went weak at the knees and collapsed where they stood.
“I told you not to lay a hand on people.”
“B-Black Dragon King! I-I only...”
“You filthy worm!”
With a thud, the Black Dragon King leapt down from the ship and strode slowly toward the bandit. Then he grabbed the man by the collar.
“S-save me...”
“Go cool your head off!”
With a flick of one arm, the Black Dragon King hurled the Water Bandit away.
The man flew through the air in a helpless arc, screaming all the way before plunging into the middle of the Yangtze River. After the splash, silence settled over the pier.
H-he just threw a person...
Is that even human strength?
The merchants stared at the Black Dragon King with their mouths open, unable to believe what they had just seen.
“Hmph!”
The Black Dragon King glared around him. Fortunately, the people he was glaring at were the Water Bandits, not the merchants.
“I’m telling you again. Anyone who hurts people here will pay the price. Anyone who strikes a person will lose that arm. Anyone who cuts a person will lose that head. And anyone who kills a person will be made into a creature that’s neither dead nor alive, fit only to feed the fish of the Yangtze!”
“Yes! We’ll keep it in mind!”
Only then did the Black Dragon King nod in satisfaction.
“From this moment on, this place will be under the control of the Water Bandit Sect. Everything else will remain as it was!”
One of the merchants, cowed by his presence, mustered his courage and slowly raised a hand. His face was slick with cold sweat.
“W-what does that mean?”
“Hmm?”
“B-Black Dragon King... does that mean... we can use Maehwado as we did before?”
“That’s right!”
The Black Dragon King bellowed so loudly that everyone could hear him.
“In the name of the Black Dragon King, I declare that there will be no plundering within Maehwado! We will protect you!”
“Th-then the usage fee...”
“Hmph.”
The Black Dragon King frowned.
Unlike Im So-byeong, who would practically light his eyes on fire and come running at the mere mention of money, the Black Dragon King still felt irritated at having to say the words himself.
Sensing his thoughts, one of the Water Bandits quickly cut in.
“The Black Dragon King has said the existing fee will be doubled. Now that the man in charge has changed, the money should change too!”
The merchants swallowed hard and nodded.
Twice the fee was an amount they could still accept. Of course, there were some who resented it, but even resentment had to be shown according to the man standing in front of you. No one dared try to haggle with the Black Dragon King there and then.
If they tried to bargain a few extra coins too greedily, they might end up bargaining with their lives instead.
“Go.”
The Black Dragon King pointed ahead with his chin.
“This city is now part of the territory of the Eighteen Water Bandit Factions. Anyone who stays here or does business here will pay taxes to the Water Bandits!”
“Yes, sir!”
The bandits rushed forward to occupy the city.
Some who watched the scene took comfort in the fact that the Water Bandits were at least guaranteeing their safety. Others lamented that the Maehwado usage fee had doubled. Still others doubted whether the Water Bandits’ promise could be trusted at all.
But surprisingly few understood what this truly meant: the Four Hegemons Alliance’s first advance into the northern regions.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“The Water Bandits have occupied Jiujiang.”
The prayer beads slowly turning in his hand suddenly came to a stop.
Beop Jeong’s closed eyes narrowed.
“...Occupied, you say?”
“Yes, Bangjang. Strictly speaking, it isn’t Jiujiang itself, but the new city built beside it. However, the state has not yet given it an official name...”
“The people called it Maehwado.”
“Yes, that’s right, Bangjang.”
As Beop Gye hurriedly nodded, Beop Jeong bit his lip ever so slightly.
“I heard Green Forest was pulling out of Maehwado just yesterday. And now, only one day later, the Water Bandits have occupied it?”
“...Yes.”
“Mount Hua... no, did Green Forest tip off the Four Hegemons Alliance? Otherwise...”
“I can’t say for certain. But considering Mount Hua’s temperament...”
“...That would be unlikely.”
Beop Jeong closed his eyes.
They said that once suspicion took hold of the mind, it filled everything with doubt. It seemed his own reason had been shaken for a moment as well. Even though he knew, better than anyone, that Mount Hua would never act in concert with the Four Hegemons Alliance...
“...How far have the Water Bandits advanced?”
“They seem to have crossed the river...”
Beop Gye’s voice trailed off. Beop Jeong’s face went cold.
“So they’ve crossed into the northern regions.”
“That appears to be the case, Bangjang.”
“...And not just temporarily, either. They’ve occupied it and declared it their territory.”
Beop Jeong’s eyes darkened for a moment.
“Bangjang. Isn’t this the Four Hegemons Alliance declaring its advance into the north?”
“No.”
“...Pardon?”
Beop Jeong shook his head and answered firmly.
“Not the Four Hegemons Alliance. This was a unilateral move by the Water Bandits.”
“How...”
Beop Gye had been about to ask why he was so sure, but then he closed his mouth. If Beop Jeong, of all people, was speaking with such conviction, then there had to be a reason.
“But to everyone else, won’t it look exactly the same?”
Beop Jeong gave no answer to that either. He too knew Beop Gye was right.
As long as the Water Bandits belonged to the Four Hegemons Alliance, this act would be taken as the alliance’s advance into the north.
And because the land was in the north, it had nothing to do with the agreement that the southern regions would remain unconquered, the treaty that had kept the Nine Great Sects in check until now.
“Idiotic...”
Beop Jeong ground his teeth softly.
Why did they not understand?
Until now, the Nine Great Sects had borne the blame for the Yangtze massacre. In that light, those watching the Nine Great Sects would demand an answer from them regarding this incident.
They would ask whether the Nine Great Sects had truly refrained from crossing the Yangtze to honor that treaty, or whether the truth was simply that they had been afraid of the Four Hegemons Alliance.
And the Nine Great Sects and the Odaesega had no choice but to respond.
This is not something we can retreat from.
Their intentions no longer mattered. If they were to see themselves as the righteous path that protected the orthodoxy of the martial world against the Four Hegemons Alliance, then they had to punish those who had violated the northern border.
But will that punishment really end as just punishment?
If a full-scale war with the Water Bandits broke out, the Four Hegemons Alliance would inevitably move as well. At that point, the flames would spread in an instant.
“An idiotic fool... dragging war here over nothing but his own petty greed. So this fake peace is better than war, after all.”
After agonizing for a long while, one name slipped from Beop Jeong’s lips.
“...Chung Myung.”
“B-Bangjang?”
“Hah... Mount Hua Sword Hyeop... Mount Hua!”
Crack.
The prayer beads in his hand split with a sharp, ugly sound.
Beop Jeong knew it.
That all of this had sprung from Mount Hua’s movements.
Yet because of what they had done over the past three years—protecting Maehwado and stabilizing Hubei—Shaolin and the Nine Great Sects had no grounds to criticize such a move by the Heavenly Alliance.
“Bangjang...”
“Send word to the Nine Great Sects and the Odaesega. Tell them to gather at Shaolin immediately.”
“But the sect in seclusion...”
“All sects.”
“But, Bangjang...”
“Didn’t I say all sects?”
As Beop Jeong’s voice rose, Beop Gye hurriedly nodded.
“I’ll do it at once.”
“Hurry.”
“Yes!”
After Beop Gye quickly departed, Beop Jeong looked down at his own hand. The prayer beads had cracked horribly.
“Heh...”
A dry laugh escaped his lips.
“A feral scramble, through and through. Hah... hahahahahahaha!”
His laughter, large and hollow, spread coldly through the darkness that had settled over Shaolin.