It May Have Already Begun (2)
“No abnormalities in the watch!”
“Mm.”
Namgung Myeong gave a sharp nod. At his side, Namgung Do-wi, trailing him like a guard, scanned the sentries with a keen, searching gaze.
“However careful we are, it is never too much when keeping watch. Put all your strength into it and don’t miss even the smallest thing.”
“Yes, sir!”
With a light nod, Namgung Myeong led Namgung Do-wi onward to the next area.
“What do you think, Young Master?”
“Yes, Uncle.”
Namgung Do-wi looked over Maehwado again, his eyes reflecting a fresh sense of awe. “It’s a relief that the island isn’t terribly large. At this size, even if the water bandits come rushing in, I don’t think it will be difficult to hold it.”
“I think so too.”
The people defending Maehwado now were not only the Changgung-geomdae. By Namgung Hwang’s command, the other martial forces that had been guarding the clan had also poured in one after another. At the very least, eight out of ten of the Namgung Family’s total strength had gathered on Maehwado.
With that much power, there was no way they would be outmatched by the Water Bandit Sect.
“The narrowness of the island will actually work to our advantage.”
“Because it makes it harder for the Water Bandit Sect, who rely on numbers rather than the quality of their martial artists, to show their strength?”
“Exactly.”
Seeming pleased by the answer, Namgung Myeong smiled.
His nephew, who would one day become head of the Namgung Family, truly deserved to be called a prodigy. His martial talent was excellent, and he was no slouch when it came to reading the flow of battle.
“Learn well from your older brother.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
“To become a great martial artist, effort and diligence are enough. But the one who leads a family cannot survive on that alone. He must be bolder. He must also learn to look farther ahead.”
“I always keep that in mind.”
“Good.”
Namgung Myeong nodded quietly.
I’ll have to thank the Plum Blossom Sword Hero.
In the past, Namgung Do-wi had often shown a certain arrogance, enough to worry Namgung Myeong. It had been unavoidable, perhaps, given the Namgung Family’s nature and the presence of his father—but confidence and arrogance were never the same thing.
Fortunately, after his defeat to the Plum Blossom Sword Hero, he had come to understand his own shortcomings. And after enduring the Janggang Massacre, he had become a completely different man.
If he kept maturing like this, he might even become a family head who surpassed Namgung Hwang.
It won’t be easy, though.
A man like Namgung Hwang was not someone one could simply train into existence. He had to be born with that overwhelming, domineering will.
“Do you know why the family head took over this place?”
“……To be honest, I don’t really know, Uncle.”
Namgung Do-wi looked around Maehwado with a slightly uneasy expression. The black darkness lying over the Yangtze River sent an inexplicable unease through him.
“It’s true that we have an unforgivable grudge against the Water Bandit Sect. But I don’t really understand why we had to face them alone. Haven’t the Namgung Family already made its intent clear to the world?”
“What you say is right.”
Namgung Myeong nodded slowly.
“If we continue occupying Maehwado, we’ll end up as a thorn that sticks out. Given the chance, we might find ourselves facing not only the Water Bandit Sect, but Saperyeon alone as well.”
“That’s how I see it too. However I look at it, the disadvantages seem greater than the benefits.”
“Yes. That is the correct way to think about it. But only for ordinary people like us.”
“……Pardon?”
Namgung Myeong smiled faintly.
“The family head must have considered that as well. And yet he chose this harsh path for a different reason.”
“May I ask what that reason is?”
“Because if we retreat here, it will end up looking as though we are obeying Shaolin’s command.”
At that unexpected answer, Namgung Do-wi’s face stiffened.
“The Five Great Families. What a grand name it is. But in the end, the people of the world think of the Five Great Families as something that belongs beneath the Nine Great Sects and One Gang.”
“Uncle, that’s……”
“That is reality. When that Water Bandit Sect seized Jiujiang, who do you think the people of Jiujiang thought of? Us, or Shaolin and the Nine Great Sects?”
Namgung Do-wi could not answer. No—there was no need to answer.
“That is why the family head took this risk. The Five Great Families are not in a particularly favorable position right now. The Tang Clan, which had stood with us as the main pillar of the Five Great Families, has distanced itself from them.”
“……Yes.”
“If, at a time like this, we were seen moving according to Shaolin’s wishes, what do you think would happen? We would probably never escape being called a mere appendage under the Nine Great Sects.”
Only then did Namgung Do-wi slowly nod.
When he looked at it that way, this was actually a very good time.
News had reached even this distant Yangtze River basin that the Nine Great Sects and the other Five Great Families had responded to Shaolin’s summons with only lukewarm interest. Right now, Shaolin and the Nine Great Sects were weaker in influence than at almost any other time. So if not now, then when would they ever attempt something like this?
“The family head wants it to be the Five Great Families and the Namgung Family—not the Nine Great Sects and Shaolin—that make their name through this. He is willing to accept some risk for that.”
“But that cannot be all of it.”
Namgung Myeong, who had been walking ahead, stopped and turned back to look at Namgung Do-wi. With a face full of conviction, Namgung Do-wi said, “There is certainly that reason as well, but Father is not the kind of man who would stir up such a matter for that alone. I believe righteousness still lives in his heart.”
A pleased smile appeared on Namgung Myeong’s lips.
“You’re saying the obvious. Of course that’s the first reason.”
“If we do not do what we should not do, and steadily continue doing what we ought to do, won’t our reputation follow naturally? Like Mount Hua, I mean.”
Namgung Myeong nodded.
“Yes. That is how it should be.”
Mount Hua.
Just a few short years ago, it had been a name that had nearly vanished even from memory. And yet now, Mount Hua’s fame had risen to the point that it even surpassed the Namgung Family, which was called the leader of the Five Great Families.
Not through force, but through righteous spirit—Mount Hua had seized what the Namgung Family had long desired.
“They are remarkable people.”
“Yes, they are. But we can do it too.”
Namgung Myeong patted Namgung Do-wi on the shoulder. That youthful ardor sometimes managed to warm even his own cooling blood.
“Yes. We’ll be able to……”
Smiling, Namgung Myeong was about to urge his steps onward when his gaze suddenly snapped toward the river.
At that suddenly serious expression, Namgung Do-wi also hardened and followed his line of sight.
But all that met Namgung Do-wi’s eyes were calm ripples on the water.
“……Uncle?”
“Hah!”
Namgung Myeong’s sword flashed from its scabbard like a streak of light. A burst of white sword energy, released with blinding speed, tore violently into the water’s surface and plunged beneath the river.
Fwoosh!
Water sprayed into the air. And then……
Something large floated up, bobbing where the ripples had settled.
Once he saw what it was, Namgung Myeong’s face finally relaxed.
“……A carp?”
“It does look about human-sized. It’s no wonder you mistook it, Uncle.”
“Well, there you have it.”
Namgung Myeong shook his head. The blood from the carp spread crimson across the illuminated surface of the Yangtze.
“That was a waste of time. We still need to inspect the rest and check our readiness, and there’s hardly enough time to sleep as it is. Let’s go.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
As Namgung Myeong led him onward, he glanced once more at the water.
Ominous.
That depthless water kept pricking at his nerves.
“This isn’t a place to stay for long.”
Shaking his head, he quickened his pace.
At that same moment, from the Yangtze’s dark surface, things that looked like fish heads—or perhaps small balls—began to rise one by one.
If one had keen enough eyes to see through the darkness, one would realize those were actually the heads of people wearing specially made garments.
“Captain.”
“What about the enemy ships?”
“There are five in total. They’re all anchored at the southern dock.”
“Five, huh……”
The one called Captain nodded with a stiff expression.
“Any injuries?”
“Nothing serious. But…… the Namgung Family really is the Namgung Family. To think they noticed our presence.”
One of the squad leaders lowered his gaze slightly to his shoulder with a grim face. His skin had split open, blood seeping out. If he hadn’t used a flash of quick thinking to cut down the carp passing beside him, the whole operation would have come to nothing.
“The opponent is the Namgung Family. We can’t afford even the slightest carelessness.”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Finish this in one breath.”
“Yes!”
At his hand signal, several orders were conveyed, and those who understood nodded before diving back down into the depths. Once he confirmed they had all begun their underwater approach, the captain took one final look at Maehwado and then followed them beneath the water.
Deeper and deeper.
They dove endlessly through the dark river, where visibility was almost nonexistent, until they reached the riverbed. There they braced themselves against the bottom and moved forward. No matter how sharp someone’s senses might be, they would never catch the movements of those traveling along the very bottom of the Yangtze.
Countless fish bigger than they were passed overhead, each of them giving off more of a presence than the men below.
But that did not mean they could relax.
The closer they got to the island, the shallower the water became—and the greater the chance that their presence would be discovered. This was precisely the kind of moment when one absolutely could not let down one’s guard.
Moving like crawlers along the riverbed, they all looked up at once.
Normally, a dock was built in the deepest water and steepest slope where river and land met.
What came into view above them was the underside of a large ship, exposing its vulnerable belly without a single clue as to what lurked below.
Not so foolish after all.
Several Namgung Family sword disciples were patrolling the surrounding waters, escorting the ship. That meant they understood exactly how important this vessel was.
But darkness grows even denser beneath the water than above it. No matter how carefully those men watched, they would never be able to trace the captain’s group down here.
The captain silently mocked the Namgung sword disciples, who had no idea what was directly beneath their feet.
The Namgung Family?
Of course, they were a fiercely strong and dangerous opponent.
That is, unless this place had not been in the middle of the Yangtze.
They should have understood what it meant for an island to exist in the middle of the Yangtze.
Now it’s time to pay the price.
The captain gestured toward the ship overhead.
At once, all his men nodded and began rising toward the surface in unison. The bubbles their sudden movement created shot up with them like fireworks.
The harpoons in their hands all gathered a blue, gleaming energy.
Kwaaaaaa!
Before long, the sharp tips of the harpoons thrust outward in unison, and the piercing gyeonggi sliced through the water countless times as they advanced.
Kwaaaang!
Then, with a massive explosion, they all slammed into the bottom of the ship.
The thick wooden planks of the hull twisted and split, and black water rushed in as if the inside of the vessel had been smashed open in an instant.
“W-what is this!”
“An ambush! Damn it! A nighttime raid!”
After the explosion, the Namgung sword disciples—seeing the ship tilt—shouted in panic, their faces draining white.
“S-stop them! Protect the ship!”
Screams, shouts, and chaos stained the night over Maehwado.
At last, the fuse that had long been left unlit was set ablaze once more.